A look at cloud architecture interoperability through standards

Enabling cloud infrastructures to evolve into a transparent platform while preserving integrity raises interoperability issues. How components are connected needs to be addressed. Interoperability requires standard data models and communication encoding technologies compatible with the existing Internet infrastructure. To reduce vendor lock-in situations, cloud computing must implement universal strategies regarding standards, interoperability and portability. Open standards are of critical importance and need to be embedded into interoperability solutions. Interoperability is determined at the data level as well as the service level. Corresponding modelling standards and integration solutions shall be analysed

Rural Telemedicine in Alaska: A Look at Healthcare Through Telecommunications

•An average town in the United States will have a basic medical facility capable of treating its patients. If not, there is roadway access to a capable facility. •In Rural Alaska however, there is no way to drive to the nearest hospital. These communities are not connected to the major road system and the only way to reach a hospital is by air transport. •Although many villages have access to hub communities that maintain a clinic, the clinic may not have the capabilities to treat certain ailments and many villages have no access to a medical facility. •Providing adequate medical care for Rural Alaskans is difficult due particularly to the size of Alaska, the geographic isolation of many villages, and to the cost of transportation to these rural areas. •The most serious healthcare issues that have been seen in Rural Alaska are “too few physicians or services and [health] care is too expensive,” (Hagopian et al, 2000). •In hopes of overcoming these obstacles in rural medicine, many organizations initiated telemedicine and telehealth programs

Real-time multiple-look synthetic aperture radar processor for spacecraft applications

A spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) having pipeline multiple-look data processing is described which makes use of excessive azimuth bandwidth in radar echo signals to produce multiple-looking images. Time multiplexed single-look image lines from an azimuth correlator go through an energy analyzer which analyzes the mean energy in each separate look to determine the radar antenna electric boresight for use in generating the correct reference functions for the production of high quality SAR images. The multiplexed single look image lines also go through a registration delay to produce multi-look images

A Look at the Generalized Heron Problem through the Lens of Majorization-Minimization

In a recent issue of this journal, Mordukhovich et al.\ pose and solve an interesting non-differentiable generalization of the Heron problem in the framework of modern convex analysis. In the generalized Heron problem one is given $k+1$ closed convex sets in \Real^d equipped with its Euclidean norm and asked to find the point in the last set such that the sum of the distances to the first $k$ sets is minimal. In later work the authors generalize the Heron problem even further, relax its convexity assumptions, study its theoretical properties, and pursue subgradient algorithms for solving the convex case. Here, we revisit the original problem solely from the numerical perspective. By exploiting the majorization-minimization (MM) principle of computational statistics and rudimentary techniques from differential calculus, we are able to construct a very fast algorithm for solving the Euclidean version of the generalized Heron problem.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figure

Sleep-Wake Disorders and a Look at Insomnia through Biological and Behavioral Perspectives

Insomnia is defined by difficulties in falling asleep, maintaining sleep, and problems with early morning awakenings. Unfortunately, due to these symptoms daytime fatigue often follows. Daytime fatigue may have a severe impact on an individual’s day. Insomnia symptoms may not exist alone, however. Individuals who are diagnosed with insomnia have another disorder present as well. Often insomnia is paired with anxiety and mood disorders. Therefore, insomnia can be viewed through the biological and behavioral perspectives. Insomnia is a disorder that can be treated. The most common treatment would be cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, but treatment is not limited to just that

Taking a Deeper Look into the Lives of Disadvantaged Children through Visual Content Analysis

Asking children to draw a picture of family life is a simple and efficient way to assess their mental health.Children enjoy this activity and are more at ease as compared to filling out a questionnaire or having a formal interview. This past summer, I joined a research project in Ireland called the Healthy Schools Programme (HSP) that did just that. In total, 220 drawings of family life were collected from disadvantaged children aged eight to twelve years. The drawings gathered from this group were analyzed using a technique known as visual content analysis. This method involves examining drawings, pictures, or photographs to uncover common themes that can be coded and analyzed. The overall objective was to understand the connection between depression and how those who are depressed portray their family life, while determining whether visual content analysis is a valid tool for researchers to utilize