Evaluation of ForenSeq™ Signature Prep Kit B on predicting eye and hair coloration as well as biogeographical ancestry by using Universal Analysis Software (UAS) and available web‐tools

This study examined 266 individuals from various populations including African American, East Asian, South Asian, European, and mixed populations to evaluate the ForenSeq? Signature Prep Kit Primer Mix B. Focus was placed on phenotypic and biogeographical ancestry predictions by Illumina's Universal Analysis Software (UAS). These outcomes were compared to those obtained through web‐tools developed at the Erasmus Medical Center (EMC) and available from the Forensic Resource/Reference on Genetics‐knowledge base (FROG‐kb), as well as to eye color predictions by the 8‐plex system. Due to drop‐outs, predictions for eye and hair color by UAS failed for various samples in each run. By including reads below thresholds, predictions could be obtained for all samples through the web‐tools. Eye and hair color predictions for African Americans, East Asians, and South Asians showed no errors. Difficulties however, were noted in intermediate (neither blue nor brown) eye color predictions. These were mitigated by the 8‐plex system through exclusion of one eye color (e.g. “not brown”). Additionally, notable discrepancies were observed in hair color predictions, where some black/dark‐brown haired individuals were predicted to have blond hair. Overall, ancestry predictions were more accurate by FROG‐kb compared to UAS, which did not predict South Asian ancestry, particularly Indian individuals.     

Structural and magnetic study of Mo-doped FINEMET

In this paper, a study of the structural and the magnetic correlation of the crystalline and amorphous phases in the nanocrystalline system Fe_73.5Si_13.5B₉Nb_3?xMo_xCu₁ (x=0, 1.5, 2, 3) was made. By means of Mössbauer spectroscopy, simple mass balance considerations and density measurements, both phases fractions and chemical compositions were calculated (in at%, wt% and vol%). Then, quasistatic magnetic measurements and ab initio calculations were used in a magnetic balance model in order to estimate the magnetic contribution of the remaining amorphous phase, which was compared to that of as-quenched amorphous samples of the same composition. The difference in both magnitudes showed the influence of penetrating fields and that these became more important for higher crystalline fractions.     

Synthesis of 5-substituted 1H-tetrazoles and oxidation of sulfides by using boehmite nanoparticles/nickel-curcumin as a robust and extremely efficient green nanocatalyst

Nickel-anchored curcumin-functionalized boehmite nanoparticles (BNPs@Cur-Ni) as a robust and versatile nanocatalyst was synthesized and well-characterized by using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray mapping, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The synthesis of 5-substituted 1H-tetrazoles and the oxidation of sulfides were conducted by BNPs@Cur-Ni with excellent turnover number (TON) and turnover frequency (TOF) outcomes. Also, the catalyst was reused for several sequential runs without Ni leaching or decreasing in reaction yield. Utilizing the curcumin and boehmite with a natural source as well as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as a solvent in this simple protocol can be based on green chemistry rules.     

Invertibility of Sobolev mappings under minimal hypotheses

We prove a version of the Inverse Function Theorem for continuous weakly differentiable mappings. Namely, a nonconstant W1,n$W^{1,n}$ mapping is a local homeomorphism if it has integrable inner distortion function and satisfies a certain differential inclusion. The integrability assumption is shown to be optimal.     

Protective Effect of Baicalin Against TLR4‐mediated UVA‐induced Skin Inflammation

UVA irradiation is known to cause photoaging via production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activation of inflammatory processes. Previously, we have demonstrated that baicalin, a plant‐derived flavonoid possessing both antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory activity, protects mouse keratinocytes against damage from UVB irradiation. However, the role of baicalin in vivo has not been well studied, particularly in the setting of UVA irradiation. To explore the protective effects and mechanisms of baicalin treatment in mice after UVA irradiation, mice were exposed to acute and chronic doses of UVA irradiation with or without baicalin or vehicle. Skin samples were collected for histological staining, RNA isolation, flow cytometry and protein extraction. Our results demonstrate the protective effect of baicalin against UVA‐induced oxidative damage and inflammation in mouse skin. These effects are likely mediated via the TLR4 pathway, which may serve as a target for photochemoprevention against skin inflammation.     

