Software Aging Analysis of Web Server Using Neural Networks

Software aging is a phenomenon that refers to progressive performance degradation or transient failures or even crashes in long running software systems such as web servers. It mainly occurs due to the deterioration of operating system resource, fragmentation and numerical error accumulation. A primitive method to fight against software aging is software rejuvenation. Software rejuvenation is a proactive fault management technique aimed at cleaning up the system internal state to prevent the occurrence of more severe crash failures in the future. It involves occasionally stopping the running software, cleaning its internal state and restarting it. An optimized schedule for performing the software rejuvenation has to be derived in advance because a long running application could not be put down now and then as it may lead to waste of cost. This paper proposes a method to derive an accurate and optimized schedule for rejuvenation of a web server (Apache) by using Radial Basis Function (RBF) based Feed Forward Neural Network, a variant of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). Aging indicators are obtained through experimental setup involving Apache web server and clients, which acts as input to the neural network model. This method is better than existing ones because usage of RBF leads to better accuracy and speed in convergence.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, 1 table; International Journal of Artificial Intelligence & Applications (IJAIA), Vol.3, No.3, May 201

Human Resource Practices in Public Healthcare Sector: a Perceptual Study Among Healthcare Professionals

The study is aimed to identify various human resource practices in the public healthcare sector and to measure the level of human resource practices. The study adopts the perceptual view of healthcare professionals such as medical officers and staff nurses working in Primary Health Centres of Tamilnadu. A survey using a questionnaire is used to collect data from healthcare professionals. The results indicated that human resource practices such as job autonomy and job security are perceived to be useful and necessary, while training and performance management system are found to provide necessary inputs for carrying job duties and practices such as career growth opportunities and compensation need the attention of the officials of Health and Family Welfare department of Tamilnadu Government for enhancing the utility of these practices

Role of Knowledge Management in Providing Quality Care: A Conceptual Model

The purpose of the paper is to signify the effect of factors relating to knowledge management on quality care to patients. A theoretical framework is proposed linking healthcare practitioners’ motivation, knowledge adoption, adaption to web technologies and knowledge friendly culture on quality of care given to patients. The study includes two levels of variables to impart quality care, one is at the level of healthcare practitioner and another is at the organizational level. The factors regarding healthcare practitioner include the motivation to use knowledge management system, knowledge adoption and adaption to web technologies. The factor relating to organization includes the knowledge friendly culture. The conceptual model could be empirically tested using data from healthcare organizations. Propositions are posited for further research. The paper provides value to academicians and practitioners. The outcomes of the empirical study would identify the key factors that pushes healthcare practitioner to contribute to knowledge management system and the policy level modifications could be made to develop, alter and sustain knowledge friendly culture

Effect of inter-edge Coulomb interactions on transport through a point contact in a \nu = 5/2 quantum Hall state

We study transport across a point contact separating two line junctions in a \nu = 5/2 quantum Hall system. We analyze the effect of inter-edge Coulomb interactions between the chiral bosonic edge modes of the half-filled Landau level (assuming a Pfaffian wave function for the half-filled state) and of the two fully filled Landau levels. In the presence of inter-edge Coulomb interactions between all the six edges participating in the line junction, the stable fixed point corresponds to a point contact which is neither fully opaque nor fully transparent. Remarkably, this fixed point represents a situation where the half-filled level is fully transmitting, while the two filled levels are completely backscattered; hence the fixed point Hall conductance is given by G_H = {1/2} e^2/h. We predict the non-universal temperature power laws by which the system approaches the stable fixed point from the two unstable fixed points corresponding to the fully connected case (G_H = {5/2} e^2/h) and the fully disconnected case (G_H = 0).Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; made several changes -- this is the published versio

Vaccine Preperative Trial for Leptospirosis and their Pathological, Immunological Study by Serum Electrophoresis

Leptospirosis is a fatal infectious disease caused by different serovars of Leptospira spirochetes affecting humans and animals. In the present study, the trials of the whole-cell killed formalin treated monovalent vaccine using Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae and trivalent vaccine using Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae, Leptospira louisiana, and Leptospira hebdomadis were studied. The serum electrophoresis studies were done after administration of the vaccine into the experimental albino mice along with the booster dose of the vaccinated serum by densitometric readings. Similarly, the pathological observations were made by dissecting the virulent mice, vaccinated mice, and comparing them with the control mice. The MAT titre was also studied after the booster dose administration of the vaccinated serum. The monovalent and trivalent whole-cell killed formalin treated vaccines shows significant raise in the total proteins, albumin, globulin, α 1 globulin, α 2 globulin, β globulin and γ globulins of the serum as well as increase in significant levels in the antibody levels after the administration of the booster dose at an interval of 14 days. Keywords: Leptospira, Whole-cell killed formalin treated vaccine, Immunological study, Pathological study, Serum electrophoresis

Serum Cholinesterase as a Biomarker of Liver Cirrhosis and Its Correlation with the Severity of Cirrhosis

