Decentralising resource management in operating systems

This dissertation explores operating system mechanisms to allow resource-aware applications to be involved in the process of managing resources under the premise that these applications (1) potentially have some (implicit) notion of their future resource demands and (2) can adapt their resource demands. The general idea is to provide feedback to resource-aware applications so that they can proactively participate in the management of resources. This approach has the benefit that resource management policies can be removed from central entities and the operating system has only to provide mechanism. Furthermore, in contrast to centralised approaches, application specific features can be more easily exploited. To achieve this aim, I propose to deploy a microeconomic theory, namely congestion or shadow pricing, which has recently received attention for managing congestion in communication networks. Applications are charged based on the potential "damage" they cause to other consumers by using resources. Consumers interpret these congestion charges as feedback signals which they use to adjust their resource consumption. It can be shown theoretically that such a system with consumers merely acting in their own self-interest will converge to a social optimum. This dissertation focuses on the operating system mechanisms required to decentralise resource management this way. In particular it identifies four mechanisms: pricing & charging, credit accounting, resource usage accounting, and multiplexing. While the latter two are mechanisms generally required for the accurate management of resources, pricing & charging and credit accounting present novel mechanisms. It is argued that congestion prices are the correct economic model in this context and provide appropriate feedback to applications. The credit accounting mechanism is necessary to ensure the overall stability of the system by assigning value to credits

Patientenzufriedenheit: ein Literaturbericht

Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt einen inhaltlichen Überblick über die Literatur zum Thema 'Informationsgewinnung durch Patientenbefragungen'. Umfassende Befragungen von Patienten in Krankenhäusern sind in Deutschland bislang eher selten. Warum hätte man sie auch durchführen sollen? Es ist noch gar nicht so lange her, dass Patienten in Krankenhäusern als "Abhängige" betrachtet wurden, als Personen, die sich mehr oder weniger "willenlos" in die Hände des medizinischen Personals in Krankenhäusern "auslieferten". Entsprechend standen in Krankenhäusern überwiegend die klinisch-medizinischen Aspekte des Krankenhausaufenthaltes im Vordergrund. Im Zuge der Gesundheitsreform hat sich in den letzten Jahren eine neue Sichtweise des Patienten im Krankenhaus herausgebildet - der Patient ist zum "Kunden" geworden, den man nicht nur durch medizinische Leistung, sondern auch durch guten Service zufrieden stellen muss. Patientenorientierung wird heute als explizites Versorgungsziel des Krankenhauses definiert. Ein entscheidendes Medium zur Informationsgewinnung stellt die Patientenbefragung dar, mit der sich die Autoren in diesem Bericht beschäftigen. Es werden zunächst die Begriffe "Zufriedenheit" und "Patientenzufriedenheit" (Kap. 2) definiert, und dann Modelle der Patientenzufriedenheit vorgestellt (Kap. 3). Im Anschluss daran befassen sich die Autoren grundsätzlich mit der Stellung der Patientenbefragung im Rahmen des gesamten Krankenhausmanagements (Kap. 4). Diesem eher "theoretischen" Teil folgen dann Überlegungen zur Methode der Patientenbefragung (Kap. 5), bevor abschließend auf die Qualität der Daten eingegangen wird, die bei Patientenbefragungen erhoben werden (Kap.6). Bei der Durchführung einer Patientenbefragung ergeben sich verschiedene methodische Probleme. Neben der Frage nach der Einrichtung, die die Patientenbefragung durchführt und auswertet, ergeben sich Probleme bei der Auswahl der Befragungsteilnehmer, dem Modus, Ort und Zeitpunkt der Befragung sowie der Gestaltung des Fragebogens. Lediglich bei der Wahl des Erhebungszeitpunktes ist man sich in der Literatur darüber einig, dass die Patientenbefragung am besten nach der Entlassung aus dem Krankenhaus durchzuführen ist. Bei allen anderen Punkten hängt die Entscheidung von der jeweiligen Zielsetzung der Studie, dem Zeitraum der Befragung und den finanziellen Ressourcen ab. (ICD

