Characterising the fluctuation of microRNA expression throughout a full menstrual cycle

When processing a crime scene, obtaining a DNA profile that can identify an individual is extremely important. However, the identification of the body fluid that the sample was obtained from could provide key information of the events that occurred. microRNA (miRNA) expression analysis is a technique that has the potential to differentiate body fluids. The presence and expression of body fluid specific miRNA would provide a fast and effective tool for progressing crime scene investigation, especially alleged sexual assault cases. Forensic case work lacks methods for identifying vaginal material, venous blood, menstrual blood and aspermatozoic seminal fluid within samples. A large screening study followed by a 31 day study on five female volunteers was performed utilising RT-qPCR on a large panel of body fluid markers. Screening showed a selection of markers were suitable to differentiate each body fluid, in some cases however, expression fluctuated when analysed over a 31 day period. The data shows that hsa-miR-412 may be suitable for identifying menstrual blood, expression from markers hsa-miR-124 and hsa-miR-205 varied significantly over the 31 day period and between individuals and therefore were less suitable for body fluid identification. The data supports the use of miRNA markers for the identification of certain body fluids such as menstrual and venous blood; however markers for the identification of body fluids such as vaginal material and saliva require further investigation

mRNA-based skin identification for forensic applications

Although the identification of human skin cells is of important relevance in many forensic cases, there is currently no reliable method available. Here, we present a highly specific and sensitive messenger RNA (mRNA) approach for skin identification, meeting the key requirements in forensic analyses. We examined 11 candidate genes with skin-specific expression, as ascertained from expression databases and the literature, as well as five candidate reference genes ascertained from previous studies, in skin samples and in other forensically relevant tissues. We identified mRNA transcripts from three genes CDSN, LOR and KRT9, showing strong over-expression in skin samples relative to samples from forensic body fluids, making them suitable markers for skin identification. Out of the candidate reference genes tested, only ACTB showed similarly high expression in skin and body-fluid samples, providing a suitable reference marker for quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis of skin. Analyses of palmar and thumbprint skin samples indicate that our qPCR approach for the three skin-targeted mRNA markers, as well as the reference mRNA marker ACTB, is highly sensitive, allowing successful detection of minute amounts of skin material including full, half and quarter thumbprints, albeit with decreased success in decreasing print material. Furthermore, thumbprints stored for 6.5 months provided similar results relative to freshly analysed samples implying reasonable time-wise stability of the three skin-targeted mRNAs as well as the ACTB reference mRNA. Our study represents the first attempt towards reliable mRNA-based skin identification in forensic applications with particular relevance for future trace/touched object analyses in forensic case work. Although the approach for skin identification introduced here can be informative when applied on its own, we recommend for increased reliability the integration of (one or more of) the skin-targeted mRNA markers presented here into multiplex assays additionally including mRNA markers targeting alternative cell types expected in forensic samples

MicroRNA markers for forensic body fluid identification obtained from microarray screening and quantitative RT-PCR confirmation

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-protein coding molecules with important regulatory functions; many have tissue-specific expression patterns. Their very small size in principle makes them less prone to degradation processes, unlike messenger RNAs (mRNAs), which were previously proposed as molecular tools for forensic body fluid identification. To identify suitable miRNA markers for forensic body fluid identification, we first screened total RNA samples derived from saliva, semen, vaginal secretion, and venous and menstrual blood for the expression of 718 human miRNAs using a microarray platform. All body fluids could be easily distinguished from each other on the basis of complete array-based miRNA expression profiles. Results from quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR; TaqMan) assays for microarray candidate markers confirmed strong over-expression in the targeting body fluid of several miRNAs for venous blood and several others for semen. However, no candidate markers from array experiments for other body fluids such as saliva, vaginal secretion, or menstrual blood could be confirmed by RT-PCR. Time-wise degradation of venous blood and semen stains for at least 1 year under lab conditions did not significantly affect the detection sensitivity of the identified miRNA markers. The detection limit of the TaqMan assays tested for selected venous blood and semen miRNA markers required only subpicogram amounts of total RNA per single RT-PCR test, which is considerably less than usually needed for reliable mRNA RT-PCR detection. We therefore propose the application of several stable miRNA markers for the forensic identification of blood stains and several others for semen stain identification, using commercially available TaqMan assays. Additional work remains necessary in search for suitable miRNA markers for other forensically relevant body fluids

Stable RNA markers for identification of blood and saliva stains revealed from whole genome expression analysis of time-wise degraded samples

Human body fluids such as blood and saliva represent the most common source of biological material found at a crime scene. Reliable tissue identification in forensic science can reveal significant insights into crime scene reconstruction and can thus contribute toward solving crimes. Limitations of existing presumptive tests for body fluid identification in forensics, which are usually based on chemoluminescence or protein analysis, are expected to be overcome by RNA-based methods, provided that stable RNA markers with tissue-specific expression patterns are available. To generate sets of stable RNA markers for reliable identification of blood and saliva stains we (1) performed whole-genome gene expression analyses on a series of time-wise degraded blood and saliva stain samples using the Affymetrix U133 plus2 GeneChip, (2) consulted expression databases to obtain additional information on tissue specificity, and (3) confirmed expression patterns of the most promising candidate genes by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction including additional forensically relevant tissues such as semen and vaginal secretion. Overall, we identified nine stable mRNA markers for blood and five stable mRNA markers for saliva detection showing tissue-specific expression signals in stains aged up to 180 days of age, expectedly older. Although, all of the markers were able to differentiate blood/saliva from semen samples, none of them could differentiate vaginal secretion because of the complex nature of vaginal secretion and the biological similarity of buccal and vaginal mucosa. We propose the use of these 14 stable mRNA markers for identification of blood and saliva stains in future forensic practice

