bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Solving mazes with memristors: a massively-parallel approach
Authors: Pershin Yuriy , Di Ventra Massimiliano 
Published: April 2011

AbstractSolving mazes is not just a fun pastime. Mazes are prototype models in graph theory, topology, robotics, traffic optimization, psychology, and in many other areas of science and technology. However, when maze complexity increases their solution becomes cumbersome and very time consuming. Here, we show that a network of memristors - resistors with memory - can solve such a non-trivial problem quite easily. In particular, maze solving by the network of memristors occurs in a massively parallel fashion since all memristors in the network participate simultaneously in the calculation. The result of the calculation is then recorded into the memristors’ states, and can be used and/or recovered at a later time. Furthermore, the network of memristors finds all possible solutions in multiple-solution mazes, and sorts out the solution paths according to their length. Our results demonstrate not only the first application of memristive networks to the field of massively-parallel computing, but also a novel algorithm to solve mazes which could find applications in different research fields.
Studies in preparation of banana wine (fruit wine)
Authors: Sevda Surajbhan , Khartmol Pramod , Rodrigues Lambert 
Published: April 2011

AbstractBanana is a tropical fruit, which is grown abundantly in India. It is mainly composed of soluble sugars, starch and other polysaccharides. The juice was extracted from the normal ripe fruits with the help of pectinase enzyme. Optimization of pectinase treatment was done by RSM method. Wine was prepared by using two strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCIM 3283 & NCIM 3046. The size of inoculum, effective pH, temperature, level of SO2 , level of DAP for both strains was optimized. It was found that NCIM 3046 gave better results compared to the other strain. Soluble solids (SS), pH and specific gravity decreased while titratable acidity (TA) increased with increasing length of fermentation of the juice. Sensory evaluation results showed that banana wine was acceptable in terms of flavor, taste, clarity and overall characteristics. The banana wine was generally accepted & could be popularized.
Understanding economical outcomes with the mental number line
Authors: Vicario Carmelo 
Published: April 2011

AbstractWith this study we provide evidence that the cognitive processes involved in addition/subtraction, mapped along the mental number line, seem to mediate our understanding of trading verbs. When left-to-right culture participants read "loss" verbs, cognitive activation moves "leftward" as in arithmetical subtraction, while reading "gain" verbs activates a mental rightward space as in addition.We test this hypothesis by asking to a group of participants to use their left and right hand in judging (as correct of not) the syntactic form of several verbs meaning financial outcomes. Results show that processing “gain verbs” was associated with shorter latencies when responding with the right hand similarly when performing an addition task, while processing “loss verbs” was associated with shorter latencies when responding with the left, similarly when performing a subtraction task. This finding suggests that understanding language denoting economics outcomes covertly engages the arithmetical system in a spatially left-right dimension.
The universe of normal and cancer cell line responses to anticancer treatment: Lessons for cancer therapy
Authors: Vazquez Alexei 
Published: April 2011

AbstractAccording to the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results report, 1,479,350 men and women will be diagnosed with and 562,340 will die of cancer of all sites in 2009, indicating that about 40% of the cancer patients do not respond well to current anticancer therapies. Using tumor and normal tissue cell lines as a model, we show this high mortality rate is rooted in inherent features of anticancer treatments. We obtain that, while on average anticancer treatments exhibit a two fold higher efficacy when applied to cancer cells, the response distribution of cancer and normal cells significantly overlap. Focusing on specific treatments, we provide evidence indicating that the therapeutic index is proportional to the fraction of cancer cell lines manifesting significantly good responses, and propose the latter as a quantity to identify compounds with best potential for anticancer therapy. We conclude that there is no single treatment targeting all cancer cell lines at a non-toxic dose. However, there are effective treatments for specific cancer cell lines, which, when used in a personalized manner or applied in combination, can target all cancer cell lines.
In silico Gene Characterization and biological annotation of Aspergillus niger CBS 513.88
Authors: Nayarisseri Anuraj , Yadav Mukesh , Lokhande Vini , Patidar Rajesh , Maynal Mayura 
Published: April 2011

