Assays Using a NIMS Chip: Loosely Bound but Highly Selective

A fluorous-affinity nanostructure initiator mass spectrometry (NIMS) chip has been developed as an enzyme activity assay. As a proof-of-principle, an assay for detecting cysteine-containing peptide phosphorylation by protein kinase A (PKA) was designed using NIMS technology. The efficacy for an enzyme inhibition assay was characterized by deriving an IC₅₀ value from the ratio of the substrate-to-product mass spectral signal intensities, using known inhibitors of PKA and Abl kinase activity. Lastly, the potential use of a NIMS chip as a multiple screening enzyme inhibition platform was explored

A visual-guided data collection system for learning from demonstration in mobile robotics

Robot learning from demonstration (LID) requires data collection for mapping the sensory states to motion action, which plays a significant role in the learning efficiency and effectiveness. This paper presents a visual-guided data collection system that allows a human demonstrator to teleoperate or to visually guide a mobile robot for the required behaviors, when simultaneously recording the sensory-motor training examples within LID. In the teleoperation mode, the human demonstrator can teleoperate the robot through a GUI that consists of the velocity control and sensory-motor recording commands with the monitoring windows for sonar, laser and visual image. In the visual-guided mode, the human demonstrator uses a green can as the command stick that is tracked by a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera. The system is implemented on a Peoplebot robot. Experiments show that both demonstration modes of the framework provide an user-friendly interface of data collection for the subsequent learning process of the robot. © 2010 IEEE.</p

A data collection framework for learning from demonstration in mobile robotics

Robot learning from demonstration (LfD) requires data collection for mapping the sensory states to motion action, which plays a significant role in the learning efficiency and effectiveness. In this paper we present a data collection framework that allows a human demonstrator to teleoperate or to visually guide a mobile robot for the required behaviors, while the sensory-motor examples are simultaneously gathered. In the teleoperation mode, the human demonstrator can teleoperate the robot through a GUI that consists of the velocity control and sensory-motor recording commands with the monitoring windows for sonar, laser and visual image. In the visual-guided mode, the human demonstrator uses a green can as the command stick that is tracked by a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera. The framework is implemented on a Peoplebot robot. Experiments show that both demonstration modes of the framework provide an user-friendly interface of data collection for the subsequent learning process of the robot.</p

On-chip Enrichment and Analysis of Peptide Subsets Using a Maleimide-functionalized Fluorous Affinity Biochip and Nanostructure Initiator Mass Spectrometry

A new nanostructure initiator mass spectrometry (NIMS) methodology is presented that uses the strategy of fluorous-phase immobilization and capture by a maleimide-functionalized affinity tag to selectively enrich peptide subsets containing cysteine residues. This surface-based approach allows complex protein digests to be analyzed. The proposed platform makes use of a chemically unmodified porous silicon (pSi)-based NIMS chip. Unlike matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS), the approach described in this paper does not require analytes to be incorporated or cocrystallized with an initiator. The mass spectra generated by the approach in this work are characterized by low background noise and, therefore, high analyte detection sensitivity. Experiments were also conducted that show the potential the approach described in this work has for generating simplified mass spectra for MS/MS analyses

Media 3: View synthesis with a partitioned-aperture microscope

Originally published in Optics Letters on 01 February 2014 (ol-39-3-685

Media 2: View synthesis with a partitioned-aperture microscope

Originally published in Optics Letters on 01 February 2014 (ol-39-3-685

Computational explorations of the interaction between laccase and bisphenol A: influence of surfactant and different organic solvents

Bisphenol A (BPA), as an environmental endocrine disruptor can cause damage to the reproductive, nervous and immune systems. Laccase can be used to degrade BPA. However, laccase is easily deactivated, especially in organic solvents, but the specific details are not clear. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to investigate the reasons for changes in laccase activity in acetonitrile (ACN) and dimethyl formamide (DMF) solutions. In addition, the effects of ACN and DMF on the activity of laccase and surfactant rhamnolipid (RL) on the degradation of BPA by laccase were investigated. Results showed that addition of ACN changed the structure of the laccase, not only decreasing the van der Waals interaction that promoted the binding of laccase with BPA, but also increasing the polar solvation free energy that hindered the binding of laccase with BPA, so it weakened the laccase activity. DMF greatly enhanced the van der Waals interaction between laccase and BPA, and played a positive role in their binding. The addition of surfactant RL alleviated the effect of organic solvent on the activity of laccase by changing the polar solvation energy. The mechanism of surfactant RL affecting laccase activity in ACN and DMF is described, providing support for understanding the effect of organic solvents on laccase.</p

Analysis and prediction of the discharge characteristics of the lithium-ion battery based on the Grey system theory

The capacity/state-of-charge (SoC) and voltage of lithium–ion batteries are of prime importance in electric vehicles (EVs), so their condition-monitoring techniques are extensively studied. This study focuses on the application of the grey system theory to the parameters analysing and predicting behaviour during the discharge/charge cycles of the battery. First, Grey relation analysis is applied to study and analyse the relationship between capacity/SoC and various influencing factors. Second, the segment Grey prediction model is proposed in order to test and improve the accuracy of the capacity/SoC prediction. Finally, based on the ageing data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Prognostics Data Repository, the effects of different Grey theory models, such as the GM(1,1), the Verhulst model and the segment Grey prediction model, are investigated. The results show that: (i) the GRA is efficient in figuring out the relationship between the capacity/SoC and various influencing factors; (ii) the segment Grey prediction model is an effective mode of prediction for EV batteries, because its accuracy is more reliable than other two Grey models; and (iii) the segment Grey prediction model is suitable for predicting the capacity/SoC of batteries under various loading conditions

Additional file 1: of Translation and validation of the simplified Chinese new Knee Society Scoring System

Simplified Chinese version of SC-NKSS. (PDF 584 kb

Imbalance between proliferation and apoptosis-related impaired GPR30 expression is involved in preeclampsia.

The proliferation and apoptosis of cells in the placenta play a critical role in preeclampsia (PE) in which estrogen has been implicated via estrogen receptors (ERs). A novel ER, G-protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30), has recently been shown to be involved in PE. We investigated the basic levels of proliferation and apoptosis in normal placentae and placentae with PE and compared GPR30 expression levels between the two groups. We demonstrated that low GPR30 expression levels, more apoptosis, and less proliferation were associated with PE. Moreover, our in vitro study showed that both the selective GPR30 agonist G1 and the general ER agonist 17-β-estradiol were able to protect the placenta from hypoxia-reoxygenation injuries, resulting in decreased apoptosis and increased proliferation. Furthermore, this protective effect was abolished by the addition of the selective GPR30 inhibitor G15. These results provide evidence that (1) GPR30 is involved in regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis; (2) pharmacologic upregulation of GPR30 is beneficial for PE management; (3) GPR30 may therefore be an interventional target for pregnancies complicated by PE