The controlling process of the human capital through the effective redistribution of the general welfare

© 2015, Mediterranean Center of Social and Educational Research. All rights reserved. The controlling process of the human capital during the globalization of the world processes in the innovative development in the economy requires from all the economies an overall approach to tackling the general welfare in their countries. The progressive development of the society in general and innovation processes inside of the economic systems in particular depends on that. We come to a new understanding of the general welfare on that case: the best way of the achieving the general welfare won’t be the marginal efficiency of the gain of the individual (personal well-being), but it will be the effective limit of the benefit of the society (general welfare)

Участь педагога у кримінальному провадженні

Анненко О. С. Участь педагога у кримінальному провадженні / О. С. Анненко, П. М. Зубаков // Lex Portus : юрид. наук. журн. / редкол. : С. В. Ківалов (голов. ред. ради), Б. А. Кормич (голов. ред.), І. В. Сафін (заст. голов. ред.), Т. В. Аверочкіна (наук. ред., відп. секр.) [та ін.] ; НУ "ОЮА", ГО "МА Святий Миколай". - Одеса : Видавничий дім «Гельветика», 2017. - № 6. – C. 112-122.У статті аналізуються вимоги, котрим повинен відповідати педагог, який запрошується для участі в проведенні процесуальних дій у кримінальному провадженні за участі неповнолітнього. Педагог повинен мати педагогічну освіту, досвід педагогічної діяльності, професійно займатися педагогічною діяльністю з малолітніми або неповнолітніми, перебувати на посаді, віднесеній до педагогічних працівників; стать педагога повинна відповідати статі неповнолітнього; також обов’язковим є дотримання засади незацікавленості педагога в результатах кримінального провадження.The article analyzes the requirements that a teacher has to meet, and is invited to participate in criminal proceedings in the juvenile criminal proceedings. The teacher should have a pedagogical education, experience in teaching, professionally engaged in pedagogical activities among minors or minors, to be in the position assigned to pedagogical workers, become a teacher should correspond to the gender of the minor and the obligatory observance of the principle of teacher’s lack of interest in the results of criminal proceedings.В статье анализируются требования, которым должен соответствовать педагог, участвующий в проведении процессуальных действий в уголовном производстве с участием несовершеннолетнего. Педагог должен иметь педагогическое образование, опыт педагогической деятельности, профессионально заниматься педагогической деятельностью с малолетними или несовершеннолетними, находиться в должности, отнесенной к педагогическим работникам; пол педагога должен соответствовать полу несовершеннолетнего; также обязательным является соблюдение принципа незаинтересованности педагога в результатах уголовного производства

Forensic pregnancy diagnostics with placental mRNA markers

Current methods for pregnancy diagnostics are based on immunodetection of pregnancy-specific proteins and in a forensic context suffer from sensitivity and specificity issues. Here, we applied reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology to 11 genes previously reported with placental mRNA circulating in maternal blood. We found two genes, hPL and βhCG, with pregnancy-specific expression in whole blood samples. RT-PCR detection of hPL was positive in all samples tested throughout the pregnancy, whereas βhCG was detectable until half of the second trimester but not at later gestation ages. For hPL, in vitro stability of the transcript was demonstrated until 2 months of age, and the hPL-specific RT-PCR assay applied was highly sensitive with reliable detection from down to 0.25 cm2 dried bloodstain. We therefore suggest hPL-specific RT-PCR as a new molecular tool for forensic pregnancy diagnostics from dried blood stains. Moreover, our results indicate that the time-wise reverse expression of hPL and βhCG during pregnancy may allow an RT-PCR-based estimation of the gestational age from blood stains, adding to the value of forensic pregnancy diagnosis for crime scene investigations

Training Future Teachers to Ensure Information Security of School Students

The article discusses the rights of the child in the field of obtaining information, the role of the teacher in ensuring the information security of school students. It refers to the training of future teachers at the stage of training at the University.В статье рассматриваются права ребенка в области получения информации, роль педагога в обеспечении информационной безопасность обучающихся школ. Говорится о подготовке будущих педагогов на этапе обучения в вузе

Noise parametric identification and whitening for LIGO 40-meter interferometer data

We report the analysis we made on data taken by Caltech 40-meter prototype interferometer to identify the noise power spectral density and to whiten the sequence of noise. We concentrate our study on data taken in November 1994, in particular we analyzed two frames of data: the 18nov94.2.frame and the 19nov94.2.frame. We show that it is possible to whiten these data, to a good degree of whiteness, using a high order whitening filter. Moreover we can choose to whiten only restricted band of frequencies around the region we are interested in, obtaining a higher level of whiteness.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication by Physical Review