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Biomedical subjects

H Hong

Publications and source records attributed to H Hong.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Optimal size of a complex network.

We investigate the response behavior of an Ising system, driven by an oscillating field, on a small-world network, with particular attention to the effects of the system size. The responses of the magnetization to the driving field are probed by means of Monte Carlo dynamic simulations with the varied rewiring probability. It is found that at low and high temperatures the occupancy ratio, measuring how many spins follow the driving field, behaves monotonically with the system size. At intermediate temperatures, on the other hand, the occupancy ratio first grows and then reduces as the size is increased, displaying a resonancelike peak at a finite value of the system size. In all cases, further increase of the size eventually leads to saturation to finite values; the size at which saturation emerges is observed to depend on the temperature, similarly to the correlation length of the system.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Comment on "Ising model on a small world network".

In the recent study of the Ising model on a small world network by Pekalski [Phys. Rev. E 64, 057104 (2001)], a surprisingly small value of the critical exponent beta approximately 0.0001 has been obtained for the temperature dependence of the magnetization. We perform extensive Monte Carlo simulations of the same model and conclude, via the standard finite-size scaling of various quantities, that the phase transition in the model is of the mean-field nature, in contrast to the work by Pekalski, but in accordance with other existing studies.

Comment↗
PubMed2002

Stochastic resonance in the driven Ising model on small-world networks.

We investigate the stochastic resonance phenomena in the field-driven Ising model on small-world networks. The response of the magnetization to an oscillating magnetic field is examined by means of Monte Carlo dynamic simulations, with the rewiring probability varied. At any finite value of the rewiring probability, the system is found to undergo a dynamic phase transition at a finite temperature, giving rise to double resonance peaks. While the peak in the ferromagnetic phase grows with the rewiring probability, which in the paramagnetic phase tends to reduce, indicating opposite effects of the long-range interactions on the resonance in the two phases.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Phase ordering on small-world networks with nearest-neighbor edges.

We investigate global phase coherence in a system of coupled oscillators on small-world networks constructed from a ring with nearest-neighbor edges. The effects of both thermal noise and quenched randomness on phase ordering are examined and compared with the global coherence in the corresponding XY model without quenched randomness. It is found that in the appropriate regime phase ordering emerges at finite temperatures, even for a tiny fraction of shortcuts. The nature of the phase transition is also discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Noise-enhanced temporal association in neural networks.

We consider a network of globally coupled neuronal oscillators subject to random force, and investigate numerically dynamic responses to external periodic driving. The order parameter, which measures the overlap between the configuration of the system and embedded patterns, is found to exhibit stochastic resonance behavior, as manifested by the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The optimal noise level at which the SNR reaches its maximum is found to depend on the driving frequency. On the other hand, as the randomness in the driving amplitude is increased, the system undergoes a transition from the memory-retrieval state to the mixed-memory one. The noise effects on the temporal-association state in the absence of external periodic driving are also investigated, revealing similar noise-enhanced resonance.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Synchronization on small-world networks.

We investigate collective synchronization in a system of coupled oscillators on small-world networks. The order parameters that measure synchronization of phases and frequencies are introduced and analyzed by means of dynamic simulations and finite-size scaling. Phase synchronization is observed to emerge in the presence of even a tiny fraction P of shortcuts and to display saturated behavior for P > or similar to 0.5. This indicates that the same synchronizability as the random network (P=1) can be achieved with relatively small number of shortcuts. The transient behavior of the synchronization, obtained from the measurement of the relaxation time, is also discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Spontaneous phase oscillation induced by inertia and time delay.

