Topographic organization of Hebbian neural connections by synchronous wave activity

Experimental studies have revealed that the refinement of early, imprecise connections in the developing visual system involves activity in the retina before the onset of vision. We study the evolution of initially random unidirectional connections between two excitable layers of FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons with simulated spontaneous activity in the input layer. Lateral coupling within the layers yields synchronous neural wave activity that serves as a template for the Hebbian learning process, which establishes topographically precise interlayer connections. (c) 2001 American Institute of Physics.     

Enhancing the enantioselectivity of an epoxide hydrolase by directed evolution

[reaction: see text] The epoxide hydrolase (EH) from Aspergillus niger, which shows a selectivity factor of only E = 4.6 in the hydrolytic kinetic resolution of glycidyl phenyl ether, has been subjected to directed evolution for the purpose of enhancing enantioselectivity. After only one round of error-prone polymerase chain reaction (epPCR), enantioselectivity was more than doubled (E = 10.8). The improved mutant enzyme contains three amino acid exchanges, two of which are spatially far from the catalytically active center.     

Towards disposable lab-on-a-chip: poly(methylmethacrylate) microchip electrophoresis device with electrochemical detection

A fully disposable microanalytical device based on combination of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) capillary electrophoresis microchips and thick-film electrochemical detector strips is described. Variables influencing the separation efficiency and amperometric response, including separation voltage or detection potential are assessed and optimized. The versatility, simplicity and low-cost advantages of the new design are coupled to an attractive analytical performance, with good precision (relative standard deviation RSD = 1.68% for n = 10). Applicability for assays of mixtures of hydrazine, phenolic compounds, and catecholamines is demonstrated. Such coupling of low-cost PMMA-based microchips with thick-film electrochemical detectors holds great promise for mass production of single-use micrototal analytical systems.     

Nonlinear optical properties of diazabutadienes and -hexatrienes; experimental and computational aspects

Donor-acceptor substituted diazabutadienes and -hexatrienes were prepared by straightforward procedures and their linear optical (UV-vis) and nonlinear optical second harmonic generation (SGH) properties investigated in a combined theoretical and experimental study. Theoretical and experimental results were in reasonable agreement. For the compounds in this study, which contained a p-nitrophenyl group as electron acceptor, the p-dimethylaminophenyl group was the most powerful electron-donating group, leading to the highest maximum absorption wavelengths, as well as to the maximum SHG efficiency.     

Asymptotic mean-square stability of linear multi-step methods for SODEs

In this article we present results of a linear stability analysis of stochastic linear multi-step methods for stochastic ordinary differential equations. As in deterministic numerical analysis we use a linear time-invariant test equation and study when the numerical approximation shares asymptotic properties in the mean-square sense of the exact solution of that test equation. Sufficient conditions for asymptotic mean-square stability of stochastic linear two-step-Maruyama methods are obtained with the aide of Lyapunov-type functionals. In particular we study the asymptotic mean-square stability of stochastic counterparts of two-step Adams-Bashforth- and Adams-Moulton-methods and the BDF method. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Stochastic oscillations in circuit simulation

We consider the simulation of noisy electronic circuits with oscillatory solutions. For their transient noise simulation we use variable step-size two-step schemes for stochastic differential-algebraic equations. The performance of these methods in combination with a suitable step-size control strategy is illustrated by an industrial test application. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Permutative Zahlen

Mathematische Semesterberichte - Zur Untersuchung des 2017/18 von H. Hischer kommunizierten Vorkommens von 10-stelligen Dezimalzahlen, die sämtliche Ziffern $$1,2,\ldots, 9$$ enthalten...     

Development of purely structure-based pharmacophores for the topoisomerase I-DNA-ligand binding pocket

Purely structure-based pharmacophores (SBPs) are an alternative method to ligand-based approaches and have the advantage of describing the entire interaction capability of a binding pocket. Here, we present the development of SBPs for topoisomerase I, an anticancer target with an unusual ligand binding pocket consisting of protein and DNA atoms. Different approaches to cluster and select pharmacophore features are investigated, including hierarchical clustering and energy calculations. In addition, the performance of SBPs is evaluated retrospectively and compared to the performance of ligand- and complex-based pharmacophores. SBPs emerge as a valid method in virtual screening and a complementary approach to ligand-focussed methods. The study further reveals that the choice of pharmacophore feature clustering and selection methods has a large impact on the virtual screening hit lists. A prospective application of the SBPs in virtual screening reveals that they can be used successfully to identify novel topoisomerase inhibitors.