Virtual Quantification of Protein Stability Using Applied Kinetic and Thermodynamic Parameters

Protein stability, the most important aspect of molecular dynamics and simulations, requires sophisticated instrumentations of molecular biology to analyze its kinetic and thermodynamic background. Sequence- and structure-based programs on protein stability exist which relies only on single point mutations and sequence optimality. The energy distribution conferred by each hydrophobic amino acid in the protein essentially paves way for understanding its stability. To the best of our knowledge, Protein Stability is a first program of its kind, developed to explore the energy requirement of each amino acid in the protein sequence derived from various applied kinetic and thermodynamic quantities. The algorithm is strongly dependent both on kinetic quantities such as atomic solvation energies and solvent accessible surface area and thermodynamic quantities viz. enthalpy, entropy, heat capacity, etc. The hydrophobicity pattern of protein was considered as the important component of protein stabilization

Dynamic Gaits and Control in Flexible Body Quadruped Robot

Legged robots are highly attractive for military purposes such as carrying heavy loads on uneven terrain for long durations because of the higher mobility they give on rough terrain compared to wheeled vehicles/robots. Existing state-of-the-art quadruped robots developed by Boston Dynamics such as LittleDog and BigDog do not have flexible bodies. It can be easily seen that the agility of quadruped animals such as dogs, cats, and deer etc. depend to a large extent on their ability to flex their bodies. However, simulation study on step climbing in 3D terrain quadruped robot locomotion with flexible body has not been reported in literature. This paper aims to study the effect of body flexibility on stability and energy efficiency in walking mode, trot mode and running (bounding) mode on step climbing

Selection of Response Reduction Factor Considering Resilience Aspect

The selection of an adequate response reduction factor (R) in the seismic design of a reinforced concrete building is critical to the building’s seismic response. To construct a robust structure, the R factor should be chosen based on the building’s resilience performance. Since no background was provided for the selection of R factors, the study focuses on the right selection of R factors in relation to the building’s functionality, performance level, and resilience. In this study, a high-rise building with multiple R factors (R = 3, 4, 5, and 6) is developed. Five potential recovery paths (RP-1 to RP-5) that matched the realistic scenario were used to estimate the building’s functionality. The building was subjected to uni and bi-directional loadings, and two design levels, Design Basic Earthquake (DBE) and Maximum Considered Earthquake were used to monitor the building’s response. According to the findings, a decrease in the lateral design force with the highest R results in a high ductility requirement and a substantial loss of resilience. The maximum R factor can be recommended under uni-directional loading up to 6, in which the building’s resilience is almost 50%, whereas under bi-directional loading and taking the recommended R factor decreased from 6 to 4

Lidar observations of sporadic Na layers over Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E)

International audienceWe studied the characteristics of sporadic sodium layers (SSLs) observed with the sodium (Na) resonance scattering lidar at Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E). The SSLs were observed on a total of 63 occasions during 464 h of Na lidar observations from January 2005 to February 2006. The observations showed that one SSL event occurred, on average, every 7 h. The most prominent sporadic layer, which formed on 12 February 2005, exhibited a peak density of 60 722 Na atoms/cm³ around 92 km and it was nearly twice the peak density reported from elsewhere using ground-based observations. In general, the SSLs exhibited the following characteristics: (1) they developed at heights between 88 and 98 km with an average height around 94 km; (2) maximum density occurred during the early morning hours between 02:00 and 05:00 IST; (3) the ratio of the maximum peak Na density to the average density was normally around 3 to 5 and it exceeded even 10 in some cases; (4) the events lasted from a few minutes to several hours. The formation period of the SSLs was longer compared to the decay period of the SSLs. Most of the SSL events showed downward motions

Green synthesis of magnesium oxide nanoparticles and their antibacterial activity

1210-1215Nanotechnology has prospects of opening new avenues to fight and prevent diseases using atomic-scale tailoring of materials. As the nano revolution emerges, it is imperative to develop “nano‑naturo” links between nanotechnology and green domains of the nature. The present investigation describes the mangrove Rhizophora lamarckii’s property of synthesizing magnesium oxide nanoparticles . The newly synthesized magnesium oxide nanoparticle morphology is nanohexagonal and spherical. The particles range in dimensions between 20 and 50 nm and are crystalline in nature. The functional groups of the mangrove, amine, and alkane are found to act as reductants and stabilizers. The newly synthesized MgO nanoparticles are found to have potent antibacterial activity

A Rule Based Biped Dynamic Walking

Dynamic walking approach has got its significance because of its energy efficiency in walking. Walking models are made using this approach which would consume energy as low as the energy required for human being walking. The basis of this dynamic walking is purely passive walking which takes no energy for walking. For a simple compass model passive walking can be achieved only for particular initial conditions (angular positions and velocities) which are found by trial and error or from previous experience.Various ways are derived to make the model walk on a level ground by supplying external energy through some means i.e torques at hip joint and ankle joints which is called active walking. Two approaches are available for active walking, one is creating virtual slope and then by applying equivalent torques at ankle and hip as the functions of virtual slope;other approach is using torsional springs and dampers at hip as well as ankles such that the torques are given in terms of springs' stiffness coefficient and damping coefficient. The stability is analyzed based on ZMP position. When ZMP of the system falls within the foot support area then system is said to be stable

Huge 2ndpreimages and collisions of khichidi-1

Khichidi-1 is a contestant of Sha-3. In this paper we exploited a weakness in the design of the algorithm. This allowed us to propose two kind of attacks 1) 2ndpreimage attack, 2) Collision attack. Our attacks are applicable to all the versions 224, 256, 384 and 512 and it is potentially strong

Weaknesses in HENKOS Stream Cipher

HENKOS is a synchronous stream cipher posted by Marius Oliver Gheorghita to eprint. In this paper we are going to present some weaknesses in the cipher. We first present a chosen IV attack which is very straight forward attack on the cipher. Second we present a group of weak keys

Screening of diverse phytochemicals with Aurora Kinase C protein: An In Silico approach

Aurora Kinase C, a vital serine-threonine protein Kinase, is an important member of the Aurora Kinase protein family which plays an important role in mitosis is a part of Chromosomal Passenger Complex (CPC).  Aurora Kinase C over expression is found to be linked with several cancer cell lines which demonstrate its oncogenic involvement and activity. Aurora C over expression in certain cancer types makes it an important target to be considered for cancer therapeutics. The present research work focuses on the Aurora Kinase C as an important target for computational studies. The protein model of  Aurora Kinase C, as a proten target on docking with 1500 natural compounds (phytochemicals) reveals  the binding of the natural  ligand 3-beta,23,28-trihydroxy-12-oleanene 23-caffeate belonging to the terpenoid class with highest docking score. This best bound ligand with the protein Aurora Kinase C was chosen for further understanding their protein-ligand interactions at the the molecular level using the molecular dynamic simulation approach. Stability of the protein-ligand complex and its conformation helps in disclosing the potentiality of the best bound ligand to be further chosen as an important small molecule inhibitor that would help playing a lead role in further drug discovery process Keywords: Aurora Kinase C, Cancer, Phytochemicals, Docking, Molecular Dynamic