Exploiting Data Parallelism in the yConvex Hypergraph Algorithm for Image Representation using GPGPUs

To define and identify a region-of-interest (ROI) in a digital image, the shape descriptor of the ROI has to be described in terms of its boundary characteristics. To address the generic issues of contour tracking, the yConvex Hypergraph (yCHG) model was proposed by Kanna et al [1]. In this work, we propose a parallel approach to implement the yCHG model by exploiting massively parallel cores of NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). We perform our experiments on the MODIS satellite image database by NASA, and based on our analysis we observe that the performance of the serial implementation is better on smaller images, but once the threshold is achieved in terms of image resolution, the parallel implementation outperforms its sequential counterpart by 2 to 10 times (2x-10x). We also conclude that an increase in the number of hyperedges in the ROI of a given size does not impact the performance of the overall algorithm.Comment: 1 page, 1 figure published in Proceedings of the 27th ACM International Conference on Supercomputing, ICS 2013, Eugene, Oregon, US

EVENTR - DESIGN OF AN EVENT MANAGEMENT MOBILE APPLICATION USING ONTOLOGY

An event is a special occasion that occurs when few or more people gather together to fulfill their personal, cultural or organizational objectives. With many events happening every day, few handy tools are available to help an event organizer to initiate, track and propagate an event. Often important data such as contacts, mails are saved by the organizer in some apps like Excel, calendar, mobile contacts, and mailbox, but not easily retrieved when needed for a follow-up event. Some of the information belongs to common events are not been grouped categorically, so it could not be suitable to relate the similar actions with respect to events which are associated to each other. Follow-up events usually use almost similar data from the previous season, but every time the organizer ends up spending more time searching for the previous records and sometimes fail to retrieve. Event based apps are available in the mobile environment very few in number, and especially such follow-up concentrated event tracker application is not available. Hence, Eventr is designed to fulfill this purpose. Eventr will solve this issue by initiating event, automating simple tasks, record critical data till the event day, this information are stored in the form of Eventr ontology. Since it is ontology based event representation, it would make possible to identify the intermediate tasks of a particular event and to retrieve the tasks associated with the event to the event organizer for the next season. Â

Bleach method in comparison with NALC-NaOH specimen processing method for the detection of mycobacterium in sputum specimen

Background: Tuberculosis is an infectious disease still remains to be a foremost public health risk worldwide. Even though there is an availability of many highly sensitive diagnostic tools, early case detection plays a significant role in control of the disease which relies specially on the detection of acid-fast bacilli in clinical samples which is low sensitive. Earlier decontamination of sputum sample may improve the detection of mycobacterium.Methods: A prospective study was conducted with a total of (N=464) clinically suspected TB patient sputum samples which were collected and processed directly for AFB. From which AFB +ve samples were excluded. The direct AFB -ve (N=279) samples were processed using concentration methods (NALC, Bleach). After concentration, smears were examined under oil immersion for acid fast bacilli by ZN staining.Results: Out of 464 sputum samples, 185 direct ZN stain +ve were excluded. Among the ZN-ve (N=279) samples, n=44 (15.7%) were positive using bleach method. The positivity has improved to n=48 (17.2%) using NALC-NaOH.Conclusions: Bleach method of sputum decontamination is comparable to standard NALC-NaOH method. Therefore, we conclude that the identification of AFB using bleach concentration method can be used in resource limited health care setups especially in laboratories where mycobacterial culture is not performed which might help us in early diagnosis of tuberculosis

