Issues and strategies in the DNA identification of World Trade Center victims

Identification of the nearly 3000 victims of the World Trade Center attack, represented by about 15,000 body parts, rests heavily on DNA. Reference DNA profiles are often from relatives rather than from the deceased themselves. With so large a set of victims, coincidental similarities between non-relatives abound. Therefore considerable care is necessary to succeed in correlating references with correct victims while avoiding spurious assignments. Typically multiple relatives are necessary to establish the identity of a victim. We describe a 3-stage paradigm--collapse, screen, test--to organize the work of sorting out the identities. Inter alia we present a simple and general formula for the likelihood ratio governing practically any potential relationship between two DNA profiles.     

医院临床数据中心建设与应用

为解决医疗记录报告单的管理混乱问题,文章提出了医院临床数据中心体系架构,主要从系统整体架构、层次结构以及关键技术实现等方面进行了阐述,实现了基于Ensemble集成平台的医疗记录报告单数字化集中归档,生成PDF格式的报告单,为医护人员及病人提供各类应用服务。医生借助电子病历里调阅PDF格式的医疗记录报告单,解决了电子病历与各临床信息系统之间的信息集成,提高了医院的服务质量。     

DNAdigest and Repositive: Connecting the World of Genomic Data

There is no unified place where genomics researchers can search through all available raw genomic data in a way similar to OMIM for genes or Uniprot for proteins. With the recent increase in the amount of genomic data that is being produced and the ever-growing promises of precision medicine, this is becoming more and more of a problem. DNAdigest is a charity working to promote efficient sharing of human genomic data to improve the outcome of genomic research and diagnostics for the benefit of patients. Repositive, a social enterprise spin-out of DNAdigest, is building an online platform that indexes genomic data stored in repositories and thus enables researchers to search for and access a range of human genomic data sources through a single, easy-to-use interface, free of charge.     

单病种数据中心在临床科研中的应用

随着医院信息化建设的不断深入发展和建设,医院信息系统中积累了大量宝贵的临床数据。为了提高医院数据在临床科研中的应用,我们在智能数据平台的基础上建立了单病种科研数据中心。通过对临床科研需求的深入调研和数据的深度解析,我们在数据中心提取出临床科研所关心的患者诊疗数据。利用多维度筛选、队列研究、维恩图对比等工具临床科研人员可以方便获取科研样本集合。单病种数据中心的建立使得医院系统中临床数据资源价值得到了极大提升。     

我国医疗服务数据中心发展现状

医疗服务数据中心能够通过对医疗数据的采集、存储、维护和分析,在评价和提升患者安全、助力医疗质量管理、为患者就医提供导向、推动生物银行的建设发展等方面发挥着非常重要的作用。尽管相比发达国家,我国的国家医疗服务数据中心的建设起步较晚,但已在指导医疗服务和服务医疗管理方面取得了一定的成绩。     

我国心血管专科临床科研数据中心的建设与思考

中国是心血管疾病的数据大国,但是从数据质量和临床科研上讲,并非强国。为了提高心血管数据在临床质量评估和科研中的应用,我院心内科开始了心血管专科临床科研数据中心的尝试和建设。通过借鉴美国相关经验,以及对我国心血管临床质量评估以及科研需求的深入调研,我们建设了以心血管专科临床数据仓库以及心血管注册数据中心为核心的心血管专科临床科研数据中心。在此基础上,进一步探索并建设了自定义科研表单,多维度组合筛选,基于随访策略的心血管随访管理,基于个性化诊疗计划的心血管病人院后管理,相关性分析及不良心血管事件模式发现等应用和工具,有助于提升心血管专科的临床流程效率,临床质量评估和科研水平,同时为建立全国性的心血管疾病注册数据库打下了基础。     

Lessons from Imagining the World Trade Center Site: An Examination of Public Space and Culture

The World Trade Center site allows anthropologists and educators to reflect on the relationship of public space to culture, and to consider the symbolic importance of this site for imagining the public culture of the future. Public spaces in the city have the potential of being places of learning and democratic practice, but the trend toward increased surveillance and policing of these spaces, exaggerated by September 11, makes this potential difficult to realize. Anthropologists and educators interested in the nexus of education, place, and culture should consider becoming involved in this imagining process and insert themselves into the ongoing debate in order to preserve spaces for learning and democracy.     

