Key Features of SARS-CoV-2 and Available Therapies for COVID-19

The disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV2) is highly pathogenic and communicable infection, progressed in Wuhan city of China and then goes viral around the globe. The Genomic investigations exposed that Phylogenetically SARS-CoV2 resembles the other SARS-like bat viruses, therefore bats were also considered as the possible potential reservoir for SARS-CoV2. There are 2 prevalent types of SARS-CoV2, L type (~70%) and S type (~30%).The L strains are considered more infectious and virulent than the ancestral S strain. The positive sense single-stranded RNA genetic material contains 29891 nucleotides which codes for 9860 amino acids. The ORF1a/b is involved in carrying the translation of two (2) polyproteins, pp1a and pp1ab as well as the encoding of 16 NSPs (Non-structural proteins), and the leftover ORFS can bring about the encoding of non-essential and structural proteins. The origination source and transmission to humankinds is still not clear, but the intermediate hosts are supposed to have a significant role in the transfer and emergence of SARS-CoV2 from bats to humans. There is still no approved drug or vaccine available for Covid-19. In the current review, we condense and fairly evaluate the emergence and pathogenicity of SARS-CoV2, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Moreover, we also discuss the treatment and vaccine developments strategies for Covid-19

Reengineering the Industrial CMMI

Abstract of Re-engineering of Industrial CMMI Through this research, I have established a general strategy to appraise an organization against a scale of five process maturity levels whilst maintaining a strong mechanics of CMMI. Reengineering of industrial CMMI proposes a novel method for Industrial Competence ranking of those organizations/companies which are targeting various CMMI levels. This approach uses SCAMPI assessment techniques to rank different organizations that fall below certain level of CMMI model. Furthermore, it adds the credulous factors, i.e., Score, Reliance and Confidence level for an organization’s capability and maturity evaluation. The benefit of proposed model is, that an organization can set its objectives to achieve target level of CMMI model, and it could be differentiated from less mature organizations at same level. This technique not only reclassifies the CMMI levels but also exposes various confidence factors.Index Terms— CMMI, Industrial Process Optimization, Process Engineering, Capability and Maturity Ranking, Product Quality Assurance

Development of a system to improve safety in switching of high voltage circuit breaker

The aim of this project is to create a safety system that develops a Pneumatic system to break High voltage switchgear (11KV to 33kV). This project has the grant scheme by OSAKA Gas Foundation in Cultural Exchanged Research (OGFIGE). It focuses on designing and constructing a switchgear breaker system that can do the switching process in substations without using any manpower and most of all, switching is done remotely by indisputable distances. By allowing service personnel to stand outside the arc-flash boundary at substations while assigned to do the switching, the remote switch operators reduce the need for a full-body arc flash hazard suit. The architecture and design of the remote switch system consist of 2.5 Horsepower Air Compressor, Electrical contacts, Contactor with ON and OFF contact, Circuit Breaker, Electro-pneumatic valve, Electro-pneumatic cylinder, Connecting wires, Ratchet Strap, and Pneumatic tubing and others. An optimum design of the remote switch is determined by its ability to break the actual Sarawak Energy selected Switchgears. Therefore, the size of the pneumatic cylinder is taken into consideration whether it is the optimum size to be installed onto the switchgear

Enhancing Strategic Information Security Management in Organizations through Information Warfare Practices

Today’s organizations use control-centred security management systems as a preventative shield against a broad spectrum of attacks. However, these have proven to be less effective against the customized and innovative strategies and operational techniques used by Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). In this short paper we argue that to combat APTs, organizations need a strategic-level shift away from a traditional prevention-cantered approach to that of a response-cantered one. Drawing on the information warfare (IW) paradigm in military studies, and using Dynamic Capability Theory (DCT), this research examines the applicability of IW capabilities in the corporate domain. We propose a research framework to argue that conventional prevention-centred response capabilities; such as incident response capabilities and IW-centred security capabilities can be integrated into IW-enabled dynamic response capabilities that improve enterprise security performance

SOLID PHASE MICROBIAL FERMENTATION OF ANABOLIC STEROID, DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE WITH ASCOMYCETE FUNGUS FUSARIUM OXYSPORUM

Objective: Microbial catalysis is used in the commercial production of many bioactive steroids. Solid phase microbial fermentation of anabolic steroid, dihydrotestosterone (DHT, 1), was carried out with ascomycete fungal strain Fusarium oxysporum (NRRL-1392).Methods: Sabouraud-4% glucose-agar was used to cultivate the fungal cultures as solid phase medium. Substrate 1 was incubated with Fusarium oxysporum (NRRL-1392) for 8 days. Microbial transformed metabolites were purified by using column chromatographic technique. Results: Ascomycete fungal strain Fusarium oxysporum (NRRL-1392), transformed dihydrotestosterone (1) to four oxidative metabolites 2-5  using solid phase microbial transformation metod. During biotransformation process the hydroxy group was incorporated in inactivated methine carbon atoms at C-7 and C-11 positions. Their structures were elucidated by means of a homo and heteronuclear 2D NMR and by HREI-MS techniques as 17b-hydroxyandrosta-1, 4-dien-3-one 2, androsta-1, 4-diene-3, 17-dione 3, 7a, 17b-dihydroxyandrosta-1, 4-dien-3-one (4), and 11a-hydroxyandrosta-1, 4-diene-3, 17-dione 5. The relative stereochemistry of newly incorporated hydroxy groups were deduced by 2D NOESY experiment.Conclusion: In conclusion, microbial biocatalysis is an attractive alternative tool for the preparation of new bioactive steroids, which might be difficult to prepare by conventional chemical routes. Furthermore, microbial-catalyzed biotransformations can produce commercially valuable steroidal pharmaceuticals for the pharmaceutical industry.Â

