Preferences based Customized Trust Model for Assessment of Cloud Services

In cloud environment, many functionally similar cloud services are available. But, the services differ in Quality of Service (QoS) levels, offered by them. There is a diversity in user requirements about the expected qualities of cloud services. Trust is a measure to understand whether a cloud service can adequately meet the user requirements. Consequently, trust assessment plays a significant role in selecting the suitable cloud service. This paper proposes preferences based customized trust model (PBCTM) for trust assessment of cloud services. PBCTM takes into account user requirements about the expected quality of services in the form of preferences. Accordingly, it performs customized trust assessment based on the evidences of various attributes of cloud service. PBCTM enables elastic trust computation, which is responsive to dynamically changing user preferences with time. The model facilitates dynamic trust based periodic selection of cloud services according to varying user preferences. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed preferences based customized trust model outperforms the other model in respect of accuracy and degree of satisfaction

Factors influencing addiction in female population of an urban slum area

Background: The use of certain licit substances like alcohol, tobacco and illicit substances like cocaine, amphetamine, cannabis, etc is termed as substance abuse. Globally, the most prevalent form of tobacco use in women is cigarette smoking. But, in low- and middle-income countries use of smokeless forms is quite common. Aim of the study was to study the factors influencing drug and tobacco addiction in the female population of an urban slum area.Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study conducted on 577 female participants in urban slums of a metropolitan city. A pre-validated semi-structured questionnaire was used. Data analysis was done in SPSS version 22.0 (IBM). Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests for associations were used.Results: The mean age of participants was 44.84±14.99 years and the mean age of onset of addiction was 21.51±6.47 years. Around 70.7% of women were tobacco chewers, 9.4% were smoking bidis and 15.8%were addicted to alcohol. Addiction is the subject of conflict in families of 70(12.1%) women. A most common source of information about the harmful effects of addiction was television and tobacco packets. Almost all women i.e. 555(96.2%) knew that oral cancer was a harmful effect of addiction. Willingness to quit an addiction was seen in 45.8%of women.Conclusions: Addiction in females is a major public health problem which is compounded by their lack of knowledge

A Case of Torsion of Gravid Uterus Caused by Leiomyoma

Uterine torsion during pregnancy is only sporadically reported in the literature. Here we present a case of leiomyoma causing uterine torsion in pregnancy and review the literature on etiology, diagnosis, and management. A 25-years-old primigravida with leiomyoma complicating pregnancy was admitted in our hospital with abdominal pain and uterine tenderness. She underwent emergency LSCS (lower segment cesarean section) for fetal bradycardia. Intraoperatively, the uterus was rotated 180 degrees left to right. Inadvertent incision on the posterior wall was avoided by proper delineation of anatomy. Torsion was corrected by exteriorization of leiomyoma and uterus, and lower segment cesarean was carried out safely. Prompt recognition and management of this condition is necessary for better maternal and fetal outcome

Thyroid dysfunction in Human immunodeficiency virus infected patients and their correlation with CD4 count

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of thyroid abnormalities in a subset of human immunodeficiency virus positive patients.Methods: This was a cross-sectional prevalence study conducted on adult HIV positive patients. The patients presenting with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease or thyroid disorder were excluded from the study. An exhaustive medical history and investigation using biochemical, microbiological and radiological tests were performed to confirm the diagnosis. Additionally, tests were done to determine the free T3, T4, thyroid stimulating hormone and CD4 cell count in all the patients.Results: The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in our study was 45.7%. Various types of thyroid dysfunctions obtained were euthyroid sick syndrome in 18.6%, subclinical hypothyroidism in 11.4%, secondary hypothyroidism in 10% and primary hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism each in 2.9% cases. As the stage of HIV advanced, there is alteration in the level of thyroid stimulating hormone, FT3 and FT4. A direct correlation was found between FT3 and CD4 counts but no correlation was found between thyroid stimulating hormone and FT4 levels and CD4 counts.Conclusions: A higher prevalence of thyroid dysfunction that was largely asymptomatic was observed in HIV infected patients with significant change in the hormonal levels in patients with low CD4 count. A direct correlation was observed between FT3 hormone level and CD4 count

