Energy and performance-aware scheduling and shut-down models for efficient cloud-computing data centers.

This Doctoral Dissertation, presented as a set of research contributions, focuses on resource efficiency in data centers. This topic has been faced mainly by the development of several energy-efficiency, resource managing and scheduling policies, as well as the simulation tools required to test them in realistic cloud computing environments. Several models have been implemented in order to minimize energy consumption in Cloud Computing environments. Among them: a) Fifteen probabilistic and deterministic energy-policies which shut-down idle machines; b) Five energy-aware scheduling algorithms, including several genetic algorithm models; c) A Stackelberg game-based strategy which models the concurrency between opposite requirements of Cloud-Computing systems in order to dynamically apply the most optimal scheduling algorithms and energy-efficiency policies depending on the environment; and d) A productive analysis on the resource efficiency of several realistic cloud–computing environments. A novel simulation tool called SCORE, able to simulate several data-center sizes, machine heterogeneity, security levels, workload composition and patterns, scheduling strategies and energy-efficiency strategies, was developed in order to test these strategies in large-scale cloud-computing clusters. As results, more than fifty Key Performance Indicators (KPI) show that more than 20% of energy consumption can be reduced in realistic high-utilization environments when proper policies are employed.Esta Tesis Doctoral, que se presenta como compendio de artículos de investigación, se centra en la eficiencia en la utilización de los recursos en centros de datos de internet. Este problema ha sido abordado esencialmente desarrollando diferentes estrategias de eficiencia energética, gestión y distribución de recursos, así como todas las herramientas de simulación y análisis necesarias para su validación en entornos realistas de Cloud Computing. Numerosas estrategias han sido desarrolladas para minimizar el consumo energético en entornos de Cloud Computing. Entre ellos: 1. Quince políticas de eficiencia energética, tanto probabilísticas como deterministas, que apagan máquinas en estado de espera siempre que sea posible; 2. Cinco algoritmos de distribución de tareas que tienen en cuenta el consumo energético, incluyendo varios modelos de algoritmos genéticos; 3. Una estrategia basada en la teoría de juegos de Stackelberg que modela la competición entre diferentes partes de los centros de datos que tienen objetivos encontrados. Este modelo aplica dinámicamente las estrategias de distribución de tareas y las políticas de eficiencia energética dependiendo de las características del entorno; y 4. Un análisis productivo sobre la eficiencia en la utilización de recursos en numerosos escenarios de Cloud Computing. Una nueva herramienta de simulación llamada SCORE se ha desarrollado para analizar las estrategias antes mencionadas en clústers de Cloud Computing de grandes dimensiones. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que se puede conseguir un ahorro de energía superior al 20% en entornos realistas de alta utilización si se emplean las estrategias de eficiencia energética adecuadas. SCORE es open source y puede simular diferentes centros de datos con, entre otros muchos, los siguientes parámetros: Tamaño del centro de datos; heterogeneidad de los servidores; tipo, composición y patrones de carga de trabajo, estrategias de distribución de tareas y políticas de eficiencia energética, así como tres gestores de recursos centralizados: Monolítico, Two-level y Shared-state. Como resultados, esta herramienta de simulación arroja más de 50 Key Performance Indicators (KPI) de rendimiento general, de distribucin de tareas y de energía.Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado U

Effectiveness of Homoeopathic Constitutional Medicine in Improving Growth Standards in Children with Reference to WHO & IAP – Paediatric Growth Chart

BACKGROUND: Poor growth is an adaptation to chronic low energy intake and stunting is a measure of cumulative impact of chronic energy deficiency on linear growth. These become a common problem around the world. A child that lacks proper nutrition first stops grow in height. The lack of nutrition is prolonged the child starts losing weight too. Wasting refers to low weight in relation to a child’s height, reflecting acute under nutrition. Stunting refers to the deficiency in height in relation to age, reflecting chronic under nutrition. India is in an economic and nutrition transition and hence growth pattern of Indian children has changed over last few years. In India 20% of children under five years of age suffer from underweight. 43% among them are underweight and 48% among them are stunted due to chronic malnutrition. Researchers in Britain say, warning that those who are too thin may face a greater threat to their health than those who are too fat). AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To know the effectiveness of homoeopathic constitutional medicine in improving growth standard in children. 2. To understand the common co morbid complaints with underweight children. METHODS AND MATERIAL: Cases of low growth standard were identified from Sarada Krishna OPD’s and rural centres of Sarada Krishna Rural Centres, then the screening test was done to find out the poorly growing children. 30 cases were selected according to their growth percentile recorded as per the WHO and IAP combined growth chart. The cases were given with constitutional medication according to their constitutional totality, then these cases followed for every 6 month. On each visit children adviced with a common nutrious diet, with a restriction of out side fatty foods. Height and Weight were recorded on every visit, and the values recorded and statistical analysis was done using paired t test. RESULT: Homoeopathic constitutional medicine are effective in treating low growth in children especially children with a normal height lacking weight, due to some underlying disease causes. Lycopodium is one of the best medicine in improving the growth in children. CONCLUSION: Children participated in the study having the disease condition of a long duration are in improvement with their recurrently occuring symptoms. It shows while treating with the constitutional medicines it reduces the child’s basic illness and automatically putting weight. Lycopodium is the most suitable constitutional remedy for treating under weight with any cause. Homoeopathy shows effectiveness in managing under weight

