Vulnerability of migrant women during disasters: a scoping review of the literature.

Background: Disasters have an unequal impact on the population because of differences in conditions of vulnerability, exposure, and capacity. Migrants and women are among the groups that are at greater risk for and disproportionately affected by disasters. However, despite the large body of evidence that analyzes their vulnerability separately, disaster research that targets migrant women is scant.

Utilisation of semiconductor sequencing for detection of actionable fusions in solid tumours.

Oncogenic fusions represent compelling druggable targets in solid tumours highlighted by the recent site agnostic FDA approval of larotrectinib for NTRK rearrangements. However screening for fusions in routinely processed tissue samples is constrained due to degradation of nucleic acid as a result of formalin fixation., To investigate the clinical utility of semiconductor sequencing optimised for detection of actionable fusion transcripts in formalin fixed samples, we have undertaken an analysis of test trending data generated by a clinically validated next generation sequencing platform designed to capture 867 of the most clinically relevant druggable driver-partner oncogenic fusions.

Utilisation of semiconductor sequencing for the detection of predictive biomarkers in glioblastoma.

The standard treatment for glioblastoma involves a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy but have limited impact on survival. The exponential increase in targeted agents directed at pivotal oncogenic pathways now provide new therapeutic opportunities for this tumour type. However, lack of comprehensive precision oncology testing at diagnosis means such therapeutic opportunities are potentially overlooked.

SARS-CoV-2 testing and sequencing for international arrivals reveals significant cross border transmission of high risk variants into the United Kingdom.

Background: Mandatory Day 2 and Day 8 PCR testing and variant sequencing of international arrivals has been recently introduced by the UK Government to mitigate against cross-border transmission of high-risk SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Methods: SARS-CoV-2 testing and sequencing combines TaqPath CE-IVD COVID-19 RT-PCR with Ion AmpliSeq SARS-CoV-2 Next Generation Sequencing Assay. Retrospective analysis of test trending data was performed from initiation of testing on the 11th March through to the 14th April 2021.