Developing High Performance Computing Resources for Teaching Cluster and Grid Computing courses

High-Performance Computing (HPC) and the ability to process large amounts of data are of paramount importance for UK business and economy as outlined by Rt Hon David Willetts MP at the HPC and Big Data conference in February 2014. However there is a shortage of skills and available training in HPC to prepare and expand the workforce for the HPC and Big Data research and development. Currently, HPC skills are acquired mainly by students and staff taking part in HPC-related research projects, MSc courses, and at the dedicated training centres such as Edinburgh University’s EPCC. There are few UK universities teaching the HPC, Clusters and Grid Computing courses at the undergraduate level. To address the issue of skills shortages in the HPC it is essential to provide teaching and training as part of both postgraduate and undergraduate courses. The design and development of such courses is challenging since the technologies and software in the fields of large scale distributed systems such as Cluster, Cloud and Grid computing are undergoing continuous change. The students completing the HPC courses should be proficient in these evolving technologies and equipped with practical and theoretical skills for future jobs in this fast developing area. In this paper we present our experience in developing the HPC, Cluster and Grid modules including a review of existing HPC courses offered at the UK universities. The topics covered in the modules are described, as well as the coursework projects based on practical laboratory work. We conclude with an evaluation based on our experience over the last ten years in developing and delivering the HPC modules on the undergraduate courses, with suggestions for future work

Removal of Carbamazepine from Drinking Water

Due to the increasing prevalence of prescription medication over the past few decades, pharmaceuticals have accumulated in various water sources. This has become a public health concern because many pharmaceuticals have limited research on the effects of chronic low-level exposure. According to the World’s Health Organization (WHO), traces of pharmaceuticals products have been reported in different water sources such as surface waters, wastewater, groundwater, and drinking water.[1] One pharmaceutical of interest that has been detected in water sources is carbamazepine. Carbamazepine is a common pharmaceutical prescribed for the treatment of seizure disorders, neuropathic pain, and various psychological disorders. It’s mechanism of action is “sodium channel blocking,” which is the impairment of conduction of sodium ions in sodium channels. This, in effect, reduces nervous-system conductivity in key areas related to the treated disorders mentioned above.[2] Carbamazepine is also not easily biodegradable and current conventional treatment methods in some drinking water and wastewater facilities do not adequately remove carbamazepine and other pharmaceuticals from treated water. While carbamazepine is not federally regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Safe Water Drinking Act (SWDA) at this time, it does have the potential for producing adverse health effects in humans. Therefore, being proactive in finding ways to remove carbamazepine and compounds like it should be encouraged. The Carbamaza-Clean team designed a bench scale unit as well as an in-home treatment system using granular activated carbon (GAC) to effectively remove carbamazepine from water. GAC was chosen for this design because it is inexpensive and does not create byproducts that are harmful to human health. Several experiments were conducted to determine the efficiency of the removal of carbamazepine using two different GACs: coconut shell GAC (CSGAC) and bituminous coal GAC (BGAC). A packed bed column was constructed to determine if both carbons could reduce the concentration of carbamazepine from 1 ppm to 1 ppb or lower. The CSGAC packed bed was able to lower the concentration below 1 ppb at a packed bed length of 4.4 ft, while the BGAC only required half that (2.2 ft). Both carbons can remove carbamazepine to the desired concentration; however, the costs vary. An economic analysis was performed to determine the costs of the carbons. The CSGAC system would cost $990 for the first year and$589.68 for each following year. The BGAC system would cost $639 for the first two years, and then$200 every two years following the initial capital investment

Thermal Monitoring: Raman Spectrometer System for Remote Measurement of Cellular Temperature on a Microscopic Scale

A simple setup was demonstrated for remote temperature monitoring of water, water-based media, and cells on a microscopic scale. The technique relies on recording changes in the shape of a stretching band of the hydroxyl group in liquid water at 3,100-3,700 cm^(-1). Rather than direct measurements in the near-infrared (IR), a simple Raman spectrometer setup was realized. The measured Raman shifts were observed at near optical wavelengths using an inverted microscope with standard objectives in contrast to costly near-IR elements. This allowed for simultaneous visible inspection through the same optical path. An inexpensive 671-nm diode pump laser (<100 mW), standard dichroic and lowpass filters, and a commercial 600-1,000 nm spectrometer complete the instrument

Challenging the Computational Metaphor: Implications for How We Think

This paper explores the role of the traditional computational metaphor in our thinking as computer scientists, its influence on epistemological styles, and its implications for our understanding of cognition. It proposes to replace the conventional metaphor--a sequence of steps--with the notion of a community of interacting entities, and examines the ramifications of such a shift on these various ways in which we think