STRmix™ put to the test: 300 000 non-contributor profiles compared to four-contributor DNA mixtures and the impact of replicates

Probabilistic genotyping approaches are increasingly used for the interpretation of DNA mixtures. To explore the specificity of one of these systems (STRmix^™), we conducted an extensive study using 24 complex mixtures: all were known or apparent 4-person mixtures with at least one contributor representing less than 20% of total DNA, and all mixtures had at least one contributor with suboptimal DNA quantity. Those mixtures were either generated in-house or from casework. All the mixtures were compared to 300,000 virtual non-contributors, resulting in a dataset of 7.2 million comparisons. The great majority of the non-contributor comparisons led to a LR lower than 1 for a specificity of 99.1%. The effect of using replicate amplifications to calculate the LR of non-contributors was also assessed as triplicates were used and led to an increased specificity of 99.8%. The very large extent of the analyzed data shows that STRmix^™ has an excellent ability to discriminate non-contributors from complex DNA mixtures.     

Crowdsourced and crowdfunded: the future of forensic DNA?

ABSTRACT

Forensic DNA analysis is dependent on comparing the known and the unknown. Expand the number of known profiles, and the likelihood of a successful match increases. Forensic use of DNA is moving towards comparing samples of unknown origin with publicly available genetic data, such as the records held by genetic genealogy providers. Use of forensic genetic genealogy has yielded a number of recent high-profile successes but has raised ethical and privacy concerns. Navigating family trees is complex, even more so when combined with a comparison of genetic relationships. This intelligence-gathering process has led to occasional false leads, and its use also risks a public backlash, similar to concerns over Cambridge Analytica. A cautious approach to use of this technique is therefore warranted.     

前S1蛋白抗原测定在乙型肝炎诊疗中的应用评价

目的进一步评价前S1蛋白抗原测定在乙型肝炎诊断疗效和预后等方面的作用.方法通过ELISA方法对380例急慢性乙型肝炎患者进行PreS1Ag测定,同时用ELISA法测定HBV病毒血清标志物和用PCR法测定HBV-DNA.结果 "大三阳"患者PreS1Ag阳性率为90.09%,"小三阳"患者PreS1Ag阳性率为50%,PreS1Ag与HBV-DNA、HBeAg相一致.PreS1Ag随着HBV的清除而消长.对23例经拉米夫定治疗的患者进行动态观察,PreS1Ag消除率达85%.结论前S1蛋白抗原测定在乙型肝炎诊疗中有很大的应用价值.     

胰腺导管癌中血管生成、细胞增殖指数、DNA倍性检测的临床意义

目的:探讨血管生成、细胞增殖指数、DNA倍性在胰腺导管癌发生、发展中的作用及临床意义。方法:对29例胰腺导管癌和7例慢性胰腺炎患者的石蜡包埋标本作苏木精鄄伊红(HE)染色,CD34、Ki67免疫组织化学染色,镜下计算微血管密度(MVD)及Ki67阳性细胞比例,同时用流式细胞仪(FCM)检测细胞核DNA倍性,计算异倍体出现率及S期比例,并结合临床病理资料对各项指标作相关分析。结果:胰腺导管癌和慢性胰腺炎都有较多的新生血管。MVD值在胰腺导管癌高、中、低分化3组之间差异无显著性。按肿瘤直径分为≤1.5cm、1.6～2.9cm、≥3cm3组,此3组间MVD值、Ki67阳性细胞百分率、DNA异倍体出现率及肿瘤周围有无浸润的差异都非常显著(P<0.01)。肿瘤越大,MVD值、Ki67阳性细胞百分率及DNA异倍体出现率越高。结论:胰腺导管癌的发生、发展伴血管生成和DNA合成增加,联合测定MVD、Ki67阳性细胞百分率、DNA倍型可能为胰腺导管癌临床预后预测提供辅助参考指标。     

Erythematous and reticular forms of oral lichen planus and oral lichenoid reactions differ in pathological features related to disease activity

BACKGROUND: Common clinical forms of oral lichen planus (OLP) and oral lichenoid reactions (OLR) are erythematous (ERY) or reticular (RET). The purpose of this study was to find histopathological changes that differ between these forms. METHODS: Epithelial thickness, epithelial proliferation rate, apoptosis, and HLA-DR expression were compared among 10 reticular and 12 erythematous lesions, and 11 normal oral mucosa samples (NOM). RESULTS: The epithelium in ERY was thinner than in NOM, whereas RET showed values between ERY and NOM. Cell proliferation increased significantly in ERY as compared with RET and NOM, with no difference between RET and NOM. Relative numbers of epithelial cell nuclei displaying visible chromatin condensation were reduced in ERY form. CONCLUSIONS: The markedly increased cell proliferation in ERY supports the notion that this form displays a higher disease activity as compared to RET. It can therefore be important to study each disease form separately.     