We consider a system of coupled oscillators with finite inertia and time-delayed interaction, and investigate the interplay between inertia and delay both analytically and numerically. The phase velocity of the system is examined; revealed in numerical simulations is the emergence of spontaneous phase oscillation without external driving, which turns out to be in good agreement with analytical results derived in the strong-coupling limit. Such self-oscillation is found to suppress synchronization, and its frequency is observed to decrease with inertia and delay. We obtain the phase diagram, which displays oscillatory and stationary phases in the appropriate regions of the parameters.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Dissolved insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in the Pearl River Estuary and South China Sea.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as organochlorine (OCl) insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), together with the new generation of organophosphorus (OP) insecticides, are of global concern, due to their widespread occurrence, persistence, bioaccumulation and hormone disruption potential. This paper represents an attempt to study the source and transportation of such pollutants in estuarine and coastal environments as an integrated ecosystem, by determining the levels of 18 OCl insecticides, 21 PCB congeners, and 17 OP insecticides in the Pearl River Estuary and South China Sea. The total concentrations varied from 126-1198 ng l(-1) for OCl insecticides, 33.38-1064 ng l(-1) for PCB congeners, and 4.44-6356 ng l(-1) for OP insecticides in the Pearl River Estuary. In comparison, their levels in the South China Sea were significantly lower, varying from 57.09-202 ng l(-1) for OCl insecticides, 21.72-144 ng l(-1) for PCBs, and 1.27-122 ng l(-1) for OP insecticides, respectively. The predominance of beta-HCH in HCHs, and DDE in DDTs in all water samples was clearly observed, suggesting beta-HCH and DDE's resistance to further degradation. The PCBs were dominated by those with 3-6 chlorines. The distribution characteristic of OP insecticides shows that five compounds (methamidophos, dimethoate, malathion, dichlorvos and omethoate) accounted for 56% and 72% of the total OP insecticide concentration. The relationship between pollutant concentrations and salinity in the estuary showed that they were all removed during the mixing process, therefore behaving non-conservatively.

China↗
PubMed2002

An integrated "4-phase" approach for setting endocrine disruption screening priorities--phase I and II predictions of estrogen receptor binding affinity.

Recent legislation mandates the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a screening and testing program for potential endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), of which xenoestrogens figure prominently. Under the legislation, a large number of chemicals will undergo various in vitro and in vivo assays for their potential estrogenicity, as well as other hormonal activities. There is a crucial need for priority setting before this strategy can be effectively implemented. Here we report an integrated computational approach to priority setting using estrogen receptor (ER) binding as an example. This approach rationally integrates different predictive computational models into a "Four-Phase" scheme so that it can effectively identify potential estrogenic EDCs based on their predicted ER relative binding affinity (RBA). The system has been validated using an in-house ER binding assay dataset for 232 chemicals that was designed to have both broad structural diversity and a wide range of binding affinities. When applied to 58,000 chemicals identified by Walker et al. as candidates for endocrine disruption screening, some 9100 chemicals were predicted to bind to ER. Of these, only 3600 were expected to bind to ER at RBA values up to 100,000-fold less than that of 17beta-estradiol. The method ruled out 83% of the chemicals as non-binders with a very low rate of false negatives. We believe that the same integrated scheme will be equally applicable to endpoints of other endocrine disrupting mechanisms, e.g. androgen receptor binding.

Biological Assay↗
PubMed2001

XY model in small-world networks.

The phase transition in the XY model on one-dimensional small-world networks is investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulations. It is found that long-range order is present at finite temperatures, even for very small values of the rewiring probability, suggesting a finite-temperature transition for any nonzero rewiring probability. Nature of the phase transition is discussed in comparison with the globally coupled XY model.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Identification of a Delta 4 fatty acid desaturase from Thraustochytrium sp. involved in the biosynthesis of docosahexanoic acid by heterologous expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Brassica juncea.

The existence of Delta 4 fatty acid desaturation in the biosynthesis of docosahexanoic acid (DHA) has been questioned over the years. In this report we describe the identification from Thraustochytrium sp. of two cDNAs, Fad4 and Fad5, coding for Delta 4 and Delta 5 fatty acid desaturases, respectively. The Delta 4 desaturase, when expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, introduced a double bond at position 4 of 22:5(n-3) and 22:4(n-6) resulting in the production of DHA and docosapentanoic acid. The enzyme, when expressed in Brassica juncea under the control of a constitutive promoter, desaturated the exogenously supplied substrate 22:5(n-3), resulting in the production of DHA in vegetative tissues. These results support the notion that DHA can be synthesized via Delta 4 desaturation and suggest the possibility that DHA can be produced in oilseed crops on a large scale.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

X-ray studies of phonon softening in tise2.

The charge-density-wave transition in TiSe (2), which results in a commensurate (2x2x2) superlattice at temperatures below approximately 200 K, presumably involves softening of a zone-boundary phonon mode. For the first time, this phonon-softening behavior has been examined over a wide temperature range by synchrotron x-ray thermal diffuse scattering.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Molecular oxygen spin-lattice relaxation in solutions measured by proton magnetic relaxation dispersion.

