Publications by authors named "Fasel D"

Gyrotrons are essential for electron cyclotron resonance heating in fusion reactors, making efficient operation crucial for advancing fusion energy. Past experiments revealed instability issues due to trapped electrons in the magnetron injection gun (MIG) region, causing undesired currents and operational failures. To address this, tight manufacturing tolerances are required for the MIG geometry [Pagonakis et al.

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Leveraging linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns as representative of population substructure enables the discovery of additive association signals in genome-wide association studies (GWASs). Standard GWASs are well-powered to interrogate additive models; however, new approaches are required for invesigating other modes of inheritance such as dominance and epistasis. Epistasis, or non-additive interaction between genes, exists across the genome but often goes undetected because of a lack of statistical power.

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The public health impact of genomic screening can be enhanced by cascade testing. However, cascade testing depends on communication of results to family members. While the barriers and facilitators of family communication have been researched following clinical genetic testing, the factors impacting the dissemination of genomic screening results are unknown.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers developed multiple polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for breast cancer but their applicability to diverse populations is still uncertain.
  • This study analyzed the effectiveness of these PRSs in a clinical setting, focusing on women of European, African, and Latinx ancestry using data from 39,591 women linked to electronic medical records.
  • Results showed that PRSs were significantly associated with breast cancer risk across all ancestry groups, with the strongest correlation found in women of European ancestry, indicating the potential usefulness of PRSs for risk assessment in diverse populations.
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Article Synopsis
  • Structured representation of clinical genetic results is crucial for enhancing precision medicine and integrating genetic data into electronic health records (EHR).
  • The eMERGE Network's Phase III program transitioned from a commercial XML format to a new standardized format based on HL7® FHIR® for better representation of genetic results.
  • These new standards aim to improve international healthcare interoperability and facilitate broader adoption of standardized practices in health information technology regarding genetic data management.
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Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) represents a slowly progressive disorder that is typically silent until late stages, but early intervention can significantly delay its progression. We designed a portable and scalable electronic CKD phenotype to facilitate early disease recognition and empower large-scale observational and genetic studies of kidney traits. The algorithm uses a combination of rule-based and machine-learning methods to automatically place patients on the staging grid of albuminuria by glomerular filtration rate ("A-by-G" grid).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how clinicians use genetic test information integrated into electronic health records (EHR) and finds that only 1% of these results are viewed by them.
  • Researchers analyzed EHR data from the eMERGE Network, identifying different user traits that impact engagement levels with the genetic data.
  • The findings suggest a need for better EHR integration strategies and highlight the potential of EHR log data to guide improvements in genomic research and clinician engagement.
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Background: Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is a common, familial genitourinary disorder, and a major cause of pediatric urinary tract infection (UTI) and kidney failure. The genetic basis of VUR is not well understood.

Methods: A diagnostic analysis sought rare, pathogenic copy number variant (CNV) disorders among 1737 patients with VUR.

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With the broader introduction of genomic medicine in research and clinical care, an increasing number of persons are offered genetic testing. Many factors, including genetic literacy, may impact the utilization of genetic results by patients and their families. We developed a rapid, self-administered measure of genetic literacy, called Genetic Literacy Fast Test (GeneLiFT).

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Carotid artery atherosclerotic disease (CAAD) is a risk factor for stroke. We used a genome-wide association (GWAS) approach to discover genetic variants associated with CAAD in participants in the electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network. We identified adult CAAD cases with unilateral or bilateral carotid artery stenosis and controls without evidence of stenosis from electronic health records at eight eMERGE sites.

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Background: Genomic assessment previously took months to result and was unable to impact clinical care in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The advent of rapid exome sequencing potentially changes this. We investigated the impact of rapid exome sequencing in a pilot study on pediatric patients admitted to a single PICU with new-onset metabolic/neurologic disease.

