Lysine-Rich Extracellular Rings Formed by hβ2 Subunits Confer the Outward Rectification of BK Channels

The auxiliary β subunits of large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels greatly contribute to the diversity of BK (mSlo1 α) channels, which is fundamental to the adequate function in many tissues. Here we describe a functional element of the extracellular segment of hβ2 auxiliary subunits that acts as the positively charged rings to modify the BK channel conductance. Four consecutive lysines of the hβ2 extracellular loop, which reside sufficiently close to the extracellular entryway of the pore, constitute three positively charged rings. These rings can decrease the extracellular K+ concentration and prevent the Charybdotoxin (ChTX) from approaching the extracellular entrance of channels through electrostatic mechanism, leading to the reduction of K+ inflow or the outward rectification of BK channels. Our results demonstrate that the lysine rings formed by the hβ2 auxiliary subunits influences the inward current of BK channels, providing a mechanism by which current can be rapidly diminished during cellular repolarization. Furthermore, this study will be helpful to understand the functional diversity of BK channels contributed by different auxiliary β subunits

Using B-Spline curves for hand recognition

The B-spline curve and surface provide an accurate tool to record object shape. We present a biometric identification system through hand geometry measurements by using B-spline curves. We use 4 B-spline curves to fit with fingers (except thumb) from a single hand image for a single person. Then we store these 4 curves as well as other geometry measurements of the hand as the "signature" of that person into the database. By computing the differences between the curves from database hand images and the curves from the query hand image using the point projection method, we are able to verify/identify the person by locating the closest database hand image to the query hand image

QM calculations predict the energetics and infrared spectra of transient glutamine isomers in LOV photoreceptors

The isomerisation of a conserved glutamine residue along the early photocycle of 3 LOV domains is explored by QM calculations, revealing IR spectral shifts upon rotation in agreement with time-resolved experiments.</p

Ultralong lifetime and efficient room temperature phosphorescent carbon dots through multi-confinement structure design

AbstractRoom temperature phosphorescence materials have inspired extensive attention owing to their great potential in optical applications. However, it is hard to achieve a room temperature phosphorescence material with simultaneous long lifetime and high phosphorescence quantum efficiency. Herein, multi-confined carbon dots were designed and fabricated, enabling room temperature phosphorescence material with simultaneous ultralong lifetime, high phosphorescence quantum efficiency, and excellent stability. The multi-confinement by a highly rigid network, stable covalent bonding, and 3D spatial restriction efficiently rigidified the triplet excited states of carbon dots from non-radiative deactivation. The as-designed multi-confined carbon dots exhibit ultralong lifetime of 5.72 s, phosphorescence quantum efficiency of 26.36%, and exceptional stability against strong oxidants, acids and bases, as well as polar solvents. This work provides design principles and a universal strategy to construct metal-free room temperature phosphorescence materials with ultralong lifetime, high phosphorescence quantum efficiency, and high stability for promising applications, especially under harsh conditions.</jats:p

Dragon TF Association Miner: a system for exploring transcription factor associations through text-mining

We present Dragon TF Association Miner (DTFAM), a system for text-mining of PubMed documents for potential functional association of transcription factors (TFs) with terms from Gene Ontology (GO) and with diseases. DTFAM has been trained and tested in the selection of relevant documents on a manually curated dataset containing >3000 PubMed abstracts relevant to transcription control. On our test data the system achieves sensitivity of 80% with specificity of 82%. DTFAM provides comprehensive tabular and graphical reports linking terms to relevant sets of documents. These documents are color-coded for easier inspection. DTFAM complements the existing biological resources by collecting, assessing, extracting and presenting associations that can reveal some of the not so easily observable connections among the entities found which could explain the functions of TFs and help decipher parts of gene transcriptional regulatory networks. DTFAM summarizes information from a large volume of documents saving time and making analysis simpler for individual users. DTFAM is freely available for academic and non-profit users at http://research.i2r.a-star.edu.sg/DRAGON/TFAM/

A motion capture library for the study of identity, gender, and emotion perception from biological motion

We present the methods that were used in capturing a library of human movements for use in computeranimated displays of human movement. The library is an attempt to systematically tap into and represent the wide range of personal properties, such as identity, gender, and emotion, that are available in a person’s movements. The movements from a total of 30 nonprofessional actors (15 of them female) were captured while they performed walking, knocking, lifting, and throwing actions, as well as their combination in angry, happy, neutral, and sad affective styles. From the raw motion capture data, a library of 4,080 movements was obtained, using techniques based on Character Studio (plug-ins for 3D Studio MAX, AutoDesk, Inc.), MATLAB (The Math Works, Inc.), or a combination of these two. For the knocking, lifting, and throwing actions, 10 repetitions of the simple action unit were obtained for each affect, and for the other actions, two longer movement recordings were obtained for each affect. We discuss the potential use of the library for computational and behavioral analyses of movement variability, of human character animation, and of how gender, emotion, and identity are encoded and decoded from human movement