Background: DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) is responsible for epigenetic remodeling of the genome during spermatogenesis and maintenance of DNA methylation. The current study aimed to assess the possible association between paternal polymorphic variants of the gene encoding DNMT1 enzyme and the risk of nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) expression in offspring.
Methods: Nine DNMT1 polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants were analyzed in 101 fathers of NSCL/P Chilean cases and 187 fathers of controls.
Unlabelled: Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is an autosomal dominant, multisystem disorder that typically presents with cholestasis, cardiac, ocular, skeletal, vascular and renal abnormalities, and distinct facial features. Most cases are due to variants in the JAG1 gene, with only a small percentage involving a complete gene deletion.
Objective: to contribute to the phenotype delineation and interpretation of a microdeletion not previously described in the literature on chromosome 20.
The sensitization of surface-anchored organic dyes on semiconductor nanocrystals through energy transfer mechanisms has received increasing attention owing to their potential applications in photodynamic therapy, photocatalysis, and photon upconversion. Here, we investigate the sensitization mechanisms through visible-light excitation of two nanohybrids based on CsPbBr perovskite nanocrystals (NC) functionalized with borondipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes, specifically 8-(4-carboxyphenyl)-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BDP) and 8-(4-carboxyphenyl)-2,6-diiodo-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (I2-BDP), named as NC@BDP and NC@I2-BDP, respectively. The ability of I2-BDP dyes to extract hot hole carriers from the perovskite nanocrystals is comprehensively investigated by combining steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence as well as femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy with spectroelectrochemistry and quantum chemical theoretical calculations, which together provide a complete overview of the phenomena that take place in the nanohybrid.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRett syndrome (RS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder first described in 1966. It is characterized by the arrest and regression of intellectual, motor, and communicative developmental milestones, followed by the appearance of hand stereotypies after an apparently normal development period. Pathogenic variants in the MECP2 gene have been identified as a cause in most cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe illustrate here the high photocatalytic activity of sustainable lead-free metal halide nanocrystals (NCs), namely, CsSbBr NCs, in the reduction of -substituted benzyl bromides in the absence of a cocatalyst. The electronic properties of the benzyl bromide substituents and the substrate affinity to the NC surface determine the selectivity in C-C homocoupling under visible light irradiation. This photocatalyst can be reused for at least three cycles and preserves its good performance with a turnover number of ca.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo assess the association between variants and nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in Chile and the effects of these variants on global DNA methylation. The authors obtained genotypes for nine variants from 247 cases and 453 controls for genotype-phenotype associations. The effect of significant polymorphisms on global DNA methylation (percentage of long interspersed element-1 methylation) was evaluated in a subsample of 95 controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aims of this study were to assess the association between polymorphisms within genes involved in vitamin B12 transport and nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) and global DNA methylation in Chile. From 247 cases and 453 controls, we obtained variant genotypes for CBLIF, CUBN, AMN, ABCC1, CD320, and TCN2 from a single nucleotide polymorphisms array. Global DNA methylation in 95 controls was obtained through LINE-1 methylation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In 2000, Chile's Ministry of Health mandated fortification of wheat flour with folic acid at a concentration of 2.2 mg/kg to prevent neural tube defects (NTDs), resulting in a 50% reduction in NTD prevalence. Concerns about possible collateral effects of high folic acid intake led, in 2009, to decrease the folic acid fortification to 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe long-standing debate about the morphology of colloidal methylammonium lead bromide perovskites nanocrystals, manufactured by our nontemplate synthetic strategy reported in 2014, is now resolved; specifically, the highest green emissive single nanoplatelets (of up to 93%) with long-term chemical and photochemical stability have been obtained after suitable purification steps.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The Latin American Network of Congenital Malformations: ReLAMC was established in 2017 to provide accurate congenital anomaly surveillance. This study used data from ReLAMC registries to quantify the prevalence of microcephaly from 2010 to 2017 (before, during and after the Zika virus epidemic).
Design: Nine ReLAMC congenital anomaly registries provided case-level data or aggregate data for any live births, still births or terminations of pregnancy with microcephaly.
