Proper Test Research Articles

Target product profile for readers of rapid diagnostic tests.

While equipment-free visual interpretation is a benefit of lateral-flow assays, automating the reading of rapid diagnostic tests promotes proper test performance, interpretation and reporting of the results. We have created a target product profile that describes the minimal and optimal characteristics of various rapid diagnostic test readers. The product profile is intended to promote the development of effective, useful, sustainable rapid diagnostic test readers in support of health programmes worldwide. These readers may be custom hardware or software-only running on a general-purpose mobile device, for professional or lay use, and for medical or non-medical purposes. During the development of the product profile, the World Health Organization and FIND convened a development group of 40 leading scientists, experts, public health officials and regulators. We held a public consultation to which 27 individuals or organizations responded. The product profile calls for rapid diagnostic test readers that at minimum should: (i)interpret colorimetric tests with at least 95% agreement with expert visual interpretation; and (ii)automatically report results and associated data for the health programme. Optimally, readers should: (i)provide at least 98% agreement; (ii)operate with multiple models of rapid diagnostic tests; (iii)assist the user in performing each rapid diagnostic test according to the test instructions; and (iv)offer multiple configurations, operating modes and languages to suit the needs of diverse users, settings and health programmes.

Reexamination of traditional testing techniques for determining WRCs of woven geotextiles in full suction range

Woven geotextiles have been widely used in soil infrastructures for the reinforcement purpose. The hydraulic properties of a woven geotextile are not major reinforcement design parameters and the water retention capability of a woven geotextile is often ignored. The traditional testing techniques were designed for soils or nonwoven geotextiles, but not for woven geotextiles. Nowadays, a new type of woven geotextile with wicking fibers was developed which could be used for both drainage and reinforcement purposes. However, there are no proper testing techniques to determine the full-range water retention curve (WRC) for a woven geotextile, let alone for the wicking geotextile.This paper aimed at proposing a proper testing technique to determining the full-range WRC for the wicking geotextile and to compare the water retention capability of wicking and non-wicking geotextiles. Firstly, the traditional testing techniques were re-examined to check the suitability for characterizing the WRCs of woven geotextiles whose pore size distributions were anisotropic. Secondly, a proper testing technique was proposed and the WRCs of different types of woven geotextiles were determined. Thirdly, the WRCs of wicking and non-wicking geotextiles were compared to demonstrate the advantages of the wicking geotextile to hold and transport water under unsaturated conditions. Finally, the effect of wicking fiber on the water retention capability of the wicking geotextile was quantified.

Route : Roads Not Taken in UI Testing

Core features (functionalities) of an app can often be accessed and invoked in several ways, i.e., through alternative sequences of user-interface (UI) interactions. Given the manual effort of writing tests, developers often only consider the typical way of invoking features when creating the tests (i.e., the “sunny day scenario”). However, the alternative ways of invoking a feature are as likely to be faulty. These faults would go undetected without proper tests. To reduce the manual effort of creating UI tests and help developers more thoroughly examine the features of apps, we present Route , an automated tool for feature-based UI test augmentation for Android apps. Route first takes a UI test and the app under test as input. It then applies novel heuristics to find additional high-quality UI tests, consisting of both inputs and assertions, that verify the same feature as the original test in alternative ways. Application of Route on several dozen tests for popular apps on Google Play shows that for 96% of the existing tests, Route was able to generate at least one alternative test. Moreover, the fault detection effectiveness of augmented test suites in our experiments showed substantial improvements of up to 39% over the original test suites.

Unveiling and Unraveling Aggregation and Dispersion Fallacies in Group MCDM

Priorities in multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) convey the relevance preference of one criterion over another, which is usually reflected by imposing the non-negativity and unit-sum constraints. The processing of such priorities is different than other unconstrained data, but this point is often neglected by researchers, which results in fallacious statistical analysis. This article studies three prevalent fallacies in group MCDM along with solutions based on compositional data analysis to avoid misusing statistical operations. First, we use a compositional approach to aggregate the priorities of a group of DMs and show that the outcome of the compositional analysis is identical to the normalized geometric mean, meaning that the arithmetic mean should be avoided. Furthermore, a new aggregation method is developed, which is a robust surrogate for the geometric mean. We also discuss the errors in computing measures of dispersion, including standard deviation and distance functions. Discussing the fallacies in computing the standard deviation, we provide a probabilistic criteria ranking by developing proper Bayesian tests, where we calculate the extent to which a criterion is more important than another. Finally, we explain the errors in computing the distance between priorities, and a clustering algorithm is specially tailored based on proper distance metrics.

