Cloud monitoring data challenges: A systematic review

© Springer International Publishing AG 2016. Organizations need to continuously monitor, source and process large amount of operational data for optimizing the cloud computing environment. The research problem is: what are cloud monitoring data challenges – in particular virtual CPU monitoring data? This paper adopts a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach to identify and report cloud monitoring data challenges. SLR approach was applied to initially identify a large set of 1861 papers. Finally, 24 of 1861 relevant papers were selected and reviewed to identify the five major challenges of cloud monitoring data: monitoring technology, virtualization technology, energy, availability and performance. The results of this review are expected to help researchers and practitioners to understand cloud computing data challenges and develop innovative techniques and strategies to deal with these challenges

Circulatory responses to propofol-ketamine combination compared to propofol alone for sedation during spinal anesthesia

The present study was undertaken to establish the efficacy of low dosepropofol-ketamine infusion in maintaining hemodynamic stability when used for sedation as compared to propofol alone during spinal anesthesia. Sixty adult patients of either sex, belonging to ASA physical status I and II undergoing urological procedures were studied in a randomized manner. After administering spinal anesthesia with 0.5% bupivacaine,patients were assigned to two groups of 30 patients each. Group I (propofol-ketamine combination) received intial loading dose of propofol and ketamine followed by a continuous infusion of low dose propofol and ketamine whereas group II (propofol alone) received a bolus dose of propofol followed by a continuous infusion of propofol only. Hemodynamic parameters like heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and sedation scores rated on a five point scale were recorded at baseline and at the predetermined intervals of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 minutes after spinal anesthesia. It was found that heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure was significantly higher in group I patients at various intervals as compared to group II patients, however sedation scores revealed no significant difference at different timeintervals between the two groups. In conclusion propofol-ketamine combination was found to confer hemodynamic stability during spinal anesthesia as compared to propofol alone

An enterprise architecture driven approach to virtualisation

Organisations have shown a significant interest in the adoption of virtualisation technology for improving the efficiency of their Data Centres (DC) from both the resource performance and cost efficiency viewpoints. By improving the efficiency of data centres we can sustainably manage their impact on the environment by controlling their energy consumption. The intentions are clear but how best to approach to Data Centre virtualisation is not. This paper proposes an integrated Enterprise Architecture and Information Infrastructure (EAII) driven approach to guide the Data Centre virtualisation. The EAII approach has been developed based on the review and analysis of wellknown The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) and Information Infrastructure (II) model. The proposed integrated EAII approach seems appropriate to guide and align business strategy and virtualisation implementation for data centres of any size in any industry vertical

Motivators of adopting social computing in global software development: Initial results

context: Real-time collaboration is critical for developing high quality software systems at low cost in a geographically distributed Global Software Development (GSD) environment. It is anticipated that emerging Social Computing tools can play an important role in facilitating realtime effective collaboration among teams working in the GSD. Objective: The objective of this research paper is to identify motivators for adopting social computing in GSD organizations. Method: We adopted a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach by applying customized search strings derived from our research questions. Results: We have identified factors such as real-time communication and coordination, information sharing, knowledge acquisition and expert feedback as key motivators for adoption of social computing in GSD. Conclusion: Based on the SLR results, we suggest that GSD organizations should embrace social computing as a tool for real-time collaboration between distributed GSD teams. The results of this initial study also suggest the need for developing the social computing strategies and policies to guide the effective social computing adoption by GSD teams

Photoluminescence and lasing characteristics of single nonpolar GaN microwires

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Cholic acid resistance and the adherence ability of Bifidobacterium pseudocaenulatum G4

The adherence capacity of Bifidobacterium longum BB536 and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 on HT-29 human epithelium cell line with the presence of cholic acid were assessed. B. longum BB536 showed a higher adhesion level on HT-29 human epithelium cell line compared to B. psudocatenulatumG4. However, in the presence of physiological concentration (0.094 and 0.94 ìM) of cholic acid, the adhesion level of Bifidobacterium strains dropped between 5 and 55% respectively, depending on pH, time and strain. The adaptation of Bifidobacterium strains to cholic acid was shown to be increasedwith time. It was concluded that the acquisition of cholic acid resistance by those Bifidobacterium strains promoted changes in the adhesion ability on HT-29 human epithelium cell line

Evaluation of Antihypertensive Effect of Aqueous Methanol Extract of Caralluma tuberculata N.E.Br in Sprauge Dawley Rats

