Verifying Parallel Loops with Separation Logic

This paper proposes a technique to specify and verify whether a loop can be parallelised. Our approach can be used as an additional step in a parallelising compiler to verify user annotations about loop dependences. Essentially, our technique requires each loop iteration to be specified with the locations it will read and write. From the loop iteration specifications, the loop (in)dependences can be derived. Moreover, the loop iteration specifications also reveal where synchronisation is needed in the parallelised program. The loop iteration specifications can be verified using permission-based separation logic.Comment: In Proceedings PLACES 2014, arXiv:1406.331

A Verification Technique for Deterministic Parallel Programs (extended version)

A commonly used approach to develop parallel programs is to augment a sequential program with compiler directives that indicate which program blocks may potentially be executed in parallel. This paper develops a verification technique to prove correctness of compiler directives combined with functional correctness of the program. We propose syntax and semantics for a simple core language, capturing the main forms of deterministic parallel programs. This language distinguishes three kinds of basic blocks: parallel, vectorized and sequential blocks, which can be composed using three different composition operators: sequential, parallel and fusion composition. We show that it is sufficient to have contracts for the basic blocks to prove correctness of the compiler directives, and moreover that functional correctness of the sequential program implies correctness of the parallelized program. We formally prove correctness of our approach. In addition, we define a widely-used subset of OpenMP that can be encoded into our core language, thus effectively enabling the verification of OpenMP compiler directives, and we discuss automated tool support for this verification process

COVID-19: Features, clinical course and concerns

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, China . So far, 136 reports from the WHO were reported. In the latest report, 6416828 patients in almost all countries have been infected with the COVID-19. The present study discusses the different aspects of COVID such as emergence, signs and symptoms, comparisons with SARS and MERS, concerns, governments' actions in controlling the virus and a descriptive analysis of the spread and death. The emergence of the coronavirus family in the last two decades has created a public health issue around the world. It has also caused serious damages to infrastructure, economy, culture and communities of countries. Thus, affected governments have taken steps to reduce these concerns such as quarantine, education, traffic control, closure of recreational centers, reduction of working hours etc. Despite strict measures to contain the COVID-19, this virus is still expanding and the question of "what actions should be taken with what political package?" is being asked. To answer this question, it is important to understand the process of disease occurrence and modeling different interventions on changing the natural course of the disease is very importan

The Effect of Low-Level Laser therapy and Curcumin on the Expression of LC3, ATG10 and BAX/BCL2 Ratio in PC12 Cells Induced by 6-Hydroxide Dopamine

Introduction: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. The neuroinflammation in the brain of PD patients is one of the critical processes in the immune pathogenesis of PD leading to the neural loss in the substantia nigra. Due to the anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin (CU) and low-level laser therapy (LLLT), we examined the protective effect of CU and LLLT on PC12 cells treated with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) as a Parkinson model.Methods: PC12 cells were pretreated using various concentrations of 6-OHDA for 24 hours to induce oxidative and cellular damages. PC12-6-OHDA cells were co-treated with CU and LLLT. The effects of CU and LLLT on Bax/Bcl2 and LC3/ATG10 expression were analyzed by real-time PCR and cell viability was assessed by MTT assay. Cell A Software was used to calculate the length of the Neurite and cell body areas.Results: The results of this study show that the combination of CU dose-dependently and LLLT has a significant neuroprotective effect on cells and cellular death significantly decreases by increasing CU concentration. CU+LLLT decreases Bax/Bcl2 ratio which is an indicator of apoptosis and it also rescued a decrease in LC3 and ATG10 expression in comparison with 6-OHDA group.Conclusion: This study shows that the combination of 5 μM CU and LLLT has the best neuroprotective effect on PC12 cells against 6-OHDA by decreasing the BAX/BCL2 ratio

Exosome Therapy in Spinal Cord Injury: A Review

Background: Injuries to the spinal cord (SCI) are one of the most detrimental central nervous system (CNS) injuries in developing countries. Today, treatment is one of the major issues facing the medical profession, and to date, there is no known promising treatment capable of fully healing injuries. There are various methods to repair and improve SCI, including the use of stem cells particularly mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Various studies have been performed on applying these cells in the treatment of SCI, whose results have confirmed the efficacy of using these cells specifically due to the paracrine secretion of these cells including growth factors, chemokines, cytokines, and small extracellular vesicles. Interestingly, among these paracrine molecules, exosomes may have the maximum therapeutic value and as such is widely investigated by researchers.Aim: to fully focus on the usage of stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles on the healing of SCI in animal models.Conclusion: Taken together, the extracellular nanovesicles have promising therapeutic potentials and their use in the treatment of SCI has been rapidly growing. In this review, we elucidated the effect of exosomes derived from bone marrow MSCs in SCI

