The direct nucleic acid repair dioxygenase FTO is an enzyme that demethylates N(6)-methyladenosine (m(6)A) residues in mRNA in vitro and inside cells. FTO is the first RNA demethylase discovered that also serves a major regulatory function in mammals. Together with structure-based virtual screening and biochemical analyses, we report the first identification of several small-molecule inhibitors of human FTO demethylase. The most potent compound, the natural product rhein, which is neither a structural mimic of 2-oxoglutarate nor a chelator of metal ion, competitively binds to the FTO active site in vitro. Rhein also exhibits good inhibitory activity on m(6)A demethylation inside cells. These studies shed light on the development of powerful probes and new therapies for use in RNA biology and drug discovery.

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ZnO/Cu(2)O heterostructure films were prepared by a two-step electrodeposition method in aqueous solution on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and UV-vis transmission measurements were utilized to characterize the films. Surface photovoltage (SPV) technique was used to investigate the process of photoinduced charge transfer. The results show that there is an electric field located at the interface between ZnO and Cu(2)O film and the photoinduced electrons in Cu(2)O film inject into ZnO under the effect of interfacial electric field with visible light irradiation. While under ultraviolet light illumination, the photoinduced electrons in Cu(2)O film accumulate at the surface of Cu(2)O film instead of injecting into ZnO under the action of surface built-in electric field of Cu(2)O film. The work function measurements confirm that the direction of interfacial electric field is from ZnO to Cu(2)O. These results are help to future design of high performance heterostructure photovoltaic devices.

Running title: Bivalve shell-a functional and versatile biomaterialBivalve shells, available in abundance, have no eminent use and are commonly regarded as waste.Their improper disposal causes a significant level of environmental concern and also results in a waste of natural resources. Bivalve shell is formed by biomineralization and consists mainly of CaCO 3 with a small amount of organic matrix, giving it a potential for use as raw material.Recycling shell waste could potentially eliminate the disposal problem, and also turn an otherwise useless waste into high value-added products. The present review first describes the microstructure and physicochemical properties of bivalve shell, then focuses on its current Downloaded by [Florida International University] at 15:37 30 August 2014 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 2 applications. Finally, the current status of bivalve shell studies and directions for future research are considered.

This article proposes a novel framework for the real-time capture, assessment, and visualization of ballet dance movements as performed by a student in an instructional, virtual reality (VR) setting. The acquisition of human movement data is facilitated by skeletal joint tracking captured using the popular Microsoft (MS) Kinect camera system, while instruction and performance evaluation are provided in the form of 3D visualizations and feedback through a CAVE virtual environment, in which the student is fully immersed. The proposed framework is based on the unsupervised parsing of ballet dance movement into a structured posture space using the spherical self-organizing map (SSOM). A unique feature descriptor is proposed to more appropriately reflect the subtleties of ballet dance movements, which are represented as gesture trajectories through posture space on the SSOM. This recognition subsystem is used to identify the category of movement the student is attempting when prompted (by a virtual instructor) to perform a particular dance sequence. The dance sequence is then segmented and cross-referenced against a library of gestural components performed by the teacher. This facilitates alignment and score-based assessment of individual movements within the context of the dance sequence. An immersive interface enables the student to review his or her performance from a number of vantage points, each providing a unique perspective and spatial context suggestive of how the student might make improvements in training. An evaluation of the recognition and virtual feedback systems is presented.

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Bacterial infections cause serious secondary damages to wounds and hinder wound healing processes. We prepared magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticle-incorporated nanofibrous membranes by electrospinning and investigated their potential for wound dressing...

Thin-flap LASIK with a femtosecond laser and microkeratome are both safe and effective for the correction of high myopia in Chinese patients. Femtosecond laser shows similar predictability, stability, and induction of higher order aberrations to the microkeratome.