Reversible Multiple Image Secret Sharing Using Discrete Haar Wavelet Transform

Multiple Secret Image Sharing scheme is a protected approach to transmit more than one secret image over a communication channel. Conventionally, only single secret image is shared over a channel at a time. But as technology grew up, there is a need to share more than one secret image. A fast (r, n) multiple secret image sharing scheme based on discrete haar wavelet transform has been proposed to encrypt m secret images into n noisy images that are stored over different servers. To recover m secret images r noise images are required. Haar Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is employed as reduction process of each secret image to its quarter size (i.e., LL subband). The LL subbands for all secrets have been combined in one secret that will be split later into r subblocks randomly using proposed high pseudo random generator. Finally, a developed (r, n) threshold multiple image secret sharing based one linear system has been used to generate unrelated shares. The experimental results showed that the generated shares are more secure and unrelated. The size reductions of generated shares were 1:4r of the size of each of original image. Also, the randomness test shows a good degree of randomness and security

Pricing of Exchange and Vulnerable Exchange option with Regime Switching

This thesis aims to price the exchange option in two different scenarios theoretically. First, we consider a continuous-time, finite-state regime-switching framework to price such an option under double regime-switching jump-diffusion models. We derive the characteristic function as a matrix exponential, which, using matrix notation, allows us to derive the compensators for the synchronous jumps and find the expected values for the price. Using a unit vector representation of the regime-switching process, we can simplify the calculation from a nonlinear function of the value of Markov chain $X_{t}$ into a linear function. Second, as this type of option is being traded in an over-the-counter market, which encounters default risk, we price them considering this risk; these are called defaultable claims, and these options are known as vulnerable options. In the literature, structural and reduced-form models are two models to price such an option. However, we choose the structural model as the reduced form model will never encounter the problem we are addressing in this thesis. The new idea we incorporate in the structural model is the incomplete information setup. We assume that the information about the firm value is only observable at specific times. This approach can be used to price risky debt, deal with the problem of credit spreads approaching zero as the risky bond approaches its maturity, and can be extended nicely to price any derivative; we also study the pricing of these under the regime-switching framework which surprisingly under this incomplete information idea looks like a problem that requires the synchronised jump methodology in deriving the characteristic function

Determination of IL-6 and CRP in Patients with Type Two - Diabetes Mellitus in Baghdad/ Iraq

يعد داء السكري ((DM Diabetes mellitus المعروف عالميا كمشكلة صحية الذي يؤدي الى الاعتلال و الموت . تتضمن الاضطرابات المناعية للمرض الاستجابة المناعية الخلوية للخلايا اللمفية T- cells التي تساهم في المسار الفسيولوجيPath physiological l لمرض السكري من النوع الثاني (Two- DM)  Diabetes   mellitus . شملت الدراسة (50) فرد تتراوح اعمارهم بين (15-85) سنة الذين حضروا الى مستشفى الكاظمية التعليمي في بغداد وقسمت الافراد الى مجموعتين الاولى تضمنت  (35) مريض  (20 انثى و 15 رجل) والمجموعة الثانية (15) فرد من الاصحاء  كسيطرة . تم فحص انترلوكين 6 - IL و البروتين الفعال C- ((CRP  لكل من مرضى السكري والاصحاء. فقد اشارت الدراسة بعدم وجود اختلاف معنوي(p≥0.05)  بين كل من CRP (-ve-) و CRP (+ve) في الدم السكري وكذلك بوجود اختلاف معنوي (p≥0.05)   في مستويات  الانترلوكين IL 6 - في المرضى السكري والأصحاء. لقد هدفت الدراسة تقييم ومقارنة انترلوكين 6-  ILو البروتين الفعال C- (CRP) في مرضى السكري في المرضى العراقيين في مدينة بغداد.Diabetes mellitus (DM) type Two is a major worldwide health problem leading to an increase mortality and serious morbidity. Immunological disturbances involving the cell mediated immune system and improper-lymphocyte function contributes to the path physiological of type Two- DM. The study consist of 50 subjects, ages ranging between (15-85) years who attended to Al-kazimaih medical hospital in Baghdad/Iraq which divided in to two groups; the first group consists 35 patient  (20 females and 15 male) and the second 15 (5 female and 10 males) normal healthy as a control. The patients with type Two -DM were detected for IL-6 and CRP markers so as for control by ELISA test and agglutination test respectively. The results revealed that’s no significant differences (p≥0.05) between the level of CRP in patients type Two- DM and level of CRP in control. So as there were significant differences (p≤0.05) between the levels of IL-6 concentrations in type Two- DM and control represented by increase of IL- 6 in control than in patients. This study aimed to assess and compare the level of serum IL-6 and CRP in patient of type Two- DM in Iraqi patients in Baghdad city