BACKGROUND: Hepatic cirrhosis is a commonly encountered clinical entity. Its management includes an array of tests like serum albumin levels, PT INR, serum bilirubin, aminotransferases. Various classification systems have also been developed including the MELD and Child Pugh scores for assessing its severity and prognosis. Since the source of serum cholinesterase is the liver, it reflects hepatic function. Its values are not affected by albumin or fresh frozen plasma transfusions. Studies have shown that it shall help both in diagnosing liver cirrhosis and in the assessment of its severity and prognosis. Studies have shown that it shows good correlation with the routine liver function tests like serum albumin, PT INR, Child Pugh and MELD scores. AIMS & OBJECTIVE: 1. To estimate the level of serum cholinesterase in patients with liver cirrhosis. 2. To compare its level with other tests of liver function like serum albumin, bilirubin, PT INR. 3. To assess the relation between serum cholinesterase levels and severity of liver cirrhosis by comparing with Child pugh and MELD scoring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Setting: Department of General Medicine, Madurai Medical College and Rajaji Govt. hospital. Design & Duration of Study: hospital based prospective & observational study conducted during March 2018 – August 2018. Inclusion Criteria: 100 patients with cirrhosis of liver diagnosed clinically and by ultrasonography. Exclusion Criteria: patients with organophosphate and carbamate poisoning, exposure to succinylcholine, morphine, cocaine and cod eine, blood transfusion or albumin infusion 4 weeks prior to enrolment in the study, Liver transplanted individuals, Chronic malnutrition, Females having pregnancy or using OCPs, Acute infection, Nephrotic syndrome. Sampling method was purposive. history taking and clinical examination done after sample selection. The investigations done were liver function tests, ultrasonography abdomen, Complete blood count, Viral markers, Renal function tests, PT INR, Serum cholinesterase. The serum cholinesterase assay was done using propionylthiocholine as substrate, by the kinetic propionylthiocholine method. Ascites was detected clinically and by ultrasonography. Hepatic encephalopathy was clinically graded. The correlation between serum cholinesterase levels and the variables studied were Serum albumin, Serum bilirubin, INR, Child Pugh score, MELD score. RESULTS: Most cases of cirrhosis (32 patients) occur in the 41 – 50 years age group (32%). Among the 100 patients in our study, 85 patients (85%) were males and 15 patients (15%) were females. The most common cause of cirrhosis among the patients in our study was alcohol, seen in 72 patients (72%). In this study 85 patients (85%) presented with ascites, and among them 16 patients (16%) had severe (i.e. poorly controlled ascites) and 69 patients (69%) had mild – moderate ascites. 70 patients (70%) in our study presented with icterus while the remaining patients did not have icterus clinically. In this study, 44 patients (44%) presented with hepatic encephalopathy, of which 12 patients were in grade I (12%), 16 patients (16%) in grade II, 12 patients (12%) in grade III and 4 patients (4%) in grade IV. In our study, 68 patients (68%) had splenomegaly, as detected by ultrasonography. In our study, 70 patients (70%) had bilrubin levels greater than 3 mg/dl, 16 patients (16%) had bilirubin levels between 2 to 3 mg/dl and 14 patients (14%) had bilirubin levels less than 2 mg/dl. 65 patients (65%) in our study had INR levels less than 1.7, while 25 patients (25%) had values between 1.7 – 2.3 and 10 patients (10%) had values > 2.3. In our study, 41 patients (41%) had Albumin levels less than 3.5, 12 patients (12%) had values between 3-3.5 and 47 patients (47%) had values < 3. In our study, 35 patients (35%) belonged to Child Pugh class B, 50 patients (50%) are under Child Pugh class C and 15 patients (15%) under Child Pugh class A. In our study, 65 patients (65%) had MELD score greater 15 and 35 patients (35%) had a MELD score less than or equal to 15. Serum albumin levels were compared with serum cholinesterase levels and it was found that serum cholinesterase levels were lower in patients with the lower values of serum albumin in our study (positively correlated). Serum bilirubin levels were negatively correlated with the serum. cholinesterase levels in our study. The INR value was negatively correlated with the serum cholinesterase levels in this study. In this study, it was found that serum cholinesterase values were higher among patients with Child Pugh class A than the class B patients, in whom the values of serum cholinesterase were higher than the class C group. The higher Child Pugh grading correlated negatively with the serum cholinesterase values. It was found that the MELD scores were inversely correlated with values of serum cholinesterase in our study. All the above correlations are statistically significant with p value < 0.01. CONCLUSION: Liver cirrhosis was more commonly seen among middle aged adults (5th decade) and is much more common in males. Alcohol is the most commonly observed etiology of cirrhosis. The most common presenting symptom was ascites, followed by icterus. Among patients with ascites, majority had mild to moderate ascites (medically controlled). Majority of patients in the study did not have hepatic encephalopathy. Among patients with hepatic encephalopathy, most patients had grade II hepatic encephalopathy. Majority of patients had splenomegaly that was indicative of portal hypertension. Majority of patients had bilirubin levels more than 3 mg/dl. Most patients in the study did not have coagulopathy and had INR level <1.7. Majority of patients belonged to Child Pugh class C. Most patients had MELD score greater than 15. There was significant positive correlation between serum albumin and serum cholinesterase levels. Serum bilurubin, INR, CHILD PUGH scoring and MELD scoring negatively correlated with serum cholinesterase levels. Thus Significant correlation was found between serum cholinesterase values and the severity of liver cirrhosis. The levels were lower in patients with more severe liver disease

A kinetic and mechanistic study on the silver (I)-catalyzed oxidation of l-alanine by cerium (IV) in sulfuric acid medium

AbstractThe kinetics and mechanism of Ag(I)-catalyzed oxidation of l-alanine by cerium (IV) in sulfuric acid media have been investigated by titrimetric technique of redox in the temperature range of 298–313K. It is found that the reaction is of first order with respect to Ce(IV) and l-alanine, and it is of a positive fractional order with respect to Ag(I). It is found that the pseudo first order ([l-alanine]≫[Ce(IV)]≫[Ag(I)]) rate constant k′ increases with the increase of[H+]. The major oxidation product of alanine has been identified as acetaldehyde by an 1H NMR and IR spectroscopy. Under the experimental conditions, the kinetically active species has been found to be Ce4+. Under nitrogen atmosphere, the reaction system can initiate the polymerization of acrylonitrile, indicating generation of free radicals. On the basis of the experimental results, a suitable mechanism has been proposed. The rate constants of the rate-determining step together with the activation parameters were evaluated