A novel cassette method for probe evaluation in the designed biochips

A critical step in biochip design is the selection of probes with identical hybridisation characteristics. In this article we describe a novel method for evaluating DNA hybridisation probes, allowing the fine-tuning of biochips, that uses cassettes with multiple probes. Each cassette contains probes in equimolar proportions so that their hybridisation performance can be assessed in a single reaction. The model used to demonstrate this method was a series of probes developed to detect TORCH pathogens. DNA probes were designed for Toxoplasma gondii, Chlamidia trachomatis, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, and Herpes virus and these were used to construct the DNA cassettes. Five cassettes were constructed to detect TORCH pathogens using a variety of genes coding for membrane proteins, viral matrix protein, an early expressed viral protein, viral DNA polymerase and the repetitive gene B1 of Toxoplasma gondii. All of these probes, except that for the B1 gene, exhibited similar profiles under the same hybridisation conditions. The failure of the B1 gene probe to hybridise was not due to a position effect, and this indicated that the probe was unsuitable for inclusion in the biochip. The redesigned probe for the B1 gene exhibited identical hybridisation properties to the other probes, suitable for inclusion in a biochip

A Method to Improve the Early Stages of the Robotic Process Automation Lifecycle

The robotic automation of processes is of much interest to organizations. A common use case is to automate the repetitive manual tasks (or processes) that are currently done by back-office staff through some information system (IS). The lifecycle of any Robotic Process Automation (RPA) project starts with the analysis of the process to automate. This is a very time-consuming phase, which in practical settings often relies on the study of process documentation. Such documentation is typically incomplete or inaccurate, e.g., some documented cases never occur, occurring cases are not documented, or documented cases differ from reality. To deploy robots in a production environment that are designed on such a shaky basis entails a high risk. This paper describes and evaluates a new proposal for the early stages of an RPA project: the analysis of a process and its subsequent design. The idea is to leverage the knowledge of back-office staff, which starts by monitoring them in a non-invasive manner. This is done through a screen-mousekey- logger, i.e., a sequence of images, mouse actions, and key actions are stored along with their timestamps. The log which is obtained in this way is transformed into a UI log through image-analysis techniques (e.g., fingerprinting or OCR) and then transformed into a process model by the use of process discovery algorithms. We evaluated this method for two real-life, industrial cases. The evaluation shows clear and substantial benefits in terms of accuracy and speed. This paper presents the method, along with a number of limitations that need to be addressed such that it can be applied in wider contexts.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2016-76956-C3-2-

A framework to evaluate the viability of robotic process automation for business process activities

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a technology for centralized automation of business processes. RPA automates user interaction with graphical user interfaces, whereby it promises efficiency gains and a reduction of human negligence during process execution. To harness these benefits, organizations face the challenge of classifying process activities as viable automation candidates for RPA. Therefore, this work aims to support practitioners in evaluating RPA automation candidates. We design a framework that consists of thirteen criteria grouped into five perspectives which offer different evaluation aspects. These criteria leverage a profound understanding of the process step. We demonstrate and evaluate the framework by applying it to a real-life data set.Comment: This is an accepted manuscript for the "RPA Forum" at the "Int. Conference on Business Process Management (BPM 2020)". The final authenticated version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58779-6_1

A Calorimetric Characterization of Cr(VI)-Reducing Arthrobacter oxydans

This is the first of a series of calorimetric studies designed to characterize and understand survival mechanisms of metal-reducing bacteria isolated from metal-polluted environments. In this paper we introduce a new concept of thermal spectrum of the endothermic melting of complex biological systems (e.g., proteins, nucleic acids, ribosomes, membrane structures) in intact cells. All thermal spectra measured are thermograms that describe the temperature dependence of heat capacity change of the complex systems of biologically active substances in bacterial cells. This new concept of thermal spectrum was applied to investigate spectral features from intact cells of Cr(VI)-reducer Arthrobacter oxydans at different points of their growth conditions and stages. Over the temperature range of 40–105°C, we observed that spectral changes are particularly significant in the 40–90°C interval. This may correspond to the orderly changes in subcellular structural elements: proteins, ribosomes and RNA, membranes, and various structural elements of the cell wall during different points of the growth cycle and growth conditions. Spectral changes in the 90–105°C region are less pronounced, implicating that the structural composition of DNA-Protein (DNP) complexes may change little

