Improved STR analysis of degraded DNA from human skeletal remains through in-house MPS-STR panel

DNA analysis of degraded samples and low-copy number DNA derived from skeletal remains, one of the most challenging forensic tasks, is common in disaster victim identification and genetic analysis of historical materials. Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) is a useful technique for STR analysis that enables the sequencing of smaller amplicons compared with conventional capillary electrophoresis (CE), which is valuable for the analysis of degraded DNA. In this study, 92 samples of human skeletal remains (70+ years postmortem) were tested using an in-house MPS-STR system designed for the analysis of degraded DNA. Multiple intrinsic factors of DNA from skeletal remains that affect STR typing were assessed. The recovery of STR alleles was influenced more by DNA input amount for amplification rather than DNA degradation, which may be attributed from the high quantity and quality of libraries prepared for MPS run. In addition, the higher success rate of STR typing was achieved using the MPS-STR system compared with a commercial CE-STR system by providing smaller sized fragments for amplification. The results can provide constructive information for the analysis of degraded sample, and this MPS-STR system will contribute in forensic application with regard to skeletal remain sample investigation.     

New cytotoxic cembranolides from the soft coral Lobophytum michaelae

Eleven new cytotoxic cembranolides, michaolides A-K (1-11), and crassolide (12) were isolated from the CH(2)Cl(2) extract of the Formosan soft coral Lobophytum michaelae. Their structures were established by extensive spectral analysis. The cytotoxicity of the isolates against selected cancer cells was measured in vitro.     

Pre-processing optimization for IBI mitigation in an OFDM system over channels with large delay spreads

When the cyclic prefix (CP) in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system is shorter than the delay span of wireless channels, inter-block interference (IBI) and inter-carrier interference (ICI) will occur. To effectively mitigate interference in this case, pre-processing approaches at transmitters based on full channel state information (CSI) have been proposed. However, feeding full CSI back will occupy significant bandwidth and is impractical sometimes. Therefore, a pre-processing optimization exploiting limited CSI is investigated in this paper; several pre-processing optimization approaches have been developed. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms can effectively cancel the IBI and ICI and significantly improve the performance in OFDM systems.     

Threshold control by a single-server retrial queue with batch arrivals and group services

A controlled single-server retrial queueing system is investigated. Customers arrive according to batch Markovian arrival process. The system has several operation modes which are controlled by means of a threshold strategy. The stationary distribution is calculated. Optimization problem is considered and a numerical example is presented.     

Rapid parameter optimization of low signal‐to‐noise samples in NMR spectroscopy using rapid CPMG pulsing during acquisition: application to recycle delays

A method is presented that combines Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) during acquisition with either selective or nonselective excitation to produce a considerable intensity enhancement and a simultaneous loss in chemical shift information. A range of parameters can theoretically be optimized very rapidly on the basis of the signal from the entire sample (hard excitation) or spectral subregion (soft excitation) and should prove useful for biological, environmental, and polymer samples that often exhibit highly dispersed and broad spectral profiles. To demonstrate the concept, we focus on the application of our method to T₁ determination, specifically for the slowest relaxing components in a sample, which ultimately determines the optimal recycle delay in quantitative NMR. The traditional inversion recovery (IR) pulse program is combined with a CPMG sequence during acquisition. The slowest relaxing components are selected with a shaped pulse, and then, low‐power CPMG echoes are applied during acquisition with intervals shorter than chemical shift evolution (RCPMG) thus producing a single peak with an SNR commensurate with the sum of the signal integrals in the selected region. A traditional ¹³C IR experiment is compared with the selective ¹³C IR‐RCPMG sequence and yields the same T₁ values for samples of lysozyme and riverine dissolved organic matter within error. For lysozyme, the RCPMG approach is ~70 times faster, and in the case of dissolved organic matter is over 600 times faster. This approach can be adapted for the optimization of a host of parameters where chemical shift information is not necessary, such as cross‐polarization/mixing times and pulse lengths. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On random least-square analysis

Dispersion in the output data of a system can be analyzed as either noise fluctuations about a deterministic model or as the noise with added fluctuations due to randomness in the model itself. This latter interpretation finds applications in the identification of inherently random systems which provide rational models for systems such as biological and economic systems. It is shown that the computational procedure is closely related to traditional least-square analysis. Both linear and nonlinear models are considered. Results of computer simulations are presented for some simple cases.     

