Interpreting DNA mixtures with relatives of a missing suspect

Recent advances in DNA profiling have been proven extremely useful for forensic human identification. DNA mixtures are commonly found in serious crimes such as rape as well as voluminous crimes like theft. In this paper, one general formula is obtained for the evaluation of DNA mixtures when the suspect is unavailable for typing, but one maternal and one paternal relatives of the suspect are typed instead. In principle, closer relatives of the suspect will provide more genetic information on the genotype of the unavailable suspect. The effect of the relatives' DNA profiles on the interpretation of DNA mixtures is illustrated with case example. © 2011 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 1st International Conference on Remote Sensing, Environment and Transportation Engineering (RSETE 2011), Nanjing, China, 24-26 June 2011. In Proceedings of the 1st RSETE, 2011, p. 7649-765

Seeing is believing; tracking metalloproteins by fluorescent probe in vivo and in vitro

Abstract no. EuAsC2S-12/S1-OP22Extensive genome research has shown that around 1/4 to 1/3 proteins are metalloproteins (or metal-binding proteins) with various metal ions incorporated with proteins for either structural or functional purposes. Thus, metalloproteomics/metallomics are developed to investigate the molecular mechanism of metal-related biological processes and the entirety of metal/metalloid species within a cell or tissue type[1]. Fluorescence labeling is probably the best method in view of its capability in providing rapid and sensitive identification in living biological systems. In spite of the development of fluorescent proteins, synthetic small-molecule fluorescence agents have been utilized to identify specific targets in cells, while metal-chelation methodology has been extensively applied to the study of metal-oriented biological process[2]. Although different types of metal-responsive sensors have been developed to label cellular metals[3], tracking of metal-binding proteins in living cells by fluorescence is still highly anticipated. In this work, novel fluorescent probe was designed to label metalloproteins both in vivo and in vitro. The protein partners of several metal ions such as Ni2+ (Histidine-rich proteins in particular), Bi3+, Cr3+ have been identified by the agent. The fluorescent agent exhibited “turnon” response to the targets in SDS-PAGE, and its excellent permeability enabled “lighting up” of targeted proteins in living cells, providing valuable information on metalloprotein spatial distribution in biology.postprintThe 12th EuroAsia Conference on Chemical Sciences (EuAsC2S-12), Corfu, Greece, 16-21 April 2012

An Assessment Of Traditional Uighur Medicine In Current Xinjiang Region (China)

Background: The main objectives of this study were to assess the current research and development of traditional Uighur medicine in Xinjiang (China), and to evaluate the promising pharmacological products of traditional Uighur medicine for further studies.Materials and Methods: Traditional Uighur medicine data of medicine registry, patent, and academic publications was collected and analyzed.Results: Data showed that, among the registered and studied traditional Uighur medicine, the main therapeutic areas of traditional Uighur medicine focused on skin disease, urogenital disease, rheumatism and digestive system disease. The representative traditional Uighur patent medicine included the following: BaixuanXiatare Tablets, Kaliziran Tincture and Vernoniaanthelmintica Injection (Psoriasis and vitiligo); Xi-payimazibiziLiquid (prostatitis); KursiKaknaq (urinary tract infection); Tongzhisurunjiang Capsules (anti-rheumatism medicine); HuganBuzure Granules (digestive system disease). Moreover, ten Uighur herbs were widely used, including: ResinaScammoniae, Folium FumicisDentati, HerbaDracocephali, Semen AmygdaliDulcis, HerbaChamomillae, FructusPimpinellaeanisi, Cortex Foeniculi, FructusVernoniae, FructusApii, and Radix AnacycliPyrethri.Conclusion: This study concluded by indicating that traditional Uighur medicine with excellent curative effect should be screened in details for their phytochemical properties and pharmacological activity to discover new bioactive constituents.Key words: Traditional Uighur medicine, Traditional Uighur patent medicine, Uighur her

Identification of the major chemical constituents and their metabolites in rat plasma and various organs after oral administration of effective Erxian Decoction (EXD) fraction by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A simple and specific LC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS method has been developed and applied for the primary investigation of the chemical constituents absorbed or metabolized in vivo, after the rat oral administration of Erxian Decoction (EXD), a Chinese medicine prescription for menopausal syndromes. Through the online ESI-MS n analysis, a total of 35 compounds have been identified or tentatively characterized from the seven tested samples, and 13 of them were unambiguously identified through a direct comparison of the retention time, UV spectra and MS n fragmentation patterns with the authentic ones. The results showed that 21 compounds were detected from rat plasma, 20 compounds were detected from rat kidneys and adrenal glands, 19 compounds were detected from rat ovaries, 12 compounds were found in rat intestines, nine compounds were identified from rat livers and nine compounds were detected from rat brains at certain time points after oral administration of the eff ective EXD fraction. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.postprin

Magnetophoretic circuits for digital control of single particles and cells.

