Cloud Host Selection using Iterative Particle-Swarm Optimization for Dynamic Container Consolidation

A significant portion of the energy consumption in cloud data centres can be attributed to the inefficient utilization of available resources due to the lack of dynamic resource allocation techniques such as virtual machine migration and workload consolidation strategies to better optimize the utilization of resources. We present a new method for optimizing cloud data centre management by combining virtual machine migration with workload consolidation. Our proposed Energy Efficient Particle Swarm Optimization (EE-PSO) algorithm to improve resource utilization and reduce energy consumption. We carried out experimental evaluations with the Container CloudSim toolkit to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed EE-PSO algorithm in terms of energy consumption, quality of service guarantees, the number of newly created VMs, and container migrations

Induced hypotension for functional endoscopic sinus surgery: comparison between dexmedetomidine and nitro-glycerine

Background: Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is a minimally invasive technique used to restore sinus ventilation and normal function by opening sinus air cells and ostia. FESS requires bloodless field, several techniques and drugs have been used in the past for achieving controlled hypotension such as nitroglycerine, esmolol, remifentanil, dexmedetomidine, isoflurane, propofol. Therefore, this study was conducted to compare between dexmedetomidine and nitroglycerine for controlled hypotension for FESS. Primary aim to compare quality of surgical field using average category scale and surgeon satisfaction and secondary aim to compare arterial pressure and heart rate changes between dexmedetomidine and nitroglycerine when used to induce hypotension.Methods: This study was conducted in 40 consenting adult patients posted for FESS and were randomly divided into two groups, group D received dexmedetomidine 1 mcg/kg and group N received nitroglycerine 0.5 mcg/kg/min, both infusions started 10 min after induction. Parameters such as quality of surgical field by average category scale, heart rate and mean arterial pressure (MAP) recorded every 10 minutes.Results: Dexmedetomidine and nitroglycerine both had comparable quality of surgical field. ACS grading of 1 or 2 were found among both the groups. Dexmedetomidine group had better mean arterial pressure at 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th and 70th min and heart rate at 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th and 70th min when compared to nitroglycerine group.Conclusions: Dexmedetomidine and nitroglycerine both were found to be safe to use for controlled hypotension in functional endoscopic sinus surgeries

Rhizobium Germplasm Resources at ICRISAT Center

The ICRISAT Rhizobium culture collection represents rhizobia of the three mandate legumes: chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.), and pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.]. This catalog lists a total of 819 strains of which 259 are of chickpea, 150 of groundnut, and 410 of pigeonpea, from 17 countries. Sixty eight percent of these strains were isolated at ICRISAT Center from nodules obtained or collected from six countries. The remaining 32 % of the strains were contributions from scientists in different countries and other Rhizobium culture collections of the world. The collection represents rhizobia from diverse climatic regions, different soil types, different growth rates in laboratory conditions, and different effectiveness rating in glasshouse studies. Information in this catalog has been assembled to encourage use of these strains in different relevant studies by the scientific community

Design and performance of a hybrid fast and thermal neutron detector

We report the characterization, calibration and performance of a custom-built hybrid detector consisting of BC501A liquid scintillator and BC702 scintillator for the detection of fast and thermal neutrons, respectively. Pulse Shape Discrimination techniques are developed to distinguish events due to gamma-rays, fast and thermal neutrons. Software analysis packages are developed to derive raw neutron energy spectra from measured proton recoil spectra. The validity is demonstrated through the reconstruction of the (AmBe)-Am-241(alpha,n) neutron spectrum. (C) 2017 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved

Patterns of somatic structural variation in human cancer genomes.

A key mutational process in cancer is structural variation, in which rearrangements delete, amplify or reorder genomic segments that range in size from kilobases to whole chromosomes1-7. Here we develop methods to group, classify and describe somatic structural variants, using data from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), which aggregated whole-genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types8. Sixteen signatures of structural variation emerged. Deletions have a multimodal size distribution, assort unevenly across tumour types and patients, are enriched in late-replicating regions and correlate with inversions. Tandem duplications also have a multimodal size distribution, but are enriched in early-replicating regions-as are unbalanced translocations. Replication-based mechanisms of rearrangement generate varied chromosomal structures with low-level copy-number gains and frequent inverted rearrangements. One prominent structure consists of 2-7 templates copied from distinct regions of the genome strung together within one locus. Such cycles of templated insertions correlate with tandem duplications, and-in liver cancer-frequently activate the telomerase gene TERT. A wide variety of rearrangement processes are active in cancer, which generate complex configurations of the genome upon which selection can act

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

The International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce (INPST) and the power of Twitter networking exemplified through #INPST hashtag analysis

Background: The development of digital technologies and the evolution of open innovation approaches have enabled the creation of diverse virtual organizations and enterprises coordinating their activities primarily online. The open innovation platform titled "International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce" (INPST) was established in 2018, to bring together in collaborative environment individuals and organizations interested in natural product scientific research, and to empower their interactions by using digital communication tools. Methods: In this work, we present a general overview of INPST activities and showcase the specific use of Twitter as a powerful networking tool that was used to host a one-week "2021 INPST Twitter Networking Event" (spanning from 31st May 2021 to 6th June 2021) based on the application of the Twitter hashtag #INPST. Results and Conclusion: The use of this hashtag during the networking event period was analyzed with Symplur Signals (https://www.symplur.com/), revealing a total of 6,036 tweets, shared by 686 users, which generated a total of 65,004,773 impressions (views of the respective tweets). This networking event's achieved high visibility and participation rate showcases a convincing example of how this social media platform can be used as a highly effective tool to host virtual Twitter-based international biomedical research events

Activating the knowledge-to-action cycle for geriatric care in India

Despite a rapidly aging population, geriatrics - the branch of medicine that focuses on healthcare of the elderly - is relatively new in India, with many practicing physicians having little knowledge of the clinical and functional implications of aging. Negative attitudes and limited awareness, knowledge or acceptance of geriatrics as a legitimate discipline contribute to inaccessible and poor quality care for India's old. The aim of this paper is to argue that knowledge translation is a potentially effective tool for engaging Indian healthcare providers in the delivery of high quality geriatric care. The paper describes India's context, including demographics, challenges and current policies, summarizes evidence on provider behaviour change, and integrates the two in order to propose an action plan for promoting improvements in geriatric care