Purpose: To evaluate the phytochemical profile and antihypertensive effect of Caralluma tuberculata N.E.Br (AMECT).Methods: The antihypertensive effect of the aqueous methanol extract of (AMECT) was evaluated in both normotensive and hypertensive rats. In normotensive rats, various doses (100, 300 and 500 mg/kg body weight, p.o.) were administered at 0, 1, 3 and 6 hr intervals. Anti-hypertensive activity of the crude extract was investigated in three experimental hypertensive models, viz, egg-fed diet, glucose-induced and cadmium-induced hypertensive rats. Cardiovascular parameters, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean blood pressure (MBP) and heart rate (HR) were measured by tail cuff method using non-invasive blood pressure apparatus (NIBP) attached. AMECT was also investigated for its phytochemical profile.Results: The results indicate that AMECT produced a dose-dependent, significant (p < 0.05) decrease in SBP, DBP, MBP, and HR (p < 0.01) of normotensive rats, when compared to control groups, at all test doses. The 500 mg/kg dose produced a highly significant effect (mm Hg, p < 0.001) in SBP (85.9 ± 7.2), DBP (71.86 ± 12.1), MBP (75.1 ± 11.7) and HR (238.08 ± 8.3 beats/min), in comparison to 100 and 300 mg/kg doses; therefore, 500 mg/kg was selected for antihypertensive test in egg-fed, glucose-induced and cadmium-treated hypertensive rats. Significant (p < 0.05) antihypertensive and negative chronotropic effects were observed in hypertensive models compared to their respective normal controls. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, cardiac glycosides and flavonoids.Conclusion: The findings indicate that Caralluma tuberculata possesses significant anti-hypentensive activity in rats.Keywords: Phytochemical profile, Antihypertensive, Cardiovascular, Caralluma tuberculata N.E.Br, Blood pressur

The impact of bimodal pore size distribution and wettability on relative permeability and capillary pressure in a microporous limestone with uncertainty quantification

Pore-scale X-ray imaging combined with a steady-state flow experiment was used to study the displacement processes during waterflooding in an altered-wettability carbonate, Ketton limestone, with more than two orders of magnitude difference in pore size between macropores and microporosity. We simultaneously characterized macroscopic and local multiphase flow parameters, including relative permeability, capillary pressure, wettability, and fluid occupancy in pores and throats. An accurate method was applied for porosity and fluid saturation measurements using greyscale based differential imaging without image segmentation. The relative permeability values were corrected by considering the measured saturation profile along the sample length to account for the so-called capillary end effect. The behaviour of relative permeability and capillary pressure was compared to other measurements in the literature to demonstrate the combined effects of wettability and pore structure. Typical oil-wet behaviour in resolvable macropores was measured from contact angle, fluid occupancy and curvature. The capillary pressure was negative while the oil relative permeability dropped quickly as oil was drained to low saturation and flowed through connected oil layers. Brine initially largely flowed through water-wet microporosity, and then filled the centre of large oil-wet pore bodies. Thus, the brine relative permeability remained exceptionally low until brine formed a connected flow path in the macropores leading to a substantial increase in relative permeability. Overall, this work demonstrates that not only wettability but also pore size distribution and microporosity have significant impact on displacement processes

User acceptance of smart watch for medical purposes : an empirical study

This study aims to investigate the most effective and interesting variables that urge use of the smartwatch (SW) in a medical environment. To achieve this aim, the study was framed using an innovative and integrated research model, which is based on combining constructs from a well-established theoretical model’s TAM and other features that are critical to the effectiveness of SW which are content richness and personal innovativeness. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is used to detect the determinants affecting the adoption of SW. The current study depends on an online questionnaire that is composed of (20) items. The questionnaire is distributed among a group of doctors, nurses, and administration staff in medical centers within the UAE. The total number of respondents is (325). The collected data were implemented to test the study model and the proposed constructs and hypotheses depending on the Smart PLS Software. The results of the current study show that the main constructs in the model contribute differently to the acceptance of SW. Based on the previous assumption, content richness and innovativeness are critical factors that enrich the user’s perceived usefulness. In addition, perceived ease of use was significantly predictive of either perceived usefulness or behavioral intention. Overall findings suggest that SW is in high demand in the medical field and is used as a common channel among doctors and their patients and it facilitates the role of transmitting information among its users. The outcomes of the current study indicate the importance of certain external factors for the acceptance of the technology. The genuine value of this study lies in the fact that it is based on a conceptual framework that emphasizes the close relationship between the TAM constructs of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use to the construct of content richness, and innovativeness. Finally, this study helps us recognize the embedded motives for using SW in a medical environment, where the main motive is to enhance and facilitate the effective roles of doctors and patients