Source level interpretation of mixed biological stains using coding region SNPs

The association of body fluids/cell types and donors in mixed biological traces is an important, but challenging task required to evaluate the value of evidence given forensic propositions concerning the source of the DNA. The linking of a DNA profile with evidence from presumptive tests or RNA analysis is not straightforward. Coding region SNPs (cSNPs) are a novel type of evidential markers that are both cell type specific and individual specific. They thereby provide a direct link between a donor and a body fluid in mixed biological stains. In this proof-of-concept paper we consider the evaluation of cSNP profiles given source level propositions and explore the use of the open-source software EuroForMix to compute likelihood ratios. The discrimination power of the cSNPs for various body fluids is investigated with simulations. We provide case examples where the type of biological material is questioned and where cSNP profiles can be used to assign a donor to a body fluid, and discuss how the results can be reported in court. Keywords: Body fluid identification; Body fluid mixtures; Coding region SNP (cSNP); Forensic Science; Likelihood ratio; Source level propositions; mRN

Fictionalisation? A discussion based on Eivind Hofstad Evjemo’s novel Det siste du skal se er et ansikt av kjærlighet (2012)

Master's thesis in Literacy studiesI denne oppgaven har jeg lest Hofstad Evjemo sin samtidsroman Det siste du skal se er et ansikt av kjærlighet (2012) utfra to ulike litteraturteoretiske tilnærminger: Narratologien og fiksjonaliseringsteorien. Disse teoriene har ulikt fokus: Mens narratologien fokuserer på fortellergrep og fortellingers strukturer, fokuserer fiksjonaliseringsteorien på forfatterens retoriske fiksjonaliseringsstrategier og leserens resepsjon. Det gjennomgående temaet i oppgaven har vært å prøve å få frem hva fiksjonaliseringsteorien kan bidra med i lesing av samtidslitteratur og undersøke om fiksjonaliseringsteorien kan være en ny metodisk inngang til skjønnlitteratur

Quantitative PCR analysis of bloodstains of different ages

An accurate method to estimate the age of a stain or the time since deposition (TsD) would represent an important tool in police investigations for evaluating the true relevance of a stain. In this study, two laboratories reproduced an mRNA-based method for TsD estimation published by another group. The qPCR-based assay includes four transcripts (B2M, LGALS2, CLC, and S100A12) and showed preferential degradation of the 5′ end over the 3′ end. In this study, the blood-specific marker ALAS2 was added to examine whether it would show the same degradation pattern. Based on our qPCR data several elastic net models with different penalty combinations were created, using training data from the two laboratories separately and combined. Each model was then used to estimate the age of bloodstains from two independent test sets each laboratory had prepared. The elastic net model built on both datasets with training samples up to 320 days old displayed the best prediction performance across all test samples (MAD=18.9 days). There was a substantial difference in the prediction performance for the two laboratories: Restricting TsD to up to 100 days for test data, one laboratory obtained an MAD of 2.0 days when trained on its own data, whereas the other laboratory obtained an MAD of 15 days

A new blood based epigenetic age predictor for adolescents and young adults

Children have special rights for protection compared to adults in our society. However, more than 1/4 of children globally have no documentation of their date of birth. Hence, there is a pressing need to develop biological methods for chronological age prediction, robust to differences in genetics, psychosocial events and physical living conditions. At present, DNA methylation is the most promising biological biomarker applied for age assessment. The human genome contains around 28 million DNA methylation sites, many of which change with age. Several epigenetic clocks accurately predict chronological age using methylation levels at age associated GpG-sites. However, variation in DNA methylation increases with age, and there is no epigenetic clock specifically designed for adolescents and young adults. Here we present a novel age Predictor for Adolescents and Young Adults (PAYA), using 267 CpG methylation sites to assess the chronological age of adolescents and young adults. We compared different preprocessing approaches and investigated the effect on prediction performance of the epigenetic clock. We evaluated performance using an independent validation data set consisting of 18-year-old individuals, where we obtained a median absolute deviation of just below 0.7 years. This tool may be helpful in age assessment of adolescents and young adults. However, there is a need to investigate the robustness of the age predictor across geographical and disease populations as well as environmental effects.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Hydrogen and fundamental defects in electron-irradiated high-purity silicon

