A Secure and Fair Resource Sharing Model for Community Clouds

Cloud computing has gained a lot of importance and has been one of the most discussed segment of today\u27s IT industry. As enterprises explore the idea of using clouds, concerns have emerged related to cloud security and standardization. This thesis explores whether the Community Cloud Deployment Model can provide solutions to some of the concerns associated with cloud computing. A secure framework based on trust negotiations for resource sharing within the community is developed as a means to provide standardization and security while building trust during resource sharing within the community. Additionally, a model for fair sharing of resources is developed which makes the resource availability and usage transparent to the community so that members can make informed decisions about their own resource requirements based on the resource usage and availability within the community. Furthermore, the fair-share model discusses methods that can be employed to address situations when the demand for a resource is higher than the resource availability in the resource pool. Various methods that include reduction in the requested amount of resource, early release of the resources and taxing members have been studied, Based on comparisons of these methods along with the advantages and disadvantages of each model outlined, a hybrid method that only taxes members for unused resources is developed. All these methods have been studied through simulations

Integrating Extrinsic and Intrinsic Cues into a Minimal Model of Lineage Commitment for Hematopoietic Progenitors

Autoregulation of transcription factors and cross-antagonism between lineage-specific transcription factors are a recurrent theme in cell differentiation. An equally prevalent event that is frequently overlooked in lineage commitment models is the upregulation of lineage-specific receptors, often through lineage-specific transcription factors. Here, we use a minimal model that combines cell-extrinsic and cell-intrinsic elements of regulation in order to understand how both instructive and stochastic events can inform cell commitment decisions in hematopoiesis. Our results suggest that cytokine-mediated positive receptor feedback can induce a “switch-like” response to external stimuli during multilineage differentiation by providing robustness to both bipotent and committed states while protecting progenitors from noise-induced differentiation or decommitment. Our model provides support to both the instructive and stochastic theories of commitment: cell fates are ultimately driven by lineage-specific transcription factors, but cytokine signaling can strongly bias lineage commitment by regulating these inherently noisy cell-fate decisions with complex, pertinent behaviors such as ligand-mediated ultrasensitivity and robust multistability. The simulations further suggest that the kinetics of differentiation to a mature cell state can depend on the starting progenitor state as well as on the route of commitment that is chosen. Lastly, our model shows good agreement with lineage-specific receptor expression kinetics from microarray experiments and provides a computational framework that can integrate both classical and alternative commitment paths in hematopoiesis that have been observed experimentally

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Infliximab versus second intravenous immunoglobulin for treatment of resistant Kawasaki disease in the USA (KIDCARE): a randomised, multicentre comparative effectiveness trial

Background Although intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is effective therapy for Kawasaki disease, 10–20% of patients have recrudescent fever as a sign of persistent inflammation and require additional treatment. We aimed to compare infliximab with a second infusion of IVIG for treatment of resistant Kawasaki disease. Methods In this multicentre comparative effectiveness trial, patients (aged 4 weeks to 17 years) with IVIG resistant Kawasaki disease and fever at least 36 h after completion of their first IVIG infusion were recruited from 30 hospitals across the USA. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to second IVIG (2 g/kg over 8–12 h) or intravenous infliximab (10 mg/kg over 2 h without premedication), by using a randomly permuted block randomisation design with block size of two or four. Patients with fever 24 h to 7 days following completion of first study treatment crossed over to receive the other study treatment. The primary outcome measure was resolution of fever at 24 h after initiation of study treatment with no recurrence of fever attributed to Kawasaki disease within 7 days post-discharge. Secondary outcome measures included duration of fever from enrolment, duration of hospitalisation after randomisation, and changes in markers of inflammation and coronary artery Z score. Efficacy was analysed in participants who received treatment and had available outcome values. Safety was analysed in all randomised patients who did not withdraw consent. This clinical trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03065244. Findings Between March 1, 2017, and Aug 31, 2020, 105 patients were randomly assigned to treatment and 103 were included in the intention-to-treat population (54 in the infliximab group, 49 in the second IVIG group). Two patients randomised to infliximab did not receive allocated treatment. The primary outcome was met by 40 (77%) of 52 patients in the infliximab group and 25 (51%) of 49 patients in the second IVIG infusion group (odds ratio 0·31, 95% CI 0·13–0·73, p=0·0076). 31 patients with fever beyond 24 h received crossover treatment: nine (17%) in the infliximab group received second IVIG and 22 (45%) in second IVIG group received infliximab (p=0·0024). Three patients randomly assigned to infliximab and two to second IVIG with fever beyond 24h did not receive crossover treatment. Mean fever days from enrolment was 1·5 (SD 1·4) for the infliximab group and 2·5 (2·5) for the second IVIG group (p=0·014). Mean hospital stay was 3·2 days (2·1) for the infliximab group and 4·5 days (2·5) for the second IVIG group (p<0·001). There was no difference between treatment groups for markers of inflammation or coronary artery outcome. 24 (44%) of 54 patients in the infliximab group and 33 (67%) of 49 in the second IVIG group had at least one adverse event. A drop in haemoglobin concentration of at least 2g/dL was seen in 19 (33%) of 58 patients who received IVIG as either their first or second study treatment (three of whom required transfusion) and in three (7%) of 43 who received only infliximab (none required transfusion; p=0·0028). Haemolytic anaemia was the only serious adverse events deemed definitely or probably related to study treatment, and was reported in nine (15%) of 58 patients who received IVIG as either their first or second study treatment and none who received infliximab only. Interpretation Infliximab is a safe, well tolerated, and effective treatment for patients with IVIG resistant Kawasaki disease, and results in shorter duration of fever, reduced need for additional therapy, less severe anaemia, and shorter hospitalisation compared with second IVIG infusion