Isolation and identification of candida species from various clinical samples in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Candida spp is a member of the normal flora of the skin, mucous membrane and gastrointestinal tract. They are endogenous opportunists which cause secondary infection in individuals with underlying immunocompromised conditions. Candidiasis is a common fungal disease in humans. An increase in the prevalence of non-albicans species has been noted during the last decades because of increasing use of azoles. This study aims to Spectate Candida using chromogenic medium.Methods: A total of 50 Candida isolates from various clinical samples were included in the study. These isolates were subjected to gram's stain, germ tube test and inoculation on commercially available CHROM agar (HiMedia India).Results: In current study majority of isolates were from high vaginal swab (34%) followed by sputum (28%), urine (18%), pus from surgical sites and others constituted to 20%. Candida albicans (51%) was the most common candida species, followed by C. tropicalis (25%), C. krusei (16%), C. glabrata (6%) and C. dubliniensis (1%).Conclusions: Along with Candida albicans, non-albicans candida spp like C. tropicalis, C. krusei, C. glabrata, and C. dubliniensis are increasingly being isolated from clinical samples. CHROM agar is a simple, rapid and inexpensive method for identification of such species. Characterization to species level helps to identify species which might be intrinsically resistant to commonly used antifungal agents

Predicting performance using background characteristics of international medical graduates in an inner-city university-affiliated Internal Medicine residency training program

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>IMGs constitute about a third of the United States (US) internal medicine graduates. US residency training programs face challenges in selection of IMGs with varied background features. However data on this topic is limited. We analyzed whether any pre-selection characteristics of IMG residents in our internal medicine program are associated with selected outcomes, namely competency based evaluation, examination performance and success in acquiring fellowship positions after graduation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a retrospective study of 51 IMGs at our ACGME accredited teaching institution between 2004 and 2007. Background resident features namely age, gender, self-reported ethnicity, time between medical school graduation to residency (pre-hire time), USMLE step I & II clinical skills scores, pre-GME clinical experience, US externship and interest in pursuing fellowship after graduation expressed in their personal statements were noted. Data on competency-based evaluations, in-service exam scores, research presentation and publications, fellowship pursuance were collected. There were no fellowships offered in our hospital in this study period. Background features were compared between resident groups according to following outcomes: (a) annual aggregate graduate PGY-level specific competency-based evaluation (CBE) score above versus below the median score within our program (scoring scale of 1 – 10), (b) US graduate PGY-level specific resident in-training exam (ITE) score higher versus lower than the median score, and (c) those who succeeded to secure a fellowship within the study period. Using appropriate statistical tests & adjusted regression analysis, odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>94% of the study sample were IMGs; median age was 35 years (Inter-Quartile range 25th – 75th percentile (IQR): 33–37 years); 43% women and 59% were Asian physicians. The median pre-hire time was 5 years (IQR: 4–7 years) and USMLE step I & step II clinical skills scores were 85 (IQR: 80–88) & 82 (IQR: 79–87) respectively. The median aggregate CBE scores during training were: PG1 5.8 (IQR: 5.6–6.3); PG2 6.3 (IQR 6–6.8) & PG3 6.7 (IQR: 6.7 – 7.1). 25% of our residents scored consistently above US national median ITE scores in all 3 years of training and 16% pursued a fellowship.</p> <p>Younger residents had higher aggregate annual CBE score than the program median (p < 0.05). Higher USMLE scores were associated with higher than US median ITE scores, reflecting exam-taking skills. Success in acquiring a fellowship was associated with consistent fellowship interest (p < 0.05) and research publications or presentations (p <0.05). None of the other characteristics including visa status were associated with the outcomes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Background IMG features namely, age and USMLE scores predict performance evaluation and in-training examination scores during residency training. In addition enhanced research activities during residency training could facilitate fellowship goals among interested IMGs.</p

Numerical investigation of heat transfer enhancement in solar air heaters using polygonal-shaped ribs and grooves

