BackgroundDNA fingerprinting is a technique for comparing DNA patterns that has applications in a wide variety of contexts. Several commercial and freely-available tools can be used to analyze DNA fingerprint gel images; however, commercial tools are expensive and usually difficult to use; and, free tools support the basic functionality for DNA fingerprint analysis, but lack some instrumental features to obtain accurate results.ResultsIn this paper, we present GelJ, a feather-weight, user-friendly, platform-independent, open-source and free tool for analyzing DNA fingerprint gel images. Some of the outstanding features of GelJ are mechanisms for accurate lane- and band-detection, several options for computing migration models, a number of band- and curve-based similarity methods, different techniques for generating dendrograms, comparison of banding patterns from different experiments, and database support.ConclusionsGelJ is an easy to use tool for analyzing DNA fingerprint gel images. It combines the best characteristics of both free and commercial tools: GelJ is light and simple to use (as free programs), but it also includes the necessary features to obtain precise results (as commercial programs). In addition, GelJ incorporates new functionality that is not supported by any other tool.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12859-015-0703-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Spectral entropy (SE), also known as Shannon entropy, is a useful parameter for quantifying the global regularity of the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal. Hence, it is of interest in the assessment of the electrophysiological correlates of cognitive processing in schizophrenia. However, to date, SE has been barely used in studies comparing resting EEG recordings between patients and controls. In this work, we compared SE between resting baseline [-250 0] ms and active task [150 550] ms windows of a P300 task in 31 patients with schizophrenia and 38 controls. Moreover, we also calculated the median frequency (MF) and relative power in each frequency band for these windows to assess the correlates of the possible SE differences. Controls showed a significant (p < 0.0029) SE decrease (i.e., meaning higher signal regularity) from baseline to the active task window at parietal and central electrode sites. This SE decrease from baseline to active conditions was significantly lower in patients. In controls, this SE decrease was accompanied by a statistically significant decrease in MF (i.e., a significant slowing of the EEG activity), not observed in patients. In this latter group, the difference in SE between resting baseline and active task windows was inversely correlated to positive and total symptoms scores, as measured with the positive and negative symptoms scale. Our data support the relevance of SE in the study of cerebral processing in schizophrenia.

SummaryLiquid-crystalline nanoparticles represent an exciting class of new materials for a variety of potential applications. By combining supramolecular ordering with the fluid properties of the liquid-crystalline state, these materials offer the possibility to organise nanoparticles into addressable 2-D and 3-D arrangements exhibiting high processability and self-healing properties. Herein, we review the developments in the field of discrete thermotropic liquid-crystalline nanoparticle hybrids, with special emphasis on the relationship between the nanoparticle morphology and the nature of the organic ligand coating and their resulting phase behaviour. Mechanisms proposed to explain the supramolecular organisation of the mesogens within the liquid-crystalline phases are discussed.

This paper provides an abstract definition of a class of logics, called diagrammatic logics, together with a definition of morphisms and 2-morphisms between them. The definition of the 2-category of diagrammatic logics relies on category theory, mainly on adjunction, categories of fractions and limit sketches. This framework is applied to the formalisation of a parameterisation process. This process, which consists of adding a formal parameter to some operations in a given specification, is presented as a morphism of logics. Then the parameter passing process for recovering a model of the given specification from a model of the parameterised specification and an actual parameter is shown to be a 2-morphism of logics.Downloaded640 types, like the type of integers, while the second layer deals with algebraic structures, like the structure of groups, which are implemented using the abstract data types in the first layer. In addition, this analysis made it clear that in EAT, groups (for instance) are not implemented individually, but are implemented through parameterised families of groups. Lambán et al. (2003) defined an operation called the imp construction -it was given this name because of its role in the implementation process in the system EAT. In fact, the imp construction is a parameterisation process: starting from a specification Σ in which some operations are labelled as 'pure ' (Domínguez et al. 2006), the imp construction builds a new specification Σ A with a distinguished sort A added to the domain of each non-pure operation. Then the parameter passing process derives an implementation of Σ from each implementation of Σ A and each value in the interpretation of A. Moreover, the exact parameterisation property was proved in Lambán et al. (2003): the implementations of EAT algebraic structures are as general as possible in the sense that they are ingredients of terminal objects in some categories of models. The parameter set in the Kenzo and EAT systems is encoded by means of a record of Common Lisp functions, which has a field for each operation in the algebraic structure to be implemented. The pure terms correspond to functions, which can be obtained from the fixed data and do not require any explicit storage, so each particular instance of the record gives rise to an algebraic structure; more details can be found in Lambán et al. (2003). Lambán et al. (2003) then reinterpreted these results for the EAT algebraic structures in terms of object-oriented techniques, like hidden algebras (Goguen and Malcolm 2000) or coalgebras (Rutten 2000). Domínguez et al. (2007) then extended these results in the algebraic framework of institutions (Goguen and Burstall 1984): the imp construction is represented through institution encodings in the sense of Tarlecki (2000). Goguen and Roşu (2002) provided a survey of the different notions of morphisms between institutions,where institution encodings are called forward institution morphisms. In fact, institution encodings are not that common in institution theories, where ...

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