Design and Development of a Multi-material, Cost-competitive, Lightweight Mid-size Sports Utility Vehicle’s Body-in-White

Vehicle light-weighting has allowed automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to improve fuel efficiency, incorporate value-adding features without a weight penalty, and extract better performance. The typical body-in-white (BiW) accounts for up to 40% of the total vehicle mass, making it the focus of light-weighting efforts through a) conceptual redesign b) design optimization using state-of-the-art computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools, and c) use of advanced high strength steels (AHSS), aluminum, magnesium, and/or fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composites. However, most of these light-weighting efforts have been focused on luxury/sports vehicles, with a relatively high price range and an average production of 100,000 units/year or less. With increasing sports utility vehicle (SUV) sales in North America, focus has shifted to developing lightweight designs for this segment. Thus, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office has initiated a multi-year research and development program to enable cost-effective light-weighting of a mid-size SUV. The proposed designs shall enable weight reduction of a minimum of 160 lb. (~72.7 kg), with a maximum allowable cost increase of $5 for every pound of weight reduced. The proposed designs shall enable vehicle production rates of 200,000 units/year and will be aimed at retaining the joining/assembly line employed by the OEM. A systems approach has been utilized to develop a multi-material, light-weight redesign of the SUV BiW that meets or exceeds the baseline structural performance. This study delves into the development of design targets for the proposed redesign at the system, sub-assembly, and component levels. Furthermore, results from topology optimization studies on a design volume were assessed to understand the load paths under various loading conditions. Several multi-material concept designs were proposed based on the insights provided by the topology optimization study. Novel multi-material joining methodologies have been incorporated to enable maximum retention of the OEM’s joining and assembly process without significantly increasing cost. This paper presents the systems approach, and results from design studies undertaken to meet the program challenges

The role of mirroring and mentalizing networks in mediating action intentions in autism

Abstract Background The ability to interpret agents’ intent from their actions is a vital skill in successful social interaction. However, individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been found to have difficulty in attributing intentions to others. The present study investigated the neural mechanisms of inferring intentions from actions in individuals with ASD. Methods Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired from 21 high-functioning young adults with ASD and 22 typically developing (TD) control participants, while making judgments about the means (how an action is performed) and intention (why an action is performed) of a model’s actions. Results Across both groups of participants, the middle and superior temporal cortex, extending to temporoparietal junction, and posterior cingulate cortex, responded significantly to inferring the intent of an action, while inferior parietal lobule and occipital cortices were active for judgments about the means of an action. Participants with ASD had significantly reduced activation in calcarine sulcus and significantly increased activation in left inferior frontal gyrus, compared to TD peers, while attending to the intentions of actions. Also, ASD participants had weaker functional connectivity between frontal and posterior temporal regions while processing intentions. Conclusions These results suggest that processing actions and intentions may not be mutually exclusive, with reliance on mirroring and mentalizing mechanisms mediating action understanding. Overall, inferring information about others’ actions involves activation of the mirror neuron system and theory-of-mind regions, and this activation (and the synchrony between activated brain regions) appears altered in young adults with ASD

A dose verification method for high-dose-rate brachytherapy treatment plans

Aim: To evolve a fast dose verification method for high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment plans and to demonstrate its applicability in different clinical cases. Materials and Methods: We developed a software tool in VC++ for the Varisource HDR unit for HDR dosimetry plan verification using TG-43 parameters. HDR treatment dosimetry of a number clinical cases using Varisource was verified by comparison with the treatment planning system (TPS). Results: A number of different types of clinical cases treated by Varisource were evaluated. TPS calculated dose values and verification code calculated dose values were found to agree to within 3% for most of the dose calculation points. Conclusions: We have validated with clinical cases a fast and independent dose verification method of the dosimetry at selected points for HDR brachytherapy treatments plan using TG-43 parameters. This can be used for the verification of the TPS calculated dose at various points. The code is written to work with Varisource, but it can conceivably be modified for other sources also by using the fitted constant of the respective source