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Sequence-specific high mobility group box factors recognize 10-12-base pair minor groove motifs
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
van Beest, M; Dooijes, D; van De Wetering, M; Kjaerulff, S; Bonvin, A; Nielsen, O; Clevers, H; Nielsen, Olaf
promoter elements controlled by the yeast genes ste11 and Rox1 has indicated strict conservation of a larger DNA motif. By site selection, we identify a highly specific 12-base pair motif for Ste11, AGAACAAAGAAA. Similarly, we show that Tcf1, MatMc, and Sox4 bind unique, highly specific DNA motifs of 12...
2',4'-BNA bearing a 2-pyridine nucleobase for CG base pair recognition in the parallel motif triplex DNA.
Hari, Yoshiyuki; Matsugu, Sachiko; Inohara, Hiroyasu; Hatanaka, Yuri; Akabane, Masaaki; Imanishi, Takeshi; Obika, Satoshi
We succeeded in the synthesis of triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) that contain a deoxyribonucleotide (Py) bearing a 2-pyridine nucleobase or the 2',4'-BNA congener (Py(B)). By UV melting experiments, it was found that 2-pyridine was a very promising nucleobase for the sequence-selective recognition of a CG base pair within double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) in a parallel motif triplex. Moreover, Py(B) in TFOs showed stronger affinity to a CG base pair than Py with further increase in the selectivity. Using TFO including multiple Py(B) units, triplex formation with dsDNA containing three CG base pairs was observed. PMID:20648389
Base-Pairing Energies of Protonated Nucleoside Base Pairs of dCyd and m5dCyd: Implications for the Stability of DNA i-Motif Conformations
Yang, Bo; Rodgers, M. T.
Hypermethylation of cytosine in expanded (CCG)n•(CGG)n trinucleotide repeats results in Fragile X syndrome, the most common cause of inherited mental retardation. The (CCG)n•(CGG)n repeats adopt i-motif conformations that are preferentially stabilized by base-pairing interactions of protonated base pairs of cytosine. Here we investigate the effects of 5-methylation and the sugar moiety on the base-pairing energies (BPEs) of protonated cytosine base pairs by examining protonated nucleoside base pairs of 2'-deoxycytidine (dCyd) and 5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine (m5dCyd) using threshold collision-induced dissociation techniques. 5-Methylation of a single or both cytosine residues leads to very small change in the BPE. However, the accumulated effect may be dramatic in diseased state trinucleotide repeats where many methylated base pairs may be present. The BPEs of the protonated nucleoside base pairs examined here significantly exceed those of Watson-Crick dGuo•dCyd and neutral dCyd•dCyd base pairs, such that these base-pairing interactions provide the major forces responsible for stabilization of DNA i-motif conformations. Compared with isolated protonated nucleobase pairs of cytosine and 1-methylcytosine, the 2'-deoxyribose sugar produces an effect similar to the 1-methyl substituent, and leads to a slight decrease in the BPE. These results suggest that the base-pairing interactions may be slightly weaker in nucleic acids, but that the extended backbone is likely to exert a relatively small effect on the total BPE. The proton affinity (PA) of m5dCyd is also determined by competitive analysis of the primary dissociation pathways that occur in parallel for the protonated (m5dCyd)H+(dCyd) nucleoside base pair and the absolute PA of dCyd previously reported.
Sheared-type G(anti).C(syn) base-pair: a unique d(GXC) loop closure motif.
Chin, Ko-Hsin; Chou, Shan-Ho
Stable DNA loop structures closed by a novel G.C base-pair have been determined for the single-residue d(GXC) loops (X=A, T, G or C) in low-salt solution by high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. The closing G.C base-pair in these loops is not of the canonical Watson-Crick type, but adopts instead a unique sheared-type (trans Watson-Crick/sugar-edge) pairing, like those occurring in the sheared mismatched G.A or A.C base-pair, to draw the two opposite strands together. The cytidine residue in the closing base-pair is transformed into the rare syn domain to form two H-bonds with the guanine base and to prevent the steric clash between the G 2NH(2) and the C H-5 protons. Besides, the sugar pucker of the syn cytidine is still located in the regular C2'-endo domain, unlike the C3'-endo domain adopted for the pyrimidines of the out-of-alternation left-handed Z-DNA structure. The facile formation of the compact d(GXC) loops closed by a unique sheared-type G(anti).C(syn) base-pair demonstrates the great potential of the single-stranded d(GXC) triplet repeats to fold into stable hairpins. PMID:12758081
Non-Watson Crick base pairs might stabilize RNA structural motifs in ribozymes – A comparative study of group-I intron structures
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
K Chandrasekhar; R Malathi
In recent decades studies on RNA structure and function have gained significance due to discoveries on diversified functions of RNA. A common element for RNA secondary structure formed by series of non-Watson/Watson Crick base pairs, internal loops and pseudoknots have been the highlighting feature of recent structural determination of RNAs. The recent crystal structure of group-I introns has demonstrated that these might constitute RNA structural motifs in ribozymes, playing a crucial role in their enzymatic activity. To understand the functional significance of these non-canonical base pairs in catalytic RNA, we analysed the sequences of group-I introns from nuclear genes. The results suggest that they might form the building blocks of folded RNA motifs which are crucial to the catalytic activity of the ribozyme. The conservation of these, as observed from divergent organisms, argues for the presence of non-canonical base pairs as an important requisite for the structure and enzymatic property of ribozymes by enabling them to carry out functions such as replication, polymerase activity etc. in primordial conditions in the absence of proteins.
Elucidation of the sequence-specific third-strand recognition of four Watson-Crick base pairs in a pyrimidine triple-helix motif: T.AT, C.GC, T.CG, and G.TA.
Yoon, K; Hobbs, C. A.; Koch, J.; Sardaro, M; Kutny, R; Weis, A L
We report a specific pattern of recognition by third-strand bases for each of the four Watson-Crick base pairs within a pyrimidine triple-helix motif as determined by PAGE: T.AT, C.GC, T.CG, and G.TA. Our recognition scheme for base triplets is in agreement with previous studies. In addition, we identified another triplet, T.CG, under physiological conditions, in which formation of triple helix was observed at equimolar ratios of the third strand and duplex target. Although different nearest-...
Social Network Analysis Based on Network Motifs
Xu Hong-lin; Yan Han-bing; Gao Cui-fang; Zhu Ping
Based on the community structure characteristics, theory, and methods of frequent subgraph mining, network motifs findings are firstly introduced into social network analysis; the tendentiousness evaluation function and the importance evaluation function are proposed for effectiveness assessment. Compared with the traditional way based on nodes centrality degree, the new approach can be used to analyze the properties of social network more fully and judge the roles of the nodes effectively. I...
Identifying discriminative classification-based motifs in biological sequences
Vens, Celine; Rosso, Marie-Noëlle; Danchin, Etienne
Motivation: Identification of conserved motifs in biological sequences is crucial to unveil common shared functions. Many tools exist for motif identification, including some that allow degenerate positions with multiple possible nucleotides or amino acids. Most efficient methods available today search conserved motifs in a set of sequences, but do not check for their specificity regarding to a set of negative sequences. Results: We present a tool to identify degenerate motifs, based on a giv...
Identification of protein superfamily from structure- based sequence motif
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
The structure-based sequence motif of the distant proteins in evolution, protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTP) Ⅰ and Ⅱ superfamilies, as an example, has been defined by the structural comparison, structure-based sequence alignment and analyses on substitution patterns of residues in common sequence conserved regions. And the phosphatases Ⅰ and Ⅱ can be correctly identified together by the structure-based PTP sequence motif from SWISS-PROT and TrEBML databases. The results show that the correct rates of identification are over 98%. This is the first time to identify PTP Ⅰ and Ⅱ together by this motif.
An algorithm for motif-based network design
Mäki-Marttunen, Tuomo
A determinant property of the structure of a biological network is the distribution of local connectivity patterns, i.e., network motifs. In this work, a method for creating directed, unweighted networks while promoting a certain combination of motifs is presented. This motif-based network algorithm starts with an empty graph and randomly connects the nodes by advancing or discouraging the formation of chosen motifs. The in- or out-degree distribution of the generated networks can be explicitly chosen. The algorithm is shown to perform well in producing networks with high occurrences of the targeted motifs, both ones consisting of 3 nodes as well as ones consisting of 4 nodes. Moreover, the algorithm can also be tuned to bring about global network characteristics found in many natural networks, such as small-worldness and modularity.
MotifCombinator: a web-based tool to search for combinations of cis-regulatory motifs
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Tsunoda Tatsuhiko
Full Text Available Abstract Background A combination of multiple types of transcription factors and cis-regulatory elements is often required for gene expression in eukaryotes, and the combinatorial regulation confers specific gene expression to tissues or environments. To reveal the combinatorial regulation, computational methods are developed that efficiently infer combinations of cis-regulatory motifs that are important for gene expression as measured by DNA microarrays. One promising type of computational method is to utilize regression analysis between expression levels and scores of motifs in input sequences. This type takes full advantage of information on expression levels because it does not require that the expression level of each gene be dichotomized according to whether or not it reaches a certain threshold level. However, there is no web-based tool that employs regression methods to systematically search for motif combinations and that practically handles combinations of more than two or three motifs. Results We here introduced MotifCombinator, an online tool with a user-friendly interface, to systematically search for combinations composed of any number of motifs based on regression methods. The tool utilizes well-known regression methods (the multivariate linear regression, the multivariate adaptive regression spline or MARS, and the multivariate logistic regression method for this purpose, and uses the genetic algorithm to search for combinations composed of any desired number of motifs. The visualization systems in this tool help users to intuitively grasp the process of the combination search, and the backup system allows users to easily stop and restart calculations that are expected to require large computational time. This tool also provides preparatory steps needed for systematic combination search – i.e., selecting single motifs to constitute combinations and cutting out redundant similar motifs based on clustering analysis. Conclusion
Motifs in Triadic Random Graphs based on Steiner Triple Systems
Winkler, Marco
Conventionally, pairwise relationships between nodes are considered to be the fundamental building blocks of complex networks. However, over the last decade the overabundance of certain sub-network patterns, so called motifs, has attracted high attention. It has been hypothesized, these motifs, instead of links, serve as the building blocks of network structures. Although the relation between a network's topology and the general properties of the system, such as its function, its robustness against perturbations, or its efficiency in spreading information is the central theme of network science, there is still a lack of sound generative models needed for testing the functional role of subgraph motifs. Our work aims to overcome this limitation. We employ the framework of exponential random graphs (ERGMs) to define novel models based on triadic substructures. The fact that only a small portion of triads can actually be set independently poses a challenge for the formulation of such models. To overcome this obst...
Report on Pairing-based Cryptography.
Moody, Dustin; Peralta, Rene; Perlner, Ray; Regenscheid, Andrew; Roginsky, Allen; Chen, Lily
This report summarizes study results on pairing-based cryptography. The main purpose of the study is to form NIST's position on standardizing and recommending pairing-based cryptography schemes currently published in research literature and standardized in other standard bodies. The report reviews the mathematical background of pairings. This includes topics such as pairing-friendly elliptic curves and how to compute various pairings. It includes a brief introduction to existing identity-based encryption (IBE) schemes and other cryptographic schemes using pairing technology. The report provides a complete study of the current status of standard activities on pairing-based cryptographic schemes. It explores different application scenarios for pairing-based cryptography schemes. As an important aspect of adopting pairing-based schemes, the report also considers the challenges inherent in validation testing of cryptographic algorithms and modules. Based on the study, the report suggests an approach for including pairing-based cryptography schemes in the NIST cryptographic toolkit. The report also outlines several questions that will require further study if this approach is followed. PMID:26958435
Leucine-based receptor sorting motifs are dependent on the spacing relative to the plasma membrane
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Geisler, C; Dietrich, J; Nielsen, B L;
amino acid, is constitutively active. In this study, we have investigated how the spacing relative to the plasma membrane affects the function of both types of leucine-based motifs. For phosphorylation-dependent leucine-based motifs, a minimal spacing of 7 residues between the plasma membrane and the...... phospho-acceptor was required for phosphorylation and thereby activation of the motifs. For constitutively active leucine-based motifs, a minimal spacing of 6 residues between the plasma membrane and the acidic residue was required for optimal activity of the motifs. In addition, we found that the acidic......Many integral membrane proteins contain leucine-based motifs within their cytoplasmic domains that mediate internalization and intracellular sorting. Two types of leucine-based motifs have been identified. One type is dependent on phosphorylation, whereas the other type, which includes an acidic...
Application of PCR amplicon sequencing using a single primer pair in PCR amplification to assess variations in Helicobacter pylori CagA EPIYA tyrosine phosphorylation motifs
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Karlsson Anneli
Full Text Available Abstract Background The presence of various EPIYA tyrosine phosphorylation motifs in the CagA protein of Helicobacter pylori has been suggested to contribute to pathogenesis in adults. In this study, a unique PCR assay and sequencing strategy was developed to establish the number and variation of cagA EPIYA motifs. Findings MDA-DNA derived from gastric biopsy specimens from eleven subjects with gastritis was used with M13- and T7-sequence-tagged primers for amplification of the cagA EPIYA motif region. Automated capillary electrophoresis using a high resolution kit and amplicon sequencing confirmed variations in the cagA EPIYA motif region. In nine cases, sequencing revealed the presence of AB, ABC, or ABCC (Western type cagA EPIYA motif, respectively. In two cases, double cagA EPIYA motifs were detected (ABC/ABCC or ABC/AB, indicating the presence of two H. pylori strains in the same biopsy. Conclusion Automated capillary electrophoresis and Amplicon sequencing using a single, M13- and T7-sequence-tagged primer pair in PCR amplification enabled a rapid molecular typing of cagA EPIYA motifs. Moreover, the techniques described allowed for a rapid detection of mixed H. pylori strains present in the same biopsy specimen.
Direct Updating of an RNA Base-Pairing Probability Matrix with Marginal Probability Constraints
Hamada, Michiaki
A base-pairing probability matrix (BPPM) stores the probabilities for every possible base pair in an RNA sequence and has been used in many algorithms in RNA informatics (e.g., RNA secondary structure prediction and motif search). In this study, we propose a novel algorithm to perform iterative updates of a given BPPM, satisfying marginal probability constraints that are (approximately) given by recently developed biochemical experiments, such as SHAPE, PAR, and FragSeq. The method is easily ...
A Comparative Study of Bases for Motif Inference
Pisanti, Nadia; Crochemore, Maxime; Grossi, Roberto; Sagot, Marie-France
International audience Motif inference is at the heart of several time-demanding computational tasks, such as in molecular biology, data mining and identification of structured motifs in sequences, and in data compression, to name a few. In this scenario, a motif is a pattern that appears repeated at least a certain number of times (the quorum), to be of interest. The pattern can be approximated in that some of its characters can be left unspecified (the don't cares). Motif inference is not ...
PETModule: a motif module based approach for enhancer target gene prediction.
Zhao, Changyong; Li, Xiaoman; Hu, Haiyan
The identification of enhancer-target gene (ETG) pairs is vital for the understanding of gene transcriptional regulation. Experimental approaches such as Hi-C have generated valuable resources of ETG pairs. Several computational methods have also been developed to successfully predict ETG interactions. Despite these progresses, high-throughput experimental approaches are still costly and existing computational approaches are still suboptimal and not easy to apply. Here we developed a motif module based approach called PETModule that predicts ETG pairs. Tested on eight human cell types and two mouse cell types, we showed that a large number of our predictions were supported by Hi-C and/or ChIA-PET experiments. Compared with two recently developed approaches for ETG pair prediction, we shown that PETModule had a much better recall, a similar or better F1 score, and a larger area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. The PETModule tool is freely available at http://hulab.ucf.edu/research/projects/PETModule/. PMID:27436110
Automated protein motif generation in the structure-based protein function prediction tool ProMOL.
Osipovitch, Mikhail; Lambrecht, Mitchell; Baker, Cameron; Madha, Shariq; Mills, Jeffrey L; Craig, Paul A; Bernstein, Herbert J
ProMOL, a plugin for the PyMOL molecular graphics system, is a structure-based protein function prediction tool. ProMOL includes a set of routines for building motif templates that are used for screening query structures for enzyme active sites. Previously, each motif template was generated manually and required supervision in the optimization of parameters for sensitivity and selectivity. We developed an algorithm and workflow for the automation of motif building and testing routines in ProMOL. The algorithm uses a set of empirically derived parameters for optimization and requires little user intervention. The automated motif generation algorithm was first tested in a performance comparison with a set of manually generated motifs based on identical active sites from the same 112 PDB entries. The two sets of motifs were equally effective in identifying alignments with homologs and in rejecting alignments with unrelated structures. A second set of 296 active site motifs were generated automatically, based on Catalytic Site Atlas entries with literature citations, as an expansion of the library of existing manually generated motif templates. The new motif templates exhibited comparable performance to the existing ones in terms of hit rates against native structures, homologs with the same EC and Pfam designations, and randomly selected unrelated structures with a different EC designation at the first EC digit, as well as in terms of RMSD values obtained from local structural alignments of motifs and query structures. This research is supported by NIH grant GM078077. PMID:26573864
Bacterial regulon modeling and prediction based on systematic cis regulatory motif analyses
Liu, Bingqiang; Zhou, Chuan; Li, Guojun; Zhang, Hanyuan; Zeng, Erliang; Liu, Qi; Ma, Qin
Regulons are the basic units of the response system in a bacterial cell, and each consists of a set of transcriptionally co-regulated operons. Regulon elucidation is the basis for studying the bacterial global transcriptional regulation network. In this study, we designed a novel co-regulation score between a pair of operons based on accurate operon identification and cis regulatory motif analyses, which can capture their co-regulation relationship much better than other scores. Taking full advantage of this discovery, we developed a new computational framework and built a novel graph model for regulon prediction. This model integrates the motif comparison and clustering and makes the regulon prediction problem substantially more solvable and accurate. To evaluate our prediction, a regulon coverage score was designed based on the documented regulons and their overlap with our prediction; and a modified Fisher Exact test was implemented to measure how well our predictions match the co-expressed modules derived from E. coli microarray gene-expression datasets collected under 466 conditions. The results indicate that our program consistently performed better than others in terms of the prediction accuracy. This suggests that our algorithms substantially improve the state-of-the-art, leading to a computational capability to reliably predict regulons for any bacteria.
SALAD database: a motif-based database of protein annotations for plant comparative genomics
Mihara, Motohiro; Itoh, Takeshi; Izawa, Takeshi
Proteins often have several motifs with distinct evolutionary histories. Proteins with similar motifs have similar biochemical properties and thus related biological functions. We constructed a unique comparative genomics database termed the SALAD database (http://salad.dna.affrc.go.jp/salad/) from plant-genome-based proteome data sets. We extracted evolutionarily conserved motifs by MEME software from 209 529 protein-sequence annotation groups selected by BLASTP from the proteome data sets o...
Distance-based identification of structure motifs in proteins using constrained frequent subgraph mining.
Huan, Jun; Bandyopadhyay, Deepak; Prins, Jan; Snoeyink, Jack; Tropsha, Alexander; Wang, Wei
Structure motifs are amino acid packing patterns that occur frequently within a set of protein structures. We define a labeled graph representation of protein structure in which vertices correspond to amino acid residues and edges connect pairs of residues and are labeled by (1) the Euclidian distance between the C(alpha) atoms of the two residues and (2) a boolean indicating whether the two residues are in physical/chemical contact. Using this representation, a structure motif corresponds to a labeled clique that occurs frequently among the graphs representing the protein structures. The pairwise distance constraints on each edge in a clique serve to limit the variation in geometry among different occurrences of a structure motif. We present an efficient constrained subgraph mining algorithm to discover structure motifs in this setting. Compared with contact graph representations, the number of spurious structure motifs is greatly reduced. Using this algorithm, structure motifs were located for several SCOP families including the Eukaryotic Serine Proteases, Nuclear Binding Domains, Papain-like Cysteine Proteases, and FAD/NAD-linked Reductases. For each family, we typically obtain a handful of motifs within seconds of processing time. The occurrences of these motifs throughout the PDB were strongly associated with the original SCOP family, as measured using a hyper-geometric distribution. The motifs were found to cover functionally important sites like the catalytic triad for Serine Proteases and co-factor binding sites for Nuclear Binding Domains. The fact that many motifs are highly family-specific can be used to classify new proteins or to provide functional annotation in Structural Genomics Projects. PMID:17369641
Arithmetic Operators for Pairing-Based Cryptography
Beuchat, Jean-Luc; Brisebarre, Nicolas; Detrey, Jérémie; Okamoto, Eiji
Since their introduction in constructive cryptographic applications, pairings over (hyper)elliptic curves are at the heart of an ever increasing number of protocols. Software implementations being rather slow, the study of hardware architectures became an active research area. In this paper, we first study an accelerator for the eta_T pairing over F_3[x]/(x^97 + x^12 + 2). Our architecture is based on a unified arithmetic operator which performs addition, multiplication, and cubing over F_3^9...
Metagenome fragment classification based on multiple motif-occurrence profiles
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Naoki Matsushita
Full Text Available A vast amount of metagenomic data has been obtained by extracting multiple genomes simultaneously from microbial communities, including genomes from uncultivable microbes. By analyzing these metagenomic data, novel microbes are discovered and new microbial functions are elucidated. The first step in analyzing these data is sequenced-read classification into reference genomes from which each read can be derived. The Naïve Bayes Classifier is a method for this classification. To identify the derivation of the reads, this method calculates a score based on the occurrence of a DNA sequence motif in each reference genome. However, large differences in the sizes of the reference genomes can bias the scoring of the reads. This bias might cause erroneous classification and decrease the classification accuracy. To address this issue, we have updated the Naïve Bayes Classifier method using multiple sets of occurrence profiles for each reference genome by normalizing the genome sizes, dividing each genome sequence into a set of subsequences of similar length and generating profiles for each subsequence. This multiple profile strategy improves the accuracy of the results generated by the Naïve Bayes Classifier method for simulated and Sargasso Sea datasets.
A structural-alphabet-based strategy for finding structural motifs across protein families.
Wu, Chih Yuan; Chen, Yao Chi; Lim, Carmay
Proteins with insignificant sequence and overall structure similarity may still share locally conserved contiguous structural segments; i.e. structural/3D motifs. Most methods for finding 3D motifs require a known motif to search for other similar structures or functionally/structurally crucial residues. Here, without requiring a query motif or essential residues, a fully automated method for discovering 3D motifs of various sizes across protein families with different folds based on a 16-letter structural alphabet is presented. It was applied to structurally non-redundant proteins bound to DNA, RNA, obligate/non-obligate proteins as well as free DNA-binding proteins (DBPs) and proteins with known structures but unknown function. Its usefulness was illustrated by analyzing the 3D motifs found in DBPs. A non-specific motif was found with a 'corner' architecture that confers a stable scaffold and enables diverse interactions, making it suitable for binding not only DNA but also RNA and proteins. Furthermore, DNA-specific motifs present 'only' in DBPs were discovered. The motifs found can provide useful guidelines in detecting binding sites and computational protein redesign. PMID:20525797
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Eric Westhof
Full Text Available The recent deluge of new RNA structures, including complete atomic-resolution views of both subunits of the ribosome, has on the one hand literally overwhelmed our individual abilities to comprehend the diversity of RNA structure, and on the other hand presented us with new opportunities for comprehensive use of RNA sequences for comparative genetic, evolutionary and phylogenetic studies. Two concepts are key to understanding RNA structure: hierarchical organization of global structure and isostericity of local interactions. Global structure changes extremely slowly, as it relies on conserved long-range tertiary interactions. Tertiary RNA–RNA and quaternary RNA–protein interactions are mediated by RNA motifs, defined as recurrent and ordered arrays of non-Watson–Crick base-pairs. A single RNA motif comprises a family of sequences, all of which can fold into the same three-dimensional structure and can mediate the same interaction(s. The chemistry and geometry of base pairing constrain the evolution of motifs in such a way that random mutations that occur within motifs are accepted or rejected insofar as they can mediate a similar ordered array of interactions. The steps involved in the analysis and annotation of RNA motifs in 3D structures are: (a decomposition of each motif into non-Watson–Crick base-pairs; (b geometric classification of each basepair; (c identification of isosteric substitutions for each basepair by comparison to isostericity matrices; (d alignment of homologous sequences using the isostericity matrices to identify corresponding positions in the crystal structure; (e acceptance or rejection of the null hypothesis that the motif is conserved.
An atlas of RNA base pairs involving modified nucleobases with optimal geometries and accurate energies
Chawla, Mohit
Posttranscriptional modifications greatly enhance the chemical information of RNA molecules, contributing to explain the diversity of their structures and functions. A significant fraction of RNA experimental structures available to date present modified nucleobases, with half of them being involved in H-bonding interactions with other bases, i.e. 'modified base pairs'. Herein we present a systematic investigation of modified base pairs, in the context of experimental RNA structures. To this end, we first compiled an atlas of experimentally observed modified base pairs, for which we recorded occurrences and structural context. Then, for each base pair, we selected a representative for subsequent quantum mechanics calculations, to find out its optimal geometry and interaction energy. Our structural analyses show that most of the modified base pairs are non Watson–Crick like and are involved in RNA tertiary structure motifs. In addition, quantum mechanics calculations quantify and provide a rationale for the impact of the different modifications on the geometry and stability of the base pairs they participate in.
iTriplet, a rule-based nucleic acid sequence motif finder
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Gunderson Samuel I
Full Text Available Abstract Background With the advent of high throughput sequencing techniques, large amounts of sequencing data are readily available for analysis. Natural biological signals are intrinsically highly variable making their complete identification a computationally challenging problem. Many attempts in using statistical or combinatorial approaches have been made with great success in the past. However, identifying highly degenerate and long (>20 nucleotides motifs still remains an unmet challenge as high degeneracy will diminish statistical significance of biological signals and increasing motif size will cause combinatorial explosion. In this report, we present a novel rule-based method that is focused on finding degenerate and long motifs. Our proposed method, named iTriplet, avoids costly enumeration present in existing combinatorial methods and is amenable to parallel processing. Results We have conducted a comprehensive assessment on the performance and sensitivity-specificity of iTriplet in analyzing artificial and real biological sequences in various genomic regions. The results show that iTriplet is able to solve challenging cases. Furthermore we have confirmed the utility of iTriplet by showing it accurately predicts polyA-site-related motifs using a dual Luciferase reporter assay. Conclusion iTriplet is a novel rule-based combinatorial or enumerative motif finding method that is able to process highly degenerate and long motifs that have resisted analysis by other methods. In addition, iTriplet is distinguished from other methods of the same family by its parallelizability, which allows it to leverage the power of today's readily available high-performance computing systems.
An Identity Based Aggregate Signature from Pairings
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Yike Yu
Full Text Available An aggregate signature is a useful digital signature that supports aggregation: Given n signatures on n distinct messages from n distinct users, aggregate signature scheme is possible to aggregate all these signature into a single short signature. This single signature, along with the n original messages will convince any verifier that the n users did indeed sign the n original messages respectively (i.e., for i=1,...,n user i signed message mi. In this paper, we propose an identity based aggregate signature scheme which requires constant pairing operations in the verification and the size of aggregate signature is independent of the number of signers. We prove that the proposed signature scheme is secure against existential forgery under adaptively chosen message and identity attack in the random oracle model assuming the intractability of the computational Diffie-Hellman problem.
Natural versus artificial creation of base pairs in DNA: origin of nucleobases from the perspectives of unnatural base pair studies.
Hirao, Ichiro; Kimoto, Michiko; Yamashige, Rie
Since life began on Earth, the four types of bases (A, G, C, and T(U)) that form two sets of base pairs have remained unchanged as the components of nucleic acids that replicate and transfer genetic information. Throughout evolution, except for the U to T modification, the four base structures have not changed. This constancy within the genetic code raises the question of how these complicated nucleotides were generated from the molecules in a primordial soup on the early Earth. At some prebiotic stage, the complementarity of base pairs might have accelerated the generation and accumulation of nucleotides or oligonucleotides. We have no clues whether one pair of nucleobases initially appeared on the early Earth during this process or a set of two base pairs appeared simultaneously. Recently, researchers have developed new artificial pairs of nucleobases (unnatural base pairs) that function alongside the natural base pairs. Some unnatural base pairs in duplex DNA can be efficiently and faithfully amplified in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using thermostable DNA polymerases. The addition of unnatural base pair systems could expand the genetic alphabet of DNA, thus providing a new mechanism for the generation novel biopolymers by the site-specific incorporation of functional components into nucleic acids and proteins. Furthermore, the process of unnatural base pair development might provide clues to the origin of the natural base pairs in a primordial soup on the early Earth. In this Account, we describe the development of three representative types of unnatural base pairs that function as a third pair of nucleobases in PCR and reconsider the origin of the natural nucleic acids. As researchers developing unnatural base pairs, they use repeated "proof of concept" experiments. As researchers design new base pairs, they improve the structures that function in PCR and eliminate those that do not. We expect that this process is similar to the one functioning in the
Nicodème, Pierre; Salvy, Bruno; Flajolet, Philippe
We present a complete analysis of the statistics of number of occurrences of a regular expression pattern in a random text. This covers «motifs» widely used in computational biology. Our approach is based on: (i) a constructive approach to classical results in theoretical computer science (automata and formal language theory), in particular, the rationality of generating functions of regular languages; (ii) analytic combinatorics that is used for deriving asymptotic properties from generating...
An ensemble of SVM classifiers based on gene pairs.
