Parallel Sampling-Pipeline for Indefinite Stream of Heterogeneous Graphs using OpenCL for FPGAs

In the field of data science, a huge amount of data, generally represented as graphs, needs to be processed and analyzed. It is of utmost importance that this data be processed swiftly and efficiently to save time and energy. The volume and velocity of data, along with irregular access patterns in graph data structures, pose challenges in terms of analysis and processing. Further, a big chunk of time and energy is spent on analyzing these graphs on large compute clusters and/or data-centers. Filtering and refining of data using graph sampling techniques are one of the most effective ways to speed up the analysis. Efficient accelerators, such as FPGAs, have proven to significantly lower the energy cost of running an algorithm. To this end, we present the design and implementation of a parallel graph sampling technique, for a large number of input graphs streaming into a FPGA. A parallel approach using OpenCL for FPGAs was adopted to come up with a solution that is both time- and energyefficient. We introduce a novel graph data structure, suitable for streaming graphs on FPGAs, that allows time- and memory-efficient representation of graphs. Our experiments show that our proposed technique is 3x faster and 2x more energy efficient as compared to serial CPU version of the algorithm

Catalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes in Aqueous Medium

Water pollution by the textile industry is an emerging issue. Textile industry is the major industrial sector which contributes to water pollution. Textile industry releases a huge amount of unfixed dyes in wastewater effluents. About 20% of the dye production all over the world is discharged as waste in industrial effluents by textile industry. These dyes are highly stable and colored substances which disturb the aqueous ecosystem significantly. Therefore, there is a need for methods to remove organic dyes from textile industrial effluents. Photo catalysis and catalytic wet oxidation are best practices for degradation of dyes in wastewater. In photo catalysis, the dye molecules can be completely degraded into inorganic non-toxic compounds by irradiation of the dye solution under visible or ultraviolet light in the presence of semiconductor metal-oxide photo catalysts. In catalytic wet oxidation, various metal-based catalysts in supported or unsupported form can be used as heterogeneous catalysts for degradation of dyes in the presence of oxygen or hydrogen peroxide. These processes have several preferences like easy separation of the catalyst from reaction mixture and recycling of the catalyst

Dynamics of political usage of smart phones: Examining relationship of exposure patterns and polarization among young voters

Mobile phones are credited to be the fastest penetrating technology among Pakistani youth. The study examines the role of selective exposure in polarization among young voters during General Elections of Pakistan, 2013. It highlights the relationship between usage of mobile phones for political messages and tendency of users to attend and share selective as well as diverse views and alternative perspectives. Findings from 200 respondents through survey method reveal that selective exposure of young voters is on decline and they engage themselves to diverse contents as well. Thus, polarization patterns of Pakistani youth are changing in relation to mobile usage

Follow-up bibliometric analysis of neurosurgical publications from Pakistan and institutional comparison with other countries using h-index and i-10 Index

Aim: The aim of the study was to analyze the neurosurgical research output of Pakistan and compare it with that of developed countries.Methodology: We conducted a bibliometric analysis of publically available databases for all neurosurgical publications from Pakistan. All indexed peer-reviewed publications from January 2009 to December 2014 where at least one author was affiliated with any neurosurgical departments in Pakistan and research was conducted in Pakistan were selected. Manual and electronic search was done using MeSH terms to search for articles from Pakistan. Articles were then categorized according to design, subspecialty, region, and year.Results: Our search identified 121 articles during the defined study period (mean = 20.16 ± 5.2 papers/year). A relatively constant increase was noticed for the last 6 years, i.e., 2009-2014. From the total 121 references, 100 (82.4%) publications were from one city, and on subanalysis, 80 (66.1%) were from a single institution. Three primary authors cumulatively contributed to 76 (62.8%) of these publications. Almost two-thirds (n = 76, 62.8%) of these publications were published in either regional or international journals while only 37.2% (n = 45) were published in local nonneurosurgery-specific journals. Only one study in the 6-year study period was with Level I evidence (meta-analysis).Conclusion: Neurosurgery research in Pakistan has shown modest improvement in terms of quality and quantity. Collaboration between various centers and channelizing different resources to create national data registries along with basic science laboratories is much needed

Outcome of non-malignant papillary lesions of the breast on core biopsy: An experience from a tertiary care center in Pakistan

