A CASE Study on Software Project Development Cost, Schedule & Effort Estimation

This paper theme is to provide a case study of Software Project Development cost, effort, and schedule estimation. From recent past, a remarkable research takes place in developing different techniques on software effort and cost estimation. Making estimation before start of any project is necessary to be able to plan and manage any project. The estimate is an intelligent guess for the project resources. Nowadays, software has become a major contributor to economic growth for any nation. Making an estimate before starting any software project is vital for the project managers and key stakeholders. Major project milestones such as project schedules, budgeting, resource allocation, and project delivery dates are set on theeffort and cost estimates. Thus, the reliability of the estimation leads any project success or otherwise fail. In this article, author's idea is to work with function point analysis and include the concept of workforce scheduling in a better way while taking the decision in the contract phase. That leads to strengthening the relations between the developer and the customer. Basically, size is a main measured unit of the software project. Based on the size and other functionalities, the software managers estimate the total effort required to develop the project. From the effort and work schedule, the total cost can be estimated.Â

Heart rate lowering agents in acute coronary syndrome

Background: Heart rate is a key indicator of cardiovascular mortality, with ACS having the highest mortality risk when heart rate is elevated. With a target heart rate of <70 bpm, it is crucial to evaluate the effects of medications that lowers heart rate. Methods: In this prospective observational study, 45 patients with ACS were studied, and it was determined whether or not the patients' heart rates at discharge from the hospital were within goal range. Additionally, we looked at demographics, drug-related issues, vitals and then statistical tests were performed. Results: The demographic of 45 patients showed mean adult age was 47 years and most observed ACS was STEMI (53.3%). Patients prescribed with HRLA showed lower mean HR, SBP and DBP at discharge. Evaluated Optimal HR ≤70 bpm with HRLA therapy at discharge of the inpatients was achieved in 26.6% (63.5±5.5 bpm). Conclusions: The current study showed HRLA therapy effectively reduced the heart rate at hospital discharge, but despite being on HRLA only 1/4th of patients achieved the optimal heart rate

Molecular Docking study of Catechins compounds from Camellia sinensis against UPPS in Staphylococcus aureus

Antibiotics resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is an emerging concern in the medical field. Due to their increasing resistance to numerous antibiotics, there is indeed essential to explore both potential targets and effective antibiotics. Therefore, we considered undecaprenyl diphosphate synthase (UPPS) as a potential target as it is an essential enzyme in cell wall biosynthesis of S. aureus. Earlier reports on these four major compounds from Camellia sinensis plant extract such as catechins (C), epicatechin (EC), epicatechin gallate (ECg) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) suggested that it could be an effective antibacterial agent. Thus, we attempt to validate the antibacterial activity of these compounds against UPPS via molecular docking analysis. Interestingly, we found that epicatechin gallate (ECg) has the highest binding energy with UPPS protein by forming nine hydrogen bonds with the amino acid residues at the binding site of the receptor. Hence, our results infer that ECg from Camellia sinensis poses significant anti-bacterial activities. Thus, the aim of this study was to provide an effective antibacterial molecule and potent target which might be helpful in further modification to increase their sensitivity

FMEA and Fault Tree based Software Safety Analysis of a Railroad Crossing Critical System

Software for safety-critical systems must deal with the hazards identified by safety analysis in order to make the system safe, risk-free and fail-safe. Certain faults in critical systems can result in catastrophic consequences such as death, injury or environmental harm. The focus of this paper is an approach to software safety analysis based on a combination of two existing fault removal techniques. A comprehensive software safety analysis involving a combination of Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is conducted on the software functions of the critical system to identify potentially hazardous software faults. A prototype safety-critical system - Railroad Crossing Control System (RCCS), incorporating a microcontroller and software to operate the train on a track circuit is described