Relocation of the NIb Gene in the Tobacco Etch Potyvirus Genome

Potyviruses express most of their proteins from a long open reading frame that is translated into a large polyprotein processed by three viral proteases. To understand the constraints on potyvirus genome organization, we relocated the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NIb) cistron to all possible intercistronic positions of the Tobacco etch virus (TEV) polyprotein. Only viruses with NIb at the amino terminus of the polyprotein or in between P1 and HC-Pro were viable in tobacco plants.     

Data: archival information on the physical stature and weight of American men during World War I and World War II.

Millions of observations are available on the height of men who participated in the so-called "Forth Registration" of the United States Selective Service Administration in World war II. The men were born between April 28, 1877 and February 16, 1897.     

Patterns of Information-Seeking for Cancer on the Internet: An Analysis of Real World Data

Although traditionally the primary information sources for cancer patients have been the treating medical team, patients and their relatives increasingly turn to the Internet, though this source may be misleading and confusing. We assess Internet searching patterns to understand the information needs of cancer patients and their acquaintances, as well as to discern their underlying psychological states. We screened 232,681 anonymous users who initiated cancer-specific queries on the Yahoo Web search engine over three months, and selected for study users with high levels of interest in this topic. Searches were partitioned by expected survival for the disease being searched. We compared the search patterns of anonymous users and their contacts. Users seeking information on aggressive malignancies exhibited shorter search periods, focusing on disease- and treatment-related information. Users seeking knowledge regarding more indolent tumors searched for longer periods, alternated between different subjects, and demonstrated a high interest in topics such as support groups. Acquaintances searched for longer periods than the proband user when seeking information on aggressive (compared to indolent) cancers. Information needs can be modeled as transitioning between five discrete states, each with a unique signature representing the type of information of interest to the user. Thus, early phases of information-seeking for cancer follow a specific dynamic pattern. Areas of interest are disease dependent and vary between probands and their contacts. These patterns can be used by physicians and medical Web site authors to tailor information to the needs of patients and family members.     

The Availability and Consistency of Dengue Surveillance Data Provided Online by the World Health Organization

Background

The use of high quality disease surveillance data has become increasingly important for public health action against new threats. In response, countries have developed a wide range of disease surveillance systems enabled by technological advancements. The heterogeneity and complexity of country data systems have caused a growing need for international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) to coordinate the standardization, integration, and dissemination of country disease data at the global level for research and policy. The availability and consistency of currently available disease surveillance data at the global level are unclear. We investigated this for dengue surveillance data provided online by the WHO.

Methods and Findings

We extracted all dengue surveillance data provided online by WHO Headquarters and Regional Offices (RO’s). We assessed the availability and consistency of these data by comparing indicators within and between sources. We also assessed the consistency of dengue data provided online by two example countries (Brazil and Indonesia). Data were available from WHO for 100 countries since 1955 representing a total of 23 million dengue cases and 82 thousand deaths ever reported to WHO. The availability of data on DengueNet and some RO’s declined dramatically after 2005. Consistency was lacking between sources (84% across all indicators representing a discrepancy of almost half a million cases). Within sources, data at high spatial resolution were often incomplete.

Conclusions

The decline of publicly available, integrated dengue surveillance data at the global level will limit opportunities for research, policy, and advocacy. A new financial and operational framework will be necessary for innovation and for the continued availability of integrated country disease data at the global level.     

