Teaching Parallel Programming Using Java

This paper presents an overview of the "Applied Parallel Computing" course taught to final year Software Engineering undergraduate students in Spring 2014 at NUST, Pakistan. The main objective of the course was to introduce practical parallel programming tools and techniques for shared and distributed memory concurrent systems. A unique aspect of the course was that Java was used as the principle programming language. The course was divided into three sections. The first section covered parallel programming techniques for shared memory systems that include multicore and Symmetric Multi-Processor (SMP) systems. In this section, Java threads was taught as a viable programming API for such systems. The second section was dedicated to parallel programming tools meant for distributed memory systems including clusters and network of computers. We used MPJ Express-a Java MPI library-for conducting programming assignments and lab work for this section. The third and the final section covered advanced topics including the MapReduce programming model using Hadoop and the General Purpose Computing on Graphics Processing Units (GPGPU).Comment: 8 Pages, 6 figures, MPJ Express, MPI Java, Teaching Parallel Programmin

A sociological study about the factors affecting Immunization status of children at POF hospital Wah Cantt, Pakistan

Immunization assumes a noteworthy part in the aversion of illnesses and grimness and mortality in kids can be highly lessened just by usage and use of EPI (Expanded Program on inoculation). Targets: The goals of the examination were to decide the inoculation status of kids admitted to pediatric ward of tertiary care in POF doctor's facility, Wah Cantt. The purposes behind halfway Immunization and non-Immunization. The sociodemographic factors that influence the inoculation status. Plan, length of the investigation: The examination was Descriptive and span was around a half year Setting: Pediatric and Gynecology wards of POF Hospital Wah Cantt. Examining system: Convenient testing Subjects and Methods: Our investigation included moms of 18 two years matured kids who exhibited to POF Hospital Wah. A pre tried organized survey was filled by the understudies themselves. Results: 87.5% of youngsters were totally inoculated, 9.5% were incompletely vaccinated while 3% were not in the slightest degree. 33.5% of the guardians trusted that there were reactions of immunizations. 44.5% of the guardians suspected that lone oral polio immunization was required and 17% thought about it as annoying. Wellbeing office was distant for19.5% people and 23% face non accessibility of immunizations. Chi square test demonstrated a critical relationship between instructive status of father, mother and place of conveyance with Immunization status. Conclusion: The Immunization status of the kids was satisfactory and there was noteworthy relationship between education status of father, mother and place of conveyance with the inoculation status. The reasons of none and fractional Immunization were unavailability, non-accessibility of immunization, considering polio was the main required antibody and burden for the guardians. Key Words: Immunization, Children, Non Immunizatio

Factors Leading to an Unexpected Early Control of Covid-19 in Pakistan

Introduction Different types of planning and strategies have been formulated following the up rise of Covid-19 in an attempt to limit the spread and to minimize both the crisis but the situation is still getting worse even in the developed states. Unexpectedly the rate of rise of Covid-19 declined after June 2020 in Pakistan and the slope decreased to 8,884 active cases out of 313,984 confirmed cases till September 2020. In addition to this unexpected decline, number of covid-19 related deaths. The fall in the covid-19 was unforeseen in this area and it led to the curiosity regarding the factors that were responsible for this scenario Methodology A country based research project was carried out in the Northwest School of Medicine for a period of 6 months. A sample group of 877 individuals of both the genders, age range from 15 to 80 years, belonging to various occupations, educational and socioeconomic backgrounds were included. Questionnaire on probable responsible factors for early control and shared with the participants. Results Most of the participants had an adequate level of knowledge and positive attitude towards Covid-19. The most prominent factor identified was the lack of stress and optimistic attitude. Conclusion  The optimistic attitude and low stress levels not only decreased the disease spread but also reduced its morbidity level. Key words; Covid-19, unexpected control, morbidity, factor

Factors Leading to an Unexpected Early Control of Covid-19 in Pakistan

Introduction Different types of planning and strategies have been formulated following the up rise of Covid-19 in an attempt to limit the spread and to minimize both the crisis but the situation is still getting worse even in the developed states. Unexpectedly the rate of rise of Covid-19 declined after June 2020 in Pakistan and the slope decreased to 8,884 active cases out of 313,984 confirmed cases till September 2020. In addition to this unexpected decline, number of covid-19 related deaths. The fall in the covid-19 was unforeseen in this area and it led to the curiosity regarding the factors that were responsible for this scenario Methodology A country based research project was carried out in the Northwest School of Medicine for a period of 6 months. A sample group of 877 individuals of both the genders, age range from 15 to 80 years, belonging to various occupations, educational and socioeconomic backgrounds were included. Questionnaire on probable responsible factors for early control and shared with the participants. Results Most of the participants had an adequate level of knowledge and positive attitude towards Covid-19. The most prominent factor identified was the lack of stress and optimistic attitude. Conclusion  The optimistic attitude and low stress levels not only decreased the disease spread but also reduced its morbidity level. Key words; Covid-19, unexpected control, morbidity, factor

