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This work addresses the problem of determining the number of components from sequential spectroscopic data analyzed by non-negative matrix factorization without separability assumption (SepFree NMF). These data are stored in a matrix M of dimension “measured times” versus “measured wavenumbers” and can be decomposed to obtain the spectral fingerprints of the states and their evolution over time. SepFree NMF assumes a memoryless (Markovian) process to underline the dynamics and decomposes M so that M=WH, with W representing the components’ fingerprints and H their kinetics. However, the rank of this decomposition (i.e., the number of physical states in the process) has to be guessed from pre-existing knowledge on the observed process. We propose a measure for determining the number of components with the computation of the minimal memory effect resulting from the decomposition; by quantifying how much the obtained factorization is deviating from the Markovian property, we are able to score factorizations of a different number of components. In this way, we estimate the number of different entities which contribute to the observed system, and we can extract kinetic information without knowing the characteristic spectra of the single components. This manuscript provides the mathematical background as well as an analysis of computer generated and experimental sequentially measured Raman spectra.
In this paper, we present a new, optimization-based method to exhibit cyclic behavior in non-reversible stochastic processes. While our method is general, it is strongly motivated by discrete simulations of ordinary differential equations representing non-reversible biological processes, in particular molecular simulations. Here, the discrete time steps of the simulation are often very small compared to the time scale of interest, i.e., of the whole process. In this setting, the detection of a global cyclic behavior of the process becomes difficult because transitions between individual states may appear almost reversible on the small time scale of the simulation. We address this difficulty using a mixed-integer programming model that allows us to compute a cycle of clusters with maximum net flow, i.e., large forward and small backward probability. For a synthetic genetic regulatory network consisting of a ring-oscillator with three genes, we show that this approach can detect the most productive overall cycle, outperforming classical spectral analysis methods. Our method applies to general non-equilibrium steady state systems such as catalytic reactions, for which the objective value computes the effectiveness of the catalyst.
In this paper, we present a new, optimization-based method to exhibit cyclic behavior in non-reversible stochastic processes. While our method is general, it is strongly motivated by discrete simulations of ordinary differential equations representing non-reversible biological processes, in particular molecular simulations. Here, the discrete time steps of the simulation are often very small compared to the time scale of interest, i.e., of the whole process. In this setting, the detection of a global cyclic behavior of the process becomes difficult because transitions between individual states may appear almost reversible on the small time scale of the simulation. We address this difficulty using a mixed-integer programming model that allows us to compute a cycle of clusters with maximum net flow, i.e., large forward and small backward probability. For a synthetic genetic regulatory network consisting of a ring-oscillator with three genes, we show that this approach can detect the most productive overall cycle, outperforming classical spectral analysis methods. Our method applies to general non-equilibrium steady state systems such as catalytic reactions, for which the objective value computes the effectiveness of the catalyst.
The aim of this paper is to investigate the rebinding effect, a phenomenon describing a "short-time memory" which can occur when projecting a Markov process onto a smaller state space. For guaranteeing a correct mapping by the Markov State Model, we assume a fuzzy clustering in terms of membership functions, assigning degrees of membership to each state. The macro states are represented by the membership functions and may be overlapping. The magnitude of this overlap is a measure for the strength of the rebinding effect, caused by the projection and stabilizing the system. A minimal bound for the rebinding effect included in a given system is computed as the solution of an optimization problem. Based on membership functions chosen as a linear combination of Schur vectors, this generalized approach includes reversible as well as non-reversible processes.
Spectral clustering methods are based on solving eigenvalue problems for the identification of clusters, e.g., the identification of metastable subsets of a Markov chain. Usually, real-valued eigenvectors are mandatory for this type of algorithms. The Perron Cluster Analysis (PCCA+) is a well-known spectral clustering method of Markov chains. It is applicable for reversible Markov chains, because reversibility implies a real-valued spectrum. We extend this spectral clustering method also to non-reversible Markov chains and give some illustrative examples. The main idea is to replace the eigenvalue problem by a real-valued Schur decomposition. By this extension, non-reversible Markov chains can be analyzed. Furthermore, the chains need not have a positive stationary distribution. And additionally to metastabilities, dominant cycles and sinks can be identified, too.
