Design and Implementation of a Quantitative Network Health Monitoring and Recovery System.

A network health monitoring system focuses on the quantification of the network's health by taking into account various security flaws, leaks, and vulnerabilities. A plethora of propriety tools and patents are available for network health quantification. However, there is a paucity of available research and literature in this field. Thus, in this study, we present an architectural design of a network health monitoring system. The design focuses on the quantification of the network health of each end-user as well as the entire network. The network health score for each end-user is quantified by identifying (1) illicit egress-ingress traffic, (2) anomalous fingerprints, and (3) system-network vulnerabilities based on the NVD-CVSS (National Vulnerability Database, Common Vulnerability Severity Score) standards. An overall network-health score is produced, along with a prevention and recovery mechanism that is triggered upon the detection of an anomaly. The proposed system is implemented in a local area network and has demonstrated to protect the network against various threats successfully. The study is concluded by comparing the proposed tool with the popular propriety tools available in the field. The results outline that the proposed system garners features of open-source tools and enriches them by introducing a state-of-the-art architecture coupled with multiple novel features like exhaustive identification of vulnerability and detection of network aberrations using timers.

Relative effectiveness of sunitinib versus everolimus in advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: an updated matching-adjusted indirect comparison.

AIM: A matching-adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC) of sunitinib and everolimus has been previously reported based on the RADIANT-3 everolimus trial. We performed an analysis using updated overall survival (OS) data based on sunitinib's trial (A6181111). METHODS: The MAIC matched on all baseline characteristics available from both studies. An anchored MAIC was performed for progression-free survival (PFS); an unanchored analysis was deemed more appropriate for OS due to crossover in both trials. A hazard ratio for sunitinib versus everolimus was derived from adjusted (weighted) sunitinib effects compared with the observed results for everolimus. RESULTS: The adjusted hazard ratio for sunitinib versus everolimus was 0.85 (0.39-1.89) for PFS and 0.82 (0.53-1.27) for OS. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate comparable PFS and OS with sunitinib and everolimus.

Development of Computer Algorithm for Editing of Next Generation Sequencing Metagenome Data.

The successful implementation of the advanced sequencing technology, the next generation sequencing (NGS) motivates scientists from diverse fields of biological research especially from genomics and transcriptomics in generating large genomic data set to make their analysis more robust and come up with strong inference. However, exploiting this huge genomic data set becomes a challenge for the molecular biologists. To corroborate this problem, computational software and hardware are being developed in parallel and become an integral part of life science. While executing the "Genomics project of Indian Drosophila species," we found strings of Ns in the whole genome sequences generated on Illumina platform. The present article aims at developing a computer algorithm (MATLAB and Python based) for editing raw sequences mainly eliminating bad residues before submitting to the publicly accessible sequence repository. These algorithms will be helpful to life scientists for analyzing large amount of biological data in short span of time.

Adherence beliefs among breast cancer patients taking tamoxifen.

Information about the reasons for non-adherence among breast cancer patients taking tamoxifen is essential for the development of interventions that may increase adherence. The present study investigated treatment experiences and perceptions among women taking tamoxifen and how these related to adherence behaviour. Hundred and ten women completed questionnaires including the Women's Health Questionnaire, Hot Flushes and Night Sweats Questionnaire, Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire and a self-report measure of adherence. Non-adherers were more likely to report a belief that there was nothing to be gained from taking tamoxifen whereas adherers were more likely to report that tamoxifen would stop them from developing breast cancer. The main reason for not taking tamoxifen was reported to be side effects. There were no differences between adherers with regard to the strategies used to remember to take tamoxifen or with regard to the time of day tamoxifen was taken. The results have implications for the role of health professionals in informing patients of the purpose of their treatment and for the development of symptom-management interventions for this patient group.

Menopausal symptoms in women with breast cancer: prevalence and treatment preferences.

Menopausal symptoms are common and problematic for women receiving adjuvant treatment for breast cancer and management presents a challenge. This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to investigate the experience of menopausal symptoms, current management and treatment preferences of 113 patients with breast cancer. These women (who were prescribed tamoxifen and were on average 3 years post-diagnosis) were recruited from a breast unit database. They completed the Hot Flush and Night Sweats Questionnaire (HFNSQ), the Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ) and subscales of the EORTC-QLQ-C30 and the BR23, as well as questions about treatments. Forty-four of this sample were also interviewed. The prevalence of hot flushes and night sweats was 80 and 72%, respectively (average 30 per week). Having more problematic hot flushes and night sweats were associated with more anxiety and sleep problems (WHQ), and with poorer emotional and social functioning and worse body image (EORTC-QLQ-C30). The women had used a range of treatments for menopausal symptoms but there was often no evidence for the efficacy for many of these treatments. Strongest preferences were for non-medical treatments, particularly vitamins and herbal remedies and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The evidence for the effectiveness of the former is weak, whereas CBT has been shown to reduce menopausal symptoms, but needs to be evaluated in a population of women who have been treated for breast cancer.