Multi-scale assessment of social vulnerability to climate change: An empirical study in coastal Vietnam

Climate change poses significant threats to the livelihoods of people living in coastal areas, especially in the developing world. There is a critical need to assess vulnerability to inform both scientific debates and policy makers in facilitating adaptation and coping strategies at different scales. This study advances existing approaches to assessing vulnerability by focusing on both household and collective scales in a coastal district in Vietnam: Ngu Hanh Son district. A mixed-method approach was used including 100 household questionnaires, 12 key informant interviews and data from direct observations. At household scale, results indicate large variation in the degree of vulnerability to climate change among households in the same agro-climate zone. These differences are attributable to variations in socio-economic household characteristics and ability to access livelihood assets. Diversifying livelihoods and reducing poverty are important in contributing to the resilience of households. At a collective scale, qualitative data indicates a lack of multi-directional flows of information and highlights gaps in the current governance system. Findings suggest the need to bridge the governance gaps and establish an effective communication system to reduce collective vulnerability in the district. Findings also highlight the need to promote social equity, equality and democracy in formulating climate policies in an effort to reduce the overall vulnerability to climate change

Genetic landscape of autism spectrum disorder in Vietnamese children

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex disorder with an unclear aetiology and an estimated global prevalence of 1%. However, studies of ASD in the Vietnamese population are limited. Here, we first conducted whole exome sequencing (WES) of 100 children with ASD and their unaffected parents. Our stringent analysis pipeline was able to detect 18 unique variants (8 de novo and 10 ×-linked, all validated), including 12 newly discovered variants. Interestingly, a notable number of X-linked variants were detected (56%), and all of them were found in affected males but not in affected females. We uncovered 17 genes from our ASD cohort in which CHD8, DYRK1A, GRIN2B, SCN2A, OFD1 and MDB5 have been previously identified as ASD risk genes, suggesting the universal aetiology of ASD for these genes. In addition, we identified six genes that have not been previously reported in any autism database: CHM, ENPP1, IGF1, LAS1L, SYP and TBX22. Gene ontology and phenotype-genotype analysis suggested that variants in IGF1, SYP and LAS1L could plausibly confer risk for ASD. Taken together, this study adds to the genetic heterogeneity of ASD and is the first report elucidating the genetic landscape of ASD in Vietnamese children

Expression of recombinant Araraquara Hantavirus nucleoprotein in insect cells and its use as an antigen for immunodetection compared to the same antigen expressed in Escherichia coli

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Antigens for Hantavirus serological tests have been produced using DNA recombinant technology for more than twenty years. Several different strategies have been used for that purpose. All of them avoid the risks and difficulties involved in multiplying Hantavirus in the laboratory. In Brazil, the Araraquara virus is one of the main causes of Hantavirus Cardio-Pulmonary Syndrome (HCPS).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this investigation, we report the expression of the N protein of the Araraquara Hantavirus in a Baculovirus Expression System, the use of this protein in IgM and IgG ELISA and comparison with the same antigen generated in <it>E. coli</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The protein obtained, and purified in a nickel column, was effectively recognized by antibodies from confirmed HCPS patients. Comparison of the baculovirus generated antigen with the N protein produced in <it>E. coli </it>showed that both were equally effective in terms of sensitivity and specificity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results therefore indicate that either of these proteins can be used in serological tests in Brazil.</p

Metadata Framework to Support Deployment of Digital Health Technologies in Clinical Trials in Parkinson’s Disease

Sensor data from digital health technologies (DHTs) used in clinical trials provides a valuable source of information, because of the possibility to combine datasets from different studies, to combine it with other data types, and to reuse it multiple times for various purposes. To date, there exist no standards for capturing or storing DHT biosensor data applicable across modalities and disease areas, and which can also capture the clinical trial and environment-specific aspects, so-called metadata. In this perspectives paper, we propose a metadata framework that divides the DHT metadata into metadata that is independent of the therapeutic area or clinical trial design (concept of interest and context of use), and metadata that is dependent on these factors. We demonstrate how this framework can be applied to data collected with different types of DHTs deployed in the WATCH-PD clinical study of Parkinson’s disease. This framework provides a means to pre-specify and therefore standardize aspects of the use of DHTs, promoting comparability of DHTs across future studies

Dengue fever: a post-epidemic sero-epidemiological survey in an urban setting at a northwestern county of S. Paulo State - Brazil

Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the real size of the epidemics registered in thr urban area of the county of Santa Barbara D'Oeste, SP Brazil, from April to June, 1995. The measurement of the epidemiological validity of the official surveillance system criteria and its positive predicted value It were adopted as specific goals. Methods A sero-epidemiological sun,ey was carried out over a sample of 1,113 sera from citizens of Santa Barbara D'Oeste, through a systematic random sampling of houses, five months after the end of the epidemics. Infection rates were compared with the infestation indexes by Aedes aegipty and the notified cases amongst the county sections. The importance of submitting patients with clinical suspicion of dengue to laboratory rests was discussed. Results and Discussion it was found that infection rates by dengue virus varied in the same direction and proportion as the presence of Aedes aegipty larvae reported by the 'Breteau Index', as well as the number of cases,reported by the official notifiable diseases surveillance system during the epidemics. A prevalence of 630 by 100 thousand inhabitants was found, a 15-fold rate when compared to rite laboratory positive sera from cases detected by the surveillance system during the epidemics. A retrospective comparison with the surveillance reports, using serological results as a gold standard, also showed that the majority of dengue specific serum-positive individuals were not detected during the epidemics. otherwise cases that did not present serological reaction were notified exhibiting a low positive predictive value of clinical diagnosis (15,6).33656657