Markov state models are to date the gold standard for modeling molecular kinetics since they enable the identification and analysis of metastable states and related kinetics in a very instructive manner. The state-of-the-art Markov state modeling methods and tools are very well developed for the modeling of reversible processes in closed equilibrium systems. On the contrary, they are largely not well suited to deal with nonreversible or even nonautonomous processes of nonequilibrium systems. Thus, we generalized the common Robust Perron Cluster Cluster Analysis (PCCA+) method to enable straightforward modeling of nonequilibrium systems as well. The resulting Generalized PCCA (G-PCCA) method readily handles equilibrium as well as nonequilibrium data by utilizing real Schur vectors instead of eigenvectors. This is implemented in the G-PCCA algorithm that enables the semiautomatic coarse graining of molecular kinetics. G-PCCA is not limited to the detection of metastable states but also enables the identification and modeling of cyclic processes. This is demonstrated by three typical examples of nonreversible systems.
Obtaining a sufficient sampling of conformational space is a common problem in molecular simulation. We present the implementation of an umbrella-like adaptive sampling approach based on function-based meshless discretization of conformational space that is compatible with state of the art molecular dynamics code and that integrates an eigenvector-based clustering approach for conformational analysis and the computation of inter-conformational transition rates. The approach is applied to three example systems, namely n-pentane, alanine dipeptide, and a small synthetic host-guest system, the latter two including explicitly modeled solvent.
Spectral clustering methods are based on solving eigenvalue problems for the identification of clusters, e.g. the identification of metastable subsets of a Markov chain. Usually, real-valued eigenvectors are mandatory for this type of algorithms. The Perron Cluster Analysis (PCCA+) is a well-known spectral clustering method of Markov chains. It is applicable for reversible Markov chains, because reversibility implies a real-valued spectrum. We also extend this spectral clustering method to non-reversible Markov chains and give some illustrative examples. The main idea is to replace the eigenvalue problem by a real-valued Schur decomposition. By this extension non-reversible Markov chains can be analyzed. Furthermore, the chains do not need to have a positive stationary distribution. In addition to metastabilities, dominant cycles and sinks can also be identified. This novel method is called GenPCCA (i.e.
Generalized PCCA), since it includes the case of non reversible processes.
We also apply the method to real world eye tracking data.
Particle methods have become indispensible in conformation dynamics to
compute transition rates in protein folding, binding processes and
molecular design, to mention a few.
Conformation dynamics requires at a decomposition of a molecule's position
space into metastable conformations.
In this paper, we show how this decomposition
can be obtained via the design of either ``soft'' or ``hard''
molecular conformations.
We show, that the soft approach results in a larger metastabilitiy of
the decomposition and is thus more advantegous. This is illustrated
by a simulation of Alanine Dipeptide.
Spectral clustering methods are based on solving eigenvalue problems for the identification of clusters, e.g., the identification of metastable subsets of a Markov chain. Usually, real-valued eigenvectors are mandatory for this type of algorithms. The Perron Cluster Analysis (PCCA+) is a well-known spectral clustering method of Markov chains. It is applicable for reversible Markov chains, because reversibility implies a real-valued spectrum. We also extend this spectral clustering method to non-reversible Markov chains and give some illustrative examples. The main idea is to replace the eigenvalue problem by a real-valued Schur decomposition. By this extension non-reversible Markov chains can be analyzed. Furthermore, the chains do not need to have a positive stationary distribution. In addition to metastabilities, dominant cycles and sinks can also be identified. This novel method is called GenPCCA (i.e., generalized PCCA), since it includes the case of non-reversible processes. We also apply the method to real-world eye-tracking data.