Gastric and pulmonary sarcoidosis complicated by hypercalcemia and acute renal failure: Case report and literature review

Gastric sarcoidosis is a very rare manifestation of sarcoidosis. Only few case reports have been described in the literature. We present a case of coexisting gastric and pulmonary sarcoidosis in a 56-year-old female, who presented with gastrointestinal symptoms. Gastric mucosal biopsies, transbronchial needle aspiration, and endobronchial mucosal biopsies revealed noncaseating granulomas. This case report emphasizes on early evaluation of other organ system and initiation of treatment

Expression of cyclin D1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma and its correlation with histological differentiation: An immunohistochemical study

Introduction: Cyclin D1 oncogene is a key regulator of cell cycle progression associated with various human malignancies. Aim: To establish the prognostic significance of cyclin D1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and to correlate its association with clinicopathological parameters. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on 50 previously histopathologically diagnosed, formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue samples of OSCC. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed in 50 cases of different grades of OSCC using a commercially available monoclonal anti-cyclin D1 antibody. Statistical Analysis Used: All the compiled data was statistically analyzed using Chi-square and Mann-Whitney test. P values of <0.05 were considered to be significant. Results: Overexpression of cyclin D1 was seen in 68% cases of OSCC with a significant correlation with younger age group; no correlation was reported with respect to gender and site. The intergroup comparison of the cyclin D1 expression between well with poorly differentiated OSCC exhibited a significant correlation. Conclusions: The relative contribution of cyclin D1 expression in OSCC was significant according to the present study and further needs to be determined in large cohorts

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Not AvailablePlanning aquaculture and fisheries activities in a reservoir requires knowledge of dynamics of water spread. We studied water spread dynamics of three reservoirs in the Godavari river basin, India using multi-temporal satellite imagery for the period 1990–2018 and developed a framework for mapping the spatial extent of water spread area (WSA) having potential for enclosure fish culture. The study showed that WSA of Nizamsagar reservoir in pre-monsoon season has declined from 108.11 to 99.34 km2 from phase I (1990–2006) to phase II (2007–2018), respectively and a similar trend was seen in Pocharam and Nallavagu reservoirs. For post monsoon seasons of the same time period, an increase in WSA was seen in Nizamsagar (133.75–144.14 km2) and Pocharam reservoirs (14.15-14.67 km2). Based on frequency of water presence during 2007–2018, WSA with potential for cage and pen culture was determined in Nizamsagar (31.04 km2) and Pocharam (2.87 km2) reservoirs. The study showed that both the reservoirs can accommodate maximum allowed number of cages (5000 and 500 cages respectively). We provide a decision matrix for location-specific selection of suitable culture methods and candidate species, which would aid in optimal utilization of the hitherto under-utilized reservoirs, especially in in situ data poor conditions. This study can be scaled up in the entire country with the help of academia/industry to prioritize reservoirs with potential for enclosure fish culture and plan appropriate interventions for reducing their yield gap.Not Availabl

Recent advances in marine ornamental breeding and seed production at Vizhinjam Regional Centre of CMFRI India

The marine ornamental fish trading industry is an ever-expanding one, as indicated by its bolstering statistics, which amount to about US$ 300 million. Although the trade is booming, the natural habitats that foster these fishes, such as coral reefs, are steadily declining. One of the reasons for this is the overdependency of the industry on wild-caught fishes. To surpass this, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has developed hatchery technology for breeding marine ornamental fishes such as seahorses, clownfishes, damsels, and serranids. It began with the breeding of Hippocampus kuda. This progressed to breeding clownfishes such as Amphiprion chrysogaster, A. ocellaris, A. nigripes, A. peridarion, and A. ephippium and Premnas biaculeatus. Damsel fishes that were bred successfully include Chrysiptera cyanea, C. hemicyanea Neopomacentrus cyanomos, N. nemurus, and Dascyllus carneus. The recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) designed in the Vizhinjam Regional Centre of CMFRI is being used for broodstock development of serranids, tangs, squirrel fishes, and soldier fishes. A standard method was developed for captive breeding and hatchery rearing of anthias Pseudanthias marcia and P. squamipinnis in an advanced indigenous RAS system. The present article provides a bird’s eye view of the important research work done in India concerning marine ornamental fish breeding and reviews important breeding work carried out at Vizhinjam Regional Centre of CMFRI