32 projects
Status
Domain
Organization Type
AICovIX - AI based diagnosis of Covid-19 from CT/X-Ray imaging
The gold standard for Covid-19 diagnosis is RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 from the upper airways. This method suffers from decreased accuracy in more severe disease stages affecting the lower airways. False negative PCR tests in severe cases impose a massive risk to the health system, promoting intra-hospital disease spread in the actual pandemic situation. Reports from China indicate false negative PCR from upper airway samples in severe Covid-19 pneumonia in more than 50% of the cases. Therefore, complementary tests for the detection of these dangerous cases are urgently needed. The value of che...
COVID-19 and Neurturin
SARS-Cov-2 is a coronavirus is at the origin of the current COVID-19 pandemic, which poses a global and significant threat to public health worldwide. Although several treatment modalities have been evaluated, none has allowed a therapeutic breakthrough until now. New treatment modalities are therefore urgently needed. We have previously described that neurturin, a member of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor family, expressed not only as a growth factor in the nervous system but also the immune system, displays clear anti-inflammatory properties in mouse asthma models. Indeed,...
Direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA with field effect transistors
The current methods for COVID-19 diagnosis suffer shortages of fundamental reagents and lack of reliability. The main, most secure, method is PCR, with high sensitivity, though it has some lack of reliability due to inefficiencies in the RNA transcription, and the sensitivities to virus mutations. Though, the main bottleneck is the shortage of enzymes during the current pandemic. The second group of methods are less reliable rapid serologic tests, which are sensitive only after 7 days of infection. It is also limited by the availability of antibodies. We propose direct detection of RNA usin...
Rapid serological profiling of SARS-CoV-2 antibody response
Development of antibodies is the method by which we derive immunity to a pathogen. Tracking of the development of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) is important in our understanding of this pandemic and formation of an exit strategy. Antibodies can identify different parts or proteins of a pathogen known as antigens. Current tests do not distinguish which antigens antibodies have been developed against or the level of antibody production. Using protein arrays, printed at the LIH RPPA facility we will provide a more complete analysis of the antibody development.
Phylodynamic real-time monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 genomes
The current Covid-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 visus is an extreme world wide challenge to mankind's health. Current approaches to manage this challenge rely on reliable testing as well as the development of vaccination which both depend on the stability of specific sequences of the viral genome. Sequencing of viral genomes from patient samples provides deep insights on pathogen dynamics in terms of phylogeny and evolution allowing for spreading analysis and adaptation of molecular diagnostic and prevention strategies. Hence, the automatic dynamic analysis of data derived from v...
Relation of severity of COVID-19 infection to nutrient status, oxidative stress, inflammation & v...
Background: Severity of COVID-19 infection is related to host-factors including the immune and respiratory system, gut health, and pre-existing cardio-metabolic diseases. Enhanced inflammation and oxidative stress may worsen the prognosis of COVID-19 subjects. An imbalanced diet poor in essential micronutrients, dietary fiber and phytochemicals and containing insufficient proteins and antioxidant properties can aggravate these aspects, worsening the immune system and infection risk, especially in conjunction with enhanced visceral adiposity exacerbating chronic inflammation. Individuals wit...
Multi-omics evaluation of microbial co-infection as marker of COVID-19 severity -(CO-INFECTOMICS)
The main goal of this project is to understand if SARS-CoV2 co-infections are a predictive marker of disease severity in the Luxembourgish population. To achieve this, the study will compare the respiratory and stool samples of mild and severe SARS-CoV2 positive patients. Using metagenomics and metatranscriptomics, microbial profiles of the respiratory and intestinal tracts will be investigated, with a specific attention for co-infections. Moreover, individual microbial profiles will be correlated to the health parameters and immune response. We hope that the CO-INFECTOMICS project will ena...
Docking and binding affinity prediction for candidate small molecule inhibitors of COVID-19 prote...
Currently no vaccine or sufficiently validated pharmacological treatment is available for COVID-19. Drug-based strategies to reduce the viral load in patients with severe forms of COVID-19 include the repurposing of existing small molecule compounds that inhibit the activity of key viral proteins, or human proteins involved in mediating the viral entry or release from the host cell. However, so far, the identified small molecule inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 target proteins studied in-vitro have significant limitations in terms of their binding affinity to the target, their bioavailability in t...
