Entropy based Software Reliability Growth Modelling for Open Source Software Evolution

During Open Source Software (OSS) development, users submit "new features (NFs)", "feature improvements (IMPs)" and bugs to fix. A proportion of these issues get fixed before the next software release. During the introduction of NFs and IMPs, the source code files change. A proportion of these source code changes may result in generation of bugs. We have developed calendar time and entropy-dependent mathematical models to represent the growth of OSS based on the rate at which NFs are added, IMPs are added, and bugs introduction rate.The empirical validation has been conducted on five products, namely "Avro, Pig, Hive, jUDDI and Whirr" of the Apache open source project. We compared the proposed models with eminent reliability growth models, Goel and Okumoto (1979) and Yamada et al. (1983) and found that the proposed models exhibit better goodness of fit

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

PLANNING AND PERFORMANCE: EXPLORATORY FINDINGS FROM SMALL AND MEDIUM RUBBER AND PLASTIC SECTOR FIRMS

This paper links SME performance, with the use of planning and demographics of key person. A model and research frame work has been developed to study the linkage between dependent (SME performance) and independent (use of planning) variables. Structured questionnaire schedule is developed, based on previous research works in this area. A survey is conducted among the representative firms (SMEs in rubber and plastic sector). Statistical test using SPSS and AMOS is conducted and the results are interpreted. Univariate and multivariate tests are used to test the hypotheses formed. Planning, standardization and IT usage by the firms are significantly influencing firm performance. The paper highlights the importance of planning to better the firm performance. For the SMEs to come fourth and to survive in this highly competitive and globalized environment, specific competencies of planning and IT usage are to be attained

Sudden, unexpected and natural death in young adults of age between 18 and 35 years: A clinicopathological study

Context: To identify various causes, risk factors, age and sex distribution associated with sudden and unexpected natural deaths (SUNDs) in young adults of age between 18 and 35 years. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of autopsy reports and medical records of all SUNDs that occurred instantaneously or within 24 hours of onset of symptoms in young adults, between 2001 and 2009. Result: Of the total 6453 deaths autopsied during 2001-2009, 64 (0.99%) were SUNDs in young adults, chiefly in males between 30 and 35 years of age. Non-cardiac causes significantly predominated (73.4%) over cardiac causes (7.8%). Most of the SUND cases were due to preventable causes, including infections (54.6% cases), cerebrovascular accidents (9.37%) and ischemic cardiac causes (6.25%). Sudden adult death syndrome (SADS) accounted for 18.75% deaths. Conclusion: SUND in young adults is preventable. A meticulous post-mortem examination with special attention to the conduction system of heart and detailed toxicological analysis can pinpoint the cause of death in SADS

Biodiesel production from rubber seed oil using calcium oxide derived from eggshell as catalyst – optimization and modeling studies

In the present study, Calcium oxide (CaO) obtained from eggshells has been used as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production from highly viscous non-edible rubber seed oil (RSO). Characterization of synthesized catalyst was done with the help of scanning electron microscope equipped with Energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD) was used to optimize the process parameters and 1H-NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectroscopy analysis was performed to find the conversion of RSO to biodiesel. A conversion of 99.7% of RSO to biodiesel was obtained at 12:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 4 (wt%) of catalyst, and 3 hour reaction time with a quadratic regression model of R2 of value 0.9566 was obtained. The composition of prepared biodiesel is estimated with the help of Gas Chromatogram-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm was also trained to predict biodiesel conversion and the value of R2 obtained was 0.9976. It was observed that predicted conversion values from ANN were better when compared to prediction using RSM