GlycanGUI: Automated Glycan Annotation and Quantification Using Glucose Unit Index

The retention time provides critical information for glycan annotation and quantification from the Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) data. However, the variation of the precise retention time of glycans is highly dependent on the experimental conditions such as the specific separating columns, MS instruments and/or the buffer used. This variation hampers the exploitation of retention time for the glycan annotation from LC-MS data, especially when inter-laboratory data are compared. To incorporate the retention time of glycan across experiments, Glucose Unit Index (GUI) can be computed using the dextrin ladder as internal standard. The retention time of glycans are then calibrated with respect to glucose units derived from dextrin ladders. Despite the successful application of the GUI approach, the manual calibration process is quite tedious and often error prone. In this work, we present a standalone software tool GlycanGUI, with a graphic user interface to automatically carry out the GUI-based glycan annotation/quantification and subsequent data analysis. When tested on experimental data, GlycanGUI reported accurate GUI values compared with manual calibration, and thus is ready to be used for automated glycan annotation and quantification using GUI.

Glucose unit index (GUI) of permethylated glycans for effective identification of glycans and glycan isomers

Retention time normalization of permethylated glycans and glycan isomers across different instruments and laboratories, using standard dextrin ladder. (Figure created with BioRender.com).

EXPERIENCE IN ELABORATING THE NATIONAL SYSTEM FOR ESTIMATING THE LAND SUITABILITY

Under discussion is the FAO algorithm modified to estimate the suitability of lands and soils for agricultural purposes using the definite LUI index (land unit index). The latter is calculated by rating of soil indices taken into complete account and accepted by FAO, USDA (USA) and the Ministry of Agriculture in the Russian Federation. The algorithm and proposed computer programs of interactive expert systems ((ADAPTER, LAND, PLANT) are universal and make it possible to use the indices for solving a number of intricate tasks in off-line regime.

An evaluation model for measuring customer satisfaction levels in a water supply domain: case study – water supply in Hamedan

Customer satisfaction is an important goal in total quality management. In order to meet this goal, it is necessary to use an evaluation model to measure customer satisfaction. This paper proposes an evaluation model for measuring the customer satisfaction level in a water supply domain. Some important criteria such as water quality, water quantity, responsibility of the company, etc. are distinguished and used in the proposed model. To integrate all of these criteria in a unit index, the analytic hierarchy process technique is used. The proposed model integrates customer opinions in a unit index to measure the customer satisfaction level. To evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed model, Hamedan Water Company is studied as a case study. The results show that the proposed model can be used as a useful tool for analyzing customer satisfaction levels in water supply domains for other companies. The proposed model also distinguishes company strengths and weaknesses in the field of customer satisfaction.