Capacity planning and stochastic scheduling in grid computing environments

Imperial Users onl

3-Dimensional Blood Clot Simulation On Plastic Arterial Catheter using GAMBIT & FLUENT

The Volume Of Fluid (VOF) model is a surface-tracking technique applied to a fixed Eulerian mesh. It is designed for two or more immiscible fluids where the position of the interface between the fluids is of interest. The fluids share a single set of momentum equations, and the volume fraction of each of the fluids in each computational cell is tracked throughout the domain. As such, VOF is an advection scheme that acts as a numerical recipe that allows the programmer to track the shape and position of the interface, but it is not a standalone flow-solving algorithm. The Navier Stokes equations describing the motion of the flow have to be solved separately. The movement of one fluid with regards to its interface is studied to help the researchers and engineers in deciding certain parameters such as pressure and velocity in plastic arterial catheter in order to reduce error, computational cost, and save simulation time. Good resemblance between CFD predictions with the experimental data in certain locations was obtained with the factor of species (blood clot) transport and pressure profile, where dependence of VOF models and grid sizes were discussed in details. The results show us that, the demand in grid study is vital to obtain accurate results with minimal computational cost. On the other hand, wall adhesion is solved in an iterative way, modifying holdups at the wall until the specified wall contact angle had been satisfied. Since the VOF method is a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) approach, the time and length scales on which the equations are being solved should be sufficiently small to directly take fluctuating fluid motion due to turbulence into account. Therefore, VOF simulations do not incorporate any other turbulence models, thus only applicable to laminar models

The Multigeneic _Rhg1_ Locus: A Model For The Effects on Root Development, Nematode Resistance and Recombination Suppression.

Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) resistance to populations (HgType) of _Heterodera glycines I._, the soybean cyst nematode (SCN), requires a functional allele at rhg1. An apoptosis-like response in the giant cells formed around the nematode results 24-48 h after feeding commences. This study aimed to identify the role of the three genes within the rhg1 locus, a receptor like kinase (RLK), a laccase and an ion anti-porter. Used were near isogeneic lines (NILs) that contrasted at their rhg1 alleles. Features of the rhg1 locus, the candidate genes and their nascent transcripts and proteins in roots were elucidated. First, evidence for a syntenic gene cluster was found and the effectiveness of SNP probes for distinguishing the homeolog sequence variant on linkage group (Lg) B1 from alleles at the rhg1 locus on Lg G was shown. Analysis of plant s heterozygous at rhg1 showed that the allele for resistance was dominant. The absence of recombination events among the NILs between the RLK and other 2 genes eliminated the possibility of a monogeneic rhg1 locus. Finally, an effect on root development was discovered. A model for multigeneic resistance based on developmental control of root growth including a mechanism for segregation distortion is presented

Determining the Relative Importance of Personality Traits in Influencing Software Quality and Team Productivity

Software projects are almost always team efforts and successful projects involve well-formed and well-composed teams. Past studies have revealed that personality contributes to effective team composition and, therefore, project success. Yet despite its importance, only a couple of empirical studies have quantitatively evaluated the impact of personality on software quality and team productivity. Our previous study was an effort in this direction. In that study, we proposed a metric called Team Homogeneity Index and evaluated its impact on software quality and team productivity for two phases (implementation and testing) of the software development life cycle. This study is a continuation of our previous work. In this study, we replicate our experiment on three different phases of software development life cycle (i.e. analysis and design, implementation, and testing). We also determine the weights for all five personality traits using input from the industry and propose an improved version of Team Homogeneity Index called Weighted Team Homogeneity Index. Finally, we conduct a comparative analysis of Team Homogeneity Index and Weighted Team Homogeneity Index to determine whether weights assigned to personality traits make any difference. Our findings reveal that weights do make a difference and Weighted Team Homogeneity Index is more strongly correlated than Team Homogeneity Index for almost all of the teams, especially those composed of practitioners, in the three different phases of Software Development Life Cycle

Impact of Reward Systems on Employee Attitudes: The Moderating Role of Perceived Supervisory Support

This paper aims to examine the relationship between reward system and employee attitudes. It also explores either perceived supervisory support moderates the relationship between reward system and employee attitudes in the higher education sector of Pakistan. Among the sample of 300 employees 240 were obtained which were filled accordingly. So the response rate was 80%. Findings indicate the presence of a significant relationship between reward system and employee attitudes. Findings also proposed that perceived supervisory support moderates the relationship between reward system and employee attitudes. Keywords: Reward system, Employee attitudes

Removal of calcium hydroxide pastes containing N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone, local anaesthesia, glycerine, and methylcellulose from artificial radicular grooves: An in-vitro study

