Applications for Multicore System

A multi-core processor is a single computing unit with two or more processors (“cores”). These cores are integrated into a single IC for enhanced performance, reduced power consumption and more efficient simultaneous processing of multiple tasks. Homogeneous multi-core systems include only identical cores, whereas heterogeneous multi-core systems have cores that are not identical. Most of the computers and workstations these days have multicore processors. However most software programs are not designed to make use of multi-core processors and hence even though we run these programs on the new machines equipped with multicore processors, we don’t see sizable improvements in application performance. The idea behind improved performance is in parallelizing the code and distributing the work amongst multiple cores, but writing programming logic to achieve this is complex. The conventional model of lock-based parallelism for writing such programs is difficult in use, error-prone and does not always lead to efficient use of the resources but with the help of OpenMP, programmers have enhanced support for parallel programming. In this work I have implemented quicksort algorithm using OpenMP library and analysed the performance in terms of execution time

Burden of overweight and obesity among children studying in schools of Western Rajasthan

Background: Obesity in children has become a public health concern worldwide with a significant rise in recent years. Aim & Objective: This study aimed to estimate the occurrence of overweight and obesity in adolescents studying in school and to determine the risk factors for obesity as well as overweight in this population. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional research was carried out among adolescent children of age group 12-15 years from Jodhpur's rural and urban schools. Methods and Material: The present study included 1864 school children. A well-structured questionnaire was used to gather data, and the researchers measured weight and height with the help of calibrated tools. Index for Body Mass (BMI) and Z-scores were calculated, and the World Health Organization (WHO) standardized gender-specific growth chart was used to classify children as being overweight and obese. Statistical analysis used: The statistical evaluation was conducted utilising SPSS version 23.0. Chi-square analyses were applied to analyse the relationship of independent variables with overweight/obesity status. Variables showing statistical significance at a 5% level were further analysed using multiple logistic regression. Results: It was discovered that the rate of overweight and obesity among Jodhpur schoolchildren was 23.2%, with 22.9% classified as overweight and 0.3% as obese. The analysis revealed that children attending urban and public schools exhibited higher rates of obesity and overweight compared to those in rural and private schools. Conclusions: The study highlights a considerable burden of overweight among children enrolled in schools of Jodhpur, warranting the implementation of sustainable intervention aimed at encouraging physical exercise and a balanced diet

Comparison of remineralizing effect of organic and inorganic fluoride by evaluation of microhardness and quantitative analysis of calcium and phosphorus ratio on enamel surface: an in-vitro study

Background Enamel is a highly mineralized tissue of the body which is composed of 96% inorganic salts and 4% organic matter. Enamel is permeable to water and ions, particularly cations and low molecular weight substances. The enamel continues to mature even after eruption with mineral replacing protein. Recently, the interest on the development of calcium phosphate-based remineralization technology has been increased that led to the development of various remineralizing agents like Fluoride, CPP-ACP (Tooth Mouse plus), Bioglass (Novamin), Ozone, Xylitol, Sensistat etc. Aim Aim of the present in vitro study was to evaluate and compare the remineralizing effect of Organic fluoride (AmF) and inorganic fluoride (NaF) by evaluating Vickers microhardness and quantitative analysis of Calcium and Phosphorus ratio on enamel surface using Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis. Materials and methods Sixteen maxillary central incisors were decoronated at the cementoenamel junction and mounted in cylindrical moulds filled with self-cure acrylic resin. Artificial demineralized lesions were created on the enamel surface by suspending them in 0.1 M Citric acid buffer at pH of 3.2 for 72 hrs. The samples were then randomly divided into two groups and labelled, Group A – remineralized with NaF for 3 minutes twice daily for one week and Group B - remineralized with AmF for 3 minutes twice daily for one week. Microhardness and SEM-EDX analysis were done before demineralization, after demineralization and after remineralization. Results Data were analyzed by comparing the mean values between the groups using independent sample t-test. The intra-group analysis was done using repeated-measures ANOVA with posthoc Bonferroni test, and a p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Conclusion OrganicFluoride resulted in better remineralization than inorganic Fluoride. After remineralization for one week, enamel samples treated with AmF demonstrated a statistically significant increase in mean microhardness and Ca:P ratio when compared to enamel samples treated with NaF