Concerning Trends in Likert Scale Usage in Human-robot Interaction: Towards Improving Best Practices

As robots become more prevalent, the importance of the field of human-robot interaction (HRI) grows accordingly. As such, we should endeavor to employ the best statistical practices in HRI research. Likert scales are commonly used metrics in HRI to measure perceptions and attitudes. Due to misinformation or honest mistakes, many HRI researchers do not adopt best practices when analyzing Likert data. We conduct a review of psychometric literature to determine the current standard for Likert scale design and analysis. Next, we conduct a survey of five years of the International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRIc) (2016 through 2020) and report on incorrect statistical practices and design of Likert scales [1,2,3,5,7]. During these years, only 4 of the 144 papers applied proper statistical testing to correctly designed Likert scales. We additionally conduct a survey of best practices across several venues and provide a comparative analysis to determine how Likert practices differ across the field of Human-robot Interaction. We find that a venue’s impact score negatively correlates with number of Likert-related errors and acceptance rate, and total number of papers accepted per venue positively correlates with the number of errors. We also find statistically significant differences between venues for the frequency of misnomer and design errors. Our analysis suggests there are areas for meaningful improvement in the design and testing of Likert scales. Based on our findings, we provide guidelines and a tutorial for researchers for developing and analyzing Likert scales and associated data. We also detail a list of recommendations to improve the accuracy of conclusions drawn from Likert data.

Frequency of Thyroid Cancer in Sonographically and Clinically Isolated Thyroid Nodules in Thyroidectomy Patients

Background: Thyroid nodules are common in areas with low iodine levels, in women, and in patients undergoing neck irradiation. Thyroid nodules can be detected and evaluated using high-resolution ultrasonography (US). US are used to assess the size and characteristics of thyroid nodules, as well as the presence of lymph node metastasis in the neck. It also makes guided fine-needle aspiration possible (US-FNA). Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study carried out at General Hospital, Rangamati during the period from January 2021 to January 2022. Total 87 patients include who were clinically and sonographycally diagnosed as solitary thyroid nodule. Nodules were excluded from this part of the study if images were not available for review. All the patients treated surgically, and histopathological examination carried out. Data were analyzed by standard statistical methods. Results were analyzed by proper test of significance. Results: Females predominated at 64(73.6%), 50(57.5%) had solitary nodules, 79(90.8%) were euthyroid, 29(33.3%) had nodules measuring 1.0-1.9 cm, 13(14.9%) were malignant, and 53(60.9%) underwent hemi-throidectomy. Calcification and intranodular vascularity in ultrasonography findings were statistically significant (p <0.05). Thyroid activity 100% of euthyroid tumors were malignant, while 66 (89.2%) were benign. Conclusion: The incidence of thyroid cancer was discovered to be 14.9% using sonography. Thyroid nodule size has a nonlinear effect on cancer risk. A 2.0 cm threshold is detected, after which cancer risk remains unchanged. All of the euthyroid tumors were malignant.

Stiffness of cold-recycled mixtures under variable deformation conditions in the IT-CY test

Stiffness modulus belongs to the most important properties describing the cold-recycled mixtures (CRM) in terms of their usability in road pavement structures. Previous research proved that this property is strongly dependent on the scheme and conditions of the test (temperature and time of loading) and the time that has passed since the compaction of the specimen or pavement layer. It is a result of the influence of two different types of bonds – hydraulic bonds from cement and bituminous bonds from bituminous emulsion or foamed bitumen. Research presented in this paper showed that the target horizontal deformation values selected during the stiffness modulus test have a strong impact on the obtained results as well. In this paper the popular Indirect Tensile Stiffness Modulus (ITSM) test on cylindrical specimen (IT-CY scheme) was used to show the dependence of the stiffness modulus values on the selected target horizontal deformation level. Research was conducted on four different CRM mixtures and three reference materials. The research proved that even for a narrow deformation range the CRMs do not present linear viscoelastic behavior and display very high effort of material even for typical test conditions. In consequence, they are very prone to failure. Research also proved that CRM mixtures present different rheological behavior than cement concrete or asphalt concrete, and more attention should be given to establishing proper test conditions. Based on the research, it was determined that the recommended target horizontal deformation in IT-CY test of CRM should be reduced to 3 µm.

