Science/R&D

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STEM Specific Search Engines, MetaCrawlers & More

Posted by DR. NURVUS on April 6, 2016
Posted in: Free Resources. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Sometimes scouring the vastness of the internet can be a hassle. You don’t have time to sift through the millions of database and journal sources for your research paper, proposal, or summary. You already have 10^30 things you need to do.

Well I went ahead and did some of that scouring for you. Hopefully these database driven search engines are useful and can provide you with a portal to the articles you need to keep up on your to-do list.

Useful STEM-base Search Engines

  1. Google Scholar
  2. SciFinder 
  3. Wiley Online Library
  4. ScienceDirect
  5. RefSeek
  6. Lab Spend
  7. CiteSeerx
  8. GetCITED
  9. Microsoft Academic Research
  10. Bioline International
  11. Directory of Open Access Journals
  12. PLOSone
  13. BioOne
  14. New Journal of Physics
  15. NCBI
  16. Sigma Aldrich – For reagent/chemical properties

The above academic directory powered SE’s are great for scientific research and paper citations. They offer information covering almost all major areas of science including computer and technology based fields.

With that said, search engines are not the only way to sift through the information online. Though more current and comprehensive in their scope,. search engines are merely the newest most “mainstream” players on the field. Other reliable sources of information are found in large web directories which allow you to browse among dozens or hundreds of sites devoted to the same subject. The problem with directories is that they do not auto-index like Google and other search engines do, which means it may take several months for new sites to be added to their catalog.

You can also use a web-tool known as a metacrawler or metasearch site. These sites combine the work of multiple search engines and can search billions of web pages. The only drawback is that using this search option can sometimes be inferior to multiple direct search engine queries.

The last one I know of is the all-in-one search pages which, unlike metasearch/crawlers do not send your query through multiple engines, but instead list a wide variety of search engines on one page, allowing you to search without going directly to a specific search engine.

For more information and updates check out Search Engine Watch. They are a good source on the current climate surrounding the most used search tools on the web.

Web Directories

  1. Science Web Directories

MetaCrawlers & MetaSearch

  1. Dogpile
  2. Vivisimo
  3. Kartoo
  4. Mamma
  5. SurfWax
  6. Clusty
  7. CurryGuide
  8. Excite
  9. Fazzle
  10. Gimenei
  11. IceRocket – Meta search engine with thumbnail displays.
  12. Info.com – Provides results from 14 search engines and pay-per-click directories.
  13. InfoGrid – Provides direct links to major search sites and topical web sites in different categories. Meta search and news searching is also offered.
  14. Infonetware
  15. Ixquick
  16. iZito – Has a “park” feature, allowing you to essentially save specific pages from the result listings.
  17. Jux2 – This is a search result comparison tool, allowing for side by side result comparisons of multiple SEs.
  18. Meceoo – Allows you to create an “exclusion list” to block pages from particular web sites being included.
  19. MetaCrawler – One of the oldest meta search services, MetaCrawler began in July 1995 at the University of Washington.
  20. MetaEureka – Offers a nice option to see Alexa info about pages that are listed.
  21. ProFusion – Accesses several major web SEs and some invisible web resources.
  22. Query Server
  23. Turbo10 – Accesses traditional & some invisible web databases.
  24. Search.com
  25. Ujiko – Flash is required.
  26. WebCrawler
  27. ZapMeta

All-In-One Pages

  1. CentPage 
  2. Google Versus Yahoo Tool – Exactly what you think it is.
  3. One Page MultiSearch Engines
  4. Proteus
  5. Queryster
  6. YurNet

 

 

Additionally, exiting the realm of scientific discovering and entering the realm of regular discovery, there are many specialized metasearch services available which can make our life on the net a little easier.

Specific MetaSearch Services

  1. GoFish – Searches licensed and commercially available digital media downloads including music, movies, music videos, ringtones, mobile games and PC games.
  2. Searchy.co.uk – Searches 15 U.K. only search engines.
  3. Watson – for macintosh users.

If you are still having trouble with all the internets setting there before you, then it may be beneficial for you to read through the Science on the Internet site. It is a tutorial developed by the International Network for the Availability for Science Publications (INASP) and the Institute for Learning and Research Technology (ILRT) at the University of Bristol to help policy advisers who want to use the Internet to find and manage information on science topics.

**ProTip – Always check your university database as they have access to many journals and if the article you are looking for is not in one of them you can request an inter-library loan. A word of warning, this can sometimes take a couple days so plan in advance.

The above is by no means everything, but hopefully if you are studying in the STEM fields it can provide you with some helpful sources. As always, leave me a comment if you find any sites that belong here and especially if any of the links are dead!

Remember unless science is accessible to all, it cannot be as beneficial for all.

 

 

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New Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Frameworks

Posted by DR. NURVUS on April 5, 2016
Posted in: Chemistry, Science News. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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[note: Figures are in the source article and not highlighted in this summary]

This is a summary of work reported in the Journal of Inorganic Chemistry concerning crystallin inorganic-organic frameworks and their properties. In the literature, is is obvious that crystalline open frameworks have many potential uses in the storage of gases, magnetism, and catalytic reactions.1 These possible applications have driven an increasing amount of research into their development. There are abundant types of inorganic and organic frameworks (IF, OF) which have been developed. Included within these categories are zeolites, or aluminosilicate frameworks typically used as molecular sieves, transition-metal phosphate structures, and metal-organic framework (MOFs) structures.1

These frameworks heave been heavily studied and MOFs and IFs are viewed as the two most important types of porous material frameworks currently being researched.1 Hybrid structures using elements from both inorganic and metal-organic frameworks are less known.1 The authors in this study are expressly interested in these specific types of hybrid structures, primarily focusing on Cobalt based organometallophosphates (OMPOs) and their potential uses in catalytic and redox chemical reactions.1

Classification of these organic-inorganic frameworks may be classified using the Cheetham system in the following InOm format, where n,m are integers from 0, and I and O refer to the frameworks inorganic, and organic, dimensions in reference to M-X-M and M-L-M connectivity (X denoting O, N, Cl, or S, and L being an organic ligand). Most hybrid frameworks have dimensionalities from 0 to 3. Super-imposed dimensionalities over 3 are rare.1

Two new hybrid frameworks, developed using a solvothermal reaction of CoCl2*6H2O, DABCO, H3PO4, and H2bpdc in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), (where DABCO is 1,4-diazobicyclo [2.2.2] octane, and bdpc is 4,4`-biphenyldicarboxylate) are reported by the authors, with first compound (C1) using the bpdc ligand, and the second compound (C2) using the npa ligands. The compounds C1 framework: [H2DABCO] x [Co(HPO4)(bpdc)] and the compound C2 framework: [H2DABCO]3 x [Co10(npa)3(HPO4)6Cl2].

Structurally, C1 exhibits a layered inorganic Co(HPO4) matrix, with the cobalt-phosphate braced by the bpdc ligands. The matrix is held together by hydrogen bonds formed between the ligands and cations.1 In figure 1 the authors break down the Co(HPO4) subunits into a basic 4-node layout illustrating it’s tetrahedral geometry. This tetrahedral geometry seen in the subunit is multiplied across the matrix and is responsible for creating the ABW topology seen in (d) of figure 1.

C2’s structure exhibits a metal phosphate layer and metal organic layer connected by their Co5 and Co4 clusters into a hexagonal pattern, with the Co4 clusters having a more exaggerated twist to their structure comparatively. In part (c) of Figure 2, C2’s bilayer and its interlocking framework are illustrated. In part (d) the DABCO groups are illustrated from the z-axis viewpoint down the channels formed from the hexagonal geometry. C2’s main geometric feature of interest is its unusual honeycomb formation, as it allows for the compounds classification of I2O2 which means that it has a dimensionality of 4, above the typical 3 often seen.1 C1 in comparison is an I2O0 framework with a dimensionality of 2, which is traditional.1

With this structural analysis of C1 and C2, and by obtaining and calculating the magnetic susceptibility data through the Curie-Weiss law for the CoII ions, the authors were able to demonstrate two new OMPO compounds. The most important of which is C2 exhibiting its atypical dimensionality, and the proof that Cobalt ions with multiarylcarboxylate-type ligands are sturdy OMPO constituents.

 

Summary: 2/13/2016

References

  1. Ding, Q., Li, L., Zhang, L., Zhang, J.; Multiarylcarboxylate-mediated Hybrid Cobalt Phosphate Frameworks with Supramolecular Zeolitic Topology and unusual I2O2 Connectivity, J. Inorganic Chemistry, 2015, 54, 1209-1211.

 

 

 

 

Anti-Viral Drug Resources

Posted by DR. NURVUS on April 5, 2016
Posted in: Free Resources. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Below are some resources I have collected which pertain to current and ongoing anti-viral research. This field has been under the limelight of late due to the ever more concerning Zika virus outbreak as it continues to spread farther north of the equator and into U.S. states. With the Zika virus slowly making its way unimpeded biotech company stock has went through the roof in hopes of funding a vaccine whilst President Obama has called for an increase in Zika research endeavors.

Luckily, virology and medical research has come a long way and we have a chance at beating not only the Zika virus, but many more as well. In 2011, MIT researchers at the Lincoln Lab were already creating novel broad spectrum treatments for multiple virus types. The team did this by creating a drug which could identify and destroy virus infected cells, which would terminate the infection in the body. This was tested, and found effected, against 15 different viruses including: rhinoviruses, H1N1 influenza, polio, dengue fever, and several other viruses responsible for hemorrhagic fevers (VHF).

That was in 2011… it’s 2016 now. Last I checked that’s half a decade worth of advancement. Now we are seeing the development of specialized drugs to attach and render inert specific proteins on viral coatings, specialized drug delivery systems, and a booming stem cell research sector with all the bells and whistles.

Anti-viral drug resources

  1. Antiviral factors and viral contaminants in human milk – All known possible antimicrobial and microbial contaminants in human milk are maintained and updated on this site in seven Tables. See Table 2 and 4 for antiviral factors and viral contaminates
  2. Antiviral Agents Bulletin – Published by the Biotechnology Information Institute
  3. Antiviral Drug Resistance Online – An electronic version of International Antiviral Press.
  4. Gresval Labs – Research and development of specific antivirals active against encapsulated viruses (such as HIV, SHV,and influanza) based on a new concept of blocking the binding of the virus to the host membrane.
  5. Institute for Antiviral Research – An anti-viral program hosted at Utah State University. Included are listings of each drug used as well as a breakdown of employees.
  6. Antiviral Drugs for Influenza Type A – an informative portal via the CDC.
  7. National Cancer Institute’s HIV Drug Resistance Program (DRP) – A world renowned center for retrovirology research. This center is a highly collaborative environment dedicated purely to research.
  8. SciTechnol: Journal of Virology & Antiviral research – A free open access peer reviewed online journal concerning virology and anti-viral research.

Other resources which may be informative:

The above is by no means everything, but hopefully it can provide you with some helpful sources. If you are a lab, organization, or individual which wishes to promote themselves and help keep the public informed of ongoing research please message me here.

As always, leave me a comment if any of the links are dead!