Measuring human rights abuse from access to information requests

Existing measures of human rights abuses are often only available at the country-year level. Several more fine-grained measures exhibit spatio-temporal inaccuracies or reporting biases due to the primary sources upon which they rely. To address these challenges, and to increase the diversity of available human rights measures more generally, this study provides the first quantitative effort to measure human rights abuses from textual records of citizen-government interactions. Using a dataset encompassing over 1.5 million access-to-information (ATI) requests made to the Mexican federal government from June 2003 onward, supervised classification is used to identify the subset of these requests that pertain to human rights abuses of various types. The results from this supervised machine learning exercise are validated against (i) gold standard ATI requests pertaining to past human rights abuses in Mexico and (ii) several accepted external measures of sub-national and sub-annual human rights abuses. In doing so, we demonstrate that the measurement of human rights abuses from citizen-submitted ATI request texts can provide measures of human rights abuse that exhibit both high validity and notable spatio-temporal specificity, relative to existent human rights datasets and variables

The role of the genetic counsellor: a systematic review of research evidence

In Europe, genetic counsellors are employed in specialist genetic centres or other specialist units. According to the European Board of Medical Genetics, the genetic counsellor must fulfil a range of roles, including provision of information and facilitation of psychosocial adjustment of the client to their genetic status and situation. To evaluate the extent to which genetic counsellors fulfil their prescribed roles, we conducted a systematic review of the published relevant scientific evidence. We searched five relevant electronic databases (Medline, CINAHL, SocIndex, AMED and PsychInfo) using relevant search terms and handsearched four subject-specific journals for research-based papers published in English between 1 January 2000 and 30 June 2013. Of 419 potential papers identified initially, seven satisfied the inclusion criteria for the review. Themes derived from the thematic analysis of the data were: (i) rationale for genetic counsellors to provide care, (ii) appropriate roles and responsibilities and (iii) the types of conditions included in the genetic counsellor caseload. The findings of this systematic review indicate that where genetic counsellors are utilised in specialist genetic settings, they undertake a significant workload associated with direct patient care and this appears to be acceptable to patients. With the burden on genetic services, there is an argument for the increased use of genetic counsellors in countries where they are under-utilised. In addition, roles undertaken by genetic counsellors in specialist genetic settings could be adapted to integrate genetic counsellors into multi-disciplinary teams in other specialisms

Key principle of the efficient running, swimming, and flying

Empirical observations indicate striking similarities among locomotion in terrestrial animals, birds, and fish, but unifying physical grounds are lacking. When applied to efficient locomotion, the analytical mechanics principle of minimum action yields two patterns of mechanical similarity via two explicit spatiotemporal coherent states. In steady locomotory modes, the slow muscles determining maximal optimum speeds maintain universal intrinsic muscular pressure. Otherwise, maximal speeds are due to constant mass-dependent stiffness of fast muscles generating a uniform force field, exceeding gravitation. Being coherent in displacements, velocities and forces, the body appendages of animals are tuned to natural propagation frequency through the state-dependent elastic muscle moduli. Key words: variational principle of minimum action (04.20.Fy), locomotion (87.19.ru), biomechanics (87.85.G-).Comment: Submitted to the Europhysical Letter

The KELT Follow-Up Network And Transit False-Positive Catalog: Pre-Vetted False Positives For TESS

The Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT) project has been conducting a photometric survey of transiting planets orbiting bright stars for over 10 years. The KELT images have a pixel scale of ~23\u27\u27 pixel⁻¹—very similar to that of NASA\u27s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)—as well as a large point-spread function, and the KELT reduction pipeline uses a weighted photometric aperture with radius 3\u27. At this angular scale, multiple stars are typically blended in the photometric apertures. In order to identify false positives and confirm transiting exoplanets, we have assembled a follow-up network (KELT-FUN) to conduct imaging with spatial resolution, cadence, and photometric precision higher than the KELT telescopes, as well as spectroscopic observations of the candidate host stars. The KELT-FUN team has followed-up over 1600 planet candidates since 2011, resulting in more than 20 planet discoveries. Excluding ~450 false alarms of non-astrophysical origin (i.e., instrumental noise or systematics), we present an all-sky catalog of the 1128 bright stars (6 \u3c V \u3c 13) that show transit-like features in the KELT light curves, but which were subsequently determined to be astrophysical false positives (FPs) after photometric and/or spectroscopic follow-up observations. The KELT-FUN team continues to pursue KELT and other planet candidates and will eventually follow up certain classes of TESS candidates. The KELT FP catalog will help minimize the duplication of follow-up observations by current and future transit surveys such as TESS

Aptamer-based radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic imaging and targeted radiotherapy of epithelial tumors

In the continuous search for earlier diagnosis and improved therapeutic modalities against cancer, based on our constantly increasing knowledge of cancer biology, aptamers hold the promise to expand on current antibody success, but overcoming some of the problems faced with antibodies as therapeutic or delivery agents in cancer. However, as the first aptamer reached the market as an inhibitor against angiogenesis for the treatment of macular degeneration, aptamers have found only limited applications or interest in oncology, and even less as radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic imaging and targeted radiotherapy of tumours. Yet, the chemistry for the labelling of aptamers and the options to alter their pharmacokinetic properties, to make them suitable for use as radiopharmaceuticals is now available and recent advances in their development can demonstrate that these molecules would make them ideal delivery vehicles for the development of targeted radiopharmaceuticals that could deliver their radiation load with accuracy to the tumour site, offering improved therapeutic properties and reduced side effects

α,β-D-Constrained Nucleic Acids Are Strong Terminators of Thermostable DNA Polymerases in Polymerase Chain Reaction