Maternal haemoglobin and perinatal outcome

Background: Maternal anaemia is common medical disorder in developing countries. WHO defines anaemia as haemoglobin concentration of ≤11 g/dl. However, in developing countries like India, the lower limit is accepted as 10 g/dl.Results: Of 218 women, 69 had anaemia. The prevalence of anaemia was 31.65%; of which 84% had mild anaemia, 14.6% had moderate and only 1.4% had severe anaemia. Mean Hb levels were 12.04% among non-anaemic mothers and mean birth weight was 2.89 Kg whereas 9.14%, 2.18 kg in anaemic mothers respectively. In our study, 21% in anaemic group has birth weight <2.5 kg and only 0.06% in non-anaemic mothers (p<0.0012) 3.6 times higher. The risk of IUGR was 3.77 times higher, low APGAR score at 1 min was 3.8 times higher (p<0.0001), meconium stained liquor was 2.3 times higher and NICU admissions 2.96 times higher in anaemic mothers than non-anaemic mothers.Conclusions: Anaemia in pregnancy is one of the causes of poor perinatal outcome. Maternal anaemia is associated with the high risk of low birth weight, IUGR babies, low APGAR scores and NICU admissions and overall increase in perinatal morbidity. Hence proper antenatal care and counseling can reduce occurrence of anaemia in pregnancy.

Effect of biofertilizers and micronutrients on growth, leaf yield and quality of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) cv. Sadhana

A field experiment was conducted during rabi 2015-16 at Research Farm, College of Horticulture, Dr.Y.S.R. Horticultural University, Anantharajupeta (Andhra Pradesh), India, to study the effect of different biofertilizers and micronutrients on growth, leaf yield and quality of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) cv. Sadhana. The experiment was conducted in a factorial randomized block design with biofertilizers and micronutrients. The biofertilizer treatments were seed inoculation with Azospirillum, Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria (PSB), Azospirillum + Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria (PSB) and control (without any biofertilizer), while the micronutrient treatments comprised of foliar sprays of Zinc sulphate, Copper sulphate, Ferrous sulphate each at @ 0.5% and control (without any micronutrient). The sixteen treatment combinations were replicated thrice. Among the treatments, seed inoculation with Azospirillum + PSB+ foliar spray of zinc sulphate @ 0.5% recorded maximum plant height, number of primary branches, leaf area, fresh leaf yield per plant, leaf yield per plot, leaf yield per hectare, dry matter production, protein content, ascorbic acid content and moisture content. While, the lowest days to germination and leaf chlorophyll contents were recorded with the seed inoculation of Azospirillum + PSB + foliar spray of ferrous sulphate @ 0.5%

Impact of educational session on knowledge and attitude towards antimicrobial prescribing and awareness about antimicrobial resistance among undergraduate medical, dental and nursing students: a comparative study

Background: Educational interventions targeting undergraduate medical students provide a great opportunity to strengthen the efforts to promote rational prescribing and to decrease antimicrobial resistance. A better understanding of knowledge and beliefs of students about issues of antimicrobial use and resistance, and analysing the improvement after educational session, can assist in devising an effectively tailored educational intervention. The objective of this study was to comparison of knowledge and attitude about antimicrobial prescribing and awareness about resistance amongst medical, dental and nursing undergraduates before and after an educational session on antimicrobial use and resistance.Methods: A pre-validated questionnaire on knowledge and attitude about antimicrobial use and resistance was distributed to second year medical (80), dental (61) and nursing (37) students before and after an educational session. Results obtained were compared within and between the groups by using paired t-test and one-way ANOVA respectively. P-value<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.Results: All groups showed statistically significant improvement in knowledge and attitude scores following the session on antimicrobial use and resistance (P<0.001). Post-session attitude scores of medical students were better than that of dental and was statistically significant (P=0.006). The pre-session evaluation showed that medical students had better knowledge and attitude about antimicrobial use and resistance as compared to dental (P<0.001) and nursing students(P<0.001).Conclusions: Significant improvement in attitude and basic knowledge following an educational session about antimicrobial prescribing and awareness about antimicrobial resistance in undergraduate students suggest establishment of special course on rational prescription of antimicrobials in undergraduate curriculum