Software Development Using Object-First Approach: a New Learning Strategy

Software Engineering approach deals with the Software Development (SD) that is aligned with design and development of software applications. The Software Development may be implemented in a variety of techniques but its implementation using a procedural paradigm and an imperative language seem to be more effective and efficient for the design and implementation of software applications. The procedural approach for Software Development offers advantages as this it may be used to teach some basic features of programming languages. The object of this paper is to introduce the software development and associated object-first approach for the design of software project application using top-down method. This approach defines functions and modules as basic units for the design and implementation and also for offering hands-on experiences with the basics of programming languages of sequences, selections, iterations structures. These structures will be used to define various modules with programming language constructs for of software development process. The software Development process is one of the very crucial processes of software engineering

Student Advising and Retention Application in Cloud Computing Environment

This paper proposes a new user-friendly application enhancing and expanding the current advising services of Gradesfirst currently being used for advising and retention by the Athletic department of UMES with a view to implement new performance activities like mentoring, tutoring, scheduling, and study hall hours into existing tools. This application includes various measurements that can be used to monitor and improve the performance of the students in the Athletic Department of UMES by monitoring students' weekly study hall hours, and tutoring schedules. It also supervises tutors' login and logout activities in order to monitor their effectiveness, supervises tutor-tutee interaction, and stores and analyzes the overall academic progress of each student. A dedicated server for providing services will be developed at the local site. The paper has been implemented in three steps. The first step involves the creation of an independent cloud computing environment that provides resources such as database creation, query-based statistical data, performance measures activities, and automated support of performance measures such as advising, mentoring, monitoring and tutoring. The second step involves the creation of an application known as Student Advising and Retention (SAR) application in a cloud computing environment. This application has been designed to be a comprehensive database management system which contains relevant data regarding student academic development that supports various strategic advising and monitoring of students. The third step involves the creation of a systematic advising chart and frameworks which help advisors. The paper shows ways of creating the most appropriate advising technique based on the student's academic needs. The proposed application runs in a Windows-based system. As stated above, the proposed application is expected to enhance and expand the current advising service of Gradesfirst tool. A brief demonstration of the proposed application will highlight the main features of the existing tool (Gradefirst)

Branes and Geometry in String and M-Theory

This thesis is based on two papers by the author and consists of two parts. We review the recent developments in the theory of multiple M2-branes and 3-algebras leading to multiple D2-brane theories. The inclusion of flux terms for the supersymmetric BLG and ABJM theories of closed M2-branes is discussed and then generalised to open M2-branes. Here the boundary condition is derived and different BPS configurations are examined where we find a mass deformed Basu-Harvey equation for the M2-M5 system. The Lorentzian 3-algebra is then employed for obtaining a theory of D2-branes in a flux background, we then obtain the new fuzzy funnel solution of the system of D2-D4 branes in a flux. Matrix theories and their compactifications as well as noncommutative geometry and noncommutative gauge theories are reviewed with a discussion of their generalisations to three dimensions to be used to describe the M-theory three form potential $C_3$. A new feature of string theory is then obtained called the quantum Nambu geometry (QNG). It is found by considering the action for D1-strings in a RR flux background and we demonstrate that there is a large flux double scaling limit where the action is dominated by a Chern-Simons-Myers coupling term. A classical solution to this is the quantised spacetime known as the quantum Nambu geometry. Various matrix models are obtained from this action, these are the large flux dominated terms of the full actions for the corresponding matrix models. The QNG gives rise to an expansion of D1-strings to D4-branes in the IIA theory, so we obtain an action for the large flux terms for this action which is verified by a dimensional reduction of the PST action describing M5-branes. We make a generalisation of the D4-brane action to describe M5-branes using a duality. We are describing the 3-form self-dual field strength of a non-abelian generalisation of the PST action.Comment: PhD Thesis, 143 page

Rheumatic mitral valve disease is associated with worse outcomes in stroke:A Thailand National Database Study

Background and purpose: Rheumatic valvular heart disease is associated with increased risk of cerebrovascular events, although there are limited data on the prognosis of patients with rheumatic mitral valve disease (RMVD) following stroke.  Methods: We examined the association between RMVD and both serious and common cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular (respiratory and infective) complications in a cohort of hospitalised stroke patients based in Thailand. Factors associated with in-hospital mortality were also explored. Data were obtained from a National Insurance Database. All hospitalised strokes between 1st October 2004 and 31st January 2013 were included in the current study. Characteristics and outcomes were compared for RMVD and non-RMVD patients. Logistic regression, propensity score matching, and multivariate models were employed to assess study outcomes.  Results: In total, 594,681 patients (mean (SD) age=64(14.5) years) with a diagnosis of stroke (ischemic = 306,154; hemorrhagic= 195,392; undetermined = 93,135) were included in this study, of whom 5461 had RMVD. Results from primary analyses showed that following ischemic stroke, and controlling for potential confounding covariates, RMVD was associated (P<0.001) with increased odds for cardiac arrest (OR(95%CI)=2.13(1.68-2.70)), shock (2.13(1.64-2.77)), arrhythmias (1.70(1.21-2.39)), respiratory failure (2.09(1.87-2.33)), pneumonia (2.00(1.81-2.20)), and sepsis (1.39(1.19-1.63)). In hemorrhagic stroke patients, RMVD was associated with increased odds (fully adjusted model) for respiratory failure (1.26(1.01-1.57)), and in patients with undetermined stroke, RMVD was associated with increased odds (fully adjusted analyses) for shock (3.00(1.46-6.14)), respiratory failure (2.70(1.91-3.79)), and pneumonia (2.42(1.88-3.11)).  Conclusions: RMVD is associated with development of cardiac arrest, shock, arrhythmias, respiratory failure, pneumonia, and sepsis following acute stroke