Objective: To compare the removal of calcium hydroxide (CaOH) pastes containing N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), lidocaine, glycerine, methylcellulose, or water from artificially created grooves. Methods: In this study, 115 human single-rooted maxillary incisors with single and straight root canals were prepared using a rotary file up to size 40/.04 and split longitudinally. A longitudinal groove was created from 2 to 5 mm from the apex and filled with CaOH combined with different vehicles. The specimens were divided among 5 experimental groups according to the vehicle as follows: distilled water, lidocaine, glycerine, methylcellulose, and NMP. The two halves were re-attached, and the canals were flushed with 10 ml of 17% EDTA for 60 seconds. The residual amount of CaOH was scored using a stereomicroscope at 8x magnification. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05. Results: The NMP-based group exhibited significantly less residual medicament compared to the distilled water (P0.05). Conclusion: The vehicle is an important factor in the successful removal of CaOH medicament from the root canals. Within the limitations of the present study, the NMP-based CaOH medicament exhibited better removal efficacy than the distilled water. However, the cleaning success of the methylcellulose-, lidocaine-, and glycerine-based groups was similar to that of distilled water

Stochastic Workflow Scheduling with QoS Guarantees in Grid Computing Environments

Grid computing infrastructures embody a cost-effective computing paradigm that virtualises heterogenous system resources to meet the dynamic needs of critical business and scientific applications. These applications range from batch processes and long-running tasks to more real-time and even transactional applications. Grid schedulers aim to make efficient use of Grid resources in a cost-effective way, while satisfying the Quality-of-Service requirements of the applications. Scheduling in such a large-scale, dynamic and distributed environment is a complex undertaking. In this paper, we propose an approach to Grid scheduling which abstracts over the details of individual applications and aims to provide a globally optimal schedule, while having the ability to dynamically adjust to varying workloa

Some Differentials in Infant and Child Mortality Risks in Pakistan 1962 - 1986

In Pakistan the history of alternative sampling approaches to collect demographic data for direct and indirect estimation of population parameters extends back for three decades. The sources which provided directly usable statistical data for estimating fertility and mortality rates, are the 1962- 65 Population Growth Estimation (PGE), the 1968- 71 and 1976- 79 Population Grwoth Surveys (PGS), and the 1984- 86 Pakistan Demographic Surveys (PDS). Since these surveys yielded series of data which could be directly used for working out estimates which are in accordance with the conventional concepts, their results are being given a prior consideration in this paper. The second series of demographic surveys in Pakistan consists of the one-time retrospective surveys, which provided data to which indirect techniques could be applied for working out the estimates of fertility and mortality. The three most prominent of such surveys are: the 1975 Pakistan Fertility Surveys (PFS), the 1979-80 Population, Labour Force and Migration Survey (PLM) and the 1984-85 Pakistan Contraceptive Prevalence Survey (PCPS). The objective of this paper is to provide some direct and indirect estimates of infant and child mortality risks from these sources with a view to examining differentials and trends in these estimates

Outcome of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease in Terms of Improvement in MDS-UPDRS Scale Over 5 Years

Background &amp; Objective:&nbsp;&nbsp;Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common Neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease. There are several surgical procedures for advanced PD, but amongst all deep brain stimulation has proven to be safest and effective. The objective of this study was to see the outcome of DBS for the treatment of PD in terms of improvement in MDS UPDRS over 5 years. Material and Methods:&nbsp;&nbsp;44 patients were included in study from Oct 2014 to Sep 2019. History, examination was carried out, and preoperative MDS-UPDRS (Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale) was recorded. Postoperative improvement in MDS-UPDRS score was assessed at first Programming, 2nd week, and 6th week and at 3rd month. Results:&nbsp;&nbsp;At baseline the mean, the MDS – UPDRS (Part-I) score was 14.20 ± 0.61 and at the end of 3rd month, the mean score was 11.18 ± 0.47 respectively. At baseline the mean, the MDS – UPDRS (part-II) score was 18.99 ± 0.70 and at the end of 3rd month, the mean score was 13.01 ± 0.57, respectively. At baseline the mean, the MDS – UPDRS (part-III) score was 45.19 ± 0.90 and at the end of 3rd month, the mean score was 25.15 ± 1.20 respectively. At baseline the mean, the MDS – UPDRS (part-IV) score was 10.18 ± 0.87 and at the end of 3rd month, the mean score was 3.85 ± 1.03, respectively.&nbsp; Conclusion:&nbsp;&nbsp;The Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is safe and effective in the management of PD