Inhibition of full length Hepatitis C Virus particles of 1a genotype through small interference RNA

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a member of the <it>Flaviviridae </it>family of viruses, is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, the only treatment available consists of a combination of Pegylated interferon alpha (INF-α) and ribavirin, but only half of the patients treated show a sufficient antiviral response. Thus there is a great need for the development of new treatments for HCV infections. RNA interference (RNAi) represents a new promising approach to develop effective antiviral drugs and has been extremely effective against HCV infection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study was design to assess or explore the silencing effect of small interference RNAs (siRNAs) against full length HCV particles of genotype 1a. In the present study six 21-bp siRNAs were designed against different regions of HCV structural genes (Core, E1 and E2). Selected siRNAs were labeled as Csi 301, Csi 29, E1si 52, E1si 192, E2si 86 and E2si 493. Our results demonstrated that siRNAs directed against HCV core gene showed 70% reduction in viral titer in HCV infected liver cells. Moreover, siRNAs against E1 and E2 envelop genes showed a dramatic reduction in HCV viral RNA, E2si 86 exhibited 93% inhibition, while E1si 192, E2si 493 and E1si 52 showed 87%, 80%, and 66% inhibition respectively. No significant inhibition was detected in cells transfected with the negative control siRNA.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggested that siRNAs targeted against HCV structural genes efficiently silence full length HCV particles and provide an effective therapeutic option against HCV infection.</p

Potential degradation of norfloxacin using UV-C/Fe2+/peroxides-based oxidative pathways

The removal of norfloxacin (NOR), a widely used pharmaceutical and emerging water pollutant, was studied using UV-C and Fe2+ catalyzed peroxides-based oxidative processes (e.g., UV-C/Fe2+/H2O2, UV-C/Fe2+/S2O8 2− and UV-C/Fe2+/HSO5 −) and compared with UV-C and UV-C/Fe2+. The UV-C and UV-C/Fe2+ degraded NOR to 38 and 55%. However, use of peroxides, i.e., H2O2, S2O8 2−, HSO5 − with UV-C and UV-C/Fe2+ promoted NOR %degradation to 75, 83, and 90% using [peroxides]0 = 50 mg/L, [Fe2+]0 = 1 mg/L, and [NOR]0 = 10 mg/L, respectively. The significant impact of peroxides on NOR degradation was due to their decomposition into ●OH and SO4 ●− which showed high activity towards NOR degradation. The ●OH and SO4 ●− formation from peroxides decomposition and their contribution in NOR degradation was verified by different scavenger studies. Among the UV-C/Fe2+/peroxides processes, UV-C/Fe2+/HSO5 − showed better performance. The changing concentrations of peroxides, Fe2+, and NOR affected degradation of NOR. The use of different pH and inorganic anions also influenced NOR degradation. The degradation pathways of NOR were established and analyzed acute as well as chronic toxicities of NOR and its DPs

Substitution of a single non-coding nucleotide upstream of TMEM216 causes non-syndromic retinitis pigmentosa and is associated with reduced TMEM216 expression

Genome analysis of individuals affected by retinitis pigmentosa (RP) identified two rare nucleotide substitutions at the same genomic location on chromosome 11 (g.61392563 [GRCh38]), 69 base pairs upstream of the start codon of the ciliopathy gene TMEM216 (c.-69G&gt;A, c.-69G&gt;T [GenBank: NM_001173991.3]), in individuals of South Asian and African ancestry, respectively. Genotypes included 71 homozygotes and 3 mixed heterozygotes in trans with a predicted loss-of-function allele. Haplotype analysis showed single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) common across families, suggesting ancestral alleles within the two distinct ethnic populations. Clinical phenotype analysis of 62 available individuals from 49 families indicated a similar clinical presentation with night blindness in the first decade and progressive peripheral field loss thereafter. No evident systemic ciliopathy features were noted. Functional characterization of these variants by luciferase reporter gene assay showed reduced promotor activity. Nanopore sequencing confirmed the lower transcription of the TMEM216 c.-69G&gt;T allele in blood-derived RNA from a heterozygous carrier, and reduced expression was further recapitulated by qPCR, using both leukocytes-derived RNA of c.-69G&gt;T homozygotes and total RNA from genome-edited hTERT-RPE1 cells carrying homozygous TMEM216 c.-69G&gt;A. In conclusion, these variants explain a significant proportion of unsolved cases, specifically in individuals of African ancestry, suggesting that reduced TMEM216 expression might lead to abnormal ciliogenesis and photoreceptor degeneration

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care