Corticosteroids for managing tuberculous meningitis

Background Tuberculous meningitis is a serious form of tuberculosis (TB) that affects the meninges that cover a person's brain and spinal cord. It is associated with high death rates and with disability in people who survive. Corticosteroids have been used as an adjunct to antituberculous drugs to treat people with tuberculous meningitis, but their role has been controversial. Objectives To evaluate the effects of corticosteroids as an adjunct to antituberculous treatment on death and severe disability in people with tuberculous meningitis. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Specialized Register up to the 18 March 2016; CENTRAL; MEDLINE; EMBASE; LILACS; and Current Controlled Trials. We also contacted researchers and organizations working in the field, and checked reference lists. Selection criteria Randomized controlled trials that compared corticosteroid plus antituberculous treatment with antituberculous treatment alone in people with clinically diagnosed tuberculous meningitis and included death or disability as outcome measures. Data collection and analysis We independently assessed search results and methodological quality, and extracted data from the included trials. We analysed the data using risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and used a fixed-effect model. We performed an intention-to-treat analysis, where we included all participants randomized to treatment in the denominator. This analysis assumes that all participants who were lost to follow-up have good outcomes. We carried out a sensitivity analysis to explore the impact of the missing data. Main results Nine trials that included 1337 participants (with 469 deaths) met the inclusion criteria. At follow-up from three to 18 months, steroids reduce deaths by almost one quarter (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.87; nine trials, 1337 participants, high quality evidence). Disabling neurological deficit is not common in survivors, and steroids may have little or no effect on this outcome (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.20; eight trials, 1314 participants, low quality evidence). There was no difference between groups in the incidence of adverse events, which included gastrointestinal bleeding, invasive bacterial infections, hyperglycaemia, and liver dysfunction. One trial followed up participants for five years. The effect on death was no longer apparent at this time-point (RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.12; one trial, 545 participants, moderate quality evidence); and there was no difference in disabling neurological deficit detected (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.69; one trial, 545 participants, low quality evidence). One trial included human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive people. The stratified analysis by HIV status in this trial showed no heterogeneity, with point estimates for death (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.67 to 1.20; one trial, 98 participants) and disability (RR 1.23, 95% CI 0.08 to 19.07; one trial, 98 participants) similar to HIV-negative participants in the same trial. Authors' conclusions Corticosteroids reduce mortality from tuberculous meningitis, at least in the short term. Corticosteroids may have no effect on the number of people who survive tuberculous meningitis with disabling neurological deficit, but this outcome is less common than death, and the CI for the relative effect includes possible harm. However, this small possible harm is unlikely to be quantitatively important when compared to the reduction in mortality. The number of HIV-positive people included in the review is small, so we are not sure if the benefits in terms of reduced mortality are preserved in this group of patient

The sarcolemmal calcium pump, alpha-1 syntrophin, and neuronal nitric-oxide synthase are parts of a macromolecular protein complex.

The main role of the plasma membrane Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent ATPase (PMCA) is in the removal of Ca2+ from the cytosol. Recently, we and others have suggested a new function for PMCA as a modulator of signal transduction pathways. This paper shows the physical interaction between PMCA (isoforms 1 and 4) and alpha-1 syntrophin and proposes a ternary complex of interaction between endogenous PMCA, alpha-1 syntrophin, and NOS-1 in cardiac cells. We have identified that the linker region between the pleckstrin homology 2 (PH2) and the syntrophin unique (SU) domains, corresponding to amino acids 399-447 of alpha-1 syntrophin, is crucial for interaction with PMCA1 and -4. The PH2 and the SU domains alone failed to interact with PMCA. The functionality of the interaction was demonstrated by investigating the inhibition of neuronal nitric-oxide synthase-1 (NOS-1); PMCA is a negative regulator of NOS-1-dependent NO production, and overexpression of alpha-1 syntrophin and PMCA4 resulted in strongly increased inhibition of NO production. Analysis of the expression levels of alpha-1 syntrophin protein in the heart, skeletal muscle, brain, uterus, kidney, or liver of PMCA4-/- mice, did not reveal any differences when compared with those found in the same tissues of wild-type mice. These results suggest that PMCA4 is tethered to the syntrophin complex as a regulator of NOS-1, but its absence does not cause collapse of the complex, contrary to what has been reported for other proteins within the complex, such as dystrophin. In conclusion, the present data demonstrate for the first time the localization of PMCA1b and -4b to the syntrophin.dystrophin complex in the heart and provide a specific molecular mechanism of interaction as well as functionality

Superior Cantor Sets and Superior Devil Staircases

Mandelbrot, in 1975, coined the term fractal and included Cantor set as a classical example of fractals. The Cantor set has wide applications in real world problems from strange attractors of nonlinear dynamical systems to the distribution of galaxies in the universe (Schroder, 1990). In this article, we obtain superior Cantor sets and present them graphically by superior devil’s staircases. Further, based on their method of generation, we put them into two categories.</jats:p

Analysis of optimized sierpinski carpet (SC) fractal antenna and estimation of EMI

An optimized sierpinski carpet fractal antenna with nine slots on broad wall of rectangular waveguide is subject matter of this paper. The EMI produced by centered slot of optimized SC fractal is estimated, using the moment method. The electric field in the slot is described using entire domain sinusoidal basis function. The electric field at the slot aperture is assumed to vary not only in a direction perpendicular to itself but also in a dire-ction parallel to it. The tangential component of magnetic field scattered inside and outside the waveguide region is determined and the continuity of the tangential components of the magnetic field at the plane of the slot aperture is enforced