AbstractGenome annotation is the process of estimation of biological features from genomic data. The target of a genome annotation is to identify the key features of the genome sequence particularly, the genes and gene products. The characteristics of a gene, its products, and gene prediction programs of Aspergillus niger are discussed. Although the number of genomes in genomic databases are increasing day by day, genome-wide analyses are affected by the quality of the genome annotations. This study illustrates the importance of integrative approaches for automatic annotations of genomes of Aspergillus niger by computational methods. However, the annotation process is more complicated in Eukaryotes; we used a comparative study for gene prediction using the FgenesH algorithm by various software providers. The final annotation of Aspergillus niger CBS 513.88. has been created as a GB file in Artemis, A sequence viewer and annotation tool was developed in the anger Institute.
Nanotechnology in Agriculture: Propagating, Perpetuating, and Protecting Life
Authors: Mukhopadhyay Siddhartha 
Published: April 2011

AbstractNatural agricultural production is an open system, both energy and matters are exchanged freely in this system involving interactions of geosphere (especially pedosphere), biosphere, and atmosphere. Agriculture provides crops for food and industry, fiber, fuel, auto-fuel and drugs. On one hand it faces ever escalating food prices and farmer’s suicides, and on the other hand input use efficiency is low. Present agricultural practices have made harvests toxic, mother’s milk a poison, and breathing-air venom. In this background, nanotechnology brings new hope. Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary venture-field that converge science, engineering, and agriculture and food systems into one. The Environmental Protection Agency of the US has defined nanotechnology as the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1-100 nm, where unique physical properties make novel applications possible. The triple problems of agriculture – over-dependence on supplementary irrigation, vulnerability to climate, and poor input and energy conversion to products – can be solved by using nanotechnology, provided agricultural scientists seek a chance to try and cooperate with scientists of kindred disciplines. Nanotechnology is new to agriculture; a ventured field of less than a decade old. But, already success has been achieved for manufacturing nano-pesticides and nano-fertilizer, in disease elimination in poultry, in food packaging, use of agricultural waste, nanosensors, precision agricultural practices, and in livestock and fisheries. Nanotechnology holds the potential to revolutionize agriculture and food systems in the areas of nano-fertilizers, pesticide career, microfluidics, BioMEMS, nucleic acid bioengineering, smart treatment delivery systems, nanobioprocessing, bioanalytical nanosensors, nanomaterials, bioselective surfaces, environmental processing, pathogen detection, plant/animal production, biosecurity, molecular and cellular biology, protection of the environment through the reduction and conversion of agricultural materials into valuable products, design and development of new nanocatalysts to convert vegetable oils into biobased fuels and biodegradable industrial solvents, and in controlled ecological life support system, to name a few.
Nanomaterials: Look at the Earth
Authors: Mukhopadhyay Siddhartha 
Published: April 2011

AbstractNanotechnology promises to be the greatest technological breakthrough in history, doing for our control of matter what computers did for our control of information. The origins of nanoscience can be traced to clay mineralogy and crystallography when it was discovered that clay minerals were crystalline and of micrometer size. The unit cell dimensions of clay minerals are in nanometer scale in all three axes (x, y, and z). The advantages of clays are: (i) their ordered arrangements, (ii) their large adsorption capacity, (iii) their shielding against sunlight (ultraviolet radiation), (iv) their ability to concentrate organic chemicals, and (v) their ability to serve as polymerization templates. Clay minerals in nanoforms played a catalytic role in the synthesis of the ribosome in RNA that led to genesis of life on Earth. The history of Earth suggests that the late Precambrian oxygenation led to the inception of a ‘clay mineral factory’ that triggered the radical evolutionary diversification of Neoproterozoic life due to enhanced burial of organic carbon. High activity clays protected organic matter from reoxygenation, allowing a corresponding quantity of O2 to accumulate in the environment. The inseparable association of clays with lifeforms makes them most desirable in manufacturing nanoparticles. Clays have been extensively used in industry, but as concern for environmental sustainability grows, clay minerals find new takers from all conceivable forms of industries. Nanotechnology literature is flooded with clay-polymers for their possible use in high strength material manufacturing, for ecological life support systems, removal of contaminants from water and wastes, and as catalysts in chemical reactions to reduce energy consumption.
Mechanism and circuitry underlying retinal sensitization
Authors: Kastner David , Ozuysal Yusuf , Baccus Stephen 
Published: April 2011

