Mechanisms of complex network growth: Synthesis of the preferential attachment and fitness models.

We analyze growth mechanisms of complex networks and focus on their validation by measurements. To this end we consider the equation ΔK=A(t)(K+K_{0})Δt, where K is the node's degree, ΔK is its increment, A(t) is the aging constant, and K_{0} is the initial attractivity. This equation has been commonly used to validate the preferential attachment mechanism.

Power-law citation distributions are not scale-free.

We analyze time evolution of statistical distributions of citations to scientific papers published in the same year. While these distributions seem to follow the power-law dependence we find that they are nonstationary and the exponent of the power-law fit decreases with time and does not come to saturation. We attribute the nonstationarity of citation distributions to different longevity of the low-cited and highly cited papers.

Surface plasmon excitation using a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer: Live cell and bacteria sensing.

We report an accessory for beam collimation to be used as a plug-in for a conventional Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The beam collimator makes use of the built-in focusing mirror of the FTIR spectrometer which focuses the infrared beam onto the pinhole mounted in the place usually reserved for the sample. The beam is collimated by a small parabolic mirror and is redirected to the sample by a pair of plane mirrors.

Growing complex network of citations of scientific papers: Modeling and measurements.

We consider the network of citations of scientific papers and use a combination of the theoretical and experimental tools to uncover microscopic details of this network growth. Namely, we develop a stochastic model of citation dynamics based on the copying-redirection-triadic closure mechanism. In a complementary and coherent way, the model accounts both for statistics of references of scientific papers and for their citation dynamics.

LPS Induces Hyper-Permeability of Intestinal Epithelial Cells.

Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) is a severe inflammatory disorder leading to high morbidity and mortality rates. A growing body of evidence demonstrate the key role of the Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) in NEC. This membranal receptor recognizes lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from the bacterial wall and triggers an inflammatory response.

Broadband surface plasmon wave excitation using dispersion engineering.

High sensitivity of surface-plasmon-based sensors stems from the fact that the surface plasmon is a resonance phenomenon. The resonance results from the phase-matching condition when the phase velocity of the surface plasmon wave and of the lateral component of the incident light become equal. We show that this condition can be satisfied simultaneously for many wavelengths.

Surface plasmon resonance-based infrared biosensor for cell studies with simultaneous control.

We report a label-free infrared surface plasmon biosensor with a double-chamber flow cell for continuous monitoring of morphological changes in cell culture exposed to various stimuli. In this technique, the monolayer of cultured cells is divided into two halves by a barrier, allowing the treatment of one half while the other serves as control. We demonstrate the advantages of this setup in test experiments that track kinetics of the IEC-18 cell layer response to variations in extracellular Ca2+ concentration.

Real-time sensing of enteropathogenic E. coli-induced effects on epithelial host cell height, cell-substrate interactions, and endocytic processes by infrared surface plasmon spectroscopy.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an important, generally non-invasive, bacterial pathogen that causes diarrhea in humans. The microbe infects mainly the enterocytes of the small intestine. Here we have applied our newly developed infrared surface plasmon resonance (IR-SPR) spectroscopy approach to study how EPEC infection affects epithelial host cells.

Surface plasmon-based infrared spectroscopy for cell biosensing.

Cell morphology is often used as a valuable indicator of the physical condition and general status of living cells. We demonstrate a noninvasive method for morphological characterization of adherent cells. We measure infrared reflectivity spectrum at oblique angle from living cells cultured on thin Au film, and utilize the unique properties of the confined infrared waves (i.

Real-time sensing of cell morphology by infrared waveguide spectroscopy.

We demonstrate that a live epithelial cell monolayer can act as a planar waveguide. Our infrared reflectivity measurements show that highly differentiated simple epithelial cells, which maintain tight intercellular connectivity, support efficient waveguiding of the infrared light in the spectral region of 1.4-2.

Stochastic dynamical model of a growing citation network based on a self-exciting point process.

We put under experimental scrutiny the preferential attachment model that is commonly accepted as a generating mechanism of the scale-free complex networks. To this end we chose a citation network of physics papers and traced the citation history of 40,195 papers published in one year. Contrary to common belief, we find that the citation dynamics of the individual papers follows the superlinear preferential attachment, with the exponent α=1.

Real-time monitoring of epithelial cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions by infrared surface plasmon spectroscopy.

The development of novel technologies capable of monitoring the dynamics of cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions in real time and a label-free manner is vital for gaining deeper insights into these most fundamental cellular processes. However, the label-free technologies available today provide only limited information on these processes. Here, we report a new (to our knowledge) infrared surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based methodology that can resolve distinct phases of cell-cell and cell-substrate adhesion of polarized Madin Darby canine kidney epithelial cells.

Real-time monitoring of transferrin-induced endocytic vesicle formation by mid-infrared surface plasmon resonance.

We report on the application of surface plasmon resonance (SPR), based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in the mid-infrared wavelength range, for real-time and label-free sensing of transferrin-induced endocytic processes in human melanoma cells. The evanescent field of the mid-infrared surface plasmon penetrates deep into the cell, allowing highly sensitive SPR measurements of dynamic processes occurring at significant cellular depths. We monitored in real-time, infrared reflectivity spectra in the SPR regime from living cells exposed to human transferrin (Tfn).

Evidence for a specific microwave radiation effect on the green fluorescent protein.

We have compared the effect of microwave irradiation and of conventional heating on the fluorescence of solution-based green fluorescent protein. A specialized near-field 8.5 GHz microwave applicator operating at 250 mW input microwave power was used.