Evolutionary Algorithms for Query Op-timization in Distributed Database Sys-tems: A review

Evolutionary Algorithms are bio-inspired optimization problem-solving approaches that exploit principles of biological evolution. , such as natural selection and genetic inheritance. This review paper provides the application of evolutionary and swarms intelligence based query optimization strategies in Distributed Database Systems. The query optimization in a distributed environment is challenging task and hard problem. However, Evolutionary approaches are promising for the optimization problems. The problem of query optimization in a distributed database environment is one of the complex problems. There are several techniques which exist and are being used for query optimization in a distributed database. The intention of this research is to focus on how bio-inspired computational algorithms are used in a distributed database environment for query optimization. This paper provides working of bio-inspired computational algorithms in distributed database query optimization which includes genetic algorithms, ant colony algorithm, particle swarm optimization and Memetic Algorithms

Consumption of Family Takaful affected by Microeconomic Factors: A Case Study of Islamic insurance Takaful in Pakistan

This study empirically verifies the link between macroeconomic variables (i.e. income per capita, savings, inflation, stock and index) with the demand for Family Takaful in the context of Pakistan using time-series data from 2006 to 2016 of Pak-Qatar Family Takaful Company and Dawood Family Takaful Company. It was concluded from this study that per capita income is a strong forecaster of Family Takaful demand in Pakistan, while other macro-economic factors such as KSE composite index has significant and positive relationship with Takaful demand in Pakistan. The other three variables i.e. saving, interest rate and inflation are having insignificant relationship with Family Takaful demand in Pakistan

Development of Biofilms for Antimicrobial Resistance

Biofilms are a unit referred to as assemblage of microbial cells growing as surface-attached microbial communities within the natural surroundings. Their genetic and physiological aspects are widely studied. Biofilm development involves the assembly of extracellular compound substances that forms the most bailiwick network. Quorum sensing is one more crucial development specifically connected with biofilm formation in several microorganism species. In ecological purpose, the biofilm offers protection against unfavorable conditions and provides a platform for the genetic transfer. A biofilm-forming bacterium area unit is medically necessary, as they are resistant to several antibiotics and might spread resistant genes. This chapter provides the summary of microorganism biofilm formation and its significance in ecology

Metastatic choriocarcinoma in a young woman presenting as thyroid storm: A case report

Background: Thyroid storm is an endocrine emergency and life-threatening condition discovered in 1926. There is no specific laboratory parameter that can differentiate or distinguish between thyroid storm and primary hyperthyroidism. Diagnosis is made on a clinical scoring system, including the Burch-Wartofsky point scale and Japanese Thyroid Association scoring system. The management is early diagnosis, immediate initiation of anti-thyroid medications, intensive care monitoring, and prevention of multiorgan failure.Case presentation: A 30-year-old Pakistani female presented with complaint of headache, vomiting, and generalized weakness for 3 weeks. She had an episode of seizure-like activity at home, and so was rushed to the emergency department. A detailed thyroid examination revealed a soft, nontender gland with no enlargement or bruit and no exophthalmos. Her thyroid-stimulating hormone was extremely low, with high free triiodothyronine and thyroxine. Thyroglobulin was 425 ng/ml (normal reference range ≤ 55 ng/ml), and thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibody was 0.87 IU/L (normal reference range 0-1.75 IU/L). She had high levels of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin hormone on initial presentation. Transvaginal ultrasound showed no intrauterine pregnancy, but an echogenic focus was found adherent to the right ovary with no vascularity. With the chief complaint of headache, she underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the brain that showed multiple scattered hemorrhagic lesions in supratentorial and infratentorial brain parenchyma that were highly suspicious for metastases. Computed tomography scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis revealed multiple neoplastic lesions in the lung, liver, spleen, and kidneys. A Tru-Cut liver biopsy showed linear cores of liver tissue with metastatic carcinoma with morphological features consistent with choriocarcinoma. Our patient scored 65 on the Burch-Wartofsky point scale. As per the Japanese Thyroid Association scoring system, our patient met the criteria for a definite thyroid storm. She had initiated propranolol to achieve adequate control of her heart rate and dexamethasone. Carbimazole was started to control her thyroid function. Her thyroid function after 2 weeks of treatment showed significant improvement. Methotrexate and etoposide were given for choriocarcinoma. She made a good recovery and was discharged home. She will undergo rehabilitation along with ongoing chemotherapy (methotrexate and etoposide weekly till beta-human chorionic gonadotropin levels normalize). Unless her source of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin is carefully under control, she will continue to take anti-thyroid medications.Conclusion: Choriocarcinoma is not only associated with hyperthyroidism but can induce thyroid storm. Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin is directly associated with promoting thyroid dysfunction. Patients with gestational trophoblastic disease should be under close surveillance to prevent thyroid storms

Low PAPR Reference Signal Transceiver Design for 3GPP 5G NR Uplink

Low peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) transmissions significantly improve the cell coverage as they enable high power transmissions without saturating the power amplifier. A new modulation scheme, namely, pi/2-BPSK was introduced in the Rel-15 3GPP 5G NR specifications to support low PAPR transmissions using the DFT-spread-OFDM waveform in the uplink transmissions. To enable data demodulation using this modulation scheme, Zadoff-Chu sequences are used as reference signals. However, the PAPR of Zadoff-Chu sequences is higher when compared to the pi/2-BPSK data. Therefore, even though the data transmissions have low PAPR, the high PAPR of the reference signal limits the cell coverage in the uplink of Rel-15 3GPP 5G NR design. In this paper we propose a transceiver design which minimizes the PAPR of the reference signals to avoid the aforementioned issues. We show via simulations that the proposed architecture results in more than 2 dB PAPR reduction when compared to the existing design. In addition, when multiple stream transmission is supported, we show that PAPR of the reference signal transmission remains the same for any stream (also referred to as baseband antenna port in 3GPP terminology) when the proposed transceiver design is employed, which is not the case for the current 3GPP 5G NR designComment: 12 pages , Journal Pape

Clustering techniques for human posture recognition: K-Means, FCM and SOM

An automated surveillance system should have the ability to recognize human behaviour and to warn security personnel of any impending suspicious activity. Human posture is one of the key aspects of analyzing human behaviour. We investigated three clustering techniques to recognize human posture. The system is first trained to recognize a pair of posture and this is repeated for three pairs of human posture. Finally the system is trained to recognize five postures together. The clustering techniques used for the purpose of our investigation included K-Means, fuzzy C-Means and Self-Organizing Maps. The results showed that K-Means and Fuzzy C-Means performed well for the three pair of posture data. However these clustering techniques gave low accuracy when we scale up the dataset to five different postures. Self- Organizing Maps produce better recognition accuracy when tested for five postures