Tong, Muchenxuan; Liu, Kun-Hong; Xu, Chungui; Ju, Wenbin
In this paper, a genetic algorithm (GA) based ensemble support vector machine (SVM) classifier built on gene pairs (GA-ESP) is proposed. The SVMs (base classifiers of the ensemble system) are trained on different informative gene pairs. These gene pairs are selected by the top scoring pair (TSP) criterion. Each of these pairs projects the original microarray expression onto a 2-D space. Extensive permutation of gene pairs may reveal more useful information and potentially lead to an ensemble classifier with satisfactory accuracy and interpretability. GA is further applied to select an optimized combination of base classifiers. The effectiveness of the GA-ESP classifier is evaluated on both binary-class and multi-class datasets. PMID:23668348
Higher order structural effects stabilizing the reverse watson-crick guanine-cytosine base pair in functional RNAs
Chawla, Mohit
The G:C reverse Watson-Crick (W:W trans) base pair, also known as Levitt base pair in the context of tRNAs, is a structurally and functionally important base pair that contributes to tertiary interactions joining distant domains in functional RNA molecules and also participates in metabolite binding in riboswitches. We previously indicated that the isolated G:C W:W trans base pair is a rather unstable geometry, and that dicationic metal binding to the Guanine base or posttranscriptional modification of the Guanine can increase its stability. Herein, we extend our survey and report on other H-bonding interactions that can increase the stability of this base pair. To this aim, we performed a bioinformatics search of the PDB to locate all the occurencies of G:C trans base pairs. Interestingly, 66% of the G:C trans base pairs in the PDB are engaged in additional H-bonding interactions with other bases, the RNA backbone or structured water molecules. High level quantum mechanical calculations on a data set of representative crystal structures were performed to shed light on the structural stability and energetics of the various crystallographic motifs. This analysis was extended to the binding of the preQ1 metabolite to a preQ1-II riboswitch. 2013 The Author(s).
(φ,ψ)2-motifs: a purely conformation-based, fine-grained enumeration of protein parts at the two-residue level
Hollingsworth, Scott A; Lewis, Matthew C.; Berkholz, Donald S.; Wong, Weng-Keen; Karplus, P. Andrew
A deep understanding of protein structure benefits from the use of a variety of classification strategies that enhance our ability to effectively describe local patterns of conformation. Here, we use a clustering algorithm to analyze 76,533 all-trans segments from protein structures solved at 1.2 Å resolution or better to create a purely φ,ψ-based comprehensive empirical categorization of common conformations adopted by two adjacent φ,ψ-pairs (i.e. (φ,ψ)2-motifs). The clustering algorithm wor...
SPIC: A novel similarity metric for comparing transcription factor binding site motifs based on information contents
Zhang, Shaoqiang; Zhou, Xiguo; Du, Chuanbin; Su, Zhengchang
Background Discovering transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) is one of primary challenges to decipher complex gene regulatory networks encrypted in a genome. A set of short DNA sequences identified by a transcription factor (TF) is known as a motif, which can be expressed accurately in matrix form such as a position-specific scoring matrix (PSSM) and a position frequency matrix. Very frequently, we need to query a motif in a database of motifs by seeking its similar motifs, merge similar ...
A Monte Carlo-based framework enhances the discovery and interpretation of regulatory sequence motifs
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Seitzer Phillip
Full Text Available Abstract Background Discovery of functionally significant short, statistically overrepresented subsequence patterns (motifs in a set of sequences is a challenging problem in bioinformatics. Oftentimes, not all sequences in the set contain a motif. These non-motif-containing sequences complicate the algorithmic discovery of motifs. Filtering the non-motif-containing sequences from the larger set of sequences while simultaneously determining the identity of the motif is, therefore, desirable and a non-trivial problem in motif discovery research. Results We describe MotifCatcher, a framework that extends the sensitivity of existing motif-finding tools by employing random sampling to effectively remove non-motif-containing sequences from the motif search. We developed two implementations of our algorithm; each built around a commonly used motif-finding tool, and applied our algorithm to three diverse chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP data sets. In each case, the motif finder with the MotifCatcher extension demonstrated improved sensitivity over the motif finder alone. Our approach organizes candidate functionally significant discovered motifs into a tree, which allowed us to make additional insights. In all cases, we were able to support our findings with experimental work from the literature. Conclusions Our framework demonstrates that additional processing at the sequence entry level can significantly improve the performance of existing motif-finding tools. For each biological data set tested, we were able to propose novel biological hypotheses supported by experimental work from the literature. Specifically, in Escherichia coli, we suggested binding site motifs for 6 non-traditional LexA protein binding sites; in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we hypothesize 2 disparate mechanisms for novel binding sites of the Cse4p protein; and in Halobacterium sp. NRC-1, we discoverd subtle differences in a general transcription factor (GTF binding site motif
Attribute pair-based visual recognition and memory.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Masahiko Morita
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In the human visual system, different attributes of an object, such as shape, color, and motion, are processed separately in different areas of the brain. This raises a fundamental question of how are these attributes integrated to produce a unified perception and a specific response. This "binding problem" is computationally difficult because all attributes are assumed to be bound together to form a single object representation. However, there is no firm evidence to confirm that such representations exist for general objects. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we propose a paired-attribute model in which cognitive processes are based on multiple representations of paired attributes. In line with the model's prediction, we found that multiattribute stimuli can produce an illusory perception of a multiattribute object arising from erroneous integration of attribute pairs, implying that object recognition is based on parallel perception of paired attributes. Moreover, in a change-detection task, a feature change in a single attribute frequently caused an illusory perception of change in another attribute, suggesting that multiple pairs of attributes are stored in memory. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The paired-attribute model can account for some novel illusions and controversial findings on binocular rivalry and short-term memory. Our results suggest that many cognitive processes are performed at the level of paired attributes rather than integrated objects, which greatly facilitates the binding problem and provides simpler solutions for it.
Model-based Comparative Prediction of Transcription-Factor Binding Motifs in Anabolic Responses in Bone
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Andy B. Chen; Kazunori Hamamura; Guohua Wang; Weirong Xing; Subburaman Mohan; Hiroki Yokota; Yunlong Liu
Understanding the regulatory mechanism that controls the alteration of global gene expression patterns continues to be a challenging task in computational biology. We previously developed an ant algorithm, a biologically-inspired computational technique for microarray data, and predicted putative transcription-factor binding motifs (TFBMs) through mimicking interactive behaviors of natural ants. Here we extended the algorithm into a set of web-based software, Ant Modeler, and applied it to investigate the transcriptional mechanism underlying bone formation. Mechanical loading and administration of bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) are two known treatments to strengthen bone. We addressed a question: Is there any TFBM that stimulates both "anabolic responses of mechanical loading" and "BMP-mediated osteogenic signaling"? Although there is no significant overlap among genes in the two responses, a comparative model-based analysis suggests that the two independent osteogenic processes employ common TFBMs, such as a stress responsive element and a motif for peroxisome proliferator-activated recep- tor (PPAR). The post-modeling in vitro analysis using mouse osteoblast cells sup- ported involvements of the predicted TFBMs such as PPAR, Ikaros 3, and LMO2 in response to mechanical loading. Taken together, the results would be useful to derive a set of testable hypotheses and examine the role of specific regulators in complex transcriptional control of bone formation.
ID-Based Signature Scheme with Weil Pairing
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Neetu Sharma
Full Text Available Digital signature is an essential component in cryptography. Digital signaturesguarantee end-to-end message integrity and authentication information about the origin of a message. In this paper we propose a new identification based digital signature scheme with weil pairing. Also we analyze security and efficiency of our scheme. Security of our scheme is based on expressing the torsion point of curve into linear combination of its basis points; it is more complicated than solving ECDLP(Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Problem. We claim that our new identification based digital signature scheme is more secure and efficient than the existing scheme of Islam et al(S. K. Hafizul Islam, G.P. Biswas, An Efficient and Provably-secure Digital signature Scheme based on Elliptic Curve Bilinear Pairings, Theoretical and Applied Informatics ISSN 18965334 Vol.24, no. 2, 2012, pp. 109 118 based on bilinear pairing.
Calix[4]pyrrole-based ion pair receptors.
Kim, Sung Kuk; Sessler, Jonathan L
Ion pair receptors, which are able to bind concurrently both a cation and an anion, often display higher selectivity and affinity for specific ion pairs than simple ion receptors capable of recognizing primarily either a cation or an anion. This enhancement in recognition function is attributable to direct or indirect cooperative interactions between cobound ions via electrostatic attractions between oppositely charged ions, as well as to positive allosteric effects. In addition, by virtue of binding the counterions of the targeted ion, ion pair receptors can minimize the solvation of the counterions, which can otherwise have a negative effect on the interactions between the receptors and the targeted ions. As a result of their more favorable interactions, ion pair receptors are attractive for use in applications, such as extraction and sensing, where control of the binding interactions is advantageous. In this Account, we illustrate this potential in the context of ion pair receptors based on the calix[4]pyrrole scaffold. Both simple ditopic ion pair receptors, containing sites for the recognition of a single anion and single cation, and so-called multitopic ion pair receptors will be discussed. The latter systems differ from conventional, so-called ditopic ion pair receptors in that they contain more than one binding site for a given targeted ion (e.g., a cation). This permits a level of selectivity and control over binding function not normally seen for simple ion or ion pair receptors containing one or two binding sites, respectively. Calix[4]pyrroles are macrocyclic compounds consisting of four pyrrole units linked via fully substituted sp(3) hybridized meso carbon atoms. They are effective receptors for Lewis basic anions (e.g., halides) in typical organic media and under certain conditions will recognize ion pairs containing charge diffuse cations, such as a small alkylammonium, imidazolium, or cesium cations. The calix[4]pyrrole framework is further
Transduction motif analysis of gastric cancer based on a human signaling network
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Liu, G.; Li, D.Z.; Jiang, C.S.; Wang, W. [Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Command, Department of Gastroenterology, Fuzhou, China, Department of Gastroenterology, Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Command, Fuzhou (China)
To investigate signal regulation models of gastric cancer, databases and literature were used to construct the signaling network in humans. Topological characteristics of the network were analyzed by CytoScape. After marking gastric cancer-related genes extracted from the CancerResource, GeneRIF, and COSMIC databases, the FANMOD software was used for the mining of gastric cancer-related motifs in a network with three vertices. The significant motif difference method was adopted to identify significantly different motifs in the normal and cancer states. Finally, we conducted a series of analyses of the significantly different motifs, including gene ontology, function annotation of genes, and model classification. A human signaling network was constructed, with 1643 nodes and 5089 regulating interactions. The network was configured to have the characteristics of other biological networks. There were 57,942 motifs marked with gastric cancer-related genes out of a total of 69,492 motifs, and 264 motifs were selected as significantly different motifs by calculating the significant motif difference (SMD) scores. Genes in significantly different motifs were mainly enriched in functions associated with cancer genesis, such as regulation of cell death, amino acid phosphorylation of proteins, and intracellular signaling cascades. The top five significantly different motifs were mainly cascade and positive feedback types. Almost all genes in the five motifs were cancer related, including EPOR, MAPK14, BCL2L1, KRT18, PTPN6, CASP3, TGFBR2, AR, and CASP7. The development of cancer might be curbed by inhibiting signal transductions upstream and downstream of the selected motifs.
Transduction motif analysis of gastric cancer based on a human signaling network
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
To investigate signal regulation models of gastric cancer, databases and literature were used to construct the signaling network in humans. Topological characteristics of the network were analyzed by CytoScape. After marking gastric cancer-related genes extracted from the CancerResource, GeneRIF, and COSMIC databases, the FANMOD software was used for the mining of gastric cancer-related motifs in a network with three vertices. The significant motif difference method was adopted to identify significantly different motifs in the normal and cancer states. Finally, we conducted a series of analyses of the significantly different motifs, including gene ontology, function annotation of genes, and model classification. A human signaling network was constructed, with 1643 nodes and 5089 regulating interactions. The network was configured to have the characteristics of other biological networks. There were 57,942 motifs marked with gastric cancer-related genes out of a total of 69,492 motifs, and 264 motifs were selected as significantly different motifs by calculating the significant motif difference (SMD) scores. Genes in significantly different motifs were mainly enriched in functions associated with cancer genesis, such as regulation of cell death, amino acid phosphorylation of proteins, and intracellular signaling cascades. The top five significantly different motifs were mainly cascade and positive feedback types. Almost all genes in the five motifs were cancer related, including EPOR, MAPK14, BCL2L1, KRT18, PTPN6, CASP3, TGFBR2, AR, and CASP7. The development of cancer might be curbed by inhibiting signal transductions upstream and downstream of the selected motifs
Motif-Based Text Mining of Microbial Metagenome Redundancy Profiling Data for Disease Classification.
Wang, Yin; Li, Rudong; Zhou, Yuhua; Ling, Zongxin; Guo, Xiaokui; Xie, Lu; Liu, Lei
Background. Text data of 16S rRNA are informative for classifications of microbiota-associated diseases. However, the raw text data need to be systematically processed so that features for classification can be defined/extracted; moreover, the high-dimension feature spaces generated by the text data also pose an additional difficulty. Results. Here we present a Phylogenetic Tree-Based Motif Finding algorithm (PMF) to analyze 16S rRNA text data. By integrating phylogenetic rules and other statistical indexes for classification, we can effectively reduce the dimension of the large feature spaces generated by the text datasets. Using the retrieved motifs in combination with common classification methods, we can discriminate different samples of both pneumonia and dental caries better than other existing methods. Conclusions. We extend the phylogenetic approaches to perform supervised learning on microbiota text data to discriminate the pathological states for pneumonia and dental caries. The results have shown that PMF may enhance the efficiency and reliability in analyzing high-dimension text data. PMID:27057545
The thermodynamics and kinetics of a nucleotide base pair
Wang, Yujie; Gong, Sha; Wang, Zhen; Zhang, Wenbing
The thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of an RNA base pair were obtained through a long-time molecular dynamics simulation of the opening-closing switch process of the base pair near its melting temperature. The thermodynamic parameters were in good agreement with the nearest-neighbor model. The opening rates showed strong temperature dependence, however, the closing rates showed only weak temperature dependence. The transition path time was weakly temperature dependent and was insensitive to the energy barrier. The diffusion constant exhibited super-Arrhenius behavior. The free energy barrier of breaking a single base stack results from the enthalpy increase, ΔH, caused by the disruption of hydrogen bonding and base-stacking interactions. The free energy barrier of base pair closing comes from the unfavorable entropy loss, ΔS, caused by the restriction of torsional angles. These results suggest that a one-dimensional free energy surface is sufficient to accurately describe the dynamics of base pair opening and closing, and the dynamics are Brownian.
Ultrafast dynamics in DNA base pairs following ultraviolet excitation.
Orr-Ewing, Andrew
Photo-protective mechanisms in DNA are essential to maintain the integrity of the genetic code by preventing damage from absorption of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation. We have used time-resolved infra-red (TRIR) spectroscopy to observe the dynamics of Watson-Crick nucleobase pairs following absorption of femtosecond UV laser pulses. The base pairs are prepared as nucleosides in solution, and photo-induced dynamics are probed in the carbonyl and N-H bond stretching regions using broadband IR pulses with picosecond time resolution. Results will be presented for the guanine-cytosine (G-C) base pair, contrasting the rapid recovery of ground-state products (the photo-protection pathway) with formation of other photoproducts which might represent photo-damage mechanisms. This work is a collaboration with the group of Prof F. Temps (Christian-Albrechts-Universitat zu Kiel). This research is supported by ERC Advanced Grant 290966 CAPRI.
Density functional calculations of planar DNA base-pairs
Machado, M V T; Artacho, E; Sánchez-Portál, D; Soler, J M; Machado, Maider; Ordejon, Pablo; Artacho, Emilio; Sanchez-Portal, Daniel; Soler, Jose M.
We present a systematic Density Functional Theory (DFT) study of geometries and energies of the nucleic acid DNA bases (guanine, adenine, cytosine and thymine) and 30 different DNA base-pairs. We use a recently developed linear-scaling DFT scheme, which is specially suited for systems with large numbers of atoms. As a first step towards the study of large DNA systems, in this work: (i) We establish the reliability of the approximations of our method (including pseudopotentials and basis sets) for the description of the hydrogen-bonded base pairs, by comparing our results with those of former calculations. We show that the interaction energies at Hartree-Fock geometries are in very good agreement with those of second order M{ø}ller-Plesset (MP2) perturbation theory (the most accurate technique that can be applied at present for system of the sizes of the base-pairs). (ii) We perform DFT structural optimizations for the 30 different DNA base-pairs, only three of which had been previously studied with DFT. Our ...
Theoretical analysis of noncanonical base pairing interactions in RNA molecules
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Dhananjay Bhattacharyya; Siv Chand Koripella; Abhijit Mitra; Vijay Babu Rajendran; Bhabdyuti Sinha
Noncanonical base pairs in RNA have strong structural and functional implications but are currently not considered for secondary structure predictions. We present results of comparative ab initio studies of stabilities and interaction energies for the three standard and 24 selected unusual RNA base pairs reported in the literature. Hydrogen added models of isolated base pairs, with heavy atoms frozen in their 'away from equilibrium' geometries, built from coordinates extracted from NDB, were geometry optimized using HF/6-31G** basis set, both before and after unfreezing the heavy atoms. Interaction energies, including BSSE and deformation energy corrections, were calculated, compared with respective single point MP2 energies, and correlated with occurrence frequencies and with types and geometries of hydrogen bonding interactions. Systems having two or more N-H…O/N hydrogen bonds had reasonable interaction energies which correlated well with respective occurrence frequencies and highlighted the possibility of some of them playing important roles in improved secondary structure prediction methods. Several of the remaining base pairs with one N-H…O/N and/or one C-H…O/N interactions respectively, had poor interaction energies and negligible occurrences. High geometry variations on optimization of some of these were suggestive of their conformational switch like characteristics.
Social Networks-Based Adaptive Pairing Strategy for Cooperative Learning
Chuang, Po-Jen; Chiang, Ming-Chao; Yang, Chu-Sing; Tsai, Chun-Wei
In this paper, we propose a grouping strategy to enhance the learning and testing results of students, called Pairing Strategy (PS). The proposed method stems from the need of interactivity and the desire of cooperation in cooperative learning. Based on the social networks of students, PS provides members of the groups to learn from or mimic…
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Chen Xiaofeng; Zhang Fangguo; Kwangjo Kim
We argue that traditional identity-based systems from pairings seem unsuitable for designing group signature schemes due to the problem of key escrow. In this paper we first propose new ID-based public key systems without trusted PKG (Private Key Generator) from bilinear pairings. In our new ID-based systems, if the dishonest PKG impersonates an honest user to communicate with others, the user can provide a proof of treachery of the PKG afterwards, which is similar to certificate-based systems. Therefore, our systems reach the Girault's trusted level 3. We then propose a group signature scheme under the new ID-based systems, the security and performance of which rely on the new systems. The size of the group public key and the length of the signature are independent on the numbers of the group.
Waveguide-based OPO source of entangled photon pairs
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
In this paper, we present a compact source of narrow-band energy-time-entangled photon pairs in the telecom regime based on a Ti-indiffused periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide resonator, i.e. a waveguide with end-face dielectric multi-layer mirrors. This is a monolithic doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) far below threshold, which generates photon pairs by spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) at around 1560 nm with a 117 MHz (0.91 pm)-bandwidth. A coherence time of 2.7 ns is estimated by a time correlation measurement and a high quality of the entangled states is confirmed by a Bell-type experiment. Since highly coherent energy-time-entangled photon pairs in the telecom regime are suitable for long distance transmission and manipulation, this source is well suited to the requirements of quantum communication.
Partition function and base pairing probabilities of RNA heterodimers
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Stadler Peter F
Full Text Available Abstract Background RNA has been recognized as a key player in cellular regulation in recent years. In many cases, non-coding RNAs exert their function by binding to other nucleic acids, as in the case of microRNAs and snoRNAs. The specificity of these interactions derives from the stability of inter-molecular base pairing. The accurate computational treatment of RNA-RNA binding therefore lies at the heart of target prediction algorithms. Methods The standard dynamic programming algorithms for computing secondary structures of linear single-stranded RNA molecules are extended to the co-folding of two interacting RNAs. Results We present a program, RNAcofold, that computes the hybridization energy and base pairing pattern of a pair of interacting RNA molecules. In contrast to earlier approaches, complex internal structures in both RNAs are fully taken into account. RNAcofold supports the calculation of the minimum energy structure and of a complete set of suboptimal structures in an energy band above the ground state. Furthermore, it provides an extension of McCaskill's partition function algorithm to compute base pairing probabilities, realistic interaction energies, and equilibrium concentrations of duplex structures. Availability RNAcofold is distributed as part of the Vienna RNA Package, http://www.tbi.univie.ac.at/RNA/. Contact Stephan H. Bernhart – email@example.com
Isoindigo-based polymer photovoltaics: modifying polymer molecular structures to control the nanostructural packing motif.
Kim, Yu Jin; Lee, Yun-Ji; Kim, Yun-Hi; Park, Chan Eon
Donor molecular structures, and their packing aspects in donor:acceptor active blends, play a crucial role in the photovoltaic performance of polymer solar cells. We systematically investigated a series of isoindigo-based donor polymers within the framework of a three-dimensional (3D) crystalline motif by modifying their chemical structures, thereby affecting device performances. Although our isoindigo-based polymer series contained polymers that differed only by their alkyl side chains and/or donating units, they showed quite different nanoscale morphological properties, which resulted in significantly different device efficiencies. Notably, blends of our isoindigo-based donor polymer systems with an acceptor compound, whereby the blends had more intermixed network morphologies and stronger face-on orientations of the polymer crystallites, provided better-performing photovoltaic devices. This behavior was analyzed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and two-dimensional grazing incidence wide angle X-ray diffraction (2D-GIWAXD). To the best of our knowledge, no correlation has been reported previously between 3D nano-structural donor crystallites and device performances, particularly for isoindigo-based polymer systems. PMID:27326694
Dispom: a discriminative de-novo motif discovery tool based on the jstacs library.
Grau, Jan; Keilwagen, Jens; Gohr, André; Paponov, Ivan A; Posch, Stefan; Seifert, Michael; Strickert, Marc; Grosse, Ivo
DNA-binding proteins are a main component of gene regulation as they activate or repress gene expression by binding to specific binding sites in target regions of genomic DNA. However, de-novo discovery of these binding sites in target regions obtained by wet-lab experiments is a challenging problem in computational biology, which has not yet been solved satisfactorily. Here, we present a detailed description and analysis of the de-novo motif discovery tool Dispom, which has been developed for finding binding sites of DNA-binding proteins that are differentially abundant in a set of target regions compared to a set of control regions. Two additional features of Dispom are its capability of modeling positional preferences of binding sites and adjusting the length of the motif in the learning process. Dispom yields an increased prediction accuracy compared to existing tools for de-novo motif discovery, suggesting that the combination of searching for differentially abundant motifs, inferring their positional distributions, and adjusting the motif lengths is beneficial for de-novo motif discovery. When applying Dispom to promoters of auxin-responsive genes and those of ABI3 target genes from Arabidopsis thaliana, we identify relevant binding motifs with pronounced positional distributions. These results suggest that learning motifs, their positional distributions, and their lengths by a discriminative learning principle may aid motif discovery from ChIP-chip and gene expression data. We make Dispom freely available as part of Jstacs, an open-source Java library that is tailored to statistical sequence analysis. To facilitate extensions of Dispom, we describe its implementation using Jstacs in this manuscript. In addition, we provide a stand-alone application of Dispom at http://www.jstacs.de/index.php/Dispom for instant use. PMID:23427988
The effect of base pair mismatch on DNA strand displacement
Broadwater, Bo
DNA strand displacement is a key reaction in DNA homologous recombination and DNA mismatch repair and is also heavily utilized in DNA-based computation and locomotion. Despite its ubiquity in science and engineering, sequence-dependent effects of displacement kinetics have not been extensively characterized. Here, we measured toehold-mediated strand displacement kinetics using single-molecule fluorescence in the presence of a single base pair mismatch. The apparent displacement rate varied significantly when the mismatch was introduced in the invading DNA strand. The rate generally decreased as the mismatch in the invader was encountered earlier in displacement. Our data indicate that a single base pair mismatch in the invader stalls branch migration, and displacement occurs via direct dissociation of the destabilized incumbent strand from the substrate strand. We combined both branch migration and direct dissociation into a model, which we term, the concurrent displacement model, and used the first passage t...
SLiMPrints: conservation-based discovery of functional motif fingerprints in intrinsically disordered protein regions
Davey, Norman E.; Cowan, Joanne L.; Shields, Denis C.; Gibson, Toby J.; Coldwell, Mark J.; Edwards, Richard J.
Large portions of higher eukaryotic proteomes are intrinsically disordered, and abundant evidence suggests that these unstructured regions of proteins are rich in regulatory interaction interfaces. A major class of disordered interaction interfaces are the compact and degenerate modules known as short linear motifs (SLiMs). As a result of the difficulties associated with the experimental identification and validation of SLiMs, our understanding of these modules is limited, advocating the use of computational methods to focus experimental discovery. This article evaluates the use of evolutionary conservation as a discriminatory technique for motif discovery. A statistical framework is introduced to assess the significance of relatively conserved residues, quantifying the likelihood a residue will have a particular level of conservation given the conservation of the surrounding residues. The framework is expanded to assess the significance of groupings of conserved residues, a metric that forms the basis of SLiMPrints (short linear motif fingerprints), a de novo motif discovery tool. SLiMPrints identifies relatively overconstrained proximal groupings of residues within intrinsically disordered regions, indicative of putatively functional motifs. Finally, the human proteome is analysed to create a set of highly conserved putative motif instances, including a novel site on translation initiation factor eIF2A that may regulate translation through binding of eIF4E. PMID:22977176
T cell receptor zeta allows stable expression of receptors containing the CD3gamma leucine-based receptor-sorting motif
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Dietrich, J; Geisler, C
that the leucine-based motif in these complexes was inactive. In contrast, the CD4/CD3gamma chimeras did not associate with TCRzeta, and the leucine-based motif in these chimeras was constitutively active resulting in a high spontaneous internalization rate and low expression of the chimeras at the cell surface...
Graphene/Lead (Pb)-based Cooper -pair splitter
Borzenets, Ivan; Shimazaki, Yuya; Jones, Gareth; Russo, Saverio; Yamamoto, Michihisa; Tarucha, Seigo
We have fabricated a Cooper-pair splitter device based on a superconductor- two normal leads, ``Y'' shaped junction with graphene as the base material. (Compared to nanowire-based devices, the two dimensional nature of graphene allows for the normal leads to be placed arbitrarily close together and in a non-parallel arrangement.) The superconducting lead is created by contacting graphene with lead (Pb), thus inducing a supercurrent via the proximity effect. The normal metal leads are patterned into quantum dots by etching nano-constrictions with self-aligned side gates. Quantum dots strongly suppress two electron processes, allowing only one electron to pass at a time. Thus, the Cooper-pair splitting efficiency is enhanced as the split electrons must necessarily tunnel through different quantum dots. Using a DC measurement we have demonstrated enhanced currents though both normal leads when both quantum dots are in resonance and the input lead is in the superconducting regime: demonstrating Cooper-pair splitting. (This is contrary to the classical regime of currents though a three resistor junction.) Shot noise measurements would demonstrate that the split electrons tunnel at the same time. Demonstrating that the split electrons have opposite spin would show that such a device could be used as a source of quantum entangled electrons.
Coherent Pair Production in Deformed Crystals with a Complex Base
Mkrtchyan, A. R.; Saharian, A. A.; Parazian, V. V.
We investigate the coherent electron-positron pair creation by high-energy photons in a periodically deformed single crystal with a complex base. The formula for the corresponding differential cross-section is derived for an arbitrary deformation field. The conditions are specified under which the influence of the deformation is considerable. The case is considered in detail when the photon enters into the crystal at small angles with respect to a crystallographic axis. The results of the numerical calculations are presented for SiO2 single crystal and Moliere parametrization of the screened atomic potentials in the case of the deformation field generated by the acoustic wave of S type. In dependence of the parameters, the presence of deformation can either enhance or reduce the pair creation cross-section. This can be used to control the parameters of the positron sources for storage rings and colliders.
Coherent pair production in deformed crystals with a complex base
Mkrtchyan, A R; Saharian, A A
We investigate the coherent electron-positron pair creation by high-energy photons in a periodically deformed single crystal with a complex base. The formula for the corresponding differential cross-section is derived for an arbitrary deformation field. The conditions are specified under which the influence of the deformation is considerable. The case is considered in detail when the photon enters into the crystal at small angles with respect to a crystallographic axis. The results of the numerical calculations are presented for $\\mathrm{SiO}_{2}$ single crystal and Moliere parametrization of the screened atomic potentials in the case of the deformation field generated by the acoustic wave of $S$ type. In dependence of the parameters, the presence of deformation can either enhance or reduce the pair creation cross-section. This can be used to control the parameters of the positron sources for storage rings and colliders.
An ID-based Blind Signature Scheme from Bilinear Pairings
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
B.Umaprasada Rao
Full Text Available Blind signatures, introduced by Chaum, allow a user to obtain a signature on a message without revealing any thing about the message to the signer. Blind signatures play on important role in plenty of applications such as e-voting, e-cash system where anonymity is of great concern. Identity based(ID-based public key cryptography can be a good alternative for certified based public key setting, especially when efficient key management and moderate security are required. In this paper, we propose an ID-based blind signature scheme from bilinear pairings. The proposed scheme is based on the Hess ID- based digital signature scheme. Also we analyze security and efficiency of the proposed scheme.
Three 3D hybrid networks based on octamolybdates and different CuI/CuII-bis(triazole) motifs
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Three 3D compounds based on octamolybdate clusters and various CuI/CuII-bis(triazole) motifs, [CuI2btb][β-Mo8O26]0.5 (1), [CuI2btpe][β-Mo8O26]0.5 (2), and [CuII(btpe)2][β-Mo8O26]0.5 (3) [btb=1,4-bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)butane, btpe=1,5-bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)pentane], were isolated via tuning flexible ligand spacer length and metal coordination preferences. In 1, the copper(I)-btb motif is a one-dimensional (1D) chain which is further linked by hexadentate β-[Mo8O26]4- clusters via coordinating to CuI cations giving a 3D structure. In 2, the copper(I)-btpe motif exhibits a 'stairs'-like [CuI2btpe]2+ sheet, and the tetradentate β-[Mo8O26]4- clusters interact with two neighboring [CuI2btpe]2+ sheets constructing a 3D framework. In 3, the copper(II)-btpe motif possesses a novel (2D→3D) interdigitated structure, which is further connected by the tetradentate β-[Mo8O26]4- clusters forming a 3D framework. The thermal stability and luminescent properties of 1-3 are investigated in the solid state. -- Graphical abstract: Three 3D compounds based on β-[Mo8O26]4- clusters with different CuI/CuII-bis(triazole) motifs were synthesized by regularly tuning flexible ligand spacer length and metal coordination preferences. Display Omitted
ExactSearch: a web-based plant motif search tool
Gunasekara, Chathura; Subramanian, Avinash; Avvari, Janaki Venkata Ram Kumar; Li, Bin; Chen, Su; Wei, Hairong
Background Plant biologists frequently need to examine if a sequence motif bound by a specific transcription or translation factor is present in the proximal promoters or 3′ untranslated regions (3′ UTR) of a set of plant genes of interest. To achieve such a task, plant biologists have to not only identify an appropriate algorithm for motif searching, but also manipulate the large volume of sequence data, making it burdensome to carry out or fulfill. Result In this study, we developed a web p...
Physics of base-pairing dynamics in DNA
Manghi, Manoel; Destainville, Nicolas
As a key molecule of life, Deoxyribo-Nucleic Acid (DNA) is the focus of numbers of investigations with the help of biological, chemical and physical techniques. From a physical point of view, both experimental and theoretical works have brought quantitative insights into DNA base-pairing dynamics that we review in this Report, putting emphasis on theoretical developments. We discuss the dynamics at the base-pair scale and its pivotal coupling with the polymer one, with a polymerization index running from a few nucleotides to tens of kilo-bases. This includes opening and closure of short hairpins and oligomers as well as zipping and unwinding of long macromolecules. We review how different physical mechanisms are either used by Nature or utilized in biotechnological processes to separate the two intertwined DNA strands, by insisting on quantitative results. They go from thermally-assisted denaturation bubble nucleation to force- or torque-driven mechanisms. We show that the helical character of the molecule, possibly supercoiled, can play a key role in many denaturation and renaturation processes. We categorize the mechanisms according to the relative timescales associated with base-pairing and chain orientational degrees of freedom such as bending and torsional elastic ones. In some specific situations, these chain orientational degrees of freedom can be integrated out, and the quasi-static approximation is valid. The complex dynamics then reduces to the diffusion in a low-dimensional free-energy landscape. In contrast, some important cases of experimental interest necessarily appeal to far-from-equilibrium statistical mechanics and hydrodynamics.
Mining protein sequences for motifs.
Narasimhan, Giri; Bu, Changsong; Gao, Yuan; Wang, Xuning; Xu, Ning; Mathee, Kalai
We use methods from Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery to design an algorithm for detecting motifs in protein sequences. The algorithm assumes that a motif is constituted by the presence of a "good" combination of residues in appropriate locations of the motif. The algorithm attempts to compile such good combinations into a "pattern dictionary" by processing an aligned training set of protein sequences. The dictionary is subsequently used to detect motifs in new protein sequences. Statistical significance of the detection results are ensured by statistically determining the various parameters of the algorithm. Based on this approach, we have implemented a program called GYM. The Helix-Turn-Helix motif was used as a model system on which to test our program. The program was also extended to detect Homeodomain motifs. The detection results for the two motifs compare favorably with existing programs. In addition, the GYM program provides a lot of useful information about a given protein sequence. PMID:12487759
Large-scale organization of rat sensorimotor cortex based on a motif of large activation spreads.
Frostig, Ron D; Xiong, Ying; Chen-Bee, Cynthia H; Kvasnák, Eugen; Stehberg, Jimmy
Parcellation according to function (e.g., visual, somatosensory, auditory, motor) is considered a fundamental property of sensorimotor cortical organization, traditionally defined from cytoarchitectonics and mapping studies relying on peak evoked neuronal activity. In the adult rat, stimulation of single whiskers evokes peak activity at topographically appropriate locations within somatosensory cortex and provides an example of cortical functional specificity. Here, we show that single whisker stimulation also evokes symmetrical areas of suprathreshold and subthreshold neuronal activation that spread extensively away from peak activity, effectively ignoring cortical borders by spilling deeply into multiple cortical territories of different modalities (auditory, visual and motor), where they were blocked by localized neuronal activity blocker injections and thus ruled out as possibly caused by "volume conductance." These symmetrical activity spreads were supported by underlying border-crossing, long-range horizontal connections as confirmed with transection experiments and injections of anterograde neuronal tracer experiments. We found such large evoked activation spreads and their underlying connections regardless of whisker identity, cortical layer, or axis of recorded responses, thereby revealing a large scale nonspecific organization of sensorimotor cortex based on a motif of large symmetrical activation spreads. Because the large activation spreads and their underlying horizontal connections ignore anatomical borders between cortical modalities, sensorimotor cortex could therefore be viewed as a continuous entity rather than a collection of discrete, delineated unimodal regions, an organization that could coexist with established specificity of cortical organization and that could serve as a substrate for associative learning, direct multimodal integration and recovery of function after injury. PMID:19052219
Treatment of pairing correlations based on the equations of motion for zero-coupled pair operators
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The pairing problem is treated by means of the equations of motion for zero-coupled pair operators. Exact equations for the seniority-v states of N particles are derived. These equations can be solved by a step-by-step procedure which consists of progressively adding pairs of particles to a core. The theory can be applied at several levels of approximation depending on the number of core states which are taken into account. Some numerical applications to the treatment of v = 0, v = 1, and v = 2 states in the Ni isotopes are performed. The accuracy of various approximations is tested by comparison with exact results. For the seniority-one and seniority-two problems it turns out that the results obtained from the first-order theory are very accurate, while those of higher order calculations are practically exact. Concerning the seniority-zero problem, a fifth-order calculation reproduces quite well the three lowest states
Treatment of pairing correlations based on the equations of motion for zero-coupled pair operators
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Andreozzi, F.; Covello, A.; Gargano, A.; Ye, L.J.; Porrino, A.
The pairing problem is treated by means of the equations of motion for zero-coupled pair operators. Exact equations for the seniority-v states of N particles are derived. These equations can be solved by a step-by-step procedure which consists of progressively adding pairs of particles to a core. The theory can be applied at several levels of approximation depending on the number of core states which are taken into account. Some numerical applications to the treatment of v = 0, v = 1, and v = 2 states in the Ni isotopes are performed. The accuracy of various approximations is tested by comparison with exact results. For the seniority-one and seniority-two problems it turns out that the results obtained from the first-order theory are very accurate, while those of higher order calculations are practically exact. Concerning the seniority-zero problem, a fifth-order calculation reproduces quite well the three lowest states.
Single base pair mutation analysis by PNA directed PCR clamping
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ørum, H.; Nielsen, P.E.; Egholm, M.; Berg, R.H.; Buchardt, O.; Stanley, C.
A novel method that allows direct analysis of single base mutation by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is described. The method utilizes the finding that PNAs (peptide nucleic acids) recognize and bind to their complementary nucleic acid sequences with higher thermal stability and specificity...... than the corresponding deoxyribooligonucleotides and that they cannot function as primers for DNA polymerases. We show that a PNA/DNA complex can effectively block the formation of a PCR product when the PNA is targeted against one of the PCR primer sites. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this blockage...... allows selective amplification/suppression of target sequences that differ by only one base pair. Finally we show that PNAs can be designed in such a way that blockage can be accomplished when the PNA target sequence is located between the PCR primers....
Nonclassically paired photons from sources based on cold atoms
Głódź, Małgorzata; Janowicz, Maciej; Kowalski, Krzysztof; Szonert, Jerzy
In this short review some essentials concerning creation and testing of nonclassically correlated photons (biphotons) are given. In the introduction we remind the role which the experimentally produced entangled states have been playing for the foundations of the quantum physics, by witnessing against the model of local hidden variables. The well established sources of biphotons are based on spontaneous parametric down conversion in nonlinear crystals. A popular source with two BBO crystals is described, which generates pairs of photons nearly maximally entangled in polarization. Crystalbased sources rely on intrinsically broadband transitions, therefore thus produced biphotons are also broadband. Additional efforts (like applying optical cavities) are needed to reach narrowband biphotons which would comply with the requirements of some implementations in the quantum communication science. The topical issue of our article is a review of another, more recent approaches based on narrowband transitions between levels in cold atoms. Such method provides naturally narrowband biphotons. First, the principles are given of an atomic source of nonclassically paired photons, which is operated in a pulsed write-read mode. Such source is based on two separated in time Raman transitions triggered successively in two Λ-schemes. Next, cw-mode sources based (mainly) on spontaneous four wave mixing process (SFWM) are presented in a generic four-level scheme. Some underlying physics is sketched and profiles of biphoton correlation functions in the time domain are explained. Among other presented SFWM sources, one proves in testing high degree entanglement of generated biphotons, both in time-frequency and polarization (hyperentanglement).
SLiMPrints: conservation-based discovery of functional motif fingerprints in intrinsically disordered protein regions
Davey, Norman E.; Cowan, Joanne L; Shields, Denis C.; Gibson, Toby J.; Coldwell, Mark J; Edwards, Richard J
Large portions of higher eukaryotic proteomes are intrinsically disordered, and abundant evidence suggests that these unstructured regions of proteins are rich in regulatory interaction interfaces. A major class of disordered interaction interfaces are the compact and degenerate modules known as short linear motifs (SLiMs). As a result of the difficulties associated with the experimental identification and validation of SLiMs, our understanding of these modules is limited, advocating the use ...
HMM-based prediction for protein structural motifs' two local properties: solvent accessibility and backbone torsion angles.
Yu, Jianyong; Xiang, Leijun; Hong, Jiang; Zhang, Weidong
Protein structure prediction is often assisted by predicting one-dimensional structural properties including relative solvent accessibility (RSA) surface and backbone torsion angles (BTA) of residues, and these two properties are continuously varying variables because proteins can move freely in a three-dimensional space. Instead of subdividing them into a few arbitrarily defined states that many popular approaches used, this paper proposes an integrated system for realvalue prediction of protein structural motifs' two local properties, based on the modified Hidden Markov Model that we previously presented. The model was used to capture the relevance of RSA and the dependency of BTA between adjacent residues along the local protein chain in motifs with definite probabilities. These two properties were predicted according to their own probability distribution. The method was applied to a protein fragment library. For nine different classes of motifs, real values of RSA were predicted with mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.122-0.175 and Pearson's correlation coefficient (PCC) of 0.623-0.714 between predicted and actual RSA. Meanwhile, real values of BTA were obtained with MAE of 8.5⁰-29.4⁰ for Φ angles, 11.2⁰-38.5⁰ for ψ angles and PCC of 0.601-0.716 for Φ, 0.597-0.713 for ψ. The results were compared with well-known Real-SPINE Server, and indicate the proposed method may at least serve as the foundation to obtain better local properties from structural motifs for protein structure prediction. PMID:22894152
Paired structures and other opposite-based models
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rodríguez, J. Tinguaro; Franco, Camilo; Gómez, Daniel;
In this paper we present a new class of fuzzy sets, paired fuzzy sets, that tries to overcome any conflict between families of fuzzy sets that share a main characteristic: that they are generated from two basic opposite fuzzy sets. Hence, the first issue is to formalize the notion of opposition, ...... viewed as a particular paired structure when the classical fuzzy negation is considered; on the other hand, the relationship of this model with bipolarity is reconsidered from our paired view....
Structure, stability, and dynamics of canonical and noncanonical base pairs: quantum chemical studies.
Roy, Ashim; Panigrahi, Swati; Bhattacharyya, Malyasri; Bhattacharyya, Dhananjay
The importance of non-Watson-Crick base pairs in the three-dimensional structure of RNA is now well established. The structure and stability of these noncanonical base pairs are, however, poorly understood. We have attempted to understand structural features of 33 frequently occurring base pairs using density functional theory. These are of three types, namely (i) those stabilized by two or more polar hydrogen bonds between the bases, (ii) those having one polar and another C-H...O/N type interactions, and (iii) those having one H-bond between the bases and another involving one of the sugars linked to the bases. We found that the base pairs having two polar H-bonds are very stable as compared to those having one C-H...O/N interaction. Our quantitatively analysis of structures of these optimized base pairs indicates that they possess a different amount of nonplanarity with large propeller or buckle values as also observed in the crystal structures. We further found that geometry optimization does not modify the hydrogen-bonding pattern, as values of shear and open angle of the base pairs remain conserved. The structures of initial crystal geometry and final optimized geometry of some base pairs having only one polar H-bond and a C-H...O/N interaction, however, are significantly different, indicating the weak nature of the nonpolar interaction. The base pair flexibility, as measured from normal-mode analysis, in terms of the intrinsic standard deviations of the base pair structural parameters are in conformity with those calculated from RNA crystal structures. We also noticed that deformation of a base pair along the stretch direction is impossible for all of the base pairs, and movements of the base pairs along shear and open are also quite restricted. The base pair opening mode through alteration of propeller or buckle is considerably less restricted for most of the base pairs. PMID:18318519
Base pairing in RNA structures: A computational analysis of structural aspects and interaction energies
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Purshotam Sharma; Abhijit Mitra; Sitansh Sharma; Harjinder Singh
The base pairing patterns in RNA structures are more versatile and completely different as compared to DNA. We present here results of ab-initio studies of structures and interaction energies of eight selected RNA base pairs reported in literature. Interaction energies, including BSSE correction, of hydrogen added crystal geometries of base pairs have been calculated at the HF/6-31G∗∗ level. The structures and interaction energies of the base pairs in the crystal geometry are compared with those obtained after optimization of the base pairs. We find that the base pairs become more planar on full optimization. No change in the hydrogen bonding pattern is seen. It is expected that the inclusion of appropriate considerations of many of these aspects of RNA base pairing would significantly improve the accuracy of RNA secondary structure prediction.
Detecting the bipartite World Trade Web evolution across 2007: a motifs-based analysis
Saracco, Fabio; Gabrielli, Andrea; Squartini, Tiziano
In the present paper we employ the theoretical tools developed in network theory, in order to shed light on the response of world wide trade to the financial crisis of 2007. In particular, we have explored the evolution of the bipartite country-product World Trade Web across the years 1995-2010, monitoring the behaviour of the system both before and after 2007. Remarkably, our results indicate that, from 2003 on, the abundances of a recently-defined class of bipartite motifs assume values progressively closer to the ones predicted by a null model which preserves only basic features of the observed structure, completely randomizing the rest. In other words, as 2007 approaches the World Trade Web becomes more and more compatible with the picture of a bipartite network where correlations between countries and products are progressively lost. Moreover, the trends characterizing the z-scores of the considered family of motifs suggest that the most evident modification in the structure of the world trade network ca...
Spliceosomal small nuclear RNAs of Tetrahymena thermophila and some possible snRNA-snRNA base-pairing interactions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Orum, H; Nielsen, Henrik; Engberg, J
We have identified and characterized the full set of spliceosomal small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs; U1, U2, U4, U5 and U6) from the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila. With the exception of U4 snRNA, the sizes of the T. thermophila snRNAs are closely similar to their metazoan homologues. The T....... thermophila snRNAs all have unique 5' ends, which start with an adenine residue. In contrast, with the exception of U6, their 3' ends show some size heterogeneity. The primary sequences of the T. thermophila snRNAs contain the sequence motifs shown, or proposed, to be of functional importance in other...... organisms. Furthermore, secondary structures closely similar to phylogenetically proven models can be inferred from the T. thermophila data. Analysis of the snRNA sequences identifies three potential snRNA-snRNA base-pairing interactions, all of which are consistent with available phylogenetic data. Two of...
Non-Watson-Crick base pairing in RNA. quantum chemical analysis of the cis Watson-Crick/sugar edge base pair family.
Sponer, Judit E; Spacková, Nad'a; Kulhanek, Petr; Leszczynski, Jerzy; Sponer, Jirí
Large RNA molecules exhibit an astonishing variability of base-pairing patterns, while many of the RNA base-pairing families have no counterparts in DNA. The cis Watson-Crick/sugar edge (cis WC/SE) RNA base pairing is investigated by ab initio quantum chemical calculations. A detailed structural and energetic characterization of all 13 crystallographically detected members of this family is provided by means of B3LYP/6-31G and RIMP2/aug-cc-pVDZ calculations. Further, a prediction is made for the remaining 3 cis WC/SE base pairs which are yet to be seen in the experiments. The interaction energy calculations point at the key role of the 2'-OH group in stabilizing the sugar-base contact and predict all 16 cis WC/SE base-pairing patterns to be nearly isoenergetic. The perfect correlation of the main geometrical parameters in the gas-phase optimized and X-ray structures shows that the principle of isosteric substitutions in RNA is rooted from the intrinsic structural similarity of the isolated base pairs. The present quantum chemical calculations for the first time analyze base pairs involving the ribose 2'-OH group and unambiguously correlate the structural information known from experiments with the energetics of interactions. The calculations further show that the relative importance and absolute value of the dispersion energy in the cis WC/SE base pairs are enhanced compared to the standard base pairs. This may by an important factor contributing to the strength of such interactions when RNA folds in its polar environment. The calculations further demonstrate that the Cornell et al. force field commonly used in molecular modeling and simulations provides satisfactory performance for this type of RNA interactions. PMID:16838999
A fluorescence glucose sensor based on pH induced conformational switch of i-motif DNA.
Ke, Qingqing; Zheng, Yu; Yang, Fan; Zhang, Hanchang; Yang, Xiurong
A facile fluorescence biosensor for the detection of glucose is proposed based on the pH-induced conformational switch of i-motif DNA in this paper. Glucose can be oxidized by oxygen (O2) in the presence of glucose oxidase (GOD), and the generated gluconic acid can decrease the pH value of the solution and then induce the fluorophore- and quencher-labeled cytosine-rich single-stranded DNA to fold into a close-packed i-motif structure. As a result, the fluorescence quenching occurs because of the resonance energy transfer between fluorophore and quencher. Based on this working principle, the concentration of glucose can be detected by the decrease of fluorescence density. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the assay shows a linear response range of 5-100 µM for the glucose concentration with a detection limit of 4 µM. This glucose biosensor was applied to determine glucose in real samples successfully, suggesting its potential in the practical applicability. PMID:25127630
Structural alphabet motif discovery and a structural motif database.
Ku, Shih-Yen; Hu, Yuh-Jyh
This study proposes a general framework for structural motif discovery. The framework is based on a modular design in which the system components can be modified or replaced independently to increase its applicability to various studies. It is a two-stage approach that first converts protein 3D structures into structural alphabet sequences, and then applies a sequence motif-finding tool to these sequences to detect conserved motifs. We named the structural motif database we built the SA-Motifbase, which provides the structural information conserved at different hierarchical levels in SCOP. For each motif, SA-Motifbase presents its 3D view; alphabet letter preference; alphabet letter frequency distribution; and the significance. SA-Motifbase is available at http://bioinfo.cis.nctu.edu.tw/samotifbase/. PMID:22099701
Flexibility of short DNA helices with finite-length effect: from base pairs to tens of base pairs
Wu, Yuan-Yan; Zhang, Xi; Tan, Zhi-Jie
Flexibility of short DNA helices is important for the biological functions such as nucleosome formation and DNA-protein recognition. Recent experiments suggest that short DNAs of tens of base pairs (bps) may have apparently higher flexibility than those of kilo bps, while there is still the debate on such high flexibility. In the present work, we have studied the flexibility of short DNAs with finite-length of 5 to 50 bps by the all-atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and Monte Carlo simulations with the worm-like chain model. Our microscopic analyses reveal that short DNAs have apparently high flexibility which is attributed to the significantly strong bending and stretching flexibilities of ~6 bps at each helix end. Correspondingly, the apparent persistence length lp of short DNAs increases gradually from ~29nm to ~45nm as DNA length increases from 10 to 50 bps, in accordance with the available experimental data. Our further analyses show that the short DNAs with excluding ~6 bps at each helix end have...
Design of potent inhibitors of human RAD51 recombinase based on BRC motifs of BRCA2 protein: modeling and experimental validation of a chimera peptide.
Nomme, Julian
We have previously shown that a 28-amino acid peptide derived from the BRC4 motif of BRCA2 tumor suppressor inhibits selectively human RAD51 recombinase (HsRad51). With the aim of designing better inhibitors for cancer treatment, we combined an in silico docking approach with in vitro biochemical testing to construct a highly efficient chimera peptide from eight existing human BRC motifs. We built a molecular model of all BRC motifs complexed with HsRad51 based on the crystal structure of the BRC4 motif-HsRad51 complex, computed the interaction energy of each residue in each BRC motif, and selected the best amino acid residue at each binding position. This analysis enabled us to propose four amino acid substitutions in the BRC4 motif. Three of these increased the inhibitory effect in vitro, and this effect was found to be additive. We thus obtained a peptide that is about 10 times more efficient in inhibiting HsRad51-ssDNA complex formation than the original peptide.
Raising the barrier for photoinduced DNA charge injection with a cyclohexyl artificial base pair.
Singh, Arunoday P N; Harris, Michelle A; Young, Ryan M; Miller, Stephen A; Wasielewski, Michael R; Lewis, Frederick D
The effects of an artificial cyclohexyl base pair on the quantum yields of fluorescence and dynamics of charge separation and charge recombination have been investigated for several synthetic DNA hairpins. The hairpins possess stilbenedicarboxamide, perylenediimide, or naphthalenediimide linkers and base-paired stems. In the absence of the artificial base pair hole injection into both adenine and guanine purine bases is exergonic and irreversible, except in the case of stilbene with adenine for which it is slightly endergonic and reversible. Insertion of the artificial base pair renders hole injection endergonic or isoergonic except in the case of the powerful naphthalene acceptor for which it remains exergonic. Both hole injection and charge recombination are slower for the naphthalene acceptor in the presence of the artificial base pair than in its absence. The effect of an artificial base pair on charge separation and charge recombination in hairpins possessing stilbene and naphthalene acceptor linkers and a stilbenediether donor capping group has also been investigated. In the case of the stilbene acceptor-stilbene donor capped hairpins photoinduced charge separation across six base pairs is efficient in the absence of the artificial base pair but does not occur in its presence. In the case of the naphthalene acceptor-stilbene donor capped hairpins the artificial base pair slows but does not stop charge separation and charge recombination, leading to the formation of long-lived charge separated states. PMID:26442603
Comparable Stability of Hoogsteen and Watson–Crick Base Pairs in Ionic Liquid Choline Dihydrogen Phosphate
Hisae Tateishi-Karimata; Miki Nakano; Naoki Sugimoto
The instability of Hoogsteen base pairs relative to Watson–Crick base pairs has limited biological applications of triplex-forming oligonucleotides. Hydrated ionic liquids (ILs) provide favourable environments for a wide range of chemical reactions and are known to impact the stabilities of Watson–Crick base pairs. We found that DNA triplex formation was significantly stabilized in hydrated choline dihydrogen phosphate as compared with an aqueous buffer at neutral pH. Interestingly, the stabi...
Predicting kinase activity in angiotensin receptor phosphoproteomes based on sequence-motifs and interactions.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rikke Bøgebo
Full Text Available Recent progress in the understanding of seven-transmembrane receptor (7TMR signalling has promoted the development of a new generation of pathway selective ligands. The angiotensin II type I receptor (AT1aR is one of the most studied 7TMRs with respect to selective activation of the β-arrestin dependent signalling. Two complimentary global phosphoproteomics studies have analyzed the complex signalling induced by the AT1aR. Here we integrate the data sets from these studies and perform a joint analysis using a novel method for prediction of differential kinase activity from phosphoproteomics data. The method builds upon NetworKIN, which applies sophisticated linear motif analysis in combination with contextual network modelling to predict kinase-substrate associations with high accuracy and sensitivity. These predictions form the basis for subsequently nonparametric statistical analysis to identify likely activated kinases. This suggested that AT1aR-dependent signalling activates 48 of the 285 kinases detected in HEK293 cells. Of these, Aurora B, CLK3 and PKG1 have not previously been described in the pathway whereas others, such as PKA, PKB and PKC, are well known. In summary, we have developed a new method for kinase-centric analysis of phosphoproteomes to pinpoint differential kinase activity in large-scale data sets.
MODIS: an audio motif discovery software
Catanese, Laurence; Souviraà-Labastie, Nathan; Qu, Bingqing; Campion, Sébastien; Gravier, Guillaume; Vincent, Emmanuel; Bimbot, Frédéric
International audience MODIS is a free speech and audio motif discovery software developed at IRISA Rennes. Motif discovery is the task of discovering and collecting occurrences of repeating patterns in the absence of prior knowledge, or training material. MODIS is based on a generic approach to mine repeating audio sequences, with tolerance to motif variability. The algorithm implementation allows to process large audio streams at a reasonable speed where motif discovery often requires hu...
Stabilization of i-motif structures by 2′-β-fluorination of DNA
Assi, Hala Abou; Harkness, Robert W.; Martin-Pintado, Nerea; Wilds, Christopher J.; Campos-Olivas, Ramón; Mittermaier, Anthony K.; González, Carlos; Damha, Masad J.
i-Motifs are four-stranded DNA structures consisting of two parallel DNA duplexes held together by hemi-protonated and intercalated cytosine base pairs (C:CH+). They have attracted considerable research interest for their potential role in gene regulation and their use as pH responsive switches and building blocks in macromolecular assemblies. At neutral and basic pH values, the cytosine bases deprotonate and the structure unfolds into single strands. To avoid this limitation and expand the range of environmental conditions supporting i-motif folding, we replaced the sugar in DNA by 2-deoxy-2-fluoroarabinose. We demonstrate that such a modification significantly stabilizes i-motif formation over a wide pH range, including pH 7. Nuclear magnetic resonance experiments reveal that 2-deoxy-2-fluoroarabinose adopts a C2′-endo conformation, instead of the C3′-endo conformation usually found in unmodified i-motifs. Nevertheless, this substitution does not alter the overall i-motif structure. This conformational change, together with the changes in charge distribution in the sugar caused by the electronegative fluorine atoms, leads to a number of favorable sequential and inter-strand electrostatic interactions. The availability of folded i-motifs at neutral pH will aid investigations into the biological function of i-motifs in vitro, and will expand i-motif applications in nanotechnology. PMID:27166371
Predicting the Mechanism and Kinetics of the Watson-Crick to Hoogsteen Base Pairing Transition
J. Vreede; P.G. Bolhuis; D.W.H. Swenson
DNA duplexes predominantly contain Watson-Crick (WC) base pairs. Yet, a non-negligible number of base pairs converts to the Hoogsteen (HG) hydrogen bonding pattern, involving a 180° rotation of the purine base relative to Watson-Crick. These WC to HG conversions alter the conformation of DNA, and ma
Roles of ion pairing on electroreduction of carbon dioxide based on imidazolium-based salts
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Highlights: • The significant electrocatalytic effects of imidazolium salts are due to a strong ion-pairing. • DFT calculation predicts the ion pair [BMIM+][CO2.−] conformation. • The extent of ion-pairing decreases with increasing the size of the alkyl substituent. - Abstract: The roles of ion pairing on CO2 electroreduction involving imidazolium-based salts are explored on an Ag electrode in a DMF solution. The electroreductive behaviours of CO2 and the IR results establish the dominant role of the cation of imidazolium-based salts in CO2 electrocatalytic reduction process. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations predict that the ion pair formation is mainly driven by the attraction of the four nearby and positively charged hydrogen atoms which are at the C2, N1 and N3-positions of an imidazolium cation for the negatively charged oxygen atoms in the CO2.− species. The electrostatic interaction between an imidazolium cation and the CO2.− species decreases with increasing the size of the alkyl substituent at the N1-position of that imidazolium cation
Plasmodium vivax antigen discovery based on alpha-helical coiled coil protein motif.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nora Céspedes
Full Text Available Protein α-helical coiled coil structures that elicit antibody responses, which block critical functions of medically important microorganisms, represent a means for vaccine development. By using bioinformatics algorithms, a total of 50 antigens with α-helical coiled coil motifs orthologous to Plasmodium falciparum were identified in the P. vivax genome. The peptides identified in silico were chemically synthesized; circular dichroism studies indicated partial or high α-helical content. Antigenicity was evaluated using human sera samples from malaria-endemic areas of Colombia and Papua New Guinea. Eight of these fragments were selected and used to assess immunogenicity in BALB/c mice. ELISA assays indicated strong reactivity of serum samples from individuals residing in malaria-endemic regions and sera of immunized mice, with the α-helical coiled coil structures. In addition, ex vivo production of IFN-γ by murine mononuclear cells confirmed the immunogenicity of these structures and the presence of T-cell epitopes in the peptide sequences. Moreover, sera of mice immunized with four of the eight antigens recognized native proteins on blood-stage P. vivax parasites, and antigenic cross-reactivity with three of the peptides was observed when reacted with both the P. falciparum orthologous fragments and whole parasites. Results here point to the α-helical coiled coil peptides as possible P. vivax malaria vaccine candidates as were observed for P. falciparum. Fragments selected here warrant further study in humans and non-human primate models to assess their protective efficacy as single components or assembled as hybrid linear epitopes.
Tunnel Conductance of Watson-Crick Nucleoside-Base Pairs from Telegraph Noise
Chang, Shuai; He, Jin; Lin, Lisha; Zhang, Peiming; Liang, Feng; Young, Michael; Huang, Shuo; Lindsay, Stuart
The use of tunneling signals to sequence DNA is presently hampered by the small tunnel conductance of a junction spanning an entire DNA molecule. The design of a readout system that uses a shorter tunneling path requires knowledge of the absolute conductance across base-pairs. We have exploited the stochastic switching of hydrogen-bonded DNA base-nucleoside pairs trapped in a tunnel junction to determine the conductance of individual molecular pairs. This conductance is found to be sensitive ...
lsosteric and Nonisosteric Base Pairs in RNA Motifs: Molecular Dynamics and Bioinformatics Study of the Sarcin Ricin Internal Loop
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Havrila, Marek; Réblová, Kamila; Zirbel, C.L.; Leontis, B. N.; Šponer, Jiří
Roč. 117, č. 46 (2013), s. 14302-14319. ISSN 1520-6106 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP305/12/G034 Institutional support: RVO:68081707 Keywords : 23S RIBOSOMAL-RNA * PARTICLE MESH EWALD * NUCLEIC-ACIDS Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 3.377, year: 2013
lsosteric and Nonisosteric Base Pairs in RNA Motifs: Molecular Dynamics and Bioinformatics Study of the Sarcin Ricin Internal Loop
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Havrila, Marek; Réblová, K.; Zirbel, C.L.; Leontis, N. B.
Roč. 117, č. 46 (2013), s. 14302-14319. ISSN 1520-6106 R&D Projects: GA ČR GBP305/12/G034; GA MŠk ED1.1.00/02.0068 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50040702 Institutional support: RVO:68081707 Keywords : 23S RIBOSOMAL-RNA * PARTICLE MESH EWALD * NUCLEIC-ACIDS Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 3.377, year: 2013
Conducting Task-Based Interviews with Pairs of Children: Consensus, Conflict, Knowledge Construction and Turn Taking
Houssart, Jenny; Evens, Hilary
This article explores theoretical and methodological issues associated with task-based interviews conducted with pairs of children. We explore different approaches to interviews from sociological, psychological and subject-based perspectives. Our interviews, concerning mathematical questions and carried out with pairs of 10 and 11-year-olds, are…
A novel pseudo-complementary PNA G-C base pair
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Olsen, Anne G.; Dahl, Otto; Petersen, Asger Bjørn; Nielsen, John; Nielsen, Peter E.
Pseudo-complementary oligonucleotide analogues and mimics provide novel opportunities for targeting duplex structures in RNA and DNA. Previously, a pseudo-complementary A-T base pair has been introduced. Towards sequence unrestricted targeting, a pseudo-complementary G-C base pair consisting of the...
Development of artificial nucleic acid that recognizes a CG base pair in triplex DNA formation.
Hari, Yoshiyuki
An oligonucleotide that can form a triplex with double-stranded DNA is called a triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO). TFOs have gained considerable attention because of their potential as gene targeting tools. However, triplex DNA formation involves inherent problems for practical use. The most important problem is that natural nucleotides in TFO do not have sufficient affinity and base pair-selectivity to pyrimidine-purine base pair, like a CG or TA base pair, within dsDNA. This suggests that dsDNA region including a CG or TA base pair cannot be targeted. Therefore, artificial nucleotides, especially with non-natural nucleobases, capable of direct recognition of a CG or TA base pair via hydrogen bond formation have been developed; however, nucleotides with better selectivity and stronger affinity are necessary for implementing this dsDNA-targeting technology using TFOs. Under such a background, we considered that facile and efficient synthesis of various nucleobase derivatives in TFOs would be useful for finding an ideal nucleobase for recognition of a CG or TA base pair because detailed and rational exploration of nucleobase structures is facilitated. Recently, to develop a nucleobase recognizing a CG base pair, we have used post-elongation modification, i.e., modification after oligonucleotide synthesis, for the facile synthesis of nucleobase derivatives. This review mainly summarizes our recent findings on the development of artificial nucleobases and nucleotides for recognition of a CG base pair in triplexes formed between dsDNA and TFOs. PMID:24189561
The Impact of a Peer-Learning Agent Based on Pair Programming in a Programming Course
Han, Keun-Woo; Lee, EunKyoung; Lee, YoungJun
This paper analyzes the educational effects of a peer-learning agent based on pair programming in programming courses. A peer-learning agent system was developed to facilitate the learning of a programming language through the use of pair programming strategies. This system is based on the role of a peer-learning agent from pedagogical and…
Theory of tunneling across hydrogen-bonded base pairs for DNA recognition and sequencing
Lee, Myeong H.; Sankey, Otto F.
We present the results of first-principles calculations for the electron tunnel current through hydrogen-bonded DNA base pairs and for (deoxy)nucleoside-nucleobase pairs. Electron current signals either through a base pair or through a deoxynucleoside-nucleobase pair are a potential mechanism for recognition or identification of the DNA base on a single-stranded DNA polymer. Four hydrogen-bonded complexes are considered: guanine-cytosine, diaminoadenine-thymine, adenine-thymine, and guanine-thymine. First, the electron tunneling properties are examined through their complex band structure (CBS) and the metal contact's Fermi-level alignment. For gold contacts, the metal Fermi level lies near the highest occupied molecular orbital for all DNA base pairs. The decay constant determined by the complex band structure at the gold Fermi level shows that tunnel current decays more slowly for base pairs with three hydrogen bonds (guanine-cytosine and diaminoadenine-thymine) than for base pairs with two hydrogen bonds (adenine-thymine and guanine-thymine). The decay length and its dependence on hydrogen-bond length are examined. Second, the conductance is computed using density functional theory Green's-function scattering methods and these results agree with estimates made from the tunneling decay constant obtained from the CBS. Changing from a base pair to a deoxynucleoside-nucleobase complex shows a significant decrease in conductance. It also becomes difficult to distinguish the current signal by only the number of hydrogen bonds.
A Project Risk Ranking Approach Based on Set Pair Analysis
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Gao Feng; Chen Yingwu
Set Pair Analysis (SPA) is a new methodology to describe and process system uncertainty. It is different from stochastic or fuzzy methods in reasoning and operation, and it has been applied in many areas recently. In this paper, the application of SPA in risk ranking is presented, which includes review of risk ranking, introduction of Connecting Degree (CD) that is a key role in SPA., Arithmetic and Tendency Grade (TG) of CDs, and a risk ranking approach proposed. Finally a case analysis is presented to illustrate the reasonability of this approach. It is found that this approach is very convenient to operate, while the ranking result is more comprehensible.
Roles of the Amino Group of Purine Bases in the Thermodynamic Stability of DNA Base Pairing
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Shu-ichi Nakano
Full Text Available The energetic aspects of hydrogen-bonded base-pair interactions are important for the design of functional nucleotide analogs and for practical applications of oligonucleotides. The present study investigated the contribution of the 2-amino group of DNA purine bases to the thermodynamic stability of oligonucleotide duplexes under different salt and solvent conditions, using 2'-deoxyriboinosine (I and 2'-deoxyribo-2,6-diaminopurine (D as non-canonical nucleotides. The stability of DNA duplexes was changed by substitution of a single base pair in the following order: G•C > D•T ≈ I•C > A•T > G•T > I•T. The apparent stabilization energy due to the presence of the 2-amino group of G and D varied depending on the salt concentration, and decreased in the water-ethanol mixed solvent. The effects of salt concentration on the thermodynamics of DNA duplexes were found to be partially sequence-dependent, and the 2-amino group of the purine bases might have an influence on the binding of ions to DNA through the formation of a stable base-paired structure. Our results also showed that physiological salt conditions were energetically favorable for complementary base recognition, and conversely, low salt concentration media and ethanol-containing solvents were effective for low stringency oligonucleotide hybridization, in the context of conditions employed in this study.
Covering All the Bases in Genetics: Simple Shorthands and Diagrams for Teaching Base Pairing to Biology Undergraduates
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Sergei Kuchin
Full Text Available Explaining base pairing is an important element in teaching undergraduate genetics. I propose a teaching approach that aims to close the gap between the mantra "A pairs with T, and G pairs with C" and the "intimidating" chemical diagrams. The approach offers a set of simple "shorthands" for the key bases that can be used to quickly deduce all canonical and wobble pairs that the students need to know. The approach can be further developed to analyze mutagenic mismatch pairing.
Lewis pair polymerization by classical and frustrated Lewis pairs: Acid, base and monomer scope and polymerization mechanism
Zhang, Yuetao
Classical and frustrated Lewis pairs (LPs) of the strong Lewis acid (LA) Al(C 6F 5) 3 with several Lewis base (LB) classes have been found to exhibit exceptional activity in the Lewis pair polymerization (LPP) of conjugated polar alkenes such as methyl methacrylate (MMA) as well as renewable α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone (MBL) and γ-methyl- α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone (γ-MMBL), leading to high molecular weight polymers, often with narrow molecular weight distributions. This study has investigated a large number of LPs, consisting of 11 LAs as well as 10 achiral and 4 chiral LBs, for LPP of 12 monomers of several different types. Although some more common LAs can also be utilized for LPP, Al(C 6F 5) 3-based LPs are far more active and effective than other LA-based LPs. On the other hand, several classes of LBs, when paired with Al(C 6F 5) 3, can render highly active and effective LPP of MMA and γ-MMBL; such LBs include phosphines (e.g., P tBu 3), chiral chelating diphosphines, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), and phosphazene superbases (e.g., P 4- tBu). The P 4- tBu/Al(C 6F 5) 3 pair exhibits the highest activity of the LP series, with a remarkably high turn-over frequency of 9.6 × 10 4 h -1 (0.125 mol% catalyst, 100% MMA conversion in 30 s, M n = 2.12 × 10 5 g mol -1, PDI = 1.34). The polymers produced by LPs at RT are typically atactic (P γMMBL with ∼47% mr) or syndio-rich (PMMA with ∼70-75% rr), but highly syndiotactic PMMA with rr ∼91% can be produced by chiral or achiral LPs at -78 °C. Mechanistic studies have identified and structurally characterized zwitterionic phosphonium and imidazolium enolaluminates as the active species of the current LPP system, which are formed by the reaction of the monomer·Al(C 6F 5) 3 adduct with P tBu 3 and NHC bases, respectively. Kinetic studies have revealed that the MMA polymerization by the tBu 3P/ Al(C 6F 5) 3 pair is zero-order in monomer concentration after an initial induction period, and the polymerization
Steady-State Fluorescence and Lifetime Emission Study of pH-Sensitive Probes Based on i-motif Forming Oligonucleotides Single and Double Labeled with Pyrene
Anna Dembska; Patrycja Rzepecka; Bernard Juskowiak
Cytosine-rich nucleic acids undergo pH-stimulated structural transitions leading to formation of an i-motif architecture at an acidic pH. Thus, i-motifs are good foundation for designing simple pH-sensitive fluorescent probes. We report here steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence studies of pyrene-labeled probes based on RET sequence: C4GC4GC4GC4TA (RET21), AC4GC4GC4GC4TA (RET21A) and C4GC4GC4GC4T (RET20). Comparative studies with single- and double-labeled i-motif probes were carried o...
rMotifGen: random motif generator for DNA and protein sequences
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Hardin C Timothy
Full Text Available Abstract Background Detection of short, subtle conserved motif regions within a set of related DNA or amino acid sequences can lead to discoveries about important regulatory domains such as transcription factor and DNA binding sites as well as conserved protein domains. In order to help assess motif detection algorithms on motifs with varying properties and levels of conservation, we have developed a computational tool, rMotifGen, with the sole purpose of generating a number of random DNA or protein sequences containing short sequence motifs. Each motif consensus can be user-defined, randomly generated, or created from a position-specific scoring matrix (PSSM. Insertions and mutations within these motifs are created according to user-defined parameters and substitution matrices. The resulting sequences can be helpful in mutational simulations and in testing the limits of motif detection algorithms. Results Two implementations of rMotifGen have been created, one providing a graphical user interface (GUI for random motif construction, and the other serving as a command line interface. The second implementation has the added advantages of platform independence and being able to be called in a batch mode. rMotifGen was used to construct sample sets of sequences containing DNA motifs and amino acid motifs that were then tested against the Gibbs sampler and MEME packages. Conclusion rMotifGen provides an efficient and convenient method for creating random DNA or amino acid sequences with a variable number of motifs, where the instance of each motif can be incorporated using a position-specific scoring matrix (PSSM or by creating an instance mutated from its corresponding consensus using an evolutionary model based on substitution matrices. rMotifGen is freely available at: http://bioinformatics.louisville.edu/brg/rMotifGen/.
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Peng Xiuping; Xu Chengqian
In this paper,a new class of almost binary sequence pair with a single zero element is presented.The almost binary sequence pairs with three-level correlation are constructed based on cyclotomic numbers of order 2,4,and 6.Most of them have good correlation and balance property,whose maximum nontrivial correlation magnitudes are 2 and the difference between the numbers of occurrence of +1's and -1's are 0 or 1.In addition,the corresponding binary sequence pairs are investigated as well and we can also get some kinds of binary sequence pairs with optimum balance and good correlation.
FR3D: finding local and composite recurrent structural motifs in RNA 3D structures.
Sarver, Michael; Zirbel, Craig L; Stombaugh, Jesse; Mokdad, Ali; Leontis, Neocles B
New methods are described for finding recurrent three-dimensional (3D) motifs in RNA atomic-resolution structures. Recurrent RNA 3D motifs are sets of RNA nucleotides with similar spatial arrangements. They can be local or composite. Local motifs comprise nucleotides that occur in the same hairpin or internal loop. Composite motifs comprise nucleotides belonging to three or more different RNA strand segments or molecules. We use a base-centered approach to construct efficient, yet exhaustive search procedures using geometric, symbolic, or mixed representations of RNA structure that we implement in a suite of MATLAB programs, "Find RNA 3D" (FR3D). The first modules of FR3D preprocess structure files to classify base-pair and -stacking interactions. Each base is represented geometrically by the position of its glycosidic nitrogen in 3D space and by the rotation matrix that describes its orientation with respect to a common frame. Base-pairing and base-stacking interactions are calculated from the base geometries and are represented symbolically according to the Leontis/Westhof basepairing classification, extended to include base-stacking. These data are stored and used to organize motif searches. For geometric searches, the user supplies the 3D structure of a query motif which FR3D uses to find and score geometrically similar candidate motifs, without regard to the sequential position of their nucleotides in the RNA chain or the identity of their bases. To score and rank candidate motifs, FR3D calculates a geometric discrepancy by rigidly rotating candidates to align optimally with the query motif and then comparing the relative orientations of the corresponding bases in the query and candidate motifs. Given the growing size of the RNA structure database, it is impossible to explicitly compute the discrepancy for all conceivable candidate motifs, even for motifs with less than ten nucleotides. The screening algorithm that we describe finds all candidate motifs whose
Thermodynamics of the formation of Ag(I)-mediated azole base pairs in DNA duplexes.
Schweizer, Kristina; Léon, J Christian; Ravoo, Bart Jan; Müller, Jens
Isothermal titration calorimetry was applied to determine the thermodynamic parameters for the specific binding of Ag(I) ions to a series of DNA duplexes comprising Im:Im or Tr:Tr mispairs to form metal-mediated Im-Ag(I)-Im or Tr-Ag(I)-Tr base pairs (Im=imidazole nucleoside; Tr=1.2,4-triazole nucleoside). A total of seven different duplexes are discussed, incorporating one to three artificial base pairs in neighboring or non-neighboring positions. The association constant related to the formation of Tr-Ag(I)-Tr base pairs is estimated to be <10(3)M(-1). In contrast, Im-Ag(I)-Im base pairs are much more stable. The intrinsic association constant for their formation is in the order of 10(6)M(-1) and is therefore larger than that for the formation of T-Hg(II)-T and C-Ag(I)-C base pairs consisting of natural nucleobases. Two neighboring Im-Ag(I)-Im base pairs form cooperatively, whereas two remotely located Im-Ag(I)-Im base pairs form non-cooperatively. In general, the specific binding of Ag(I) to Im:Im-containing duplexes is enthalpically driven, with a significant additional entropic contribution in most cases. PMID:27032292
The conserved dileucine- and tyrosine-based motifs in MLV and MPMV envelope glycoproteins are both important to regulate a common Env intracellular trafficking
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Lopez-Vergès Sandra
Full Text Available Abstract Background Retrovirus particles emerge from the assembly of two structural protein components, Gag that is translated as a soluble protein in the cytoplasm of the host cells, and Env, a type I transmembrane protein. Because both components are translated in different intracellular compartments, elucidating the mechanisms of retrovirus assembly thus requires the study of their intracellular trafficking. Results We used a CD25 (Tac chimera-based approach to study the trafficking of Moloney murine leukemia virus and Mason-Pfizer monkey virus Env proteins. We found that the cytoplasmic tails (CTs of both Env conserved two major signals that control a complex intracellular trafficking. A dileucine-based motif controls the sorting of the chimeras from the trans-Golgi network (TGN toward endosomal compartments. Env proteins then follow a retrograde transport to the TGN due to the action of a tyrosine-based motif. Mutation of either motif induces the mis-localization of the chimeric proteins and both motifs are found to mediate interactions of the viral CTs with clathrin adaptors. Conclusion This data reveals the unexpected complexity of the intracellular trafficking of retrovirus Env proteins that cycle between the TGN and endosomes. Given that Gag proteins hijack endosomal host proteins, our work suggests that the endosomal pathway may be used by retroviruses to ensure proper encountering of viral structural Gag and Env proteins in cells, an essential step of virus assembly.
Mining Conditional Phosphorylation Motifs.
Liu, Xiaoqing; Wu, Jun; Gong, Haipeng; Deng, Shengchun; He, Zengyou
Phosphorylation motifs represent position-specific amino acid patterns around the phosphorylation sites in the set of phosphopeptides. Several algorithms have been proposed to uncover phosphorylation motifs, whereas the problem of efficiently discovering a set of significant motifs with sufficiently high coverage and non-redundancy still remains unsolved. Here we present a novel notion called conditional phosphorylation motifs. Through this new concept, the motifs whose over-expressiveness mainly benefits from its constituting parts can be filtered out effectively. To discover conditional phosphorylation motifs, we propose an algorithm called C-Motif for a non-redundant identification of significant phosphorylation motifs. C-Motif is implemented under the Apriori framework, and it tests the statistical significance together with the frequency of candidate motifs in a single stage. Experiments demonstrate that C-Motif outperforms some current algorithms such as MMFPh and Motif-All in terms of coverage and non-redundancy of the results and efficiency of the execution. The source code of C-Motif is available at: https://sourceforge. net/projects/cmotif/. PMID:26356863
A cohesin-based structural platform supporting homologous chromosome pairing in meiosis.
Ding, Da-Qiao; Haraguchi, Tokuko; Hiraoka, Yasushi
The pairing and recombination of homologous chromosomes during the meiotic prophase is necessary for the accurate segregation of chromosomes in meiosis. However, the mechanism by which homologous chromosomes achieve this pairing has remained an open question. Meiotic cohesins have been shown to affect chromatin compaction; however, the impact of meiotic cohesins on homologous pairing and the fine structures of cohesion-based chromatin remain to be determined. A recent report using live-cell imaging and super-resolution microscopy demonstrated that the lack of meiotic cohesins alters the chromosome axis structures and impairs the pairing of homologous chromosomes. These results suggest that meiotic cohesin-based chromosome axis structures are crucial for the pairing of homologous chromosomes. PMID:26856595
Self-organised criticality in base-pair breathing in DNA with a defect
Duduiala, Ciprian-Ionut; Laughton, Charles A
We analyse base-pair breathing in a DNA sequence of 12 base-pairs with a defective base at its centre. We use both all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and a system of stochastic differential equations (SDE). In both cases, Fourier analysis of the trajectories reveals self-organised critical behaviour in the breathing of base-pairs. The Fourier Transforms (FT) of the interbase distances show power-law behaviour with gradients close to -1. The scale-invariant behaviour we have found provides evidence for the view that base-pair breathing corresponds to the nucleation stage of large-scale DNA opening (or 'melting') and that this process is a (second-order) phase transition. Although the random forces in our SDE system were introduced as white noise, FTs of the displacements exhibit pink noise, as do the displacements in the AMBER/MD simulations.
A new improved ID-based proxy ring signature scheme from bilinear pairings
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Ring signature and proxy signature are of vital importance to secure electronic commerce. Recently,the bilinear pairing such as Weil pairing or Tate pairing on elliptic curves and hyperelliptic curves is playing an important role in security solutions. Several ID-based signature schemes have been put forward, many of which are based on bilinear pairings. In key management and moderate security demand scenarios, ID-based public key cryptosystem is more preferable than other public key infrastructure based systems. In this paper, an improved ID-based proxy ring signature scheme from bilinear pairings is proposed which combines the advantages of proxy signature and of ring signatures. Our scheme can guarantee the profits of the proxy signer via preventing the original signer form generating the proxy ring signature. Furthermore, bilinear pairings are introduced to minimize the computation overhead and to improve the related performance of our scheme. In contrast with Zhang's scheme, our scheme is a computational efficiency improvement for signature verification because the computational cost of bilinear pairings required is reduced from O(n) to O( 1 ). In addition, the proxy ring signature presented in this paper can perfectly satisfy all the security requirements of proxy ring signature, i.e.signer-ambiguity, non-forgeability, verification, non-deniability and distinguishability.
Intelligent Music Composition using Genetic Algorithm based on Motif Uniform Mutation
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Faria Nassiri-Mofakham
Full Text Available Nowadays, fields of music and artificial intelligence are closer together through research in both areas. Music composition using artificial intelligence (AI solutions has created a challenging research area. Automatic music composition will not only help researchers understand human's musical thinking, but also helps composers and musicians improve music theory significantly by using the computing power of computers. In this study, an automatic music composition is presented. The system is implemented by using Markov chain and Lindenmayer systems as well as genetic algorithm. Fitness evaluation of the generated music is achord-based. The evaluations show the fast evolution of the results by genetic algorithm using uniform mutation. Creativity in music composition is beyond the present borders of AI and much work is still ahead in this field.
An ID-based Blind Signature Scheme from Bilinear Pairings
B. Umaprasada Rao; K.A.Ajmath
Blind signatures, introduced by Chaum, allow a user to obtain a signature on a message without revealing any thing about the message to the signer. Blind signatures play on important role in plenty of applications such as e-voting, e-cash system where anonymity is of great concern. Identity based(ID-based) public key cryptography can be a good alternative for certified based public key setting, especially when efficient key management and moderate security are required. In this paper, we prop...
Conserved function of the lysine-based KXD/E motif in Golgi retention for endomembrane proteins among different organisms.
Woo, Cheuk Hang; Gao, Caiji; Yu, Ping; Tu, Linna; Meng, Zhaoyue; Banfield, David K; Yao, Xiaoqiang; Jiang, Liwen
We recently identified a new COPI-interacting KXD/E motif in the C-terminal cytosolic tail (CT) of Arabidopsis endomembrane protein 12 (AtEMP12) as being a crucial Golgi retention mechanism for AtEMP12. This KXD/E motif is conserved in CTs of all EMPs found in plants, yeast, and humans and is also present in hundreds of other membrane proteins. Here, by cloning selective EMP isoforms from plants, yeast, and mammals, we study the localizations of EMPs in different expression systems, since there are contradictory reports on the localizations of EMPs. We show that the N-terminal and C-terminal GFP-tagged EMP fusions are localized to Golgi and post-Golgi compartments, respectively, in plant, yeast, and mammalian cells. In vitro pull-down assay further proves the interaction of the KXD/E motif with COPI coatomer in yeast. COPI loss of function in yeast and plants causes mislocalization of EMPs or KXD/E motif-containing proteins to vacuole. Ultrastructural studies further show that RNA interference (RNAi) knockdown of coatomer expression in transgenic Arabidopsis plants causes severe morphological changes in the Golgi. Taken together, our results demonstrate that N-terminal GFP fusions reflect the real localization of EMPs, and KXD/E is a conserved motif in COPI interaction and Golgi retention in eukaryotes. PMID:26378254
Theory of nodal s ± -wave pairing symmetry in the Pu-based 115 superconductor family.
Das, Tanmoy; Zhu, Jian-Xin; Graf, Matthias J
The spin-fluctuation mechanism of superconductivity usually results in the presence of gapless or nodal quasiparticle states in the excitation spectrum. Nodal quasiparticle states are well established in copper-oxide, and heavy-fermion superconductors, but not in iron-based superconductors. Here, we study the pairing symmetry and mechanism of a new class of plutonium-based high-Tc superconductors and predict the presence of a nodal s(±) wave pairing symmetry in this family. Starting from a density-functional theory (DFT) based electronic structure calculation we predict several three-dimensional (3D) Fermi surfaces in this 115 superconductor family. We identify the dominant Fermi surface "hot-spots" in the inter-band scattering channel, which are aligned along the wavevector Q = (π, π, π), where degeneracy could induce sign-reversal of the pairing symmetry. Our calculation demonstrates that the s(±) wave pairing strength is stronger than the previously thought d-wave pairing; and more importantly, this pairing state allows for the existence of nodal quasiparticles. Finally, we predict the shape of the momentum- and energy-dependent magnetic resonance spectrum for the identification of this pairing symmetry. PMID:25721375
Triple helix formation: binding avidity of acridine-conjugated AG motif third strands containing natural, modified and surrogate bases opposed to pyrimidine interruptions in a polypurine target.
Orson, F M; Klysik, J; Bergstrom, D E; Ward, B; Glass, G A; P. Hua; Kinsey, B M
A critical issue for the general application of triple-helix-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) as modulators of gene expression is the dramatically reduced binding of short TFOs to targets that contain one or two pyrimidines within an otherwise homopurine sequence. Such targets are often found in gene regulatory regions, which represent desirable sites for triple helix formation. Using intercalator-conjugated AG motif TFOs, we compared the efficacy and base selectivity of 13 different bases or ...
Tunnel conductance of Watson-Crick nucleoside-base pairs from telegraph noise
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The use of tunneling signals to sequence DNA is presently hampered by the small tunnel conductance of a junction spanning an entire DNA molecule. The design of a readout system that uses a shorter tunneling path requires knowledge of the absolute conductance across base pairs. We have exploited the stochastic switching of hydrogen-bonded DNA base-nucleoside pairs trapped in a tunnel junction to determine the conductance of individual molecular pairs. This conductance is found to be sensitive to the geometry of the junction, but a subset of the data appears to come from unstrained molecular pairs. The conductances determined from these pairs are within a factor of two of the predictions of density functional calculations. The experimental data reproduces the counterintuitive theoretical prediction that guanine-deoxycytidine pairs (3 H-bonds) have a smaller conductance than adenine-thymine pairs (2 H-bonds). A bimodal distribution of switching lifetimes shows that both H-bonds and molecule-metal contacts break.
Tunnel conductance of Watson-Crick nucleoside-base pairs from telegraph noise.
Chang, Shuai; He, Jin; Lin, Lisha; Zhang, Peiming; Liang, Feng; Young, Michael; Huang, Shuo; Lindsay, Stuart
The use of tunneling signals to sequence DNA is presently hampered by the small tunnel conductance of a junction spanning an entire DNA molecule. The design of a readout system that uses a shorter tunneling path requires knowledge of the absolute conductance across base pairs. We have exploited the stochastic switching of hydrogen-bonded DNA base-nucleoside pairs trapped in a tunnel junction to determine the conductance of individual molecular pairs. This conductance is found to be sensitive to the geometry of the junction, but a subset of the data appears to come from unstrained molecular pairs. The conductances determined from these pairs are within a factor of two of the predictions of density functional calculations. The experimental data reproduces the counterintuitive theoretical prediction that guanine-deoxycytidine pairs (3 H-bonds) have a smaller conductance than adenine-thymine pairs (2 H-bonds). A bimodal distribution of switching lifetimes shows that both H-bonds and molecule-metal contacts break. PMID:19420603
On the internal d-wave structure of s+/- pairs in Iron-based Superconductors
Ong, Tze Tzen; Coleman, Piers
A key issue in understanding the high temperature iron-based superconductors concerns the mechanism by which the paired electrons minimize their strong mutual Coulomb repulsion. Whereas electronically paired superconductors generally avoid the Coulomb interaction through the formation of higher angular momentum pairs, iron based superconductors involve s-wave (s+/-) pairs with zero angular momentum. By taking account of the orbital degrees of freedom of the iron atoms, here we show that the s+/- pairs in these materials possess hidden d-wave symmetry, forming orbital triplets in which the the d-wave angular momentum of the pairs is compensated by the internal angular momentum of the orbitals. The recent observation of a gap with octahedral structure in KFe2As2 materials can be understood as a transition to a ``high spin'' configuration of the d-wave orbital triplets, through the alignment of the two angular momentum components of the pair. We acknowledge funding from DOE grant DE-FG02-99ER45790.
Tunnel conductance of Watson-Crick nucleoside-base pairs from telegraph noise
Chang, Shuai; He, Jin; Lin, Lisha; Zhang, Peiming; Liang, Feng; Young, Michael; Huang, Shuo; Lindsay, Stuart
The use of tunneling signals to sequence DNA is presently hampered by the small tunnel conductance of a junction spanning an entire DNA molecule. The design of a readout system that uses a shorter tunneling path requires knowledge of the absolute conductance across base pairs. We have exploited the stochastic switching of hydrogen-bonded DNA base-nucleoside pairs trapped in a tunnel junction to determine the conductance of individual molecular pairs. This conductance is found to be sensitive to the geometry of the junction, but a subset of the data appears to come from unstrained molecular pairs. The conductances determined from these pairs are within a factor of two of the predictions of density functional calculations. The experimental data reproduces the counterintuitive theoretical prediction that guanine-deoxycytidine pairs (3 H-bonds) have a smaller conductance than adenine-thymine pairs (2 H-bonds). A bimodal distribution of switching lifetimes shows that both H-bonds and molecule-metal contacts break.
Entanglement and Sources of Magnetic Anisotropy in Radical Pair-Based Avian Magnetoreceptors
Hogben, Hannah J; Hore, P J
One of the principal models of magnetic sensing in migratory birds rests on the quantum spin-dynamics of transient radical pairs created photochemically in ocular cryptochrome proteins. We consider here the role of electron spin entanglement and coherence in determining the sensitivity of a radical pair-based geomagnetic compass and the origins of the directional response. It emerges that the anisotropy of radical pairs formed from spin-polarized molecular triplets could form the basis of a more sensitive compass sensor than one founded on the conventional hyper?ne-anisotropy model. This property offers new and more flexible opportunities for the design of biologically inspired magnetic compass sensors.
Distribution of Primes and of Interval Prime Pairs Based on $\\Theta$ Function
Fan, Yifang
$\\Theta$ function is defined based upon Kronecher symbol. In light of the principle of inclusion-exclusion, $\\Theta$ function of sine function is used to denote the distribution of composites and primes. The structure of Goldbach Conjecture has been analyzed, and $\\Xi$ function is brought forward by the linear diophantine equation; by relating to $\\Theta$ function, the interval distribution of composite pairs and prime pairs (i.e. the Goldbach Conjecture) is thus obtained. In the end, Abel's Theorem (Multiplication of Series) is used to discuss the lower limit of the distribution of the interval prime pairs.
Rule Based Ensembles Using Pair Wise Neural Network Classifiers
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Moslem Mohammadi Jenghara
Full Text Available In value estimation, the inexperienced people's estimation average is good approximation to true value, provided that the answer of these individual are independent. Classifier ensemble is the implementation of mentioned principle in classification tasks that are investigated in two aspects. In the first aspect, feature space is divided into several local regions and each region is assigned with a highly competent classifier and in the second, the base classifiers are applied in parallel and equally experienced in some ways to achieve a group consensus. In this paper combination of two methods are used. An important consideration in classifier combination is that much better results can be achieved if diverse classifiers, rather than similar classifiers, are combined. To achieve diversity in classifiers output, the symmetric pairwise weighted feature space is used and the outputs of trained classifiers over the weighted feature space are combined to inference final result. In this paper MLP classifiers are used as the base classifiers. The Experimental results show that the applied method is promising.
Multi-hop teleportation based on W state and EPR pairs
Hai-Tao, Zhan; Xu-Tao, Yu; Pei-Ying, Xiong; Zai-Chen, Zhang
Multi-hop teleportation has significant value due to long-distance delivery of quantum information. Many studies about multi-hop teleportation are based on Bell pairs, partially entangled pairs or W state. The possibility of multi-hop teleportation constituted by partially entangled pairs relates to the number of nodes. The possibility of multi-hop teleportation constituted by double W states is after n-hop teleportation. In this paper, a multi-hop teleportation scheme based on W state and EPR pairs is presented and proved. The successful possibility of quantum information transmitted hop by hop through intermediate nodes is deduced. The possibility of successful transmission is after n-hop teleportation. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61571105), the Prospective Future Network Project of Jiangsu Province, China (Grant No. BY2013095-1-18), and the Independent Project of State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves, China (Grant No. Z201504).
Distribution of Primes and of Interval Prime Pairs Based on $\\Theta$ Function
Fan, Yifang; Li, Zhiyu
$\\Theta$ function is defined based upon Kronecher symbol. In light of the principle of inclusion-exclusion, $\\Theta$ function of sine function is used to denote the distribution of composites and primes. The structure of Goldbach Conjecture has been analyzed, and $\\Xi$ function is brought forward by the linear diophantine equation; by relating to $\\Theta$ function, the interval distribution of composite pairs and prime pairs (i.e. the Goldbach Conjecture) is thus obtained. In the end, Abel's ...
Intra-inter band pairing, order parameter symmetry in Fe-based superconductors: A model study
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Highlights: • MS deals with exciting research fields of condensed matter physics, the Fe-based superconductors. • Fe-based superconductors with multiple gaps, it is important to show why it have a singleTc. • We show the essestial requirement of both the intra and inter-band pairing channels. • Signature of the above shown in characteristic ratio, thermal behaviour of specific heat jump. - Abstract: In the quest of why there should be a single transition temperature in a multi-gapped system like Fe-based materials we use two band model for simplicity. The model comprises of spin density wave (SDW), orbital density wave (ODW) arising due to nested pieces of the electron and hole like Fermi surfaces; together with superconductivity of different pairing symmetries around electron and hole like Fermi surfaces. We show that either only intra or only inter band pairing is insufficient to describe some of the experimental results like large to small gap ratio, thermal behaviour of electronic specific heat jump etc. It is shown that the inter-band pairing is essential in Fe-based materials having multiple gaps to produce a single global Tc. Some of our results in this scenario, matches with the earlier published work (Dolgov et al., 2009), and also have differences. The origin of difference between the two is also discussed. Combined intra–inter band pairing mechanism produces the specific heat jump to superconducting transition temperature ratio proportional to square of the transition temperature, both in the electron and hole doped regime, for sign changing s± wave symmetry which takes the d + s pairing symmetry form. Our work thus demonstrates the importance of combined intra-inter band pairing irrespective of the pairing mechanism
Physical implementation of pair-based spike timing dependent plasticity
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Full text: Objective Spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STOP) is one of several plasticity rules which leads to learning and memory in the brain. STOP induces synaptic weight changes based on the timing of the pre- and post-synaptic neurons. A neural network which can mimic the adaptive capability of biological brains in the temporal domain, requires the weight of single connections to be altered by spike timing. To physically realise this network into silicon, a large number of interconnected STOP circuits on the same substrate is required. This imposes two significant limitations in terms of power and area. To cover these limitations, very large scale integrated circuit (VLSI) technology provides attractive features in terms of low power and small area requirements. An example is demonstrated by (lndiveli et al. 2006). The objective of this paper is to present a new implementation of the STOP circuit which demonstrates better power and area in comparison to previous implementations. Methods The proposed circuit uses complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology as depicted in Fig. I. The synaptic weight can be stored on a capacitor and charging/discharging current can lead to potentiation and depression. HSpice simulation results demonstrate that the average power, peak power, and area of the proposed circuit have been reduced by 6, 8 and 15%, respectively, in comparison with Indiveri's implementation. These improvements naturally lead to packing more STOP circuits onto the same substrate, when compared to previous proposals. Hence, this new implementation is quite interesting for real-world large neural networks.
Biochemical evidence for the requirement of Hoogsteen base pairing for replication by human DNA polymerase iota.
Johnson, Robert E; Prakash, Louise; Prakash, Satya
Because of the near geometric identity of Watson-Crick (W-C) GxC and AxT base pairs, a given DNA polymerase forms the four possible correct base pairs with nearly identical catalytic efficiencies. However, human DNA polymerase iota (Pol iota), a member of the Y family of DNA polymerases, exhibits a marked template specificity, being more efficient at incorporating the correct nucleotide opposite template purines than opposite pyrimidines. By using 7-deazaadenine and 7-deazaguanine as the templating residues, which disrupt Hoogsteen base pair formation, we show that, unlike the other DNA polymerases belonging to the A, B, or Y family, DNA synthesis by Pol iota is severely inhibited by these N7-modified bases. These observations provide biochemical evidence that, during normal DNA synthesis, template purines adopt a syn conformation in the Pol iota active site, enabling the formation of a Hoogsteen base pair with the incoming pyrimidine nucleotide. Additionally, mutational studies with Leu-62, which lies in close proximity to the templating residue in the Pol iota ternary complex, have indicated that both factors, steric constraints within the active site and the stability provided by the hydrogen bonds in the Hoogsteen base pair, contribute to the efficiency of correct nucleotide incorporation opposite template purines by Pol iota. PMID:16014707
Network motif-based identification of transcription factor-target gene relationships by integrating multi-source biological data
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
de los Reyes Benildo G
Full Text Available Abstract Background Integrating data from multiple global assays and curated databases is essential to understand the spatio-temporal interactions within cells. Different experiments measure cellular processes at various widths and depths, while databases contain biological information based on established facts or published data. Integrating these complementary datasets helps infer a mutually consistent transcriptional regulatory network (TRN with strong similarity to the structure of the underlying genetic regulatory modules. Decomposing the TRN into a small set of recurring regulatory patterns, called network motifs (NM, facilitates the inference. Identifying NMs defined by specific transcription factors (TF establishes the framework structure of a TRN and allows the inference of TF-target gene relationship. This paper introduces a computational framework for utilizing data from multiple sources to infer TF-target gene relationships on the basis of NMs. The data include time course gene expression profiles, genome-wide location analysis data, binding sequence data, and gene ontology (GO information. Results The proposed computational framework was tested using gene expression data associated with cell cycle progression in yeast. Among 800 cell cycle related genes, 85 were identified as candidate TFs and classified into four previously defined NMs. The NMs for a subset of TFs are obtained from literature. Support vector machine (SVM classifiers were used to estimate NMs for the remaining TFs. The potential downstream target genes for the TFs were clustered into 34 biologically significant groups. The relationships between TFs and potential target gene clusters were examined by training recurrent neural networks whose topologies mimic the NMs to which the TFs are classified. The identified relationships between TFs and gene clusters were evaluated using the following biological validation and statistical analyses: (1 Gene set enrichment
Looped out and perpendicular: Deformation of Watson–Crick base pair associated with actinomycin D binding
Chou, Shan-Ho; Chin, Ko-Hsin; Chen, Fu-Ming
Many anticancer drugs interact directly with DNA to exert their biological functions. To date, all noncovalent, intercalating drugs interact with DNA exclusively by inserting their chromophores into base steps to form elongated and unwound duplex structures without disrupting the flanking base pairs. By using actinomycin D (ActD)-5′-GXC/CYG-5′ complexes as examples, we have found a rather unusual interaction mode for the intercalated drug; the central Watson–Crick X/Y base pairs are looped ou...
A regenerated electrochemical biosensor for label-free detection of glucose and urea based on conformational switch of i-motif oligonucleotide probe.
Gao, Zhong Feng; Chen, Dong Mei; Lei, Jing Lei; Luo, Hong Qun; Li, Nian Bing
Improving the reproducibility of electrochemical signal remains a great challenge over the past decades. In this work, i-motif oligonucleotide probe-based electrochemical DNA (E-DNA) sensor is introduced for the first time as a regenerated sensing platform, which enhances the reproducibility of electrochemical signal, for label-free detection of glucose and urea. The addition of glucose or urea is able to activate glucose oxidase-catalyzed or urease-catalyzed reaction, inducing or destroying the formation of i-motif oligonucleotide probe. The conformational switch of oligonucleotide probe can be recorded by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Thus, the difference of electron transfer resistance is utilized for the quantitative determination of glucose and urea. We further demonstrate that the E-DNA sensor exhibits high selectivity, excellent stability, and remarkable regenerated ability. The human serum analysis indicates that this simple and regenerated strategy holds promising potential in future biosensing applications. PMID:26515000
Discrimination of Single Base Pair Differences Among Individual DNA Molecules Using a Nanopore
Vercoutere, Wenonah; DeGuzman, Veronica
The protein toxin alpha-hemolysin form nanometer scale channels across lipid membranes. Our lab uses a single channel in an artificial lipid bilayer in a patch clamp device to capture and examine individual DNA molecules. This nanopore detector used with a support vector machine (SVM) can analyze DNA hairpin molecules on the millisecond time scale. We distinguish duplex stem length, base pair mismatches, loop length, and single base pair differences. The residual current fluxes also reveal structural molecular dynamics elements. DNA end-fraying (terminal base pair dissociation) can be observed as near full blockades, or spikes, in current. This technique can be used to investigate other biological processes dependent on DNA end-fraying, such as the processing of HIV DNA by HIV integrase.
A quantum theoretical study of reactions of methyldiazonium ion with DNA base pairs
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Graphical abstract: Reactions of methyldiazonium ion at the different sites of the DNA bases in the Watson-Crick GC and AT base pairs were investigated employing density functional and second order Moller-Plesset (MP2) perturbation theories. Display Omitted Highlights: → Methylation of the DNA bases is important as it can cause mutation and cancer. → Methylation reactions of the GC and AT base pairs with CH3N2+ were not studied earlier theoretically. → Experimental observations have been explained using theoretical methods. - Abstract: Methylation of the DNA bases in the Watson-Crick GC and AT base pairs by the methyldiazonium ion was investigated employing density functional and second order Moller-Plesset (MP2) perturbation theories. Methylation at the N3, N7 and O6 sites of guanine, N1, N3 and N7 sites of adenine, O2 and N3 sites of cytosine and the O2 and O4 sites of thymine were considered. The computed reactivities for methylation follow the order N7(guanine) > N3(adenine) > O6(guanine) which is in agreement with experiment. The base pairing in DNA is found to play a significant role with regard to reactivities of the different sites.
Sub-base-pair resolution during DNA separation in an optofluidic chip
Pollnau, Markus; Hammer, Manfred; Dongre, Chaitanya; Hoekstra, Hugo J.W.M.
DNA sequencing in a lab-on-a-chip aims at providing cheap, high-speed analysis of low reagent volumes to, e.g., identify genomic deletions or insertions associated with genetic illnesses. Detecting single base-pair insertions or deletions from DNA fragments in the diagnostically relevant range of 150-1000 base-pairs requires a sizing accuracy of S < 10^-3, while only S < 10^-2 were reported. Here we demonstrate a sizing accuracy of S = 4 x 10^-4, thereby paving the way for the envisaged appli...
Solvent effect on the anharmonic vibrational frequencies in guanine-cytosine base pair
Bende, A.; Muntean, C. M.
We present an ab initio study of the vibrational properties of cytosine and guanine in the Watson-Crick and Hoogsteen base pair configurations. The results are obtained by considering the DFT method together with the Polarizable Continuum Model (PCM) using PBE and B3PW91 exchange-correlation functionals and triple-ζ valence basis set. We investigate the importance of anharmonic corrections for the vibrational modes taking into account the solvent effect of the water environment. In particular, the unusual anharmonic effect of the H+ vibration in the case of the Hoogsteen base pair configuration is discussed.
Fine-tuning of T-cell development by the CD3γ di-leucine-based TCR-sorting motif
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lauritsen, Jens Peter H; Boding, Lasse; Buus, Terkild B; Kongsbak, Martin; Levring, Trine B; Rode, Anna K O; Bonefeld, Charlotte Menné; Geisler, Carsten
negative (DN) 4 cells in CD3γLLAA mice. This was not caused by reduced proliferation but most probably by increased down-regulation of the antiapoptotic molecule Bcl-2 causing enhanced apoptosis during the transition from the DN3 to the DN4 stage. In contrast, proliferation of immature CD8 single positive...... (ISP) thymocytes was increased resulting in normal numbers of ISP in CD3γLLAA mice. Despite the normal numbers of ISP, CD3γLLAA mice had reduced numbers of double positive and SP thymocytes indicating that the CD3γ diL motif also affected later stages of T-cell development. In accordance, we found that......The CD3γ di-leucine-based (diL) receptor-sorting motif plays a central role in TCR down-regulation and in clonal expansion of virus-specific T cells. However, the role of the CD3γ diL motif in T-cell development is not known. In this study, we show that protein kinase C-induced TCR down...
Comparison, Analysis and Optimization of Motif Finding Based on Different Algorithms%基于不同算法的Motif预测比较分析与优化
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
张斐; 谭军; 谢竞博
研究转录因子结合位点(TFBs)的主要预测模型及其预测的算法,通过基于调控元件预测的3种代表性的算法MEME、Gibbs采样和Weeder预测拟南芥基因组.比较结果表明,Gibbs采样算法和Weeder算法预测长、短motif效率较高.重点分析MEME算法,提出结合不同算法查找motif的优化方法,并以实验验证该方法能有效提高预测效率.%This paper studies some models and discrimination algorithms of Transcription Factor Binding sites(TFBs). Experiment compares advantages and disadvantages in three representative discrimination algorithms which are based on regulation elements, including MEME, Gibbs sample and Weeder through predicting arabidopsis thaliana genome, against Gibbs sampling algorithm and Weeder algorithms are forecast long and short motif of the characteristics of high efficiency, MEME is intensively analyzed, and proposed an effective way to forecast motifs through MEME binding other discrimination algorithms. Experimental result proves that the method can improve the efficiency of motif finding efficiently.
Strong enhancement of vibrational relaxation by Watson-Crick base pairing.
Woutersen, Sander; Cristalli, Gloria
We have studied the ultrafast dynamics of NH-stretch vibrational excitations in Watson-Crick base pairs consisting of adenine and uracil derivatives. To estimate the influence of the A:U hydrogen bonding on the vibrational dynamics, we have also studied the uracil derivative in monomeric form. The vibrational relaxation of the NH-stretching mode is found to occur much faster in the Watson-Crick base pair than in monomeric uracil. From the delay dependence of the transient vibrational spectra, it can be concluded that both in base-paired and monomeric uracil, the energy relaxation takes place in two steps, the first step being a rapid transfer of energy from the NH-stretching mode to an accepting mode, the second step the relaxation of this accepting mode. The transient spectra show evidence that in the base pair the hydrogen bond between the nucleobases acts as the accepting mode, and that the hydrogen bonding between the bases is responsible for the extremely fast vibrational relaxation in this system. PMID:15352831
Strong enhancement of vibrational relaxation by Watson-Crick base pairing
Woutersen, Sander; Cristalli, Gloria
We have studied the ultrafast dynamics of NH-stretch vibrational excitations in Watson-Crick base pairs consisting of adenine and uracil derivatives. To estimate the influence of the A:U hydrogen bonding on the vibrational dynamics, we have also studied the uracil derivative in monomeric form. The vibrational relaxation of the NH-stretching mode is found to occur much faster in the Watson-Crick base pair than in monomeric uracil. From the delay dependence of the transient vibrational spectra, it can be concluded that both in base-paired and monomeric uracil, the energy relaxation takes place in two steps, the first step being a rapid transfer of energy from the NH-stretching mode to an accepting mode, the second step the relaxation of this accepting mode. The transient spectra show evidence that in the base pair the hydrogen bond between the nucleobases acts as the accepting mode, and that the hydrogen bonding between the bases is responsible for the extremely fast vibrational relaxation in this system.
Efficient replication bypass of size-expanded DNA base pairs in bacterial cells
Delaney, James C.; GAO, JIANMIN; Liu, Haibo; Shrivastav, Nidhi; Essigmann, John M.; Kool, Eric T.
Supersize me! Size-expanded DNA bases (xDNA) are able to encode natural DNA sequences in replication. In vitro experiments with a DNA polymerase show nucleotide incorporation opposite the xDNA bases with correct pairing. In vivo experiments using E. coli show that two xDNA bases (xA and xC, see picture) encode the correct replication partners.
Live demonstration: Gesture-Based remote control using stereo pair of dynamic vision sensors
J. Lee; Delbruck, T; Park, P K J; Pfeiffer, M.; Shin, C W; Ryu, H; Kang, B C
This demonstration shows a natural gesture interface for console entertainment devices using as input a stereo pair of dynamic vision sensors. The event-based processing of the sparse sensor output allows fluid interaction at a laptop processor load of less than 3%.
DNA electronic circular dichroism on the inter-base pair scale
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Di Meo, Florent; Nørby, Morten Steen; Rubio-Magnieto, Jenifer;
A successful elucidation of the near-ultraviolet electronic circular dichroism spectrum of a short double-stranded DNA is reported. Time-dependent density functional theory methods are shown to accurately predict spectra and assign bands on the microscopic base-pair scale, a finding that opens the...
Genome filtering using methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes with six-base pair recognition sites
The large fraction of repetitive DNA in many plant genomes has complicated all aspects of DNA sequencing and assembly, and thus techniques that enrich for genes and low-copy sequences have been employed to isolate gene space. Methyl sensitive restriction enzymes with six base pair recognition sites...
Free energy analysis and mechanism of base pair stacking in nicked DNA.
Häse, Florian; Zacharias, Martin
The equilibrium of stacked and unstacked base pairs is of central importance for all nucleic acid structure formation processes. The stacking equilibrium is influenced by intramolecular interactions between nucleosides but also by interactions with the solvent. Realistic simulations on nucleic acid structure formation and flexibility require an accurate description of the stacking geometry and stability and its sequence dependence. Free energy simulations have been conducted on a series of double stranded DNA molecules with a central strand break (nick) in one strand. The change in free energy upon unstacking was calculated for all ten possible base pair steps using umbrella sampling along a center-of-mass separation coordinate and including a comparison of different water models. Comparison to experimental studies indicates qualitative agreement of the stability order but a general overestimation of base pair stacking interactions in the simulations. A significant dependence of calculated nucleobase stacking free energies on the employed water model was observed with the tendency of stacking free energies being more accurately reproduced by more complex water models. The simulation studies also suggest a mechanism of stacking/unstacking that involves significant motions perpendicular to the reaction coordinate and indicate that the equilibrium nicked base pair step may slightly differ from regular B-DNA geometry in a sequence-dependent manner. PMID:27407106
6-Pyrazolylpurine as an Artificial Nucleobase for Metal-Mediated Base Pairing in DNA Duplexes
Léon, J. Christian; Sinha, Indranil; Müller, Jens
The artificial nucleobase 6-pyrazol-1-yl-purine (6PP) has been investigated with respect to its usability in metal-mediated base pairing. As was shown by temperature-dependent UV spectroscopy, 6PP may form weakly stabilizing 6PP–Ag(I)–6PP homo base pairs. Interestingly, 6PP can be used to selectively recognize a complementary pyrimidine nucleobase. The addition of Ag(I) to a DNA duplex comprising a central 6PP:C mispair (C = cytosine) leads to a slight destabilization of the duplex. In contrast, a stabilizing 6PP–Ag(I)–T base pair is formed with a complementary thymine (T) residue. It is interesting to note that 6PP is capable of differentiating between the pyrimidine moieties despite the fact that it is not as sterically crowded as 6-(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)purine, an artificial nucleobase that had previously been suggested for the recognition of nucleic acid sequences via the formation of a metal-mediated base pair. Hence, the additional methyl groups of 6-(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)purine may not be required for the specific recognition of the complementary nucleobase. PMID:27089326
Assessment of composite motif discovery methods
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Johansen Jostein
Full Text Available Abstract Background Computational discovery of regulatory elements is an important area of bioinformatics research and more than a hundred motif discovery methods have been published. Traditionally, most of these methods have addressed the problem of single motif discovery – discovering binding motifs for individual transcription factors. In higher organisms, however, transcription factors usually act in combination with nearby bound factors to induce specific regulatory behaviours. Hence, recent focus has shifted from single motifs to the discovery of sets of motifs bound by multiple cooperating transcription factors, so called composite motifs or cis-regulatory modules. Given the large number and diversity of methods available, independent assessment of methods becomes important. Although there have been several benchmark studies of single motif discovery, no similar studies have previously been conducted concerning composite motif discovery. Results We have developed a benchmarking framework for composite motif discovery and used it to evaluate the performance of eight published module discovery tools. Benchmark datasets were constructed based on real genomic sequences containing experimentally verified regulatory modules, and the module discovery programs were asked to predict both the locations of these modules and to specify the single motifs involved. To aid the programs in their search, we provided position weight matrices corresponding to the binding motifs of the transcription factors involved. In addition, selections of decoy matrices were mixed with the genuine matrices on one dataset to test the response of programs to varying levels of noise. Conclusion Although some of the methods tested tended to score somewhat better than others overall, there were still large variations between individual datasets and no single method performed consistently better than the rest in all situations. The variation in performance on individual
Looped out and perpendicular: deformation of Watson-Crick base pair associated with actinomycin D binding.
Chou, Shan-Ho; Chin, Ko-Hsin; Chen, Fu-Ming
Many anticancer drugs interact directly with DNA to exert their biological functions. To date, all noncovalent, intercalating drugs interact with DNA exclusively by inserting their chromophores into base steps to form elongated and unwound duplex structures without disrupting the flanking base pairs. By using actinomycin D (ActD)-5'-GXC/CYG-5' complexes as examples, we have found a rather unusual interaction mode for the intercalated drug; the central Watson-Crick X/Y base pairs are looped out and displaced by the ActD chromophore. The looped-out bases are not disordered but interact perpendicularly with the base/chromophore and form specific H bonds with DNA. Such a complex structure provides intriguing insights into how ligand interacts with DNA and enlarges the repertoires for sequence-specific DNA recognition. PMID:12011426
Looped out and perpendicular: Deformation of Watson–Crick base pair associated with actinomycin D binding
Chou, Shan-Ho; Chin, Ko-Hsin; Chen, Fu-Ming
Many anticancer drugs interact directly with DNA to exert their biological functions. To date, all noncovalent, intercalating drugs interact with DNA exclusively by inserting their chromophores into base steps to form elongated and unwound duplex structures without disrupting the flanking base pairs. By using actinomycin D (ActD)-5′-GXC/CYG-5′ complexes as examples, we have found a rather unusual interaction mode for the intercalated drug; the central Watson–Crick X/Y base pairs are looped out and displaced by the ActD chromophore. The looped-out bases are not disordered but interact perpendicularly with the base/chromophore and form specific H bonds with DNA. Such a complex structure provides intriguing insights into how ligand interacts with DNA and enlarges the repertoires for sequence-specific DNA recognition. PMID:12011426
The Sentiment Trend Analysis of Twitter Based on Set Pair Contact Degree
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chunying Zhang
Full Text Available Sentiment trend of twitter users have a great influence on their friends and the crowd listened. This paper directs at the user sentiment state of twitter, the unique medium, and applies set pair analysis method for trend analysis. First, we begin with set pair contact degree, then based on set pair affective computing model to make comparison with the size relationship of same degree, difference degree, opposition degree of the emotion, to build the user sentiment trend analysis model; Secondly, we analyze the influence for the user's own sentiment trend when the value changed of difference coefficient ; thirdly, after analyze to obtain one user's sentiment orientation threshold as prerequisite for user behavior prediction. Finally, setting an example to calculate the sentiment trend of one twitter, then to get the conclusion is that the analysis of user emotion from a three-dimensional angle is more realistic than the single angle.
Identification of DNA base-pairing via tunnel-current decay
He, Jin; Lin, Lisha; Zhang, Peiming; Lindsay, Stuart
We propose a new approach for reading the sequence of a DNA molecule passing between electrodes on a nanopore, using hydrogen-bond mediated tunneling signals. The base-electrode interaction is modeled using a nucleobase functionalized STM probe that is pulled away from a nucleoside monolayer. Watson-Crick recognition results in slow-decay of the tunnel current, uniquely characteristic of the base-pair in over half the reads. Thirteen independent reads would yield the desired 99.99% accuracy.
Acid-Base Pairs in Lewis Acidic Zeolites Promote Direct Aldol Reactions by Soft Enolization.
Lewis, Jennifer D; Van de Vyver, Stijn; Román-Leshkov, Yuriy
Hf-, Sn-, and Zr-Beta zeolites catalyze the cross-aldol condensation of aromatic aldehydes with acetone under mild reaction conditions with near quantitative yields. NMR studies with isotopically labeled molecules confirm that acid-base pairs in the Si-O-M framework ensemble promote soft enolization through α-proton abstraction. The Lewis acidic zeolites maintain activity in the presence of water and, unlike traditional base catalysts, in acidic solutions. PMID:26138135
The CD3 gamma leucine-based receptor-sorting motif is required for efficient ligand-mediated TCR down-regulation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
von Essen, Marina; Menné, Charlotte; Nielsen, Bodil L;
other pathway is dependent on protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated activation of the CD3 gamma di-leucine-based receptor-sorting motif. Previous studies have failed to demonstrate a connection between ligand- and PKC-induced TCR down-regulation. Thus, although an apparent paradox, the dogma has been that...... ligand- and PKC-induced TCR down-regulations are not interrelated. By analyses of a newly developed CD3 gamma-negative T cell variant, freshly isolated and PHA-activated PBMC, and a mouse T cell line, we challenged this dogma and demonstrate in this work that PKC activation and the CD3 gamma di...
Fluorescence 'on-off-on' chemosensor for sequential recognition of Fe(3+) and Hg(2+) in water based on tetraphenylethylene motif.
Yan, Yuanyuan; Che, Zhiping; Yu, Xiang; Zhi, Xiaoyan; Wang, Juanjuan; Xu, Hui
A novel selective and sensitive fluorescence 'on-off-on' probe based on tetraphenylethylene (TPE) motif for sequential recognition of Fe(3+) and Hg(2+) in water has been developed. Especially the complex 6-Fe(3+) could behave as a 'turn on' fluorescent sensor over a wide-range pH value for detection of Hg(2+). The selectivity of this complex for Hg(2+) over other heavy and transition metal ions is excellent, and its sensitivity for Hg(2+) is at 2 ppb in water. PMID:23218869
Site-Specific Incorporation of Functional Components into RNA by an Unnatural Base Pair Transcription System
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rie Kawai
Full Text Available Toward the expansion of the genetic alphabet, an unnatural base pair between 7-(2-thienylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (Ds and pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde (Pa functions as a third base pair in replication and transcription, and provides a useful tool for the site-specific, enzymatic incorporation of functional components into nucleic acids. We have synthesized several modified-Pa substrates, such as alkylamino-, biotin-, TAMRA-, FAM-, and digoxigenin-linked PaTPs, and examined their transcription by T7 RNA polymerase using Ds-containing DNA templates with various sequences. The Pa substrates modified with relatively small functional groups, such as alkylamino and biotin, were efficiently incorporated into RNA transcripts at the internal positions, except for those less than 10 bases from the 3′-terminus. We found that the efficient incorporation into a position close to the 3′-terminus of a transcript depended on the natural base contexts neighboring the unnatural base, and that pyrimidine-Ds-pyrimidine sequences in templates were generally favorable, relative to purine-Ds-purine sequences. The unnatural base pair transcription system provides a method for the site-specific functionalization of large RNA molecules.
DNA Aptamer Generation by Genetic Alphabet Expansion SELEX (ExSELEX) Using an Unnatural Base Pair System.
Kimoto, Michiko; Matsunaga, Ken-ichiro; Hirao, Ichiro
Genetic alphabet expansion of DNA using unnatural base pair systems is expected to provide a wide variety of novel tools and methods. Recent rapid progress in this area has enabled the creation of several types of unnatural base pairs that function as a third base pair in polymerase reactions. Presently, a major topic is whether the genetic alphabet expansion system actually increases nucleic acid functionalities. We recently applied our unnatural base pair system to in vitro selection (SELEX), using a DNA library containing four natural bases and an unnatural base, and succeeded in the generation of high-affinity DNA aptamers that specifically bind to target proteins. Only a few hydrophobic unnatural bases greatly augmented the affinity of the aptamers. Here, we describe a new approach (genetic alphabet Expansion SELEX, ExSELEX), using our hydrophobic unnatural base pair system for high affinity DNA aptamer generation. PMID:26552815
Aviram-Ratner rectifying mechanism for DNA base-pair sequencing through graphene nanogaps
Agapito, Luis A.; Gayles, Jacob; Wolowiec, Christian; Kioussis, Nicholas
We demonstrate that biological molecules such as Watson-Crick DNA base pairs can behave as biological Aviram-Ratner electrical rectifiers because of the spatial separation and weak hydrogen bonding between the nucleobases. We have performed a parallel computational implementation of the ab initio non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) theory to determine the electrical response of graphene—base-pair—graphene junctions. The results show an asymmetric (rectifying) current-voltage response for the cytosine-guanine base pair adsorbed on a graphene nanogap. In sharp contrast we find a symmetric response for the thymine-adenine case. We propose applying the asymmetry of the current-voltage response as a sensing criterion to the technological challenge of rapid DNA sequencing via graphene nanogaps.
A quantum theoretical study of reactions of methyldiazonium ion with DNA base pairs
Shukla, P. K.; Ganapathy, Vinay; Mishra, P. C.
Methylation of the DNA bases in the Watson-Crick GC and AT base pairs by the methyldiazonium ion was investigated employing density functional and second order Møller-Plesset (MP2) perturbation theories. Methylation at the N3, N7 and O6 sites of guanine, N1, N3 and N7 sites of adenine, O2 and N3 sites of cytosine and the O2 and O4 sites of thymine were considered. The computed reactivities for methylation follow the order N7(guanine) > N3(adenine) > O6(guanine) which is in agreement with experiment. The base pairing in DNA is found to play a significant role with regard to reactivities of the different sites.
Theoretical investigation of the molecular structure of the pi kappa DNA base pair.
Florián, J; Leszczyński, J
The structure of the nonclassical pi kappa base pair (7-methyl-oxoformycin B. . .2,4-diaminopyrimidine) was studied at the ab initio Hartree-Fock (HF) and MP2 levels using the 6-31G* and 6-31G** basis sets. The pi kappa base pair is bound by three parallel hydrogen bonds with the donor-acceptor-donor recognition pattern. Recently, these bases were proposed as an extension of the genetic alphabet from four to six letters (Piccirilli et al, Nature 343,33 (1990)). By the HF/6-31G* method with full geometry optimization we calculated the 12 degree propeller twist for the minimum energy structure of this complex. The linearity of hydrogen bonds is preserved in the twisted structure by virtue of the pyramidal arrangement of the kappa-base amino groups. The rings of both the pi and kappa molecules remain nearly planar. This nonplanar structure of the pi kappa base pair is only 0.1 kcal/mol more stable than the planar (Cs) conformation. The HF/6-31G* level gas-phase interaction energy of pi kappa (-13.5 kcal/mol) calculated by us turned out to be nearly the same as the interaction energy obtained previously for the adenine-thymine base pair (-13.4 kcal/mol) at the same computational level. The inclusion of p-polarization functions on hydrogens, electron correlation effects (MP2/6-31G** level), and the correction for the basis set superposition error (BSSE) increase this energy to -14.0 kcal/mol. PMID:7626240
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
The search for patterns or motifs in data represents a problem area of key interest to finance and economic researchers. In this paper, we introduce the motif tracking algorithm (MTA), a novel immune inspired (IS) pattern identification tool that is able to identify unknown motifs of a non specified length which repeat within time series data. The power of the algorithm comes from the fact that it uses a small number of parameters with minimal assumptions regarding the data being examined or the underlying motifs. Our interest lies in applying the algorithm to financial time series data to identify unknown patterns that exist. The algorithm is tested using three separate data sets. Particular suitability to financial data is shown by applying it to oil price data. In all cases, the algorithm identifies the presence of a motif population in a fast and efficient manner due to the utilization of an intuitive symbolic representation.The resulting population of motifs is shown to have considerable potential value for other applications such as forecasting and algorithm seeding.
Wilson, William; Aickelin, Uwe; 10.1007/s11633.008.0032.0
The search for patterns or motifs in data represents a problem area of key interest to finance and economic researchers. In this paper we introduce the Motif Tracking Algorithm, a novel immune inspired pattern identification tool that is able to identify unknown motifs of a non specified length which repeat within time series data. The power of the algorithm comes from the fact that it uses a small number of parameters with minimal assumptions regarding the data being examined or the underlying motifs. Our interest lies in applying the algorithm to financial time series data to identify unknown patterns that exist. The algorithm is tested using three separate data sets. Particular suitability to financial data is shown by applying it to oil price data. In all cases the algorithm identifies the presence of a motif population in a fast and efficient manner due to the utilisation of an intuitive symbolic representation. The resulting population of motifs is shown to have considerable potential value for other ap...
Genetic interaction motif finding by expectation maximization – a novel statistical model for inferring gene modules from synthetic lethality
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ye Ping
Full Text Available Abstract Background Synthetic lethality experiments identify pairs of genes with complementary function. More direct functional associations (for example greater probability of membership in a single protein complex may be inferred between genes that share synthetic lethal interaction partners than genes that are directly synthetic lethal. Probabilistic algorithms that identify gene modules based on motif discovery are highly appropriate for the analysis of synthetic lethal genetic interaction data and have great potential in integrative analysis of heterogeneous datasets. Results We have developed Genetic Interaction Motif Finding (GIMF, an algorithm for unsupervised motif discovery from synthetic lethal interaction data. Interaction motifs are characterized by position weight matrices and optimized through expectation maximization. Given a seed gene, GIMF performs a nonlinear transform on the input genetic interaction data and automatically assigns genes to the motif or non-motif category. We demonstrate the capacity to extract known and novel pathways for Saccharomyces cerevisiae (budding yeast. Annotations suggested for several uncharacterized genes are supported by recent experimental evidence. GIMF is efficient in computation, requires no training and automatically down-weights promiscuous genes with high degrees. Conclusion GIMF effectively identifies pathways from synthetic lethality data with several unique features. It is mostly suitable for building gene modules around seed genes. Optimal choice of one single model parameter allows construction of gene networks with different levels of confidence. The impact of hub genes the generic probabilistic framework of GIMF may be used to group other types of biological entities such as proteins based on stochastic motifs. Analysis of the strongest motifs discovered by the algorithm indicates that synthetic lethal interactions are depleted between genes within a motif, suggesting that synthetic
Molecular evolution of epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses in North America based on historical isolates using motif fingerprints.
Wilson, W C; Ruder, M G; Jasperson, D; Smith, T P L; Naraghi-Arani, P; Lenhoff, R; Stallknecht, D E; Valdivia-Granda, W A; Sheoran, D
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) is an orbivirus of the Reoviridae family that has significant impact on wild and captive white-tailed deer. Although closely related to bluetongue virus that can cause disease in sheep and cattle, North American EHDV historically has not been associated with disease in cattle or sheep. Severe disease in cattle has been reported with other EHDV strains from East Asia and the Middle East. To understand the potential role of viral genetics in the epidemiology of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, a molecular characterization of North American EHDV strains from 1955 to 2012 was conducted via conventional phylogenetic analysis and a new classification approach using motif fingerprint patterns. Overall, this study indicates that the genetic make-up of EHDV populations in North America have slowly evolved over time. The data also suggested limited reassortment events between serotypes 1 and 2 and introduces a new analysis tool for more detailed sequence pattern analysis. PMID:27107856
Motif-Optimized Subtype A HIV Envelope-based DNA Vaccines Rapidly Elicit Neutralizing Antibodies When Delivered Sequentially
Pissani, Franco; Malherbe, Delphine C.; Robins, Harlan; DeFilippis, Victor R.; Park, Byung; Sellhorn, George; Stamatatos, Leonidas; Overbaugh, Julie; Haigwood, Nancy L.
HIV-1 infection results in the development of a diverging quasispecies unique to each infected individual. Envelope (Env)-specific neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) typically develop over months to years after infection and initially are limited to the infecting virus. In some subjects, antibody responses develop that neutralize heterologous isolates (HNAbs), a phenomenon termed broadening of the NAb response. Studies of co-crystalized antibodies and proteins have facilitated the identification of some targets of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (NmAbs) capable of neutralizing many or most heterologous viruses; however, the ontogeny of these antibodies in vivo remains elusive. We hypothesize that Env protein escape variants stimulate broad NAb development in vivo and could generate such NAbs when used as immunogens. Here we test this hypothesis in rabbits using HIV Env vaccines featuring: (1) use of individual quasispecies env variants derived from an HIV-1 subtype A-infected subject exhibiting high levels of NAbs within the first year of infection that increased and broadened with time; (2) motif optimization of envs to enhance in vivo expression of DNA formulated as vaccines; and (3) a combined DNA plus protein boosting regimen. Vaccines consisted of multiple env variants delivered sequentially and a simpler regimen that utilized only the least and most divergent clones. The simpler regimen was as effective as the more complex approach in generating modest HNAbs and was more efficient when modified, motif-optimized DNA was used in combination with trimeric gp140 protein. This is a rationally designed strategy that facilitates future vaccine design by addressing the difficult problem of generating HNAbs to HIV by empirically testing the immunogenicity of naturally occurring quasispecies env variants. PMID:22749601
A light scattering study of the evolution of pairing in Fe-based superconductors
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Hackl, Rudi; Kretzschmar, Florian; Muschler, Bernhard; Boehm, Thomas [Walther-Meissner-Institut, DE-85748 Garching (Germany); Wen, Hai-Hu [Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Tsurkan, Vladimir [University of Augsburg, DE-86159 Augsburg (Germany); Academy of Sciences of Moldova, MD-2028 Chisinau (Moldova, Republic of); Deisenhofer, Joachim; Loidl, Alois [University of Augsburg, DE-86159 Augsburg (Germany)
The iron-based superconductors are a laboratory for exploring the relevance of electron-electron interactions beyond electron-phonon coupling, being at work in conventional superconductors, since the Fermi surfaces can be varied systematically by atomic substitution. This enables one to systematically study magnetism and superconductivity as a function of the Fermi surface topology. Inelastic light scattering affords a window into the electronic properties of the ordered states. In particular, the evolution of the superconducting pairing upon doping can be probed since light scattering allows access to the anisotropy of the energy gap and, in some cases, of the pairing potential. Ba{sub 1-x}K{sub x}Fe{sub 2}As{sub 2} is one of those cases since the competition between s- and d-wave pairing leads to the appearance of exciton-like modes below the gap edges of the various bands. Along with the results from other materials having different Fermi surface cross-sections the data in Ba{sub 1-x}K{sub x}Fe{sub 2}As{sub 2} support the spin fluctuation scenario driven by interband coupling. The experiments show that there exist alternative routes for the analysis of the pairing interaction in superconductors with unconventional coupling and anisotropic gaps.
Comparison of NIR FRET pairs for quantitative transferrin-based assay
Sinsuebphon, Nattawut; Bevington, Travis; Zhao, Lingling; Ken, Abe; Barroso, Margarida; Intes, Xavier
Transferrin (Tfn) is commonly used as a drug delivery carrier for cancer treatment. Tfn cellular internalization can be observed by Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), which occurs when two fluorophores - donor and acceptor - are a few nanometers apart. Donor fluorescence lifetime can be used to sense and quantify FRET occurrence. In FRET state, the donor is quenched leading to a significant reduction in its lifetime. In this study, donor and acceptor near-infrared (NIR) fluorophore-labeled Tfn were used to quantify cellular internalization in breast cancer cell line (T47D). Based on donor lifetime, quantum yield and spectral data, seven NIR FRET pairs were chosen for this comparison. Performance of the different NIR FRET pairs was evaluated in vitro in multiwell plate settings and by analyzing the relationship between quenched donor fraction and acceptor:donor ratio. Additionally, we performed brightness comparison between each pairs. Several parameters, such as brightness, lifetime, R0 and FRET donor population values are used to identify the most suitable NIR FRET pair for in vivo studies in preclinical settings.
Spontaneous formation and base pairing of plausible prebiotic nucleotides in water.
Cafferty, Brian J; Fialho, David M; Khanam, Jaheda; Krishnamurthy, Ramanarayanan; Hud, Nicholas V
The RNA World hypothesis presupposes that abiotic reactions originally produced nucleotides, the monomers of RNA and universal constituents of metabolism. However, compatible prebiotic reactions for the synthesis of complementary (that is, base pairing) nucleotides and mechanisms for their mutual selection within a complex chemical environment have not been reported. Here we show that two plausible prebiotic heterocycles, melamine and barbituric acid, form glycosidic linkages with ribose and ribose-5-phosphate in water to produce nucleosides and nucleotides in good yields. Even without purification, these nucleotides base pair in aqueous solution to create linear supramolecular assemblies containing thousands of ordered nucleotides. Nucleotide anomerization and supramolecular assemblies favour the biologically relevant β-anomer form of these ribonucleotides, revealing abiotic mechanisms by which nucleotide structure and configuration could have been originally favoured. These findings indicate that nucleotide formation and selection may have been robust processes on the prebiotic Earth, if other nucleobases preceded those of extant life. PMID:27108699
Spontaneous formation and base pairing of plausible prebiotic nucleotides in water
Cafferty, Brian J.; Fialho, David M.; Khanam, Jaheda; Krishnamurthy, Ramanarayanan; Hud, Nicholas V.
The RNA World hypothesis presupposes that abiotic reactions originally produced nucleotides, the monomers of RNA and universal constituents of metabolism. However, compatible prebiotic reactions for the synthesis of complementary (that is, base pairing) nucleotides and mechanisms for their mutual selection within a complex chemical environment have not been reported. Here we show that two plausible prebiotic heterocycles, melamine and barbituric acid, form glycosidic linkages with ribose and ribose-5-phosphate in water to produce nucleosides and nucleotides in good yields. Even without purification, these nucleotides base pair in aqueous solution to create linear supramolecular assemblies containing thousands of ordered nucleotides. Nucleotide anomerization and supramolecular assemblies favour the biologically relevant β-anomer form of these ribonucleotides, revealing abiotic mechanisms by which nucleotide structure and configuration could have been originally favoured. These findings indicate that nucleotide formation and selection may have been robust processes on the prebiotic Earth, if other nucleobases preceded those of extant life. PMID:27108699
Automated motif discovery from glycan array data.
Cholleti, Sharath R; Agravat, Sanjay; Morris, Tim; Saltz, Joel H; Song, Xuezheng; Cummings, Richard D; Smith, David F
Assessing interactions of a glycan-binding protein (GBP) or lectin with glycans on a microarray generates large datasets, making it difficult to identify a glycan structural motif or determinant associated with the highest apparent binding strength of the GBP. We have developed a computational method, termed GlycanMotifMiner, that uses the relative binding of a GBP with glycans within a glycan microarray to automatically reveal the glycan structural motifs recognized by a GBP. We implemented the software with a web-based graphical interface for users to explore and visualize the discovered motifs. The utility of GlycanMotifMiner was determined using five plant lectins, SNA, HPA, PNA, Con A, and UEA-I. Data from the analyses of the lectins at different protein concentrations were processed to rank the glycans based on their relative binding strengths. The motifs, defined as glycan substructures that exist in a large number of the bound glycans and few non-bound glycans, were then discovered by our algorithm and displayed in a web-based graphical user interface ( http://glycanmotifminer.emory.edu ). The information is used in defining the glycan-binding specificity of GBPs. The results were compared to the known glycan specificities of these lectins generated by manual methods. A more complex analysis was also carried out using glycan microarray data obtained for a recombinant form of human galectin-8. Results for all of these lectins show that GlycanMotifMiner identified the major motifs known in the literature along with some unexpected novel binding motifs. PMID:22877213
Optimization of the pyridyl nucleobase scaffold for polymerase recognition and unnatural base pair replication
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Hari, Y.; Hwang, G. T.; Leconte, A. M.; Joubert, Nicolas; Hocek, Michal; Romesberg, F. E.
Roč. 9, č. 17 (2008), s. 2796-2799. ISSN 1439-4227 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC512 Grant ostatní: NIH(US) GM60005 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40550506 Keywords : pyridines * C-nucleosides * base-pairs * DNA polymerase * replication Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 3.322, year: 2008
Does base-pairing strength play a role in microRNA repression?
Carmel, Ido; Shomron, Noam; Heifetz, Yael
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, single-stranded RNAs that silence gene expression by either degrading mRNA or repressing translation. Each miRNA regulates a specific set of mRNA "targets" by binding to complementary sequences in their 3' untranslated region. In this study, we examined the importance of the base-pairing strength of the miRNA-target duplex to repression. We hypothesized that if base-pairing strength affects the functionality of miRNA repression, organisms with higher body temperature or that live at higher temperatures will have miRNAs with higher G/C content so that the miRNA-target complex will remain stable. In the nine model organisms examined, we found a significant correlation between the average G/C content of miRNAs and physiological temperature, supporting our hypothesis. Next, for each organism examined, we compared the average G/C content of miRNAs that are conserved among distant organisms and that of miRNAs that are evolutionarily recent. We found that the average G/C content of ancient miRNAs is lower than recent miRNAs in homeotherms, whereas the trend was inversed in poikilotherms, suggesting that G/C content is associated with temperature, thus further supporting our hypothesis. In the organisms examined, the average G/C content of miRNA "seed" sequences was higher than that of mature miRNAs, which was higher than pre-miRNA loops, suggesting an association between the degree of functionality of the sequence and its average G/C content. Our analyses show a possible association between the base-pairing strength of miRNA-targets and the temperature of an organism, suggesting that base-pairing strength plays a role in repression by miRNAs. PMID:23019592
Spontaneous formation and base pairing of plausible prebiotic nucleotides in water
Cafferty, Brian J.; Fialho, David M.; Khanam, Jaheda; Krishnamurthy, Ramanarayanan; Hud, Nicholas V.
The RNA World hypothesis presupposes that abiotic reactions originally produced nucleotides, the monomers of RNA and universal constituents of metabolism. However, compatible prebiotic reactions for the synthesis of complementary (that is, base pairing) nucleotides and mechanisms for their mutual selection within a complex chemical environment have not been reported. Here we show that two plausible prebiotic heterocycles, melamine and barbituric acid, form glycosidic linkages with ribose and ...
Application of Set Pair Analysis-Based Similarity Forecast Model and Wavelet Denoising for Runoff Forecasting
Chien-Ming Chou
This study presents the application of a set pair analysis-based similarity forecast (SPA-SF) model and wavelet denoising to forecast annual runoff. The SPA-SF model was built from identical, discrepant and contrary viewpoints. The similarity between estimated and historical data can be obtained. The weighted average of the annual runoff values characterized by the highest connection coefficients was regarded as the predicted value of the estimated annual runoff. In addition, runoff time seri...
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii telomere repeats form unstable structures involving guanine-guanine base pairs.
Petracek, M E; Berman, J.
Unusual DNA structures involving four guanines in a planar formation (guanine tetrads) are formed by guanine-rich (G-rich) telomere DNA and other G-rich sequences (reviewed in (1)) and may be important in the structure and function of telomeres. These structures result from intrastrand and/or interstrand Hoogsteen base pairs between the guanines. We used the telomeric repeat of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, TTTTAGGG, which contains 3 guanines and has a long interguanine A + T tract, to determine...
Pairing-Free ID-Based Key-Insulated Signature Scheme
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Guo-Bin Zhu; Hu Xiong; Zhi-Guang Qin
Abstract⎯Without the assumption that the private keys are kept secure perfectly, cryptographic primitives cannot be deployed in the insecure environments where the key leakage is inevitable. In order to reduce the damage caused by the key exposure in the identity-based (ID-based) signature scenarios efficiently, we propose an ID-based key-insulated signature scheme in this paper, which eliminates the expensive bilinear pairing operations. Compared with the previous work, our scheme minimizes the computation cost without any extra cost. Under the discrete logarithm (DL) assumption, a security proof of our scheme in the random oracle model has also been given.
Iron-based superconductors: Current status of materials and pairing mechanism
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Highlight: • An up-to-date review by the discoverer and a theoretical pioneer of iron-based superconductor. - Abstract: Since the discovery of high Tc iron-based superconductors in early 2008, more than 15,000 papers have been published as a result of intensive research. This paper describes the current status of iron-based superconductors (IBSC) covering most up-to-date research progress along with the some background research, focusing on materials (bulk and thin film) and pairing mechanism
Recognition of base pair inversions in duplex by chimeric (alpha,beta) triplex-forming oligonucleotides.
Timofeev, Edward N; Goryaeva, Baira V; Florentiev, Vladimir L
DNA recognition by triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) is usually limited by homopurine-homopyrimidine sequence in duplexes. Modifications of the third strand may overcome this limitation. Chimeric alpha-beta TFOs are expected to form triplex DNA upon binding to non-regular sequence duplexes. In the present study we describe binding properties of chimeric alpha-beta oligodeoxynucleotides in the respect to short DNA duplexes with one, three, and five base pair inversions. Non-natural chimeric TFO's contained alpha-thymidine residues inside (GT) or (GA) core sequences. Modified residues were addressed to AT/TA inversions in duplexes. It was found in the non-denaturing gel-electrophoresis experiments that single or five adjacent base pair inversions in duplexes may be recognized by chimeric alpha-beta TFO's at 10 degrees C and pH 7.8. Three dispersed base pair inversions in the double stranded DNA prevented triplex formation by either (GT) or (GA) chimeras. Estimation of thermal stability of chimeric alpha-beta triplexes showed decrease in T(m) values as compared with unmodified complexes. PMID:16928141
Silver-mediated base pairings: towards dynamic DNA nanostructures with enhanced chemical and thermal stability
Swasey, Steven M.; Gwinn, Elisabeth G.
The thermal and chemical fragility of DNA nanomaterials assembled by Watson–Crick (WC) pairing constrain the settings in which these materials can be used and how they can be functionalized. Here we investigate use of the silver cation, Ag+, as an agent for more robust, metal-mediated self-assembly, focusing on the simplest duplex building blocks that would be required for more elaborate Ag+–DNA nanostructures. Our studies of Ag+-induced assembly of non-complementary DNA oligomers employ strands of 2–24 bases, with varied base compositions, and use electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to determine product compositions. High yields of duplex products containing narrowly distributed numbers of Ag+ can be achieved by optimizing solution conditions. These Ag+-mediated duplexes are stable to at least 60 mM Mg2+, higher than is necessary for WC nanotechnology schemes such as tile assemblies and DNA origami, indicating that sequential stages of Ag+-mediated and WC-mediated assembly may be feasible. Circular dichroism spectroscopy suggests simple helical structures for Ag+-mediated duplexes with lengths to at least 20 base pairs, and further indicates that the structure of cytosine-rich duplexes is preserved at high urea concentrations. We therefore propose an approach towards dynamic DNA nanomaterials with enhanced thermal and chemical stability through designs that combine sturdy silver-mediated 'frames' with WC paired 'pictures'.
CHEM-PATH-TRACKER: An automated tool to analyze chemical motifs in molecular structures.
Ribeiro, João V; Cerqueira, N M F S A; Fernandes, Pedro A; Ramos, Maria J
In this article, we propose a method for locating functionally relevant chemical motifs in protein structures. The chemical motifs can be a small group of residues or structure protein fragments with highly conserved properties that have important biological functions. However, the detection of chemical motifs is rather difficult because they often consist of a set of amino acid residues separated by long, variable regions, and they only come together to form a functional group when the protein is folded into its three-dimensional structure. Furthermore, the assemblage of these residues is often dependent on non-covalent interactions among the constituent amino acids that are difficult to detect or visualize. To simplify the analysis of these chemical motifs and give access to a generalized use for all users, we developed chem-path-tracker. This software is a VMD plug-in that allows the user to highlight and reveal potential chemical motifs requiring only a few selections. The analysis is based on atoms/residues pair distances applying a modified version of Dijkstra's algorithm, and it makes possible to monitor the distances of a large pathway, even during a molecular dynamics simulation. This tool turned out to be very useful, fast, and user-friendly in the performed tests. The chem-path-tracker package is distributed as an independent platform and can be found at http://www.fc.up.pt/PortoBioComp/database/doku.php?id=chem-path-tracker. PMID:24775806
Prediction of plant promoters based on hexamers and random triplet pair analysis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Noman Nasimul
Full Text Available Abstract Background With an increasing number of plant genome sequences, it has become important to develop a robust computational method for detecting plant promoters. Although a wide variety of programs are currently available, prediction accuracy of these still requires further improvement. The limitations of these methods can be addressed by selecting appropriate features for distinguishing promoters and non-promoters. Methods In this study, we proposed two feature selection approaches based on hexamer sequences: the Frequency Distribution Analyzed Feature Selection Algorithm (FDAFSA and the Random Triplet Pair Feature Selecting Genetic Algorithm (RTPFSGA. In FDAFSA, adjacent triplet-pairs (hexamer sequences were selected based on the difference in the frequency of hexamers between promoters and non-promoters. In RTPFSGA, random triplet-pairs (RTPs were selected by exploiting a genetic algorithm that distinguishes frequencies of non-adjacent triplet pairs between promoters and non-promoters. Then, a support vector machine (SVM, a nonlinear machine-learning algorithm, was used to classify promoters and non-promoters by combining these two feature selection approaches. We referred to this novel algorithm as PromoBot. Results Promoter sequences were collected from the PlantProm database. Non-promoter sequences were collected from plant mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA of PlantGDB and plant miRNA of miRBase. Then, in order to validate the proposed algorithm, we applied a 5-fold cross validation test. Training data sets were used to select features based on FDAFSA and RTPFSGA, and these features were used to train the SVM. We achieved 89% sensitivity and 86% specificity. Conclusions We compared our PromoBot algorithm to five other algorithms. It was found that the sensitivity and specificity of PromoBot performed well (or even better with the algorithms tested. These results show that the two proposed feature selection methods based on hexamer frequencies
Iacovacci, Jacopo
Visibility algorithms transform time series into graphs and encode dynamical information in their topology, paving the way for graph-theoretical time series analysis as well as building a bridge between nonlinear dynamics and network science. In this work we introduce and study the concept of visibility graph motifs, smaller substructures that appear with characteristic frequencies. We develop a theory to compute in an exact way the motif profiles associated to general classes of deterministic and stochastic dynamics. We find that this simple property is indeed a highly informative and computationally efficient feature capable to distinguish among different dynamics and robust against noise contamination. We finally confirm that it can be used in practice to perform unsupervised learning, by extracting motif profiles from experimental heart-rate series and being able, accordingly, to disentangle meditative from other relaxation states. Applications of this general theory include the automatic classification a...
DNA replication through G-quadruplex motifs is promoted by the S. cerevisiae Pif1 DNA helicase
Paeschke, Katrin; Capra, John A.; Zakian, Virginia A.
G-quadruplex (G4) DNA structures are extremely stable four-stranded secondary structures held together by non-canonical G-G base pairs. Genome-wide chromatin immuno-precipitation was used to determine the in vivo binding sites of the multi-functional S. cerevisiae Pif1 DNA helicase, a potent unwinder of G4 structures in vitro. G4 motifs were a significant subset of the high confidence Pif1 binding sites. Replication slowed in the vicinity of these motifs, and they were prone to breakage in Pi...
Detecting seeded motifs in DNA sequences
Pizzi, Cinzia; Bortoluzzi, Stefania; Bisognin, Andrea; Coppe, Alessandro; Danieli, Gian Antonio
The problem of detecting DNA motifs with functional relevance in real biological sequences is difficult due to a number of biological, statistical and computational issues and also because of the lack of knowledge about the structure of searched patterns. Many algorithms are implemented in fully automated processes, which are often based upon a guess of input parameters from the user at the very first step. In this paper, we present a novel method for the detection of seeded DNA motifs, compo...
Studies of base pair sequence effects on DNA solvation based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Surjit B Dixit; Mihaly Mezei; David L Beveridge
Detailed analyses of the sequence-dependent solvation and ion atmosphere of DNA are presented based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on all the 136 unique tetranucleotide steps obtained by the ABC consortium using the AMBER suite of programs. Significant sequence effects on solvation and ion localization were observed in these simulations. The results were compared to essentially all known experimental data on the subject. Proximity analysis was employed to highlight the sequence dependent differences in solvation and ion localization properties in the grooves of DNA. Comparison of the MD-calculated DNA structure with canonical A- and B-forms supports the idea that the G/C-rich sequences are closer to canonical A- than B-form structures, while the reverse is true for the poly A sequences, with the exception of the alternating ATAT sequence. Analysis of hydration density maps reveals that the flexibility of solute molecule has a significant effect on the nature of observed hydration. Energetic analysis of solute–solvent interactions based on proximity analysis of solvent reveals that the GC or CG base pairs interactmore strongly with watermolecules in the minor groove of DNA that the AT or TA base pairs, while the interactions of the AT or TA pairs in the major groove are stronger than those of the GC or CG pairs. Computation of solvent-accessible surface area of the nucleotide units in the simulated trajectories reveals that the similarity with results derived from analysis of a database of crystallographic structures is excellent. The MD trajectories tend to follow Manning's counterion condensation theory, presenting a region of condensed counterions within a radius of about 17 Å from the DNA surface independent of sequence. The GC and CG pairs tend to associate with cations in the major groove of the DNA structure to a greater extent than the AT and TA pairs. Cation association is more frequent in the minor groove of AT than the GC pairs. In general
Efficient and provable secure pairing-free security-mediated identity-based identification schemes.
Chin, Ji-Jian; Tan, Syh-Yuan; Heng, Swee-Huay; Phan, Raphael C-W
Security-mediated cryptography was first introduced by Boneh et al. in 2001. The main motivation behind security-mediated cryptography was the capability to allow instant revocation of a user's secret key by necessitating the cooperation of a security mediator in any given transaction. Subsequently in 2003, Boneh et al. showed how to convert a RSA-based security-mediated encryption scheme from a traditional public key setting to an identity-based one, where certificates would no longer be required. Following these two pioneering papers, other cryptographic primitives that utilize a security-mediated approach began to surface. However, the security-mediated identity-based identification scheme (SM-IBI) was not introduced until Chin et al. in 2013 with a scheme built on bilinear pairings. In this paper, we improve on the efficiency results for SM-IBI schemes by proposing two schemes that are pairing-free and are based on well-studied complexity assumptions: the RSA and discrete logarithm assumptions. PMID:25207333
Efficient and Provable Secure Pairing-Free Security-Mediated Identity-Based Identification Schemes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ji-Jian Chin
Full Text Available Security-mediated cryptography was first introduced by Boneh et al. in 2001. The main motivation behind security-mediated cryptography was the capability to allow instant revocation of a user's secret key by necessitating the cooperation of a security mediator in any given transaction. Subsequently in 2003, Boneh et al. showed how to convert a RSA-based security-mediated encryption scheme from a traditional public key setting to an identity-based one, where certificates would no longer be required. Following these two pioneering papers, other cryptographic primitives that utilize a security-mediated approach began to surface. However, the security-mediated identity-based identification scheme (SM-IBI was not introduced until Chin et al. in 2013 with a scheme built on bilinear pairings. In this paper, we improve on the efficiency results for SM-IBI schemes by proposing two schemes that are pairing-free and are based on well-studied complexity assumptions: the RSA and discrete logarithm assumptions.
Gerevich, József
One of the basic questions of the art psychology is whether a personal motif is to be found behind works of art and if so, how openly or indirectly it appears in the work itself. Analysis of examples and documents from the fine arts and literature allow us to conclude that the personal motif that can be identified by the viewer through symbols, at times easily at others with more difficulty, gives an emotional plus to the artistic product. The personal motif may be found in traumatic experiences, in communication to the model or with other emotionally important persons (mourning, disappointment, revenge, hatred, rivalry, revolt etc.), in self-searching, or self-analysis. The emotions are expressed in artistic activity either directly or indirectly. The intention nourished by the artist's identity (Kunstwollen) may stand in the way of spontaneous self-expression, channelling it into hidden paths. Under the influence of certain circumstances, the artist may arouse in the viewer, consciously or unconsciously, an illusionary, misleading image of himself. An examination of the personal motif is one of the important research areas of art therapy. PMID:26202617
Detecting seeded motifs in DNA sequences.
Pizzi, Cinzia; Bortoluzzi, Stefania; Bisognin, Andrea; Coppe, Alessandro; Danieli, Gian Antonio
The problem of detecting DNA motifs with functional relevance in real biological sequences is difficult due to a number of biological, statistical and computational issues and also because of the lack of knowledge about the structure of searched patterns. Many algorithms are implemented in fully automated processes, which are often based upon a guess of input parameters from the user at the very first step. In this paper, we present a novel method for the detection of seeded DNA motifs, composed by regions with a different extent of variability. The method is based on a multi-step approach, which was implemented in a motif searching web tool (MOST). Overrepresented exact patterns are extracted from input sequences and clustered to produce motifs core regions, which are then extended and scored to generate seeded motifs. The combination of automated pattern discovery algorithms and different display tools for the evaluation and selection of results at several analysis steps can potentially lead to much more meaningful results than complete automation can produce. Experimental results on different yeast and human real datasets proved the methodology to be a promising solution for finding seeded motifs. MOST web tool is freely available at http://telethon.bio.unipd.it/bioinfo/MOST. PMID:16141193
Detecting seeded motifs in DNA sequences
Pizzi, Cinzia; Bortoluzzi, Stefania; Bisognin, Andrea; Coppe, Alessandro; Danieli, Gian Antonio
The problem of detecting DNA motifs with functional relevance in real biological sequences is difficult due to a number of biological, statistical and computational issues and also because of the lack of knowledge about the structure of searched patterns. Many algorithms are implemented in fully automated processes, which are often based upon a guess of input parameters from the user at the very first step. In this paper, we present a novel method for the detection of seeded DNA motifs, composed by regions with a different extent of variability. The method is based on a multi-step approach, which was implemented in a motif searching web tool (MOST). Overrepresented exact patterns are extracted from input sequences and clustered to produce motifs core regions, which are then extended and scored to generate seeded motifs. The combination of automated pattern discovery algorithms and different display tools for the evaluation and selection of results at several analysis steps can potentially lead to much more meaningful results than complete automation can produce. Experimental results on different yeast and human real datasets proved the methodology to be a promising solution for finding seeded motifs. MOST web tool is freely available at . PMID:16141193
Charge Transport in DNA Oligonucleotides with Various Base-Pairing Patterns
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Kratochvílová, Irena; Todorciuc, Tatiana; Král, Karel; Němec, Hynek; Bunček, M.; Šebera, Jakub; Záliš, Stanislav; Vokáčová, Zuzana; Sychrovský, Vladimír; Bednárová, Lucie; Mojzeš, P.; Schneider, Bohdan
Roč. 17, 1a (2010), L7-L7. ISSN 1211-5894. [Discussions in Structural Molecular Biology /8./. 18.03.2010-20.03.2010, Nové Hrady] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN401770651; GA ČR GA203/08/1594 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40500505; CEZ:AV0Z40550506; CEZ:AV0Z10100520; CEZ:AV0Z40400503; CEZ:AV0Z50520701 Keywords : base-pairing patterns * oligonucleotides * DNA Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry
DFT Description of Intermolecular Forces between 9-Aminoacridines and DNA Base Pairs
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Sandra Cotes Oyaga
Full Text Available The B3LYP method with 6-31G* basis set was used to predict the geometries of five 9-aminoacridines (9-AA 1(a–e, DNA base pairs, and respective complexes. Polarizabilities, charge distribution, frontier molecular orbital (FMO, and dipole moments were used to analyze the nature of interactions that allow reasonable drug diffusion levels. The results showed that charge delocalization, high polarizabilities, and high dipole moments play an important role in intermolecular interactions with DNA. The interactions of 9-AA 1(a–e with GC are the strongest. 9-AA 1(d displayed the strongest interaction and 9-AA 1(b the weakest.
Unconventional pairing originating from disconnected Fermi surfaces in the iron-based superconductor
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kuroki, Kazuhiko; Usui, Hidetomo [Department of Applied Physics and Chemistry, The University of Electro-Communications, Chofu, Tokyo 182-8585 (Japan); Onari, Seiichiro; Tanaka, Yukio [Department of Applied Physics, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan); Arita, Ryotaro [Department of Applied Physics, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Kontani, Hiroshi [Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602 (Japan); Aoki, Hideo [Department of Physics, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan)], E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
For an iron-based high T{sub c} superconductor LaFeAsO{sub 1-x}F{sub x}, we construct a minimal model where all of the five Fe d bands turn out to be involved. We then investigate the origin of superconductivity with a five-band random-phase approximation by solving the Eliashberg equation. We conclude that the spin fluctuation modes arising from the nesting between the disconnected Fermi pockets realize basically an extended s-wave pairing, where the gap changes sign across the nesting vector.
Superior coexistence: systematicALLY regulatING land subsidence BASED on set pair theory
Chen, Y.; Gong, S.-L.
Anthropogenic land subsidence is an environmental side effect of exploring and using natural resources in the process of economic development. The key points of the system for controlling land subsidence include cooperation and superior coexistence while the economy develops, exploring and using natural resources, and geological environmental safety. Using the theory and method of set pair analysis (SPA), this article anatomises the factors, effects, and transformation of land subsidence. Based on the principle of superior coexistence, this paper promotes a technical approach to the system for controlling land subsidence, in order to improve the prevention and control of geological hazards.
A Multiparty Controlled Bidirectional Quantum Secure Direct Communication and Authentication Protocol Based on EPR Pairs
Chang, Yan; Zhang, Shi-Bin; Yan, Li-Li; Sheng, Zhi-Wei
A multiparty controlled bidirectional quantum secure direct communication and authentication protocol is proposed based on EPR pair and entanglement swapping. The legitimate identities of communicating parties are encoded to Bell states which act as a detection sequence. Secret messages are transmitted by using the classical XOR operation, which serves as a one-time-pad. No photon with secret information transmits in the quantum channel. Compared with the protocols proposed by Wang et al. [Acta Phys. Sin. 56 (2007) 673; Opt. Commun. 266 (2006) 732], the protocol in this study implements bidirectional communication and authentication, which defends most attacks including the 'man-in-the-middle' attack efficiently.
Theoretical study of metal ion binding in modified and natural cytosine-cytosine base pairs
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Šebera, Jakub; Sugiyama, K.; Ono, A.; Mulder, J.; Bickelhaupt, F. M.; Tanaka, Y.; Sychrovský, Vladimír; Guerra, C. F.
Roč. 20, č. 1 (2013), s. 39-39. ISSN 1211-5894. [Discussions in Structural Molecular Biology. Annual Meeting of the Czech Society for Structural Biology /11./. 14.03.2013-16.03.2013, Nové Hrady] R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP205/10/0228; GA ČR(CZ) GAP304/10/1951; GA TA ČR TA01011165 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : DFT * NMR * base pair * metal-mediated Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry
AISMOTIF-An Artificial Immune System for DNA Motif Discovery
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Seeja K R
Full Text Available Discovery of transcription factor binding sites is a much explored and still exploring area of research in functional genomics. Many computational tools have been developed for finding motifs and each of them has their own advantages as well as disadvantages. Most of these algorithms need prior knowledge about the data to construct background models. However there is not a single technique that can be considered as best for finding regulatory motifs. This paper proposes an artificial immune system based algorithm for finding the transcription factor binding sites or motifs and two new weighted scores for motif evaluation. The algorithm is enumerative, but sufficient pruning of the pattern search space has been incorporated using immune system concepts. The performance of AISMOTIF has been evaluated by comparing it with eight state of art composite motif discovery algorithms and found that AISMOTIF predicts known motifs as well as new motifs from the benchmark dataset without any prior knowledge about the data.
AISMOTIF-An Artificial Immune System for DNA Motif Discovery
Seeja, K R
Discovery of transcription factor binding sites is a much explored and still exploring area of research in functional genomics. Many computational tools have been developed for finding motifs and each of them has their own advantages as well as disadvantages. Most of these algorithms need prior knowledge about the data to construct background models. However there is not a single technique that can be considered as best for finding regulatory motifs. This paper proposes an artificial immune system based algorithm for finding the transcription factor binding sites or motifs and two new weighted scores for motif evaluation. The algorithm is enumerative, but sufficient pruning of the pattern search space has been incorporated using immune system concepts. The performance of AISMOTIF has been evaluated by comparing it with eight state of art composite motif discovery algorithms and found that AISMOTIF predicts known motifs as well as new motifs from the benchmark dataset without any prior knowledge about the data...
Theoretical investigation of the hydrogen atom transfer in the hydrated A–T base pair
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Highlights: ► We study the hydrated A–T base pair with 2 and 4 water molecules. ► We consider the dynamics of hydrogen transfer in the hydrogen bridges. ► We compare this study with experimental data and simple schemes. - Abstract: The hydrated A–T base pair has been studied in order to understand the structural modifications and their electronic rearrangements induced by the movement of the hydrogen atoms in the H-bonds. The comparison of these results with that of the nonhydrated system can explain the role of the H-bonds of the water molecules in this system. Two naïve schemes have been considered, one where the hydrogen bonds of the water molecules are only indirectly involved in the hydrogen atoms transfer between the bases and another where the water molecules are directly involved in this transfer. The results support the idea that the real mechanisms are more complexes than these schemes. Some new stable structures of the A–T(H2O)2 and the A–T(H2O)4 systems have been found and the mechanisms of their generations have been analysed.
Thiazole orange as a fluorescent probe: Label-free and selective detection of silver ions based on the structural change of i-motif DNA at neutral pH.
Kang, Bei Hua; Gao, Zhong Feng; Li, Na; Shi, Yan; Li, Nian Bing; Luo, Hong Qun
Silver ions have been widely applied to many fields and have harmful effects on environments and human health. Herein, a label-free optical sensor for Ag(+) detection is constructed based on thiazole orange (TO) as a fluorescent probe for the recognition of i-motif DNA structure change at neutral pH. Ag(+) can fold a C-rich single stranded DNA sequence into i-motif DNA structure at neutral pH and that folding is reversible by chelation with cysteine (Cys). The DNA folding process can be indicated by the fluorescence change of TO, which is non-fluorescent in free molecule state and emits strong fluorescence after the incorporation with i-motif DNA. Thus, a rapid, sensitive, and selective method for the detection of Ag(+) and Cys is developed with a detection limit of 17 and 280nM, respectively. It is worth noting that the mechanism underlying the increase of the fluorescence of thiazole orange in the presence of i-motif structure is explained. Moreover, a fluorescent DNA logic gate is successfully designed based on the Ag(+)/Cys-mediated reversible fluorescence changes. The proposed detection strategy is label-free and economical. In addition, this system shows a great promise for i-motif/TO complex to analyze Ag(+) in the real samples. PMID:27260446
Computational analyses of synergism in small molecular network motifs.
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Yili Zhang
Full Text Available Cellular functions and responses to stimuli are controlled by complex regulatory networks that comprise a large diversity of molecular components and their interactions. However, achieving an intuitive understanding of the dynamical properties and responses to stimuli of these networks is hampered by their large scale and complexity. To address this issue, analyses of regulatory networks often focus on reduced models that depict distinct, reoccurring connectivity patterns referred to as motifs. Previous modeling studies have begun to characterize the dynamics of small motifs, and to describe ways in which variations in parameters affect their responses to stimuli. The present study investigates how variations in pairs of parameters affect responses in a series of ten common network motifs, identifying concurrent variations that act synergistically (or antagonistically to alter the responses of the motifs to stimuli. Synergism (or antagonism was quantified using degrees of nonlinear blending and additive synergism. Simulations identified concurrent variations that maximized synergism, and examined the ways in which it was affected by stimulus protocols and the architecture of a motif. Only a subset of architectures exhibited synergism following paired changes in parameters. The approach was then applied to a model describing interlocked feedback loops governing the synthesis of the CREB1 and CREB2 transcription factors. The effects of motifs on synergism for this biologically realistic model were consistent with those for the abstract models of single motifs. These results have implications for the rational design of combination drug therapies with the potential for synergistic interactions.
A model for avian magnetoreception by coupling magnetite-based mechanism with radical-pair-based mechanism
Lu, Yan
Many species of animals have been testified to use the geomagnetic field for their navigation, but the biophysical mechanism of magnetoreception has remained enigmatic. This paper presents a biophysical model consisting of magnetite-based mechanism and radical-pair-based mechanism for the avian magnetoreception. The amplitude of resultant magnetic field outside the magnetic particles correspond to the geomagnetic field direction and effect the yield of singlet/triplet state products in the radical pair reactions, therefore the yield of singlet/triplet state products can connect with the geomagnetic field information for orientational detection by the proposed model. The resultant magnetic fields corresponds to two materials with different magnetic properties were analysed under different directions of the geomagnetic field. The results shown that the ferromagnetic particles in organisms could provide more significant change of singlet state products than that of superparamagnetic particles, and the period of ...
Excited States of DNA Base Pairs Using Long-Range Corrected Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory
Jensen, Lasse; Govind, Niranjan
In this work, we present a study of the excitation energies of adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, and the adenine-thymine (AT) and guanine-cytosine (GC) base pairs using long-range corrected (LC) density functional theory. We compare three recent LC functionals, BNL, CAM-B3LYP, and LC-PBE0, with B3LYP and coupled cluster results from the literature. We find that the best overall performance is for the BNL functional based on LDA. However, in order to achieve this good agreement, a smaller attenuation parameter is needed, which leads to nonoptimum performance for ground-state properties. B3LYP, on the other hand, severely underestimates the charge-transfer (CT) transitions in the base pairs. Surprisingly, we also find that the CAM-B3LYP functional also underestimates the CT excitation energy for the GC base pair but correctly describes the AT base pair. This illustrates the importance of retaining the full long-range exact exchange even at distances as short as that of the DNA base pairs. The worst overall performance is obtained with the LC-PBE0 functional, which overestimates the excitations for the individual bases as well as the base pairs. It is therefore crucial to strike a good balance between the amount of local and long-range exact exchange. Thus, this work highlights the difficulties in obtained LC functionals, which provides a good description of both ground- and excited-state properties.
Damage mechanism of hydroxyl radicals toward adenine—thymine base pair
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The adenine—thymine base pair was studied in the presence of hydroxyl radicals in order to probe the hydrogen bond effect. The results show that the hydrogen bonds have little effect on the hydroxylation and dehydrogenation happened at the sites, which are not involved in a hydrogen bond, while at the sites involved in hydrogen bond formation in the base pair, the reaction becomes more difficult, both in view of the free energy barrier and the exothermicity. With a 6–311++G(d,p) level of description, both B3LYP and MP2 methods confirm that the C8 site of isolated adenine has the highest possibility to form covalent bond with the hydroxyl radicals, though with different energetics: B3LYP predicts a barrierless pathway, while MP2 finds a transition state with an energy of 106.1 kJ/mol. For the dehydrogenation reactions, B3LYP method predicts that the free energy barrier increases in the order of HN9 < HN61 < HN62 < H2 < H8. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)
A Bilinear Pairing-Based Dynamic Key Management and Authentication for Wireless Sensor Networks
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Chin-Ling Chen
Full Text Available In recent years, wireless sensor networks have been used in a variety of environments; a wireless network infrastructure, established to communicate and exchange information in a monitoring area, has also been applied in different environments. However, for sensitive applications, security is the paramount issue. In this paper, we propose using bilinear pairing to design dynamic key management and authentication scheme of the hierarchical sensor network. We use the dynamic key management and the pairing-based cryptography (PBC to establish the session key and the hash message authentication code (HMAC to support the mutual authentication between the sensors and the base station. In addition, we also embed the capability of the Global Positioning System (GPS to cluster nodes to find the best path of the sensor network. The proposed scheme can also provide the requisite security of the dynamic key management, mutual authentication, and session key protection. Our scheme can defend against impersonation attack, replay attack, wormhole attack, and message manipulation attack.
Gapped graphene-based Josephson junction with d-wave pair coupling
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Goudarzi, H., E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com; Khezerlou, M., E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com; Dezhaloud, T.
Highlights: • We aim to study the influence of the Josephson current passing through a d-wave S/I/S gapped graphene-based junction. • We investigate how the Andreev bound states and the Josephson current are affected by characteristic of d-wave pairing asymmetry. • It is shown that the Josephson current for special range of phase vanishes and the position of the maximum current depends on the mass gap of graphene. -- Abstract: The Josephson current passing through a S/I/S gapped graphene-based junction, where superconductivity in the S region is induced by depositing unconventional d-wave superconductor is investigated. The energy levels of massive Dirac fermions are exactly found for Andreev bound states. We illustrate the effect of characteristic of d-wave pairing symmetry on the Andreev bound states and the Josephson current. It is shown that the Josephson current vanishes for special range of superconductivity phase, φ = φ{sub 1} − φ{sub 2} and the position of the maximum current depends on the mass gap of graphene. The critical supercurrent varies in an oscillatory manner as function of the barrier strength, so that the period of oscillations does not change by increasing the effective mass of quasiparticles.
Gapped graphene-based Josephson junction with d-wave pair coupling
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Highlights: • We aim to study the influence of the Josephson current passing through a d-wave S/I/S gapped graphene-based junction. • We investigate how the Andreev bound states and the Josephson current are affected by characteristic of d-wave pairing asymmetry. • It is shown that the Josephson current for special range of phase vanishes and the position of the maximum current depends on the mass gap of graphene. -- Abstract: The Josephson current passing through a S/I/S gapped graphene-based junction, where superconductivity in the S region is induced by depositing unconventional d-wave superconductor is investigated. The energy levels of massive Dirac fermions are exactly found for Andreev bound states. We illustrate the effect of characteristic of d-wave pairing symmetry on the Andreev bound states and the Josephson current. It is shown that the Josephson current vanishes for special range of superconductivity phase, φ = φ1 − φ2 and the position of the maximum current depends on the mass gap of graphene. The critical supercurrent varies in an oscillatory manner as function of the barrier strength, so that the period of oscillations does not change by increasing the effective mass of quasiparticles
Structure-Based Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii Profilin: A Parasite-Specific Motif Is Required for Recognition by Toll-Like Receptor 11
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
K Kucera; A Koblansky; L Saunders; K Frederick; E De La Cruz; S Ghosh; Y Modis
Profilins promote actin polymerization by exchanging ADP for ATP on monomeric actin and delivering ATP-actin to growing filament barbed ends. Apicomplexan protozoa such as Toxoplasma gondii invade host cells using an actin-dependent gliding motility. Toll-like receptor (TLR) 11 generates an innate immune response upon sensing T. gondii profilin (TgPRF). The crystal structure of TgPRF reveals a parasite-specific surface motif consisting of an acidic loop, followed by a long {beta}-hairpin. A series of structure-based profilin mutants show that TLR11 recognition of the acidic loop is responsible for most of the interleukin (IL)-12 secretion response to TgPRF in peritoneal macrophages. Deletion of both the acidic loop and the {beta}-hairpin completely abrogates IL-12 secretion. Insertion of the T. gondii acidic loop and {beta}-hairpin into yeast profilin is sufficient to generate TLR11-dependent signaling. Substitution of the acidic loop in TgPRF with the homologous loop from the apicomplexan parasite Cryptosporidium parvum does not affect TLR11-dependent IL-12 secretion, while substitution with the acidic loop from Plasmodium falciparum results in reduced but significant IL-12 secretion. We conclude that the parasite-specific motif in TgPRF is the key molecular pattern recognized by TLR11. Unlike other profilins, TgPRF slows nucleotide exchange on monomeric rabbit actin and binds rabbit actin weakly. The putative TgPRF actin-binding surface includes the {beta}-hairpin and diverges widely from the actin-binding surfaces of vertebrate profilins.
A motif-based search in bacterial genomes identifies the ortholog of the small RNA Yfr1 in all lineages of cyanobacteria
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Axmann Ilka M
Full Text Available Abstract Background Non-coding RNAs (ncRNA are regulators of gene expression in all domains of life. They control growth and differentiation, virulence, motility and various stress responses. The identification of ncRNAs can be a tedious process due to the heterogeneous nature of this molecule class and the missing sequence similarity of orthologs, even among closely related species. The small ncRNA Yfr1 has previously been found in the Prochlorococcus/Synechococcus group of marine cyanobacteria. Results Here we show that screening available genome sequences based on an RNA motif and followed by experimental analysis works successfully in detecting this RNA in all lineages of cyanobacteria. Yfr1 is an abundant ncRNA between 54 and 69 nt in size that is ubiquitous for cyanobacteria except for two low light-adapted strains of Prochlorococcus, MIT 9211 and SS120, in which it must have been lost secondarily. Yfr1 consists of two predicted stem-loop elements separated by an unpaired sequence of 16–20 nucleotides containing the ultraconserved undecanucleotide 5'-ACUCCUCACAC-3'. Conclusion Starting with an ncRNA previously found in a narrow group of cyanobacteria only, we show here the highly specific and sensitive identification of its homologs within all lineages of cyanobacteria, whereas it was not detected within the genome sequences of E. coli and of 7 other eubacteria belonging to the alpha-proteobacteria, chlorobiaceae and spirochaete. The integration of RNA motif prediction into computational pipelines for the detection of ncRNAs in bacteria appears as a promising step to improve the quality of such predictions.
Effect of base-pair inhomogeneities on charge transport along the DNA molecule, mediated by twist and radial polarons
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Some recent results for a three-dimensional, semi-classical, tight-binding model for DNA show that there are two types of polarons, namely radial and twist polarons, which can transport charge along the DNA molecule. However, the existence of two types of base pairs in real DNA makes it crucial to find out if charge transport also exists in DNA chains with different base pairs. In this paper, we address this problem in its simple case, a homogeneous chain except for a single different base pair, which we call a base-pair inhomogeneity, and its effect on charge transport. Radial polarons experience either reflection or trapping. However, twist polarons are good candidates for charge transport along real DNA. This transport is also very robust with respect to weak parametric and diagonal disorder
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rapin, Nicolas Philippe Jean-Pierre; Hoof, Ilka; Lund, Ole;
In vertebrates, the onset of cellular immune reactions is controlled by presentation of peptides in complex with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules to T cell receptors. In humans, MHCs are called human leukocyte antigens (HLAs). Different MHC molecules present different subsets of...... peptides, and knowledge of their binding specificities is important for understanding differences in the immune response between individuals. Algorithms predicting which peptides bind a given MHC molecule have recently been developed with high prediction accuracy. The utility of these algorithms is...... binding motif for each MHC molecule is predicted using state-of-the-art, pan-specific peptide-MHC binding-prediction methods, and is visualized as a sequence logo, in a format that allows for a comprehensive interpretation of binding motif anchor positions and amino acid preferences....
Rapin, Nicolas; Hoof, Ilka; Lund, Ole; Nielsen, Morten
In vertebrates the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) presents peptides to the immune system. In humans MHCs are called human leukocyte antigens (HLAs), and some of the loci encoding them are the most polymorphic in the human genome. Different MHC molecules present different subsets of peptides, and knowledge of their binding specificities is important for understanding the differences in the immune response between individuals. Knowledge of motifs may be used to identify epitopes, unders...
Nucleic Acid Base Analog FRET-Pair Facilitating Detailed Structural Measurements in Nucleic Acid Containing Systems
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Börjesson, Karl; Preus, Søren; El-Sagheer, Afaf;
We present the first nucleobase analog fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-pair. The pair consists of tCO, 1,3-diaza-2-oxophenoxazine, as an energy donor and the newly developed tC(nitro), 7-nitro-1,3-diaza-2-oxophenothiazine, as an energy acceptor. The FRET-pair successfully monitors d...
Cloud Base Height Measurements at Manila Observatory: Initial Results from Constructed Paired Sky Imaging Cameras
Lagrosas, N.; Tan, F.; Antioquia, C. T.
Fabricated all sky imagers are efficient and cost effective instruments for cloud detection and classification. Continuous operation of this instrument can result in the determination of cloud occurrence and cloud base heights for the paired system. In this study, a fabricated paired sky imaging system - consisting two commercial digital cameras (Canon Powershot A2300) enclosed in weatherproof containers - is developed in Manila Observatory for the purpose of determining cloud base heights at the Manila Observatory area. One of the cameras is placed on the rooftop of Manila Observatory and the other is placed on the rooftop of the university dormitory, 489m from the first camera. The cameras are programmed to simultaneously gather pictures every 5 min. Continuous operation of these cameras were implemented since the end of May of 2014 but data collection started end of October 2013. The data were processed following the algorithm proposed by Kassianov et al (2005). The processing involves the calculation of the merit function that determines the area of overlap of the two pictures. When two pictures are overlapped, the minimum of the merit function corresponds to the pixel column positions where the pictures have the best overlap. In this study, pictures of overcast sky prove to be difficult to process for cloud base height and were excluded from processing. The figure below shows the initial results of the hourly average of cloud base heights from data collected from November 2013 to July 2014. Measured cloud base heights ranged from 250m to 1.5km. These are the heights of cumulus and nimbus clouds that are dominant in this part of the world. Cloud base heights are low in the early hours of the day indicating low convection process during these times. However, the increase in the convection process in the atmosphere can be deduced from higher cloud base heights in the afternoon. The decrease of cloud base heights after 15:00 follows the trend of decreasing solar
Ionic force field optimization based on single-ion and ion-pair solvation properties
Fyta, Maria; Dzubiella, Joachim; Vrbka, Lubos; Netz, Roland R
Molecular dynamics simulations of ionic solutions depend sensitively on the force fields employed for the ions. To resolve the fine differences between ions of the same valence and roughly similar size and in particular to correctly describe ion-specific effects, it is clear that accurate force fields are necessary. In the past, optimization strategies for ionic force fields either considered single-ion properties (such as the solvation free energy at infinite dilution or the ion-water structure) or ion-pair properties (in the form of ion-ion distribution functions). In this paper we investigate strategies to optimize ionic force fields based on single-ion and ion-pair properties simultaneously. To that end, we simulate five different salt solutions, namely CsCl, KCl, NaI, KF, and CsI, at finite ion concentration. The force fields of these ions are systematically varied under the constraint that the single-ion solvation free energy matches the experimental value, which reduces the two-dimensional $\\{\\sigma,\\e...
GGIP: Structure and sequence-based GPCR-GPCR interaction pair predictor.
Nemoto, Wataru; Yamanishi, Yoshihiro; Limviphuvadh, Vachiranee; Saito, Akira; Toh, Hiroyuki
G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) are important pharmaceutical targets. More than 30% of currently marketed pharmaceutical medicines target GPCRs. Numerous studies have reported that GPCRs function not only as monomers but also as homo- or hetero-dimers or higher-order molecular complexes. Many GPCRs exert a wide variety of molecular functions by forming specific combinations of GPCR subtypes. In addition, some GPCRs are reportedly associated with diseases. GPCR oligomerization is now recognized as an important event in various biological phenomena, and many researchers are investigating this subject. We have developed a support vector machine (SVM)-based method to predict interacting pairs for GPCR oligomerization, by integrating the structure and sequence information of GPCRs. The performance of our method was evaluated by the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. The corresponding area under the curve was 0.938. As far as we know, this is the only prediction method for interacting pairs among GPCRs. Our method could accelerate the analyses of these interactions, and contribute to the elucidation of the global structures of the GPCR networks in membranes. Proteins 2016; 84:1224-1233. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:27191053
Extruded polymer films pigmented with a heterogeneous ion-pair based lumophore for O2 sensing.
Mills, Andrew; Graham, Ashleigh
A novel approach to polymeric Ru(II)-diimine luminescent O2 sensors is described. The Ru(II)-diimine, tris(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II) dichloride ([Ru(dpp)3](2+)), is first ion-paired to the surface of heterogeneous TiO2 particles, rendered negatively charged due to the alkali nature of the aqueous solution, to produce an O2 sensitive pigment with a strikingly high oxygen sensitivity (i.e. PO2 (S = 1/2) = 0.002 atm, where PO2 (S = 1/2) is defined as the amount of oxygen required to reduce the initial, oxygen free luminescence by 50%), and a rapid response to oxygen. The pigment is extruded in low density polyethylene (LDPE) to produce a thin (60 μm), flexible, O2 sensing plastic film, with an O2 sensitivity (PO2 (S = 1/2) = 0.84 atm) comparable to the more traditional homogeneous lumophore ion-pair based O2 sensor ink films reported in the literature. PMID:24040643
Exploiting bounded signal flow for graph orientation based on cause-effect pairs
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Niedermeier Rolf
Full Text Available Abstract Background We consider the following problem: Given an undirected network and a set of sender-receiver pairs, direct all edges such that the maximum number of "signal flows" defined by the pairs can be routed respecting edge directions. This problem has applications in understanding protein interaction based cell regulation mechanisms. Since this problem is NP-hard, research so far concentrated on polynomial-time approximation algorithms and tractable special cases. Results We take the viewpoint of parameterized algorithmics and examine several parameters related to the maximum signal flow over vertices or edges. We provide several fixed-parameter tractability results, and in one case a sharp complexity dichotomy between a linear-time solvable case and a slightly more general NP-hard case. We examine the value of these parameters for several real-world network instances. Conclusions Several biologically relevant special cases of the NP-hard problem can be solved to optimality. In this way, parameterized analysis yields both deeper insight into the computational complexity and practical solving strategies.
Homosexual Pairing within a Swarm-Based Mating System: The Case of the Chironomid Midge
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Athol J. McLachlan
Full Text Available Homosexuality has been dubbed the Darwinian paradox, because it raises the question of how behaviour that would seem to reduce the chance of successful mating can be maintained by natural selection. This question rests on the assumption that same sex mating is the result of active choice of partner, hardwired into the mating behaviour, but there is an alternative explanation for such behaviour. I refer to the possibility that same-sex mating is the result, not of adaptive behaviour at all, but rather of errors due to imprecise sensory machinery. Such an explanation finds support within the mating system of insects with swarm-based mating systems. To explore this case, I turn to the common chironomid midge. I show that homosexual pairing here, exclusively involving male/male pairs, is common. I attempt to show that this observation, together with data on insect predators of swarming midges, can be used to penetrate the mysteries of this fascinating but elusive mating system.
Clamping down on weak terminal base pairs: oligonucleotides with molecular caps as fidelity-enhancing elements at the 5′- and 3′-terminal residues
Narayanan, Sukunath; Gall, Julia; Richert, Clemens
The base-pairing fidelity of oligonucleotides depends on the identity of the nucleobases involved and the position of matched or mismatched base pairs in the duplex. Nucleobases forming weak base pairs, as well as a terminal position favor mispairing. We have searched for 5′-appended acylamido caps that enhance the stability and base-pairing fidelity of oligonucleotides with a 5′-terminal 2′-deoxyadenosine residue using combinatorial synthesis and MALDI-monitored nuclease selections. This pro...
D-MATRIX: A web tool for constructing weight matrix of conserved DNA motifs
Sen, Naresh; Mishra, Manoj; Khan, Feroz; Meena, Abha; Sharma, Ashok
Despite considerable efforts to date, DNA motif prediction in whole genome remains a challenge for researchers. Currently the genome wide motif prediction tools required either direct pattern sequence (for single motif) or weight matrix (for multiple motifs). Although there are known motif pattern databases and tools for genome level prediction but no tool for weight matrix construction. Considering this, we developed a D-MATRIX tool which predicts the different types of weight matrix based o...
Active destabilization of base pairs by a DNA glycosylase wedge initiates damage recognition
Kuznetsov, Nikita A.; Bergonzo, Christina; Campbell, Arthur J.; Li, Haoquan; Mechetin, Grigory V.; de los Santos, Carlos; Grollman, Arthur P.; Fedorova, Olga S.; Zharkov, Dmitry O.; Simmerling, Carlos
Formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase (Fpg) excises 8-oxoguanine (oxoG) from DNA but ignores normal guanine. We combined molecular dynamics simulation and stopped-flow kinetics with fluorescence detection to track the events in the recognition of oxoG by Fpg and its mutants with a key phenylalanine residue, which intercalates next to the damaged base, changed to either alanine (F110A) or fluorescent reporter tryptophan (F110W). Guanine was sampled by Fpg, as evident from the F110W stopped-flow traces, but less extensively than oxoG. The wedgeless F110A enzyme could bend DNA but failed to proceed further in oxoG recognition. Modeling of the base eversion with energy decomposition suggested that the wedge destabilizes the intrahelical base primarily through buckling both surrounding base pairs. Replacement of oxoG with abasic (AP) site rescued the activity, and calculations suggested that wedge insertion is not required for AP site destabilization and eversion. Our results suggest that Fpg, and possibly other DNA glycosylases, convert part of the binding energy into active destabilization of their substrates, using the energy differences between normal and damaged bases for fast substrate discrimination. PMID:25520195
Fingerprint Identification Using SIFT-Based Minutia Descriptors and Improved All Descriptor-Pair Matching
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jiuqiang Han
Full Text Available The performance of conventional minutiae-based fingerprint authentication algorithms degrades significantly when dealing with low quality fingerprints with lots of cuts or scratches. A similar degradation of the minutiae-based algorithms is observed when small overlapping areas appear because of the quite narrow width of the sensors. Based on the detection of minutiae, Scale Invariant Feature Transformation (SIFT descriptors are employed to fulfill verification tasks in the above difficult scenarios. However, the original SIFT algorithm is not suitable for fingerprint because of: (1 the similar patterns of parallel ridges; and (2 high computational resource consumption. To enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the algorithm for fingerprint verification, we propose a SIFT-based Minutia Descriptor (SMD to improve the SIFT algorithm through image processing, descriptor extraction and matcher. A two-step fast matcher, named improved All Descriptor-Pair Matching (iADM, is also proposed to implement the 1:N verifications in real-time. Fingerprint Identification using SMD and iADM (FISiA achieved a significant improvement with respect to accuracy in representative databases compared with the conventional minutiae-based method. The speed of FISiA also can meet real-time requirements.
Factors influencing the extent and selectivity of alkylation within triplexes by reactive G/A motif oligonucleotides.
Lampe, J N; Kutyavin, I V; Rhinehart, R; Reed, M W; Meyer, R. B.; Gamper, H B
G/A motif triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) complementary to a 21 base pair homopurine/homopyrimidine run were conjugated at one or both ends to chlorambucil. These TFOs were incubated with several synthetic duplexes containing the targeted homopurine run flanked by different sequences. The extent of mono and interstrand cross-linking was compared with the level of binding at equilibrium. Covalent modification took place within a triple-stranded complex and usually occurred at guanine r...
Inverse Temperature Dependence of Nuclear Quantum Effects in DNA Base Pairs.
Fang, Wei; Chen, Ji; Rossi, Mariana; Feng, Yexin; Li, Xin-Zheng; Michaelides, Angelos
Despite the inherently quantum mechanical nature of hydrogen bonding, it is unclear how nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) alter the strengths of hydrogen bonds. With this in mind, we use ab initio path integral molecular dynamics to determine the absolute contribution of NQEs to the binding in DNA base pair complexes, arguably the most important hydrogen-bonded systems of all. We find that depending on the temperature, NQEs can either strengthen or weaken the binding within the hydrogen-bonded complexes. As a somewhat counterintuitive consequence, NQEs can have a smaller impact on hydrogen bond strengths at cryogenic temperatures than at room temperature. We rationalize this in terms of a competition of NQEs between low-frequency and high-frequency vibrational modes. Extending this idea, we also propose a simple model to predict the temperature dependence of NQEs on hydrogen bond strengths in general. PMID:27195654
Theoretical studies on the intermolecular interactions of potentially primordial base-pair analogues
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Šponer, Judit E.; Vázquez-Mayagoitia, Á.; Sumpter, B.G.; Leszczynski, J.; Šponer, Jiří; Otyepka, M.; Banáš, P.; Fuentes-Cabrera, M.
Roč. 16, č. 10 (2010), s. 3057-3065. ISSN 0947-6539 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC06030; GA AV ČR(CZ) 1QS500040581; GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA400040802; GA ČR(CZ) GA203/09/1476 Grant ostatní: GA MŠk(CZ) LC512; GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA400550701; GA ČR(CZ) GD203/09/H046 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50040507; CEZ:AV0Z50040702 Keywords : quantum chemistry * base pairing * origin of life Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 5.476, year: 2010
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Lu Chunyan; Zou Huanxin; Zhao Jian; Zhou Shilin
Most of the Point Pattern Matching (PPM) algorithm performs poorly when the noise of the point's position and outliers exist.This paper presents a novel and robust PPM algorithm which combined Point Pair Topological Characteristics (PPTC) and Spectral Matching (SM) together to solve the afore mentioned issues.In which PPTC,a new shape descriptor,is firstly proposed.A new comparability measurement based on PPTC is defined as the matching probability.Finally,the correct matching results are achieved by the spectral matching method.The synthetic data experiments show its robustness by comparing with the other state-of-art algorithms and the real world data experiments show its effectiveness.
Gapped graphene-based Josephson junction with d-wave pair coupling
Goudarzi, H.; Khezerlou, M.; Dezhaloud, T.
The Josephson current passing through a S/I/S gapped graphene-based junction, where superconductivity in the S region is induced by depositing unconventional d-wave superconductor is investigated. The energy levels of massive Dirac fermions are exactly found for Andreev bound states. We illustrate the effect of characteristic of d-wave pairing symmetry on the Andreev bound states and the Josephson current. It is shown that the Josephson current vanishes for special range of superconductivity phase, φ = φ1 - φ2 and the position of the maximum current depends on the mass gap of graphene. The critical supercurrent varies in an oscillatory manner as function of the barrier strength, so that the period of oscillations does not change by increasing the effective mass of quasiparticles.
Inverse Temperature Dependence of Nuclear Quantum Effects in DNA Base Pairs
Despite the inherently quantum mechanical nature of hydrogen bonding, it is unclear how nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) alter the strengths of hydrogen bonds. With this in mind, we use ab initio path integral molecular dynamics to determine the absolute contribution of NQEs to the binding in DNA base pair complexes, arguably the most important hydrogen-bonded systems of all. We find that depending on the temperature, NQEs can either strengthen or weaken the binding within the hydrogen-bonded complexes. As a somewhat counterintuitive consequence, NQEs can have a smaller impact on hydrogen bond strengths at cryogenic temperatures than at room temperature. We rationalize this in terms of a competition of NQEs between low-frequency and high-frequency vibrational modes. Extending this idea, we also propose a simple model to predict the temperature dependence of NQEs on hydrogen bond strengths in general. PMID:27195654
Comment Fail-Stop Blind Signature Scheme Design Based on Pairings
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
HU Xiaoming; HUANG Shangteng
Fail-stop signature schemes provide security for a signer against forgeries of an enemy with unlimited computational power by enabling the signer to provide a proof of forgery when a forgery happens. Chang et al proposed a robust fail-stop blind signature scheme based on bilinear pairings. However, in this paper, it will be found that there are several mistakes in Chang et al' fail-stop blind signature scheme. Moreover, it will be pointed out that this scheme doesn' meet the property of a fail-stop signature: unconditionally secure for a signer. In Chang et al' scheme, a forger can forge a valid signature that can' be proved by a signer using the "proof of forgery". The scheme also doesn' possess the unlinkability property of a blind signature.
RMOD: a tool for regulatory motif detection in signaling network.
Kim, Jinki; Yi, Gwan-Su
Regulatory motifs are patterns of activation and inhibition that appear repeatedly in various signaling networks and that show specific regulatory properties. However, the network structures of regulatory motifs are highly diverse and complex, rendering their identification difficult. Here, we present a RMOD, a web-based system for the identification of regulatory motifs and their properties in signaling networks. RMOD finds various network structures of regulatory motifs by compressing the signaling network and detecting the compressed forms of regulatory motifs. To apply it into a large-scale signaling network, it adopts a new subgraph search algorithm using a novel data structure called path-tree, which is a tree structure composed of isomorphic graphs of query regulatory motifs. This algorithm was evaluated using various sizes of signaling networks generated from the integration of various human signaling pathways and it showed that the speed and scalability of this algorithm outperforms those of other algorithms. RMOD includes interactive analysis and auxiliary tools that make it possible to manipulate the whole processes from building signaling network and query regulatory motifs to analyzing regulatory motifs with graphical illustration and summarized descriptions. As a result, RMOD provides an integrated view of the regulatory motifs and mechanism underlying their regulatory motif activities within the signaling network. RMOD is freely accessible online at the following URL: http://pks.kaist.ac.kr/rmod. PMID:23874612
RMOD: a tool for regulatory motif detection in signaling network.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jinki Kim
Full Text Available Regulatory motifs are patterns of activation and inhibition that appear repeatedly in various signaling networks and that show specific regulatory properties. However, the network structures of regulatory motifs are highly diverse and complex, rendering their identification difficult. Here, we present a RMOD, a web-based system for the identification of regulatory motifs and their properties in signaling networks. RMOD finds various network structures of regulatory motifs by compressing the signaling network and detecting the compressed forms of regulatory motifs. To apply it into a large-scale signaling network, it adopts a new subgraph search algorithm using a novel data structure called path-tree, which is a tree structure composed of isomorphic graphs of query regulatory motifs. This algorithm was evaluated using various sizes of signaling networks generated from the integration of various human signaling pathways and it showed that the speed and scalability of this algorithm outperforms those of other algorithms. RMOD includes interactive analysis and auxiliary tools that make it possible to manipulate the whole processes from building signaling network and query regulatory motifs to analyzing regulatory motifs with graphical illustration and summarized descriptions. As a result, RMOD provides an integrated view of the regulatory motifs and mechanism underlying their regulatory motif activities within the signaling network. RMOD is freely accessible online at the following URL: http://pks.kaist.ac.kr/rmod.
Base-pairing versatility determines wobble sites in tRNA anticodons of vertebrate mitogenomes.
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Miguel M Fonseca
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Vertebrate mitochondrial genomes typically have one transfer RNA (tRNA for each synonymous codon family. This limited anticodon repertoire implies that each tRNA anticodon needs to wobble (establish a non-Watson-Crick base pairing between two nucleotides in RNA molecules to recognize one or more synonymous codons. Different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the factors that determine the nucleotide composition of wobble sites in vertebrate mitochondrial tRNA anticodons. Until now, the two major postulates--the "codon-anticodon adaptation hypothesis" and the "wobble versatility hypothesis"--have not been formally tested in vertebrate mitochondria because both make the same predictions regarding the composition of anticodon wobble sites. The same is true for the more recent "wobble cost hypothesis". PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study we have analyzed the occurrence of synonymous codons and tRNA anticodon wobble sites in 1553 complete vertebrate mitochondrial genomes, focusing on three fish species with mtDNA codon usage bias reversal (L-strand is GT-rich. These mitogenomes constitute an excellent opportunity to study the evolution of the wobble nucleotide composition of tRNA anticodons because due to the reversal the predictions for the anticodon wobble sites differ between the existing hypotheses. We observed that none of the wobble sites of tRNA anticodons in these unusual mitochondrial genomes coevolved to match the new overall codon usage bias, suggesting that nucleotides at the wobble sites of tRNA anticodons in vertebrate mitochondrial genomes are determined by wobble versatility. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that, at wobble sites of tRNA anticodons in vertebrate mitogenomes, selection favors the most versatile nucleotide in terms of wobble base-pairing stability and that wobble site composition is not influenced by codon usage. These results are in agreement with the "wobble versatility hypothesis".
Alpha Beta Monitoring System Based on a Pair of Simultaneous Multi Wire Proportional Counters
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
A new approach for a simultaneous alpha beta contamination monitoring system is presented. In nuclear environments or laboratories working with open radioactive sources there exists a risk of contamination. In order to avoid external contamination hazards, hand & foot alpha beta monitoring systems are needed. Usually, monitoring systems are based on large area Multi Wire Proportional Counters (MWPC).Generally, in the MWPC detectors the filling gas is supplied by a continuous gas supply system. The filling gas should not exhibit appreciable electron attachment coefficient. Typically, a noble gas such as Argon Methane, 90%Ar+10%CH4 is in use. This method of measurement is effective, yet it requires expensive maintenance costs due to gas flow control and periodical replacements. Several hand held commercial detectors such as Rotem Ind. PA-100, are based on free air flow alpha MWPC. Due to the energy released from the alpha particles in the filling gas a large number of ion pairs are formed. Despite the electron attachment coefficient of free air, a measurable pulse is obtained. Contrary to alpha sources, beta emitters deposit only a small part of their energy. In order to obtain a measurable pulse from beta interactions, oxygen free gas is required. Gas sealed detectors which are appropriate for beta measurements, require a relative thick entrance window in order to avoid gas leakage. Thick windows absorb alpha particles so that they are not appropriate for alpha measurement. The presented approach combines a pair of simultaneous MWPC assembled in a ôpancakeö type configuration; the sealed gas beta counter is located behind a free air alpha detector. This approach enables simultaneous alpha-beta measurement without needing continuous gas supply
Detecting DNA regulatory motifs by incorporating positional trendsin information content
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kechris, Katherina J.; van Zwet, Erik; Bickel, Peter J.; Eisen,Michael B.
On the basis of the observation that conserved positions in transcription factor binding sites are often clustered together, we propose a simple extension to the model-based motif discovery methods. We assign position-specific prior distributions to the frequency parameters of the model, penalizing deviations from a specified conservation profile. Examples with both simulated and real data show that this extension helps discover motifs as the data become noisier or when there is a competing false motif.
Discriminative Motif Finding for Predicting Protein Subcellular Localization
Lin, Tien-ho; Murphy, Robert F.; Bar-Joseph, Ziv
Many methods have been described to predict the subcellular location of proteins from sequence information. However, most of these methods either rely on global sequence properties or use a set of known protein targeting motifs to predict protein localization. Here we develop and test a novel method that identifies potential targeting motifs using a discriminative approach based on hidden Markov models (discriminative HMMs). These models search for motifs that are present in a compartment but...
Protein functional-group 3D motif and its applications
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Representing and recognizing protein active sites sequence motif (1D motif) and structural motif (3D motif) is an important topic for predicting and designing protein function. Prevalent methods for extracting and searching 3D motif always consider residue as the minimal unit, which have limited sensitivity. Here we present a new spatial representation of protein active sites, called "functional-group 3D motif ", based on the fact that the functional groups inside a residue contribute mostly to its function. Relevant algorithm and computer program are developed, which could be widely used in the function prediction and the study of structural-function relationship of proteins. As a test, we defined a functional-group 3D motif of the catalytic triad and oxyanion hole with the structure of porcine trypsin (PDB code: 1mct) as the template. With our motif-searching program, we successfully found similar sub-structures in trypsins, subtilisins and a/b hydrolases, which show distinct folds but share similar catalytic mechanism. Moreover, this motif can be used to elucidate the structural basis of other proteins with variant catalytic triads by comparing it to those proteins. Finally, we scanned this motif against a non-redundant protein structure database to find its matches, and the results demonstrated the potential application of functional group 3D motif in function prediction. Above all, compared with the other 3D-motif representations on residues, the functional group 3D motif achieves better representation of protein active region, which is more sensitive for protein function prediction.
Initiator-catalyzed self-assembly of duplex-looped DNA hairpin motif based on strand displacement reaction for logic operations and amplified biosensing.
Bi, Sai; Yue, Shuzhen; Wu, Qiang; Ye, Jiayan
Here we program an initiator-catalyzed self-assembly of duplex-looped DNA hairpin motif based on strand displacement reaction. Due to the recycling of initiator and performance in a cascade manner, this system is versatilely extended to logic operations, including the construction of concatenated logic circuits with a feedback function and a biocomputing keypad-lock security system. Compared with previously reported molecular security systems, the prominent feature of our keypad lock is that it can be spontaneously reset and recycled with no need of any external stimulus and human intervention. Moreover, through integrating with an isothermal amplification technique of rolling circle amplification (RCA), this programming catalytic DNA self-assembly strategy readily achieves sensitive and selective biosensing of initiator. Importantly, a magnetic graphene oxide (MGO) is introduced to remarkably reduced background, which plays an important role in enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio and improving the detection sensitivity. Therefore, the proposed sophisticated DNA strand displacement-based methodology with engineering dynamic functions may find broad applications in the construction of programming DNA nanostructures, amplification biosensing platform, and large-scale DNA circuits. PMID:27132002
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rapin, Nicolas Philippe Jean-Pierre; Hoof, Ilka; Lund, Ole;
In vertebrates, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) presents peptides to the immune system. In humans, MHCs are called human leukocyte antigens (HLAs), and some of the loci encoding them are the most polymorphic in the human genome. Different MHC molecules present different subsets of....... Algorithms that predict which peptides MHC molecules bind have recently been developed and cover many different alleles, but the utility of these algorithms is hampered by the lack of tools for browsing and comparing the specificity of these molecules. We have, therefore, developed a web server, MHC motif...
Novel H+-Ion Sensor Based on a Gated Lateral BJT Pair
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Heng Yuan
Full Text Available An H+-ion sensor based on a gated lateral bipolar junction transistor (BJT pair that can operate without the classical reference electrode is proposed. The device is a special type of ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET. Classical ISFETs have the advantage of miniaturization, but they are difficult to fabricate by a single fabrication process because of the bulky and brittle reference electrode materials. Moreover, the reference electrodes need to be separated from the sensor device in some cases. The proposed device is composed of two gated lateral BJT components, one of which had a silicide layer while the other was without the layer. The two components were operated under the metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET-BJT hybrid mode, which can be controlled by emitter voltage and base current. Buffer solutions with different pH values were used as the sensing targets to verify the characteristics of the proposed device. Owing to their different sensitivities, both components could simultaneously detect the H+-ion concentration and function as a reference to each other. Per the experimental results, the sensitivity of the proposed device was found to be approximately 0.175 μA/pH. This experiment demonstrates enormous potential to lower the cost of the ISFET-based sensor technology.
Effect of base-pair inhomogeneities on charge transport along DNA mediated by twist and radial polarons
Palmero, F.; Archilla, J. F. R.; Hennig, D.; Romero, F. R.
Some recent results for a three--dimensional, semi--classical, tight--binding model for DNA show that there are two types of polarons, named radial and twist polarons, that can transport charge along the DNA molecule. However, the existence of two types of base pairs in real DNA, makes it crucial to find out if charge transport also exist in DNA chains with different base pairs. In this paper we address this problem in its simple case, an homogeneous chain except for a single different base p...
Effect of Interior Loop Length on the Thermal Stability and pKa of i-Motif DNA
Reilly, Samantha M.; Morgan, Rhianna K.; Brooks, Tracy A.; Randy M. Wadkins
The four-stranded i-motif (iM) conformation of cytosine-rich DNA has importance to a wide variety of biochemical systems that range from its use in nanomaterials to a potential role in oncogene regulation. An iM is stabilized by acidic pH that allows hemiprotonated cytidines to form a C•C+ base pair. Fundamental studies to understand how the length of loops connecting the protonated C•C+ pairs affect intramolecular iM physical properties are described in this report. We characterized both the...
Simulation-based investigation of the paired-gear method in cod-end selectivity studies
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Herrmann, Bent; Frandsen, Rikke; Holst, René; O'Neill, F.G.
had a small mesh cover. Thus, estimates of the selectivity parameters of the test cod-end can be made using both the paired-gear method and the covered cod-end method. These estimates are compared and, as it is assumed that the covered cod-end method is objective, we conclude that the paired...
Pairing symmetries of several iron-based superconductor families and some similarities with cuprates and heavy-fermions
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Das Tanmoy
Full Text Available We show that, by using the unit-cell transformation between 1 Fe per unit cell to 2 Fe per unit cell, one can qualitatively understand the pairing symmetry of several families of iron-based superconductors. In iron-pnictides and iron-chalcogenides, the nodeless s±-pairing and the resulting magnetic resonance mode transform nicely between the two unit cells, while retaining all physical properties unchanged. However, when the electron-pocket disappears from the Fermi surface with complete doping in KFe2As2, we find that the unit-cell invariant requirement prohibits the occurrence of s±-pairing symmetry (caused by inter-hole-pocket nesting. However, the intra-pocket nesting is compatible here, which leads to a nodal d-wave pairing. The corresponding Fermi surface topology and the pairing symmetry are similar to Ce-based heavy-fermion superconductors. Furthermore, when the Fermi surface hosts only electron-pockets in KyFe2-xSe2, the inter-electron-pocket nesting induces a nodeless and isotropic d-wave pairing. This situation is analogous to the electron-doped cuprates, where the strong antiferromagnetic order creates similar disconnected electron-pocket Fermi surface, and hence nodeless d-wave pairing appears. The unit-cell transformation in KyFe2-xSe2 exhibits that the d-wave pairing breaks the translational symmetry of the 2 Fe unit cell, and thus cannot be realized unless a vacancy ordering forms to compensate for it. These results are consistent with the coexistence picture of a competing order and nodeless d-wave superconductivity in both cuprates and KyFe1.6Se2.
Cryptanalysis on Identity-based Authenticated Key Agreement Protocols from Pairings
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mengbo Hou
Full Text Available Two-party authenticated key agreement protocol is used to authenticate entities and establish session keys in an open network in order to provide secure communications between two parties. Several security attributes are highly desired for such protocols, such as perfect forward secrecy (the corruption of long-term keys of all the entities should not compromise any session key, PKG forward secrecy (the corruption of the PKG's master key in the ID-based system should not compromise the established session keys, and known session-key specific temporary information secrecy (The exposure of private temporary information should not compromise the secrecy of generated session keys. In 2005, Choie et al. proposed three identity-based authenticated key agreement protocols from pairings. Our analysis shows that they all didn't provide protection against known session-key specific temporary information attack and some of them are vulnerable against man-in-the-middle attack, such as the key replicating attack. We analyze some of the attacks under the BR93 security model.
Fereydooni, Abolhassan; Safapour, Ahmad
In this paper a new concept related to the frame theory is introduced; the notion of pair frame. By investigating some properties of such frames, it is shown that pair frames are a generalization of ordinary frames. Some classes of of them are introduced such as (p, q)-pair frames and near identity pair frames.
Nucleon-pair states of even-even Sn isotopes based on realistic effective interactions
Cheng, Y. Y.; Qi, C.; Zhao, Y. M.; Arima, A.
In this paper we study yrast states of 128,126,124Sn and 104,106,108Sn by using the monopole-optimized realistic interactions in terms of both the shell model (SM) and the nucleon-pair approximation (NPA). For yrast states of 128,126Sn and 104,106Sn, we calculate the overlaps between the wave functions obtained in the full SM space and those obtained in the truncated NPA space, and find that most of these overlaps are very close to 1. Very interestingly, for most of these states with positive parity and even spin or with negative parity and odd spin, the SM wave function is found to be well represented by one nucleon-pair basis state, viz., a simple picture of "nucleon-pair states" (nucleon-pair configuration without mixings) emerges. In 128,126Sn, the positive-parity (or negative-parity) yrast states with spin J >10 (or J >7 ) are found to be well described by breaking one or two S pairs in the 101+ (or 71-) state, i.e., the yrast state of seniority-two, spin-maximum, and positive-parity (or negative-parity), into non-S pair(s). Similar regularity is also pointed out for 104,106Sn. The evolution of E 2 transition rates between low-lying states in 128,126,124Sn is discussed in terms of the seniority scheme.
Interfacial molecular recognition of adenine, adenosine and ATP by a C60-uracil adduct via complementary base pairing
Marczak, Renata; Hoang, Vu T.; Noworyta, Krzysztof; Zandler, Melvin E.; Kutner, Wlodzimierz; D'Souza, Francis
A new C60-uracil adduct was demonstrated to recognize adenine, adenosine, or adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) via complementary base pairing which led to complex formation. The base-pairing mechanism was modeled by ab initio B3LYP/3-21G(*) calculations which revealed the Watson-Crick (A-T) interactions. Stable "expanded liquid" Langmuir films of the complexes were prepared with the limiting area per molecule increasing for different subphase composition in the order: water < adenine < adenosine < ATP solution. Comparison of experimental and calculated areas per molecule and dipole moments suggest both prevailing horizontal orientation of the complexes in films.
Polarization entangled photon-pair source based on a type-II PPLN waveguide emitting at a telecom wavelength
Martin, A; Herrmann, H; Sohler, W; Ostrowsky, D B; Alibart, O; Tanzilli, S
We report the realization of a fiber coupled polarization entangled photon-pair source at 1310 nm based on a birefringent titanium in-diffused waveguide integrated on periodically poled lithium niobate. By taking advantage of an original setup, we characterized the quantum properties of the pairs by measuring two-photon interference in both Hong-Ou-Mandel and standard Bell inequality configurations. We obtained, for the two sets of measurements, interference net visibilities reaching nearly 100%, which represent the best results ever reported for similar waveguide-based configurations. These results prove the relevance of our approach as an enabling technology for long-distance quantum communication.
Aztec, Incan and Mayan Motifs...Lead to Distinctive Designs.
Shields, Joanne
Describes an art project for seventh-grade students in which they choose motifs based on Incan, Aztec, and Mayan Indian materials to incorporate into two-dimensional designs. Explains that the activity objective is to create a unified, balanced and pleasing composition using a minimum of three motifs. (CMK)
Probing structural changes of self assembled i-motif DNA
Lee, Iljoon
We report an i-motif structural probing system based on Thioflavin T (ThT) as a fluorescent sensor. This probe can discriminate the structural changes of RET and Rb i-motif sequences according to pH change. This journal is
In vivo dynamics of enterovirus protease revealed by fluorescence resonance emission transfer (FRET) based on a novel FRET pair
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
An in vivo protease assay suitable for analysis by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) was developed on the basis of a novel FRET pair. The specifically designed fusion substrate consists of green fluorescent protein 2 (GFP2)-peptide-red fluorescent protein 2 (DsRed2), with a cleavage motif for the enterovirus 2A protease (2Apro) embedded within the peptide region. FRET can be readily visualized in real-time from cells expressing the fusion substrate until a proteolytic cleavage by 2Apro from the input virus. The level of FRET decay is a function of the amount and infection duration of the inoculated virus as measured by a fluorometer assay. The FRET biosensor also responded well to other related enteroviruses but not to a phylogenetically distant virus. Western blot analysis confirmed the physical cleavage of the fusion substrate upon the infections. The study provides proof of principle for applying the FRET technology to diagnostics, screening procedures, and cell biological research