AN INSIDE VIEW OF ORGANIZED CRIME IN ESTONIA ON THE EXAMPLE OF THREE CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS

Raksts veltīts organizētās noziedzības analīzei Igaunijā, balstoties uz vairāku grupēju darbības izpēti. Rakstā noskaidroti galvenie organizētās noziedzības virzieni, to izcelsme, struktūra un ierobežošanas perspektīvas. Organizētās noziedzības aktivitātes ainava Igaunijā ir plaša, un noziedzīgu organizāciju izskaušana ir sarežģīta, jo šīs organizācijas ir noturīgas un sagrupētas. Tomēr autors secina, ka vairāku gadu pētījumi liecina par panākumiem šāda noziedzības veida ierobežošanā

Juha Ylimaunu. Pirtusota ja salakuljettajat: Pohjanlahden tuntematon historia.

Revie

Evolution of Smart Weapons (NIAS/CSS/ISSSP/U/RP/69/2019)

The concept of aerial bombing has evolved and undergone significant improvements in terms of technologies, systems and deployment. While the bombs dropped from balloons in the second half of nineteenth century had a Circular Error Probability (CEP) of a few kilometres, the most recent smart glide weapons can achieve sub-metre CEP. The revolutionary developments in the field of Electronics, Sensors, Software and Mechanisms in the recent years, and their impact on improved performance of the systems are highlighted. This report gives an overview of evolution of aerial bombing systems and technologies over the decades, and also the future of smart weapons

Auf der Suche nach der eigenen Alma Mater

The book provides a thorough overview of Estonians and other Estonian-born students who studied at various European universities of technology before the Second World War. In addition to Saint Petersburg and Riga, Gdansk, Karlsruhe, Brno, Warsaw, Moscow, Zurich and a number of other European cities were also places of study for future engineers and architects

Use of Complex DNA and Antibody Microarrays as Tools in Functional Analyses

While the deciphering of basic sequence information on a genomic scale is yielding complete genomic sequences in ever-shorter intervals, experimental procedures for elucidating the cellular effects and consequences of the DNA-encoded information become critical for further analyses. In recent years, DNA microarray technology has emerged as a prime candidate for the performance of many such functional assays. Technically, array technology has come a long way since its conception some 15 years ago, initially designed as a means for large-scale mapping and sequencing

Detection of Human Papillomaviruses by Polymerase Chain Reaction and Ligation Reaction on Universal Microarray

Peer reviewe

Genotypic resistance testing in HIV by arrayed primer extension

The analysis of mutations that are associated with the occurrence of drug resistance is important for monitoring the antiretroviral therapy of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Here, we describe the establishment and successful application of Arrayed Primer Extension (APEX) for genotypic resistance testing in HIV as a rapid and economical alternative to standard sequencing. The assay is based on an array of oligonucleotide primers that are immobilised via their 5′-ends. Upon hybridisation of template DNA, a primer extension reaction is performed in the presence of the four dideoxynucleotides, each labelled with a distinct fluorophore. The inserted label immediately indicates the sequence at the respective position. Any mutation changes the colour pattern. We designed a microarray for the analysis of 26 and 33 codons in the HIV protease and reverse transcriptase, respectively, which are of special interest with respect to drug resistance. The enormous genome variability of HIV represents a big challenge for genotypic resistance tests, which include a hybridisation step, both in terms of specificity and probe numbers. The use of degenerated oligonucleotides resulted in a significant reduction in the number of primers needed. For validation, DNA of 94 and 48 patients that exhibited resistance to inhibitors of HIV protease and reverse transcriptase, respectively, were analysed. The validation included HIV subtype B, prevalent in industrialised countries, as well as non-subtype B samples that are more common elsewhere

Multi-stringency wash of partially hybridized 60-mer probes reveals that the stringency along the probe decreases with distance from the microarray surface

Here, we describe a multi-parametric study of DNA hybridization to probes with 20–70% G + C content. Probes were designed towards 71 different sites/mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene. Seven probe lengths, three spacer lengths and six stringencies were systematically varied. The three spacer lengths were obtained by placing the gene-specific sequence in discrete steps along the 60-mer probes. The study was performed using Agilent 8 × 15 000 probes custom-made arrays and a home-built array washer providing different stringencies to each of the eight sub-arrays on the slides. Investigation of hybridization signals, specificity and dissociation curves indicated that probes close to the surface were influenced by an additional stringency provided by the microarray surface. Consistent with this, probes close to the surface required 4 × SSC, while probes placed away from the surface required 0.35 × SSC wash buffers in order to give accurate genotyping results. Multiple step dissociation was frequently observed for probes placed furthest away from surface, but not for probes placed proximal to the surface, which is consistent with the hypothesis that there is different stringency along the 60-mer. The results have impact on design of probes for genotyping, gene expression and comparative genome hybridization analysis