A new cloud-based classification methodology (CBCM) for efficient semantic web service discovery

Over the last decades, web services are used for performing specific tasks demanded by users. The most important task of service’s classification system is to match an anonymous input service with the stored pre-classified web services. The most challenging issue is that web services are currently organized and classified according to syntax while the context of the requested service is ignored. Due to this motivation, Cloud-based Classification Methodology is proposed as it presents a new methodology based on semantic web service’s classification. Furthermore, cloud computing is used for not only storing but also allocating the high scale of web services with both high availability and accessibility. Fog technology is employed to reduce the latency and to speed up response time. The experimental results using the suggested methodology show a better performance of the proposed system regarding both precision and accuracy in comparison with most of the methods discussed in the literature of the current study.

     

Resource allocation mechanisms for maximizing provider’s revenue in infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing service provided over the internet to facilitate the provisioning of various services such as storage, processes, etc. The provider in the IaaS market may offer some purchasing plans including: reservation, on-demand, and spot plans for its resources. As in real scenarios, demand volume for each plan is assumed to be a random variable with a given probability distribution. The provider maximizes its average revenue in the long run by optimal allocation of its resources among the plans. We formulate an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) model with a stochastic constraint, to determine the number of resources to be allocated for each plan in every time slot in the planning horizon. First, fixed prices are considered for each plan, then two mechanisms of Continuous Double Auction and Second Price Sealed Bid Auction are considered for reservations and spot plans, respectively, to obtain market-driven prices of the services. The Seasonal Weighted Moving Average method is used to predict the amount of demand in every slot. Finally, the proposed mechanisms are evaluated through simulations and the results confirm the effectiveness of the methods in maximizing the revenue and overall utilization of the available IaaS capacity.

     

Alkaline phosphatase and acid phosphatase levels in saliva and serum of patients with healthy periodontium,gingivitis, and periodontitis before and after scaling with root planing: A clinico-biochemical study

Periodontitis is commonly diagnosed based on clinical parameters. However, the analysis of a few unique biomarkers of the disease process present in the saliva and blood can further assist the estimation of the rate of disease progression.AimThe present study attempted to correlate the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and acid phosphatase (ACP) levels in saliva and serum between patients with healthy periodontium, gingivitis, and chronic periodontitis.Materials and methodsThe present study was conducted in 135 subjects between 20 and 55 years of age. The subjects were divided into three groups, namely healthy (Group A), gingivitis (Group B), and chronic periodontitis (Group C). The clinical parameters were recorded using the plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), and probing depth (PD). Saliva and serum were analyzed for ALP and ACP levels using an auto analyzer. All patients underwent scaling and root planning (SRP) along with oral hygiene instructions. Patients were then recalled after four weeks, and blood and saliva samples were collected to estimate ALP and ACP levels prior to clinical examination.ResultsThe clinical parameters exhibited a statistically significant decrease in the PI and GI in both group B and group C after SRP. A significant change in the PD and attachment levels (AL) was observed in the periodontitis group after SRP. The mean salivary & serum ALP levels exhibited a statistically significant decrease in group B & C after SRP. The mean serum ACP levels exhibited a statistically significant decrease in group B & C after SRP However, the salivary ACP levels decrease after SRP was only statistically significant in group C.ConclusionSerum and salivary ALP and ACP levels were markedly decreased in the gingivitis and periodontitis groups after SRP and were positively correlated with the clinical parameters.     

Marine microorganisms as an untapped source of bioactive compounds

The search for novel biologically active molecules has extended to the screening of organisms associated with less explored environments. In this sense, Oceans, which cover nearly the 67% of the globe, are interesting ecosystems characterized by a high biodiversity that is worth being explored. As such, marine microorganisms are highly interesting as promising sources of new bioactive compounds of potential value to humans. Some of these microorganisms are able to survive in extreme marine environments and, as a result, they produce complex molecules with unique biological interesting properties for a wide variety of industrial and biotechnological applications. Thus, different marine microorganisms (fungi, myxomycetes, bacteria, and microalgae) producing compounds with antioxidant, antibacterial, apoptotic, antitumoral and antiviral activities have been already isolated. This review compiles and discusses the discovery of bioactive molecules from marine microorganisms reported from 2018 onwards. Moreover, it highlights the huge potential of marine microorganisms for obtaining highly valuable bioactive compounds.     

Botanical candidates from Saudi Arabian flora as potential therapeutics for Plasmodium infection

Malaria is a lethal parasitic disease affecting over two hundred million people worldwide and kills almost half a million people per year. Until now, there is no curative treatment for this disease that has a substantial morbidity. The available chemotherapeutic agents are unable to completely control the infection with the continuous appearance of drug resistance. Consequently, the search for new therapeutic agents with high safety profiles and low side effects is of paramount importance. Several natural products have been investigated and proven to have antimalarial effects either in vivo or in vitro. A large number of plants have been studied globally for their antimalarial activities. However, studies that have been conducted in this field in Saudi Arabia are not enough. This article presents global and local research on the need for novel natural antimalarial agents with a particular emphasis on studies involving plants from Saudi Arabian flora.     

