NeuroProv - A visualisation system to enhance the utility of provenance Data for neuroimaging analysis

E-Science platforms such as myGRID and NeuGRID for Users are growing at an amazing rate. One of the key barriers to their widespread use in practice is the lack of provenance data to support the reasoning and verification of experimental or analysis results. Clinical researchers use workflows to orchestrate the data present in e-science platforms in order to facilitate processing. Even though most systems capture provenance data and store it, systems rarely make use of it, thus limiting the exploitation of the true potential of such provenance. This thesis investigates mechanisms to visualise provenance data for neuroimaging analysis and to provide means to exploit the true potential of provenance data. In order to achieve this, a visualisation system has been implemented based on the use-cases that have been designed following requirements elicited for neuroimaging analysis. In this research a technique has been used to address the requirements of provenance visualisation for neuroimaging analysis. The prototype system has been tested against the provenance generated by NeuGRID for Users (N4U) as a proof of concept for our research. Different workflows have been visualised to study the efficacy of the proposed solution. Furthermore, evaluation metrics have been defined to determine whether the proposed solution is suitable for the purpose of the research conducted. The results show that the proposed visualisation system enhances the utility of provenance data for neuroimaging analysis and therefore the proposed research can be used to provide value to provenance data for neuroimaging analyses

Barricades in Implementation and Adoptation Level of ISO-9001 in Construction Industry of Pakistan

The quality of construction projects and products is purely dependant on the development of such industry and is associated with the implementation of Quality management system in this industry. From the last two decade the certification of ISO- 9001 has been taken up in construction industry at the international level. Many benefits gathered throughout the globe by its effective implementation. The awareness of adaptation is weak in the developing countries and is unaware of the everlasting benefits of this standard. Pakistan is also one of the developing countries which are unaware of its benefits specially gathered in foreign countries such as UK, United States, Australia and Japan etc. ISO which stands for International organisation for standardization is alliance of global standards. There is a special technical committee which is TC-176 which formulates all the standards of ISO-9001. Draft is circulated through technical members of board for approval of standards which requires 75% minimum votes for approval as a standard. There are more than 2100 companies which are certified with ISO-9001 in Pakistan and over 200 auditing agencies which time to time audit the certified firms. The study draws attention to the advantages, disadvantages and barricades facing by construction firms by the implementation of ISO-9001 in construction industry of Pakistan. Also some beneficial suggestions for better adopting ISO-9oo1 is given with the help of this research which can be helpful for the future of Pakistan’s construction Industry. The research highlights that construction firms of Pakistan should gain from the advantages gathered by the construction firms of developed countries and take apt measures for implementing ISO-9001 standards. The government as well as public sector should ensure its implication by all firms before tendering any project for better quality works. Keywords: ISO-9001, implementation, standard, auditing agencie

The Empirical Investigation of Knowledge Hiding and In-role Behavior

This research was intended to investigate the connection between Knowledge Hiding and In-role Behavior. The relationship between independent and dependent variables was calculated by the Pearson correlation and simple regression analysis. The data was randomly collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 129 staff working in private sector universities.  This was a cross-sectional analysis and the findings showed that Knowledge Hiding negatively affect the in-role behavior of employees (r = 41.6, β = -.645, t = 9.51, p < 0.005). The results of this study suggested that universities need to focus on the Knowledge Hiding Behavior of employees in order to achieve their objectives and improve quality

Salinity, livelihood and agricultural productivity: A case of Hafizabad District

Background: Soil salinity; concentration and or accumulation of salts may pose severe risk on soil productivity and in turn concerned population and farmers. Salt-influenced lands in Pakistan were spread over 6.63 million hectare which is diminishing the agrarian profitability. This study will explore the impact of salinity on livelihood of farmers in district Hafizabad.Methods: Data of 192 small, medium and large farmers was collected from four randomly selected villages of salinity affected area of Hafizabad district of Punjab province of Pakistan using multistage probability sampling technique. SPSS version 21.0 was utilized to analyze the data for generating logical results.Results: Farmers belonging to saline area communities were characterized on the basis of their education, experience, cultivated area, and method of irrigation and technological adoption for analyzing their livelihood typologies. Average yield of wheat was found to be 26mnds/acre, while marketable surplus was high for large farmers due to ownership of more area. Livelihood typologies were derived mainly from on-farm and off-farm income activities of the farmers. Agriculture farm earning in the saline area was estimated as Rs. 10 to 12 thousand per acre. Contribution of off-farm income in household cash flows was estimated in 79% of small, medium and large farmer as less than 15000 indicating the dependency status of the households.Conclusion: Major livelihood source in Salt-affected soils was still agricultural cash inflows beside their contribution to the food basket of consumers. Farmers were in favour of provision of farming inputs on subsidized rates i.e. lime and gypsum as a poverty alleviation strategy in the area for positive promotion of sharing culture with public sector.    Keywords: Salinity; Livelihood; Productivity; Farming experience; Farm size

APOBEC3G Variant (rs6001417) CG and GG Genotypes and their protective feature against HIV-1 Infection in Pakistani Dwelled Community

Background: APOBEC3G (Apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like 3G) gene is one of the genetic host factors, have been linked with HIV-1 AIDS predisposing and protection in different residence populations. The investigation of genetic marker (APOBEC3G) variant (rs6001417) CC, CG and GG genotypes in Pakistan.Methods: The extraction of DNA, the DNA Rapid Salting-out method was used. Then the observed DNA with electrophoresis technique referred for quantitative real-time PCR to identify the APOBEC3G variant rs6001417 genotypes and Taq Man genotyping.  Results: Three genotypes of rs6001417 (CC, CG and GG) were compared both in HIV-1 infected patients and healthy control groups (p=0.73, p=0.007, p=0.01 respectively). The rs6001417 CG and GG genotype demonstrated a significant involvement in both the healthy and infected individuals and portraying possible protective effect against HIV-1 infection with predictive value of 36.43% and 13.57% respectively.Conclusion: APOBEC3G (rs6001417) CG and GG genotypes may have a protective feature in the progression of HIV-1 infection and we may use this as a preliminary predictive marker in the country for HIV-1 infected individuals as well.Keywords: HIV-1; APOBEC3G; Predictive marker; Predictive value; Real-time PC

Male predominant association with Apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like 3G variants (rs6001417, rs35228531, rs8177832) predict protection against HIV-1 infection

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, it is a global health concern mainly lead to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). There are numerous limitations of this infection particularly in the form of host factors which may limit and interfere HIV-1 replication. The most notable host factors which hinder HIV-1 DNA propagation is the apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide- like 3G (APOBEC3G). Any genetic polymorphism of this substantial host factor may impact the host susceptibility pattern to HIV viral infection in different part of the world. The aim of this study to examine genetic variants (rs6001417, rs35228531, rs8177832) effecting HIV-1 infection.Method: Three variants of APOBEC3G gene polymorphism were genotyped while using RT-PCR method. Frequency distribution of these genotypes was evaluated in both the HIV-1 and healthy group.Results: The rs6001417 CG (p = 0.03) and rs35228531 CT (p = 0.01) genotypes were found as protective elements, while rs35228531 TT (p = 0.02) and rs8177832 AA (p = 0.03) genotypes had shown susceptibility against the HIV-1 infection. Our data suggest, rs35228531 CT (p = 0.003) and rs8177832 AA (P = <0.001) genotypes have predominant incidences in HIV-1 male population than healthy control.Conclusion: We predict rs6001417 CG, rs35228531 CT as protective and rs35228531 TT, rs8177832 AA genotypes as a predisposing tool, against the HIV-1 infection in a section of Pakistani population. In addition, male gender was found predominantly high in both protective genotype rs35228531 CT (p = 0.003) and predisposing genotype rs8177832 AA (p = <0.001). The predominant contribution may help the patient to be predict about the status of HIV infection, however, extra efforts are required to study larger cohort of patients to better elucidate the association

High Involvement Management Practices and Employees’ OCBs in Banking Sector of Pakistan

This study was designed to evaluate the impact of high involvement HRM practices (HIHRP) on employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) in the context of banking sector of Pakistan. OCBs is considered as an important construct to evaluate the contextual performance of employees. In case of banking sector professionals, it is a highly desired behavior and top management has a greater interest in evaluating contextual performance in addition to the task performance of employees. This study differentiates itself from previous studies by focusing on HIHRP rather than traditional HRM practices. The data was collected from 396 officers working in top six private sector commercial banks of Pakistan. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data and all responses were recorded on Likert scale. The data was analyzed through correlation and regression analysis and demographic characteristics of the employees were also presented through descriptive statistical techniques. The results show that different types of HIHRP positively influences employees’ OCBs. This study has both theoretical and managerial contributions by empirically examining the relationship between high involvement HRM practices and OCBs in the context of banking sector of Pakistan. The results of this study will help the researchers to better understand the relationship between HRM practices employees’ positive behavioral outcomes like OCBs. In addition, it will also guide the decision makers in adjusting HRM practices to achieve desired behaviors

In vitro Anti-ulcer potential of Raphanus sativus L. seeds

Background: Raphanus sativus L. is an indigenous plant that is traditionally used to treat peptic ulcer. Objective: This study assessed anti- Helicobacter pylori, antioxidant, and anti-urease activities of R. sativus seeds. Methods: this study targeted in-vitro model. The antioxidant activity of the methanol extract and n-butanol, aqueous, n- hexane and chloroform fractions of R. sativus seeds was determined using DPPH. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of the extract and fractions on the activity of urease and antibacterial activity against Helicobacter pylori were also evaluated. Results: The crude extract as well as its derived n-butanol fraction exhibited higher (IC50: 45 and 31 µg/mL respectively) DPPH inhibition activity and inhibition of urease (IC50: 75.0 and 55.9 µg/mL respectively) while aqueous extract inhibited H. pylori strongly (MIC50: 15 µg/mL).&nbsp;Conclusion: Collectively, our data show that R. sativus extract and fractions possess antioxidant, anti- H. pylori and anti-urease potential. The traditional uses of R. sativus as anti-ulcer, might be due to its anti-urease activity

Development of CAVLAB—A Control-Oriented MATLAB Based Simulator for an Underground Coal Gasification Process

The Cavity Simulation Model (CAVSIM) is a 3D, parameterisable simulator of the Underground Coal Gasification Process (UCG) that serves as a benchmark for UCG prediction. Despite yielding accurate outputs, CAVSIM has some limitations, which chiefly include inadequate graphical capabilities to visualise cavity geometry and gas production, time-ineffectiveness in terms of parametrisation, i.e., it involves editing, compiling multiple files and checking for errors, and lack of tools to synthesise a controller. Therefore, to compensate for these shortcomings, the services of third-party software, such as MATLAB, must be procured. CAVSIM was integrated with MATLAB to utilise its functionalities and toolboxes such as System Identification, Neural Network, and Optimization Toolbox etc. The integration was accomplished by designing C-mex files, and furthermore, the simulation results in both environments exhibit the same behaviour, demonstrating successful integration. Consequently, CAVSIM has also acquired a controllable structure, wherein parametrisation is now a single-click process; this is demonstrated by a case study outlining the implementation of Model Predictive Control (MPC) on a UCG plant. Moreover, the performance metrics, i.e., Mean Average Error (MAE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 0.13, 0.23 for syngas heating value, and 0.012, 0.02 for flowrate quantitatively establishes the efficacy of CAVLAB in designing MPC for the UCG system. The novelty of this work lies in making the software package open-source with the aim of streamlining the research of multiple aspects of the UCG process