State Estimation for Discrete-Time Fuzzy Cellular Neural Networks with Mixed Time Delays

This paper is concerned with the exponential state estimation problem for a class of discrete-time fuzzy cellular neural networks with mixed time delays. The main purpose is to estimate the neuron states through available output measurements such that the dynamics of the estimation error is globally exponentially stable. By constructing a novel Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional which contains a triple summation term, some sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee the existence of the state estimator. The linear matrix inequality approach is employed for the first time to deal with the fuzzy cellular neural networks in the discrete-time case. Compared with the present conditions in the form of M-matrix, the results obtained in this paper are less conservative and can be checked readily by the MATLAB toolbox. Finally, some numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed results

A review on biodiesel production from microalgae: Influencing parameters and recent advanced technologies

Microalgae are the important part of carbon cycle in the nature, and they could utilize the carbon resource in water and soil efficiently. The abilities of microalgae to mitigate CO2 emission and produce oil with a high productivity have been proven. Hence, this third-generation biodiesel should be popularized. This review firstly introduce the basic characteristics and application fields of microalgae. Then, the influencing parameters and recent advanced technologies for the microalgae biodiesel production have been discussed. In influencing parameters for biodiesel production section, the factors of microalgae cultivation, lipid accumulation, microalgae harvesting, and lipid extraction have been summarized. In recent advanced technologies for biodiesel production section, the microalgae cultivation systems, lipid induction technologies, microalgae harvesting technologies, and lipid extraction technologies have been reviewed. This review aims to provide useful information to help future development of efficient and commercially viable technology for microalgae-based biodiesel production

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Crystal structure of Senecavirus A 3C protease

AbstractSenecavirus A (SVA), an emerging picornavirus in porcine population, could infect porcines of all age group and cause FMD-like symptoms. Picornaviridae, a group of RNA viruses do harm to both human and stocks; however, most of picornaviruses are lack of effective vaccines and drugs. Picornaviral 3C protease (3Cpro), as an important role in virus maturation, they basically take charge of poly-protein cleavaging, RNA replication, and multiple interventions on host cells. In this study, we successfully solved the crystal structure of 3Cproat 1.9 Å resolution. The results showed several differences of the binding groove within picornaviral 3Cpro, and prompted that the accommodate ability of the pocket may associate with the cleavage efficiency. The further research on 3Cprocleavage efficiency based on structural biology, will prospectively provide an instruction on designing of efficient 3Cprofor universally proteolysis in picornaviral VLP production.</jats:p

A Newly Recognized Pairing Mechanism of the α- and β-Chains of the Chicken Peptide–MHC Class II Complex

Abstract MHC class II (MHC-II) molecules play a crucial role in cellular and humoral immunity by forming peptide–MHC-II (pMHC-II) complexes. The three-dimensional structures of pMHC-II complexes have been well resolved in humans and mice. However, there is no structural information for pMHC-II complexes in nonmammals. In chickens, there are two closely related and highly polymorphic β-chains and one monomorphic α-chain, and the mechanism by which one monomorphic α-chain combines with two polymorphic β-chains to form a functional heterodimer remains unknown. In this study, we report the crystal structure of a chicken pMHC-II complex (pBL2*019:01) at 1.9-Å resolution as the first nonmammalian structure of a pMHC-II complex. The structure reveals an increase in hydrogen bonding between the α and β main chains at the central interface that is introduced by the insertion of four residues in the α-chain. The residues in the β-chain that form hydrogen bonds with the α-chain are conserved among all β alleles. These structural characteristics explain the phenomenon of only one BLA allele without sequence variation pairing with highly diverse BLB alleles from two loci in the genome. Additionally, the characteristics of the peptide in the peptide-binding groove were confirmed. These results provide a new understanding of the pairing mechanism of the α- and β-chains in a pMHC-II complex and establish a structural principle to design epitope-related vaccines for the prevention of chicken diseases.</jats:p