Profiler Plus Research Articles

Does Leadership Matter? Ahmadinejad, Rouhani, and the Change in Iranian Foreign Policy

Following Rouhani's victory in the 2013 presidential elections, Iran's foreign policy (IFP) underwent significant changes after over a decade under Ahmadinejad. To date, only a few academic studies have attempted to incorporate a specific individual-level theory into their respective analyses, even though a large body of literature contends that leadership change is the decisive factor in differences in Iran's policy towards the US and the EU. This study analyzes the leadership styles of Ahmadinejad and Rouhani to reveal the possible impact of decision-maker personalities on foreign policy, and to develop an account of the moderation in IFP. Accordingly, it asks, “How does leadership style influence IFP towards the 'Western world'?" Theoretically, the study benefits from Hermann’s ‘Leadership Trait Analysis’ to find out the impact of leaders’ personalities on foreign policy behaviors of states. Empirically, it analyzes both presidents’ spontaneously selected political speeches, consisting of their answers in interviews and press conferences. Methodologically, the study utilizes the software Profiler Plus to assess individual traits of leaders. Interpreting leadership trait scores of two presidents, the study concludes that certain leadership features allow the construction of foreign policies that are more moderate.

Do Campaign Speeches Predict Foreign Policy? An Operational Code and Leadership Trait Analysis of Donald Trump’s MENA Policies

This article investigates whether campaign speeches during the US presidential elections can help predict foreign policy behavior. We use speeches made by Donald J. Trump during his bid for president in 2016. We compare the analysis from 2016 with his actual foreign policy decisions during his tenure, 2017-2020. Operational code analysis and leadership traits analysis approaches are used to analyze candidate Trump’s foreign policy beliefs and strategies associated with them. We use Profiler Plus software to conduct content analysis which produces OCA and LTA results. We use three separate datasets to analyze Trump’s beliefs and traits focusing on his general foreign policy speeches, the MENA region, and a third one only about Islamic State and Syria. Our results show that Trump’s profile indicates a foreign policy orientation that avoids involvement in affairs that are perceived as beyond immediate interests. The consistency between his beliefs and traits during the 2016 campaign and his actual foreign policy behavior leads us to conclude that individual level analysis, and specifically OCA and LTA approaches, are useful tools to analyze, explain and predict foreign policy.

Cybersecurity Risk in U.S. Critical Infrastructure: An Analysis of Publicly Available U.S. Government Alerts and Advisories

As threat actor operations become increasingly sophisticated and emphasize the targeting of critical infrastructure and services, the need for cybersecurity information sharing will continue to grow. Escalating demand for cyber threat intelligence and information sharing across the cybersecurity community has resulted in the need to better understand the information produced by reputable sources such as U.S. CISA Alerts and ICS-CERT advisories. The text analysis program, Profiler Plus, is used to extract information from 1,574 U.S. government alerts and advisories to develop visualizations and generate enhanced insights into different cyber threat actor types, the tactics which can be used for cyber operations, and sectors of critical infrastructure at risk of an attack. The findings of this study enhance cyber threat intelligence activities by enabling an understanding of the trends in public information sharing as well as identifying gaps in open-source reporting on cyber-threat information.

Cross-cultural comparison of political leaders' operational codes.

This study aims at comparing operational codes (namely, philosophical and instrumental beliefs about the political universe) of political leaders from different cultures. According to Schwartz (2004), cultures can be categorised into 3 dimensions: autonomy-embeddedness, egalitarianism-hierarchy and mastery-harmony. This study draws upon the 1st dimension (akin to the most popular cultural dimension of Hofstede: individualism-collectivism) and focuses on comparing the leaders of autonomous and embedded cultures based on how cooperative/conflictual they are. The main research hypothesis is as follows: the leaders of embedded cultures would be more cooperative than the leaders of autonomous cultures. For this purpose, 3 autonomous cultures (the UK, Canada and Australia) and embedded cultures (Singapore, South Africa and Malaysia) cultures were chosen randomly and the cooperativeness of the correspondent countries' leaders were compared after being profiled by Profiler Plus. The results indicated that the leaders of embedded cultures were significantly more cooperative than autonomous cultures after holding the control variables constant. The findings were discussed in the light of relevant literature.

