Investigations of any type of crime invariably starts at the crime scene by collecting evidence. Thus, the purpose of this research was to collect and analyze an entomological trace from an environment that is similar to those of indoor crime scenes. Hematophagous mosquitoes were collected from two residential units; saliva of volunteers that were residents in the units was also collected for g...

AIM To establish allele frequencies and genetic parameters for 5 new European Standard Set short tandem repeat (STR) loci in the population of Romania and to compare them with those in other populations. METHODS DNA was isolated using QIAamp 96 DNA Swab BioRobot Kit and Chelex 100 methods. Polymerase chain reaction amplification was done using Investigator ESSplexPlus Kit (D1S1656, D2S441, D2...

Analysis of length polymorphism at short tandem repeat (STR) loci utilizing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process has proven to be an ideal assay for human identification purposes. The short length of STR loci coupled with the amplification of target sequence through PCR allows for a robust, sensitive, and specific assay for highly polymorphic markers. A multiplex containing fifteen STR l...

Integrin alpha(V)beta(3) binds to extracellular matrix proteins through the tripeptide Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), forming a shallow crevice rather than a deep binding pocket. A dynamic picture of how the RGD-alpha(V)beta(3) complex resists dissociation by mechanical force is derived here from steered molecular dynamic (SMD) simulations in which the major force peak correlates with the breaking of the c...

Genetic diversity and forensic parameters based on 15AmpFlSTR Identifiler short tandem repeat (STR) loci (D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818 and FGA) were evaluated in a sample of 101 unrelated, autochthonous adults from Montenegro. After applying Bonferroni correction, the agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE)...

Here, we report an incest paternity case involving three biological brothers as alleged fathers (AFs), their biological sister and her child that was investigated using the Investigator ESSplex Plus, AmpFLSTR Identifiler Plus/Investigator IDplex Plus and PowerPlex 16 kits. Initial duo paternity investigations using 15-loci autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) analyses failed to exclude any of th...

Anthrax toxin is the major virulence factor produced by Bacillus anthracis. Protective antigen (PA) is the key component of the toxin and has been confirmed as the main target for the development of toxin inhibitors. The inhibition of the binding of PA to its receptor, capillary morphogenesis protein-2 (CMG2), can effectively block anthrax intoxication. The recombinant, soluble von Willebrand f...

AIM To examine population genetic structure and hypotheses of the origin of the modern Basque population in Spain using autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) data from individuals living in 27 mountain villages in the provinces of Alava, Vizcaya, Guipuzcoa, and Navarre, by comparing Basque autosomal STR variation with that of neighboring populations in Europe, as well as proposed ancestral popula...

AIM To study the distribution of allele frequencies of 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci in a representative sample of Croatian population. METHODS A total of 195 unrelated Caucasian individuals born in Croatia, from 14 counties and the City of Zagreb, were sampled for the analysis. All the tested individuals were voluntary donors. Buccal swab was used as the DNA source. AmpFlSTR Identifiler ...

PEA3, ERM and ER81 belong to the PEA3 subfamily of Ets transcription factors and play important roles in a number of tissue-specific processes. Transcriptional activation by PEA3 subfamily factors requires their characteristic amino-terminal acidic transactivation domain (TAD). However, the cellular targets of this domain remain largely unknown. Using ERM as a prototype, we show that the minima...