Software; Creation of Public Domain Resources in Biology
Present Status::

Developing prediction methods for gene, beta-turn, secondary structure and MHC-binding sites.
Area of Interest ::

Comparison of force field simulations. Analysis of DNA-protein interactions using molecular mechanics methods.Drug Target Identification using in silico biology.

More @ http://www.imtech.res.in/bic/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65

PIs: http://www.imtech.res.in/bic/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69

Many times in bioinformatics we need to deal with huge datasets which  are more than 100GB size. The traditional way to analysis a file is using the while loop

while (FILE){

Do something;

}

This is very slow(since we are using only one processor) and if we have 500 million lines in the dataset it takes more than a day to iterate through the whole dataset. So how do we make best use of all our processors and get the work done quickly?

Here is a very simple and efficient technique with perl which i have been using. I am  more inclined towards using perl fork than perl threads.

One of the oldest way to fork is

my $fork = fork();
if($fork){   
push (@childs,$fork); 
}
elseif($fork==0){
your code here;
exit(0);
}
else{die “Couldnt fork : $!”;}

## wait for the child process to finish
foreach(@childs){
my $tmp=waitid($_,0);
}

what a fork does is it creates a child process and takes the variables and code with it to analyze it separately (detached from the parent process) and thus a separate process is created( which usually runs on a separate processor). Thats it!! One big disadvantage of forking is its very difficult to share variables among the different processes. I will show you how to do it easily but still it has its own drawbacks.

Okie, now if you really do not want to use fork in your code, that’s okie too..There are many useful modules which do it for you very efficiently. One really useful module is Parallel::ForkManager. You can use Parallel::ForkManager to manage the number of forks you want to generate (number of processors you want to use).

Simple usage:
use Parallel::ForkManager;
my $max_processors=8;
my $fork= new Parallel::ForkManager($max_processors);
foreach (@dna) {
$fork->start and next; # do the fork
you code here;
$fork->finish; # do the exit in the child process
}
$pm->wait_all_children;

so you will be generating 8 forks which do the same thing for your each element of array. when one child finishes, Parallel::ForkManager generates a new one and thus you will be using all your processors to analyze the data. Now, if you have generated 8 child processes and want to write the data to one file. You need to lock the file to do this, because you will have problems with the buffering. You can lock the file using flock command.

open (my $QUAL, “myfile.txt”);
flock $QUAL, LOCK_EX or die “cant lock file $!”;
print $QUAL “$output”;
flock $QUAL, LOCK_UN or die “$!”;
close $QUAL;

I would not suggest using flock when dealing with multiple processes because it will decrease the processing efficiency( each child process must wait for the lock to be released by the other child process). Instead, I would suggest each fork writing to a separate file and after the processing just concatenating them.

Putting it all together, If you have 100GB data you can do this

step 1 : split the dataset equally according to number of processors you have. this may take a few hours(about 2-3 hrs for 100GB file)
You can use unix “split” command for this
for example:
my $number_split=int($number_of_entries_in_your_dataset/$max_processors);
my $split_Files=`split -l $number_split “your_file.fasta” “file_name”`;

step2: open you directory comtaining you split files and start Parallel::ForkManager.
For example:
opendir(DIRECTORY, $split_files_directory) or die $!; ### open the directory
my $fork= new Parallel::ForkManager($max_processors);
while (my $file = readdir(DIRECTORY)) { ### read the directory
if($file=~/^\./){next;}
print $file,”\n”;
########## Start fork ##########
my $pid= $super_fork->start and next;
Whatever you want to do with the split file ;
analyze my piece of $file;
######### end fork ###############
$super_fork->finish;
}
$super_fork->wait_all_children;

So basically each processor will be active with its piece of data (split file) and thus you have created 8 processes at one time which run without interfering with the other process. I again will not suggest writing output from each child process to one file(for reasons above). Write output from each fork to a separate file and finally concatenate them. Thats it, you have just increased your program speed by 8 times!! Isnt it easy?

Note:
You may worry about concatenation of the output each child generates, since it does take some time(remember 100GB). I think now you can use a mysql database LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE command to load all the files into a single table(Should take about 3hrs for 100Gb dataset) and then export the whole table into one file. This should be faster than just concatenating them using “cat” command.(correct me if I am wrong)

Or much simpler way is to use pipes

cat output_dir/* | my_pipe or my_pipe <(file1) final_file;

Thats it guys!! Enjoy programming and please do comment. I am not a computer scientist so forgive me for any mistakes and if any please report them. Thank you.

The Taverna suite is written in Java and includes the Taverna Engine(used for enacting workflows) that powers both the Taverna Workbench(the desktop client application) and the Taverna Server (which allows remote execution of workflows). Taverna is also available as a Command Line Tool for a quick execution of workflows from a terminal.

Address of the bookmark: http://www.taverna.org.uk/

Gargi believes in its mission statement that every student who passes through the portals of the college emerges as a wholly developed individual symbolizing the spirit of enterprise and inquiry that characterizes Gargi.

Bioinformatics Infrastructure Facility (BIF), Gargi College, University of Delhi invites candidates for filling up the following purely temporary positions sponsored by DBT, New Delhi.