Dietary intake, nutritional status of lactating women and their 6-23-months-old children in Genta Afeshum District, Rural Ethiopia : adaptation and validation of calculator for inadequate micronutrient intake (CIMI)

Religious fasting is one of the categories of dietary or food taboos, which may affect the dietary intake and nutritional status of individuals. In Ethiopia, about half of the population are followers of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo religion, and approximately 250 days per annum are fasting days. In these fasting days, lactating and pregnant women and children are exempted from fasting. However, lactating and pregnant women fast and are not also happy to prepare non-fasting foods for their children during the fasting days due to fear of contamination of family food. Early identification of micronutrient deficiencies in Ethiopia are flouted, as most often the quantitative dietary data are not available. As a result, the hidden hunger might have not been addressed properly, where it remains high and persistent. Therefore, easy to use, less costly and applicable assessment tool which can estimate the quantitative dietary intake of an individual or a community is urgently needed to achieve the national and international goals set for eradicating malnutrition. The Calculator for Inadequate Micronutrient Intake (CIM) is a simple, easy-to-use, informative, web-based application of quantitative dietary assessment method, which was first developed in Indonesia for Indonesian population. It estimates energy and nutrient intake correctly, and identifies nutrient inadequacy according to FAO/WHO recommended nutrient intake (RNI) regarding age, sex and physiological stage. Thus, the present study was conducted with the aim of assessing and comparing the nutritional status and dietary intake of lactating women and their 6-23-months-old children in fasting and non-fasting periods, and to adapt and validate the CIMI program for Ethiopian population. This study was conducted in rural Genta Afeshum district, in Tigray, Ethiopia, where almost all people in the woreda are followers of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. A longitudinal study was conducted using575 and 522 lactating women and their 6-23-months-old children in the lent fasting and non-fasting. In the present study it was found out that the prevalence of underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2) in fasting lactating women was high (50.6%) which is associated with maternal age, maternal illness within four weeks preceding the fasting survey, fasting status during their pregnancy and lactation period of their children included in this study. Additional predictor variables for maternal underweight were grandfathers as household decision maker, use of non-improved water source, household aid experience and the absence of chicken in the household. The average number of meals, diet diversity, and animal source foods consumption scores were significantly higher in non-fasting compared to fasting periods, regardless of the fasting status (p < 0.001, p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). Whereas, 31.633.7%, 11.715.7% and 4.44.8% of the 6-23-months-old children in the study population were stunted, underweight and wasted, respectively. In the fasting period, the weight-for-length (WLZ) and length-for-age (LAZ) values for the 6-23-months-old children of non-fasting mothers were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the children of the fasting mothers group. Similarly, the median weight-for-age (WAZ) and diet diversity score (DDS) of children of fasting mothers were also significantly lower in fasting compared to non-fasting period. The proportion of the 6-23-months-old children who met the minimum acceptable diet (MAD) was small (2.3-6.7%) in the study population; however, this proportion was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in the non-fasting than fasting period in the children of fasting mothers. Age of the child, maternal fasting status during pregnancy and lactation periods, maternal education and occupation were associated with child underweight. Likewise, age of the child, colostrum intake status, maternal fasting status during pregnancy and lactation period and toilet presence in the household were associated with child stunting. But, maternal fasting status during lactation period and maternal education predicted wasting in the children precisely. The average energy, protein and almost all micronutrients intakes of children and women were lower in fasting compared to non-fasting period. At the same time, the prevalence of inadequate intakes of energy, protein and most micronutrients were higher in both the children and lactating women during fasting than non-fasting period. The result of this study revealed that the correlation coefficients for the average dietary nutrient intake calculated by CIMI and the reference software NutriSurvey (NS) were between 0.741-0.956 for the children and between 0.779-0.920 for the lactating women groups. As a conclusion, the dietary pattern and nutritional status of lactating women and their breastfed children are affected during the fasting period. Therefore, the existing multi-sectoral nutrition intervention strategies in Ethiopia should include religious institutions in a sustainable manner. CIMI adapted for the rural Ethiopian setting estimates the average nutrient intake accurately; and identifies inadequate micronutrient intake of individuals enabling enumerators to provide feedback and suggest improvements. Thus, CIMI can be used in Ethiopia, as a simple dietary assessment tool by nutrition and related researchers, policy makers, implementers and evaluators.Beim religiösen Fasten werden Lebensmitteltabus praktiziert, die die Nährstoffaufnahme und den Ernährungszustand eines Individuums beeinflussen können. In Äthiopien besteht etwa die Hälfte der