Therapeutic Effects of Photobiomodulation Therapy on Multiple Sclerosis by Regulating the Inflammatory Process and Controlling Immune Cell Activity: A Novel Promising Treatment Target

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the autoimmune and chronic diseases of the central ‎nervous system, this disease occurs more frequently in young people and women ‎and leads to neurological symptoms. Oxidative stress, inflammatory process, and ‎oligodendrocyte dysfunction has a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of this ‎disease. Nowadays, it has been reported that Photobiomodulation (PBM) as a non-invasive threat has neuroprotective potential but the exact mechanisms are not understood.   Methods: In this manuscript, we have reviewed the Photobiomodulation effects on MS. in this regard, we used "Photobiomodulation", " Laser therapy", and "Low-level laser therapy" keywords on MS to find related studies on this subject in PubMed, Google scholar, Elsevier, Medline, and Scopus databases.  Results: Photobiomodulation has positive effects on MS by regulating the inflammatory ‎process, controlling immune cell activity, and mitochondrial functions, as well as inhibiting free ‎radicals’ production. ‎ Conclusion: Overall, researchers have suggested that laser therapy could be considered a promising new treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis

Therapeutic Effects of Combination Therapy and Photobiomodulation Therapy on Retinal Regeneration

Introduction: Macular edema (ME) is produced by central extravascular inflammation of the macula subsequent to a major loss of visual action. Macular edema can happen at any phase of diabetic retinopathy, whether non-proliferative or proliferative retinopathy. Method and material: Articles were collected from four electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar Web of Science from 2000 to 2022 and electronically to study the effects of macular laser grid photocoagulation on Diabetic macular edema or Cystoid macular edema through the keywords " macular laser photocoagulation ", " macular edema ", " Cystoid macular edema ", " Intravitreal pharmacotherapies ", " Antivascular endothelial growth factor “, were searched about 219 articles found in google scholar and 165 articles in PubMed, that   58 articles were included in the study. Result: In this study, the effects of various laser photocoagulation such as Focal and/or grid macular laser, subthreshold micropulse laser (SMPL), and Intravitreal pharmacotherapies (Corticosteroids such as triamcinolone acetonide, fluocinolone, Bevacizumab, and dexamethasone) on macular edema were investigated. A few studies had shown that the effects of corticosteroids are more effective than lasers, and a number of studies have found the effects of lasers and the combined effects of lasers with corticosteroids to be more effective. Also, some studies have also shown that the frequency and duration of follow-up and concentrations of intravitreal pharmacotherapies are effective in increasing visual outcomes. Conclusion: The results of studies showed that although corticosteroids have side effects, the combined effects of corticosteroids with subthreshold micropulse laser are effective in increasing visual acuity (VA) and central macular thickness (CMT)

Early detection of oral bacteria causing gum infections and dental caries in children

Background and Objectives: Periodontal diseases are resulted from gum infections and dental plaques, which are mainly caused by the bacterial agents. Since dental monitoring includes important prognostic roles, the aim of this study was to detect the most common periodontal pathogenic bacteria in children. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 clinical samples were collected from dental plaques and gingival grooves. Target-specific primers were designed for hbpA in Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, fimA in Porphyromonas gingivalis and 16S rRNA in Prevotella intermedia, Tannerella forsythia and Treponema denticola. Then, a multiplex polymerase chain reaction method was optimized for the highlighted bacterial agents. Results: In general, the highest and the lowest bacterial prevalence rates belonged to Tannerella forsythia (88%) and Porphyromonas gingivalis (13%), respectively. Furthermore, prevalence rates of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Prevotella intermedia and Treponema denticola were 25, 21 and 45% in samples, respectively. Conclusion: There were significant associations between dental/oral health and microbial community. Metabolism of the oral bacteria, including biofilm formation, can affect gums and develop dental plaques and hence dental caries, especially in children. Early diagnosis of dental caries in children via rapid, accurate molecular methods can increase the diagnostic capacity in clinical cases and therefore prevent periodontal infections in adulthood