Screening of intracerebral hemorrhage associated allele combinations at different loci using a novel association analysis

BackgroundGenetic research has progressed along with scientific and technological developments. However, it is difficult to identify frequency differences in the allele combination at cross-loci. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the presence of specific allele combinations of short tandem repeat (STR) loci and the onset of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) using a novel methodology. MethodsDNA samples were collected from patients with ICH, who were adult population. There were a total of 51 Chinese patients (102 chromosomes), comprising 30 males and 21 females. Alleles from short tandem repeat (STR) loci were determined using the STR Profiler Plus PCR amplification kit (15 STR loci). Statistically significant differences between observed and expected frequencies of allele combinations were identified. To further determine allele combinations related to the disease, analyses of patient age at disease onset for those carrying a specific allele combination were conducted. Finally, cross-validation of the two sets of analytical results was carried out. ResultsA total of 1550 pairwise combinations were obtained by computer counting, of which eight pairs of alleles showed significant differences between the observed and expected frequencies (p<0.05, from 0.006 to 0.042). The p value for the cross-validation analysis was less than 0.05 for two pairs of alleles (D13S317-11 and vWA-17, p=0.021; D7S820-13 and D2S1338-18, p=0.023). ConclusionsThe study identified each population had a unique gene distribution and that distribution followed certain rules. ICH onset may be associated with this allele combinations (D13S317-11 and vWA-17; D7S820-13 and D2S1338-18). The new methodology used in this study could enable additional discoveries pertaining to the relationship between specific allele combinations at different loci and the onset of complex diseases.

Reduced reaction volumes and increased Taq DNA polymerase concentration improve STR profiling outcomes from a real-world low template DNA source: telogen hairs.

The primary method for analysis of low template DNA (LTDNA) is known as the low copy number (LCN) method involving an increased number of PCR cycles (typically 34). In common with other LTDNA methods, LCN profiles are characterized by allelic imbalance, drop in, and drop out that require complicated interpretation rules. They often require replicate PCR reactions to generate a "consensus" profile in a specialized facility. An ideal method for analysis of LTDNA should enhance profiling outcomes without elevated error rates and be performed using standard facilities, with minimum additional cost. In this study, we present a comparison of four method variations for the amplification of STRs from LTDNA with a widely used, commercially available kit (AmpFℓSTR(®) Profiler Plus(®)): the standard method, the standard method with a post-PCR clean up, the LCN method, and a reduced reaction volume with increased Taq DNA polymerase concentration. Using telogen hairs-a common source of LTDNA-and matched reference DNA, the LCN method produced the highest number of concordant and non-concordant (i.e., dropped-in) alleles. In comparison, the reduced reaction volume with increased Taq polymerase yielded more full and concordant DNA profiles (all alleles combined) and less off-ladder alleles from a broad range of input DNA. In addition, this method resulted in less non-concordant alleles than LCN and no more than for standard PCR, which suggests that it may be preferred over increased PCR cycles for LTDNA analysis, either with or without consensus profiling and statistical modelling. Overall, this study highlights the importance and benefit of optimizing PCR conditions and developing improved laboratory methods to amplify and analyze LTDNA.

Concomitant intake of alcohol may increase the absorption of poorly soluble drugs