TANGO: A high through-put conformation generation and semiempirical method-based optimization tool for ligand molecules

Lead optimization is one of the crucial steps in the drug discovery pipeline. After identifying the lead molecule and obtaining its 2D geometry, understanding the best conformation it would attain in 3D still remains one of the most challenging steps in drug discovery. There have been multiple methods and algorithms that are directed toward achieving best conformation for the lead molecules. TANGO focuses on conformation generation and its optimization using semiempirical energy calculations. The conformation generation is based on torsion angle rotation of the exocyclic bonds. The energy calculations are performed using MOPAC. The unique feature of this tool lies in the implementation of Message Passing Interface (MPI) for conformation generation and semiempirical-based optimization. A well-defined architecture handling the input and output generation has been used. The master and slave approach to handle operations involved in torsion angle rotation and energy calculations has helped in load balancing the process of conformation generation. The benchmarking results suggest that TANGO scales significantly well across eight nodes with each node utilizing 16 cores. This tool may prove to very useful in high throughput generation of semiempirically optimized small molecule conformations. The use of semiempirical methods for optimization generates a conformational ensemble thereby helping to obtain stable and alternate stable conformers for a given ligand molecule. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Structure,Classification, and Conformal Symmetry,of Elementary Particles over Non-Archimedean Space–Time

It is known that no length or time measurements are possible in sub-Planckian regions of spacetime. The Volovich hypothesis postulates that the micro-geometry of spacetime may therefore be assumed to be non-archimedean. In this letter, the consequences of this hypothesis for the structure, classification, and conformal symmetry of elementary particles, when spacetime is a flat space over a non-archimedean field such as the p-adic numbers, is explored. Both the Poincaré and Galilean groups are treated. The results are based on a new variant of the Mackey machine for projective unitary representations of semidirect product groups which are locally compact and second countable. Conformal spacetime is constructed over p-adic fields and the impossibility of conformal symmetry of massive and eventually massive particles is proved.     

Characterization,electrical conduction and stability of Yb-doped barium cerate prepared by sol–gel method

Ceramics powder of BaCe_0.95Yb_0.05O_2.975 was successfully prepared by sol–gel method. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the decomposition of the dried powder was completed at 1,000 °C. Three strongly exothermic peaks observed in differential thermogravimetric signal indicated three major stages of weight loss in the sample. The high crystallinity of sample with orthorhombic structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The loose particles size obtained from scanning electron microscope was in the range of 65–100 nm, which is almost in the same range as that observed in particle size distribution. The sample showed a dc conductivity of ~1.3 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ at 650 °C and the activation energy, E _a, was found to be 1.4 eV. Result of chemical stability test showed that the compound was unstable in atmosphere containing pure carbon dioxide.     

Surface and bulk magnetic properties of as-quenched FeNbB ribbons

The surface and bulk magnetic properties of amorphous FeNbB ribbons in as-quenched state are investigated using various non-destructive methods. The conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy has detected the presence of crystalline phase at both surfaces of ribbon sample while the bulk was amorphous. The coexistence of crystalline and amorphous phase was shown also in the X-ray diffraction pattern. Magnetic properties measured by bulk sensitive vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) strongly differs from the surface characteristics investigated by magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE).     

Magnetostrictions and Curie temperature measurements of (Fe–Co)91−xMo8Cu1Bx alloys with varying Co/Fe ratio

Amorphous rapidly quenched ribbons of (Fe–Co)₇₉Mo₈Cu₁B₁₂ and (Fe–Co)₇₆Mo₈Cu₁B₁₅ with the ratio of Co/Fe from 0 to 1 and 0 to 2, respectively, were prepared by planar flow casting. The dependence of Curie temperature T_C on Co/Fe ratio was determined from temperature dependencies of sample dilatation measured using a special dilatometer designed for these materials. Due to the presence of the invar effect, it was possible to measure the spontaneous volume magnetostriction in the temperature interval between 300 K and T_C, which is of the order of 10⁻³. Using special disc-shaped samples field dependencies of magnetostriction in parallel and perpendicular directions of the applied magnetic field were obtained by direct measurement. Subsequently, saturation magnetostriction and volume magnetostriction as well as forced magnetostriction were computed. Saturation magnetostriction λ_S increases with increasing Co/Fe ratio from 0 up to 15 and from 0 up to 17 ppm for both alloy systems, respectively, depending both on the Co/Fe ratio and on the shift of T_C with composition. After attaining the maximal value and further increase of the Co/Fe ratio the saturation magnetostriction decreases. Both alloy systems with ratio Co/Fe=0 exhibit T_C near room temperature and the system passes into paramagnetic state. T_C for higher Co/Fe ratios approaches the glass transition region. In paramagnetic state the field dependencies of magnetostriction are practically linear functions of applied field and approach saturation only for high-field values.