Background: Papillary lesions of the breast constitute a heterogeneous group ranging from non-malignant papillomas to papillary carcinoma. While surgical excision is recommended for atypical papilloma or papillary DCIS/ carcinoma on core biopsy, controversy persists in the management of benign papillomas which are diagnosed with core needle biopsy (CNB) since there are variable reported rates for tumor upgrade. The purpose of this study was to determine the outcome of papillary lesions of the breast diagnosed at image-guided CNB, after surgical excision or follow-up, and to identify potential predictors of high-risk lesions/malignancy on imaging.Materials and methods: We retrospectively identified 52 non-malignant papillary lesions on core biopsy between January 2012 and June 2018. The outcome of surgical excision, as well as clinical and imaging features of these lesions, were assessed. The final histologic upgrade was recorded, and variables were compared between benign and atypical lesions on core biopsy as well as between upgraded and non-upgraded lesions after surgical excision. Results: Thirty-six lesions out of 52 lesions were benign papillomas on core biopsy, while 16 were papillary lesions with ADH/DCIS. All of these lesions except four benign papillomas were excised. Of the 32 benign papillomas excised, 7 were upgraded to papilloma with ADH/DCIS and one to DCIS with the focus of invasion. Among the 16 atypical lesions excised, one was upgraded to papillary DCIS with a final upgrade rate of 17.3%. There was no statistically significant clinical or imaging feature among those that were upgraded on excision from those that were not upgraded. Conclusion: Non-malignant papillary lesions have a significant upgrade rate. There are no reliable clinical or imaging features that can pre-surgically predict upgrade. Therefore, surgical excision of all papillary lesions is recommended for definitive diagnosis

Co-movement between Sukuk, Conventional Bond and Islamic Stock Markets under Bullish and Bearish Market Conditions: An Application of Quantile-on-Quantile Regression

This study explores the asymmetric co-movement between conventional bonds market, sukuk market and Islamic stock markets of top ten Islamic economies. The study used daily data ranging from 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2019. However, for the dependency structure, we used Quantile-on-Quantile (QQ) method, which captures the dependence between the entire distributions of financial assets and uncovers some nuance features of the relationship. The empirical findings show that under the stress condition (bearish condition), both bonds and stocks markets negatively commove. However, in the bullish market condition, these markets show week positive correlation/ co-movement in all the sample economies. The findings also confirmed that under the bearish condition, a mild negative correlation exists between sukuk and Islamic stock markets except for Malaysia. However, in the bullish market condition, sukuk markets and stock markets show strong positive correlation in all sample economies. Furthermore, study also enriches quantiles estimation by using quantiles granger causality approach. The findings show that the conventional bond market, sukuk market and Islamic stock market granger cause to each other on all the quantiles (in bullish or bearish market conditions)

An Assorted Design for Joint Monitoring of Process Parameters: An Efficient Approach for Fuel Consumption

Due to high fuel consumption, we face the problem of not only the increased cost, but it also affects greenhouse gas emission. This paper presents an assorted approach for monitoring fuel consumption in trucks with the objective to minimize fuel consumption. We propose a control charting structure for joint monitoring of mean and dispersion parameters based on the well-known max approach. The proposed joint assorted chart is evaluated through various performance measures such as average run length, extra quadratic loss, performance comparison index, and relative average run length. The comparison of the proposed chart is carried out with existing control charts, including a combination of X and S, the maximum exponentially weighted moving average (Max-EWMA), combined mixed exponentially weighted moving average-cumulative sum (CMEC), maximum double exponentially weighted average (MDEWMA), and combined mixed double EWMA-CUSUM (CMDEC) charts. The implementation of the proposed chart is presented using real data regarding the monitoring of fuel consumption in trucks. The outcomes revealed that the joint assorted chart is very efficient to detect different kinds of shifts in process behaviors and has superior performance than its competitor charts.Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, King Fahd University of Petroleum and MineralsScopu

Treatment and outcomes of soft tissue sarcoma of groin, hip and thigh: A retrospective review from a tertiary care hospital

Objective: To study the frequency of the thigh, hip and groin soft tissue sarcomas and retrospectively analyse the management, treatment results, and outcomes of these uncommon malignant tumours, in a tertiary care hospital of the city of Karachi.Methodology: Data of soft tissue tumours registered from 2017-2018 was retrieved during January 2019 to March 2019 from Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi bone and soft tissue tumour registry. A retrospective review was performed and all soft tissue tumour cases treated with surgical intervention (with adjuvant /neoadjuvant therapy) or palliative intention were included.Results: Total 119 cases of soft tissue tumours (STS) were identified out of which 85 were malignant cases (sarcomas) while 30 were benign. On presentation 84 (70.6%) were primary cases. On topographical distribution, there were 25 patients who had hip, groin and thigh sarcoma. Of these, 15 were males and 10 were females. As treatment, neo-adjuvant radiation was done in 4 (16%) patients and adjuvant chemo/radio therapy was given to 13 (52%) patients. Wide margin excision was performed in 19 (76%) patients and 4 (16%) had amputation. Reconstruction was offered to 3 (12%) patients. In post-surgical complications, 1 (4%) patient had wound infection. On final surgical histopathology, majority of the sarcomas were liposarcomas, myxofibrosarcoma, synovial sarcoma and Leiomyosarcoma. Post-surgery recurrence occurred in 7 (28%) patients. Overall survival was 76%.Conclusions: In treatment of soft tissue sarcoma, limb salvage is an achievable option and survival results are also good