ETS Transcription Factors Control Transcription of EZH2 and Epigenetic Silencing of the Tumor Suppressor Gene Nkx3.1 in Prostate Cancer

ETS transcription factors regulate important signaling pathways involved in cell differentiation and development in many tissues and have emerged as important players in prostate cancer. However, the biological impact of ETS factors in prostate tumorigenesis is still debated.We performed an analysis of the ETS gene family using microarray data and real-time PCR in normal and tumor tissues along with functional studies in normal and cancer cell lines to understand the impact in prostate tumorigenesis and identify key targets of these transcription factors. We found frequent dysregulation of ETS genes with oncogenic (i.e., ERG and ESE1) and tumor suppressor (i.e., ESE3) properties in prostate tumors compared to normal prostate. Tumor subgroups (i.e., ERG(high), ESE1(high), ESE3(low) and NoETS tumors) were identified on the basis of their ETS expression status and showed distinct transcriptional and biological features. ERG(high) and ESE3(low) tumors had the most robust gene signatures with both distinct and overlapping features. Integrating genomic data with functional studies in multiple cell lines, we demonstrated that ERG and ESE3 controlled in opposite direction transcription of the Polycomb Group protein EZH2, a key gene in development, differentiation, stem cell biology and tumorigenesis. We further demonstrated that the prostate-specific tumor suppressor gene Nkx3.1 was controlled by ERG and ESE3 both directly and through induction of EZH2.These findings provide new insights into the role of the ETS transcriptional network in prostate tumorigenesis and uncover previously unrecognized links between aberrant expression of ETS factors, deregulation of epigenetic effectors and silencing of tumor suppressor genes. The link between aberrant ETS activity and epigenetic gene silencing may be relevant for the clinical management of prostate cancer and design of new therapeutic strategies

Intrapartum Antibiotic Chemoprophylaxis Policies for the Prevention of Group B Streptococcal Disease Worldwide: Systematic Review.

Background: Intrapartum antibiotic chemoprophylaxis (IAP) prevents most early-onset group B streptococcal (GBS) disease. However, there is no description of how IAP is used around the world. This article is the sixth in a series estimating the burden of GBS disease. Here we aimed to review GBS screening policies and IAP implementation worldwide. Methods: We identified data through (1) systematic literature reviews (PubMed/Medline, Embase, Literature in the Health Sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean [LILACS], World Health Organization library database [WHOLIS], and Scopus) and unpublished data from professional societies and (2) an online survey and searches of policies from medical societies and professionals. We included data on whether an IAP policy was in use, and if so whether it was based on microbiological or clinical risk factors and how these were applied, as well as the estimated coverage (percentage of women receiving IAP where indicated). Results: We received policy information from 95 of 195 (49%) countries. Of these, 60 of 95 (63%) had an IAP policy; 35 of 60 (58%) used microbiological screening, 25 of 60 (42%) used clinical risk factors. Two of 15 (13%) low-income, 4 of 16 (25%) lower-middle-income, 14 of 20 (70%) upper-middle-income, and 40 of 44 (91%) high-income countries had any IAP policy. The remaining 35 of 95 (37%) had no national policy (25/33 from low-income and lower-middle-income countries). Coverage varied considerably; for microbiological screening, median coverage was 80% (range, 20%-95%); for clinical risk factor-based screening, coverage was 29% (range, 10%-50%). Although there were differences in the microbiological screening methods employed, the individual clinical risk factors used were similar. Conclusions: There is considerable heterogeneity in IAP screening policies and coverage worldwide. Alternative global strategies, such as maternal vaccination, are needed to enhance the scope of global prevention of GBS disease