ElfStore: A Resilient Data Storage Service for Federated Edge and Fog Resources

Edge and fog computing have grown popular as IoT deployments become wide-spread. While application composition and scheduling on such resources are being explored, there exists a gap in a distributed data storage service on the edge and fog layer, instead depending solely on the cloud for data persistence. Such a service should reliably store and manage data on fog and edge devices, even in the presence of failures, and offer transparent discovery and access to data for use by edge computing applications. Here, we present Elfstore, a first-of-its-kind edge-local federated store for streams of data blocks. It uses reliable fog devices as a super-peer overlay to monitor the edge resources, offers federated metadata indexing using Bloom filters, locates data within 2-hops, and maintains approximate global statistics about the reliability and storage capacity of edges. Edges host the actual data blocks, and we use a unique differential replication scheme to select edges on which to replicate blocks, to guarantee a minimum reliability and to balance storage utilization. Our experiments on two IoT virtual deployments with 20 and 272 devices show that ElfStore has low overheads, is bound only by the network bandwidth, has scalable performance, and offers tunable resilience.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures, To appear in IEEE International Conference on Web Services (ICWS), Milan, Italy, 201

"Det var jag som var den där vuxna och han var ett barn" : En kvalitativ studie om hur det är att vara ett vuxet barn till en alkoholist

Syftet med vårt lärdomsprov är att undersöka hur uppväxten i en alkoholistfamilj har påverkat det vuxna barnet. Vi undersöker även vilka konsekvenser det vuxna barnet fått av uppväxten, vilket förhållningssätt det vuxna barnet har till alkohol och hur relationen mellan det vuxna barnet och den missbrukande föräldern ser ut. I teoridelen definieras alkoholismen; vad är alkoholism, vem kan bli alkoholist och vad är skillnaden mellan en alkoholist och en storkonsument. Vidare fastställs missbrukets effekt på familjen, samt barnens roller i en alkoholistfamilj. Även typiska karaktärsdrag och konsekvenser i vuxenlivet tas upp. I undersökningen har vi använt oss av kvalitativ undersökning. Vi har intervjuat fyra personer som har en pappa som är alkoholist. I resultatet framkommer både likheter och olikheter mellan vuxna barn till alkoholister, men den gemensamma nämnaren är konsekvenser i vuxenlivet för alla barn som levt med en alkoholiserad förälder.The aim of our thesis is to investigate how growing up with an alcoholic parent has affected the adult child. We also examine the impact on the adult child as a result of growing up in a family where one parent is or was an alcoholic, what kind of attitude the adult child has to alcohol and how the relationship between the adult child and the alcoholic parent has been affected. In our theoretical part, we define alcoholism; what is alcoholism, who can become an alcoholic and what is the difference between an alcoholic and a big consumer. Further down we establish the impact on the family and the children's roles in the family. We also cover the typical characteristics and consequences in adult life. In the survey, we used a qualitative research. We have interviewed four people who have a father who is an alcoholic. The result shows both similarities and differences between adult children of alcoholics, but the common denominator is that all children of alcoholics are affected in adulthood

Connected OFCity Challenge: Addressing the Digital Divide in the Developing World

Over the past 50 years, the development of information and communications technology has provided unprecedented support to the steady economic growth of developed countries. In recent years, some of the largest growth has been reported in emerging economies, which, however, often lack adequate telecommunications infrastructure to further sustain their development. Although a number of service providers and system vendors have started to address the issue, the challenges they encounter are substantially different from those in the developed world, including an unreliable electricity grid, poor fiber infrastructure, low revenue expectations, and often a harsh climate environment. This paper reports use cases and solutions pertinent to the development of the networking infrastructure in emerging economies, provided by organizations directly involved in such activities. After providing some background information on the current state of network infrastructure and the main challenges for Africa and rural China, the paper provides details on two proposed solutions. The first focuses on the provisioning of services and network infrastructure through the development of low-cost data centers, whereas the second proposes cost-effective adaptation of both fiber and hybrid copper-fiber technology to rural areas. The article is concluded with a brief discussion on the complementarity of the two approaches

Effect of micronutrients on leaf composition, fruit quality and yield of Kinnow mandarin

Effect of micronutrients on leaf composition, quality parameters and fruit yield of Kinnow mandarin was studied at Regional Research Station, Abohar. Foliar application of 1000 ppm Zn + 1000 ppm Mn on Kinnow mandarin during the end of April and mid of August gave maximum fruit yield (862 fruits / tree) and good quality fruits (Higher TSS/Acid: 14.23) by correcting these micronutrient deficiencies. Therefore, application of this dose of micronutrient combination will improve yield and fruit quality in Kinnow mandarin by correcting the deficiencies of these micronutrients as a result of which the orchardist will be economically benefited

Sorption and Drug Release Studies from Semi-interpenetrating Polymer Networks of Chitosan and Xanthan Gum

Hydrogel films of Chitosan (CS) and Xanthan gum (XA) of compositions 100/0, 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40 and 50/50 (w/w) % were prepared and swollen in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) of pH 1.2 and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) of pH 7.4. To impart stability in acidic environment, semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPNs) films were formed using glutaraldehyde (GA) as the crosslinking agent. With increase in XA concentration, equilibrium degree of swelling reduced in SGF as well as SIF indicating maximum intermolecular interactions for 50/50 CS/XA semi-IPN. The swelling data was observed to follow second order kinetics. Spectroscopic and thermal analyses of these semi-IPN films also suggest maximum intermolecular interactions for 50/50 CS/XA semi-IPN. The potential of using 50/50 semi-IPN in drug delivery was studied using amoxicillin. In-vitro drug release studies indicated higher drug release in SGF than in SIF suggesting dependence of amoxicillin release kinetics and diffusion coefficient on pH of the environment and drug loading. The results suggest that CS-based semi-IPNs with different crosslinker and XA concentration could be promising candidates for formulation in oral gastrointestinal delivery systems

Endoscopic Findings in Loin Pain Hematuria Syndrome: Concentric Clot in Calyceal Fornices

The loin pain hematuria syndrome (LPHS) creates a considerable burden, both for patients afflicted with the disease and for those involved in medical management and diagnosis. To date, the diagnosis of LPHS remains one of exclusion, with some speculation regarding the extent of actual pathology. We report ureteroscopic findings in 2 cases of LPHS. These findings provide objective confirmation of underlying pathology in a difficult-to-manage disease process