(SC5′, RP) α,β-D- Constrained Nucleic Acids (CNA) are dinucleotide building blocks that can feature either B-type torsional angle values or non-canonical values, depending on their 5′C and P absolute stereochemistry. These CNA are modified neither on the nucleobase nor on the sugar structure and therefore represent a new class of nucleotide with specific chemical and structural characteristics. They promote marked bending in a single stranded DNA so as to preorganize it into a loop-like structure, and they have been shown to induce rigidity within oligonucleotides. Following their synthesis, studies performed on CNA have only focused on the constraints that this family of nucleotides introduced into DNA. On the assumption that bending in a DNA template may produce a terminator structure, we investigated whether CNA could be used as a new strong terminator of polymerization in PCR. We therefore assessed the efficiency of CNA as a terminator in PCR, using triethylene glycol phosphate units as a control. Analyses were performed by denaturing gel electrophoresis and several PCR products were further analysed by sequencing. The results showed that the incorporation of only one CNA was always skipped by the polymerases tested. On the other hand, two CNA units always stopped proofreading polymerases, such as Pfu DNA polymerase, as expected for a strong replication terminator. Non-proofreading enzymes, e.g. Taq DNA polymerase, did not recognize this modification as a strong terminator although it was predominantly stopped by this structure. In conclusion, this first functional use of CNA units shows that these modified nucleotides can be used as novel polymerization terminators of proofreading polymerases. Furthermore, our results lead us to propose that CNA and their derivatives could be useful tools for investigating the behaviour of different classes of polymerases

A Field Guide to Pandemic, Epidemic and Sporadic Clones of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

In recent years, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have become a truly global challenge. In addition to the long-known healthcare-associated clones, novel strains have also emerged outside of the hospital settings, in the community as well as in livestock. The emergence and spread of virulent clones expressing Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is an additional cause for concern. In order to provide an overview of pandemic, epidemic and sporadic strains, more than 3,000 clinical and veterinary isolates of MRSA mainly from Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Malta, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Australia, Trinidad & Tobago as well as some reference strains from the United States have been genotyped by DNA microarray analysis. This technique allowed the assignment of the MRSA isolates to 34 distinct lineages which can be clearly defined based on non-mobile genes. The results were in accordance with data from multilocus sequence typing. More than 100 different strains were distinguished based on affiliation to these lineages, SCCmec type and the presence or absence of PVL. These strains are described here mainly with regard to clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance- and virulence-associated markers, but also in relation to epidemiology and geographic distribution. The findings of the study show a high level of biodiversity among MRSA, especially among strains harbouring SCCmec IV and V elements. The data also indicate a high rate of genetic recombination in MRSA involving SCC elements, bacteriophages or other mobile genetic elements and large-scale chromosomal replacements

A Field Guide to Pandemic, Epidemic and Sporadic Clones of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

In recent years, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have become a truly global challenge. In addition to the long-known healthcare-associated clones, novel strains have also emerged outside of the hospital settings, in the community as well as in livestock. The emergence and spread of virulent clones expressing Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is an additional cause for concern. In order to provide an overview of pandemic, epidemic and sporadic strains, more than 3,000 clinical and veterinary isolates of MRSA mainly from Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Malta, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Australia, Trinidad & Tobago as well as some reference strains from the United States have been genotyped by DNA microarray analysis. This technique allowed the assignment of the MRSA isolates to 34 distinct lineages which can be clearly defined based on non-mobile genes. The results were in accordance with data from multilocus sequence typing. More than 100 different strains were distinguished based on affiliation to these lineages, SCCmec type and the presence or absence of PVL. These strains are described here mainly with regard to clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance- and virulence-associated markers, but also in relation to epidemiology and geographic distribution. The findings of the study show a high level of biodiversity among MRSA, especially among strains harbouring SCCmec IV and V elements. The data also indicate a high rate of genetic recombination in MRSA involving SCC elements, bacteriophages or other mobile genetic elements and large-scale chromosomal replacements

A Single-Stranded DNA Aptamer That Selectively Binds to Staphylococcus aureus Enterotoxin B

The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is a common foodborne pathogen capable of secreting a cocktail of small, stable, and strain-specific, staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs). Staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) results when improperly handled food contaminated with SEs is consumed. Gastrointestinal symptoms of SFP include emesis, diarrhea and severe abdominal pain, which manifest within hours of ingesting contaminated food. Immuno-affinity based methods directly detect, identify, and quantify several SEs within a food or clinical sample. However, the success of these assays depends upon the availability of a monoclonal antibody, the development of which is non-trivial and costly. The current scope of the available immuno-affinity based methods is limited to the classical SEs and does not encompass all of the known or emergent SEs. In contrast to antibodies, aptamers are short nucleic acids that exhibit high affinity and specificity for their targets without the high-costs and ethical concerns of animal husbandry. Further, researchers may choose to freely distribute aptamers and develop assays without the proprietary issues that increase the per-sample cost of immuno-affinity assays. This study describes a novel aptamer, selected in vitro, with affinity to staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) that may be used in lieu of antibodies in SE detection assays. The aptamer, designated APTSEB1, successfully isolates SEB from a complex mixture of SEs with extremely high discrimination. This work sets the foundation for future aptamer and assay development towards the entire family of SEs. The rapid, robust, and low-cost identification and quantification of all of the SEs in S. aureus contaminated food is essential for food safety and epidemiological efforts. An in vitro generated library of SE aptamers could potentially allow for the comprehensive and cost-effective analysis of food samples that immuno-affinity assays currently cannot provide