A PROSPECTIVE CLINICAL STUDY OF SERUM BIOMARKERS WITH TREATMENT OUTCOME OF EPITHELIAL OVARIAN CANCER CASES

Introduction: Ovarian cancer has worst prognosis and high mortality rate due to delayed onset of symptoms and lack of proper screening test that leads to late diagnosis in the advanced stages. Folate and vitamin B12 are involved in one carbon metabolism as cofactor and also has a role in conversion of homocysteine to methionine. Aberration in these processes may amplify carcinogenesis. Objective: To analyse the role of serum level of CA125, Folate, Vitamin B12 & Homocysteine as diagnostic tool in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer. Methods & Materials: 35 diagnosed cases of epithelial ovarian carcinoma were collected from Outpatient and Inpatient Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology as per Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status. Serum levels of CA125, Folate, Vitamin B12 and Homocysteine were assayed at the time of diagnosis, 3 months and 6 months post treatment. Comparison between pre and post treatment serum levels of parameters were analysed by Graph Pad Prism version 8.4.3. Results: Mean age of developing ovarian cancer is 51± 9 years. Pre-treatment Serum CA125 levels (mean 1021 ± 800.5 units/ml) & Serum Homocysteine levels (mean 11.23 ± 2.164 ng/ml) were signicantly higher than 3 months & 6 months post-treatment serum levels. Pretreatment Serum Folate levels (mean 3.231 ± 1.506 ng/ml) & Serum Vitamin B12 levels (mean 280.6 ± 140.8 ng/ml) were signicantly lower than 3 months & 6 months post-treatment serum levels. Conclusion: The serum levels of selected parameters were signicantly altered in cases of epithelial ovarian cancer & plays an important role in process of carcinogenesis

Detection of paraneoplastic antibodies and their significance in paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes: a narrative review.

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS) are a group of rare syndromes associated with immunopathological process and tumors. Paraneoplastic autoantibodies are important for the diagnosis of PNS and for searching for underlying tumors. With the development of detection methods and discovery of new autoantibodies, the 2004 guidelines on PNS have recently been updated by a worldwide PNS-Care expert group. For clinicians, proper testing methods and testing results explanation are important for the diagnosis and treatment of PNS. This review aims to review the detection of paraneoplastic autoantibodies and the significance of testing results. We summarize the studies on detection methods, association of autoantibodies and PNS or tumors, particularly the guidelines of PNS. Antibodies are divided into 3 groups in the context of PNS according to the frequency of cancer association regardless of their eventual pathogenic effect. Instead of well-characterized antibodies and partially-characterized antibodies, high-risk antibodies, intermediate risk antibodies and lower risk antibodies were applied. According to the location of recognized antigens, these autoantibodies are divided as anti-intracellular antigen antibodies and neuronal surface antibodies (NSAbs). Tissue-based assays is recommended as screening method for paraneoplastic antibodies. Moreover, this method is helpful to discover new autoantibodies. A combination of a screening method [tissue-based assays (TBA)] and a confirmatory test [immunoblot and cell-based assay (CBA)] can improve sensitivity and specificity of the tests. Many PNSs are associated with specific antineuronal antibodies, but there is considerable diversity. Some autoantibodies are markers of specific neurological syndromes. Paraneoplastic antibodies are often specific for the PNS-associated tumor rather than for a particular neurological syndrome. Diagnosis of PNS depends on integrated analysis of clinical manifestations and auxiliary examinations. During diagnosis, selection of candidate antibodies for testing is challenging due to the varying clinical phenotypes and tumors associated with a given antibody. Broad antibody panels are more likely to capture causative antibodies and should be considered. According to different subtypes of autoantibodies, specific tumors or PNS should be considered. However, antibody titers, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) titers, should not be the primary driver of treatment decisions.

Possible Violation of the Spin-Hamiltonian Concept in Interpreting the Zero-Field Splitting.