增强子Ⅰ对乙型肝炎病毒DNA疫苗免疫应答的影响

目的 研究乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）自身增强子I（enhancerI，ENHI）对HBV DNA疫苗免疫应答的影响。方法 采用PCR法以HBVadr亚型全基因DNA序列为模板分别扩增表面抗原（HBsAg）和HBsA-ENHI基因片段，重组到载体VR1012中，构建两种HBV DNA疫苗，转染CADS-7细胞及HepG2细胞并免疫BALB／c小鼠。采用蛋白印迹、ELISA、ELISPOT等方法检测其在COS-7和HepG2细胞内的表达及小鼠的体液及细胞免疫应答效果。结果 转染的HepG2和COS-7细胞均表达HBsAg;连接ENHI的HBV DNA疫苗转染HepG2细胞后HBsAg表达量明显升高，两种疫苗转染COS-7细胞表达HBsAg无明显差异；免疫小鼠后第2周产生HBsAb及HBsAg特异性细胞毒T淋巴细胞（CTL），两种疫苗免疫产生的HBsAb及HBsAg特异性CTL无明显差异。结论ENHI可使HBV DNA疫苗转染HepG2细胞表达HBsAg明显增加，对转染COS-7细胞表达HBsAg及接种BALB／C小鼠引起的免疫应答无明显影响。     

土壤环境基因组技术及其在新药发现中的应用

土壤是微生物最重要的生境，土壤微生物具有极大的多样性。然而传统培养技术只能得到约1％的微生物纯培养，其余都是未被纯培养微生物。利用土壤环境基因组技术，可以把未被纯培养微生物的基因克隆到载体中并在宿主中进行表达，获得比已培养微生物丰富的代谢产物多样性，这为我们发现新颖结构先导化合物以及新药开辟了新的道路。本文介绍应用环境基因组技术构建土壤DNA文库的思路和方法。     

DNA-Methylierung von monohalogenierten Methanen in F-344 Ratten

Monohalogenated methanes (methyl chloride, methyl bromide and methyl iodide) are mutagenic and carcinogenic. The possible mechanism of these effects, DNA methylation, was studied. DNA adducts from orgnas of F344 rats exposed to these chemicals were separated and identified with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gaschro-matography/massspectrometry (GC/ MS). DNA adducts, 7-methylguanine (7-MeG) and O⁶-Methylguanine(0⁸-MeG), incorporation of¹⁴C into de novo synthesis of nucleobases could be observed in enzymatic DNA hydrolysates by HPLC and determination of the radioactivity in the fractions. The formation of DNA add,ue,ts in the studied organs was only quantitatively different. The formation of O⁶-MeG was further pioved by analysing the acidic hydrolysates using HPLC with non-radioactive O⁶MeG as internal standard. 7-MeG and 3-MeA were identified with GC/MS analysis.     

中国汉坦病毒H82O5株G2糖蛋白基因的克隆及在真核细胞中的瞬时表达

从感染病毒乳鼠脑组织提取总RNA，采用RT－PCR和分子克隆技术将扩增到的G2糖蛋白基因插入含CMV启动子的pcDNA3.1/His质粒载体中，通过脂质体介导转染COS－7细胞，用SDS－PAGE、Western-blot及IFIA方法分别测定表达产物的相对分子量及特异性。结果证明获得正向插入的G2－pcDNA3.1/His重组表达质粒，表达产物的相对分子量为56ku，与理论预期大小一致，并且可与汉坦病毒H8205株的腹水抗体起特异反应。表明构建的G2－pcDNA3.1/His重组质粒所表达的蛋白为中国汉坦病毒株特有，能在哺乳动物细胞中表达并具有抗原性，重组质粒可应用于汉坦病毒的DNA疫苗研究。     

外周血细胞DNA、RNA及血红蛋白同时提取法

采用淋巴细胞分离液分离外周血中的有核细胞,经细胞裂解液处理,上清提取RNA,沉淀提取DNA,用分离液分离所得红细胞沉淀制备血红蛋白溶液。经对抽提物质量进行评价,发现3种提取物质量均高。本法能从少量外周血中同时分离DNA、RNA及血红蛋白,高效易操作,值得推广。