Computation of temperature-dependent dissociation rates of metastable protein–ligand complexes
(2019)
Molecular simulations are often used to analyse the stability of protein–ligand complexes. The stability can be characterised by exit rates or using the exit time approach, i.e. by computing the expected holding time of the complex before its dissociation. However determining exit rates by straightforward molecular dynamics methods can be challenging for stochastic processes in which the exit event occurs very rarely. Finding a low variance procedure for collecting rare event statistics is still an open problem. In this work we discuss a novel method for computing exit rates which uses results of Robust Perron Cluster Analysis (PCCA+). This clustering method gives the possibility to define a fuzzy set by a membership function, which provides additional information of the kind ‘the process is being about to leave the set’. Thus, the derived approach is not based on the exit event occurrence and, therefore, is also applicable in case of rare events. The novel method can be used to analyse the temperature effect of protein–ligand systems through the differences in exit rates, and, thus, open up new drug design strategies and therapeutic applications.
Raman spectroscopy is a well established tool for the analysis of vibration spectra, which then allow for the determination of individual substances in a chemical sample, or for their phase transitions. In the Time-Resolved-Raman-Sprectroscopy the vibration spectra of a chemical sample are recorded sequentially over a time interval, such that conclusions for intermediate products (transients) can be drawn within a chemical process. The observed data-matrix M from a Raman spectroscopy can be regarded as a matrix product of two unknown matrices W and H, where the first is representing the contribution of the spectra and the latter represents the chemical spectra. One approach for obtaining W and H is the non-negative matrix factorization. We propose a novel approach, which does not need the commonly used separability assumption. The performance of this approach is shown on a real world chemical example.
In this article, we show that these well-established spectral algorithms (like PCCA+, Perron Cluster Cluster Analysis) also identify coherent sets of non-autonomous dynamical systems. For the identification of coherent sets, one has to compute a discretization (a matrix T) of the transfer operator of the process using a space-time-discretization scheme. The article gives an overview about different time-discretization schemes and shows their applicability in two different fields of application.
The rebinding effect is a phenomenon which occurs when observing a ligand-receptor binding process. On the macro scale this process comprises the Markov property. This Makovian view is spoiled when switching to the atomistic scale of a binding process. We therefore suggest a model which accurately describes the rebinding effect on the atomistic scale by allowing ''intermediate'' bound states. This allows us to define an indicator for the magnitude of rebinding and to formulate an optimization problem. The results form our examples show good agreement with data form laboratory.
The rebinding effect is a phenomenon which occurs when observing a ligand-receptor binding process.
On the macro scale this process comprises the Markov property.
This Makovian view is spoiled when switching to the atomistic scale of a binding process.
We therefore suggest a model which accurately describes the rebinding effect on the atomistic scale by allowing ''intermediate'' bound states.
This allows us to define an indicator for the magnitude of rebinding and to formulate an optimization problem.
The results form our examples show good agreement with data form laboratory.
We consider two disjoint sets of points with a distance metric, or a
proximity function, associated with each set. If each set can be separately
embedded into separate Euclidean spaces, then we provide sufficient conditions
for the two sets to be jointly embedded in one Euclidean space. In this joint
Euclidean embedding, the distances between the points are generated by a
specific relation-preserving function. Consequently, the mutual distances
between two points of the same set are specific qualitative transformations of
their mutual distances in their original space; the pairwise distances between
the points of different sets can be constructed from an arbitrary proximity
function (might require scaling).
We introduce a generalized operator for arbitrary stochastic processes by using a pre-kernel, which is a generalization of the Markov kernel. For deterministic processes, such an operator is already known as the Frobenius-Perron operator, which is defined for a large class of measures. For Markov processes, there exists transfer operators being only well defined for stationary measures in $L^2$. Our novel generalized transfer operator is well defined for arbitrary stochastic processes, in particular also for deterministic ones. We can show that this operator is acting on $L^1$. For stationary measures, this operator is also an endomorphism of $L^2$ and, therefore, allows for a mathematical analysis in Hilbert spaces.
Trajectory- or mesh-based methods for analyzing the dynamical behavior of large molecules tend to be impractical due to the curse of dimensionality - their computational cost increases exponentially with the size of the molecule. We propose a method to break the curse by a novel square root approximation of transition rates, Monte Carlo quadrature and a discretization approach based on solving linear programs. With randomly sampled points on the molecular energy landscape and randomly generated discretizations of the molecular configuration space as our initial data, we construct a matrix describing the transition rates between adjacent discretization regions. This transition rate matrix yields a Markov State Model of the molecular dynamics. We use Perron cluster analysis and coarse-graining techniques in order to identify metastable sets in configuration space and approximate the transition rates between the metastable sets. Application of our method to a simple energy landscape on a two-dimensional configuration space provides proof of concept and an example for which we compare the performance of different discretizations. We show that the computational cost of our method grows only polynomially with the size of the molecule. However, finding discretizations of higher-dimensional configuration spaces in which metastable sets can be identified remains a challenge.