Bevölkerung aus äthiopisch-orthodoxen Anhängern der Tewahedo-Religion. In dieser Religion wird an ungefähr 250 Tagen im Jahr gefastet, wobei stillende und schwangere Frauen und Kinder vom Fasten ausgeschlossen sind. In der Regel wird das Fasten jedoch auch von laktierenden und schwangeren Frauen praktiziert, und diese Frauen bereiten ihren Kindern während der Fastentage nicht gerne tierische Lebensmittel zu, aus Angst, das Familienessen zu verunreinigen&#8213;. Die frühzeitige Erkennung von Mikronährstoffmängeln in Äthiopien scheitert meist an der mangelnden Verfügbarkeit von quantitativen Daten zur Nährstoffaufnahme. Infolgedessen wird der verborgene Hunger nicht richtig wahrgenommen und bekämpft, wodurch er dauerhaft und in einer hohen Prävalenz auftritt. Um die nationalen und internationalen Ziele zur Beseitigung der Unterernährung zu erreichen, ist ein einfaches, kostengünstiges und praktisch anzuwendendes Erhebungsinstrument mit dem die quantitative Nährstoffaufnahme einer Einzelperson oder einer Gemeinschaft geschätzt werden kann, dringend erforderlich. Der Calculator for Inadequate Micronutrient Intake (CIMI) ist eine simple, benutzerfreundliche, informative App zur quantitativen Ergebung der Micro- und Makronährstoffzufuhr, deren Vorläuferversion für die indonesische Bevölkerung entwickelt wurde. CIMI schätzt die Energie- und Nährstoffaufnahme korrekt ein und identifiziert gemäß der FAO / WHO empfohlenen Nährstoffzufuhr (RNI) eine unangemessen niedrige Nährstoffaufnahme in Bezug auf Alter, Geschlecht und Schwangerschaft/Stillzeit. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war die Erfassung und Beurteilung des Ernährungsstatus und der Nahrungsaufnahme laktierender Frauen und ihrer 6-23 Monate alten Kinder in Fasten- und Nicht-Fastenzeiten. Desweiteren sollte das CIMI-Programm an die äthiopische Bevölkerung angepasst und dessen Anwendbarkeit untersucht werden. Diese Studie wurde im ländlichen Bezirk Genta Afeshum in Tigray, Äthiopien durchgeführt, in dem fast alle Menschen Anhänger des äthiopisch-orthodoxen Christentums sind. Es handelte sich um eine longitudinale Studie an der 575 und 522 stillende Frauen und ihre 6-23 Monate alten Kinder während einer Fasten- und einer Nicht-Fastenperiode teilnahmen. Die vorliegende Studie ergab, dass die Prävalenz von Untergewicht (BMI <18,5 kg / m2) bei fastenden laktierenden Frauen hoch war (50,6%). Diese hohe Prävalenz an Untergewicht war mit dem mütterlichen Alter, einer Erkrankung der Mutter innerhalb von vier Wochen vor der Befragung, des Fastens während der Schwangerschaft und der Stillzeit ihrer in diese Studie eingeschlossenen Kinder assoziiert. Weitere Prädiktoren für ein mütterliches Untergewicht waren Großväter als Entscheidungsträger im Haushalt, die Verwendung einer unsicheren Wasserquelle, der Erhalt von Haushaltshilfen und das Fehlen von Hühnern im Haushalt. Die durchschnittliche Mahlzeitenanzahl, die Nahrungsvielfalt und der Konsum von tierischen Lebensmitteln war in der Nicht-Fastenperiode signifikant höher (p <0,001, p <0,05 bzw. p <0,001), unabhängig vom Fastenstatus. Dem gegenüber waren 31,633,7%, 11,715,7% und 4,44,8% der 6-23 Monate alten Kinder in der Studienpopulation zu klein für ihr Alter, untergewichtig und zu leicht für ihr Alter. In der Fastenperiode waren die Werte für das Gewicht für die Körpergröße (WLZ) und für die Größe des Alters (LAZ) für die 6-23 Monate alten Kinder nicht fastenden Müttern signifikant höher (p <0,05) als die Kinder der Gruppe der fastenden Müttern. In ähnlicher Weise waren auch der Median des Altersgewichts (WAZ) und des Diet Diversity Scores (DDS) der Kinder von fastenden Müttern während der Fastenperiode signifikant niedriger als im fastenfreien Zeitraum. Der Anteil der 6-23 Monate alten Kinder, die die akzeptable Mindestdiät (MAD) verzehrten, war in der Studienpopulation gering (2,3-6,7%). Bei Kindern von fastenden Müttern war dieser Anteil jedoch in der Nicht-Fastenphase (n <p <0,001) signifikant höher als in der Fastenzeit. Das Alter des Kindes, der Fastenstatus der Mutter während der Schwangerschaft und Stillzeit, die Bildung und Beschäftigung der Mutter waren mit kindlichem Untergewicht assoziiert. Ebenso waren das Alter des Kindes, die Kolostrumgabe, der Fastenstatus der Mutter während der Schwangerschaft und Stillzeit und die Verfügbarkeit einer Toilette im Haushalt mit Stunting verbunden. Der Fastenstatus der Mutter während der Stillzeit und die Bildung der Mutter sagten das Risiko für ein zu geringes alterspezifisches Körpergewicht des Kindes präzise voraus. Die durchschnittliche Zufuhr an Energie-, Eiweiß- und fast aller Mikronährstoffe von Kindern und Frauen waren im Vergleich zu Nicht-Fastenzeiten niedriger. Gleichzeitig war die Prävalenz einer unzureichenden Zufuhr von Energie, Eiweiß und den meisten Mikronährstoffen sowohl bei Kindern als auch bei stillenden Frauen während des Fastens höher als bei Nicht-Fasten. Das Ergebnis dieser Studie zeigt, dass die von CIMI und der Referenzsoftware Nutrisurvey (NS) berechneten Korrelationskoeffizienten für die durchschnittliche Nährstoffaufnahme zwischen 0,741-0,956 bei Kinder und 0,779-0,920 bei laktierenden Frauen lagen. Zusammenfassen lässt sich sagen, dass durch das Fasten das Ernährungsmuster und der Ernährungszustand von stillenden Frauen und deren Kindern während der Fastenzeit betroffen ist. Daher sollten in Äthiopien religiöse Institutionen in multisektorale Ernährungsinterventionen einbezogen werden. CIMI, angepasst an die ländliche äthiopische Ernährungsweise, schätzt die durchschnittliche Nährstoffaufnahme präzise ein und identifiziert eine unzureichende Mikronährstoffaufnahme von Individuen, die es Enumeratoren ermöglicht Feedback zu geben und Verbesserungen vorzuschlagen. Daher kann CIMI in Äthiopien als einfaches Instrument zur Beurteilung der Ernährung von Wissenschaftlern, politischen Entscheidungsträgern und Mitarbeitern von Ernährungserhebungen und -interventionen verwendet werden