Solar air heating thermal systems have found extensive utilization in a broad array of industrial and residential settings, playing a pivotal role in the conversion and reclamation of solar energy. Implementing repeated artificial roughness in the surfaces has the potential to augment thermal performance in solar air heaters (SAHs). This study presents a numerical investigation of SAHs with artificial rough surfaces, consisting of polygonal-shaped ribs and grooves located at different places inside the rectangular duct, that improve thermal efficiency. ANSYS Fluent software was employed to simulate the SAH with different relative pitch distances of p = 10 mm and 20 mm and relative rib heights e/d = 0.09–0.045. The working fluid air flows at different Reynolds numbers (Re), ranging from 3,800 to 18,000. Nusselt number (Nu), friction factor (f), and Thermal Hydraulic Performance (THP) are parameters to evaluate the performance of the SAH. The renormalized group (RNG) k-ϵ turbulent model was implemented in this simulation. The study outcomes indicate that increasing the rib height improves the heat transfer rate and nonetheless increases pressure drop while increasing the pitch distance. The higher Nusselt number (Nu) is 3.762 attained at p = 10 mm and 3.420 at p = 20 mm in the center-positioned rib at Re 3,800. The lower friction factor (ƒ) obtained in p = 20 mm is 1.681 and 0.785 in p = 10 mm in the staggered positioned rib at higher Re 15,000. The optimal THP was achieved at 2.813 at a staggered rib height at a pitch distance of p = 10 mm at Re 8,000. The study’s findings suggest that the incorporation of artificial rough surfaces has the potential to enhance the THP of an SAH

Molten salt destruction of base hydrolysate

There is a great need for alternatives to open burn/open detonation of explosives and propellants from dismantled munitions. LANL has investigated the use of base hydrolysis for the demilitarization of explosives. Hydrolysates of Comp B, Octol, Tritonal, and PBXN-109 were processed in the pilot molten salt unit (in building 191). NOx and CO emissions were found to be low, except for CO from PBXN-109 processing. This report describes experimental results of the destruction of the base hydrolysates

Pseudo cardiac tamponade in the setting of excess pericardial fat

Cardiac tamponade is the phenomenon of hemodynamic compromise caused by a pericardial effusion. Following a myocardial infarction, the most common causes of pericardial fluid include early pericarditis, Dressler's syndrome, and hemopericardium secondary to a free wall rupture. On transthoracic echocardiography, pericardial fluid appears as an echo-free space in between the visceral and parietal layers of the pericardium. Pericardial fat has a similar appearance on echocardiography and it may be difficult to discern the two entities. We present a case of a post-MI patient demonstrating pseudo tamponade physiology in the setting of excessive pericardial fat

Research enrichment: evaluation of structured research in the curriculum for dental medicine students as part of the vertical and horizontal integration of biomedical training and discovery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Research programs within medical and dental schools are important vehicles for biomedical and clinical discovery, serving as effective teaching and learning tools by providing situations in which predoctoral students develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Although research programs at many medical and dental schools are well-established, they may not be well integrated into the predoctoral curriculum to effectively support the learning objectives for their students.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A series of structured seminars, incorporating faculty research, was designed for first-year dental students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Dental Medicine to reinforce and support the concepts and skills taught in concurrent courses. A structured research enrichment period was also created to facilitate student engagement in active research using faculty and student curricular release time. Course evaluations and surveys were administered to gauge student perceptions of the curricular integration of research, the impact of these seminars on recruitment to the research program, and overall levels of student satisfaction with research enrichment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The analysis of course surveys revealed that students perceived the research-containing seminars effectively illustrated concepts, were logically sequenced, and were well-integrated into their curriculum. In addition, analysis of surveys revealed that the Integration Seminar courses motivated students to engage in research enrichment. Finally, this analysis provided evidence that students were very satisfied with their overall learning experience during research enrichment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Curricular integration is one method of improving the teaching and learning of complicated and inter-related concepts, providing an opportunity to incorporate research training and objectives into traditionally separate didactic courses. Despite the benefits of curricular integration, finding the most appropriate points of integration, obtaining release time for curricular development and for research engagement, and funding predoctoral student research remain issues to be addressed in ways that reflect the character of the faculty and the goals of each institution.</p