Genome-wide analysis to predict protein sequence variations that change phosphorylation sites or their corresponding kinases

We define phosphovariants as genetic variations that change phosphorylation sites or their interacting kinases. Considering the essential role of phosphorylation in protein functions, it is highly likely that phosphovariants change protein functions and may constitute a proportion of the mechanisms by which genetic variations cause individual differences or diseases. We categorized phosphovariants into three subtypes and developed a system that predicts them. Our method can be used to screen important polymorphisms and help to identify the mechanisms of genetic diseases

Application of Artificial Neural Network to Search for Gravitational-Wave Signals Associated with Short Gamma-Ray Bursts

We apply a machine learning algorithm, the artificial neural network, to the search for gravitational-wave signals associated with short gamma-ray bursts. The multi-dimensional samples consisting of data corresponding to the statistical and physical quantities from the coherent search pipeline are fed into the artificial neural network to distinguish simulated gravitational-wave signals from background noise artifacts. Our result shows that the data classification efficiency at a fixed false alarm probability is improved by the artificial neural network in comparison to the conventional detection statistic. Therefore, this algorithm increases the distance at which a gravitational-wave signal could be observed in coincidence with a gamma-ray burst. In order to demonstrate the performance, we also evaluate a few seconds of gravitational-wave data segment using the trained networks and obtain the false alarm probability. We suggest that the artificial neural network can be a complementary method to the conventional detection statistic for identifying gravitational-wave signals related to the short gamma-ray bursts.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figure

Cells Attachment Property of PVA Hydrogel Nanofibers Incorporating Hyaluronic Acid for Tissue Engineering

In this work, we report the fabrication and cell affinity studies of the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/hyaluronic acid (HA) cross-linked nanofibers via electrospinning and post cross-linking. FT-IR and TGA analysis demonstrate that HA is not influenced by acid environment such as HCl vapor during cross-linking, and well incorporated into PVA nanofibers. Swelling behavior and cell adhesion of the PVA/HA hydrogel nanofibers are investigated and compared with pure PVA hydrogel nanofibers. It is expected that the nanofibrous PVA/HA hydrogel fibers could be a promising scaffold for cell culture and tissue engineering applications.ArticleJournal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology. 2:353-360 (2011)journal articl

One-dimensional broadband phononic crystal filter with unit cells made of two non-uniform impedance-mirrored elements

A one-dimensional finite-sized phononic crystal(PC) made of a specially-configured unit cell is proposed to realize broad bandpass, high-performance filtering. The unit cell is specially-configured with two elements having mirrored impedance distributions of each other. One element has a non-uniform impedance distribution that is so engineered as to maximize wave transmission in the pass band and to minimize transmission in the adjacent stop band while the other, exactly the mirrored distribution. The mirroring approach naturally yields the overall impedance contrast within the resulting unit cell, necessary to form stop bands in a PC of the unit cells. More importantly, the good transmission performance of the orginally-engineered element can be preserved by the approach because no additional impedance mismatch is introduced along the interface of the two impedance-mirrored elements. Extraordinary performance of the PC filter made of the proposed unit cell, such as high transmission, large bandwidth and sharp roll-off, is demonstrated by using one-dimensional longitudinal elastic wave problems. Copyright 2013 Author(s). This article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4790638ope

Self-Assembled Core-Shell Poly(ethylene glycol)-POSS Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery

In this work, novel nanostructured core-shell poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG)-polyhedral oligosilsesquioxane (POSS) nanoparticles were used to encapsulate insulin as new drug delivery carriers. The morphologies, particle size and ? potential of th e pure nanostructured core-shell PEG-POSS and th e corresponding insulin-load ed PEG-POSS nanopar-ticles were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and laser diffraction particle sizer. TEM analysis demonstrated that pure and insulin-loaded self-assembled PEG-POSS nanoparticles were of spherical shape with core-shell nanostructure, and were well-dispersed and uniform in size distribution. Insulin release test showed that in-sulin was well-protected in side PEG-POSS nanoparticles at gastric pH for 2 hrs, and was released at intestinal pH (pH 6 - 7) where the absorption and activation of the drug are necessary. We therefore believe that such nanostructured PEG-POSS nanoparticles could be useful as a potential carrier for insulin drug delivery systems.ArticleJournal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology. 2:201-206 (2011)journal articl