135 research outputs found
Rapid Phenotype-Driven Gene Sequencing with the NeoSeq Panel: A Diagnostic Tool for Critically Ill Newborns with Suspected Genetic Disease
New genomic sequencing techniques have shown considerable promise in the field of neonatology, increasing the diagnostic rate and reducing time to diagnosis. However, several obstacles have hindered the incorporation of this technology into routine clinical practice. We prospectively evaluated the diagnostic rate and diagnostic turnaround time achieved in newborns with suspected genetic diseases using a rapid phenotype-driven gene panel (NeoSeq) containing 1870 genes implicated in congenital malformations and neurological and metabolic disorders of early onset (<2 months of age). Of the 33 newborns recruited, a genomic diagnosis was established for 13 (39.4%) patients (median diagnostic turnaround time, 7.5 days), resulting in clinical management changes in 10 (76.9%) patients. An analysis of 12 previous prospective massive sequencing studies (whole genome (WGS), whole exome (WES), and clinical exome (CES) sequencing) in newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) with suspected genetic disorders revealed a comparable median diagnostic rate (37.2%), but a higher median diagnostic turnaround time (22.3 days) than that obtained with NeoSeq. Our phenotype-driven gene panel, which is specific for genetic diseases in critically ill newborns is an affordable alternative to WGS and WES that offers comparable diagnostic efficacy, supporting its implementation as a first-tier genetic test in NICUs
Utility of Gene Panels for the Diagnosis of Inborn Errors of Metabolism in a Metabolic Reference Center
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have been proposed as a first-line test for the diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism (IEM), a group of genetically heterogeneous disorders with overlapping or nonspecific phenotypes. Over a 3-year period, we prospectively analyzed 311 pediatric patients with a suspected IEM using four targeted gene panels. The rate of positive diagnosis was 61.86% for intermediary metabolism defects, 32.84% for complex molecular defects, 19% for hypoglycemic/hyperglycemic events, and 17% for mitochondrial diseases, and a conclusive molecular diagnosis was established in 2-4 weeks. Forty-one patients for whom negative results were obtained with the mitochondrial diseases panel underwent subsequent analyses using the NeuroSeq panel, which groups all genes from the individual panels together with genes associated with neurological disorders (1870 genes in total). This achieved a diagnostic rate of 32%. We next evaluated the utility of a tool, Phenomizer, for differential diagnosis, and established a correlation between phenotype and molecular findings in 39.3% of patients. Finally, we evaluated the mutational architecture of the genes analyzed by determining z-scores, loss-of-function observed/expected upper bound fraction (LOEUF), and haploinsufficiency (HI) scores. In summary, targeted gene panels for specific groups of IEMs enabled rapid and effective diagnosis, which is critical for the therapeutic management of IEM patients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Cooling degree models and future energy demand in the residential sector. A seven-country case study
The intensity and duration of hot weather and the number of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, are increasing, leading to a growing need for space cooling energy demand. Together with the building stock’s low energy performance, this phenomenon may also increase households’ energy consumption. On the other hand, the low level of ownership of cooling equipment can cause low energy consumption, leading to a lack of indoor thermal comfort and several health-related problems, yet increasing the risk of energy poverty in summer. Understanding future temperature variations and the associated impacts on building cooling demand will allow mitigating future issues related to a warmer climate. In this respect, this paper analyses the effects of change in temperatures in the residential sector cooling demand in 2050 for a case study of nineteen cities across seven countries: Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Israel, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain, by estimating cooling degree days and hours (CDD and CDH). CDD and CDH are calculated using both fixed and adaptive thermal comfort temperature thresholds for 2020 and 2050, understanding their strengths and weaknesses to assess the effects of warmer temperatures. Results suggest a noticeable average increase in CDD and CDH values, up to double, by using both thresholds for 2050, with a particular interest in northern countries where structural modifications in the building stock and occupants’ behavior should be anticipated. Furthermore, the use of the adaptive thermal comfort threshold shows that the projected temperature increases for 2050 might affect people’s capability to adapt their comfort band (i.e., indoor habitability) as temperatures would be higher than the maximum admissible values for people’s comfort and health.The paper stems from collaborative work within COST Action ‘European Energy
Poverty: Agenda Co-Creation and Knowledge Innovation’ (ENGAGER 2017–2021, CA16232) funded
by European Cooperation in Science and Technology—www.cost.eu (5 December 2020). João Pedro
Gouveia and Pedro Palma acknowledge and are thankful for the support provided to CENSE
by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the strategic project
UIDB/04085/2020 and through the scholarship SFRH/BD/146732/2019 provided to Pedro). Ricardo
Barbosa acknowledges the support for this work, which was partly financed by FCT/MCTES through
national funds (PIDDAC) under the R&D Unit Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural
Engineering (ISISE), under reference UIDB/04029/2020
Rapid Phenotype-Driven Gene Sequencing with the NeoSeq Panel: A Diagnostic Tool for Critically Ill Newborns with Suspected Genetic Disease
