A graphical user interface (NWUSA) for Raman spectral processing,analysis and feature recognition

It is a practical necessity for non-professional users to interpret biologically derived Raman spectral information for obtaining accurate and reliable analytical results. An integrated Raman spectral analysis software (NWUSA) was developed for spectral processing, analysis, and feature recognition. It provides a user-friendly graphical interface to perform the following preprocessing tasks: spectral range selection, cosmic ray removal, polynomial fitting based background subtraction, Savitzky–Golay smoothing, area-under-curve normalization, mean-centered procedure, as well as multivariate analysis algorithms including principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis, partial least squares-discriminant analysis, support vector machine (SVM), and PCA-SVM. A spectral dataset obtained from two different samples was utilized to evaluate the performance of the developed software, which demonstrated that the analysis software can quickly and accurately achieve functional requirements in spectral data processing and feature recognition. Besides, the open-source software can not only be customized with more novel functional modules to suit the specific needs, but also benefit many Raman based investigations, especially for clinical usages.     

ribosort: a program for automated data preparation and exploratory analysis of microbial community fingerprints

ribosort is a computer package for convenient editing of automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) data. It is designed to eliminate the labourious task of manually classifying community fingerprints in microbial ecology studies. This program automatically assigns detected fragments and their respective relative abundances to appropriate ribotypes. It permits simultaneous sorting of multiple profiles and facilitates direct workflow from TRFLP and ARISA output through to community analyses. ribosort also provides several options to merge repeat profiles of a sample into a single composite profile. By creating a 'ribotypes by samples' matrix ready for statistical analyses, use of the package saves time and simplifies the preparation of DNA fingerprint data sets for statistical analysis. In addition, ribosort performs exploratory analysis on the data by creating multidimensional scaling plots that compare the similarity of sample profiles using the statistical software r.     

A graphical user interface for BIOEQS: a program for simulating and analyzing complex biomolecular interactions

BIOEQS is a global analysis and simulation program for complex biomolecular interaction data developed during the 1990s. Its continued usefulness derives from the fact that it is based on a numerical solver for complex coupled biological equilibria rather than on closed-form analytical equations for the binding isotherms. Therefore, it is quite versatile, allowing easy testing of multiple binding models and analysis of systems too complex for closed-form solutions. However, a major drawback to a generalized use of this program has been the lack of a graphical user interface (GUI) for setting up the binding models and experimental conditions as well as for visualizing the results. We present here a new GUI for BIOEQS that should be useful in both research and teaching applications.     

GUI-BioPASED: A program for molecular dynamics simulations of biopolymers with a graphical user interface

There are several software packages for simulating the main types of biopolymers with molecular dynamics methods. However, work with these packages is rather complicated, especially for experimenters, who are nonexperts in computational structural biology. We have developed GUI-BioPASED, a web-based GUI for the molecular dynamics software BioPASED. This version provides for formulating the task as a single executable file, exporting this file to user’s PC, ensuring its execution, and, thereby, partially automating the task part responsible for the majority of errors. A user-friendly cross-platform interface is created, which performs data check, reports errors, and hints at possible ways to correct them. BioPASED, a general purpose molecular dynamics program, and GUI-BioPASED are described along with a typical example of their usage.     

VisualTE: a graphical interface for transposable element analysis at the genomic scale

Background

Transposable elements are mobile DNA repeat sequences, known to have high impact on genes, genome structure and evolution. This has stimulated broad interest in the detailed biological studies of transposable elements. Hence, we have developed an easy-to-use tool for the comparative analysis of the structural organization and functional relationships of transposable elements, to help understand their functional role in genomes.

Results

We named our new software VisualTE and describe it here. VisualTE is a JAVA stand-alone graphical interface that allows users to visualize and analyze all occurrences of transposable element families in annotated genomes. VisualTE reads and extracts transposable elements and genomic information from annotation and repeat data. Result analyses are displayed in several graphical panels that include location and distribution on the chromosome, the occurrence of transposable elements in the genome, their size distribution, and neighboring genes’ features and ontologies. With these hallmarks, VisualTE provides a convenient tool for studying transposable element copies and their functional relationships with genes, at the whole-genome scale, and in diverse organisms.

