Abstract. Networking costs play an important role in the overall costs of a modern data center. Network power, for example, has been estimated at 10-20% of the overall data center power consumption. Traditional power saving techniques in data centers focus on server power reduction through Virtual Machine (VM) migration and server consolidation, without taking into account the network topology and the current network traffic. On the other hand, recent techniques to save network power have not yet utilized the various degrees of freedom that current and future data centers will soon provide. These include VM migration capabilities across the entire data center network, on demand routing through programmable control planes, and high bisection bandwidth networks. This paper presents VMFlow: a framework for placement and migration of VMs that takes into account both the network topology as well as network traffic demands, to meet the objective of network power reduction while satisfying as many network demands as possible. We present network power aware VM placement and demand routing as an optimization problem. We show that the problem is NP-complete, and present a fast heuristic for the same. Next, we present the design of a simulator that implements this heuristic and simulates its executions over a data center network with a CLOS topology. Our simulation results using real data center traces demonstrate that, by applying an intelligent VM placement heuristic, VMFlow can achieve 15-20% additional savings in network power while satisfying 5-6 times more network demands as compared to recently proposed techniques for saving network power.

Recent advances in microfluidics-based point-of-care testing (POCT) technology such as paper, array, and beads have shown promising results for diagnosing various infectious diseases. The fast and timely detection of viral infection has proven to be a critical step for deciding the therapeutic outcome in the current COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn not only enhances the patient survival rate but also reduces the disease-associated comorbidities. In the present scenario, rapid, noninvasive detection of the virus using low cost and high throughput microfluidics-based POCT devices embraces the advantages over existing diagnostic technologies, for which a centralized lab facility, expensive instruments, sample pretreatment, and skilled personnel are required. Microfluidic-based multiplexed POCT devices can be a boon for clinical diagnosis in developing countries that lacks a centralized health care system and resources. The microfluidic devices can be used for disease diagnosis and exploited for the development and testing of drug efficacy for disease treatment in model systems. The havoc created by the second wave of COVID-19 led several countries’ governments to the back front. The lack of diagnostic kits, medical devices, and human resources created a huge demand for a technology that can be remotely operated with single touch and data that can be analyzed on a phone. Recent advancements in information technology and the use of smartphones led to a paradigm shift in the development of diagnostic devices, which can be explored to deal with the current pandemic situation. This review sheds light on various approaches for the development of cost-effective microfluidics POCT devices. The successfully used microfluidic devices for COVID-19 detection under clinical settings along with their pros and cons have been discussed here. Further, the integration of microfluidic devices with smartphones and wireless network systems using the Internet-of-things will enable readers for manufacturing advanced POCT devices for remote disease management in low resource settings.

No abstract

Organ or cell transplantation is medically evaluated for end-stage failure saving or extending the lives of thousands of patients who are suffering from organ failure disorders. The unavailability of adequate organs for transplantation to meet the existing demand is a major challenge in the medical field. This led to day-day-increase in the number of patients on transplant waiting lists as well as in the number of patients dying while on the queue. Recently, technological advancements in the field of biogenerative engineering have the potential to regenerate tissues and, in some cases, create new tissues and organs. In this context, major advances and innovations are being made in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine which have a huge impact on the scientific community is three-dimensional bioprinting (3D bioprinting) of tissues and organs. Besides this, the decellularization of organs and using this as a scaffold for generating new organs through the recellularization process shows promising results. This review discussed about current approaches for tissue and organ engineering including methods of scaffold designing, recent advances in 3D bioprinting, organs regenerated successfully using 3D printing, and extended application of 3D bioprinting technique in the field of medicine. Besides this, information about commercially available 3D printers has also been included in this article. Lay SummaryToday's need for organs for the transplantation process in order to save a patient's life or to enhance the survival rate of diseased one is the prime concern among the scientific community. Recent, advances in the field of biogenerative engineering have the potential to regenerate tissues and create organs compatible with the patient's body. In this context, major advances and innovations are being made in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine which have a huge impact on the scientific community is three-dimensional bioprinting (3D bioprinting) of tissues and organs. Besides this, the decellularization of organs and using this as a scaffold for generating new organs through the recellularization process shows promising results. This review dealt with the current approaches for tissue and organ engineering including methods of scaffold designing, recent advances in 3D bioprinting, organs regenerated successfully using 3D printing, and extended application of 3D bioprinting technique in the field of medicine. Furthermore, information about commercially available 3D printers has also been included in this article.

No abstract