Abstract: The subject invention pertains to a method for identifying G-quadruplexes (G4s) in a cell using a G4 fluorescent probe, 2-(2-hydroxy-6-methoxy-3-propionylphenyl)quinazolin-4(3H)-one (HMPQ), which exhibits specific binding affinity to G-quadruplexes (G4s), illuminating these non-canonical nucleic acid structures without altering their conformation. G4s are involved in chromatin organisation, gene regulation, genome stability, and appear to contribute to cancer growth and progression. By utilizing HMPQ's unique fluorescence mechanism through excited-state intramolecular proton transfer, the method allows label-free precise detection of G4 structures in the nucleus of a cell.

Abstract: A character recognition apparatus has space storage to store Eigen spaces made from a plurality of rotated character images, loci storage to store loci drawn for projection points obtained by projecting the plurality of rotated character images in corresponding Eigen spaces; an input unit to input the recognition target images; a distance calculation unit to obtain distances between projection points obtained by projecting the recognition target images in Eigen space and respective loci for the plurality of character types, and a candidate selection unit to select candidates for images for recognition target characters from the plurality of character types based on the distance.