Image steganography using least significant bit and secret map techniques

In steganography, secret data are invisible in cover media, such as text, audio, video and image. Hence, attackers have no knowledge of the original message contained in the media or which algorithm is used to embed or extract such message. Image steganography is a branch of steganography in which secret data are hidden in host images. In this study, image steganography using least significant bit and secret map techniques is performed by applying 3D chaotic maps, namely, 3D Chebyshev and 3D logistic maps, to obtain high security. This technique is based on the concept of performing random insertion and selecting a pixel from a host image. The proposed algorithm is comprehensively evaluated on the basis of different criteria, such as correlation coefficient, information entropy, homogeneity, contrast, image, histogram, key sensitivity, hiding capacity, quality index, mean square error (MSE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and image fidelity. Results show that the proposed algorithm satisfies all the aforementioned criteria and is superior to other previous methods. Hence, it is efficient in hiding secret data and preserving the good visual quality of stego images. The proposed algorithm is resistant to different attacks, such as differential and statistical attacks, and yields good results in terms of key sensitivity, hiding capacity, quality index, MSE, PSNR and image fidelity

Evaluation of milk source on physicochemical, texture, rheological and sensory properties of yogurts

Yogurt is one of the world's most widely consumed dairy products and can be produced from different types of milk. The present research aimed to compare the effects of utilizing whole raw milk from  cattle viz. cows, buffaloes, sheep, and goats in four different milk-type yogurts, T1- cow’s milk (CM), T2- buffalo’s milk (BM), T3- sheep’s milk (SM), and T4- goat’s milk (GM) on their physicochemical, texture, rheological, and sensory qualities. The physiochemical testing included estimating pH, the percentages of moisture, fat, protein, ash, and total acidity, and the sensory assessment of the yogurt. The rheological tests also included the viscosity test, spontaneous whey separation, water-holding capacity, firmness, cohesiveness, and springiness. The results showed that T2- BM yogurt and T3- SM yogurt excelled in the percentage of fat, protein, lactose, and ash, where the ratio (4.35, 8.4, 4.70, 0.8) (5.55, 7.45, 4.80, 1.1) was for each of T2- BM yogurt and T3- SM yogurt respectively. The rheological properties were the spontaneous whey separation for each of T1-CM, T2-BM, T3-SM, T4-GM yogurt were 4.1, 2.2, 2.1 and 5.3, respectively, while the water holding capacity was 55, 60, 71 and 53 and the viscosity was 7000, 8900, 6700 and 1510 respectively. The results of the texture properties were 126.2, 199.5, 176.3, and 38.9 for firmness, while the cohesiveness values were 0.41, 0.63, 0.65, and 0.4, respectively. Finally, T2-BM and T3-SM yogurt excelled in the value obtained for sensory evaluation. The importance of the present study lies in the fact that milk with a high percentage of total solids gives good-quality yogurt

Study on the Effect of Annealing on Structural and SensingProperties of CdO Thin Films for (CO2 ,H2S) Gases

Cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films have been deposited by Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method by using cadmium acetate at concentration 0.03 M and based solution from ammonium hydroxide on glass substrate. The structural and sensing properties of the as -deposited and annealed films are studied in details. The XRD and AFM analysis for its structural characteristic has been preformed .The average grain size of deposited film are increased after annealing . The sensing properties also are calculated and it is found that the sensitivity are increasing after annealing, and for CO2 gas are better than the sensitivity for H2S gas . The I-V properties are calculated for the films before and after annealing for the two gases

Preparation, characterization, in vitro drug release and anti-inflammatory of thymoquinone-loaded chitosan nanocomposite

In this study, we formulated Thymoquinone-loaded nanocomposites (TQ-NCs) using high-pressure homogenizer without sodium tripolyphosphate. The TQ-NCs were characterized and their anti-inflammatory determined by the response of the LPS-stimulated macrophage RAW 264.7 cells in the production of nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1β. The physicochemical properties of TQ-NC were determined using different machines. TQ was fully incorporated in the highly thermal stable nanoparticles. The nanoparticles showed rapid release of TQ in the acidic medium of the gastric juice. In medium of pH 6.8, TQ-NC exhibited sustained release of TQ over a period of 100 h. The results suggest that TQ-NC nanoparticles have potential application as parenterally administered therapeutic compound. TQ-NC effectively reduce production of inflammatory cytokines by the LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, indicating that they have anti-inflammatory properties. In conclusion, TQ-NC nanoparticles have the characteristics of efficient carrier for TQ and an effective anti-inflammatory therapeutic compound.The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat