A 26plex Autosomal STR Assay to Aid Human Identity Testing*†

Abstract: A short tandem repeat multiplex assay has been successfully developed with 25 autosomal loci plus the sex‐typing locus amelogenin for a total of 26 amplified products in a single reaction. Primers for the loci were designed so that all of the amplicons present were distributed from 65 base pairs (bp) to less than 400 bp within a five‐dye chemistry design with the fifth dye reserved for the sizing standard. A multiplex design strategy was developed to overcome challenges encountered in creating this assay. The limits of the multiplex were tested, resulting in the successful amplification of a wide range of genomic DNA sample concentrations from 2 ng to as low as 100 pg with 30 cycles of PCR. The 26plex has the potential to benefit the forensic community for reference sample testing and complex relationship evaluation.     

ECJ provides further guidance on the ambit of database right

Following on from the European Court of Justice's ruling on database right in the Directmedia case, the Court has looked in more detail at the protection afforded by database right, and provided further clarification of the meaning of ‘extraction’ and ‘substantial’, particularly in relation to modular databases comprised of several sections. The ECJ's ruling is positive for database owners for the most part, bolstering its previous broad interpretation of the acts of ‘extraction’ that can infringe and considering in more detail other points touched on in the Directmedia, British Horseracing Board and Fixtures Marketing cases. This article discusses the outcome and implications of the ruling.     

阳和平喘颗粒早期和晚期干预对哮喘大鼠支气管肺泡灌洗液中白细胞介素-5和白细胞介素-9的影响

目的 从细胞因子水平研究阳和平喘颗粒防治支气管哮喘的机制。方法 将84只清洁级SD大鼠随机分为正常组,模型组,地塞米松组,阳和平喘颗粒早期干预低剂量组、早期干预高剂量组、晚期干预低剂量组、晚期干预高剂量组,采用卵清白蛋白多点长期致敏及激发的方法复制大鼠哮喘模型。给予相应药物分阶段干预,观察哮喘大鼠肺组织病理形态变化,采用ELISA法检测支气管肺泡灌洗液（bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, BALF）中（interleukin-5, IL-5）和（interleukin-9, IL-9）水平。结果 各给药组大鼠气管壁黏膜与肺周围血管组织的炎性细胞浸润及气管壁增厚均较模型组明显减轻。阳和平喘颗粒早期用药降低BALF中IL-5和IL-9的作用优于晚期用药,高剂量阳和平喘颗粒降低BALF中IL-5和IL-9的作用优于低剂量,阳和平喘颗粒低剂量晚期用药降低BALF中IL-5和IL-9的作用与地塞米松相当。结论 阳和平喘颗粒防治支气管哮喘的机制与其降低BALF中IL-5、IL-9水平有关,早期用药的效应优于晚期用药,其效应具有一定的剂量依赖性。     

化痰通瘀解毒方提取物对人胃癌细胞SGC-7901侵袭转移能力的影响

目的 观察化痰通瘀解毒方提取物对人胃癌细胞株SGC-7901侵袭转移能力的影响。方法 10、20、40 μg/mL化痰通瘀解毒方提取物分别干预人胃癌细胞SGC-7901 24 h后,采用Transwell小室法检测人胃癌细胞SGC-7901的侵袭、迁移能力,分别采用酶联免疫吸附试验和Western blot法检测SGC-7901细胞中基质金属蛋白酶9（matrix metalloproteinase 9, MMP-9）和E-钙黏蛋白（E-cadherin）的表达水平。结果 4组SGC-7901的侵袭细胞数和迁移细胞数以及E-cadherin和MMP-9表达水平比较,差异均具有统计学意义（P＜0.05）,呈现明显的剂量依赖性,以高剂量化痰解毒方提取物的效应最明显。结论 化痰解毒方可抑制人胃癌细胞SGC-7901侵袭和迁移能力,其作用机制可能与上调E-cadherin表达,下调MMP-9的表达有关。     

An evolutionary step in intellectual property rights – Artificial intelligence and intellectual property

This article addresses and analyses the issues concerning the ownership of computer generated works within patents and copyright, and concludes that the current regime is woefully inadequate to deal with the growing use of more and more intuitive artificial intelligence systems in the production of such works. It considers the respective claims of interested parties to such rights before moving on to a consideration of the creation of a new legal personality to which such rights could be granted to resolve the difficulties inherent in the current system.     