Ruddlesden-Popper lead halide perovskite (RP-LHP) nano-nanostructures can be regarded as self-assembled quantum wells or superlattices of 3D perovskites with an intrinsic quantum well thickness of a single or a few (n=2-4) lead halide layers; the quantum wells are separated by organic layers. They can be scaled down to a single quantum well dimension. Here, the preparation of highly (photo)chemical and colloidal stable hybrid LHP nanosheets (NSs) of ca.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to evaluate, in a case-control design, the association between maternal genotypes for variants in 23 genes involved in folate/one-carbon metabolism and nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) in a Chilean population. After applying several filters to an Illumina array, we extracted 175 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 150 mothers of NSCL/P cases and 150 control women. Association was evaluated using computed odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) in additive, recessive, and dominant models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the framework of the vaccination campaign against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Chilean Ministry of Health requested advice from the Genetics Branch of the Chilean Society of Pediatrics, to define the level of prioritization for people with Down Syndrome . A panel of geneticists worked on the development of this consensus, in which not only patients with Down syndrome were included, but the search was extended to patients with other types of disabilities, in both pediatric and adult ages in or der to contribute to the development of public health measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. The consensus concludes that, given the prevalence of comorbidities associated with Down syndrome, the higher incidence of cases with severe COVID-19 in this population group and a higher mortality, individuals with trisomy 21 should be considered as a high-risk population, and therefore, vaccina tion against SARS-CoV-2 should have a high priority for all people with Down syndrome regardless of their age (except for the age limit established by the clinical trials of each vaccine), and should be preceded only by the groups of health personnel and adults aged > 60-65 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet
December 2020
The early detection of congenital anomaly epidemics occurs when comparing current with previous frequencies in the same population. The success of epidemiologic surveillance depends on numerous factors, including the accuracy of the rates available in the base period, wide population coverage, and short periodicity of analysis. This study aims to describe the Latin American network of congenital malformation surveillance: ReLAMC, created to increase epidemiologic surveillance in Latin America.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo evaluate the risk of nonsyndromic orofacial clefts (NSOFCs) associated with LINE-1 methylation, as a marker of global DNA methylation, and the effect of MTHFR functional variants on this variable. LINE-1 methylation was evaluated by bisulfite modification coupled to DNA pyrosequencing in 95 NSOFC cases and 95 controls. In these subjects, genotypes for variants c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe demonstrate here the suitability of CsPbBr nanoparticles as photosensitizers for a demanding photoredox catalytic homo- and cross-coupling of alkyl bromides at room temperature by merely using visible light and an electron donor, thanks to the cooperative action between the nanoparticle surface and organic capping.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe describe here the preparation of a novel nanohybrid comprising a two-layer cesium lead bromide nanoplatelet, [CsPbBr3]PbBr4 NPL, containing europium(ii) bromide (EuBr2) nanodots, by ultrasound/heating treatment of toluene dispersions of the CsPbBr3 nanomaterial in the presence of EuBr2 nanodots. The hybrid nanoplatelets exhibit strong excitonic and narrow emission peaks characteristic of ultrathin NPLs at 430 and 436 nm, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) is a birth defect for which several genes susceptibility genes been proposed. Consequently, it has been suggested that many of these genes belong to common inter-related pathways during craniofacial development gene-gene interaction. We evaluated the presence of gene-gene interaction for single nucleotide polymorphisms within interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6), muscle segment homeobox 1 (MSX1), bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) and transforming growth factor 3 (TGFB3) genes in NSCL/P risk in Chilean case-parent trios.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA novel preparation of lead halide, CHNHPbBr, perovskite nanoparticle solid films from colloidal "naked" nanoparticles, that is, dispersible nanoparticles without any surfactant, is reported. The colloids are obtained by simply adding potassium ions, whose counterions are both more lipophilic and less coordinating than bromide ions, to the perovskite precursor solutions (CHNHBr/PbBr in dimethylformamide) following the reprecipitation strategy. The naked nanoparticles exhibit a low tendency to aggregate in solution, and they effectively self-assembled on a substrate by centrifugation of the colloid, leading to homogeneous nanoparticle solid films with arbitrary thickness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA novel nanoplatform composed of three types of materials with different functionalities, specifically core-shell FeO@Au nanoparticles encapsulated near the outer surface of mesoporous silica (mSiO) nanoparticles, has been successfully synthesised and used to enhance the efficiency of a photosensitiser, namely Rose Bengal, in singlet oxygen generation. FeO is responsible for the unusual location of the FeO@Au nanoparticle, while the plasmonic shell acts as an optical antenna. In addition, the mesoporous silica matrix firmly encapsulates Rose Bengal by chemical bonding inside the pores, thus guaranteeing its photostability, and in turn making the nanosystem biocompatible.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPublic Health Nutr
August 2017
Objective: Orofacial clefts (OFC) are the most prevalent craniofacial birth defect. Folic acid (FA) supplementation has been demonstrated as an effective intervention to reduce risk of OFC occurrence. However, the effect of mandatory FA fortification of wheat and/or maize flour on OFC prevalence has shown controversial results among countries adopting this policy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF