Bi-allelic genetic variants in the translational GTPases GTPBP1 and GTPBP2 cause a distinct identical neurodevelopmental syndrome

: The homologous genes GTPBP1 and GTPBP2 encode GTP-binding proteins 1 and 2, which are involved in ribosomal homeostasis. Pathogenic variants in GTPBP2 were recently shown to be an ultra-rare cause of neurodegenerative or neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Until now, no human phenotype has been linked to GTPBP1. Here, we describe individuals carrying bi-allelic GTPBP1 variants that display an identical phenotype with GTPBP2 and characterize the overall spectrum of GTP-binding protein (1/2)-related disorders. In this study, 20 individuals from 16 families with distinct NDDs and syndromic facial features were investigated by whole-exome (WES) or whole-genome (WGS) sequencing. To assess the functional impact of the identified genetic variants, semi-quantitative PCR, western blot, and ribosome profiling assays were performed in fibroblasts from affected individuals. We also investigated the effect of reducing expression of CG2017, an ortholog of human GTPBP1/2, in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Individuals with bi-allelic GTPBP1 or GTPBP2 variants presented with microcephaly, profound neurodevelopmental impairment, pathognomonic craniofacial features, and ectodermal defects. Abnormal vision and/or hearing, progressive spasticity, choreoathetoid movements, refractory epilepsy, and brain atrophy were part of the core phenotype of this syndrome. Cell line studies identified a loss-of-function (LoF) impact of the disease-associated variants but no significant abnormalities on ribosome profiling. Reduced expression of CG2017 isoforms was associated with locomotor impairment in Drosophila. In conclusion, bi-allelic GTPBP1 and GTPBP2 LoF variants cause an identical, distinct neurodevelopmental syndrome. Mutant CG2017 knockout flies display motor impairment, highlighting the conserved role for GTP-binding proteins in CNS development across species

Bi-allelic ACBD6 variants lead to a neurodevelopmental syndrome with progressive and complex movement disorders

The acyl-CoA-binding domain-containing protein 6 (ACBD6) is ubiquitously expressed, plays a role in the acylation of lipids and proteins, and regulates the N-myristoylation of proteins via N-myristoyltransferase enzymes (NMTs). However, its precise function in cells is still unclear, as is the consequence of ACBD6 defects on human pathophysiology. Utilizing exome sequencing and extensive international data sharing efforts, we identified 45 affected individuals from 28 unrelated families (consanguinity 93%) with bi-allelic pathogenic, predominantly loss-of-function (18/20) variants in ACBD6. We generated zebrafish and Xenopus tropicalis acbd6 knockouts by CRISPR/Cas9 and characterized the role of ACBD6 on protein N-myristoylation with YnMyr chemical proteomics in the model organisms and human cells, with the latter also being subjected further to ACBD6 peroxisomal localization studies. The affected individuals (23 males and 22 females), with ages ranging from 1 to 50 years old, typically present with a complex and progressive disease involving moderate-to-severe global developmental delay/intellectual disability (100%) with significant expressive language impairment (98%), movement disorders (97%), facial dysmorphism (95%), and mild cerebellar ataxia (85%) associated with gait impairment (94%), limb spasticity/hypertonia (76%), oculomotor (71%) and behavioural abnormalities (65%), overweight (59%), microcephaly (39%) and epilepsy (33%). The most conspicuous and common movement disorder was dystonia (94%), frequently leading to early-onset progressive postural deformities (97%), limb dystonia (55%), and cervical dystonia (31%). A jerky tremor in the upper limbs (63%), a mild head tremor (59%), parkinsonism/hypokinesia developing with advancing age (32%), and simple motor and vocal tics were among other frequent movement disorders. Midline brain malformations including corpus callosum abnormalities (70%), hypoplasia/agenesis of the anterior commissure (66%), short midbrain and small inferior cerebellar vermis (38% each), as well as hypertrophy of the clava (24%) were common neuroimaging findings. acbd6-deficient zebrafish and Xenopus models effectively recapitulated many clinical phenotypes reported in patients including movement disorders, progressive neuromotor impairment, seizures, microcephaly, craniofacial dysmorphism, and midbrain defects accompanied by developmental delay with increased mortality over time. Unlike ACBD5, ACBD6 did not show a peroxisomal localisation and ACBD6-deficiency was not associated with altered peroxisomal parameters in patient fibroblasts. Significant differences in YnMyr-labelling were observed for 68 co- and 18 post-translationally N-myristoylated proteins in patient-derived fibroblasts. N-Myristoylation was similarly affected in acbd6-deficient zebrafish and Xenopus tropicalis models, including Fus, Marcks, and Chchd-related proteins implicated in neurological diseases. The present study provides evidence that bi-allelic pathogenic variants in ACBD6 lead to a distinct neurodevelopmental syndrome accompanied by complex and progressive cognitive and movement disorders