Shaping the Scope of Conflict in Scotland’s Fracking Debate: Conflict Management and the Narrative Policy Framework

This study applies a narrative lens to policy actors’ discursive strategies in the Scottish debate over fracking. Based on a sample of 226 newspaper articles (2011–2017) and drawing on key elements of the narrative policy framework (NPF), the research examines how policy coalitions have characterized their supporters, their opponents, and the main regulator (Scottish government). It also explores how actors have sought to expand or contain the scope of conflict to favor their policy objectives. Empirically, only the government strives for conflict containment, whereas both pro‐ and anti‐fracking groups prioritize conflict expansion through characterization contests and the diffusion and concentration of the costs/risks and benefits of fracking. In theoretical terms, the study proposes that Sarah Pralle’s conflict management model, which emphasizes symmetrical strategies of conflict expansion by both coalitions, is a potential tool to revise extant NPF expectations about the different narrative strategies of winning and losing coalitions. Moreover, the fact that policy actors mostly employ negatively rather than positively framed characters in their narratives may be a valid expectation for similar policy conflicts, particularly under conditions of regulatory uncertainty.     

H9N2禽流感病毒HA2基因重组杆状病毒的表达

从pMD18-T-HA阳性质粒扩增了H9N2亚型禽流感病毒的HA2基因,将扩增到的 HA2基因克隆至昆虫杆状病毒转移载体pBlueBacHis2A中。将其与杆状病毒共转染于Sf9昆虫细胞,经蚀斑筛选纯化重组杆状病毒,用其感染Sf9昆虫细胞,并优化表达条件。SDS-PAGE和 Western-blotting分析表明,表达产物的分子质量约为27 ku。Dot-ELISA分析表明,表达的HA2 融合蛋白可与鸡抗H9N2亚型血清发生特异性反应,而与H5和H7亚型抗血清间无交叉反应。     

S100A9蛋白分子结构、功能及法医损伤学意义

S100A9是S100蛋白家族(包括S100A1~S100A13、S100B、S100C等蛋白)中的一员,主要分布于脾脏、肺脏和皮肤等器官,表达于嗜中性粒细胞、单核细胞、角化细胞等的胞浆和细胞外液中,是一种与炎症、创伤、肿瘤关系密切的钙结合蛋白,在法医学上,可能有助于电击等损伤后时间的推断和无典型电流斑电击伤的诊断。本文就S100A9蛋白分子结构、作用机制、功能及其在法医损伤学上的意义等作一介绍。     

Australia and the Threat of Terrorism in the Decade after 9/11

In February 2010, the Australian government released its second Counter-Terrorism White Paper, claiming that terrorism continues to pose a serious security challenge to Australia. The article critically re-examines the terrorist threat to Australia and explores the threat posed by the traditional Al-Qaeda leadership, by regional organisations like Jemaah Islamiyah and by so-called ‘home-grown’ terrorists. Arguing that it is imperative to differentiate clearly between the threat to Australia and Australian interests abroad, the article identifies the sources of threat in the Australian context. It concludes that neither Al-Qaeda nor Jemaah Islamiyah nor home-grown terrorism poses any significant objective threat to Australia. At the same time it is acknowledged that the subjective perception of the terrorist necessitates the government to develop an effective counter-terrorism strategy. However, given that the terrorism threat is objectively low, policy measures addressing the threat ought to be carefully designed to meet the requirements of proportionality and (potential) effectiveness.     

Saving virgins,saving the USA: heteronormative masculinities and the securitisation of trafficking discourse in mainstream narrative film

Sex trafficking has become a high-profile, celebrity endorsed issue, attracting much international attention. Accompanying this has been a proliferation of films, including full-length feature films, which address the topic and have done much to influence public perception of the issue. This paper analyses two of these films which were made for the mainstream US market: Trade and Taken. Both films present a conservative and heteronormative perspective revolving around middle-aged North American law enforcement officers rescuing innocent young girls. Hence, these films participate in the general securitisation of trafficking discourse in which the US has been a leader. In spite of their ostensible concern about the exploitation of women, these films present trafficking mostly as an occasion for the redemption and rehabilitation of the beleaguered white American male, appropriating the problem of trafficking in the service of a US-led neo-imperialism bolstered by masculinism and xenophobia, and implicitly problematising women's independence and justifying the control of their movements and sexuality.