Best Practice Guidelines on molecular diagnostics in Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophies

Meeting participants: Rosário dos Santos, Porto, PortugalIntroduction: A meeting of 29 senior scientists from Europe, the USA, India and Australia, was held in Naarden, The Netherlands on November 14–16, 2008, to establish consensus Best Practice Guidelines for molecular diagnosis of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD). New therapeutic trials for DMD demand accurate diagnosis of the disorder, especially where the therapy is targeted towards specific mutations. These guidelines aim to help diagnostic laboratories attain that accuracy by describing the minimum standards for acceptable molecular diagnostic testing of DMD. For the different types of clinical referral received by a molecular diagnostic laboratory, the guidelines recommend the appropriate tests to be carried out, interpretation of the results and how those results should be reported.The workshop was jointly organised and sponsored by The European Molecular Genetics Quality Network (www.emqn.org); Euro- Gentest (www.eurogentest.org); EU Contract no. FP6-512148); TREAT-NMD (www.treat-nmd.org); EU Contract no. FP6-036825), and hosted by the European Neuro-Muscular Centre (www.enmc.org)

The sound of violets: the ethnographic potency of poetry?

This paper takes the form of a dialogue between the two authors, and is in two halves, the first half discursive and propositional, and the second half exemplifying the rhetorical, epistemological and metaphysical affordances of poetry in critically scrutinising the rhetoric, epistemology and metaphysics of educational management discourse. Phipps and Saunders explore, through ideas and poems, how poetry can interrupt and/or illuminate dominant values in education and in educational research methods, such as: • alternatives to the military metaphors – targets, strategies and the like – that dominate the soundscape of education; • the kinds and qualities of the cognitive and feeling spaces that might be opened up by the shifting of methodological boundaries; • the considerable work done in ethnography on the use of the poetic: anthropologists have long used poetry as a medium for expressing their sense of empathic connection to their field and their subjects, particularly in considering the creativity and meaning-making that characterise all human societies in different ways; • the particular rhetorical affordances of poetry, as a discipline, as a practice, as an art, as patterned breath; its capacity to shift phonemic, and therewith methodological, authority; its offering of redress to linear and reductive attempts at scripting social life, as always already given and without alternative

Synthesis, characterization, dft calculation, docking studies, antioxidant and anticancer activities of some 3-(2-alkylaminothiazol-5-oyl)pyridines

The 3-(2-alkylaminothiazol-5-oyl)pyridines were synthesized and characterized by different physicochemical techniques such as IR, 1H NMR, MS, electronic parameters etc. Geometrical and electronic properties of 3-(2-alkylaminothiazol-5-oyl)pyridines derivatives was computed theoretically using B3LYP /6-31G (d, p) basis sets. The energy gap between HOMO and LUMO explained the charge transfer within the molecule. The optimized structures of all the derived compound shows that in-plane and out of a plane in the molecule. All the compounds exhibited good docking scores against 4mmh liver cancer. The antioxidant study also evaluated excellent IC50 value. It shows the best inhibitory concentration against breast cancer. Among the 3-(2-alkylaminothiazol-5-oyl)pyridines, compound 6a was highly active on the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line

Learning from the children : exploring preschool children's encounters with ICT at home

This paper is an account of our attempts to understand preschool children's experiences with information and communication technologies (ICT) at home. Using case study data, we focus on what we can learn from talking directly to the children that might otherwise have been overlooked and on describing and evaluating the methods we adopted to ensure that we maximised the children's contributions to the research. By paying attention to the children's perspectives we have learned that they are discriminating users of ICT who evaluate their own performances, know what gives them pleasure and who differentiate between operational competence and the substantive activities made possible by ICT

Synthesis, characterization, dft calculation, docking studies, antioxidant and anticancer activities of some 3-(2-alkylaminothiazol-5-oyl)pyridines

620-626The 3-(2-alkylaminothiazol-5-oyl)pyridines were synthesized and characterized by different physicochemical techniques such as IR, 1H NMR, MS, electronic parameters etc. Geometrical and electronic properties of 3-(2-alkylaminothiazol-5-oyl)pyridines derivatives was computed theoretically using B3LYP /6-31G (d, p) basis sets. The energy gap between HOMO and LUMO explained the charge transfer within the molecule. The optimized structures of all the derived compound shows that in-plane and out of a plane in the molecule. All the compounds exhibited good docking scores against 4mmh liver cancer. The antioxidant study also evaluated excellent IC50 value. It shows the best inhibitory concentration against breast cancer. Among the 3-(2-alkylaminothiazol-5-oyl)pyridines, compound 6a was highly active on the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line

Synthesis, computational studies and antioxidant activity of some 3-(2-alkylamino-4-aminothiazole-5-oyl)pyridines

605-610A series of thiazoloylpyridine derivatives has been synthesized and analyzed to confirm the structure of the product using IR, 1H and 13C NMR, mass spectra and analytical data. Optimized structural and electronic parameters of all the compounds have been calculated by using B3LYP/ 6-31G basis set. The Mulliken charges of all atoms have been evaluated. The calculated IR spectrum has been analyzed by comparing the experimental IR. All the synthesized compounds have been examined for antioxidant activities. The antioxidant activity of 3-(2-alkylamino-4-aminothiazol -5-oyl)pyridines have been analyzed using DPPH radical scavenging assay. The compounds 6a and 6b possess higher radical scavenging activity