Given a time-dependent stochastic process with trajectories x(t) in a space $\Omega$, there may be sets such that the corresponding trajectories only very rarely cross the boundaries of these sets. We can analyze such a process in terms of metastability or coherence. Metastable sets M are defined in space $M\subset\Omega$, coherent sets $M(t)\subset\Omega$ are defined in space and time. Hence, if we extend the space by the time-variable t, coherent sets are metastable sets in $\Omega\times[0,\infty]$. This relation can be exploited, because there already exist spectral algorithms for the identification of metastable sets. In this article we show that these well-established spectral algorithms (like PCCA+) also identify coherent sets of non-autonomous dynamical systems. For the identification of coherent sets, one has to compute a discretization (a matrix T) of the transfer operator of the process using a space-timediscretization scheme. The article gives an overview about different time-discretization schemes and shows their applicability in two different fields of application.
Markov state models (MSMs) have received an unabated increase in popularity in recent years, as they are very
well suited for the identification and analysis of metastable states and related kinetics. However, the state-of-the-art Markov state modeling methods and tools enforce the fulfillment of a
detailed balance condition, restricting their applicability to equilibrium MSMs. To date, they are unsuitable to deal with
general dominant data structures including cyclic processes, which are essentially associated with nonequilibrium systems.
To overcome this limitation, we developed a generalization of the common robust Perron Cluster Cluster Analysis (PCCA+) method, termed generalized PCCA (G-PCCA). This method handles equilibrium and nonequilibrium simulation data, utilizing Schur vectors instead of eigenvectors. G-PCCA is not limited to the detection of metastable states but enables the identification of dominant structures in a general sense, unraveling cyclic processes. This is exemplified by application of G-PCCA on nonequilibrium molecular dynamics data of the Amyloid β (1−40) peptide, periodically driven by an oscillating electric field.
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations face challenging problems since
the timescales of interest often are much longer than what is possible
to simulate and even if sufficiently long simulation are possible the complex
nature of the resulting simulation data makes interpretation difficult.
Markov State Models (MSMs) help to overcome these problems by making
experimentally relevant timescales accessible via coarse grained representations
that also allows for convenient interpretation. However, standard
set-based MSMs exhibit some caveats limiting their approximation quality
and statistical significance. One of the main caveats results from the fact
that typical MD trajectories repeatedly re-cross the boundary between
the sets used to build the MSM which causes statistical bias in estimating
the transition probabilities between these sets. In this article, we present
a set-free approach to MSM building utilizing smooth overlapping ansatz
functions instead of sets and an adaptive refinement approach. This kind
of meshless discretization helps to overcome the recrossing problem and
yields an adaptive refinement procedure that allows to improve the quality
of the model while exploring state space and inserting new ansatz
functions into the MSM.
Ergopeptides, like ergocornine and a-ergocryptine, exist in an S- and in an R-configuration. Kinetic experiments imply that certain configurations are preferred depending on the solvent. The experimental methods are explained in this article. Furthermore, computational methods are used to understand this configurational preference. Standard quantum chemical methods can predict the favored configurations by using minimum energy calculations on the potential energy landscape. However, the explicit role of the solvent is not revealed by this type of methods. In order to better understand its influence, classical mechanical molecular simulations are applied. It appears from our research that “folding” the ergopeptide molecules into an intermediate state (between the S- and the R-configuration) is mechanically hindered for the preferred configurations.
