Bite marks on skin and clay: A comparative analysis

Bite marks are always unique because teeth are distinctive. Bite marks are often observed at the crime scene in sexual and in physical assault cases on the skin of the victims and sometimes on edible leftovers in burglary cases. This piece of evidence is often ignored, but if properly harvested and investigated, bite marks may prove useful in apprehending and successfully prosecuting the criminals. Due to the importance of bite marks, we conducted a progressive randomised experimental study conducted on volunteers. A total of 188 bite marks on clay were studied. Based on these findings, 93.34% of the volunteers could be identified from the bite marks on the clay. In addition, 201 impressions on skin were studied, and out of these cases, 41.01% of the same volunteers could be identified based on the bite mark impressions on the skin

Bite marks on skin and clay: A comparative analysis

Bite marks are always unique because teeth are distinctive. Bite marks are often observed at the crime scene in sexual and in physical assault cases on the skin of the victims and sometimes on edible leftovers in burglary cases. This piece of evidence is often ignored, but if properly harvested and investigated, bite marks may prove useful in apprehending and successfully prosecuting the criminals. Due to the importance of bite marks, we conducted a progressive randomised experimental study conducted on volunteers. A total of 188 bite marks on clay were studied. Based on these findings, 93.34% of the volunteers could be identified from the bite marks on the clay. In addition, 201 impressions on skin were studied, and out of these cases, 41.01% of the same volunteers could be identified based on the bite mark impressions on the skin

sp-Electron Magnetic Clusters with a Large Spin in Graphene

Motivated by recent experimental data (Sepioni, M. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2010, 105, 207205), we have studied the possibility of forming magnetic clusters with spin S> 1/2 on graphene by adsorption of hydrogen atoms or hydroxyl groups. Migration of hydrogen atoms and hydroxyl groups on the surface of graphene during the delamination of HOPG led to the formation of seven-atom or seven-OH-group clusters with S=5/2 that were of a special interest. The coincidence of symmetry of the clusters with the graphene lattice strengthens the stability of the cluster. For (OH)7 clusters that were situated greater than 3 nm from one another, the reconstruction barrier to a nonmagnetic configuration was approximately 0.4 eV, whereas for H7 clusters, there was no barrier and the high-spin state was unstable. Stability of the high-spin clusters increased if they were formed on top of ripples. Exchange interactions between the clusters were studied and we have shown that the ferromagnetic state is improbable. The role of the chemical composition of the solvent used for the delamination of graphite is discussed.Comment: 22 pages, 1 table, 4 figures. Minor changes, few refs added. Accepted to ACS Nan

Defining the Critical Hurdles in Cancer Immunotherapy

ABSTRACT: Scientific discoveries that provide strong evidence of antitumor effects in preclinical models often encounter significant delays before being tested in patients with cancer. While some of these delays have a scientific basis, others do not. We need to do better. Innovative strategies need to move into early stage clinical trials as quickly as it is safe, and if successful, these therapies should efficiently obtain regulatory approval and widespread clinical application. In late 2009 and 2010 the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), convened an "Immunotherapy Summit" with representatives from immunotherapy organizations representing Europe, Japan, China and North America to discuss collaborations to improve development and delivery of cancer immunotherapy. One of the concepts raised by SITC and defined as critical by all parties was the need to identify hurdles that impede effective translation of cancer immunotherapy. With consensus on these hurdles, international working groups could be developed to make recommendations vetted by the participating organizations. These recommendations could then be considered by regulatory bodies, governmental and private funding agencies, pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions to facilitate changes necessary to accelerate clinical translation of novel immune-based cancer therapies. The critical hurdles identified by representatives of the collaborating organizations, now organized as the World Immunotherapy Council, are presented and discussed in this report. Some of the identified hurdles impede all investigators, others hinder investigators only in certain regions or institutions or are more relevant to specific types of immunotherapy or first-in-humans studies. Each of these hurdles can significantly delay clinical translation of promising advances in immunotherapy yet be overcome to improve outcomes of patients with cancer

Defining the critical hurdles in cancer immunotherapy

Scientific discoveries that provide strong evidence of antitumor effects in preclinical models often encounter significant delays before being tested in patients with cancer. While some of these delays have a scientific basis, others do not. We need to do better. Innovative strategies need to move into early stage clinical trials as quickly as it is safe, and if successful, these therapies should efficiently obtain regulatory approval and widespread clinical application. In late 2009 and 2010 the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), convened an "Immunotherapy Summit" with representatives from immunotherapy organizations representing Europe, Japan, China and North America to discuss collaborations to improve development and delivery of cancer immunotherapy. One of the concepts raised by SITC and defined as critical by all parties was the need to identify hurdles that impede effective translation of cancer immunotherapy. With consensus on these hurdles, international working groups could be developed to make recommendations vetted by the participating organizations. These recommendations could then be considered by regulatory bodies, governmental and private funding agencies, pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions to facilitate changes necessary to accelerate clinical translation of novel immune-based cancer therapies. The critical hurdles identified by representatives of the collaborating organizations, now organized as the World Immunotherapy Council, are presented and discussed in this report. Some of the identified hurdles impede all investigators; others hinder investigators only in certain regions or institutions or are more relevant to specific types of immunotherapy or first-in-humans studies. Each of these hurdles can significantly delay clinical translation of promising advances in immunotherapy yet if overcome, have the potential to improve outcomes of patients with cancer

Pharmacophore and docking-based virtual screening approach for the design of new dual inhibitors of Janus kinase 1 and Janus kinase 2

<div><p>Janus kinase 1 and 2, non-receptor protein tyrosine kinases, are implicated in various cancerous diseases. Involvement of these two enzymes in the pathways that stimulate cell proliferation in cancerous conditions makes them potential therapeutic targets for designing new dual-targeted agents for the treatment of cancer. In the present study, two separate pharmacophore models were developed and the best models for JAK1 (AAADH.25) and JAK2 (ADRR.92) were selected on the basis of their external predictive ability. Both models were subjected to a systematic virtual screening (VS) protocol using a PHASE database of 1.5 million molecules. The hits retrieved in VS were investigated for ADME properties to avoid selection of molecules with a poor pharmacokinetic profile. The molecules considered to be within the range of acceptable limits of ADME properties were further employed for docking simulations with JAK1 and JAK2 proteins to explore the final hits that possess structural features of both pharmacophore models as well as display essential interactions with both of them. Thus, the new molecules obtained in this way should show inhibitory activity against JAK1 and JAK2 and may serve as novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of cancerous disease conditions.</p></div

Suicide, Homicide, and All-Cause Mortality Among Transgender and Cisgender Patients in the Veterans Health Administration

Purpose: This study examines the differences in suicide, homicide, and all-cause mortality between transgender and cisgender Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients. Methods: VHA electronic medical record data from October 1, 1999 to December 31, 2016 were used to create a sample of transgender and cisgender patients (n = 32,441). Cox proportional hazard regression was used to evaluate differences in survival time (date of birth to death date/study end). Death data were from the National Death Index. Results: Transgender patients had more than twofold greater hazard of suicide than cisgender patients (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 2.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.88-4.09), especially among younger (18-39 years) (aHR = 3.35, 95% CI = 1.30-8.60) and older (‡65 years) patients (aHR = 9.48, 95% CI = 3.88-23.19). Alternatively, transgender patients had an overall lower hazard of all-cause mortality (aHR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.84-0.97) compared with cisgender patients, which was driven by patients 40-64 years old (aHR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.72-0.86) and reversed by those 65 years and older (aHR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.03-1.33). Conclusion: Transgender patients\u27 hazard of suicide mortality was significantly greater than that of cisgender VHA patients