Sperm fishing: antigen-antibody complexes for the capture and enrichment of spermatozoa in mixed cell substrates

ABSTRACT

In many sexual assault cases, the most common evidence gathered comes in the form of intimate swabs. These swabs contain cells from both the female and male. In these cases the most common cell present is epithelial cells from the female with relatively few spermatozoa from the male. To produce an STR DNA profile suitable for an investigation, separation of the cell types is required to prevent a mixed profile that may complicate interpretation. While there are methods that can achieve this separation, they are labour intensive and have no guarantee of complete separation of the spermatozoa. Immunomagnetic bead separation techniques are being adapted from other scientific fields to be used in forensic biology to separate spermatozoa from mixed substrates. This study tested the binding of a Hyaluronidase PH-20 (SPAM1) antibody to spermatozoa in mixed cell samples that have been dried and stored for a short period of time. Fluorescently tagged antibodies were incubated with cellular mixtures and visualized using fluorescent microscopy. Successful binding of the antibodies to spermatozoa was observed in all samples. The SPAM1 antibody appears to be suitable for selection of spermatozoa and creates opportunities for linking with magnetic beads facilitate cell separation and DNA profiling.     

Mechanisms of airway hyper‐responsiveness in asthma: the past,present and yet to come

Airway hyper‐responsiveness (AHR) has long been considered a cardinal feature of asthma. The development of the measurement of AHR 40 years ago initiated many important contributions to our understanding of asthma and other airway diseases. However, our understanding of AHR in asthma remains complicated by the multitude of potential underlying mechanisms which in reality are likely to have different contributions amongst individual patients. Therefore, the present review will discuss the current state of understanding of the major mechanisms proposed to contribute to AHR and highlight the way in which AHR testing is beginning to highlight distinct abnormalities associated with clinically relevant patient populations. In doing so we aim to provide a foundation by which future research can begin to ascribe certain mechanisms to specific patterns of bronchoconstriction and subsequently match phenotypes of bronchoconstriction with clinical phenotypes. We believe that this approach is not only within our grasp but will lead to improved mechanistic understanding of asthma phenotypes and we hoped to better inform the development of phenotype‐targeted therapy.     

Spike‐associated networks and intracranial electrographic findings

Aims. Functional connectivity is providing new insights into the network nature of epilepsy with growing clinical applications. Our objective was to validate a novel magnetoencephalography‐based method to non‐invasively measure the epileptic network. Methods. We retrospectively identified pediatric and adult patients with refractory focal epilepsy who underwent pre‐surgical magnetoencephalography with subsequent intracranial electrographic monitoring. Magnetoencephalography tracings were visually reviewed, and interictal epileptiform discharges (“spikes”) were individually marked. We then evaluated differences in whole‐brain connectivity during brief epochs preceding the spikes and during the spikes using the Network‐Based Statistic to test differences at the network level. Results. In six patients with statistically‐significant network differences, we observed substantial overlap between the spike‐associated networks and electrographically active areas identified during intracranial monitoring (the spike‐associated network was 78% and 83% sensitive for intracranial electroencephalography‐defined regions in the irritative and seizure onset zones, respectively). Conclusion. These findings support the neurobiological validity of the spike‐associated network method. Assessment of spike‐associated networks has the potential to improve surgical planning in epilepsy surgery patients by identifying components of the epileptic network prior to implantation.     

How Localized Outbreaks and Changes in Media Coverage Affect Zika Attitudes in National and Local Contexts

ABSTRACT

Public opinion researchers often find changing attitudes about pressing public health issues to be a difficult task and even when attitudes do change, behaviors often do not. However, salient real-world events have the ability to bring public health crises to the fore in unique ways. To assess the impact of localized public health events on individuals’ self-reported behavior, this paper examines Floridians’ intentions to take preventative measures against the Zika virus before and after the first locally transmit- ted case of Zika emerged in Florida. We find that local and national media coverage of Zika increased significantly following its first transmission in the U.S. Critically, we also find that Floridians surveyed after this increase in media coverage were more likely to pay attention to Zika-related news, and self-report intentions to take protective action against the virus. These results suggest that behavioral intentions can shift as health threats become more proximate.