Impact of COVID-19 on the Severe Acute Malnutrition Admissions Among Children Under 5 Years of Age Seeking Nutrition Services in Afghanistan

The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the number of admissions of severe acute malnutrition among children under 5 years of age seeking nutrition services in Afghanistan especially in the provinces where the prevalence of COVID-19 was high, for the period of February – September 2020. The study used comparison and analysis of secondary datasets of the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition – a national program for detection and management of moderate and severe acute malnutrition in the country. This study analyzed the association between COVID-19 cases and severe acute malnutrition (SAM) admissions of children under 5 years of age seeking nutrition services in Afghanistan at national level and in the provinces most affected by COVID-19. For the number of SAM admissions, the inclusion criteria were children 6-59 months of age registered or admitted to OPD-SAM section of IMAM program, boys and girls, from February – September 2020. For COVID-19 cases, all the confirmed cases at national and provincial levels, regardless of their age and gender, were taken in account, and were extracted from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) database. SAM admissions in 2020 were compared to the number of SAM admissions done before COVID-19, in 2018 and 2019, for the same period (February – September) to determine the difference in the number of admissions among them. Results indicated that there was a significant positive association between a total of 208,106 SAM (OPD-SAM) admissions and 2,247,025 COVID- 19 cases which was reported from national level (34 provinces) of Afghanistan during February – September 2020 (r = .80, p = .016). At provincial level, the differences were assessed only for five provinces where the COVID-19 cases were high, and where in the beginning of the pandemic, testing centers for COVID-19 were available. For three provinces Kabul, Herat and Nangarhar the correlation was strong, positive, and statistically significant (r = .85, p = .006, r = .78, p =.021, r = .77, p = .024). In Balkh province there was also a positive, strong but not statistically significant correlation between SAM admissions and COVID-19 cases (r = .60, p = .116). In contrast, in Kandahar province the correlation was moderate, and the two variables were not statistically significant (r = .31, p = .447)