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The original version of this Article contained an error in the undergraduate degree awarded to the author Ian Halim, which was incorrectly given as BS. This has now been corrected to BA in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

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Purpose: Recruitment of participants from diverse backgrounds is crucial to the generalizability of genetic research, but has proven challenging. We retrospectively evaluated recruitment methods used for a study on return of genetic results.

Methods: The costs of study design, development, and participant enrollment were calculated, and the characteristics of the participants enrolled through the seven recruitment methods were examined.

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The link between cardiovascular diseases and neurological disorders has been widely observed in the aging population. Disease prevention and treatment rely on understanding the potential genetic nexus of multiple diseases in these categories. In this study, we were interested in detecting pleiotropy, or the phenomenon in which a genetic variant influences more than one phenotype.

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In the version of this article initially published, affiliation 38 incorrectly read "ICNU-Nephrology and Urology Department, Barcelona, Spain"; "Renal Division, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain" is the correct affiliation. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

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Importance: Thyroid hormone levels are tightly regulated through feedback inhibition by thyrotropin, produced by the pituitary gland. Hyperthyroidism is overwhelmingly due to thyroid disorders and is well recognized to contribute to a wide spectrum of cardiovascular morbidity, particularly the increasingly common arrhythmia atrial fibrillation (AF).

Objective: To determine the association between genetically determined thyrotropin levels and AF.

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Background: Exome sequencing is emerging as a first-line diagnostic method in some clinical disciplines, but its usefulness has yet to be examined for most constitutional disorders in adults, including chronic kidney disease, which affects more than 1 in 10 persons globally.

Methods: We conducted exome sequencing and diagnostic analysis in two cohorts totaling 3315 patients with chronic kidney disease. We assessed the diagnostic yield and, among the patients for whom detailed clinical data were available, the clinical implications of diagnostic and other medically relevant findings.

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Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) are a major cause of pediatric kidney failure. We performed a genome-wide analysis of copy number variants (CNVs) in 2,824 cases and 21,498 controls. Affected individuals carried a significant burden of rare exonic (that is, affecting coding regions) CNVs and were enriched for known genomic disorders (GD).

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Background: Exome sequencing is increasingly being used for clinical diagnostics, with an impetus to expand reporting of incidental findings across a wide range of disorders. Analysis of population cohorts can help reduce risk for genetic variant misclassification and resultant unnecessary referrals to subspecialists.

Objective: To examine the burden of candidate pathogenic variants for kidney and genitourinary disorders emerging from exome sequencing.

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Literature about torsade de pointes induced by azole antifungal agents is scarce, despite the well-known association. Furthermore, little is known about the latency time between commencing an azole antifungal agent and developing torsade de pointes. The objectives of the present study were therefore to identify all cases of torsade de pointes associated with systemic azole antifungal use reported to the WHO monitoring centre (Uppsala, Sweden) and to determine the latency times between commencing the azole and developing torsade de pointes.

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Article Synopsis
  • Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was studied for its effectiveness in diagnosing adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) of unknown origins, with a focus on a cohort of 92 patients at an academic medical center.
  • WES successfully provided a diagnosis for 24% of patients, uncovering 13 distinct genetic disorders, including significant findings related to PARN mutations linked to renal fibrosis and a BRCA2 mutation associated with breast cancer.
  • Although results impacted clinical management by leading to targeted treatments and family screenings, the study's small sample size and specific recruitment limit the applicability of findings to the larger CKD population.
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Renal agenesis and hypodysplasia (RHD) are major causes of pediatric chronic kidney disease and are highly genetically heterogeneous. We conducted whole-exome sequencing in 202 case subjects with RHD and identified diagnostic mutations in genes known to be associated with RHD in 7/202 case subjects. In an additional affected individual with RHD and a congenital heart defect, we found a homozygous loss-of-function (LOF) variant in SLIT3, recapitulating phenotypes reported with Slit3 inactivation in the mouse.

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Background: The DiGeorge syndrome, the most common of the microdeletion syndromes, affects multiple organs, including the heart, the nervous system, and the kidney. It is caused by deletions on chromosome 22q11.2; the genetic driver of the kidney defects is unknown.

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