AbstractRecently we have described a population of retinal ganglion cells that increase their sensitivity after the presentation of a high contrast stimulus. This process, termed contrast sensitization is a form of short-term information storage that enables ganglion cells to store the location of a previously moving object for several seconds. Effectively, sensitizing ganglion cells make a prediction that the location of a strong stimulus at one point in time will continue to be important in the near future, even after the strong stimulus ceases. To understand how the retina can paradoxically increase its sensitivity in the face of a strong stimulus, we recorded intracellularly from sensitizing ganglion cells, and found that a depolarization of the baseline membrane potential underlies the increase in sensitivity. We then fit the membrane potential fluctuations with a model that contained two independently adapting pathways: one excitatory and one inhibitory. In this model, a strong stimulus adapts the inhibitory pathway, such that subsequent stimuli are processed with less inhibition, thus increasing sensitivity. Consistent with this model, pharmacologically blocking GABAergic inhibitory transmission eliminated sensitization. To identify interneurons that generated sensitization, we recorded intracellularly from an inhibitory amacrine cell, while simultaneously recording from a population of ganglion cells with an extracellular multielectrode array. By injecting current into the amacrine cell, we measured whether amacrine transmission changed during sensitization. Initial results indicate the presence of an amacrine cell whose transmission to ganglion cells depresses during sensitization, as predicted by the model. This effect was specific, as other types of amacrine cells did not change their transmission under the same conditions. These results lead to an understanding of sensitization whereby a strong stimulus primes the circuit to form a prediction of future input by locally removing one type of inhibition.
Microbiological Aspects and Immunity Response of Bacteria Causing Pulpitis
Authors: Dwivedi Deepak , Kushwah Sapna , Singh Dr. Vinod 
Published: April 2011

AbstractThe oral cavity is a very widely distributed ecosystem in which several hundred microbial species normally cohabit harmoniously. Under special conditions some microorganisms with potential are promoted, leading to inflammation & infection by induced de-mineralization of dental enamel that normally constitutes an impermeable barrier that protects the underlying dentin and the connective tissue situated in the center of the tooth & dental pulp such as pulpitis, dental caries, and periodontal infection. In inflammation of the dental pulpitis the immunity response against oral infection leads to infection and results in a high level of morbidity and economic burden to society.
Risk Factors for Parenteral Nutrition–associated Liver Disease Following Surgical Therapy for Necrotizing Enterocolitis
Authors: Duro Debora , Mitchell Paul D , Kalish Leslie A , Martin Cami , McCarthy Maggie , Jaksic Tom , Dunn James , Brandt Mary L , Nobuhara Kerilyn K , Sylvester Karl G , Moss R Lawrence , Duggan Christopher 
Published: April 2011

ABSTRACTObjective:The aim of the study was to prospectively determine risk factors for the development of parenteral nutrition–associated liver disease (PNALD) in infants who underwent surgery for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), the most common cause of intestinal failure in children.Patients and Methods:From February 2004 to February 2007, we diagnosed 464 infants with NEC, of whom 180 had surgery. One hundred twenty‐seven patients were available for full analysis. PNALD was defined as serum direct bilirubin ≥2 mg/dL or ALT ≥2 × the upper limit of normal in the absence of sepsis after ≥14 days of exposure to PN.Results:Median gestational age was 26 weeks and 68% were boys. Seventy percent of the cohort developed PNALD and the incidence of PNALD varied significantly across the 6 study sites, ranging from 56% to 85% (P = 0.05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified small‐bowel resection or creation of jejunostomy (odds ratio [OR] 4.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.97–12.51, P = 0.0007) and duration of PN in weeks (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.56–3.60, P < 0.0001) as independent risk factors for PNALD. Preoperative exposure to PN was also associated with the development of PNALD; the risk of PNALD was 2.6 (95% CI 1.5–4.7; P = 0.001) times greater in patients with ≥4 weeks of preoperative PN compared with those with less preoperative PN use. Breast milk feedings, episodes of infection, and gestational age were not related to the development of PNALD.Conclusions:The incidence of PNALD is high in infants with NEC undergoing surgical treatment. Risk factors for PNALD are related to signs of NEC severity, including the need for small‐bowel resection or proximal jejunostomy, as well as longer exposure to PN. Identification of these and other risk factors can help in the design of clinical trials for the prevention and treatment of PNALD and for clinical assessment of patients with NEC and prolonged PN dependence.
Key aspects for successful immunoglobulin therapy of primary immunodeficiencies
Authors: Cunningham-Rundles C 
Published: April 2011

Summary
Immunoglobulin (Ig) therapy is the mainstay for treatment in the majority of primary immune deficiencies. While B cell defects are the predominant conditions in man, other diseases in which T cell dysfunction is severe also require antibody replacement. In many medical practices the phenotypic overlap between immune deficiency and symptoms of asthma leads to both missed opportunities for diagnosing immune defects and inappropriate Ig treatment of asthmatic patients with normal B cell function. As steroid therapy can lower serum IgG levels, this finding alone is an insufficient indicator for Ig replacement. In the past 3 decades, there has a gradual increase in recommended and commonly used doses of parenteral immune globulin, often based on both IgG trough levels and clinical responses. Special attention to Ig doses is needed for growing children, in cases of weight loss or gain, pregnancy and for subjects in whom more rapid consumption of Ig is likely, including febrile patients or those with gastrointestinal or lung disease. While acute bacterial infections are much less common in Ig-treated subjects, a number of reports note continued evidence of inflammatory complications. Monitoring patients over time includes, at minimum, physical examination, blood counts and chemistry screening tests and IgG trough levels, at 6–12-month intervals. Other monitoring tools include spirometry and at wider intervals with those with lung disease, carbon monoxide diffusion capacity and chest computed tomography scans. With careful selection of patients and adequate therapy, an improved quality of life is possible.
Irinotecan‐induced alterations in intestinal cell kinetics and extracellular matrix component expression in the dark agouti rat
Authors: Al‐Dasooqi Noor , Bowen Joanne M. , Gibson Rachel J. , Logan Richard M. , Stringer Andrea M. , Keefe Dorothy M. 
Published: April 2011

SummaryChemotherapy‐induced mucositis is characterized by damage of mucous membranes throughout the alimentary tract (AT). Extracellular matrix (ECM) components play a vital role in maintaining mucosal barrier integrity by regulating cellular apoptosis, proliferation and differentiation of overlying epithelial cells. The aims of this study were to characterize the changes in epithelial cell kinetics and to investigate the expression of the ECM components in the gastrointestinal tract following irinotecan administration. Female dark agouti rats were treated with single 200 mg/kg dose irinotecan and killed at various time points (1, 6, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 144 h) after treatment. Ki67 immunostaining and TUNEL were used to assess proliferation and apoptosis, respectively, in the jejunum and colon. Masson trichrome staining and picro‐sirius red staining were used to determine the level of collagen, and immunohistochemistry was used to further assess collagen IV, fibronectin and laminin 1 and 2 expression in these tissues. Irinotecan halved cellular proliferation in the jejunum and colon at 48 and 24 h, respectively, while apoptosis peaked at 6 h (P < 0.05). There was a substantial increase in total collagen deposits around crypts from 24 h in both regions. However, collagen IV expression decreased significantly in the crypt region in a delayed fashion (P < 0.05). Fibronectin expression decreased significantly in jejunum and colon from 6 to 24 h following treatment (P < 0.05). Irinotecan induced a significant alteration in epithelial cell kinetics in both the jejunum and colon, and this correlated with changes in ECM component expression. Changes in ECM expression may have a direct impact on the loss of mucosal layer integrity evident in chemotherapy‐induced mucositis.
The sedimentology and geomorphology of rock avalanche deposits on glaciers
Authors: SHUGAR DAN H. , CLAGUE JOHN J. 
Published: April 2011

AbstractThis article describes and compares the deposits of four large landslides on two glaciers in Alaska using field mapping and remote sensing. Digital image analysis is used to compare the sedimentological characteristics of nearly 200 000 individual surface blocks deposited by three landslides at Black Rapids Glacier in 2002. The debris sheets of one of the three landslides on Black Rapids Glacier and a landslide emplaced on Sherman Glacier in 1964 are also investigated. The three landslides on Black Rapids Glacier have undergone little post‐depositional modification by glacier flow, whereas the Sherman Glacier landslide has been transported supraglacially up to ca 1 km over the past 46 years. The three debris sheets on Black Rapids Glacier have coarse blocky rims at their distal edges, and all four debris sheets have longitudinal flowbands characterized by differences in texture and produced by shearing within the moving debris. Elongated blocks are parallel to flow, except at the perimeter of the debris sheets, where they are aligned more perpendicular to flow. Blocks on the Sherman Glacier debris sheet have been reoriented by glacier flow. The matrix shows no systematic differences with depth or distance from the source. However, it appears to become coarser over a time scale of decades due to weathering.
Detection of granulocyte antibodies using simultaneous analysis of specific granulocyte antibodies assay (SASGA)
Authors: Nguyen X. D. , Scherpf R. , Sassenhof F. , Flesch B. , Klüter H. 
Published: April 2011

Objective  Granulocyte‐associated antibodies can cause several clinical granulocytopenic disorders. The monoclonal‐antibody‐specific immobilization of granulocyte antigens (MAIGA) is currently used as the standard assay to specify these antibodies. Here we describe an assay for specific analysis of granulocyte antibodies (SASGA) which is able to simultaneously detect and specify granulocyte IgG‐ and IgM‐antibodies using flow cytometry.Methods  Bead populations with distinct fluorescence intensities were used as solid phase for immobilization of mAb. Typed granulocytes were incubated with human sera and a mix of three distinct mouse monoclonal antibodies against specific granulocyte antigens (for example CD16, CD11a, HLA class I). After cell lysis and incubation of lysate with beads, goat antibodies against human IgG and IgM antibodies were added. Seventy‐one frozen sera of donors and patients previously implicated in transfusion reactions and various underlying disorders were analysed for specific granulocyte‐binding antibodies using MAIGA and SASGA.Results  The SASGA assay was able to simultaneously detect granulocyte‐specific antibodies for different glycoproteins. Overall, the results of MAIGA and SASGA were concordant in 92·9%. 5 sera containing anti‐HNA‐1b (n = 2) and ‐HLA class I (n = 3) were not detected by MAIGA, but were recognized by the SASGA. In serial dilution tests with sera containing anti‐HNA‐1a, ‐1b, ‐2a and HLA class I, the SASGA assay detected the antibodies at higher dilutions than MAIGA.Conclusion  The SASGA assay permits reliable detection of specific granulocyte antibodies. Six distinct antibodies can be simultaneously determined. This method will potentially open the way to investigations on additional specific antibodies as it facilitates laboratory diagnosis.