Adolescent transport and unintentional injuries: a systematic analysis using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Globally, transport and unintentional injuries persist as leading preventable causes of mortality and morbidity for adolescents. We sought to report comprehensive trends in injury-related mortality and morbidity for adolescents aged 10–24 years during the past three decades. Methods: Using the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2019 Study, we analysed mortality and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributed to transport and unintentional injuries for adolescents in 204 countries. Burden is reported in absolute numbers and age-standardised rates per 100 000 population by sex, age group (10–14, 15–19, and 20–24 years), and sociodemographic index (SDI) with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). We report percentage changes in deaths and DALYs between 1990 and 2019. Findings: In 2019, 369 061 deaths (of which 214 337 [58%] were transport related) and 31·1 million DALYs (of which 16·2 million [52%] were transport related) among adolescents aged 10–24 years were caused by transport and unintentional injuries combined. If compared with other causes, transport and unintentional injuries combined accounted for 25% of deaths and 14% of DALYs in 2019, and showed little improvement from 1990 when such injuries accounted for 26% of adolescent deaths and 17% of adolescent DALYs. Throughout adolescence, transport and unintentional injury fatality rates increased by age group. The unintentional injury burden was higher among males than females for all injury types, except for injuries related to fire, heat, and hot substances, or to adverse effects of medical treatment. From 1990 to 2019, global mortality rates declined by 34·4% (from 17·5 to 11·5 per 100 000) for transport injuries, and by 47·7% (from 15·9 to 8·3 per 100 000) for unintentional injuries. However, in low-SDI nations the absolute number of deaths increased (by 80·5% to 42 774 for transport injuries and by 39·4% to 31 961 for unintentional injuries). In the high-SDI quintile in 2010–19, the rate per 100 000 of transport injury DALYs was reduced by 16·7%, from 838 in 2010 to 699 in 2019. This was a substantially slower pace of reduction compared with the 48·5% reduction between 1990 and 2010, from 1626 per 100 000 in 1990 to 838 per 100 000 in 2010. Between 2010 and 2019, the rate of unintentional injury DALYs per 100 000 also remained largely unchanged in high-SDI countries (555 in 2010 vs 554 in 2019; 0·2% reduction). The number and rate of adolescent deaths and DALYs owing to environmental heat and cold exposure increased for the high-SDI quintile during 2010–19. Interpretation: As other causes of mortality are addressed, inadequate progress in reducing transport and unintentional injury mortality as a proportion of adolescent deaths becomes apparent. The relative shift in the burden of injury from high-SDI countries to low and low–middle-SDI countries necessitates focused action, including global donor, government, and industry investment in injury prevention. The persisting burden of DALYs related to transport and unintentional injuries indicates a need to prioritise innovative measures for the primary prevention of adolescent injury. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bi-allelic ACBD6 variants lead to a neurodevelopmental syndrome with progressive and complex movement disorders

