Publications
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WAE-PCN: Wasserstein-autoencoded Pareto Conditioned Networks Vrije Universiteit Brussel
In real-world problems, decision makers often have to balance mul- tiple objectives, which can result in trade-offs. One approach to finding a compromise is to use a multi-objective approach, which builds a set of all optimal trade-offs called a Pareto front. Learning the Pareto front requires exploring many different parts of the state- space, which can be time-consuming and increase the chances of encountering undesired or dangerous parts of ...
Back-to-Africa introductions of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the main cause of tuberculosis in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania KU Leuven
In settings with high tuberculosis (TB) endemicity, distinct genotypes of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) often differ in prevalence. However, the factors leading to these differences remain poorly understood. Here we studied the MTBC population in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania over a six-year period, using 1,082 unique patient-derived MTBC whole-genome sequences (WGS) and associated clinical data. We show that the TB epidemic in Dar es ...
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Replacement of Delta as Predominant Variant, Puerto Rico KU Leuven
We reconstructed the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic caused by Omicron variant in Puerto Rico by sampling genomes collected during October 2021-May 2022. Our study revealed that Omicron BA.1 emerged and replaced Delta as the predominant variant in December 2021. Increased transmission rates and a dynamic landscape of Omicron sublineage infections followed.
Glycomics-based serum markers as reliable tool for assessment of viral response after treatment with direct-acting antiviral drugs in hepatitis C virus infection Vrije Universiteit Brussel Flanders Institute for Biotechnology
Objectives: Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have a genuine risk of developing liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, potentially resulting in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a risk that remains even after sustained viral response (SVR). Glycomics-based biomarkers are an attractive tool to closely monitor these patients during and after antiviral treatment, as alterations in the abundance of N-glycans reflect an altered state of ...
Fractal dimension based geographical clustering of COVID-19 time series data KU Leuven Hasselt University
Understanding the local dynamics of COVID-19 transmission calls for an approach that characterizes the incidence curve in a small geographical unit. Given that incidence curves exhibit considerable day-to-day variation, the fractal structure of the time series dynamics is investigated for the Flanders and Brussels Regions of Belgium. For each statistical sector, the smallest administrative geographical entity in Belgium, fractal dimensions of ...
Indoor air surveillance and factors associated with respiratory pathogen detection in community settings in Belgium KU Leuven
Currently, the real-life impact of indoor climate, human behaviour, ventilation and air filtration on respiratory pathogen detection and concentration are poorly understood. This hinders the interpretability of bioaerosol quantification in indoor air to surveil respiratory pathogens and transmission risk. We tested 341 indoor air samples from 21 community settings in Belgium for 29 respiratory pathogens using qPCR. On average, 3.9 pathogens were ...
Innovative Fabrication of Hollow Microneedle Arrays Enabling Blood Sampling with a Self-Powered Microfluidic Patch KU Leuven
Microneedles are gaining a lot of attention in the context of sampling cutaneous biofluids such as capillary blood. Their minimal invasiveness and user-friendliness make them a prominent substitute for venous puncture or finger-pricking. Although the latter is suitable for self-sampling, the impracticality of manual handling and the difficulty of obtaining enough qualitative sample is driving the search for better solutions. In this context, ...
Structural insights into TRAP association with ribosome-Sec61 complex and translocon inhibition by a CADA derivative. KU Leuven
During cotranslational translocation, the signal peptide of a nascent chain binds Sec61 translocon to initiate protein transport through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. Our cryo-electron microscopy structure of ribosome-Sec61 shows binding of an ordered heterotetrameric translocon-associated protein (TRAP) complex, in which TRAP-γ is anchored at two adjacent positions of 28S ribosomal RNA and interacts with ribosomal protein L38 and ...
Sequencing directly from antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests in Belgium, 2022: a gamechanger in genomic surveillance? KU Leuven
BackgroundLateral flow antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for viral infections constitute a fast, cheap and reliable alternative to nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). Whereas leftover material from NAATs can be employed for genomic analysis of positive samples, there is a paucity of information on whether viral genetic characterisation can be achieved from archived Ag-RDTs.AimTo evaluate the possibility of retrieving ...