Catalytic Performance and Kinetic Models on Zirconium Phosphate Modified Ru/Co/SiO2 Fischer–Tropsch Catalyst

The present paper represents the promising ways to improve catalytic performance by introducing zirconium phosphate (ZP) on Ru/Co/SiO₂ catalysts and the related kinetic models using the optimized Fischer?CTropsch synthesis (FTS) catalyst. A lot of works has been reported using cobalt-based catalyst for FTS reaction, and many authors have continuously tried to find out highly efficient FTS catalyst by modifying support as well as by introducing promoters. Silica is one of the excellent candidates as catalytic supports, and the present works intensively represents how to modify SiO₂ support for a high catalytic performance by using ZP species. The effect of ZP-modification of SiO₂ support with respect to cobalt aggregation and catalytic deactivation was mainly investigated for FTS reaction. The surface modification at P/(Zr?+?P) molar ratio between 0.029 and 0.134, enhanced the spatial confinement effect of cobalt clusters, and resulted in high catalytic stability with the help of well-dispersed ZP particle formation. The enhanced catalytic performance, in terms of CO conversion, C₅+ selectivity and catalytic stability, is mainly attributed to the suppressed aggregation, a homogeneous distribution of cobalt clusters with a proper size and a low mobility of cobalt clusters at an optimum molar ratio of P/(Zr?+?P) because of the formation of thermally stable ZP particles. The kinetic parameters and rate equations on the optimized catalyst are also derived in terms of CO conversion and product distribution.     

Yield stress determination of styrene-butadiene-styrene triblock copolymer solutions

Conventional methods of yield stress determination involve extrapolation of shear stress data to zero shear rate, and are thus susceptible to errors. This paper reports the application of a quasi-static technique for direct yield stress measurement, which obviates data extrapolation. Yield stresses of 38%, 42%, and 46% (by weight) SBS block copolymer solutions in a mixed solvent of tetrahydrofuran and methyl ethyl ketone (9:1 by volume) were obtained with a modified Fisher Autotensiomat Surface Tension Analyzer. Values obtained via extrapolation of viscometric data were compared with and found to differ significantly from those measured with the Autotensiomat. Arrhenius plots of the yield stress give straight lines, from which energy barriers to induce breakdown of the phase-separated morphologies are determined. These activation energies increase with solution concentration. The effect of repeated shearing on the apparent yield stress of the solutions was also determined at different temperatures.     

Synthesis of fluorescent diarylethenes having a 2,4,5-triphenylimidazole chromophore

Diarylethenes 1a-4a, having a fluorescent 2,4,5-triphenylimidazole chromophore in the aryl group, were synthesized. Upon excitation of the triphenylimidazole chromophore with 366 nm, 1a-4a underwent photocyclization reactions, and the solutions containing 1a-4a changed color from colorless to red-purple or to blue. The colors disappeared by irradiation with visible (lambda > 480 nm) light. The fluorescence intensity of the solutions also reversibly changed with the photochromic reactions. The fluorescence quantum yields of 1a, 2a, 3a, and 4a were determined to be 4.6, 7.7, 9.1, and 8.4%, respectively. The fluorescence quantum yields decreased with the increase in photocyclization quantum yields.     

Stochastic extensions to necessary conditions in the theory of the calculus of variations

A stochastic version of the modified Young's generalized necessary conditions in the calculus of variations is given in this paper. It is based on an extension of Minkowski's theorem on the existence of a flat support for a convex figure, and it generalizes the necessary conditions of Weierstrass and Euler in the classical theory of the calculus of variations to a class of admissible curves which are expressible in terms of a finite number of random parameters. The integrals which we consider here are in the general Denjoy sense, except those with respect to the random parameters, which exist in the Lebesgue sense defined on a probability space. The importance of our stochastic analysis lies in the completion that a minimum not attained in the classical sense may be, and frequently is, attained in the stochastic case.This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grants Nos. GK-1834X and GK-31229