Molecular evolution of human adenoviruses

The recent emergence of highly virulent human adenoviruses (HAdVs) with new tissue tropisms underscores the need to determine their ontogeny. Here we report complete high quality genome sequences and analyses for all the previously unsequenced HAdV serotypes (n = 20) within HAdV species D. Analysis of nucleotide sequence variability for these in conjunction with another 40 HAdV prototypes, comprising all seven HAdV species, confirmed the uniquely hypervariable regions within species. The mutation rate among HAdV-Ds was low when compared to other HAdV species. Homologous recombination was identified in at least two of five examined hypervariable regions for every virus, suggesting the evolution of HAdV-Ds has been highly dependent on homologous recombination. Patterns of alternating GC and AT rich motifs correlated well with hypervariable region recombination sites across the HAdV-D genomes, suggesting foci of DNA instability lead to formulaic patterns of homologous recombination and confer agility to adenovirus evolution

Predicting the Next Eye Pathogen: Analysis of a Novel Adenovirus

For DNA viruses, genetic recombination, addition, and deletion represent important evolutionary mechanisms. Since these genetic alterations can lead to new, possibly severe pathogens, we applied a systems biology approach to study the pathogenicity of a novel human adenovirus with a naturally occurring deletion of the canonical penton base Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) loop, thought to be critical to cellular entry by adenoviruses. Bioinformatic analysis revealed a new highly recombinant species D human adenovirus (HAdV-D60). A synthesis of in silico and laboratory approaches revealed a potential ocular tropism for the new virus. In vivo, inflammation induced by the virus was dramatically greater than that by adenovirus type 37, a major eye pathogen, possibly due to a novel alternate ligand, Tyr-Gly-Asp (YGD), on the penton base protein. The combination of bioinformatics and laboratory simulation may have important applications in the prediction of tissue tropism for newly discovered and emerging viruses

Systematic Reviews of Genetic Association Studies

Gurdeep S. Sagoo and colleagues describe key components of the methodology for undertaking systematic reviews and meta-analyses of genetic association studies

Comparison of risk profile in pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women with acute coronary syndrome

Background: The physiological changes associated with menopause are responsible for increase in cardiovascular disease after menopause. BMI, physical inactivity, metabolic syndrome, hypertension and diabetes mellitus increase in post-menopausal women which are all powerful predictors of cardiovascular events. The risk factor profile between pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women presenting with acute coronary syndrome was thus studied.Methods: This study was a prospective cross-sectional hospital based study and was conducted in the Department of Medicine and Department of Cardiology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana wherein 50 pre-menopausal women and 50 post- menopausal women who presented with acute coronary syndrome were enrolled. The risk factor profile and angiography findings amongst the 2 groups were compared.Results: There was no difference in the incidence of Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension among the pre & post-menopausal groups. The prevalence of family history of cardiovascular disease was higher in the pre-menopausal group. The post-menopausal women showed a significant decrease in physical activity due to sedentary lifestyle. Both the groups had high BMI and increased waist circumference. Lipid parameters did not show any significant difference between the two groups. However, pre-menopausal women had higher LDL-C and triglyceride levels and lower HDL-C levels. On analysis of the angiographic findings in diabetics and non-diabetics, of both the groups diabetes mellitus was much higher in subjects presenting with triple vessel disease suggesting extensive atherosclerosis.Conclusions: study showed physical inactivity as an important cardiovascular risk factor in post-menopausal women. Obesity is an important risk factor for coronary artery disease in both pre- and post-menopausal women

Time to revisit Geoffrey Rose: strategies for prevention in the genomic era?

Geoffrey Rose, in his article “Sick individuals and sick populations” highlighted the need to distinguish between prevention for populations and prevention for high risk individuals. In this article we revisit some of these concepts in light of the burgeoning literature on “personalised medicine” and of findings from our investigations into personalised cancer prevention as part of an EU research gene-environment study on hormone related cancers, the Collaborative Oncological Gene- environment Study (COGS). We suggest that Rose’s high risk strategy may be modified by segmenting the population by risk (in our example genetic risk) into a number of individual strata, to each of which differential interventions may be applied. We call this “stratified prevention”, and argue that such an approach will lead to consequential advantages in efficiency, effectiveness and harm minimisation