E-waste Reduction via Virtualization in Green Computing

As Virtualization, Green Data Center, Cloud computing, grid computing, Power optimization are the technologies of green computing. This study focuses on need of E-waste reduction that support through virtualization to save over all expenditures on hardware resources that is costly and even after some time causes e-waste. It is aimed to highlight the harms of the e-waste, importance of its reduction, how it can be reduced through virtualization, functionality of Virtualization and its contribution as an essential feature in Green Computing. Innovation in the technology to reduce energy/power consumption, creating data centers and virtual environment to optimize the use of computing in Information & Communication technology, revealed as Virtualization. Through systematic Research, it is revealed that virtualization is an optimization technique which is used to find the solution of resource management, server utilization, load balancing, e-waste collection and recycling etc. It has been changing information facilities due to its capability to consolidate hardware resources and decrease energy costs. Thus, harmful effects of computing on environment can be reduced which cause environmental sustainability

Flash flood susceptibility assessment and zonation by integrating analytic hierarchy process and frequency ratio model with diverse spatial data

Flash floods are the most dangerous kinds of floods because they combine the destructive power of a flood with incredible speed. They occur when heavy rainfall exceeds the ability of the ground to absorb it. The main aim of this study is to generate flash flood maps using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Frequency Ratio (FR) models in the river’s floodplain between the Jhelum River and Chenab rivers. A total of eight flash flood-causative physical parameters are considered for this study. Six parameters are based on remote sensing images of the Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS), Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and Sentinel-2 Satellite, which include slope, elevation, distance from the stream, drainage density, flow accumulation, and land use/land cover (LULC), respectively. The other two parameters are soil and geology, which consist of different rock and soil formations, respectively. In the case of AHP, each of the criteria is allotted an estimated weight according to its significant importance in the occurrence of flash floods. In the end, all the parameters were integrated using weighted overlay analysis in which the influence value of drainage density was given the highest weight. The analysis shows that a distance of 2500 m from the river has values of FR ranging from 0.54, 0.56, 1.21, 1.26, and 0.48, respectively. The output zones were categorized into very low, low, moderate, high, and very high risk, covering 7354, 5147, 3665, 2592, and 1343 km2, respectively. Finally, the results show that the very high flood areas cover 1343 km2, or 6.68% of the total area. The Mangla, Marala, and Trimmu valleys were identified as high-risk zones of the study area, which have been damaged drastically many times by flash floods. It provides policy guidelines for risk managers, emergency and disaster response services, urban and infrastructure planners, hydrologists, and climate scientists

Rainfall in the urban area and its impact on climatology and population growth

Due to the scarcity of studies linking the variability of rainfall and population growth in the capital cities of Northeastern Brazil (NEB), the purpose of this study is to evaluate the variability and multiscale interaction (annual and seasonal), and in addition, to detect their trends and the impact of urban growth. For this, monthly rainfall data between 1960 and 2020 were used. In addition, the detection of rainfall trends on annual and seasonal scales was performed using the Mann–Kendall (MK) test and compared with the phases of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The relationship between population growth data and rainfall data for different decades was established. Results indicate that the variability of multiscale urban rainfall is directly associated with the ENSO and PDO phases, followed by the performance of rain-producing meteorological systems in the NEB. In addition, the anthropic influence is shown in the relational pattern between population growth and the variability of decennial rainfall in the capitals of the NEB. However, no capital showed a significant trend of increasing annual rainfall (as in the case of Aracaju, Maceió, and Salvador). The observed population increase in the last decades in the capitals of the NEB and the notable decreasing trend of rainfall could compromise the region’s water security. Moreover, if there is no strategic planning about water bodies, these changes in the rainfall pattern could be compromising

Cytokine Gene Polymorphisms across Tuberculosis Clinical Spectrum in Pakistani Patients

