Bioinformatics techniques to Protein Secondary Structure (PSS) prediction mostly depend on the information available in amino acid sequences. In this paper, we propose a two-stage Multi-class Support Vector Machine (MSVM) approach, where the second MSVM predictor is introduced at the output of the first stage MSVM to capture the contextual relationship among secondary structure elements in orde...

Protein 3D structure prediction has always been an important research area in bioinformatics. In particular, the prediction of secondary structure has been a well-studied research topic. Despite the recent breakthrough of combining multiple sequence alignment information and artificial intelligence algorithms to predict protein secondary structure, the Q3 accuracy of various computational predi...

The structural stability of guanine quadruplexes depends critically on an unusual configuration of dehydrated Na (+) or K (+) ions, closely spaced along the central axis of the quadruplex. Crystallography and NMR spectroscopy indicate that these internal ions can be located between the G-quartet planes as well as in the thymine loops, but the precise ion coordination has been firmly established...

Hip fracture commonly results in considerable consequences in terms of disability, mortality, long-term institutional care and cost. Taiwan launched its universal health insurance coverage in 1995, which largely removes financial barriers to health care. This study aims to investigate whether socioeconomic inequality in one-year mortality exists among Taiwanese elderly people. This population-b...

The M-type potassium channel, of which its molecular basis is constituted by KCNQ2-5 homo- or heteromultimers, plays a key role in regulating neuronal excitability and is modulated by many G protein-coupled receptors. In this study, we demonstrate that histamine inhibits KCNQ2/Q3 currents in human embryonic kidney (HEK)293 cells via phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)) hydrolysis medi...

BACKGROUND The question of whether personality traits influence health has long been a focus for research and discussion. Therefore, this study was undertaken to examine possible associations between personality traits and mortality in women. METHODS A population-based sample of women aged 38, 46, 50 and 54 years at initial examination in 1968-69 was followed over the course of 40 years. At b...

A primary and a secondary neural network are applied to secondary structure and structural class prediction for a database of 681 non-homologous protein chains. A new method of decoding the outputs of the secondary structure prediction network is used to produce an estimate of the probability of finding each type of secondary structure at every position in the sequence. In addition to providing...

BACKGROUND There is debate as to whether the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and insulin resistance is independent of body fatness, particularly central obesity. Therefore, the association among CRP, insulin resistance and obesity was analyzed in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS The study included 520 Chinese patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes with CRP levels n...

We extend the open source Quake 3 Arena code base released by Id Software to include modification friendly code segments, art asset blueprints, external agent control and perception interfaces, game interaction logging, and a tool set that allows the creation of test beds for artificial agents. Our current modification work in the Urban Combat Testbed using the Q3 Mod Base is currently being us...

Background Substance abuse services treatment providers are challenged in making decisions regarding evidence-based assessment tools and processes, given the many options available in terms of length/coverage and administration options, including clinician versus self-administration. In Ontario, Canada, we have pilot-tested an assessment tool designed for clinician administration (the GAIN Q3-M...