SOLID PHASE MICROBIAL REACTIONS OF SEX HORMONE, TRANS-ANDROSTERONE WITH FILAMENTOUS FUNGI

Objective: A microbial biotransformation study was performed on trans-androsterone (1) using solid phase medium. In the present context, trans-androsterone (1), a sex hormone was fermented with two filamentous fungi, Rhizopus stolonifer (black bread mold) and Fusarium lini.Methods: Sabouraud-4% glucose-agar were used to cultivate the fungal cultures as solid phase medium. Substrate 1 was incubated with R. stolonifer (ATCC 10404) and F. lini (NRRL 68751) for 8 days. Microbial transformed metabolites were purified by using column chromatographic technique. Results: The metabolism study of 1 revealed that various metabolites were detected when incubated with filamentous fungi. A total of 3 transformed products were obtained. The reactions occurred that exhibited diversity; including selective hydroxylation at C-6 and C-7 along with oxidation occurs at C-3 positions. Their structure and identified on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data (NMR, HREIMS, IR and UV) as 3b,7b-dihydroxy-5a-androstan-17-one 2 in a good yield (58%), 6b-hydroxy-5a-androstan-3,17-dione 3, and 3b,6b-dihydroxy-5a-androstan-17-one 4.Conclusion: Solid phase microbial transformation method can successfully be used for the development of new steroidal drugs. The modified steroidal molecules could favor when compared to their natural counterparts due to several medicinal advantages.Â

Impact of Internal Physical Environment on Academicians' Productivity in Pakistan: Higher Education Institutes Perspectives

This study empirically examines the impact of indoor physical environment on academicians' productivity in different higher education institutes of Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa (KPK) province of Pakistan. The study is based on primary data collected from one hundred and forty four educationists' of various institutes in Pakistan. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was analyzed using the techniques of rank correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. All the findings were tested at 0.01 and 0.05 level of significance. The finding of this study shows that office design is very important in terms of increasing employee's productivity. The study opines that comfortable and contented office design motivates and energized the employees to increase their performance. Keywords: Ergonomics, Productivity, Office design, Higher education institutes, Correlation, Regression, Pakistan

Impact of Internal Physical Environment on Academicians' Productivity in Pakistan: Higher Education Institutes Perspectives

This study empirically examines the impact of indoor physical environment on academicians' productivity in different higher education institutes of Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa (KPK) province of Pakistan. The study is based on primary data collected from one hundred and forty four educationists' of various institutes in Pakistan. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was analyzed using the techniques of rank correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. All the findings were tested at 0.01 and 0.05 level of significance. The finding of this study shows that office design is very important in terms of increasing employee's productivity. The study opines that comfortable and contented office design motivates and energized the employees to increase their performance. Keywords: Ergonomics, Productivity, Office design, Higher education institutes, Correlation, Regression, Pakistan

Hip replacement for femur neck fracture in the elderly, effects of delayed surgical intervention on morbidity and mortality, a retrospective comparative study

Hip fracture is one of the most common injuries in the elderly population. Delay in operating on patients with hip fracture is associated with greater mortality and morbidity. A retrospective review of medical charts of patients who underwent primary total hip replacement (THR) for neck of femur fractures at our tertiary care level 1 trauma was carried out. Data was collected from the patients\u27 charts and analysed for 30-day mortality and morbidity. A total of 96 patients were included in the study. Out of the 36 patients in the delayed THR group, mortality within 30 days was observed in 4 (11.1%) patients while none was noted in the early THR group. The difference was statistically significant with a P-value of 0.008. With regards to post-operative complications, significantly higher percentage of patients were noted to have developed electrolyte imbalances (P = 0.003), postoperative psychosis (P = 0.02), and acute kidney injury (AKI) (P = 0.02) in the delayed THR group compared to the early THR group. Delay in surgery for neck of femur fracture is associated with increased 30-day mortality and postoperative complications

Improving the generalisation of genetic programming models with evaluation time and asynchronous parallel computing

In genetic programming (GP), controlling complexity often means reducing the size of evolved expressions. However, previous studies show that size reduction may not avoid model overfitting. Therefore, in this study, we use the evaluation time --- the computational time required to evaluate a GP model on data --- as the estimate of model complexity. The evaluation time depends not only on the size of evolved expressions but also their composition, thus acting as a more nuanced measure of model complexity than size alone. To constrain complexity using this measure of complexity, we employed an explicit control technique and a method that creates a race condition. We used a hybridisation of GP and multiple linear regression (MLRGP) that discovers useful features to boost training performance in our experiments. The improved training increases the chances of overfitting and facilitates a study of how managing complexity with evaluation time can address overfitting. Also, MLRGP allows us to observe the relationship between evaluation time and the number of features in a model. The results show that constraining evaluation time of MLRGP leads to better generalisation than both plain MLRGP and with an effective bloat-control