The blending of old and new as a development strategy - case studies in Singapore

Master'sMASTER OF ARTS (ARCHITECTURE

A Search for Spectral Galaxy Pairs of Overlapping Galaxies based on Fuzzy Recognition

The Spectral Galaxy Pairs (SGPs) are defined as the composite galaxy spectra which contain two independent redshift systems. These spectra are useful for studying dust properties of the foreground galaxies. In this paper, a total of 165 spectra of SGPs are mined out from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 9 (DR9) using the concept of membership degree from the fuzzy set theory particularly defined to be suitable for fuzzily identifying emission lines. The spectra and images of this sample are classified according to the membership degree and their image features, respectively. Many of these 2nd redshift systems are too small or too dim to select from the SDSS images alone, making the sample a potentially unique source of information on dust effects in low-luminosity or low-surface-brightness galaxies that are underrepresented in morphological pair samples. The dust extinction of the objects with high membership degree is also estimated by Balmer decrement. Additionally, analyses for a series of spectroscopic observations of one SGP from 165 systems indicate that a newly star-forming region of our Milky Way might occur.Comment: 16pages, 6figure

Deciphering of interactions between platinated DNA and HMGB1 by hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry

A high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein has been reported to recognize both 1,2-intrastrand crosslinked DNA by cisplatin (1,2-cis-Pt-DNA) and monofunctional platinated DNA using trans-[PtCl2(NH3)(thiazole)] (1-trans-PtTz-DNA). However, the molecular basis of recognition between the trans-PtTz-DNA and HMGB1 remains unclear. In the present work, we described a hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) method in combination with docking simulation to decipher the interactions of platinated DNA with domain A of HMGB1. The global deuterium uptake results indicated that 1-trans-PtTz-DNA bound to HMGB1a slightly tighter than the 1,2-cis-Pt-DNA. The local deuterium uptake at the peptide level revealed that the helices I and II, and loop 1 of HMGB1a were involved in the interactions with both platinated DNA adducts. However, docking simulation disclosed different H-bonding networks and distinct DNA-backbone orientations in the two Pt-DNA-HMGB1a complexes. Moreover, the Phe37 residue of HMGB1a was shown to play a key role in the recognition between HMGB1a and the platinated DNAs. In the cis-Pt-DNA-HMGB1a complex, the phenyl ring of Phe37 intercalates into a hydrophobic notch created by the two platinated guanines, while in the trans-PtTz-DNA-HMGB1a complex the phenyl ring appears to intercalate into a hydrophobic crevice formed by the platinated guanine and the opposite adenine in the complementary strand, forming a penta-layer π–π stacking associated with the adjacent thymine and the thiazole ligand. This work demonstrates that HDX-MS associated with docking simulation is a powerful tool to elucidate the interactions between platinated DNAs and proteins

Image Super-Resolution Reconstruction Based On L1/2 Sparsity

Based on image sparse representation in the shearlet domain, we proposed a L1/2 sparsity regularized unconvex variation model for image super-resolution. The L1/2 regularizer term constrains the underlying image to have a sparse representation in shearlet domain. The fidelity term restricts the consistency with the measured imaged in terms of the data degradation model. Then, the variable splitting algorithm is used to break down the model into a series of constrained optimization problems which can be solved by alternating direction method of multipliers. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, both in its visual effects and in quantitative terms

L\'evy Noise-Induced Stochastic Resonance in a Bistable System

Stochastic resonance phenomenon induced by non-Gaussian L\'evy noise in a second-order bistable system is investigated. The signal-noise-ratio for different parameters is computed by an efficient numerical scheme. The influences of the noise intensity, stability index of L\'evy noise and amplitude of external signal on the occurrence of stochastic resonance phenomenon are characterized. This implies that a high amplitude of signal not only enhances the output power spectrum of system but also promotes stochastic resonance, and a proper adjustment of L\'evy noise intensity in a certain range enlarges the peak value of output power spectrum which is significant for stochastic resonance. Moreover, with the optimal damping parameter, lowering the stability index leads to larger fluctuations of L\'evy noise, and further reduces the chance of the stochastic resonance

Anticonvulsant and sedative effect of Fufang Changniu pills and probable mechanism of action in mice

Purpose: To investigate the anticonvulsant and sedative effects of Fufang Changniu Pills (FCP) and its probable mechanism of action in mice.Methods: The water decoction of FCP was prepared and the main constituents were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The anticonvulsant activities of FCP were evaluated by maximal electroshock (MES) and  pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures in mice. Pentobarbital sodium-induced sleeping time and locomotor activity measurements were performed to evaluate the sedative effects of FCP in mice. Finally, PTZ-induced chronic seizures were  established, and expressions of gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABA-A) and glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) in the brains of the mice were assayed by western blot in order to explore the probable mechanisms of action of the drug.Results: Gallic acid, liquiritin, cinnamyl alcohol, cinnamic acid and glycyrrhizic acid were detected in FCP decoction. FCP (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) showed significant anticonvulsant and sedative effects on epileptic mice induced by MES (p < 0.05) and PTZ (p < 0.05). Moreover, pentobarbital sodium-induced sleeping time and  locomotor activity tests showed that FCP possesses sedative effect (p < 0.05). Western blot data indicate that FCP significantly up-regulated GABA-A and GAD 65 in the brains of chronic epileptic rats (p < 0.05).Conclusion: FCP has significant anticonvulsant and sedative effects, and the  mechanism of its action may be related to the up-regulation of GABA-A and GAD 65 in mice brain.Keywords: Epilepsy, Fufang Changniu pills, Anticonvulsant, Sedative effect,  Gamma-aminobutyric acid, Glutamate dehydrogenas