On Intelligent Home Offices – A Model and Potential Impacts

CABA Intelligent & Integrated Buildings Council (IIBC): CABA White PaperThe idea of “teleworking” or “telecommuting” or “working from home” is not new. The practice is still not very popular because most organizations lack a policy for “telecommuting.” There are two schools of thought fighting against each other related to the implementation of this practice in a broad sense. The main theme of this CABA White Paper suggests that technology is available to let employees, whose work is information-based, work at home for three or four days a week. While many employees are provided with cell and smart phones to be accessible while they work from anywhere when away from their desks, what is lacking is a cultural acceptance and clearly defined guidelines for telecommuting as part of business activities. The thesis of this paper is to inquire hoe home offices would become popular.published_or_final_versio

The dialectical experience of the fear of missing out for U.S. American iGen emerging adult college students

FoMO, the fear of missing out, is a salient and significant experience with personal and relational consequences. This study qualitatively analyzed 35 interviews with iGen emerging adult college students about their experiences with FoMO. Framed by relational dialectics theory 2.0 (Baxter, L. A. (2011). Voicing relationships: A dialogic perspective. Sage), we found two relational-level contradictions, connection and disconnection and inclusion and exclusion, which are illuminated by the cultural-level interplay of the discourses of ‘carpe diem’ and ‘investment in the future.’ Findings indicate that through the discourse of carpe diem, participants attempt to increase the power awarded to relational and personal resources and expand what it means to invest in the future. Implications of these findings related to well-being and academic success are discussed and practical applications for institutions of higher education such as team-based learning and more holistic professional development programs are presented

The Persuasive Effect of YouTube Videos on Food Waste Habits

In the past decade, food waste has emerged as one of the most important food sustainability issues in developed societies and has received increased attention from academic scholars, policymakers, environmental and other civil society organizations. There have also been a growing number of efforts to mitigate this problem, an important component of which has been education to provide consumers with a clearer understanding of the food waste problem and the methods that they can take to change their food waste behaviors. One of the educational approaches has involved social marketing. Social marketers have recently turned to YouTube and other video based social media to promote consumer education. This thesis examines eleven food waste videos that have been circulated on YouTube to observe how they have incorporated social marketing approaches. In addition, the thesis employs rhetorical analysis methods to observe the potential influence of these videos on consumers’ food waste behavior. The primary finding is that food waste videos can be used as a social marketing tool for educating consumers about the food waste crisis. However, further in depth research is needed to explore the best forms of social marketing to address this problem

Energy policies for data-center monolithic schedulers

Cloud computing and data centers that support this paradigm are rapidly evolving in order to satisfy new demands. These ever-growing needs represent an energy-related challenge to achieve sustainability and cost reduction. In this paper, we define an expert and intelligent system that applies various en ergy policies. These policies are employed to maximize the energy-efficiency of data-center resources by simulating a realistic environment and heterogeneous workload in a trustworthy tool. An environmental and economic impact of around 20% of energy consumption can be saved in high-utilization scenarios without exerting any noticeable impact on data-center performance if an adequate policy is applied

Maintaining places of social inclusion : Ebola and the emergency department

We introduce the concept of places of social inclusion—institutions endowed by a society or a community with material resources, meaning, and values at geographic sites where citizens can access services for specific needs—as taken-for-granted, essential, and inherently precarious. Based on our study of an emergency department that was disrupted by the threat of the Ebola virus in 2014, we develop a process model to explain how a place of social inclusion can be maintained by custodians. We show how these custodians—in our fieldsite, doctors and nurses—experience and engage in institutional work to manage different levels of tension between the value of inclusion and the reality of finite resources, as well as tension between inclusion and the desire for safety. We also demonstrate how the interplay of custodians’ emotions is integral to maintaining the place of social inclusion. The primary contribution of our study is to shine light on places of social inclusion as important institutions in democratic society. We also reveal the theoretical and practical importance of places as institutions, deepen understanding of custodians and custodianship as a form of institutional work, and offer new insight into the dynamic processes that connect emotions and institutional work