The acyl-CoA-binding domain-containing protein 6 (ACBD6) is ubiquitously expressed, plays a role in the acylation of lipids and proteins and regulates the N-myristoylation of proteins via N-myristoyltransferase enzymes (NMTs). However, its precise function in cells is still unclear, as is the consequence of ACBD6 defects on human pathophysiology. Using exome sequencing and extensive international data sharing efforts, we identified 45 affected individuals from 28 unrelated families (consanguinity 93%) with bi-allelic pathogenic, predominantly loss-of-function (18/20) variants in ACBD6. We generated zebrafish and Xenopus tropicalis acbd6 knockouts by CRISPR/Cas9 and characterized the role of ACBD6 on protein N-myristoylation with myristic acid alkyne (YnMyr) chemical proteomics in the model organisms and human cells, with the latter also being subjected further to ACBD6 peroxisomal localization studies. The affected individuals (23 males and 22 females), aged 1-50 years, typically present with a complex and progressive disease involving moderate-to-severe global developmental delay/intellectual disability (100%) with significant expressive language impairment (98%), movement disorders (97%), facial dysmorphism (95%) and mild cerebellar ataxia (85%) associated with gait impairment (94%), limb spasticity/hypertonia (76%), oculomotor (71%) and behavioural abnormalities (65%), overweight (59%), microcephaly (39%) and epilepsy (33%). The most conspicuous and common movement disorder was dystonia (94%), frequently leading to early-onset progressive postural deformities (97%), limb dystonia (55%) and cervical dystonia (31%). A jerky tremor in the upper limbs (63%), a mild head tremor (59%), parkinsonism/hypokinesia developing with advancing age (32%) and simple motor and vocal tics were among other frequent movement disorders. Midline brain malformations including corpus callosum abnormalities (70%), hypoplasia/agenesis of the anterior commissure (66%), short midbrain and small inferior cerebellar vermis (38% each) as well as hypertrophy of the clava (24%) were common neuroimaging findings. Acbd6-deficient zebrafish and Xenopus models effectively recapitulated many clinical phenotypes reported in patients including movement disorders, progressive neuromotor impairment, seizures, microcephaly, craniofacial dysmorphism and midbrain defects accompanied by developmental delay with increased mortality over time. Unlike ACBD5, ACBD6 did not show a peroxisomal localization and ACBD6-deficiency was not associated with altered peroxisomal parameters in patient fibroblasts. Significant differences in YnMyr-labelling were observed for 68 co- and 18 post-translationally N-myristoylated proteins in patient-derived fibroblasts. N-myristoylation was similarly affected in acbd6-deficient zebrafish and X. tropicalis models, including Fus, Marcks and Chchd-related proteins implicated in neurological diseases. The present study provides evidence that bi-allelic pathogenic variants in ACBD6 lead to a distinct neurodevelopmental syndrome accompanied by complex and progressive cognitive and movement disorders

The Infantile spasm, clinical manifestation of a rare brain tumor: a case report and review in literature

Desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma (DIG) has a favorable prognosis; and is classified as a benign infantile brain tumor; it is more common in children under 2 years of age. In this report, we introduce one 5.5 months-old infant who was referred with infantile spasm and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. EEG showed modified hypsarrhythmia. The patient underwent ACTH treatment and was asked for a brain MRI. MRI of the patient’s brain showed large heterogeneous masses in the right hemisphere with shifting to other side. The patient underwent surgery. The extra-axial mass was completely resected, and the diagnosis of DIG grade I confirmed with the pathology. At present, the patient is only on phenobarbital, and the seizures do not recur, and the general condition is good; also, the growth of the patient’s head and development is normal for age. We found 13 reported cases during the search, of which 9 were boys and 4 were girls. The mean age of tumor diagnosis from the onset of symptoms was between 2 weeks to two months. Of 13 patients, in 8 patients, the origin of the mass was the right hemisphere. The most common tumors observed were glioma (4 patients), Hamartoma hypothalamus (3 patients). Except for three patients who died, the remaining patients found complete recovery with complete control of seizures after the mass's surgical resection

Antibacterial activity of bioceramic coatings on Mg and its alloys created by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO): A review