Relocation, reproduction and remaining alive in the orb-web spider

When mortality is high, animals run a risk if they wait to accumulate resources for improved reproduction so they may trade-off the time of reproduction with number and size of offspring. Animals may attempt to improve food acquisition by relocation, even in 'sit and wait' predators. We examine these factors in an isolated population of an orb-web spider Zygiella x-notata . The population was monitored for 200 days from first egg laying until all adults had died. Large females produced their first clutch earlier than did small females and there was a positive correlation between female size and the number and size of eggs produced. Many females, presumably without eggs, abandoned their web site and relocated their web position. This is presumed because female Zygiella typically guard their eggs. In total, c . 25% of females reproduced but those that relocated were less likely to do so, and if they did, they produced the clutch at a later date than those that remained. When the date of lay was controlled there was no effect of relocation on egg number but relocated females produced smaller eggs. The data are consistent with the idea that females in resource-poor sites are more likely to relocate. Relocation seems to be a gamble to find a more productive site but one that achieves only a late clutch of small eggs and few achieve that.     

Osteoporosis Treatment After Osteoporotic Fractures: Data From a Single Medical Center

ObjectiveMost patients do not receive osteoporosis treatment after osteoporotic fracture. This study reviewed osteoporosis treatment after osteoporotic fractures in a center without a Fracture Liaison Service.MethodsWe identified all patients with hip, vertebral, humeral or radial fractures, evaluated in Meir Medical Center, in 2017. The exclusion criteria were not a Clalit Health Services member, high-energy fracture or 30-day postoperative mortality. The primary endpoint was osteoporosis drugs issued within 12 months of fracture. Secondary endpoints included bone densitometry and 1-year mortality.ResultsFive-hundred-eighty-two patients (average age 78.6 ± 11.1 years, 75.8% women) were included. There were 321 (55.5%) hip, 84 (14.1%) humeral, 33 (5.6%) vertebral, and 144 (24.7%) radial fractures. Osteoporosis drugs were issued to 26.5% of the patients; those with humeral fractures received the least (21.4%) and vertebral, the most (30.3%; P = .51). Bone densitometry was performed in 23.2% of patients. One-year mortality after hip fracture was 12.1%, followed by humeral (3.6%; P < .05). Logistic regression showed that previous treatment (odds ratio [OR] = 7.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.6–15.2), bone densitometry (OR = 4.4; 95% CI 2.6–7.4) and endocrinology visit (OR = 2.6; 95% CI, 1.4–4.6) were the most important factors associated with treatment.ConclusionFewer than one third of patients received pharmacotherapy within 1 year after fracture. Because pharmacotherapy reduces future fractures and mortality, we recommend that medical staff who care for patients with fracture adopt practical and effective strategies to increase treatment rates among patients with osteoporotic fractures.     

Phototropin Mediated Relocation of Myosins in Arabidopsis thaliana

Background

The mechanism of the light-dependent movements of chloroplasts is based on actin and myosin but its details are largely unknown. The movements are activated by blue light in terrestrial angiosperms. The aim of the present study was to determine the role of myosin associated with the chloroplast surface in the light-induced chloroplast responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. The localization of myosins was investigated under blue light intensities generating avoidance and accumulation responses of chloroplasts. The localization was compared in wild type plants and in phot2 mutant lacking the avoidance response.

Results

Wild type and phot2 mutant plants were irradiated with strong (36 µEm⁻²s⁻¹) and/or weak (0.8 µEm⁻²s⁻¹) blue light. The leaf tissue was immunolabeled with antimyosin antibodies. Different arrangements of myosins were observed in the mesophyll depending on the fluence rate in wild type plants. In tissue irradiated with weak blue light myosins were associated with chloroplast envelopes. In contrast, in tissue irradiated with strong blue light chloroplasts were almost myosin-free. The effect did not occur in red light and in the phot2 mutant.

Conclusions

Myosin displacement is blue light specific, i.e., it is associated with the activation of a specific blue-light photoreceptor. We suggest that the reorganization of myosins is essential for chloroplast movement. Myosins appear to be the final step of the signal transduction pathway starting with phototropin2 and leading to chloroplast movements.Key Words: Arabidopsis, blue light, chloroplast movements, myosins, phototropins     

A Comparative Analysis of Algorithms for Estimating the Movement of the Center of Mass According to Force Plate Data

Biophysics - The approaches to determining the horizontal coordinates of the center of mass (CoM) applicablefor force plate are compared. The force plate for which only vertical forces are the...