Ethanol can increase the solubility of poorly soluble and hence present a higher drug concentration in the gastrointestinal tract. This may produce a faster and more effective absorption resulting in variable and/or high drug plasma concentrations, both of which can lead to adverse drug reactions. In this work we therefore studied the solubility and absorption effects of nine diverse compounds when ethanol was present. The apparent solubility was measured using the μDiss Profiler Plus (pION, MA) in four media representing gastric conditions with and without ethanol. The solubility results were combined with in-house data on solubility in intestinal fluids (with and without ethanol) and pharmacokinetic parameters extracted from the literature and used as input in compartmental absorption simulations using the software GI-Sim. Apparent solubility increased more than 7-fold for non-ionized compounds in simulated gastric fluid containing 20% ethanol. Compounds with weak base functions (cinnarizine, dipyridamole and terfenadine) were completely ionized at the studied gastric pH and their solubility was therefore unaffected by ethanol. Compounds with low solubility in intestinal media and a pronounced solubility increase due to ethanol in the upper gastric compartments showed an increased absorption in the simulations. The rate of absorption of the acidic compounds indomethacin and indoprofen was slightly increased but the extent of absorption was unaffected as the complete doses were readily absorbed even without ethanol. This was likely due to a high apparent solubility in the intestinal compartment where the weak acids are ionized. The absorption of the studied non-ionizable compounds increased when ethanol was present in the gastric and intestinal media. These results indicate that concomitant intake of alcohol may significantly increase the solubility and hence, the plasma concentration for non-ionizable, lipophilic compounds with the potential of adverse drug reactions to occur.

A new design without control population for identification of gastric cancer-related allele combinations based on interaction of genes

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to develop a novel approach without control population to examine the relationship between the presence of specific allele combinations at different loci with the onset of gastric cancer. MethodsDNA samples were collected from patients with gastric cancer. Alleles from short tandem repeat loci were determined using the STR Profiler Plus PCR amplification kit (15 STR loci). The observed and expected frequencies of specific allele combinations were calculated; statistically significant allele combinations were identified by comparing the observed frequency with the expected frequency. The age at disease onset of patients carrying a specific allele combination was further analysed; allele combinations related to the gastric cancer were effectively identified from the large number of possible allele combinations by cross-validation of the 2 sets of analytical results. ResultsA total of 2209 pairwise combinations were obtained by computer counting, of which 11 pairs of genes showed significant differences between the observed and expected frequencies (p<0.05). The p value for the cross-validation was also less than 0.05 for 2 pair of alleles (D8S1179-16 and D5S818-13; D2S1338-23 and D6S1043-11). ConclusionGastric cancer onset may be associated with these allele combinations. The new methodology without control group will enable additional discoveries pertaining to the relationship between specific allele combinations at different loci and the onset of complex diseases.

Identification of Sex from Foramen Magnum of Egyptian Skulls Using Three Dimensional Computed Tomography

To study the extracting and genotyping method of sweat latent fingerprint samples involved in cases. Chlex 100 extraction method was used to extract DNA. STR loci were typed after PCR amplification by Profiler Plus kit. All the sweat latent fingerprint samples involved in cases obtained reliable results of STR genotyping. It is very important to find and extract sweat latent fingerprint samples properly for STR genotyping.

Screening of longevity-associated genes based on a comparison between dead and surviving populations

AimTo investigate longevity-associated genes based on a comparison between dead and surviving populations. MethodsA total of 71 cases of dead individuals were treated as the death group, and healthy volunteers who were matched with the dead individuals based on sex and age were recruited as the survival group. Alleles of 13 CODIS STR loci were determined using the AmpFLSTR Profiler Plus PCR Amplification Kit. The cross-validation was performed based on differences between the two groups in both frequency values and ages. ResultsThe frequency value of the D18S51-17 alleles was significantly higher in the dead group than in the survival group (p<0.05), and the frequency value of the D2S1338-18 allele was statistically lower in the dead group than in the survival group (p<0.05). The mean age of the subjects with the D2S1338-18 allele was also significantly higher than that of the subjects without D2S1338-18, and no significant difference was observed with respect to the other three alleles. ConclusionsThe results suggest that D2S1338-18 is associated with longevity.

