Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Bioinformatics Research and Applications

 

Special Issue on: "Viral DNA Analysis and Rational Vaccine Design"

Guest Editors: Prof. Perambur S. Neelakanta, Prof. Mirjana D. Pavlovic, and Prof. Hanqi Zhuang, Florida Atlantic University, USA

Application of information theory to biological systems leads to understanding genetic details and facilitates research to discover neoteric knowledge in medical sciences for quality healthcare and making of preventive medicine. As is well-known, the gamut of bioinformatic techniques in vogue involves genomic sequence analysis, data-mining etc. via analytical modelling and/or high performance computing. Also, concurrent wet-lab details provide for model verifications.

This special issue is conceived and specifically intended to gather state-of-the-art solutions and novel techniques tailored to comprehend genetic details of viral DNA with the objective to create rational vaccine designs thereof. Its scope is to address innovative research and development aspects on solutions in bioinformatics and computational biology of viral DNA and their applications in vaccine-related preventive healthcare.

Relevant efforts on viral DNA genomics, associated dynamics of bioenergetics in folding/hairpin-bending (toward stability), entropic profiles of underlying (biological) information, making of sequences rationally for vaccine designs etc. are general topics of interest. Both theoretical/computational efforts as well as relevant wet-lab details for bioinformatic applications will be pertinent. Researchers are invited to submit their original papers to this special issue. In addition, review papers on the state-of-the-art topics and directions for future research will also be considered.

Subject Coverage
Scope of this special issue focuses on, but is not limited to, the following subjects:

• Gene expression analysis: application to viral DNAs and RNAs
• Complex kinetics of viral single-strand DNA folding/hairpin bending
• Modeling bioenergetic landscape of hairpin transfer in viral DNA replication
• Application of nearest-neighbour thermodynamics to Watson-Crick base-pairs in viral (single-stranded) DNAs
• Sequence and structural motifs of viral DNA sequences
• Modelling of nucleotide sequence and genome organization in viruses
• Systems biology, data-mining and bioinformatics of viral genomics
• Bioinformatics of the interplay between anti-ssDNA binding autoantibodies and viral DNA
• Rational vaccine designs and viral-specific therapies: bioinformatic perspectives and modelling
• Virus-related medical/healthcare informatics and text-mining
• Hydrolytic and cytotoxic anti-DNA antibodies: relation to viral diseases
• Catalytic antibodies: concept of abzyme kinetics
• Possible role of microbial/viral DNA hydrolysis: evolution models
• Structure and function of non-structured proteins vis-à-vis evolutionary related organisms (with high subtype variability)

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper was not originally copyrighted and if it has been completely re-written).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page

Important Dates

Submission: 30 July 2010 (extended)

Notification of first round-review: 30 September 2010

Final notification: 31 October 2010

Camera ready papers: 30 November 2010