Quantifying the latency benefits of near-edge and in-network FPGA acceleration

Transmitting data to cloud datacenters in distributed IoT applications introduces significant communication latency, but is often the only feasible solution when source nodes are computationally limited. To address latency concerns, cloudlets, in-network computing, and more capable edge nodes are all being explored as a way of moving processing capability towards the edge of the network. Hardware acceleration using Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) is also seeing increased interest due to reduced computation latency and improved efficiency. This paper evaluates the the implications of these offloading approaches using a case study neural network based image classification application, quantifying both the computation and communication latency resulting from different platform choices. We consider communication latency including the ingestion of packets for processing on the target platform, showing that this varies significantly with the choice of platform. We demonstrate that emerging in-network accelerator approaches offer much improved and predictable performance as well as better scaling to support multiple data sources

Механизм осаждения частиц загрязнений в капиллярных каналах

Несмотря на экономическое значение научные вопросы применения в регенерации отработанных моторных масел процесса фильтрации практически не рассматривались [8]. Существующие модели фильтрации основаны на моделировании фильтрующей среды как массива сферических "коллекторов". Взвешенные в фильтрующей среде частицы перемещаются в пространстве между " коллекторами". В нашем исследовании предполагается, что частицы, взвешенные в фильтрующейся среде, перемещаются через многочисленные капилляры, пронизывающие насквозь фильтрующий материал. Рассмотрены силы, действующих на частицу в капилляре, увлекаемую потоком жидкости. Получены уравнения, описывающие траекторию движения частицы. Определены условия осаждения частицы в капилляре. Получены формулы, определяющие эффективность осаждения частиц в капилляре

Correction: Management of bleeding following major trauma: a European guideline

SCOPUS: er.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Management of bleeding following major trauma: an updated European guideline

INTRODUCTION: Evidence-based recommendations are needed to guide the acute management of the bleeding trauma patient, which when implemented may improve patient outcomes. METHODS: The multidisciplinary Task Force for Advanced Bleeding Care in Trauma was formed in 2005 with the aim of developing a guideline for the management of bleeding following severe injury. This document presents an updated version of the guideline published by the group in 2007. Recommendations were formulated using a nominal group process, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) hierarchy of evidence and based on a systematic review of published literature. RESULTS: Key changes encompassed in this version of the guideline include new recommendations on coagulation support and monitoring and the appropriate use of local haemostatic measures, tourniquets, calcium and desmopressin in the bleeding trauma patient. The remaining recommendations have been reevaluated and graded based on literature published since the last edition of the guideline. Consideration was also given to changes in clinical practice that have taken place during this time period as a result of both new evidence and changes in the general availability of relevant agents and technologies. CONCLUSIONS: This guideline provides an evidence-based multidisciplinary approach to the management of critically injured bleeding trauma patients

Randomized, controlled, two-arm, interventional, multicenter study on risk-adapted damage control orthopedic surgery of femur shaft fractures in multiple-trauma patients

BACKGROUND: Long bone fractures, particularly of the femur, are common in multiple-trauma patients, but their optimal management has not yet been determined. Although a trend exists toward the concept of “damage control orthopedics” (DCO), current literature is inconclusive. Thus, a need exists for a more specific controlled clinical study. The primary objective of this study was to clarify whether a risk-adapted procedure for treating femoral fractures, as opposed to an early definitive treatment strategy, leads to an improved outcome (morbidity and mortality). METHODS/DESIGN: The study was designed as a randomized controlled multicenter study. Multiple-trauma patients with femur shaft fractures and a calculated probability of death of 20 to 60 % were randomized to either temporary fracture fixation with external fixation and defined secondary definitive treatment (DCO) or primary reamed nailing (early total care). The primary objective was to reduce the extent of organ failure as measured by the maximum sepsis-related organ failure assessment (SOFA) score. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients were randomized to two groups of 17 patients each. Both groups were comparable regarding sex, age, injury severity score, Glasgow Coma Scale, prothrombin time, base excess, calculated probability of death, and other physiologic variables. The maximum SOFA score was comparable (nonsignificant) between the groups. Regarding the secondary endpoints, the patients with external fixation required a significantly longer ventilation period (p = 0.049) and stayed on the intensive care significantly longer (p = 0.037), whereas the in-hospital length of stay was balanced for both groups. Unfortunately, the study had to be terminated prior to reaching the anticipated sample size because of unexpected low patient recruitment. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the results of this randomized study reflect the ambivalence in the literature. No advantage of the damage control concept could be detected in the treatment of femur fractures in multiple-trauma patients. The necessity for scientific evaluation of this clinically relevant question remains. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN10321620 Date assigned: 9 February 2007. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-016-1162-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users