New genomic sequencing techniques have shown considerable promise in the field of neonatology, increasing the diagnostic rate and reducing time to diagnosis. However, several obstacles have hindered the incorporation of this technology into routine clinical practice. We prospectively evaluated the diagnostic rate and diagnostic turnaround time achieved in newborns with suspected genetic diseases using a rapid phenotype-driven gene panel (NeoSeq) containing 1870 genes implicated in congenital malformations and neurological and metabolic disorders of early onset (<2 months of age). Of the 33 newborns recruited, a genomic diagnosis was established for 13 (39.4%) patients (median diagnostic turnaround time, 7.5 days), resulting in clinical management changes in 10 (76.9%) patients. An analysis of 12 previous prospective massive sequencing studies (whole genome (WGS), whole exome (WES), and clinical exome (CES) sequencing) in newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) with suspected genetic disorders revealed a comparable median diagnostic rate (37.2%), but a higher median diagnostic turnaround time (22.3 days) than that obtained with NeoSeq. Our phenotype-driven gene panel, which is specific for genetic diseases in critically ill newborns is an affordable alternative to WGS and WES that offers comparable diagnostic efficacy, supporting its implementation as a first-tier genetic test in NICUs
Questionário de Saúde Geral (QSG-12): o efeito de itens negativos em sua estrutura fatorial
Hábitos relacionados ao descarte pós-consumo de aparelhos e baterias de telefones celulares em uma comunidade acadêmica
Retinoic acid regulates avian lung branching through a molecular network
Retinoic acid (RA) is of major importance during vertebrate embryonic development and its levels need to be strictly regulated otherwise congenital malformations will develop. Through the action of specific nuclear receptors, named RAR/RXR, RA regulates the expression of genes that eventually influence proliferation and tissue patterning. RA has been described as crucial for different stages of mammalian lung morphogenesis, and as part of a complex molecular network that contributes to precise organogenesis; nonetheless, nothing is known about its role in avian lung development. The current report characterizes, for the first time, the expression pattern of RA signaling members (stra6, raldh2, raldh3, cyp26a1, rar alpha, and rar beta) and potential RA downstream targets (sox2, sox9, meis1, meis2, tgf beta 2, and id2) by in situ hybridization. In the attempt of unveiling the role of RA in chick lung branching, in vitro lung explants were performed. Supplementation studies revealed that RA stimulates lung branching in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the expression levels of cyp26a1, sox2, sox9, rar beta, meis2, hoxb5, tgf beta 2, id2, fgf10, fgfr2, and shh were evaluated after RA treatment to disclose a putative molecular network underlying RA effect. In situ hybridization analysis showed that RA is able to alter cyp26a1, sox9, tgf beta 2, and id2 spatial distribution; to increase rar beta, meis2, and hoxb5 expression levels; and has a very modest effect on sox2, fgf10, fgfr2, and shh expression levels. Overall, these findings support a role for RA in the proximal-distal patterning and branching morphogenesis of the avian lung and reveal intricate molecular interactions that ultimately orchestrate branching morphogenesis.The authors would like to thank Ana Lima
for slide sectioning and Rita Lopes for contributing to the initiation
of this project. This work has been funded by FEDER funds,
through the Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme
(COMPETE), and by National funds, through the Foundation for
Science and Technology (FCT), under the scope of the Project
POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007038; and by the Project NORTE-01-0145-
FEDER-000013, supported by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational
Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership
Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund
(FEDER). The funders had no role in study design, data collection
and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array to spectral signatures of hadronic PeVatrons with application to Galactic Supernova Remnants
The local Cosmic Ray (CR) energy spectrum exhibits a spectral softening at
energies around 3~PeV. Sources which are capable of accelerating hadrons to
such energies are called hadronic PeVatrons. However, hadronic PeVatrons have
not yet been firmly identified within the Galaxy. Several source classes,
including Galactic Supernova Remnants (SNRs), have been proposed as PeVatron
candidates. The potential to search for hadronic PeVatrons with the Cherenkov
Telescope Array (CTA) is assessed. The focus is on the usage of very high
energy -ray spectral signatures for the identification of PeVatrons.
Assuming that SNRs can accelerate CRs up to knee energies, the number of
Galactic SNRs which can be identified as PeVatrons with CTA is estimated within
a model for the evolution of SNRs. Additionally, the potential of a follow-up
observation strategy under moonlight conditions for PeVatron searches is
investigated. Statistical methods for the identification of PeVatrons are
introduced, and realistic Monte--Carlo simulations of the response of the CTA
observatory to the emission spectra from hadronic PeVatrons are performed.
Based on simulations of a simplified model for the evolution for SNRs, the
detection of a -ray signal from in average 9 Galactic PeVatron SNRs is
expected to result from the scan of the Galactic plane with CTA after 10 hours
of exposure. CTA is also shown to have excellent potential to confirm these
sources as PeVatrons in deep observations with hours of
exposure per source.Comment: 34 pages, 16 figures, Accepted for publication in Astroparticle
Physic
Biomass production and identification of suitable harvesting technique for Chlorella sp. MJ 11/11 and Synechocystis PCC 6803
Sindicalismo docente e política educacional: tensões e composições de interesses corporativos e qualidade da educação
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