The miR-17/92 cluster: a comprehensive update on its genomics, genetics, functions and increasingly important and numerous roles in health and disease.

The miR-17/92 cluster is among the best-studied microRNA clusters. Interest in the cluster and its members has been increasing steadily and the number of publications has grown exponentially since its discovery with more than 1000 articles published in 2012 alone. Originally found to be involved in tumorigenesis, research work in recent years has uncovered unexpected roles for its members in a wide variety of settings that include normal development, immune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and aging. In light of its ever-increasing importance and ever-widening regulatory roles, we review here the latest body of knowledge on the cluster\u27s involvement in health and disease as well as provide a novel perspective on the full spectrum of protein-coding and non-coding transcripts that are likely regulated by its members

Using Light to Improve Commercial Value

The plasticity of plant morphology has evolved to maximize reproductive fitness in response to prevailing environmental conditions. Leaf architecture elaborates to maximize light harvesting, while the transition to flowering can either be accelerated or delayed to improve an individual's fitness. One of the most important environmental signals is light, with plants using light for both photosynthesis and as an environmental signal. Plants perceive different wavelengths of light using distinct photoreceptors. Recent advances in LED technology now enable light quality to be manipulated at a commercial scale, and as such opportunities now exist to take advantage of plants' developmental plasticity to enhance crop yield and quality through precise manipulation of a crops' lighting regime. This review will discuss how plants perceive and respond to light, and consider how these specific signaling pathways can be manipulated to improve crop yield and quality

Gender differences in the use of cardiovascular interventions in HIV-positive persons; the D:A:D Study

Peer reviewe

Analysis of a clustering of cases with a disease in a specialized hospital for the treatment of severely epileptic patients "Meer en Bosch - de Cruquiushoeve".

Abstract niet beschikbaarIn 1989 a specialized hospital for the treatment of severely epileptic patients, was struck by what seemed an epidemic of respiratory- and gastro-intestinal disease. Six patients in one unit, and some of their nurses became ill. No cases outside the unit occurred. The National Institute for Public Health and Environmental Protection was asked to help in the analysis of the epidemic. No single causative agent could be identified. However, the most likely explanation of the clustering of cases seemed to be an infectious disease primarily involving the digestive tract. In these severly disabled patients vomiting probably led to aspiration of gastric contents and ultimately to aspiration pneumonia.GH

(S)un (M)ay (A)rise on SMA: the hope of a region without spinal muscular atrophy

The treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has considerably changed over the last 3 years. Several approaches that aim to increase the deficient SMN protein have demonstrated an efficacy that is inversely correlated with disease duration. In this context, newborn screening (NBS) is increasingly considered as the next step in several countries or regions. In 2018, we initiated a pilot study for NBS of SMA in French- and German-speaking Belgium. We aim to evaluate the feasibility, the efficacy, and the cost-effectiveness of such a program. Initially covering the region of Liege, the program was recently extended to the whole Southern Belgium and currently covers about 55.000 newborns per year. On June 1st 2019, 35.000 newborns had been screened and 5 affected babies were identified and referred to neuromuscular centers for early treatment. A full evaluation of the program will take place after three years to consider the inclusion of SMA screening in the publically-funded NBS program in Southern Belgium

Identification of entire LMX1B gene deletions in nail patella syndrome: evidence for haploinsufficiency as the main pathogenic mechanism underlying dominant inheritance in man.

Contains fulltext : 69895.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Heterozygous mutations in the LMX1B gene cause nail patella syndrome (NPS) that is associated with nail and skeletal malformations, nephropathy, and glaucoma. Previous phenotype studies of Lmx1b null mice revealed dorsal limb and renal anomalies similar to human NPS, which contributed to the identification of heterozygous mutations in this LIM-homeodomain protein LMX1B as the genetic defect responsible for NPS. Despite advanced insight into the role of the Lmx1b transcription factor in a broad range of animal developmental programs, the pathogenic mechanism underlying dominant inheritance of NPS in man remained unclear. Here, we describe for the first time the detection of two entire LMX1B gene deletions and one smaller exonic LMX1B deletion by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) in a series of eight unrelated families with classical features of NPS in whom no pathogenic LMX1B mutation was found by sequence analysis. The identification of entire LMX1B deletions strongly confirms that haploinsufficiency is the principal pathogenetic mechanism of NPS and suggests a difference in dosage sensitivity for this gene between mice and man