Characterization of mutations and sequence variants in the D21S11 locus by next generation sequencing

We sequenced the D21S11 locus in 77 individuals from Danish paternity cases using 454 FLX next generation sequencing (NGS) technology. All samples were also typed with the AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus or the AmpFlSTR Identifiler PCR Amplification kits as part of paternity investigations. In 18 of the confirmed trios, a genetic inconsistency was observed between one of the parents and the child at the D21S11 locus. NGS of the D21S11 locus revealed which allele had mutated from which parent to the child in 13 of these trios. All characterized mutations could be explained by single-step mutations in the longest sub-repeat of D21S11. A total of 53 of the 77 sequenced samples originated from unrelated individuals. Twenty different D21S11 alleles were detected by NGS in these individuals whereas only 13 different alleles were observed with fragment analysis. Several alleles had the same lengths but different sequences, e.g. four and three different alleles were detected by NGS with lengths determined by CE corresponding to allele 30 and allele 31, respectively.

Environmental DNA monitoring: beware of the transition to more sensitive typing methodologies

Background DNA on surfaces and equipment utilised during forensic examination of exhibits poses a contamination risk. Many laboratories have established environmental DNA monitoring (EDM) programmes to generate awareness of locations, levels and origins of background DNA to identify contamination risk reduction opportunities. To evaluate the impact on contamination risk of introducing new DNA profiling systems we have analysed 134 EDM samples from surfaces within our forensic biology laboratory. The samples were profiled for our current system (Profiler Plus) and the new systems PowerPlex 21 and Yfiler. Many samples deemed clean using Profiler Plus yielded alleles using PowerPlex 21 and those with few alleles using Profiler Plus yielded many with PowerPlex 21. The detectability of alleles in multiple samples with negative quantification results using Quantifiler suggests that items able to be deemed free of detectable DNA by the newly introduced standard, AS 5483-2012, are not so when utilising DNA typing systems as sensitive as PowerPlex 21. Current cleaning procedures are shown to be less adequate when operating with PowerPlex 21. This study highlights the need for a range of issues pertaining to contamination risk to be addressed prior to the introduction of more sensitive profiling systems such as PowerPlex 21 into casework.

Sperm Hy-Liter™: An effective tool for the detection of spermatozoa in sexual assault exhibits

A fluorescence-based assay specifically targeting human spermatozoa was tested and optimized for best staining results using a variety of mock sexual assault samples. Swab clippings versus whole swabs were evaluated for best sample preparation and to simplify workflow (direct application versus swab extraction). The practicality and sensitivity of Sperm Hy-Liter™ was compared to our current phase contrast microscopy protocol for searching for the presence of spermatozoa. Sperm Hy-Liter™ was more sensitive than phase contrast microscopy and was able to detect spermatozoa more effectively in actual sexual assault samples (recent [N=240] or 24 years old [N=4]) containing few spermatozoa. Correlations were drawn between the Sperm Hy-Liter™ spermatozoa counts and the AmpFlSTR(®) Profiler(®) Plus male profiles generated from the sperm cell DNA fractions of semen containing swabs and swab clippings. In addition, recovered spermatozoa from Sperm Hy-Liter™-stained slides with greater than 40 spermatozoa produced full STR male profiles in 20.3% of slides tested and partial STR male profiles in 52.8% of slides tested. The adoption of Sperm Hy-Liter™ offers a means to standardize and improve the efficiency of the microscopic screening of sexual assault evidence.

Population data for 30 insertion–deletion markers in a Korean population

This study reports on the forensic parameters of 30 insertion-deletion polymorphisms (Indels) (Investigator DIPplex® kit) in 100 individuals from a Korean population. The match probability ranged from 0.353 to 0.789, and the combined power of discrimination reached 0.99999999995. The DIPplex® kit is more discriminative in Koreans than six COfiler® short tandem repeats (STRs), but less discriminative than nine Profiler Plus® STRs. This study further demonstrated that some Indels in the DIPplex® kit could be used as Asian ancestry informative markers through a comparison with other population data.

