Fingerprint identification is one of the most reliable methods to identify cognizance in the field of forensic science. It is particular important to investigate the development and enhancement of latent fingerprints on complex backgrounds. In this study, diatomaceous earth-based colored powders were used to develop latent fingerprints on complex backgrounds and image enhancement analyses were performed after development process. Diatomaceous earth after pickling and heat treatment was used as the matrix material. The particle morphology exhibited disc shape with a radius of about 15 mu m. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurement showed that diatomaceous earth had a BET surface area of 38. 7 m(2)/g, a narrow pore-size distribution centered at 4.5 nm, and a cumulative volume of 0. 067 cm(3)/g. Organic dyes were incorporated into diatomaceous earth based on physical adsorption. Malachite green and crystal violet were chosen because of the similarity in molecular structure but the difference in color. According to the UV-Vis spectra, the standard curves of malachite green and crystal violet were y = 0. 1336x - 0.01304 (R-2 = 0. 99945) and y =0. 1136x-0. 00400 (R-2 = 0. 99939) respectively. The adsorption capacity of diatomaceous earth to malachite green and crystal violet was 0. 60 and 0. 62 mg/g , respectively, and on the basis of this, the diatomaceous earth-based colored powders were prepared. Latent fingerprints on complex backgrounds including food packaging and beverage label were developed by the as-prepared powders. To qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the effect of image enhancement, R, G and B channels in RGB color images of fingerprints captured by a digital camera were extracted by Photoshop, and gray analysis was performed by Image J. The results indicated that the combination of diatomaceous earth-based colored powders and image processing software could effectively avoid background interference and eventually achieve clear fingerprint images.

Dear Sir, Lifetime alcohol/substance use disorder rates in Australians affected by psychotic disorders exceed 50%.1,2 Co-morbid substance use is associated with illness severity, relapse, re-hospitalisation, and risks of violence and homelessness.3 Despite the significance of this problem, a lack of integration between mental health and substance abuse treatment persists. Established interventions may require adaptation to meet dual diagnosis consumers’ needs.2 Disparate conceptual frameworks contribute to the risk of dual diagnosis consumers falling through the cracks, with neither service type taking responsibility for providing relevant support.

Background: Suspected non-Alzheimer pathophysiology (SNAP) is a biomarker-based entity characterized with neurodegeneration but lack of amyloidosis, regardless of clinical status. SNAP is also a complement to the new National Institute on Aging–Alzheimer Association research criteria of preclinical AD.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate histopathology and proteinopathy in the spinal cord of patients with common neurodegenerative diseases.METHODS:Spinal cord tissues from clinically and neuropathologically confirmed neruodegnerative diseases were enrolled in this study, including 3 cases of multiple system strophy, 4 cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 5 cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD, included 2 cases of AD combined with Parkinson's disease), 2 cases of progressive supranuclear palsy, 1 case of dementia with lewy body and 1 case of corticobasal degeneration from 1955 to 2013 at Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital. Four normal control cases were also included. Routine HE and Gallyas-Braak staining, and immunohistochemical stainings for anti-PHF tau (AT8), anti-α-synuclein, anti-TDP-43 and anti-ubiquitin were performed.RESULTS:Examination of the spinal cord in 3 cases with multiple system strophy revealed severe neuron loss in the intermediolateral nucleus of thoracic segment and Onuf's nucleus of the sacral segment, along with moderate neuron loss in the anterior horn of the cervical segment and mild myelin pallor in the anterior funiculus and anterolateral funiculus in the cervical and thoracic segments. Large amount of argentophilic, ubiquitin and synuclein positive oligodendroglial cytoplasmic inclusions were found widely distributed in the anterior horn and the anterior funiculus and anterolateral funiculus of the full spinal cord. Severe neuron loss and several morphological changes with gliosis in the anterior horn and severe loss of myelin in the anterior funiculus and anterolateral funiculus of the full spinal cord were observed in 4 cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 2 of which were found with Bunina bodies in neurons of the anterior horn. Three amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases had ubiquitin-positive neuronal inclusions and TDP-43 positive neuronal and glial inclusions in the anterior horn at cervical and lumbar segments. A few argentophilic, tau positive neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and neuropil threads in the anterior horn at cervical and lumbar segments were found in 4 AD cases. Examination of spinal cord in 2 cases with Parkinson's disease combined with AD and 1 case with dementia with lewy body revealed severe neuron loss in the intermediolateral nucleus of thoracic segment, and a few synuclein positive lewy bodies and neuritis were also observed. There was mild neuron loss in the anterior horn at cervical and lumbar segments, along with some argentophilic, tau positive globous NFTs and many argentophilic, tau positive neutrophil threads were observed in 2 progressive supranuclear palsy cases and 1 corticobasal degeneration case.CONCLUSION:Each common neurodegenerative diseases of the spinal cord including multiple system strophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease has its own specific histopathology and proteinopathy characteristics.

The business value of information technology (IT) has been one of the top concerns of both practitioners and scholars for decades. Numerous studies have documented the positive effects of IT capability on organizational performance but our knowledge of the processes through which such gains are achieved remains limited due to a lack of focus on the business environment. Such a linkage therefore remains the subject of debate in the information systems literature. In this study, we fill this gap by investigating the mediating role of business process agility and the moderating roles of environmental factors. On the basis of matched survey data obtained from 214 IT and business executives from manufacturing firms in China, our analyses show that even though firm-wide IT capability presents the characteristics of rarity, appropriability, non-reproducibility, and non-substitutability, its impact on organizational performance is fully mediated by business process agility. Our results also show that the impact of the environment is multifaceted and nuanced. In particular, environmental hostility weakens the effect of IT capability on business process agility, while environmental complexity strengthens it. The theoretical and practical implications of this study, and its limitations, are also discussed.

MOTIVATIONLiquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics has gained importance in the life sciences, yet it is not supported by software tools for high throughput identification of metabolites based on their fragmentation spectra. An algorithm (ISIS: in silico identification software) and its implementation are presented and show great promise in generating in silico spectra of lipids for the purpose of structural identification. Instead of using chemical reaction rate equations or rules-based fragmentation libraries, the algorithm uses machine learning to find accurate bond cleavage rates in a mass spectrometer employing collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry.RESULTSA preliminary test of the algorithm with 45 lipids from a subset of lipid classes shows both high sensitivity and specificity.