1. Name of the post: Traineeship
Essential Qualification: Post Graduate degree in Bioinformatics or any other branch of Life Sciences preferably with dissertation in Bioinformatics.
Desirable Qualification: Prior knowledge of programming languages such as C, VB, SQL etc. and software/database development.

2. Name of the post: Research Associate
Essential Qualification: PhD in Bioinformatics/Biological Sciences/Computer Science or allied sciences with proven experience in bioinformatics.

3. Name of the post: Studentship
Essential Qualifications: Final year Post Graduate students pursuing a degree in Bioinformatics or any branch of Life Science with knowledge of bioinformatics.

How to apply:
Interested candidates are required to appear for the walk in interview on 29th Aug, 2013 at 10.00 AM in Principal’s Office, Gargi College, Sirifort Road, N. Delhi-110049, with their CVs, original documents and a set of Photostat copies of all original documents.

http://www.du.ac.in/fileadmin/DU/students/Pdf/du/advt/2013/16082013_Gargi_RAplus2_Advt.pdf

POSITIONS OPEN FOR TEMPORARY RESEARCH PROJECT POSTS

(Date of interview 23rd September 2013 at 10:30 AM)

CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (IGIB), desires to engage qualified incumbents on purely temporary basis as detailed below:

Project Code/Title (Project Code BSC0123)

Genome dynamics in Cellular Organization, Differentiation and Enantiostasis (GENCODE)

Project Fellow

First Class M.Sc./M.Tech in bioinformatics/Human Genetics/Genomics

Rs. 16,000/- + 30 % HRA per month

Sr. Project Fellow

First Class M.Sc./M.Tech in bioinformatics/Human Genetics/Genomics

With two years of experience in NGS data analysis.

Rs. 18,000/- + 30 % HRA per month

Age relaxation as per Govt. of India instructions.

Engagement is for the project and on behalf of the funding agency and the tenure shall be as mentioned above. The duration of the post is initially for One year or till the closing date of the project, whichever is earlier. Tenure may be extendable up to project duration. Contract may be terminated at any time by giving one-month notice by either side. The applicants will have no claim implicit or explicit for consideration against any CSIR/IGIB post.

How to Apply:

It is mandatory for eligible applicants to apply by both the processes as given below:

1. Sending the resume in MS Word format directly to hrd@igib.res.in (Mentioning the Project Code-Post Code in the Subject Line of the email example:GAP0059-1)

2. They also need to fill up proforma by clicking on the following link HR Online Form.

3. Candidate cannot apply for more than two posts.

Last date of receiving application is 02-09-2013.

No application would be entertained with result awaited status or after due date.

The email will be sent to the short listed candidates.

No TA/DA will be paid to the candidates to attend the interview. The engagement shall be as per guidelines of CSIR/Funding agency. Candidates will have an option to give reply in Hindi.

Note: The shortlisted candidates, who will receive the email for interview, have to report at 09:00 AM on the day of interview along with any Photo ID card and original certificates for entry purpose. Entry will be closed by 10:00 AM.

More @ http://www.igib.res.in/sites/default/files/23092013.htm

Essential Qualifications: Ph.D. (Bioinformatics/ Biophysics/ Biotechnology or any other stream of biological/ physical sciences) with a minimum of two publications in reputed peer reviewed journals in the area of structural bioinformatics or biophysics or biomolecular modeling/ simulation.

Job description: Development of bioinformatics tools and algorithms/software for structure based analysis of biomolecular systems. Programmatic access to major biomolecular databases using APIs Knowledge based prediction and analysis of biomolecular structure, function and interactions. Docking/simulations for inhibitor design.

Desirable Qualifications (Research Associate/s): i) Strong computer programming skills (in Python/PERL/PHP or C++ or object oriented database management systems like MySQL etc or scripting languages under LINUX/UNIX environment).

ii) Extensive experience in computational analysis of biomolecular structure/interactions and usage of advanced biomolecular simulation softwares. iii) Adequate knowledge of major databases, webservers and softwares in the area of biomolecular structure/function and drug design. iv) Familiarity with Parallel Programming environments and experience in usage of high-end HPC clusters.

The candidates must highlight their experience in above mentioned fields/topics in their CV. Initial appointment will be for a period of 1 year, subject to extension after review of performance.

Emoluments: As per DST, GOI norms and commensurate with experience.

More at https://www.iisc.ac.in/positions-open/

Future projects and goals

Large-scale systematic maps of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions by automated phenotyping, using image analysis, machine learning, sparse model building and causal inference.
DNA-, RNA- and ChIP-Seq and their applications to gene expression regulation: statistical and computational foundations.
Cancer genomics, genomes as biomarkers, cancer phylogeny.
Image analysis for systems biology: measuring the dynamics of cell cycle and of cell migration of individual cells under normal conditions and many different perturbations (RNAi, drugs).

More @ http://www.embl.de/research/units/genome_biology/huber/index.html

Asst. PROF IN BIOINFORMATICS.

QUALIFICATION: AS PER UGC

DESIRABLE: 1 YEAR EXPERIENCE IN ACADEMICS

CONTACT immediately

Prof D.S.Bhatia
Director
9351288070

Last date within 7 days of the publication.

Find more @ http://jnujaipur.ac.in/downloads/AdvtDec2012.jpg