Subhash Bhalla

Semantic interoperability in standardized electronic health record databases

Different clinics and hospitals have their own information systems to maintain patient data. This hinders the exchange of data among systems (and organizations). Hence there is a need to provide standards for data exchange. In digitized form, the individual patients medical record can be stored, retrieved, and shared over a network through enhancement in information technology. Thus, electronic health records (EHRs) should be standardized, incorporating semantic interoperability. A subsequent step requires that healthcare professionals and patients get involved in using the EHRs, with the help of technological developments. This study aims to provide different approaches in understanding some current and challenging concepts in health informatics. Successful handling of these challenges will lead to improved quality in healthcare by reducing medical errors, decreasing costs, and enhancing patient care. The study is focused on the following goals: (1) understanding the role of EHRs; (2) understanding the need for standardization to improve quality; (3) establishing interoperability in maintaining EHRs; (4) examining a framework for standardization and interoperability (the openEHR architecture; (5) identifying the role of archetypes for knowledge-based systems; and (6) understanding the difficulties in querying HER data.

Deadlock prevention in a distributed database system

The distributed locking based approaches to concurrency control in a distributed database system, are prone to occurrence of deadlocks. An algorithm for deadlock prevention has been considered in this proposal. In this algorithm, a transaction is executed by forming wait for relations with other conflicting transactions. The technique for generation of this kind of precedence graph for transaction execution is analyzed. This approach is a fully distributed approach. The technique is free from deadlocks, avoids resubmission of transactions, and hence reduces processing delays within the distributed environment.

E-Learning Computational Cloud (eLC2): Web Services Platform to Enhance Task Collaboration

A significant proportion of e-Learning services are delivered through Cloud Computing. These use Web services as an interface integrator to support communication across heterogeneous platforms over internet protocols. Similarly, a high level of task collaboration is needed to form an e-Learning community. Therefore, we propose an e-Learning Computational Cloud (eLC2) based on the Model-View-Controller design patterns paradigm. The reusable task objects collaborate in a Model that is wrapped inside the reconfigurable Controller which transforms the request/response parameters of the end user View to that of the Model. The eLC2 offers software development platform for e-Learning Task Management. The main deliverable of eLC2 is a Task as a Service which is decoupled from View as well as user session maintenance. It is directly exposed to external the e-Learning Cloud for scalability.

Independent global snapshots in large distributed systems

Distributed systems depend on consistent global snapshots for process recovery and garbage collection activity. We provide exact conditions for an arbitrary checkpoint based on independent dependency tracking within clusters of nodes. The method permits nodes (within clusters) to independently compute dependency information based on available (local) information. The existing models of global snapshot computations provide the necessary and sufficient conditions. But, these require expensive global computations. The proposed computations can be performed by a node to identify existing global checkpoints. The nodes can also compute conditions to make a checkpoint, or conditions, such that a collection of checkpoints, can belong to a global snapshot.

A nonblocking transaction data flow graph based protocol for replicated databases

Replicated data management systems adopt the 1-copy serializability criteria for processing transactions. In order to achieve this goal, many approaches rely on obtaining votes from other sites for processing update requests. In the proposed approach, a technique for generation of precedence graphs for each transaction execution is analyzed. The transaction data flow graph approach is a fully distributed approach. The proposed technique, is free from deadlocks, and avoids resubmission of transactions. >

The Performance of an Efficient Distributed Synchronization and Recovery Algorithm

Concurrency control based on distributed locking introduces delays due to local processing and message communication. With improvements in processor speeds, there is a simultaneous increase in contrast, between these delays. In this study, a new approach has been proposed to reduce delays by enhancing local processing, and reducing the inter-site communication delays. The proposal presents an efficient synchronization algorithm for exchange of precedence in case of a conflict. The technique is efficient in global time-stamp management, and incurs a minimal overall synchronization overhead. A comparative analysis to study the advantages of this approach has shown favourable results. The proposed approach, enhances transaction concurrency and succeeds in lowering the number of inter-site messages.

Enterprise Service Bus dependency injection on MVC design patterns

Paper deals with the design issues of an e-Learning Computational System based on a Task Management Model. One of the main components of the proposed e-Learning Computational Cloud is the Controller acting as an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) for absolute Model abstraction from outside references. Simultaneously, View is completely decoupled from Model and ultimate privacy and security is achieved for the business data objects. This ESB bolstered with the Dependency Injection Pattern has reinforced protocol and message transformation, service loose coupling, global service contract, service implementation autonomy, service reusability, service modularity, statelessness and dynamic discoverability of the services. The ESB uses service virtualization that archives the services together as a single deployable unit which is managed by the Orchestration Engine as a central console. This allows the user to customize e-Learning Platforms by sourcing a diverse range of e-Learning services.

Query-by-object interface for dynamic access and information requirement elicitation

Information requirement elicitation (IRE) is essential in wireless Web service to elicit information requirements through interactive choice prompts. We present a high-level user interface for an IRE-enabled information system, in the context of database queries by a mobile Web user. The prototype is based on the notion of a query-by-object (QBO) approach of building a query using multiple user-level steps. The test prototype system uses the mobile information devices profile (MIDP) of the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME), for a wireless front end, and a Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) application server and an object-relational database management system (ORDBMS) at the back end. A sample set of dynamic queries demonstrates ease of use by the users.

Evolving a model of transaction management with embedded concurrency control for mobile database systems

Abstract Transactions within a mobile database management system face many restrictions. These cannot afford unlimited delays or participate in multiple retry attempts for execution. The proposed embedded concurrency control (ECC) techniques provide support on three counts, namely—to enhance concurrency, to overcome problems due to heterogeneity, and to allocate priority to transactions that originate from mobile hosts. These proposed ECC techniques can be used to enhance the server capabilities within a mobile database management system. Adoption of the techniques can be beneficial in general, and for other special cases of transaction management in distributed real-time database management systems. The proposed model can be applied to other similar problems related to synchronization, such as the generation of a backup copy of an operational database system.

Executing serializable transactions within a hard real-time database system

A number of factors contribute to delays in transaction execution. In a real-time database system, delays due to deadlocks, data accessing, and transaction commit must reduce to enable a transaction to complete successfully. In this report, a model of transaction execution is presented that permits execution and commit of any hard real-time transaction. The execution proceeds without the incidence of deadlock, or other blocking delays such as, due to denial of lock or commit approvals. The proposed technique is based on transaction classification and implementation of a precedence management scheme. The scheme provides an instantaneous execution opportunity to a serializable transaction within a hard real-time database system.