Synthesis, DFT calculations, NBO analysis and docking studies of 3-(2-arylamino-4-aminothiazol-5-oyl)pyridine derivatives

999-1006Electronic structure of 3-(2-arylamino-4-aminothiazol-5-oyl)pyridine derivatives are investigated theoretically using B3LYB/6-31G (d,p) method. The energy gap between HOMO-LUMO and several thermodynamic properties in the ground state are calculated by means of B3LYP hybrid density functional theory (DFT) method together with 6-31G basis sets. A series of pyridinyl thiazoles were synthesized and characterized. The molecular docking studies were done using PyRx virtual screening tool in the active site of Hepg-2 (PDB code 4mmh) to study the hydrogen bonding interaction of these analogs. ADME properties and the hydrophobicity are found to be critical for activity. It is observed that all the synthesized compounds can be used orally as good drug candidates and the docking scores are comparable to the standard compounds. The compound C3 is found to have the highest activity against the cancer (PDB code: 4mmh) protein

Adult female with symptomatic AVPR2-related nephrogenic syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (NSIAD).

UNLABELLED: Activating mutations in AVPR2 are associated with nephrogenic syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (NSIAD). NSIAD causes hyponatremia, decreased serum osmolality and clinical symptoms, which may present from birth or in infancy and include hypotonia, irritability, vomiting and/or seizures. Symptoms in later life are often less specific and include malaise, dizziness, confusion, tiredness and headache. NSIAD is a rare X-linked condition, which is associated with a variable phenotype in males, of whom some present in infancy but others do not become symptomatic until adulthood, or occasionally, never. Female carriers may present with episodes of hyponatremia, usually found incidentally. Literature in this field is limited; namely, two clinical reports describing a female proband, both diagnosed in infancy. We describe, for the first time, the case of an adult female proband with NSIAD, who had longstanding associated symptoms of tiredness, headache, temporary memory loss and mood changes as well as hyponatremia and decreased serum osmolality. A water load test demonstrated an inability to dilute urine and gene sequencing confirmed a recurrent activating mutation in AVPR2. The variant was inherited from the proband's mother who had had longstanding episodes of transient asymptomatic hyponatremia. This is the third report of a female proband with NSIAD and is the first female reported who sought medical treatment for chronic symptoms from adulthood. This case acts as a reminder of the importance of considering NSIAD as a diagnosis in females of all ages with unexplained hyponatremia. LEARNING POINTS: Activating mutations in the AVPR2 gene are associated with the rare X-linked condition nephrogenic syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis.NSIAD is associated with hyponatremia, decreased serum osmolality and inappropriately increased urinary osmolality. Early clinical symptoms in infancy include hypotonia, irritability, vomiting and/or seizures. Symptoms in later life include malaise, dizziness, confusion, tiredness and headache.NSIAD should be considered in female, as well as male, patients who present with unexplained hyponatremia and decreased serum osmolality. Family history may reveal relevant symptoms or biochemical features in other family members. However, family history may not always be informative due to the variable nature of the condition or if the proband has a de novo pathogenic variant.A water load test with measurement of AVP may be informative in distinguishing NSIAD from SIADH. Measurement of co-peptin levels may be considered, in substitution for direct measurement of AVP.Patients with NSIAD should be counseled about appropriate daily fluid volume intake. Potential episodes of fluid overload should be avoided

Computational calculations and molecular docking studies on 2-(2-ethylaminothiazol-5-oyl)benzothiazole

273-2762-(2-Ethylaminothiazol-5-oyl)benzothiazole has been synthesized and its bond length, bond angle, dihedral angle, HOMO-LUMO and Mulliken charges on the atoms have been calculated by density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP) method with 6-311++G(d,p) basis sets. Biological properties like the target receptor identification and identification of interacting residues, of this compound is identified and analyzed by using Openbabel GUI (C) software

Modeling the effect of temperature and relative humidity on exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in a mechanically ventilated room

Computational fluid dynamics models have been developed to predict airborne exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus from a coughing person in a mechanically ventilated room. The models were run with three typical indoor air temperatures and relative humidities (RH). Quantile regression was used to indicate whether these have a statistically significant effect on the airborne exposure. Results suggest that evaporation is an important effect. Evaporation leads to respiratory particles, particularly those with initial diameters between 20 and 100 μm, remaining airborne for longer, traveling extended distances and carrying more viruses than expected from their final diameter. In a mechanically ventilated room, with all of the associated complex air movement and turbulence, increasing the RH may result in reduced airborne exposure. However, this effect may be so small that other factors, such as a small change in proximity to the infected person, could rapidly counter the effect. The effect of temperature on the exposure was more complex, with both positive and negative correlations. Therefore, within the range of conditions studied here, there is no clear guidance on how the temperature should be controlled to reduce exposure. The results highlight the importance of ventilation, face coverings and maintaining social distancing for reducing exposure