Psychological concomitants and predictors of violence during political upheaval in Zimbabwe: A content analysis study

Predicting when political violence is likely to erupt is a major problem for international, national, and local governments and agencies. In this study, thematic content analysis (TCA) was used to measure integrative complexity (IC) and power motive imagery (PMI) in editorials written by the spokesman for President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. Decreased IC and increased PMI have been shown to precede and accompany war versus negotiation in international confrontations. Here, they were used for the first time in the case of a prolonged history of domestic political violence committed by an oppressive government and its supporters. A less time- and labor-intensive, computerized method of content analysis, Profiler Plus, was also tested as a possible alternative to TCA. The scores were correlated with levels of political violence at the time of the publication of the editorial and with levels of violence 2, 3, and 4 weeks later. Although violence was significantly correlated with changes in several measures, IC decrease was the only variable that was also significantly correlated with violence at all three prediction periods. Together, decreasing IC and rising PMI provided unique predictive utility. The overall model accounted for 73% of the variance in log-transformed violence.

Intrahepatic recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma 13 years after orthotopic liver transplantation for hepatitis C-related cirrhosis with occult hepatocellular carcinoma: A case report

Intrahepatic recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma 13 years after orthotopic liver transplantation for hepatitis C-related cirrhosis with occult hepatocellular carcinoma: A case report

Forensic STR analysis using massive parallel sequencing

We explore the applicability of second generation sequencing (SGS) to sequence multiplexed forensic STR amplicons, both in a single contributor sample as in multiple-person mixtures with different ratios. We compare the results of a commercial STR profiling kit (Applied Biosystems AmpFlSTR® Profiler Plus®), analyzed both with capillary electrophoresis and with Roche GS FLX sequencing. An easy to use open-source software pipeline is provided, chaining together the different steps needed to start the analysis from a GS FLX FASTA file, resulting in a FASTA file containing the called and quantified alleles present in the data. Sequencing of multiplexed STR amplicons using Roche GS FLX titanium technology is technically feasible but the technology is not ideal for this purpose. The fraction of full length reads is small and the homopolymer sequencing error rate is high. The pipeline compresses the homopolymers to a single base to avoid false results caused by these homopolymers. The qualitative and quantitative results from the SGS STR analysis pipeline are comparable to the electrophoresis method. Additionally, the SGS method provides extra information and is able to call allele subtypes based on STR sequences in a database. In mixed samples, all alleles were reported from individuals that contributed at least 10% to the mixture.

Screening of cerebral infarction-related genetic markers using a Cox regression analysis between onset age and heterozygosity at randomly selected short tandem repeat loci

The aim of this paper is to explore whether the heterozygosity at the 9 CODIS short tandem repeats (STR) loci including D3S1358, vWA, FGA, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317 and D7S820 is associated with the risk of atherosclerotic cerebral infarction (CI). The DNA samples were collected from patients with CI (n=72) and people over the age of 90years without CI (n=59). Alleles of the STR loci were determined using the STR Profiler Plus PCR amplification kit. The relationship between the age of onset and heterozygosity was determined with the Cox regression method. A correlation between the age of onset and heterozygosity was observed for the D8S1179 locus (p<0.05). It implied that regions in the vicinity of locus D8S1179 may harbor susceptibility genes for CI. The analysis of heterozygosity for particular loci as genetic markers using our new study design may be an efficient and reliable approach to estimate genetic predispositions.

A Rapid Wire‐Based Sampling Method for DNA Profiling*

This paper reports the results of a commission to develop a field deployable rapid short tandem repeat (STR)-based DNA profiling system to enable discrimination between tissues derived from a small number of individuals. Speed was achieved by truncation of sample preparation and field deployability by use of an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyser(TM). Human blood and tissues were stabbed with heated stainless steel wire and the resulting sample dehydrated with isopropanol prior to direct addition to a PCR. Choice of a polymerase tolerant of tissue residues and cycles of amplification appropriate for the amount of template expected yielded useful profiles with a custom-designed quintuplex primer set suitable for use with the Bioanalyser(TM). Samples stored on wires remained amplifiable for months, allowing their transportation unrefrigerated from remote locations to a laboratory for analysis using AmpFlSTR(®) Profiler Plus(®) without further processing. The field system meets the requirements for discrimination of samples from small sets and retains access to full STR profiling when required.

Monozygotic twins with variable expression of Van der Woude Syndrome

Monozygotic twins with variable expression of Van der Woude Syndrome