Proton spin-lattice relaxation rate constants have been measured as a function of magnetic field strength for water, water-glycerol solution, cyclohexane, methanol, benzene, acetone, acetonitrile, and dimethyl sulfoxide. The magnetic relaxation dispersion is well approximated by a Lorentzian shape. The origin of the relaxation dispersion is identified with the paramagnetic contribution from molecular oxygen. In the small molecule cases studied here, the effective correlation time for the electron-nuclear coupling may include contributions from both translational diffusion and the electron T(1). The electron T(1) for molecular oxygen dissolved in several solvents was found to be approximately 7.5 ps and nearly independent of solvent or viscosity.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2001

Ventricular shape visualization using selective volume rendering of cardiac datasets.

In this paper, we present a novel technique of improving volume rendering quality and speed by integrating original volume data and global model information attained by segmentation. The segmentation information prevents object occlusions that may appear when volume rendering is based on local image features only. Thus the presented visualization technique provides meaningful visual results that enable a clear understanding of complex anatomical structures. In the first part, we describe a segmentation technique for extracting the region of interest based on an active contour model. In the second part, we propose a volume rendering method for visualizing the selected portions of fuzzy surfaces extracted by local image processing methods. We show the results of selective volume rendering of left and right ventricle based on cardiac datasets from clinical routines. Our method offers an accelerated technique to accurately visualize the surfaces of segmented objects.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2001

Identification and analysis of a gene from Calendula officinalis encoding a fatty acid conjugase.

Two homologous cDNAs, CoFad2 and CoFac2, were isolated from a Calendula officinalis developing seed by a polymerase chain reaction-based cloning strategy. Both sequences share similarity to FAD2 desaturases and FAD2-related enzymes. In C. officinalis plants CoFad2 was expressed in all tissues tested, whereas CoFac2 expression was specific to developing seeds. Expression of CoFad2 cDNA in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) indicated it encodes a Delta12 desaturase that introduces a double bond at the 12 position of 16:1(9Z) and 18:1(9Z). Expression of CoFac2 in yeast revealed that the encoded enzyme acts as a fatty acid conjugase converting 18:2(9Z, 12Z) to calendic acid 18:3(8E, 10E, 12Z). The enzyme also has weak activity on the mono-unsaturates 16:1(9Z) and 18:1(9Z) producing compounds with the properties of 8,10 conjugated dienes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

[Evaluation and fate of the organic chlorine pesticides at the waters in Jiulong River Estuary].

18 Organochlorine Pesticides at the water(surface water and porewater) in Jiulong River Estuary were determined. The range of organochlorine pesticides at surface water was 51.3-2479 ng/L, and the concentration in porewater was 266-33,355 ng/L. The results showed that the organochlorine pesticides were removed in the estuary and the sediments were the reservior of the organochlorine pesticides. Compared with the results of other harbor and estuaries, it showed that the contamination for organic chlorine pollutants in Jiulong River Estuary was similar to those of others. At the same time, the risk of organochlorine pesticides in the estuary was evaluated.

Fresh Water↗
PubMed2001

[Experimental study on the pathogenesis of Entamoeba gingivalis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the pathogenesis of Entamoeba gingivalis (E. g.) and its relation to periodontal diseases. METHODS: Rats were treated with immuno-inhibitor for one week and the neck of incisor teeth of the rats was bound with steel wire. They were randomly divided into three groups: the first group was infected by E. g. in the periodontal tissue, the second group was infected by symbiotic bacteria (s. b.), and the third group was given physiological saline as control. Observation on the periodontal inflammation was made for each group of rats, and the purulent secretion from periodontal abscess was examined for living pathogens. RESULTS: The incidence of periodontal diseases in rats infected by E. g. was higher than that of symbiotic bacteria group and that of control (P < 0.05), the incidence of periodontal diseases in rats infected by s. b. was higher than that of control group (P < 0.05). Living pathogens were found in the abscess liquid. CONCLUSION: E. g. is an opportunistic pathogen, which, together with synergistic symbiotic bacteria, can cause periodontal diseases in hosts with low immunity.

Animals↗