The dynamics of various fundamental defects in electron-irradiated high-purity silicon detectors (diodes) were investigated by deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). Samples with various oxygen concentrations were used and hydrogen was intentionally introduced into some samples. The defect dynamics was investigated by first creating defect centres by irradiating the diodes with 6-MeV electrons and subsequently annealing the samples, isochronally or isothermally, at increasingly higher temperatures up to 400 °C while measuring the concentration of the various electrically active defects by DLTS. Based on the temperature- and time-dependent changes of the concentration of the defects, models explaining the observations were suggested. In one study, the annealing of the di-vacancy-oxygen (V2O) centre was investigated and modelled, and it was concluded that this centre anneals out through a dissociation resulting in a vacancy-oxygen (VO) centre. The binding energy between the vacancy and the VO centre was estimated to be ~1.7 eV. In another investigation, a defect centre annealing out after a few weeks at room temperature was found to have two energy levels in the band gap: one, labelled E4, 0.37 eV below the conduction-band edge (Ec) and the other, labelled E5, 0.45 eV below Ec. Comparison with annealing studies performed with Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) suggested that the defect may be a di-interstitial-oxygen (I2O) complex. E5 is known to correlate with the leakage current of silicon detectors, and it was suggested that the oxygen concentration should be minimised to reduce the formation of I2O centres and thus reduce the leakage current. Several annealing studies with hydrogenated samples were performed. These resulted in the identification of a hydrogen-related level at Ec - 0.37 eV as a vacancy-oxygen-hydrogen centre, which was labelled VOH*. This centre was seen to form when positively charged hydrogen diffused in from the surface of the silicon diodes and reacted with the VO centre at depths with locally high hydrogen concentration. VOH* was seen to break up when the hydrogen diffusion had resulted in a lower, more uniform hydrogen concentration. Possible identification of other hydrogen-related defect levels were also put forward; in particularly a hole trap located 0.23 eV above the valence-band edge which is suggested to be a di-vacancy-hydrogen (V2H) centre. Secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was used to measure the depth profile of hydrogen in some of the samples

Øyvind Bleka's Quick Files

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Fiksjonalisering? En diskusjon med utgangspunkt i Eivind Hofstad Evjemos roman Det siste du skal se er et ansikt av kjærlighet (2012)

I denne oppgaven har jeg lest Hofstad Evjemo sin samtidsroman Det siste du skal se er et ansikt av kjærlighet (2012) utfra to ulike litteraturteoretiske tilnærminger: Narratologien og fiksjonaliseringsteorien. Disse teoriene har ulikt fokus: Mens narratologien fokuserer på fortellergrep og fortellingers strukturer, fokuserer fiksjonaliseringsteorien på forfatterens retoriske fiksjonaliseringsstrategier og leserens resepsjon. Det gjennomgående temaet i oppgaven har vært å prøve å få frem hva fiksjonaliseringsteorien kan bidra med i lesing av samtidslitteratur og undersøke om fiksjonaliseringsteorien kan være en ny metodisk inngang til skjønnlitteratur

Επαγγελματική εξουθένωση στους επαγγλεματίες υγείας

Το σύνδρομο επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης αναφέρεται στο αίσθημα της εξάντλησης και της απώλειας του ενδιαφέροντος που εκδηλώνεται από τους επαγγελματίες κατά την άσκηση της εργασίας τους. Οι επαγγελματίες υγείας ανήκουν στην ομάδα υψηλού κινδύνου για την εμφάνιση του συνδρόμου επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης και της μη ικανοποίησης από την εργασία τους. Το σύνδρομο αποτελεί σοβαρό φαινόμενο με ποικίλες προεκτάσεις, καθότι μπορεί να οδηγήσει τους επαγγελματίες υγείας σε ψυχοσωματικά προβλήματα, συμπεριφορά κοινωνικής απομόνωσης που οφείλεται στην εργασία και σε φροντίδα χαμηλής ποιότητας. Σκοπός της παρούσης ανασκοπικής εργασίας ήταν να διερευνηθεί το σύνδρομο της επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης των επαγγελματιών υγείας. Η μεθοδολογία αρχικά στηρίχθηκε στην αναζήτηση ανασκοπικών και ερευνητικών μελετών που εκπονήθηκαν σε διεθνές επίπεδο αλλά και στην Ελλάδα και αναφέρονταν στο σύνδρομο επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης. Στη συνέχεια έγινε συστηματική ανασκόπηση, προκειμένου να διαπιστώσουμε τις διαστάσεις του συνδρόμου επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης στην περίοδο της οικονομικής κρίσης στην Ελλάδα. Αποτελέσματα: Οι περισσότερες μελέτες εστιάζονται στο ρόλο του εργασιακού περιβάλλοντος των επαγγελματιών υγείας, ως το κυριότερο παράγοντα ανάπτυξης του συνδρόμου επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης, σε συνδυασμό με άλλους παράγοντες, όπως η προσωπικότητα των εργαζόμενων, η βαρύτητα της κατάστασης των νοσηλευόμενων, η οργάνωση της Διοίκησης και οι σχέσεις με το υπόλοιπο προσωπικό. Επίσης, από τα αποτελέσματα της μελέτης φάνηκε η ανάγκη των εργαζόμενων να συμβουλεύονται κάποιο ειδικό, ο οποίος να ασχολείται με τα συναισθηματικά προβλήματα που προκύπτουν από την καθημερινή επαφή των εργαζόμενων με τους ασθενείς και τους συναδέρφους, ώστε να μπορεί να ελεγχθεί το στρες κατά την άσκηση του επαγγέλματος. Συμπεράσματα: Η πρώιμη αναγνώριση του συνδρόμου επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης συνεισφέρει στην καλύτερη επαγγελματική συμπεριφορά και στην παροχή φροντίδας υψηλής ποιότητας στους ασθενείς. Οι επαγγελματίες υγείας χρειάζονται γνώσεις και εκπαίδευση για να αντιμετωπίσουν το σύνδρομο επαγγελματικής εξουθένωσης.Burnout syndrome is referred to the experience of exhaustion and diminished interest, that is manifested by the professionals usually in the work context. Health care professionals are often at high risk of burnout syndrome and job dissatisfaction. Burn-out syndrome consists a serious multidimensional phenomenon, because it can lead the professionals of health to psychosomatic problems, work-associated withdrawal behavior and a lower quality of care. The aim of this review was to study the burn out syndrome of health care professionals. The study method included search of both retrospective and research studies published in international literature, as well as studies conducted in Greece, which referred to “burn out syndrome”. Results: Most studies focus on the role of work environment of health care professionals, as the main factor for the development of burnout syndrome, in combination with other factors such as personality, critically ill patients, and organizational structure and staff relationships. Furthermore, the results of this study showed the need for referral to an expert, who deals with emotional problems triggered by the daily contacts with patients and the staff , in order to control the professional stress. Conclusively: Early recognition of burnout phenomenon contributes to better professional behavior and better health care quality for patients. Health care professionals need knowledge and education about how to beat burnout syndrome