Medizin aus dem Computer
(2013)
In this paper, we explore the relationship patterns between Ancient Egyptian texts of the corpus ``Synodal decrees'', which are originating between 243 and 185 BCE, during the Ptolemaic period. Particularly, we are interested in analyzing the grammatical features of the different texts. Conventional data analysis methods such as correspondence Analysis are very useful to explore the patterns of statistical interdependence between categories of variables. However, it is based on a PCA-like dimension-reduction method and turned out to be unsuitable for our dataset due to the high dimensionality of our data representations. Additionally, the similarity between pairs of texts and pairs of grammatical features is observed through the distance between their representation, but the degree of association between a particular grammatical feature and a text is not. Here, we applied a qualitative Euclidean embedding method that provides a new Euclidean representation of the categories of variables. This new representation of the categories is constructed in such a way that all the patterns of statistical interdependence, similarity, and association, are seen through the Euclidean distance between them. Nevertheless, the PCA-like dimension-reduction method also performed poorly on our new representation. Therefore, we obtained a two-dimensional visualization using non-linear methods such UMAP or t-SNE. Although these dimension-reduction methods reduced the interpretability of interpoint distances, we were still able to identify important similarity patterns between the Synodal text as well as their association patterns with the grammatical features.
Novel multi-objective affinity approach allows to identify pH-specific μ-opioid receptor agonists
(2023)
Opioids are essential pharmaceuticals due to their analgesic properties, however, lethal side effects, addiction, and opioid tolerance are extremely challenging. The development of novel molecules targeting the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) in inflamed, but not in healthy tissue, could significantly reduce these unwanted effects. Finding such novel molecules can be achieved by maximizing the binding affinity to the MOR at acidic pH while minimizing it at neutral pH, thus combining two conflicting objectives. Here, this multi-objective optimal affinity approach is presented, together with a virtual drug discovery pipeline for its practical implementation. When applied to finding pH-specific drug candidates, it combines protonation state-dependent structure and ligand preparation with high-throughput virtual screening. We employ this pipeline to characterize a set of MOR agonists identifying a morphine-like opioid derivative with higher predicted binding affinities to the MOR at low pH compared to neutral pH. Our results also confirm existing experimental evidence that NFEPP, a previously described fentanyl derivative with reduced side effects, and recently reported β-fluorofentanyls and -morphines show an increased specificity for the MOR at acidic pH when compared to fentanyl and morphine. We further applied our approach to screen a >50K ligand library identifying novel molecules with pH-specific predicted binding affinities to the MOR. The presented differential docking pipeline can be applied to perform multi-objective affinity optimization to identify safer and more specific drug candidates at large scale.
In our previous studies, a new opioid (NFEPP) was developed to only selectively bind to the 𝜇-opoid receptor (MOR) in inflamed tissue and thus avoid the severe side effects of fentanyl. We know that NFEPP has a reduced binding affinity to MOR in healthy tissue. Inspired by the modelling and simulations performed by Sutcliffe et al., we present our own results of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of fentanyl and NFEPP with regards to their interaction with the 𝜇-opioid receptor embedded within the lipid cell membrane. For technical reasons, we have slightly modified Sutcliffe’s parametrisation of opioids. The pH-dependent opioid simulations are of interest because while fentanyl is protonated at the physiological pH, NFEPP is deprotonated due to its lower pKa value than that of fentanyl. Here, we analyse for the first time whether pH changes have an effect on the dynamical behaviour of NFEPP when it is inside the cell membrane. Besides these changes, our analysis shows a possible alternative interaction of NFEPP at pH 7.4 outside the binding region of the MOR. The interaction potential of NFEPP with MOR is also depicted by analysing the provided statistical molecular dynamics simulations with the aid of an eigenvector analysis of a transition rate matrix. In our modelling, we see differences in the XY-diffusion profiles of NFEPP compared with fentanyl in the cell membrane.
Docking is a fundamental problem in computational biology and drug discovery that seeks to predict a ligand’s binding mode and affinity to a target protein. However, the large search space size and the complexity of the underlying physical interactions make docking a challenging task. Here, we review a docking method, based on the ant colony optimization algorithm, that ranks a set of candidate ligands by solving a minimization problem for each ligand individually. In addition, we propose an augmented version that takes into account all energy functions collectively, allowing only one minimization problem to be solved. The results show that our modification outperforms in accuracy and efficiency.