Abstract:A protein and a ligand have a process of recognizing each other when they are remote before approaching for binding. In this process, there should be a local portion corresponding to a target of the recognition (a recognition spot) on the protein molecular surface. In this paper, we proposed a new biclustering algorithm BISERS for predicting recognition spots on protein molecular surfaces, in which a portion of the molecular surface of a query protein that frequently shows the similarity to other specific proteins binding to the similar ligand is extracted by biclustering. In BISERS, the similarity between rows as well as the similarity between columns is introduced into the evaluation function for updating the biclusters. In addition, the random sampling is applied to the process of exclusive selection of the column for reducing the computational cost effectively. Experimental results for 60 proteins show the effectiveness of our BISERS algorithm.

We have investigated the acceleration energy (0.5–2.0 MeV)-modulated electron irradiation effect of Au-induced lateral crystallization for amorphous Ge on SiO2. As a result, low-energy electron (≤1.0 MeV) irradiation was not effective for Au-induced lateral crystallization. On the other hand, when high-energy electron (2.0 MeV) irradiation was utilized, the lateral growth velocity was significantly enhanced (∼1.8 times). We have confirmed that the Au-induced lateral growth is enhanced by electron irradiation, which is due to the introduction of point defects into amorphous Ge, allowing the easy diffusion of Au atoms.

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Human-machine interface (HMI) devices have become multifunctional and complicated to operate, requiring better usability. Nevertheless, response latency (time lag between operation input and display output) negatively impacts device usability because it is stressful and reduces the operator's sense of agency (SoA)-the sense that the operator is the one who is causing or generating an action. Stress and SoA information can be obtained by measuring physiological indicators, such as brain activity. This study was designed to investigate the effects of response latency on the operator's brain activity state through nearinfrared spectroscopy, which measures the brain activity state based on changes in the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (ΔOxy-Hb). In this study, 15 subjects performed a target-tracking task in which they rotated an HMI commander used as an in-vehicle device to manipulate LED markers on a display. The temporal response latency (0, 50, 100, and 150 ms) between manipulating the commander and the display response was introduced, and the subject's brain activity, subjective evaluation, and performance efficiency were measured. The results revealed that brain activity differed depending on whether the latency was recognized rather than the latency length, and that ΔOxy-Hb at the anterior prefrontal cortex of those who recognized the latency increased significantly, whereas that of those who did not recognize the latency did not increase. Specifically, latency perception activates the prefrontal cortex due to stress and the inability to prepare normally for the next action, and not recognizing latency inactivates the premotor cortex.INDEX TERMS Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), visual feedback delay latency, stress, sense of agency (SoA)