BACKGROUND: Pakistan ranks 7(th) globally in terms of tuberculosis (TB) disease burden (incidence 181/100000 pop./yr; prevalence of 329/pop./yr). Reports from different populations show variable associations of TB susceptibility and severity with cytokine gene polymorphisms. Tuberculosis clinical severity is multi-factorial and cytokines play a pivotal role in the modulation of disease severity. We have recently reported that the ratio of two key cytokines (IFNgamma and IL10) show significant correlation with the severity spectrum of tuberculosis. The objective of the current study was to analyze the frequency of cytokine gene polymorphisms linked to high and low responder phenotypes (IFNgamma +874 T(hi)-->A(lo) and IL10 -1082 G(lo)-->A(hi)) in tuberculosis patients. METHODS AND FINDINGS: STUDY GROUPS WERE STRATIFIED ACCORDING TO DISEASE SITE AS WELL AS DISEASE SEVERITY: Pulmonary N = 111 (Minimal, PMN = 19; Moderate, PMD = 63; Advance, PAD = 29); Extra-pulmonary N = 67 (Disseminated DTB = 20, Localized LTB = 47) and compared with healthy controls (TBNA = 188). Genotype analyses were carried out using amplification refractory mutation system-PCR (ARMS-PCR) and stimulated whole blood (WB) culture assay was used for assessing cytokine profiles. Our results suggest that the IFNgamma +874 TT genotype and T allele was overrepresented in PMN (p = 0.01) and PMD (p = 0.02). IFNgamma +874 TT in combination with IL10 GG(lo) genotypes showed the highest association (chi(2) = 6.66, OR = 6.06, 95% CI = 1.31-28.07, p = 0.01). IFNgamma AA(lo) on the other hand in combination with IL10 GG(lo) increased the risk of PAD (OR = 5.26; p = 0.005) and DTB (OR = 3.59; p = 0.045). CONCLUSION: These findings are consistent with the role of IL10 in reducing collateral tissue damage and the protective role of IFNgamma in limiting disease in the lung

Measuring the Awareness and Usage Level of the Libraries by Law Students of Law Colleges of Lahore, Pakistan

In any society and institution the libraries play an important role in nation building and to create knowledgeable society. Law students during their whole life try to read and locate the relevant references related to their cases. Therefore, they are considered the information literate and able to locate the relevant information. During the studies, libraries and their professional usage make the law students able to locate their needed information from anywhere using their skills and abilities acquired during the studies. This study is conducted by following the quantitative research method and the population of the study was law students. Results reflect that majority of law students are aware of the available resources within their institutional libraries and they possess the skills to locate their needed information. Moreover, their purpose to the visit the libraries is the study purposes and they have basic level information needs. They also use digital resources and able to search the resources with good skills. This study will inform about the information behaviors of the law students

Interferonγ /IL10 ratio defines the disease severity in pulmonary and extra pulmonary tuberculosis

Several cytokines (IFNγ, TNFα, IL10 and IL6) show an association with either disease localization or dissemination in tuberculosis. There are also reports of involvement of extra-pulmonary sites in tuberculosis with differential clinical severity. However, no comparative study of biomarkers across the disease severity spectrum is available. This was the purpose of the current study. Cytokines (IFNγ, TNFα, IL10 and IL6) secreted in response to a panel of stimulants (PHA, LPS or mycobacterial antigens) in whole blood were determined in eighty-two tuberculosis patients. WHO criteria was applied for stratification of patients according to disease severity: disseminated and or severe disease (EPTB1; N=29); disease localized to lung parenchyma (PTB; N=32) and disease localized to peripheral sites without lung involvement (EPTB2; N=21). Mycobacterial antigens induced IFNγ/IL10 ratio showed a direct relationship with disease severity ranking (median ratios: EPTB1=0.21; PTB=0.85; EPTB2=7.7) and the highest correlation (Spearman Rank; rho=0.673, pγ/IL10 ratio also rank ordered clinical severity as it relates to anatomic sites. IFNγ/IL10 ratio may therefore provide a useful objective marker of disease severity in both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis

Cytokine profiles using whole-blood assays can discriminate between tuberculosis patients and healthy endemic controls in a BCG-vaccinated population