The majority of experimental data in electron spin resonance and molecular magnetism are interpreted in terms of the spin-Hamiltonian (SH) formalism. However, this is an approximate theory that requires a proper testing. In the older variant, the multielectron terms are used as a basis in which the D-tensor components are evaluated by employing the second-order perturbation theory (PT) for nondegenerate states; here, the spin-orbit interaction expressed via the spin-orbit splitting parameter λ serves for the perturbation. The model space is restricted only to the fictitious spin functions |S, M⟩. In the case of the orbital (quasi) degeneracy of the ground term, the PT tends to diverge and the subtracted D, E, and g parameters are false. In the second variant working in the "complete active space" (CAS), the spin-orbit coupling operator is involved by the variation method resulting in the spin-orbit multiplets (energies and eigenvectors) The multiplets can be evaluated either by applying ab initio CASSCF + NEVPT2 + SOC calculations or by using semiempirical generalized crystal-field theory (with the one-electron SOC operator depending upon ξ). The resulting states can be projected onto the subspace of the spin-only kets in the way that the eigenvalues stay invariant. Such an effective Hamiltonian matrix can be reconstructed using six independent components of the symmetric D-tensor from which the D and E values are obtained by solving linear equations. The eigenvectors of the spin-orbit multiplets in the CAS allow determining the dominating composition of the spin projection─cumulative weights of |±M⟩. These are conceptually different from those generated by the SH alone. It is shown that in some cases, the SH theory works satisfactorily for a series of transition-metal complexes; however, sometimes it fails. The ab initio calculations on the SH parameters are compared with the approximate generalized crystal-field theory conducted at the experimental geometry of the chromophore. In total, 12 metal complexes have been analyzed. One of the criteria that assesses the validity of SH is the projection norm N for spin multiplets (this has not to be far from 1). Another criterion is the gap in the spectrum of the spin-orbit multiplets that separates the hypothetical (fictitious) spin-only manifold from the rest of the states.

Accuracy of Cesarean Scar Indicators for Predicting Intra-abdominal Adhesions

Background: The cesarean section rate has increased in the last decade, a significant risk factor for intra-abdominal adhesion. This study investigated the diagnostic accuracy of cesarean scar indicators for intra-abdominal adhesions in pregnant women. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on pregnant women with a previous cesarean section who were candidates for elective repeated cesarean section. We gathered demographic information, including age, number of prior cesarean sections, past medical and surgical history, the time since the last operation, and the inspection of the cesarean incision. The evidence of pelvic adhesion was calculated in the operating room by the Manchester scar scale, and intra-abdominal adhesions were graded using a modified Nair's classification. The data were analyzed by proper tests. Results: One hundred pregnant women were included in the study and divided into two groups with high and low incision indices. In the low incision index group, 82.1% had a history of one cesarean section, and 1.3% had three or more, and in the group with a high incision index, 54.5% had a history of one cesarean section, and 13.6% had three times or more (P < 0.05). Women with a high incision index had a higher adhesion rate than the other group (P < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of the scar index in the diagnosis of adhesions were 57.48% and 92.30%, respectively. Conclusions: It is challenging to accurately predict the severity of adhesions resulting from cesarean section, but it is urged to prevent an unnecessary cesarean section.

Model organism life extending therapeutics modulate diverse nodes in the drug-gene-microbe tripartite human longevity interactome

Advances in antiaging drug/lead discovery in animal models constitute a large body of literature on novel senotherapeutics and geroprotectives. However, with little direct evidence or mechanism of action in humans—these drugs are utilized as nutraceuticals or repurposed supplements without proper testing directions, appropriate biomarkers, or consistent in-vivo models. In this study, we take previously identified drug candidates that have significant evidence of prolonging lifespan and promoting healthy aging in model organisms, and simulate them in human metabolic interactome networks. Screening for drug-likeness, toxicity, and KEGG network correlation scores, we generated a library of 285 safe and bioavailable compounds. We interrogated this library to present computational modeling-derived estimations of a tripartite interaction map of animal geroprotective compounds in the human molecular interactome extracted from longevity, senescence, and dietary restriction-associated genes. Our findings reflect previous studies in aging-associated metabolic disorders, and predict 25 best-connected drug interactors including Resveratrol, EGCG, Metformin, Trichostatin A, Caffeic Acid and Quercetin as direct modulators of lifespan and healthspan-associated pathways. We further clustered these compounds and the functionally enriched subnetworks therewith to identify longevity-exclusive, senescence-exclusive, pseudo-omniregulators and omniregulators within the set of interactome hub genes. Additionally, serum markers for drug-interactions, and interactions with potentially geroprotective gut microbial species distinguish the current study and present a holistic depiction of optimum gut microbial alteration by candidate drugs. These findings provide a systems level model of animal life-extending therapeutics in human systems, and act as precursors for expediting the ongoing global effort to find effective antiaging pharmacological interventions. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Neurological Dysfunction in Long COVID Should Not Be Labelled as Functional Neurological Disorder.

