Application of ERTS-1 imagery to the harvest model of the US Menhaden fishery

Preliminary results of an experiment to demonstrate the utility of ERTS-1 imagery for providing significant information to the harvest model of the menhaden industry are reported. Fisheries and related environmental data were obtained discontinuously throughout the 1973 menhaden (a surface schooling, coastal species) fishing season in Mississippi Sound. The unexpected complexity of the physical environment in Mississippi Sound precluded simplistic analysis of fish/environment relationships. Preliminary indications are that an association does exist between fish availability and differences in water transparency (turbidity) within the Sound. A clearer relationship is developing between major turbid features, imaged by ERTS-1 and location of successful fishing attempts. On all occasions where relatively cloudfree ERTS-1 overflight days coincided with fishery activity, overlays of catch location of ERTS-1 images show an association of school position with interfaces between imaged turbid features. Analysis is currently underway to determine persistence of such associations in an attempt to define minimum satellite return time necessary to maintain continuity of associations

Chemical Pyrophosphorylation of Functionally Diverse Peptides

A highly selective and convenient method for the synthesis of pyro­phospho­peptides in solution is reported. The remarkable compatibility with functional groups (alcohol, thiol, amine, carboxylic acid) in the peptide substrates suggests that the intrinsic nucleophilicity of the phosphoserine residue is much higher than previously appreciated. Because the methodology operates in polar solvents, including water, a broad range of pyro­phospho­peptides can be accessed. We envision these peptides will find widespread applications in the development of mass spectrometry and antibody-based detection methods for pyro­phospho­proteins

Enzymatic Modification of N-Terminal Proline Residues Using Phenol Derivatives

A convenient enzymatic strategyis reported for the modification of proline residues in the N-terminal positions of proteins. Using a tyrosinase enzyme isolated from Agaricus bisporus(abTYR), phenols and catechols are oxidized to highly reactive o-quinone intermediates that then couple to N-terminal proline residues in high yield. Key advantages of this bioconjugation method include (1) the use of air-stable precursors that can be prepared on large scale if needed, (2) mild reaction conditions, including low temperatures, (3) the targeting of native functional groups that can be introduced readily on most proteins, and (4) the use of molecular oxygen as the sole oxidant. This coupling strategy was successfully demonstrated for the attachment of a variety of phenol-derivatized cargo molecules to a series of protein substrates, including self-assembled viral capsids, enzymes, and a chitin binding domain (CBD). The ability of the CBD to bind to the surfaces of yeast cells was found to be unperturbed by this modification reaction.<br /

Synthesis of Multi-Protein Complexes through Charge-Directed Sequential Activation of Tyrosine Residues

Site-selective protein-protein coupling has long been a goal of chemical biology research. In recent years, that goal has been realized to varying degrees through a number of techniques, including the use of tyrosinase-based coupling strategies. Early publications utilizing tyrosinase from Agaricus bisporus showed the potential to convert tyrosine residues into ortho-quinone functional groups, but this enzyme is challenging to produce recombinantly and suffers from some limitations in substrate scope. Initial screens of several tyrosinase candidates revealed that the tyrosinase from Bacillus megaterium (megaTYR) as an enzyme that possesses a broad substrate tolerance. We use the expanded substrate preference as a starting point for protein design experiments and show that single point mutants of megaTYR are capable of activating tyrosine residues in various sequence contexts. We leverage this new tool to enable the construction of protein trimers via a charge-directed sequential activation of tyrosine residues (CDSAT)

Synthesis of Multi-Protein Complexes through Charge-Directed Sequential Activation of Tyrosine Residues

Site-selective protein-protein coupling has long been a goal of chemical biology research. In recent years, that goal has been realized to varying degrees through a number of techniques, including the use of tyrosinase-based coupling strategies. Early publications utilizing tyrosinase from Agaricus bisporus(abTYR) showed the potential to convert tyrosine residues into ortho-quinone functional groups, but this enzyme is challenging to produce recombinantly and suffers from some limitations in substrate scope. Initial screens of several tyrosinase candidates revealed that the tyrosinase from Bacillus megaterium (megaTYR) is an enzyme that possesses a broad substrate tolerance. We use the expanded substrate preference as a starting point for protein design experiments and show that single point mutants of megaTYR are capable of activating tyrosine residues in various sequence contexts. We leverage this new tool to enable the construction of protein trimers via a charge-directed sequential activation of tyrosine residues (CDSAT)

An Overview of Artificial Immune Systems

The immune system is highly distributed, highly adaptive, self-organising in nature, maintains a memory of past encounters and has the ability to continually learn about new encounters. From a computational point of view, the immune system has much to offer by way of inspiration to computer scientists and engineers alike. As computational problems become more complex, increasingly, people are seeking out novel approaches to these problems, often turning to nature for inspiration. A great deal of attention is now being paid to the vertebrae immune system as a potential source of inspiration, where it is thought that different insights and alternative solutions can be gleaned, over and above other biologically inspired methods. Given this rise in attention to the immune system, it seems appropriate to explore this area in some detail. This survey explores the salient features of the immune system that are inspiring computer scientists and engineers to build Artificial Immune Systems (AIS). An extensive survey of applications is presented, ranging from network security to optimisation and machine learning. However, this is not complete, as no survey ever is, but it is hoped this will go some way to illustrate the potential of this exciting and novel area of research