Whole-blood assays (WB) provide a simple tool for assessing immune cytokine profiles which may be useful laboratory predictors of early disease, aiding the evaluation of new tuberculosis (TB) vaccines and offering insights into disease pathogenesis. Although BCG does not provide protection against pulmonary disease in TB endemic areas, it does modulate immune responses to mycobacterial antigens. It is important, therefore, to evaluate any new tool in an endemic setting in both BCG vaccinees and patients with tuberculosis. We have assessed the optimal conditions in terms of dose and kinetics of those cytokines which are released early (TNF-α, IL6 and TGF-β, IL10) or (interferon [IFN]-γ and IL5) in WB cultures stimulated with mitogens and mycobacterial antigens. Responses were studied in parallel in untreated TB patients and endemic control groups. Optimal responses to LPS (predominantly monocyte-derived) occurred on days 1–2, whereas for PHA (predominantly T-cell-derived), they were on days 3–5. Secreted Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture filtrate proteins (CFP) provided a stronger stimulus for monocyte-derived cytokines compared to PPD, but both antigens were comparable for induction of T-cell cytokines. Using unpaired Student\u27s t-tests, pulmonary tuberculosis patients (P.TB; n=11), in response to CFP, showed higher monocyte-derived IL6 (p=0.023) and IL10 (p=0.042) compared to endemic controls (EC; n=13), and significantly suppressed T-cell-derived IFN-γ (p=0.028) and IL5 (p=0.012) secretion but increased IL10 (p=0.047) on day 5, indicating that CFP is a strong stimulus for IL10 secretion in pulmonary TB patients. Extrapulmonary TB patients (E.TB; n=6) showed no elevation of early monocyte-derived cytokines to either PPD or CFP, but showed a marked suppression of the T-cell-derived cytokines IFN-γ (PPD, p=0.015; CFP, p=0.05) and IL5 (PPD, p=0.05; CFP, p=0.015). Cytokine analysis in WB cultures is, therefore, able to discriminate between active tuberculosis infection and nondiseased healthy controls

Analysis of Geometric Properties of Ternary Four-Point Rational Interpolating Subdivision Scheme

Shape preservation has been the heart of subdivision schemes (SSs) almost from its origin, and several analyses of SSs have been established. Shape preservation properties are commonly used in SSs and various ways have been discovered to connect smooth curves/surfaces generated by SSs to applied geometry. With an eye on connecting the link between SSs and applied geometry, this paper analyzes the geometric properties of a ternary four-point rational interpolating subdivision scheme. These geometric properties include monotonicity-preservation, convexity-preservation, and curvature of the limit curve. Necessary conditions are derived on parameter and initial control points to ensure monotonicity and convexity preservation of the limit curve of the scheme. Furthermore, we analyze the curvature of the limit curve of the scheme for various choices of the parameter. To support our findings, we also present some examples and their graphical representation

Machine-Learning-Based Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling Associated with Mw > 6 Earthquakes in America

The identification of atmospheric and ionospheric variations through multiple remote sensing and global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) has contributed substantially to the development of the lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere coupling (LAIC) phenomenon over earthquake (EQ) epicenters. This study presents an approach for investigating the Petrolia EQ (Mw 6.2; dated 20 December 2021) and the Monte Cristo Range EQ (Mw 6.5; dated 15 May 2020) through several parameters to observe the precursory signals of various natures. These parameters include Land Surface Temperature (LST), Air Temperature (AT), Relative Humidity (RH), Air Pressure (AP), Outgoing Longwave Radiations (OLRs), and vertical Total Electron Content (TEC), and these are used to contribute to the development of LAIC in the temporal window of 30 days before and 15 days after the main shock. We observed a sharp increase in the LST in both the daytime and nighttime of the Petrolia EQ, but only an enhancement in the daytime LST for the Monte Cristo Range EQ within 3–7 days before the main shock. Similarly, a negative peak was observed in RH along with an increment in the OLR 5–7 days prior to both impending EQs. Furthermore, the Monte Cristo Range EQ also exhibited synchronized ionospheric variation with other atmospheric parameters, but no such co-located and synchronized anomalies were observed for the Petrolia EQ. We also applied machine learning (ML) methods to confirm these abrupt variations as anomalies to further aid certain efforts in the development of the LAIC in order to forecast EQs in the future. The ML methods also make prominent the variation in the different data