Impact of anti-sandfly saliva antibodies on biological aspects of Phlebotomus papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae), vector of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Sandflies are the main vectors of Leishmania parasites in tropical and subtropical areas. The immunization of vertebrate hosts with vector components through repeated bites may offer an alternative method for sandfly control. Aliquots of female Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli) (Diptera: Psychodidae) were weekly blood fed on 12 individual hamsters throughout 18 successive weeks. Significant biological and biochemical changes resulting from antibodies developed by immunized host sera against repeated biting were observed in sandfly females. Blood feeding and fertility rates of females significantly gradually declined to the end of the study period. No appreciable difference was observed in mortality rates among flies repeatedly fed on individual hamsters throughout weeks 9 and 18, compared to flies fed on naïve hamsters. Total salivary gland proteins of female sandflies were compared to proteins in sera of sensitized hamsters. SDS-page revealed bands common to both flies and hosts, indicating the development of anti-saliva antibodies in hamster sera. The importance of anti-sandfly saliva antibodies as a potential tool for vector control leading to the interruption of leishmaniasis is discussed.     

Assessment of risk management and control measures against coronavirus disease

This article presents the COVID-19 situation and control measures taken by the Government of Pakistan. Two waves of pandemic are faced globally and similar in the study area. We have investigated the risk management decision in two phases. Primarily, strict lockdown was observed from March 2020 to July 2020 and smart lockdown was enforced from August 2020 to December 2020. It has been studied that during strict lockdown, COVID cases reduced gradually but reopening of institutes and smart lockdown strategy resulted gradual increase in confirmed cases and death rates. During first wave of COVID-19 in Pakistan, a total confirmed number of patients of COVID-19 were 263,496 till 18th of July 2020 with total deaths of 5,568 people and 204,276 recoveries, while total number of COVID-19 patients reached 555,511 till 9th of February 2021 with total deaths of 12,026 people. Province of Sindh was affected badly with total number of 251,434 COVID-19 cases followed by Punjab Province with total number of 161,347 COVID-19 till 9th of February 2020.     

Cross-scale quality assessment of a mechanistic cation exchange chromatography model

Cation exchange chromatography (CEX) is an essential part of most monoclonal antibody (mAb) purification platforms. Process characterization and root cause investigation of chromatographic unit operations are performed using scale down models (SDM). SDM chromatography columns typically have the identical bed height as the respective manufacturing-scale, but a significantly reduced inner diameter. While SDMs enable process development demanding less material and time, their comparability to manufacturing-scale can be affected by variability in feed composition, mobile phase and resin properties, or dispersion effects depending on the chromatography system at hand. Mechanistic models can help to close gaps between scales and reduce experimental efforts compared to experimental SDM applications. In this study, a multicomponent steric mass-action (SMA) adsorption model was applied to the scale-up of a CEX polishing step. Based on chromatograms and elution pool data ranging from laboratory- to manufacturing-scale, the proposed modeling workflow enabled early identification of differences between scales, for example, system dispersion effects or ionic capacity variability. A multistage model qualification approach was introduced to measure the model quality and to understand the model's limitations across scales. The experimental SDM and the in silico model were qualified against large-scale data using the identical state of the art equivalence testing procedure. The mechanistic chromatography model avoided limitations of the SDM by capturing effects of bed height, loading density, feed composition, and mobile phase properties. The results demonstrate the applicability of mechanistic chromatography models as a possible alternative to conventional SDM approaches.     

Solid state production of polygalacturonase and xylanase by Trichoderma species using cantaloupe and watermelon rinds

Different solid state fermentation (SSF) sources were tested such as cantaloupe and watermelon rinds, orange and banana peels, for the production of polygalacturonase (PG) and xylanase (Xyl) by Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma virens. The maximum production of both PG and Xyl were obtained by T. harzianum and T. virnes grown on cantaloupe and watermelon rinds, respectively. Time course, moisture content, temperature, pH, supplementation with carbon and nitrogen sources were optimized to achieve the maximum production of both PG and Xyl of T. harzianum and T. virens using cantaloupe and watermelon rinds, respectively. The maximum production of PG and Xyl of T. harzianum and T. virens was recorded at 4–5 days of incubation, 50–66% moisture, temperature 28–35°C and pH 6–7. The influence of supplementary carbon and nitrogen sources was studied. For T. harzianum, lactose enhanced PG activity from 87 to 120 units/g solid, where starch and maltose enhanced Xyl activity from 40 to 55–60 units/g solid for T. virnes. Among the nitrogen sources, ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, yeast extract and urea increased PG activity from 90 to 110–113 units/g solid for T. harzianum. Similarly, ammonium chloride, ammonium sulphate and yeast extract increased Xyl activity from 45 to 55–70 units/g solid for T. virens.     

Synthesis,Conformational and Configurational Studies of Some New Acetylated Glycosides of 2-Thio-3-aryl-4(3H)-quinazolinones,Their Thiono and 3,1-Benzothiazin-2,4-dithione

Abstract

A series of some new acetylated S-glycosides of 2-thioxoquinazolin-4-ones, their thiono analogues and 3,1-benzothazin-2,4-dithione derivatives, including a D-glucose and a D-galactose derivatives and a D-xylose, and an L-arabinose derivatives have been synthesized. The conformation and configuration of these carbohydrate derivatives were determined by analysing their ¹H and ¹³C NMR chemical shifts and coupling constants. The biological activity of these compounds has been studied.