Open-Source and Proprietary Library Automation Software: A Comparative Academic Librarian's Perspective

The purpose of this study was to get an understanding of how academic librarians perceive open-source and proprietary library software. The researchers used a survey research approach and a self-constructed questionnaire as data collection tool. The study targeted 103 library professionals working at HEC-recognized degree awarding institutions (DAIs) and universities in Lahore, both public and private sectors, yielding an 84% response rate. To meet research objectives, descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Study findings explored that library software should have the facility of advanced searching, library standards, and a user-friendly interface. Comparative analysis revealed that open-source library software contains more modules and requires highly skilled employees. On the other hand, human resources with minor skills can use proprietary software. Factors that prevent adopting OSS for academic libraries include a lack of technical support, skilled and motivated library professionals, inadequate cooperation between supervisors and subordinates, and insufficient training opportunities. Experienced library professionals should guide and offer full cooperation in the selection and implementation of software. Library schools and associations should play a decisive role through school curriculum and professional development programs in preparing graduates and practitioners for embracing modern technologies. Open-source software developers should also organize training programs for software users to work independently in libraries

PARTIAL ORAL VERSUS INTRAVENOUS ANTIBIOTIC TREATMENT OF ENDOCARDITIS

All those patients who have ineffective endocarditis, specifically on their heart’s left side are particularly given the IV antibiotics agents. A specific shift from IV to oral antibiotics to stable condition’s patients once may provide better results in effectiveness and for the curative measure. In this research, we assigned, randomly, four hundred adults, all in the steady situation who had left the side of heart endocarditis by Streptococcus, Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci and/or enterococcus feacalis and finally those who are treated through IV antibiotics. IV treatment is given to 199 patients and orally administrated patients are 201. Basic outcome of mortality, embolic events, cardiac surgery or relapse of bacteremia has been completed till six months after antibiotic treatment. After the process of randomization, the treatment of antibiotic was accomplished after a median 19 days (from 14 to 25 days interquartile range) in the group which treated through intravenously and after 17 days, in the group which is treated by orally (P=0.48). The basic outcome happened at 12.1% rate in 24 patients with confidence interval 95% (3.4to9.6 P = 0.40). In all those patients who suffered left side of heart endocarditis in a steady condition, a change in antibiotic treatment orally was non-inferior to sustained IV antibiotic treatment. Keywords: Antibiotic treatment, oral, intravenous, endocarditis, heart

ULOGA OBITELJSKE KONTROLE U ODREĐIVANJU STRUKTURE KAPITALA: SLUČAJ NEFINANCIJSKIH PODUZEĆA UVRŠTENIH NA BURZU

This study aims to examine the effect of family control on the corporate financing decision of firms in Pakistan. This study uses the annual data of 100 non-financial firms listed at PSX for the period 2005-2012. To estimate the impact of family control on the corporate financing decision, we employ the ordinary least square (OLS) method. The findings of the univariate analysis show that a significant difference exists between family and nonfamily firms based on many characteristics of firms. Multivariate analysis results show that family firms maintain significantly high “total debt ratio” and “short-term debt ratio” compared to non-family firms. There are two reasons why family firms keep high debt ratios compared to non-family firms. First, family-owned firms do not want to dilute their ownership, and that is why they fulfill their major financing needs through debt instead of issuing new shares in the market. Second, family firms in Pakistan use extra cash flows for their private benefits. These findings reveal useful insights for investors, banks, regulators, and business families of Pakistan.Ovaj rad ispituje učinak obiteljske kontrole na odluke o financiranju poduzeća u Pakistanu. Korišteni su godišnji podaci 100 nefinancijskih poduzeća navedenih na PSX-u za razdoblje 2005.-2012. Za procjenu utjecaja obiteljske kontrole na odluku o financiranju poduzeća korištena je metoda običnog najmanjeg kvadrata (ordinary least square, OLS). Nalazi univarijantne analize pokazuju da postoji značajna razlika između obiteljskih i neobiteljskih poduzeća na temelju brojnih karakteristika poduzeća. Rezultati multivarijantne analize pokazuju da obiteljska poduzeća imaju značajno visok “omjer ukupnog duga” i “omjer kratkoročnog duga” u usporedbi s neobiteljskim poduzećima. Dva su razloga zašto obiteljska poduzeća drže visoke stope duga u usporedbi s neobiteljskim poduzećima. Prvo, obiteljska poduzeća ne žele razvodnjavati svoje vlasništvo i zato svoje potrebe financiranja zadovoljavaju dugovima umjesto da izdaju nove udjele na tržištu. Drugo, obiteljska poduzeća u Pakistanu koriste dodatne novčane tokove za svoje privatne koristi. Ovi nalazi otkrivaju korisne uvide za investitore, banke, regulatore i poslovne obitelji Pakistana