Conclusions

VisualTE graphical interface makes possible comparative analyses of transposable elements in any annotated sequence as well as structural organization and functional relationships between transposable elements and other genetic object. This tool is freely available at: http://lcb.cnrs-mrs.fr/spip.php?article867.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1351-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Analysing georeferenced population genetics data with Geneland: a new algorithm to deal with null alleles and a friendly graphical user interface

We introduce a new algorithm to account for the presence of null alleles in inferences of populations clusters from individual multilocus genetic data. We show by simulations that the presence of null alleles can affect the accuracy of inferences if not properly accounted for and that our algorithm improve signficantly their accuracy. AVAILABILITY: This new algorithm is implemented in the program Geneland. It is freely available under GNU public license as an R package on the Comprehensive R Archive Network. It now includes a fully clickable graphical interface. Informations on how to get the software are available on folk.uio.no/gillesg/Geneland.html     

微生物生态研究中BIOLOG方法数据分析及R语言实现

微生物生态研究中,对微生物群落结构、群落特征以及其与环境因素的关系的揭示,一直受到广泛关注;适当的数据分析方法有助于更清晰地刻画微生物群落结构特征,明确其与环境因素的关系。结合实例,对微生物生态研究中基于BIOLOG微平板技术的数据分析方法进行梳理,分别介绍数据读取整理、特征指数计算、非限制性排序、限制性排序、聚类分析、环境向量拟合、蒙特尔检验等常用数据操作及生态分析方法;针对不同方法结论,结合研究目标和生态理论给出具有统计学意义的解释,并评价不同方法特点及适用场景;分析过程以R语言实现,并提供全部代码。结果表明,BIOLOG方法产生数据能从多个角度表征微生物群落功能特征,并结合环境指标梯度进行分析;但BIOLOG数据可能不满足正态性分布,在基于正态分布的分析前应提前进行检验;排序分析时应慎用主成分分析,可优先采用其他基于距离矩阵的排序方法;R语言能够简化BIOLOG数据读取及操作,易于完成各类统计分析。本研究能够对微生物生态研究者科学选择应用统计分析方法、提高数据处理效率提供直接参考。     

PRIME: a graphical interface for integrating genomic/proteomic databases

Data mining, finding and integration of information about proteins of interest, is an essential component in modern biological and biomedical research. Even when focusing on a single organism and only on a small number of proteins, there are often dozens fo data sources containing relevant information. We are developing PRIME, a protein information environment, to serve as a virtual central database which integrates distributed heterogeneous information about proteins (linked by common identifier). PRIME has powerful capabilities to visualize all kinds of protein annotation in specialized views. These views can be displayed side by side at the same time and can be synchronized in order to show simultaneously different aspects of identical proteins. These features allow a quick and comprehensive overview of properties of single proteins or protein sets.     

AutoAssemblyD: a graphical user interface system for several genome assemblers

Next-generation sequencing technologies have increased the amount of biological data generated. Thus, bioinformatics has become important because new methods and algorithms are necessary to manipulate and process such data. However, certain challenges have emerged, such as genome assembly using short reads and high-throughput platforms. In this context, several algorithms have been developed, such as Velvet, Abyss, Euler-SR, Mira, Edna, Maq, SHRiMP, Newbler, ALLPATHS, Bowtie and BWA. However, most such assemblers do not have a graphical interface, which makes their use difficult for users without computing experience given the complexity of the assembler syntax. Thus, to make the operation of such assemblers accessible to users without a computing background, we developed AutoAssemblyD, which is a graphical tool for genome assembly submission and remote management by multiple assemblers through XML templates.

Availability

AssemblyD is freely available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/autoassemblyd. It requires Sun jdk 6 or higher.     

distruct: a program for the graphical display of population structure

In analysis of multilocus genotypes from structured populations, individual coefficients of membership in subpopulations are often estimated using programs such as structure . distruct provides a general method for visualizing these estimated membership coefficients. Subpopulations are represented as colours, and individuals are depicted as bars partitioned into coloured segments that correspond to membership coefficients in the subgroups. distruct , available at http://www.cmb.usc.edu/~noahr/distruct.html , can also be used to display subpopulation assignment probabilities when individuals are assumed to have ancestry in only one group.     

fingerprint: visual depiction of variation in multiple sequence alignments

There is a lack of programs available that focus on providing an overview of an aligned set of sequences such that the comparison of homologous sites becomes comprehensible and intuitive. Being able to identify similarities, differences, and patterns within a multiple sequence alignment is biologically valuable because it permits visualization of the distribution of a particular feature and inferences about the structure, function, and evolution of the sequences in question. We have therefore created a web server, fingerprint, which combines the characteristics of existing programs that represent identity, variability, charge, hydrophobicity, solvent accessibility, and structure along with new visualizations based on composition, heterogeneity, heterozygosity, d_N/d_S and nucleotide diversity. fingerprint is easy to use and globally accessible through any computer using any major browser. fingerprint is available at http://evol.mcmaster.ca/fingerprint/ .     