There have been suggestions that Long COVID might be purely functional (meaning psychological) in origin. Labelling patients with neurological dysfunction in Long COVID as having functional neurological disorder (FND) in the absence of proper testing may be symptomatic of that line of thought. This practice is problematic for Long COVID patients, as motor and balance symptoms have been reported to occur in Long COVID frequently. FND is characterized by the presentation of symptoms that seem neurological but lack compatibility of the symptom with a neurological substrate. Although diagnostic classification according to the ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR is dependent predominantly on the exclusion of any other medical condition that could account for the symptoms, current neurological practice of FND classification allows for such comorbidity. As a consequence, Long COVID patients with motor and balance symptoms mislabeled as FND have no longer access to Long COVID care, whereas treatment for FND is seldom provided and is ineffective. Research into underlying mechanisms and diagnostic methods should explore how to determine whether motor and balance symptoms currently diagnosed as FND should be considered one part of Long COVID symptoms, in other words, one component of symptomatology, and in which cases they correctly represent FND. Research into rehabilitation models, treatment and integrated care are needed, which should take into account biological underpinnings as well as possible psychological mechanisms and the patient perspective.

Asymmetric Resistive Switching of Bilayer HfOx/AlOy and AlOy/HfOx Memristors: The Oxide Layer Characteristics and Performance Optimization for Digital Set and Analog Reset Switching

Understanding the resistance switching behavior of oxide-based memristive devices is critical for evaluating their usefulness in nonvolatile memory and/or in artificial neural networks. Oxide memristors often employ bi- or multilayered metal oxide thin films for improved performance compared to devices with a single-metal-oxide active layer. However, a clear understanding of the mechanisms that lead to improved performance for specific combinations of oxide thin films is still missing. Herein, we fabricated two types of bilayered heterostructure devices, with HfOx/AlOy and AlOy/HfOx bilayer films sandwiched between Au electrodes. Electrical responses of these bilayer devices reveal a digital set and an analog reset transition process. Single-layer HfOx and AlOy devices are also examined as control samples to validate the switching mechanism. The role of bilayered heterostructures is investigated using both the experimental and simulated results. Our results suggest that synergistic switching performance can be achieved with a proper combination of these materials, optimized structures, and proper test conditions. These results open the avenue for designing more efficient double- or multilayered memristive devices for an analog response.

A Visuospatial Planning Task Coupled with Eye-Tracker and Electroencephalogram Systems.

The planning process, characterized by the capability to formulate an organized plan to reach a goal, is essential for human goal-directed behavior. Since planning is compromised in several neuropsychiatric disorders, the implementation of proper clinical and experimental tests to examine planning is critical. Due to the nature of the deployment of planning, in which several cognitive domains participate, the assessment of planning and the design of behavioral paradigms coupled with neuroimaging methods are current challenges in cognitive neuroscience. A planning task was evaluated in combination with an electroencephalogram (EEG) system and eye movement recordings in 27 healthy adult participants. Planning can be separated into two stages: a mental planning stage in which a sequence of steps is internally represented and an execution stage in which motor action is used to achieve a previously planned goal. Our protocol included a planning task and a control task. The planning task involved solving 36 maze trials, each representing a zoo map. The task had four periods: i) planning, where the subjects were instructed to plan a path to visit the locations of four animals according to a set of rules; ii) maintenance, where the subjects had to retain the planned path in their working memory; iii) execution, where the subjects used eye movements to trace the previously planned path as indicated by the eye-tracker system; and iv) response, where the subjects reported the order of the visited animals. The control task had a similar structure, but the cognitive planning component was removed by modifying the task goal. The spatial and temporal patterns of the EEG revealed that planning induces a gradual and lasting rise in frontal-midline theta activity (FMθ) over time. The source of this activity was identified within the prefrontal cortex by source analyses. Our results suggested that the experimental paradigm combining EEG and eye-tracker systems was optimal for evaluating cognitive planning.

Tackling chikungunya and dengue crisis in Paraguay amidst COVID-19: an epidemiological alert - a correspondence.

Tackling chikungunya and dengue crisis in Paraguay amidst COVID-19: an epidemiological alert - a correspondence.

