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- Abellán, C., et al.
(author)
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Challenging Local Realism with Human Choices
- 2018
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In: Nature. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 557, s. 212-216
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A Bell test is a randomized trial that compares experimental observations against the philosophical worldview of local realism , in which the properties of the physical world are independent of our observation of them and no signal travels faster than light. A Bell test requires spatially distributed entanglement, fast and high-efficiency detection and unpredictable measurement settings. Although technology can satisfy the first two of these requirements, the use of physical devices to choose settings in a Bell test involves making assumptions about the physics that one aims to test. Bell himself noted this weakness in using physical setting choices and argued that human 'free will' could be used rigorously to ensure unpredictability in Bell tests. Here we report a set of local-realism tests using human choices, which avoids assumptions about predictability in physics. We recruited about 100,000 human participants to play an online video game that incentivizes fast, sustained input of unpredictable selections and illustrates Bell-test methodology. The participants generated 97,347,490 binary choices, which were directed via a scalable web platform to 12 laboratories on five continents, where 13 experiments tested local realism using photons, single atoms, atomic ensembles and superconducting devices. Over a 12-hour period on 30 November 2016, participants worldwide provided a sustained data flow of over 1,000 bits per second to the experiments, which used different human-generated data to choose each measurement setting. The observed correlations strongly contradict local realism and other realistic positions in bi-partite and tri-partite 12 scenarios. Project outcomes include closing the 'freedom-of-choice loophole' (the possibility that the setting choices are influenced by 'hidden variables' to correlate with the particle properties), the utilization of video-game methods for rapid collection of human-generated randomness, and the use of networking techniques for global participation in experimental science.
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- Fresard, Laure, et al.
(author)
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Identification of rare-disease genes using blood transcriptome sequencing and large control cohorts
- 2019
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In: Nature Medicine. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 25:6, s. 911-919
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It is estimated that 350 million individuals worldwide suffer from rare diseases, which are predominantly caused by mutation in a single gene(1). The current molecular diagnostic rate is estimated at 50%, with whole-exome sequencing (WES) among the most successful approaches(2-5). For patients in whom WES is uninformative, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has shown diagnostic utility in specific tissues and diseases(6-8). This includes muscle biopsies from patients with undiagnosed rare muscle disorders(6,9), and cultured fibroblasts from patients with mitochondrial disorders(7). However, for many individuals, biopsies are not performed for clinical care, and tissues are difficult to access. We sought to assess the utility of RNA-seq from blood as a diagnostic tool for rare diseases of different pathophysiologies. We generated whole-blood RNA-seq from 94 individuals with undiagnosed rare diseases spanning 16 diverse disease categories. We developed a robust approach to compare data from these individuals with large sets of RNA-seq data for controls (n = 1,594 unrelated controls and n = 49 family members) and demonstrated the impacts of expression, splicing, gene and variant filtering strategies on disease gene identification. Across our cohort, we observed that RNA-seq yields a 7.5% diagnostic rate, and an additional 16.7% with improved candidate gene resolution.
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- Christiansen, J. S., et al.
(author)
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Growth Hormone Research Society perspective on the development of long-acting growth hormone preparations
- 2016
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In: European Journal of Endocrinology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0804-4643 .- 1479-683X. ; 174:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: The Growth Hormone (GH) Research Society (GRS) convened a workshop to address important issues regarding trial design, efficacy, and safety of long-acting growth hormone preparations (LAGH). Participants: A closed meeting of 55 international scientists with expertise in GH, including pediatric and adult endocrinologists, basic scientists, regulatory scientists, and participants from the pharmaceutical industry. Evidence: Current literature was reviewed for gaps in knowledge. Expert opinion was used to suggest studies required to address potential safety and efficacy issues. Consensus process: Following plenary presentations summarizing the literature, breakout groups discussed questions framed by the planning committee. Attendees reconvened after each breakout session to share group reports. A writing team compiled the breakout session reports into a draft document that was discussed and revised in an open forum on the concluding day. This was edited further and then circulated to attendees from academic institutions for review after the meeting. Participants from pharmaceutical companies did not participate in the planning, writing, or in the discussions and text revision on the final day of the workshop. Scientists from industry and regulatory agencies reviewed the manuscript to identify any factual errors. Conclusions: LAGH compounds may represent an advance over daily GH injections because of increased convenience and differing phamacodynamic properties, providing the potential for improved adherence and outcomes. Better methods to assess adherence must be developed and validated. Long-term surveillance registries that include assessment of efficacy, cost-benefit, disease burden, quality of life, and safety are essential for understanding the impact of sustained exposure to LAGH preparations.
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- Allen, D. B., et al.
(author)
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GH safety workshop position paper: a critical appraisal of recombinant human GH therapy in children and adults
- 2016
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In: European Journal of Endocrinology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0804-4643 .- 1479-683X. ; 174:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recombinant human GH (rhGH) has been in use for 30 years, and over that time its safety and efficacy in children and adults has been subject to considerable scrutiny. In 2001, a statement from the GH Research Society (GRS) concluded that 'for approved indications, GH is safe'; however, the statement highlighted a number of areas for on-going surveillance of long-term safety, including cancer risk, impact on glucose homeostasis, and use of high dose pharmacological rhGH treatment. Over the intervening years, there have been a number of publications addressing the safety of rhGH with regard to mortality, cancer and cardiovascular risk, and the need for long-term surveillance of the increasing number of adults who were treated with rhGH in childhood. Against this backdrop of interest in safety, the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE), the GRS, and the Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES) convened a meeting to reappraise the safety of rhGH. The ouput of the meeting is a concise position statement.
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- Krick, B. A., et al.
(author)
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Ultralow wear fluoropolymer composites : Nanoscale functionality from microscale fillers
- 2016
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In: Tribology International. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 0301-679X .- 1879-2464. ; 95, s. 245-255
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filled with certain alumina additives has wear rates over four orders of magnitude lower than unfilled PTFE. The mechanisms for this wear reduction have remained a mystery. In this work, we use a combination of techniques to show that porous, nanostructured alumina microfillers (not nanofillers) are critical for this wear reduction. The microscale alumina particles break during sliding into nanoscale fragments. X-ray microtomography, transmission electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy reveal nanoscale alumina fragments accumulated in the tribofilms. Tribochemically generated carboxylate endgroups bond to metal species in the transfer film and to alumina fragments in the surface of the polymer composite. These mechanically reinforced tribofilms create robust sliding surfaces and lead to a dramatic reduction in wear. © 2015 The Authors.
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