Mg and its alloys are suitable choices for implant materials due to their biodegradability and biocompatibility features. However, the high electrochemical activity of this family of biomaterials results in their fast degradation and severe corrosion in the physiological environment, producing hydrogen (H2) gas, and therefore increasing the pH of the environment. To meet the clinical requirements, the degradation rate of Mg biomaterials needs to be reduced. Nevertheless, higher corrosion resistance of Mg results in a low alkaline pH, weakening the antibacterial activity. Therefore, while the rapid degradation problem of Mg-based biomaterials needs to be addressed, good antibacterial properties are also necessary. By using the plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) surface modification technique, the antibacterial activity of Mg and its alloys can be enhanced while maintaining their corrosion protection properties at a high level. Throughout the PEO process, introducing antibacterial agents into solutions results in a major increase in antibacterial activity of the coatings. Moreover, post- or pre-processing on PEO coatings can provide better protection against bacteria. In this review, the antibacterial activity of PEO coatings applied on Mg and also its alloys will be discussed in more detail

Participation of Electric Vehicles in a Delay-Dependent Stability Analysis of LFC Considering Demand Response Control

Today, time-varying delays may result from a communication network’s engagement in frequency control services. These delays have an impact on the effectiveness of the load frequency control (LFC) system, which can occasionally lead to power system instability. The electric vehicle (EV) can be used as a beneficial source for the LFC system with the development of demand-side response due to its vehicle-to-grid capacity. Although demand response control has certain advantages for the power system, communication networks used in LFC systems result in time delays that reduce the stability of the LFC schemes. A stability study of an LFC system, comprising an EV aggregator with two additive time-varying delays, is demonstrated in this work. An enhanced Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (LKF), which incorporates time-varying delays using the linear matrix inequality approach, is used to perform a delay-dependent stability analysis of the LFC to determine the stability zone and criterion. In conclusion, the efficiency of the proposed stability criterion is validated by making use of the thorough simulation findings

A new sensor based on glassy carbon electrode modified with nanocomposite for simultaneous determination of acetaminophen, ascorbic acid and uric acid

A chemically-modified electrode has been constructed based on a single walled carbon nanotube/chitosan/room temperature ionic liquid nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode (SWCNTs–CHIT–RTIL/GCE). It was demonstrated that this sensor could be used for simultaneous determination of acetaminophen (ACT), uric acid (URI) and ascorbic acid (ASC). The measurements were carried out by application of differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) methods. Electrochemical studies suggested that the RTIL and SWCNTs provided a synergistic augmentation that can increase current responses by improvement of electron transfers of these compounds on the electrode surface. The presence of the CHIT in the modified electrode can enhance the repeatability of the sensor by its antifouling effect. The modified electrode showed electrochemical responses with high sensitivity for ACT, URI and ASC determination, which makes it a suitable sensor for simultaneous sub-μmol L−1 detection of ACT, URI and ASC in aqueous solutions. The analytical performance of this sensor has been evaluated for detection of ACT, URI and ASC in human serum and urine with satisfactory results

A review of effective strides in amelioration of the biocompatibility of PEO coatings on Mg alloys

Recently, developing bioactive and biocompatible materials based on Mg and Mg-alloys for implant applications has drawn attention among researchers owing to their suitable body degradability. Implementing Mg and its alloys reduces the risk of long-term incompatibility with tissues because of their close mechanical properties and no need for re-operation to remove the implant. Nevertheless, the degradation rate of the implant needs to be controlled because production of hydrogen gas and accumulation of its bubbles increases local pH around the implants. To confine the integrity of implants and the body, the corrosion concern in the body fluid requires to be addressed. Surface modification as one of the effective strategies can improve corrosion resistance. Besides, it creates a suitable surface for bone grafting and cell growth. The development of proper surface-coated implants needs appropriate techniques and approaches. Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coating can provide long-term protection by providing a ceramic layer and improving the implant's biocompatibility. Herein, a general review of in-vivo and in-vitro evaluation of PEO coatings on Mg and Mg-alloys has been carried out. Recent advances in surface modification on Mg and Mg-alloys have been discussed, however, the need for reliable laboratory models to predict in-vivo degradation is still valid