Given a transmembrane protein, we wish to find related ones by a database search. Due to the strongly hydrophobic amino acid composition of transmembrane domains, suboptimal results are obtained when general-purpose scoring matrices such as BLOSUM are used. Recently, a transmembrane-specific score matrix called PHAT was shown to perform much better than BLOSUM. In this article, we derive a tran...

In the field of microwave hyperthermia, the use of minimally invasive applicators is recognized as a very promising technique for the treatment of small tumours because a very thin applicator can be easily introduced inside the body and precisely localized using the most advanced 3D imaging techniques and surgical robots. Minimally invasive hyperthermic applicators (MIHA) have been successfully...

LCD technology has taken off in the past several years, with expanded availability of increasingly cost-effective product alternatives to the traditional CRT display. LCD manufacturing yields have improved, lowering costs. Technology innovations have enabled the production of ever-larger screen sizes, and today's LCD monitors are brighter than comparable CRT monitors, with viewing angles that r...

Background and study aims  In order to perform peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) safely, retained liquid and food debris must be removed before the procedure is started. We developed a novel technique using a super-slim gastroscope, and a gastric tube to remove retained food debris in achalasia patients. In this study, the safety and efficacy of this novel technique were investigated. Patient...

In this paper, we designed 3D graphics hardware with rasterizer having texture and slim-shader for the efficient 3D graphics accelerator. The rasterizer consists of vertical shader and triangle set-up with AAL slim-shader. We developed all modules (vertex shader, pixel shader, slim shader, clipping engine, triangle setup engine and raster operator) of 3D pipeline on FPGA using RTL design. It is...

The paper briefly describes the effects of diffusion and dispersion and other effects present during the oil displacement processes with miscible fluids, i.e. solvents. Recovery of oil is significantly improved during the application of such processes, but at the same time accompanied with decrease or even total loss of solvent slug. When designing such processes, particular attention should be...

The increase in popularity of “mini” and “micro” behind-the-ear (BTE) devices has been due, in part, to the effective combination of style and substance that appeals to a new generation of hearing aid users. A recent survey by Kochkin (2006) for the Better Hearing Institute indicates that slim tube, “open” fit devices have increased the number of first-time hearing aid users by 29%, lowering th...

BACKGROUND The process of discovering new drugs is a lengthy, time-consuming and expensive process. Modern day drug discovery relies heavily on the rapid identification of novel 'targets', usually proteins that can be modulated by small molecule drugs to cure or minimise the effects of a disease. Of the 20,000 proteins currently reported as comprising the human proteome, just under a quarter of...

The linear Induction motor, first conceived in the 19 century, could present a viable solution to the problem of quick and efficient transportation. However the performance of Single Sided Linear Induction Motor (SLIM) is severely degraded by ‘end effects’ and ‘transverse edge effects’. The present work is an attempt to investigate the magnetic flux distribution within the air gap and other reg...

Three studies show that product packaging shape serves as a cue that communicates healthiness of food products. Inspired by embodiment accounts, we show that packaging that simulates a slim body shape acts as a symbolic cue for product healthiness (e.g., low in calories), as opposed to packaging that simulates a wide body shape. Furthermore, we show that the effect of slim package shape on cons...