Accurate and Scalable Detection and Investigation of Cyber Persistence Threats

In Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks, achieving stealthy persistence within target systems is often crucial for an attacker\u27s success. This persistence allows adversaries to maintain prolonged access, often evading detection mechanisms. Recognizing its pivotal role in the APT lifecycle, this paper introduces Cyber Persistence Detector (CPD), a novel system dedicated to detecting cyber persistence through provenance analytics. CPD is founded on the insight that persistent operations typically manifest in two phases: the "persistence setup" and the subsequent "persistence execution". By causally relating these phases, we enhance our ability to detect persistent threats. First, CPD discerns setups signaling an impending persistent threat and then traces processes linked to remote connections to identify persistence execution activities. A key feature of our system is the introduction of pseudo-dependency edges (pseudo-edges), which effectively connect these disjoint phases using data provenance analysis, and expert-guided edges, which enable faster tracing and reduced log size. These edges empower us to detect persistence threats accurately and efficiently. Moreover, we propose a novel alert triage algorithm that further reduces false positives associated with persistence threats. Evaluations conducted on well-known datasets demonstrate that our system reduces the average false positive rate by 93% compared to state-of-the-art methods

Screening, Isolation, and Enzyme Kinetics of Bacterial Amylase collected from Rhizosphere soil

Rhizosphere is a region where microbial communities are in complex association with the roots of plants where the activity of microbes and their enzymes are greatly influenced by root exudates. Amylase enzyme has great importance in biotechnology, with enormous utilization in food, fermentation, textile, and paper industries. They are produced intracellularly and extracellularly by different life forms including microorganisms. Microbial amylases are preferred over other sources because of their vast availability and it also meets the growing needs of industry. The present investigation deals with the isolation, screening, and enzyme kinetics of bacterial amylase from the rhizosphere soil samples collected from a fertile field. Soil samples were collected from the rhizosphere and amylase-producing bacteria screening was carried out by using a starch agar plate. Extracellular amylase was extracted from fermentation broth followed by quantification by starch-iodine assay. Bacterial amylase enzyme kinetics were determined by changing enzyme/substrate concentrations and incubation time. We successfully screened and isolated out starch hydrolyzing colonies from the rhizosphere soil samples. Studies on enzyme kinetics indicate that the activity of amylase increased initially as substrate and enzyme concentrations increased. If we kept enzyme concentration constant, to a certain point, there was no change in enzyme activity as the enzyme was saturated and no more enzyme was available to react with the excess substrate. Initially, enzyme activity increased as enzyme volume increased, but since substrate concentration was kept constant, higher volumes of the enzyme could not speed up the reaction. Further, under a prolonged incubation period, less amount of substrate was available at the end of a reaction. Therefore, it is concluded that the reaction velocity increases

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence-Driven Multi-Scale Modeling for High Burnup Accident-Tolerant Fuels for Light Water-Based SMR Applications

The concept of small modular reactor has changed the outlook for tackling future energy crises. This new reactor technology is very promising considering its lower investment requirements, modularity, design simplicity, and enhanced safety features. The application of artificial intelligence-driven multi-scale modeling (neutronics, thermal hydraulics, fuel performance, etc.) incorporating Digital Twin and associated uncertainties in the research of small modular reactors is a recent concept. In this work, a comprehensive study is conducted on the multiscale modeling of accident-tolerant fuels. The application of these fuels in the light water-based small modular reactors is explored. This chapter also focuses on the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in the design optimization, control, and monitoring of small modular reactors. Finally, a brief assessment of the research gap on the application of artificial intelligence to the development of high burnup composite accident-tolerant fuels is provided. Necessary actions to fulfill these gaps are also discussed

Molecular detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its relationship to histopathological diagnosis in paraffin-embedded lymph node tissues

Background: Tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBL) is one of the most common forms of extra pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) worldwide, with difficulty in its diagnosis. And since in the Sudan, the routinely used method for diagnosis is conventional histopathology, the aim of this study was to confirm the histopathological diagnosis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Methods: In this study 718 lymph node (LN) biopsies were retrieved, of which 161 were diagnosed as TBL (histopathological evidences). PCR technique was performed for all 161 positive samples to detect the IS6110 sequence of M. tuberculosis as well as to obtain the sensitivity and specificity of morphological diagnosis.Results: Out of 161 specimens 135 (84%) were found to be positive with PCR, the remaining 26 (16%) were negative.Conclusions: Although PCR indicated high sensitivity it can’t be a substitute for conventional histopathology in the diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis in tissue

Time Complexity of Color Camera Depth Map Hand Edge Closing Recognition Algorithm

The objective of this paper is to calculate the time complexity of the colored camera depth map hand edge closing algorithm of the hand gesture recognition technique. It has been identified as hand gesture recognition through human-computer interaction using color camera and depth map technique, which is used to find the time complexity of the algorithms using 2D minima methods, brute force, and plane sweep. Human-computer interaction is a very much essential component of most people's daily life. The goal of gesture recognition research is to establish a system that can classify specific human gestures and can make its use to convey information for the device control. These methods have different input types and different classifiers and techniques to identify hand gestures. This paper includes the algorithm of one of the hand gesture recognition “Color camera depth map hand edge recognition” algorithm and its time complexity and simulation on MATLAB