指纹与年龄相关性的量化分析

本文利用Leica M125体视显微镜对1510份样本中右手拇指的皱纹、乳突纹线密度、乳突纹线和小犁沟的宽度、细点线、屈肌褶纹等特征进行测量,通过SPSS软件分析年龄信息特征的相关性,选取其中相关性大的变量进行多元线性回归,并得出推断公式以分析并量化随年龄的增长指纹与年龄相关信息的变化特点及规律。研究结果显示,手印中的皱纹、乳突纹线密度、乳突纹线和小犁沟的宽度、细点线、屈肌褶纹等特征与年龄具有相关性,但利用这些变量构建的多元回归模型拟合优度并不高;皱纹、乳突纹线密度、乳突纹线和小犁沟的宽度、细点线、屈肌褶纹等可作为手印分析年龄的参考和辅助特征。乳突纹线的边缘形态、手印印痕的模糊程度、汗孔等以当前科技手段难以用测量描述特征的年龄信息,在手印分析年龄中或可发挥核心价值,具体还需进一步探究。     

limmaGUI: a graphical user interface for linear modeling of microarray data

SUMMARY: limmaGUI is a graphical user interface (GUI) based on R-Tcl/Tk for the exploration and linear modeling of data from two-color spotted microarray experiments, especially the assessment of differential expression in complex experiments. limmaGUI provides an interface to the statistical methods of the limma package for R, and is itself implemented as an R package. The software provides point and click access to a range of methods for background correction, graphical display, normalization, and analysis of microarray data. Arbitrarily complex microarray experiments involving multiple RNA sources can be accomodated using linear models and contrasts. Empirical Bayes shrinkage of the gene-wise residual variances is provided to ensure stable results even when the number of arrays is small. Integrated support is provided for quantitative spot quality weights, control spots, within-array replicate spots and multiple testing. limmaGUI is available for most platforms on the which R runs including Windows, Mac and most flavors of Unix. AVAILABILITY: http://bioinf.wehi.edu.au/limmaGUI.     

TETRASAT: a program for the population analysis of allotetraploid microsatellite data

Microsatellite markers are quite popular due to their degree of polymorphism and efficiency; however, the utility of such markers for analysing allotetraploid species is often hampered by an inability to determine allele copy number for partial heterozygotes. tetrasat is a program that uses an iterative substitution process to account for all probable combinations of allele copy numbers in populations with partial heterozygote samples. The program subsequently calculates allele frequencies, and mean Hardy–Weinberg expected heterozygosity (H_E), Shannon–Weiner Diversity Index (H′) and Nei's measure of population differentiation (G_ST) are reported for each locus and population. Of equal importance is the calculation of statistical variability generated by the missing data and allele substitution process, which allows for assessment of the strength of conclusions drawn from the statistics.     

海洋微生物多样性及其分子生态学研究进展

海洋微生物多样性的深入研究将有助于微生物资源更好的开发和利用,海洋微生物多样性有很大的研究价值和研究空间。海洋中大多数微生物处于未可培养状态,在分子生态学基础上对海洋未可培养微生物进行研究是当今微生物多样性研究的主要方向。近年来相关研究进展迅速,研究方法不断更新。主要从分子生态学角度对微生物多样性研究现状进行概述并详细分析探讨了相关的研究方法,而且从分子生态学与海洋微生物多样性研究相结合的层面,对本领域的研究进行展望。旨在为海洋微生物多样性的研究及海洋资源的可持续开发与利用提供参考。     

A minicomputer program for rapid graphical and statistical analysis of laboratory data

The utility of a FORTRAN program package, which enables the scientific investigator to make a rapid assessment of laboratory data is described. Data are submitted from the keyboard or specified disk files in the form of coordinate pairs. The program includes routines for plotting values as a series of X-Y pairs on the computer video monitor or for comparing the X and Y arrays via paired differences and Student's t-test. A least squares linear regression of plotted data may also be called. Data modification, curve fitting, and I/O are easily handled in either single pair or column format. Examples of both statistical and graphical data analysis are presented.     

MeV+R: using MeV as a graphical user interface for Bioconductor applications in microarray analysis

We present MeV+R, an integration of the JAVA MultiExperiment Viewer program with Bioconductor packages. This integration of MultiExperiment Viewer and R is easily extensible to other R packages and provides users with point and click access to traditionally command line driven tools written in R. We demonstrate the ability to use MultiExperiment Viewer as a graphical user interface for Bioconductor applications in microarray data analysis by incorporating three Bioconductor packages, RAMA, BRIDGE and iterativeBMA.