The ability to manipulate small fluid droplets, colloidal particles and single cells with the precision and parallelization of modern-day computer hardware has profound applications for biochemical detection, gene sequencing, chemical synthesis and highly parallel analysis of single cells. Drawing inspiration from general circuit theory and magnetic bubble technology, here we demonstrate a class of integrated circuits for executing sequential and parallel, timed operations on an ensemble of single particles and cells. The integrated circuits are constructed from lithographically defined, overlaid patterns of magnetic film and current lines. The magnetic patterns passively control particles similar to electrical conductors, diodes and capacitors. The current lines actively switch particles between different tracks similar to gated electrical transistors. When combined into arrays and driven by a rotating magnetic field clock, these integrated circuits have general multiplexing properties and enable the precise control of magnetizable objects

Integrative metallomic approach to identify metalloproteins in microbe

Plenary Lecture: PL-06postprin

Integrative approach for the analysis of the proteome-wide response to bismuth drugs in Helicobacter pylori

published_or_final_versio

Computational efficiency improvement for analyzing bending and tensile behavior of woven fabric using strain smoothing method

The tensile and bending behavior of woven fabrics are among the most important characteristics in complex deformation analysis and modelling of textile fabrics and they govern many aesthetics and performance aspects such as wrinkle/buckle, hand and drape. In this paper, a numerical method for analyzing of the tensile and bending behavior of plain-woven fabric structure was developed. The formulated model is based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) for a four-node quadrilateral element (Q4) and a strain smoothing method in finite elements, referred as a cell-based smoothed finite element method (CS-FEM). The physical and low-stress mechanical parameters of the fabric were obtained through the fabric objective measurement technology (FOM) using the Kawabata evaluation system for fabrics (KES-FB). The results show that the applied numerical method provides higher efficiency in computation in terms of central processing unit (CPU) time than the conventional finite element method (FEM) because the evaluation of compatible strain fields of Q4 element in CS-FEM model is constants, and it was also appropriated for numerical modelling and simulation of mechanical deformation behavior such as tensile and bending of woven fabric.The author (UMINHO/BPD/9/2017) and co-authors acknowledge the FCT funding from FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project “PEST UID/CTM/00264; POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136”

The fidelity of dynamic signaling by noisy biomolecular networks

This is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.Cells live in changing, dynamic environments. To understand cellular decision-making, we must therefore understand how fluctuating inputs are processed by noisy biomolecular networks. Here we present a general methodology for analyzing the fidelity with which different statistics of a fluctuating input are represented, or encoded, in the output of a signaling system over time. We identify two orthogonal sources of error that corrupt perfect representation of the signal: dynamical error, which occurs when the network responds on average to other features of the input trajectory as well as to the signal of interest, and mechanistic error, which occurs because biochemical reactions comprising the signaling mechanism are stochastic. Trade-offs between these two errors can determine the system's fidelity. By developing mathematical approaches to derive dynamics conditional on input trajectories we can show, for example, that increased biochemical noise (mechanistic error) can improve fidelity and that both negative and positive feedback degrade fidelity, for standard models of genetic autoregulation. For a group of cells, the fidelity of the collective output exceeds that of an individual cell and negative feedback then typically becomes beneficial. We can also predict the dynamic signal for which a given system has highest fidelity and, conversely, how to modify the network design to maximize fidelity for a given dynamic signal. Our approach is general, has applications to both systems and synthetic biology, and will help underpin studies of cellular behavior in natural, dynamic environments.We acknowledge support from a Medical Research Council and Engineering and Physical Sciences Council funded Fellowship in Biomedical Informatics (CGB) and a Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance chair in Systems Biology (PSS). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript