肺癌组织中SOX4突变蛋白三级结构的建模及分析

SOX家族与很多人类肿瘤的发生有关.对人类肺癌组织中的SOX4进行测序,发现该基因HMG-box区有突变发生并导致SOX4蛋白的107密码子发生突变.以三级结构已知的SOX2为模板,采用同源建模方法对突变和正常SOX4蛋白FMG-box进行建模.结果显示突变和正常SOX4蛋白的三级结构很相似,且突变导致107密码子位置的侧链结构不稳定.提示该位置的不稳定可能会影响突变SOX4蛋白侧链的弹性,并有可能影响相应蛋白的功能.表面静电分析显示SOX4蛋白C端有一个可能与其它小分子或蛋白质的相互作用位点的N/C腔.这些结果显示SOX4蛋白的上述空间结构可能与其活性与功能的调控有关,而SOX4突变可能与肺癌的发生和转移有关.     

A multi-objective strategy in genetic algorithms for gene selection of gene expression data

A microarray machine offers the capacity to measure the expression levels of thousands of genes simultaneously. It is used to collect information from tissue and cell samples regarding gene expression differences that could be useful for cancer classification. However, the urgent problems in the use of gene expression data are the availability of a huge number of genes relative to the small number of available samples, and the fact that many of the genes are not relevant to the classification. It has been shown that selecting a small subset of genes can lead to improved accuracy in the classification. Hence, this paper proposes a solution to the problems by using a multiobjective strategy in a genetic algorithm. This approach was tried on two benchmark gene expression data sets. It obtained encouraging results on those data sets as compared with an approach that used a single-objective strategy in a genetic algorithm. This work was presented in part at the 13th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 31–February 2, 2008     

Selecting informative genes from microarray data by using hybrid methods for cancer classification

Gene expression technology, namely microarrays, offers the ability to measure the expression levels of thousands of genes simultaneously in biological organisms. Microarray data are expected to be of significant help in the development of an efficient cancer diagnosis and classification platform. A major problem in these data is that the number of genes greatly exceeds the number of tissue samples. These data also have noisy genes. It has been shown in literature reviews that selecting a small subset of informative genes can lead to improved classification accuracy. Therefore, this paper aims to select a small subset of informative genes that are most relevant for cancer classification. To achieve this aim, an approach using two hybrid methods has been proposed. This approach is assessed and evaluated on two well-known microarray data sets, showing competitive results. This work was presented in part at the 13th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 31–February 2, 2008     

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy and its application to molecular and cellular analysis

In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based optical detection techniques with an application focus on cancer diagnostics. As we describe herein, SERS has several analytical, biological and engineering advantages over other methods including extremely high sensitivity, inherent molecular specificity of unlabeled targets, and narrow spectral bands. We review advances in both in vitro and in vivo applications of SERS and examine how technical issues with the technology are being addressed. A special technology focus is given to emerging optofluidic devices which aim to merge microfluidic and optical detection technologies into simple packages. We conclude with a brief discussion of some of the emerging challenges in the field and some of the approaches that are likely to enhance their application. Y. S. Huh and A. J. Chung contributed equally.     

Clustering-based adaptive low-power subframe configuration with load-aware offsetting in dense heterogeneous networks

Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets) and cell densification represent promising solutions for the surging data traffic demand in wireless networks. In dense HetNets, user traffic is steered toward the Low-Power Node (LPN) when possible to enhance the user throughput and system capacity by increasing the area spectral efficiency. However, because of the transmit power differences in different tiers of HetNets and irregular service demand, a load imbalance typically exists among different serving nodes. To offload more traffic to LPNs and coordinate the Inter-Cell Interference (ICI), Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has facilitated the development of the Cell Range Expansion (CRE), enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (eICIC) and Further enhanced ICIC (FeICIC). In this paper, we develop a cell clustering-based load-aware offsetting and an adaptive Low-Power Subframe (LPS) approach. Our solution allows the separation of User Association (UA) functions at the User Equipment (UE) and network server such that users can make a simple cell-selection decision similar to that in the maximum Received Signal Strength (max-RSS) based UA scheme, where the network server computes the load-aware offsetting and required LPS periods based on the load conditions of the system. The proposed solution is evaluated using system-level simulations wherein the results correspond to performance changes in different service regions. Results show that our method effectively solves the offloading and interference coordination problems in dense HetNets.     

A rear-end collision risk assessment model based on drivers’ collision avoidance process under influences of cell phone use and gender—A driving simulator based study

Driver’s collision avoidance performance has a direct link to the collision risk and crash severity. Previous studies demonstrated that the distracted driving, such as using a cell phone while driving, disrupted the driver’s performance on road. This study aimed to investigate the manner and extent to which cell phone use and driver’s gender affected driving performance and collision risk in a rear-end collision avoidance process. Forty-two licensed drivers completed the driving simulation experiment in three phone use conditions: no phone use, hands-free, and hand-held, in which the drivers drove in a car-following situation with potential rear-end collision risks caused by the leading vehicle’s sudden deceleration. Based on the experiment data, a rear-end collision risk assessment model was developed to assess the influence of cell phone use and driver’s gender. The cell phone use and driver’s gender were found to be significant factors that affected the braking performances in the rear-end collision avoidance process, including the brake reaction time, the deceleration adjusting time and the maximum deceleration rate. The minimum headway distance between the leading vehicle and the simulator during the rear-end collision avoidance process was the final output variable, which could be used to measure the rear-end collision risk and judge whether a collision occurred. The results showed that although cell phone use drivers took some compensatory behaviors in the collision avoidance process to reduce the mental workload, the collision risk in cell phone use conditions was still higher than that without the phone use. More importantly, the results proved that the hands-free condition did not eliminate the safety problem associated with distracted driving because it impaired the driving performance in the same way as much as the use of hand-held phones. In addition, the gender effect indicated that although female drivers had longer reaction time than male drivers in critical situation, they were more quickly in braking with larger maximum deceleration rate, and they tended to keep a larger safety margin with the leading vehicle compared to male drivers. The findings shed some light on the further development of advanced collision avoidance technologies and the targeted intervention strategies about cell phone use while driving.     

Surface energy-mediated fibronectin adsorption and osteoblast responses on nanostructured diamond

Nanostructured diamond have potential applications in many biomedical related fields and demonstrated extraordinary capacity to influence cellular responses. Studying the surface property of nanodiamond and its influence to protein adsorption and subsequent cellular responses along with the mechanism behind such capacity becomes more important. Here the role of surface energy associated with nanostructured diamond in modulating fibronectin and osteoblast(OB, bone forming cells) responses was investigated. Nanocrystalline diamond(NCD) and submicron crystalline diamond(SMCD) films with controllable surface energy were prepared by microwave-enhanced plasma chemical vapor deposition(MPCVD) techniques. Fibronectin adsorption on the diamond films with varied surface energy values was measured via the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) and the relationship between the surface energy and fibronectin adsorption was studied. The result indicated that fibronectin adsorption on nanostructured surfaces was closely related to both surface energy and material microstructures. The spreading and migration of OB aggregates(each containing 30–50 cells) on the NCD with varied surface energy values were also studied. The result indicates a correlation between the cell spreading and migration on nanodiamond and the surface energy of nanostructured surface.     

树突状细胞算法原理及其应用

描述树突状细胞的生物学机理,给出树突状细胞算法(DCA)的设计、实现及改进过程。介绍DCA在计算机网络、无线传感器网络、实时嵌入式系统和机器人学等方面的应用情况,对算法性能进行评价。基于标准数据集,将DCA与其他方法进行比较,分析DCA存在的问题,指出其下一步的研究方向。