What does the fox say? – En studie av viral markedsføring.

Denne oppgaven har som hensikt å kartlegge den strategiske planleggingsprosessen av en viral kampanje, samt effekter og effektmåling knyttet til denne. Vår problemstilling er som følger: Hvordan kan bedrifter arbeide med strategisk planlegging av en viral kampanje, hvilke effekter kan den gi og hvordan kan disse måles? Undersøkelsens teorigrunnlag er delt inn i fire hoveddeler. Den første delen tar for seg selve begrepet “viral markedsføring”, som innebærer hvordan litteraturen definerer dette begrepet, hvilke drivkrefter som er knyttet til viral markedsføring, samt fordeler og ulemper ved denne formen for markedsføring. Den andre delen beskriver steg for steg den strategiske planleggingsprosessen til en viral kampanje. Til slutt går vi nærmere inn på hvilke effekter en viral kampanje kan gi, samt hvordan man måler disse. Vi har benyttet oss av et eksplorerende design, og valgte å bruke kvalitativ metode. Vi utførte fem intervjuer med respondenter fra bedrifter som har hatt en viral kampanje som en del av sin markedsføring. Deres erfaringer med viral markedsføring var avgjørende for at vi skulle få god innsikt i temaet. Gjennom analyse av disse intervjuene har vi dannet grunnlaget for å svare på spørsmålene i problemstillingen. Det viser seg at teorien for det meste gjenspeiler virkeligheten, men våre funn viser også at det er noen elementer en bedrift/organisasjon bør tenke på ved utforming og implementering av en viral kampanje, som ikke er beskrevet i teorien. Et integrert rammeverk for den strategiske planleggingsprosessen kan fungere som retningslinjer for norske bedrifter/organisasjoner som enten har tenkt å inkludere en viral markedsføringskampanje i sin markedskommunikasjon for første gang, eller som ikke har oppnådd ønskelig suksess

How to avoid driving DNA caseworkers crazy: CaseSolver, an expert system to investigate complex crime scenes

DNA analyses can be used for both investigative (crime scene-focused), or evaluative (suspect-focused) reporting. Investigative, DNA-led exploration of serious crimes always involves the comparison of hundreds of biological samples submitted by the authorities for analysis. Crime stain comparisons include both evidence to evidence profiles and reference to evidence profiles. When many complex DNA results (mixtures, low template LT-DNA samples) are involved in the investigation of a crime, the manual comparison of DNA profiles is very time-consuming and prone to manual errors. In addition, if the person of interest is a minor contributor, the classical approach of performing searches of national DNA databases is problematic because it is realistically restricted to clear major contributors and the occurrence of masking and drop-out means that there will not be a definitive DNA profile to perform the search with. CaseSolver is an open source expert system that automates analysis of complex cases. It does this by three sequential steps: a) simple allele comparison b) likelihood ratio (LR) based on a qualitative model (forensim) c) LR based on a quantitative model (EuroForMix). The software generates a list of potential match candidates, ranked according to the LRs, which can be exported as a report. The software can also identify contributors from small or large databases (e.g., staff database or 1 mill. individuals). In addition, an informative graphical network plot is generated that easily identifies contributors in common to multiple stains. Here we describe recent improvements made to the software in version v1.5.0, made in response to user requirements during intensive casework usage