Failover in cellular automata

A cellular automata (CA) configuration is constructed that exhibits emergent failover. The configuration is based on standard Game of Life rules. Gliders and glider-guns form the core messaging structure in the configuration. The blinker is represented as the basic computational unit, and it is shown how it can be recreated in case of a failure. Stateless failover using primary-backup mechanism is demonstrated. The details of the CA components used in the configuration and its working are described, and a simulation of the complete configuration is also presented.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures and associated video at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7553694/failover_demo.avi and simulation at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7553694/failover_simulation.ja

Correlation of serum calcium levels with severity and functional outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients

Background: The objective of the study was to study the role of serum calcium levels in accessing the severity and functional outcome in the patients of acute ischemic stroke.Methods: The study included a total of 50 patients of acute ischemic stroke in the age group of 20 to 80 years. The patients were divided into four quartiles as per their serum albumin corrected levels measured during 24 ton 48 hours of incidence of ischemic stroke. The stroke severity was accessed by using National Institutes of Health (NIH) stroke scale and the functional outcome at the time of discharge and after three months of follow up by using modified Rankin scale (mRS). The results were analyzed by using appropriate statistical test.Results: We found that the patients those in higher calcium quartiles (Q3,Q4) had significantly lesser 24-48 hrs stroke severity as compared to those in lower calcium quartiles (Q1,Q2) i.e. in 72.73% in Q3, and 42.86% in Q4 were in mild NIH scale group as compared to 7.69% in Q2 and 0% in Q1. At the time of discharge and at three months follow up functional outcome was significantly better in higher calcium quartile group when compared to lower quartile (>3 mRS score suggestive of poor outcome in 91.66% of Q1, 76.93% in Q2, 27.27% in Q3 and 7.14% in Q4 at the time of discharge and 83.32% in Q1, 76.93 in Q2, 27.27% in Q3 and 7.14% in Q4 at three months of follow up). The correlation analysis showed that this association was statistically significant (p-value <0.01).Conclusions: we conclude that 24 -48 hours calcium levels have strong correlation with severity and functional outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients and hence it can be taken as a marker of severity and prognostic factor in these patients.

Intussusception Caused by Yersinia enterocolitica Enterocolitis in a Patient with Sickle Cell Anemia

Yersinia enterocolitica intussusception is rarely encountered in patients without an underlying susceptibility and is most frequently reported in iron-overloaded patients. This is thought to be related to the unusual use of iron by this microorganism. We present a case of a 5-year old child with intussusception of the terminal ileum caused by Y. enterocolitica whose past medical history was significant for sickle cell disease. This type of presentation is extremely rare. His monthly blood transfusions may have put him at risk for Y. enterocolitica enterocolitis. The pathogenesis of this disease relates to the role of iron as an essential growth factor for Y. enterocolitica, and this patient’s transfusions left him in an iron overloaded state despite treatment with Deferoxamine. Our patient’s unusual presentation of intusssuception was secondary to the mass effect caused by lymphoid hyperplasia, specifically hypertrophied Peyer’s patches in the ileum caused by the Y. enterocolitica infection. We believe that our case demonstrates that Y. enterocolitica should be considered a possible pathogen in patients with sickle cell disease, especially if symptoms occur shortly after blood transfusion

Design and Development of High Entropy Alloys Using Artificial Intelligence

The conventional design approach of alloys initiates with one principal element and continues by adding several alloying elements to obtain desired properties. In this method, the intrinsic properties of the designed alloy are governed by the principal element. For example, in steel alloy, iron is the principal element, Aluminium in aluminium alloy, and so on. Compared to the conventional alloy, high entropy alloys do not have any dominating elements; all the elements present in these alloys either have an equal or near-equal ratio of elements. As reported in the literature, these alloys exhibit interesting material properties such as high strength, high hardness, improved elevated temperature strength, and magnetic properties. These characteristics make HEAs a suitable option for high-performance applications in the aero engine, aerospace structures, and machine tools. High entropy alloy has multiple principal elements as shown in schematic diagram 1; it leads to much higher possible compositions than conventional alloys. The huge compositional space provides an opportunity to improve desired mechanical properties. If it is explored through “trial and error,” it will be challenging and cumbersome. Therefore, search schemes that can competently and promptly recognize particular alloys with desired properties are essential. Artificial Intelligence is a useful tool to model, discover, and optimize new alloys that enable predicting individual material properties as a function of composition. While the application of Artificial Intelligence is quite popular in many aspects of society, its usage in material informatics is still in the nascent stage. The algorithm used in artificial intelligence is trained to pick up predictive rules from data and create a material model quicker than a computational model and can even generate the model for which no physical model exists. Artificial Intelligence (AI) allows predicting a set of experiments to be conducted to detect new alloy having desired properties. Thus, AI can be used as a valuable tool to optimize the development of new alloys

Genomic Dissection and Expression Profiling Revealed Functional Divergence in Triticum aestivum Leucine Rich Repeat Receptor Like Kinases (TaLRRKs)

The leucine rich repeat receptor like kinases (LRRK) constitute the largest subfamily of receptor like kinases (RLK), which play critical roles in plant development and stress responses. Herein, we identified 531 TaLRRK genes in Triticum aestivum (bread wheat), which were distributed throughout the A, B, and D sub-genomes and chromosomes. These were clustered into 233 homologous groups, which were mostly located on either homeologous chromosomes from various sub-genomes or in proximity on the same chromosome. A total of 255 paralogous genes were predicted which depicted the role of duplication events in expansion of this gene family. Majority of TaLRRKs consisted of trans-membrane region and localized on plasma-membrane. The TaLRRKs were further categorized into eight phylogenetic groups with numerous subgroups on the basis of sequence homology. The gene and protein structure in terms of exon/intron ratio, domains and motifs organization were found to be variably conserved across the different phylogenetic groups/subgroups, which indicated a potential divergence and neofunctionalization during evolution. High-throughput transcriptome data and quantitative real time PCR analyses in various developmental stages, and biotic and abiotic (heat, drought and salt) stresses provided insight into modus operandi of TaLRRKs during these conditions. Distinct expression of majority of stress responsive TaLRRKs homologous genes suggested their specified role in a particular condition. These results provided a comprehensive analysis of various characteristic features including functional divergence, which may provide the way for future functional characterization of this important gene family in bread wheat

Principal Component Analysis Approach for Yield Attributing Traits in Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) Genotypes

The research work was investigated among 55 okra accessions in RCBD with three replications and was evaluated for seventeen phenotypic characteristics of okra principal component analysis at the Agriculture Research Farm, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara (Punjab). According to principal component analysis (PCA), six of the seventeen (PC1 to PC6) PCs had eigenvalues above 1.0 and a cumulative variance of around 75.52.&nbsp; PC 1 alone accounted for the highest variance of 25.38 by PC1, followed by PC 2 with 15.98%. The outcomes of this investigation might be used as a foundation for defining and implementing subsequent okra breeding initiatives. Days to the 1st flowering, days to the 50% flowering and days to the first fruit harvest appear above the average variance contribution of each PC in the screen plot. Biplot analysis of PC1 and PC2 in contribution dim.1 revealed 25% and dim.2 revealed 16%

Comparison of freeze-thaw and sonication cycle-based methods for extracting AMR-associated metabolites from Staphylococcus aureus

Emerging antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among Gram-positive pathogens, specifically in Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), is becoming a leading public health concern demanding effective therapeutics. Metabolite modulation can improve the efficacy of existing antibiotics and facilitate the development of effective therapeutics. However, it remained unexplored for drug-resistant S. aureus (gentamicin and methicillin-resistant), primarily due to the dearth of optimal metabolite extraction protocols including a protocol for AMR-associated metabolites. Therefore, in this investigation, we have compared the performance of the two most widely used methods, i.e., freeze-thaw cycle (FTC) and sonication cycle (SC), alone and in combination (FTC + SC), and identified the optimal method for this purpose. A total of 116, 119, and 99 metabolites were identified using the FTC, SC, and FTC + SC methods, respectively, leading to the identification of 163 metabolites cumulatively. Out of 163, 69 metabolites were found to be associated with AMR in published literature consisting of the highest number of metabolites identified by FTC (57) followed by SC (54) and FTC + SC (40). Thus, the performances of FTC and SC methods were comparable with no additional benefits of combining both. Moreover, each method showed biasness toward specific metabolite(s) or class of metabolites, suggesting that the choice of metabolite extraction method shall be decided based on the metabolites of interest in the investigation

Extended-spectrum β-lactamase and AmpC β-lactamase Production among Gram-negative Bacilli Isolates Obtained from Urinary Tract Infections and Wound Infections

Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and AmpC β-lactamases continue to be a major problem in healthcare settings. Due to the scarcity of information regarding the antibiotic susceptibility patterns particularly from urinary tract infection (UTI) and wound infections, the current study was carried out to assist the clinicians to prescribe appropriate antibiotics against Gram-negative clinical isolates. In the current study, urine (n = 620) and pus (n = 228) samples were collected from different sites (at various clinical departments) and subjected to direct microscopic examination, culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST). In the AST testings, the isolates that exhibited reduced zone of inhibition to one or more of the antibiotics such as cefotaxime (≤27 mm), ceftriaxone (≤25 mm), ceftazidime (≤22 mm), cefpodoxime (≤17 mm) and aztreonam (≤27 mm) were considered as potential ESBL producers and the ESBL production was confirmed using phenotypic screening test (double-disk synergy test) and phenotypic confirmatory test (combined-disk test). However, isolates showing resistance or decreased sensitivity to cefoxitin, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, cefpodoxime or aztreonam and sensitive to cefepime were considered as a screen positive AmpC producer and subjected to AmpC disk tests. The current study concluded that 72.41% and 21.76% of ESBL and AmpC producers were detected, respectively in our hospital. It was also observed that the double-disk synergy and combined-disk tests were equally effective for ESBL detection. Further, AmpC disk test is simple, easy to perform and interpret, requiring less expertise for the rapid detection of AmpC isolates