Disseminated form of herpes zoster in an immunocompromised patient with oculocutaneous albinism

Shingles is an infectious disease, caused by the reactivation of the Varicella Zoster Virus, which can be commonly seen in elderly persons. Disseminated and visceral forms are observed in immunocompromised individuals. Our case report presents Herpes Zoster in immunocompromised patient due to chronic lymphocytic leukemia with oculocutaneus albinism complicated with sepsis and pneumonia. The diagnosis and treatment were made in accurate and timely manner, so the patient was cured successfully. We discuss the necessity of the proper genetic testing of albinism, which leads to its appropriate prophylaxis and treatment; also we consider the potential of specific anti-Varicella Zoster Virus immunoprophylaxis in the modern era.

Analysis of the Accuracy Potential of a Stereo High-Speed Camera System in 3D Measurements in Highly Dynamic Experiments.

In the context of setting up a stereo high-speed camera system for accurate 3D measurements in highly dynamic experiments, the potential of a "Fastcam SA-X2" stereo system is evaluated by testing different camera configurations and motion scenarios. A thorough accuracy analysis is performed using spatial rigid-body transformations and relative measurement analyses of photogrammetrically reconstructed surfaces of nondeformable objects. The effects of camera calibration, exposure time, object velocity, and object surface pattern quality on the quality of adjusted 3D coordinates are taken into consideration. While the exposure time does not significantly influence the quality of the static measurements, the results of dynamic experiments demonstrate that not only an insufficient frame rate but also an increased noise level resulting from short exposure times affects 3D coordinate accuracy. Using appropriate configurations to capture dynamic events, the errors in dynamic experiments do not differ significantly from the errors obtained in static measurements. A spatial mapping error of less than 1 μm is obtained through the experiments, with proper testing configurations for an object surface area of 5×20 mm. These findings are relevant for users of high-speed stereo imaging techniques to perform geometric 3D measurements, deformation, and crack analyses.

Pengujian Daya Berkecambah dengan Metode Pengujian dan Suhu yang Berbeda

The proper germination testing method is an absolute condition that must be met in determining the viability of seeds. Seed viability is one of the mandatory tests carried out in determining the quality of seeds to be circulated. This study aims to study germination testing methods related to growing methods and media, temperature and evaluation time of germination from several types of seeds. The study consisted of two sub-topics, namely (1) Germination growth at different test methods and (2) Germination rate at two different temperatures. Experiment 1 used cucumber, caisin, and peanut seeds while the second experiment used corn and onion seeds. Cucumber seeds were tested by 3 methods, namely UKDdp, UDK, and UAK; caisin seeds tested by 1/2 UKDdp and UDK methods; peanut seeds tested by sand and UKDdp methods; corn and onion seeds tested by UKDdp method placed at room temperature and constant. Cucumber, caisin and peanuts are placed on the ecogerminator. Each treatment is repeated 9 times, each replay of 25 grains of seeds. Observations were made on the parameters of germination power and sprouting speed with the observation time referring to the ISTA rules. Cucumber seed data were analyzed with RAL one factor while other plant seeds used t-student. In cucumber seeds, the UKDdp and UAK methods are the best methods in the DB test although they are not significantly different from UDK. In caisin seeds the 1/2UKDdp method is the best method in the germination test and in peanut seeds, the best method in the germination test is UKDdp and sand. Room temperature and constant temperature can be used for corn DB test but growing speed is higher at room temperature. Constant temperature testing is best for onion DB testing with better growing speed than room temperature.

Prioritization of patients for germline testing based on tumor profiling of hematopoietic malignancies.

Germline predisposition to hematopoietic malignancies is more common than previously appreciated, with several clinical guidelines advocating for cancer risk testing in an expanding pool of patients. As molecular profiling of tumor cells becomes a standard practice for prognostication and defining options for targeted therapies, recognition that germline variants are present in all cells and can be identified by such testing becomes paramount. Although not to be substituted for proper germline cancer risk testing, tumor-based profiling can help prioritize DNA variants likely to be of germline origin, especially when they are present on sequential samples and persist into remission. Performing germline genetic testing as early during patient work-up as possible allows time to plan allogeneic stem cell transplantation using appropriate donors and optimize post-transplant prophylaxis. Health care providers need to be attentive to the differences between molecular profiling of tumor cells and germline genetic testing regarding ideal sample types, platform designs, capabilities, and limitations, to allow testing data to be interpreted as comprehensively as possible. The myriad of mutation types and growing number of genes involved in germline predisposition to hematopoietic malignancies makes reliance on detection of deleterious alleles using tumor-based testing alone very difficult and makes understanding how to ensure adequate testing of appropriate patients paramount.