9 research outputs found
Addressing regulatory challenges for offshore geological carbon storage in the UK: a policy brief
This brief focuses on the U.K. policy and regulatory framework and reforms available to the UK as it looks to scale-up the CCS industry effectively and begin safe geological CO2 storage (GCS) on the UK offshore continental shelf (UKCS). The brief covers the current state of offshore CCS regulation and discusses opportunities available to streamline legislation, regulation and policy surrounding access to CO2 storage on the UKCS, based on insights from diverse stakeholders regarding this regulation. We discuss the consequences of these findings for policy, industrial scale-up of geological storage, and the future direction of UK CCS policy and legislation. The UK has a developed regulatory environment for offshore GCS, but regulatory challenges remain. This is the central gap that this brief aims to address
What do we need to know to safely store CO2 beneath our shelf seas? Stakeholder workshop report
This report summarises the content and discussion of an Agile Initiative workshop held at the University of Oxford on March 1st 2024, discussing âwhat do we need to know to safely store CO2 in our UK continental shelf seas?
Role of epigenetic modifications in normal globin gene regulation and butyrate-mediated induction of fetal hemoglobin
Butyrate is a prototype of histone deacetylase inhibitors that is believed to reactivate silent genes by inducing epigenetic modifications. Although butyrate was shown to induce fetal hemoglobin (HbF) production in patients with hemoglobin disorders, the mechanism of this induction has not been fully elucidated. Our studies of the epigenetic configuration of the β-globin cluster suggest that DNA methylation and histone H3 acetylation are important for the regulation of developmental stage-specific expression of the β-like globin genes, whereas acetylation of both histones H3 and H4 seem to be important for the regulation of tissue-specific expression. These studies suggest that DNA methylation may be important for the silencing of the β-like globin genes in nonerythroid hematopoietic cells but may not be necessary for their silencing in nonhematopoietic cells. Furthermore, our studies demonstrate that butyrate exposure results in a true reversal of the normal developmental switch from γ- to β-globin expression. This is associated with increased histone acetylation and decreased DNA methylation of the γ-globin genes, with opposite changes in the β-globin gene. These studies provide strong support for the role of epigenetic modifications in the normal developmental and tissue-specific regulation of globin gene expression and in the butyrate-mediated pharmacologic induction of HbF production
Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of COVID -19: coreporting of common outcomes from PAN-COVID and AAP-SONPM registries
Objective
Few large cohort studies have reported data on maternal, fetal, perinatal and neonatal outcomes associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSâCoVâ2) infection in pregnancy. We report the outcome of infected pregnancies from a collaboration formed early during the pandemic between the investigators of two registries, the UK and Global Pregnancy and Neonatal outcomes in COVIDâ19 (PANâCOVID) study and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on NeonatalâPerinatal Medicine (SONPM) National Perinatal COVIDâ19 Registry.
Methods
This was an analysis of data from the PANâCOVID registry (1 January to 25 July 2020), which includes pregnancies with suspected or confirmed maternal SARSâCoVâ2 infection at any stage in pregnancy, and the AAPâSONPM National Perinatal COVIDâ19 registry (4 April to 8 August 2020), which includes pregnancies with positive maternal testing for SARSâCoVâ2 from 14âdays before delivery to 3âdays after delivery. The registries collected data on maternal, fetal, perinatal and neonatal outcomes. The PANâCOVID results are presented overall for pregnancies with suspected or confirmed SARSâCoVâ2 infection and separately in those with confirmed infection.
Results
We report on 4005 pregnant women with suspected or confirmed SARSâCoVâ2 infection (1606 from PANâCOVID and 2399 from AAPâSONPM). For obstetric outcomes, in PANâCOVID overall and in those with confirmed infection in PANâCOVID and AAPâSONPM, respectively, maternal death occurred in 0.5%, 0.5% and 0.2% of cases, early neonatal death in 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.3% of cases and stillbirth in 0.5%, 0.6% and 0.4% of cases. Delivery was preterm (<â37âweeks' gestation) in 12.0% of all women in PANâCOVID, in 16.1% of those women with confirmed infection in PANâCOVID and in 15.7% of women in AAPâSONPM. Extreme preterm delivery (<â27âweeks' gestation) occurred in 0.5% of cases in PANâCOVID and 0.3% in AAPâSONPM. Neonatal SARSâCoVâ2 infection was reported in 0.9% of all deliveries in PANâCOVID overall, in 2.0% in those with confirmed infection in PANâCOVID and in 1.8% in AAPâSONPM; the proportions of neonates tested were 9.5%, 20.7% and 87.2%, respectively. The rates of a smallâforâgestationalâage (SGA) neonate were 8.2% in PANâCOVID overall, 9.7% in those with confirmed infection and 9.6% in AAPâSONPM. Mean gestationalâageâadjusted birthâweight Zâscores were â0.03 in PANâCOVID and â0.18 in AAPâSONPM.
Conclusions
The findings from the UK and USA registries of pregnancies with SARSâCoVâ2 infection were remarkably concordant. Preterm delivery affected a higher proportion of women than expected based on historical and contemporaneous national data. The proportions of pregnancies affected by stillbirth, a SGA infant or early neonatal death were comparable to those in historical and contemporaneous UK and USA data. Although maternal death was uncommon, the rate was higher than expected based on UK and USA population data, which is likely explained by underascertainment of women affected by milder or asymptomatic infection in pregnancy in the PANâCOVID study, although not in the AAPâSONPM study. The data presented support strong guidance for enhanced precautions to prevent SARSâCoVâ2 infection in pregnancy, particularly in the context of increased risks of preterm delivery and maternal mortality, and for priority vaccination of pregnant women and women planning pregnancy. Copyright Š 2021 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd