Improved Approach for Unbalanced Load-Division Operations Implementation on Hybrid Parallel Processing Systems

The modern computer-systems designed according to multiprocessor configurations. Multiple processors enable multiple threads to be executed simultaneously with the ability of executing the threads of the same process to be run on different processors at the same time. This paper addresses the building of a software application to be implemented on hybrid memory systems depending on client/server principles, the network can contain any number of nodes; one of them is a client and the others are servers. An improved approach was produced for problem subdivision based on an unbalanced load division case study (Matrix multiplication). Many previous drawbacks overcame, such as matrix-size limitation, effect of multi-core with distributed systems and forcing the processes and threads among multi-core system processors. Thus, the communication-direction from client-side toward the servers-side and vice-versa became more powerful by binding the activities of both Massage-Passing-Interface (MPI) with those of Open Multi-Processing (OpenMP). The proposed algorithms are executed by Quasar Toolkit (QT) creator application using C++ and QT library. The application-software is implemented to get high speed with as possible as minimum time and detect the effects of this system on the CPU Execution time and CPU Usage, the results are very acceptable and the processing time is decreased by 5.4492 times comparing with those without using hybrid parallel processing

Sterilization and extraction of palm oil from screw pressed palm fruit fiber using supercritical carbon dioxide

The supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) was successfully used in the complete sterilization as well as simultaneous extraction of oil from screw pressed palm fruit fiber. The studies were conducted at different temperatures (40, 50, 70 °C) and pressures (13.7, 20.7 MPa) for 60 min of extraction period. The bacteria, gram negative (Bacillus), present in the sample was completely killed at 20.7 MPa and 50 °C. Palmitic and oleic acid were found to be the major fatty acids in extracted oil. More saturated fatty acid were extracted at 50 °C and lower operating pressure (13.7 MPa). The unsaturated components, such as linoleic and oleic acids were extracted at higher pressures of 27.6 and 34.5 MPa, respectively. The fatty acids composition of the extracted oil analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) includes caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic, margaric, stearic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic, arachidic and gadoleic acids

Islamic legal methodologies and Shariah screening standards: application in the Indonesian stock market

This article provides a framework for applying the principles of Islamic legal methodology to determine the optimal Shariah screening standards for Islamic equity markets. It is argued that using maslahah mursalah (unrestricted benefit) is an appropriate method for identifying appropriate financial standards and its principles stipulate that the benchmark that yields the best economic returns to investors should be chosen. The methodological framework is applied to the Indonesia equity market where the economic implications of the Islamic stock screening standards of the Indonesian Islamic Shariah Stock Index and four global indices are assessed. Portfolios are constructed by applying Islamic stock screening standards for each of the indices by using data on 377 stocks listed in the Indonesian stock market for 5 years. The performances measured by the Sharpe ratio, Treynor index, and Jensen alpha reveal that the Dow Jones Islamic Index screening criteria performs the best. Based on the method of maslahah mursalah, the article recommends using the screening standard of this index in the Indonesian stock market to maximize benefits to investors. While the approach used in this article is applied to Islamic equity markets, the methodological framework can also be used for other similar cases in Islamic finance

Signatures of Selection in Fusion Transcripts Resulting From Chromosomal Translocations in Human Cancer

BACKGROUND: The recurrence and non-random distribution of translocation breakpoints in human tumors are usually attributed to local sequence features present in the vicinity of the breakpoints. However, it has also been suggested that functional constraints might contribute to delimit the position of translocation breakpoints within the genes involved, but a quantitative analysis of such contribution has been lacking. METHODOLOGY: We have analyzed two well-known signatures of functional selection, such as reading-frame compatibility and non-random combinations of protein domains, on an extensive dataset of fusion proteins resulting from chromosomal translocations in cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide strong experimental support for the concept that the position of translocation breakpoints in the genome of cancer cells is determined, to a large extent, by the need to combine certain protein domains and to keep an intact reading frame in fusion transcripts. Additionally, the information that we have assembled affords a global view of the oncogenic mechanisms and domain architectures that are used by fusion proteins. This can be used to assess the functional impact of novel chromosomal translocations and to predict the position of breakpoints in the genes involved

Cell Free Expression of hif1α and p21 in Maternal Peripheral Blood as a Marker for Preeclampsia and Fetal Growth Restriction

Preeclampsia, a severe unpredictable complication of pregnancy, occurs in 6% of pregnancies, usually in the second or third trimester. The specific etiology of preeclampsia remains unclear, although the pathophysiological hallmark of this condition appears to be an inadequate blood supply to the placenta. As a result of the impaired placental blood flow, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and consequential fetal oxidative stress may occur. Consistent with this view, pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and IUGR are characterized by up-regulation of key transcriptional regulators of the hypoxic response including, hif1α and as well as p53 and its target genes. Recently, the presence of circulating cell-free fetal RNA has been documented in maternal plasma. We speculated that pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and IUGR, will be associated with an abnormal expression of p53 and/or hif1α related genes in the maternal plasma. Maternal plasma from 113 singleton pregnancies (72 normal and 41 complicated pregnancies) and 19 twins (9 normal and 10 complicated pregnancies) were collected and cell free RNA was extracted. The expression of 18 genes was measured by one step real-time RT-PCR and was analyzed for prevalence of positive/negative expression levels. Results indicate that, among the genes examined, cell free plasma expressions of p21 and hif1α were more prevalent in pregnancies complicated by hypoxia and/or IUGR (p<0.001). To conclude, we present in this manuscript data to support the association between two possible surrogate markers of hypoxia and common complications of pregnancy. More work is needed in order to implement these findings in clinical practice

Metabolic regulation by p53

We are increasingly aware that cellular metabolism plays a vital role in diseases such as cancer, and that p53 is an important regulator of metabolic pathways. By transcriptional activation and other means, p53 is able to contribute to the regulation of glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, glutaminolysis, insulin sensitivity, nucleotide biosynthesis, mitochondrial integrity, fatty acid oxidation, antioxidant response, autophagy and mTOR signalling. The ability to positively and negatively regulate many of these pathways, combined with feedback signalling from these pathways to p53, demonstrates the reciprocal and flexible nature of the regulation, facilitating a diverse range of responses to metabolic stress. Intriguingly, metabolic stress triggers primarily an adaptive (rather than pro-apoptotic) p53 response, and p53 is emerging as an important regulator of metabolic homeostasis. A better understanding of how p53 coordinates metabolic adaptation will facilitate the identification of novel therapeutic targets and will also illuminate the wider role of p53 in human biology

Cryptanalysis of OCB₂:Attacks on Authenticity and Confidentiality

We present practical attacks on OCB2. This mode of operation of a blockcipher was designed with the aim to provide particularly efficient and provably-secure authenticated encryption services, and since its proposal about 15 years ago it belongs to the top performers in this realm. OCB2 was included in an ISO standard in 2009. An internal building block of OCB2 is the tweakable blockcipher obtained by operating a regular blockcipher in XEX$^\ast$ mode. The latter provides security only when evaluated in accordance with certain technical restrictions that, as we note, are not always respected by OCB2. This leads to devastating attacks against OCB2\u27s security promises: We develop a range of very practical attacks that, amongst others, demonstrate universal forgeries and full plaintext recovery. We complete our report with proposals for (provably) repairing OCB2. To our understanding, as a direct consequence of our findings, OCB2 is currently in a process of removal from ISO standards. Our attacks do not apply to OCB1 and OCB3, and our privacy attacks on OCB2 require an active adversary

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field