Smart hospital emergency system via mobile-based requesting services

In recent years, the UK’s emergency call and response has shown elements of great strain as of today. The strain on emergency call systems estimated by a 9 million calls (including both landline and mobile) made in 2014 alone. Coupled with an increasing population and cuts in government funding, this has resulted in lower percentages of emergency response vehicles at hand and longer response times. In this paper, we highlight the main challenges of emergency services and overview of previous solutions. In addition, we propose a new system call Smart Hospital Emergency System (SHES). The main aim of SHES is to save lives through improving communications between patient and emergency services. Utilising the latest of technologies and algorithms within SHES is aiming to increase emergency communication throughput, while reducing emergency call systems issues and making the process of emergency response more efficient. Utilising health data held within a personal smartphone, and internal tracked data (GPU, Accelerometer, Gyroscope etc.), SHES aims to process the mentioned data efficiently, and securely, through automatic communications with emergency services, ultimately reducing communication bottlenecks. Live video-streaming through real-time video communication protocols is also a focus of SHES to improve initial communications between emergency services and patients. A prototype of this system has been developed. The system has been evaluated by a preliminary usability, reliability, and communication performance study

Credit Card Security System and Fraud Detection Algorithm

Credit card fraud is one of the most critical threats affecting individuals and companies worldwide, particularly with the growing number of financial transactions involving credit cards every day. The most common threats are likely to come from database breaches and identity theft. All these threats threat put the security of financial transactions at severe risk and require a fundamental solution. This dissertation aims to suggest a secure online payment system that significantly improves credit card security. Our system can be particularly resilient to potential cyber-attacks, unauthorized users, man-in-the-middle, and guessing attacks for credit card number generation or illegal financial activities by utilizing a secure communication channel between the cardholder and server. Our system uses a shared secret and a verification token that allow both sides to communicate through encrypted information. Furthermore, our system is designed to generate a one-time credit card number at the user’s machine that is verified by the server without sharing the credit card number over the network. Our approach combines the machine learning (ML) algorithms with unique temporary credit card numbers in one integrated system, which is the first approach in the online credit card protection system. The new security system generates a one-time-use credit card number for each transaction with a predetermined amount of money. Simultaneously, the system can detect potential fraud utilizing ML algorithm with new critical features such as the IMEI or I.P. address, the transaction’s location, and other features. The contribution of this research is two-fold: (1) a method is proposed to generate a unique, authenticatable one-time credit card number to effectively defend against the database breaches, and (2) a credit card fraud prevention system is proposed with multiple security layers that are achieved by the integration of authentication, ML-based fraud detection, and the one-time credit card number generation. The dissertation improves consumers’ trust and confidence in the credit card system’s security and enhances satisfaction with credit cards’ various financial transactions. Further, the system uses the current online credit card infrastructure; hence it can be implemented without tangible infrastructure cost

Evaluation of the System of Disaster Management Resulting from War Operations and Terrorism in Iraq

Nowadays the science of disaster and crisis management is considered as one of the important sciences all over the world. Therefore, disaster management is considered an important and common subject that requires great efforts. So continuous research is one of the important ways to establish the best methods to evaluate and develop the management of disasters and crises. Such methods are appropriate to deal with the suffering that many countries experience from natural and environmental disasters from time to time. This research aims to show the significance of disaster and crisis management in general. It also explores the current situation related to disaster response management in Iraq. This exploration focuses on the achievement of the basic functions of the management operation (planning, organizing, directing, controlling). In addition, it identifies the weaknesses and the strengths of the current administrative system in all its elements and analyses all the problems and the defects in every element, in order to treat and solve these problems and defects by making recommendations to improve the immediate response system to serve Iraqi disaster management in the future. In order to satisfy this aim, data collection included information obtained from literatures relating to disaster and crisis management. In addition, other information was obtained from a field survey of the directories of the civil defence in Iraq. Furthermore, collective and personal interviews with specialists related to disasters and crisis resulting from the war operations and terrorism were conducted. Analysis of the data results revealed many weak points in the current system and this was confirmed by the field survey. It showed us more clearly the areas where the weak points appear in the management function, especially in the planning and organization functions. One of the most important weak points is the absence of heavy equipment, as well as the shortage of specialist engineering staff and a dependence on assistance from other service departments. This is because of the local roles and the departmental management in the government. Finally, the study reached a set of conclusions and recommendations, including providing the directories of the civil defence with the heavy rescue equipment and providing specialist trained engineering staff to deal with the disasters and crises. Moreover, it sets in place an incentive scheme for the related members of the directories of the civil defence. Such schemes encourage them to continue working to face the unnatural circumstances that Iraq is experiencing and to create an environment similar to that of developed countries in the world. This contributes to overcoming the disasters of all shapes and reduces the damage to lives and property

Explaining Subjective Risks of Hurricanes and the Role of Risks in Intended Moving and Location Choice Models

In this manuscript we report on findings from a quasi-field experiment of a small group of subjects displaced by the 2005 hurricanes, Katrina and Rita. The sampled group, though small, is remarkable in that they all were deeply and personally affected by the hurricanes. All of the people in our sample evacuated from their homes and were still away months after the hurricane. The homes of a majority of the sample were severely damaged and almost a third of the sample lost a family member in the hurricane. Our research evaluates the risk perceptions and explains stated intentions to move back to the area they left during the hurricanes, as well as location choices presented to each subject in a stated choice experiment

A typing scheme for neisseria gonorrhoeae

Strathclyde theses - ask staff. Thesis no. : T3809Growth of gonococci in vitro was studied during an attempt to find a typing scheme for epidemiological purposes. Many strains were found to be capable of remaining viable for several weeks in a liquid medium formulated particularly to prolong survival in laboratory cultures. Gonococcal strains were found to survive even longer when they were kept in liquid culture media at 30°C which is known to be their minimal growth temperature. The feasibility of using gonococcal bacteriocins (the gonocins) in typing gonococci was investigated, and was found to be impracticable, because some inhibitory short-chain fatty acids were observed to interfere with, and to dominate, the inhibitory activity of gonocins. These fatty acids were found by gas-liquid chromatographic analysis mainly to be acetic acid and isovaleric acid. When these two acids were added to uninoculated media in concentrations equivalent to what was produced during the metabolic activity of gonococci, some gonococcal strains were inhibited on that media. The Colicins of Shigella sonnei were found to be possible substitutes for gonocins. Ten Colicin Type strains inhibited gonococci selectively. Thus it was possible to divide ninety two strains into groups on the basis of their sensitivity to the colicins. Certain limitations made it difficult to evaluate this typing scheme fully. Yet some indication was given that it could be a useful tool for epidemiological studies. In spite of the high stability of colicinogeny of Shigella sonnei strains, some inhibitory by-products might accumulate in the medium when the Colicin Type strains were incubated for four days. In this way the inhibitory activity of colicins against gonococci might increase. But by gas-liquid chromatographic analysis it was found that the by-products, namely acetic and propionic acids, which were produced after incubating the Colicin Type strains for one day were not adequate to cause misinterpretation of the activity of colicins. These by-products however, might accumulate after prolonged incubation and reach an inhibitory concentration which interfered with the colicin activity. It was demonstrated that Colicin Type strains used in the typing scheme should be incubated for not longer than one day.Growth of gonococci in vitro was studied during an attempt to find a typing scheme for epidemiological purposes. Many strains were found to be capable of remaining viable for several weeks in a liquid medium formulated particularly to prolong survival in laboratory cultures. Gonococcal strains were found to survive even longer when they were kept in liquid culture media at 30°C which is known to be their minimal growth temperature. The feasibility of using gonococcal bacteriocins (the gonocins) in typing gonococci was investigated, and was found to be impracticable, because some inhibitory short-chain fatty acids were observed to interfere with, and to dominate, the inhibitory activity of gonocins. These fatty acids were found by gas-liquid chromatographic analysis mainly to be acetic acid and isovaleric acid. When these two acids were added to uninoculated media in concentrations equivalent to what was produced during the metabolic activity of gonococci, some gonococcal strains were inhibited on that media. The Colicins of Shigella sonnei were found to be possible substitutes for gonocins. Ten Colicin Type strains inhibited gonococci selectively. Thus it was possible to divide ninety two strains into groups on the basis of their sensitivity to the colicins. Certain limitations made it difficult to evaluate this typing scheme fully. Yet some indication was given that it could be a useful tool for epidemiological studies. In spite of the high stability of colicinogeny of Shigella sonnei strains, some inhibitory by-products might accumulate in the medium when the Colicin Type strains were incubated for four days. In this way the inhibitory activity of colicins against gonococci might increase. But by gas-liquid chromatographic analysis it was found that the by-products, namely acetic and propionic acids, which were produced after incubating the Colicin Type strains for one day were not adequate to cause misinterpretation of the activity of colicins. These by-products however, might accumulate after prolonged incubation and reach an inhibitory concentration which interfered with the colicin activity. It was demonstrated that Colicin Type strains used in the typing scheme should be incubated for not longer than one day

Synthesis and Coordination Chemistry of Oxygen Rich Ligands: Bis(oxoimidazolyl)hydroborato, Tris(oxoimidazolyl)hydroborato and Tris(2-pyridonyl)methane

In Chapter One, the sodium salt of tris (2-oxo-1-t-butylimidazolyl) hydroborate, [Toᴮᵘᵗ]Na, as an [O₃] donor ligand has been prepared. The yield for this reaction was low because there is a significant amount of side product in which the double bond of the oxoimidazole starting material is reduced. Treatment of sodium borohydride with bezannulated oxoimidazole at high temperature leads to the generation of the sodium salt of tris (2-oxo-1-R-methylbenimidazolyl) hydroborate in high yield, [Toᴿᴮᵉⁿᶻ]Na. These ligands have been prepared with different alkyl substituents, methyl, t-butyl and adamantyl, to achieve the desired steric environment. Furthermore, these benzannulated ligand have been used to synthesize a series [Toᴿᴮᵉⁿᶻ]Tl complexes, which exist as a discrete mononuclear complexes in the solid state. Finally, [Toᴿᴮᵉⁿᶻ]Tl complexes are more pyramidal than the sulfur counterpart, [Tmᴿᴮᵉⁿᶻ]Tl, but less pyramidal than those in the tris (pyrazolyl)hydroborato counterpart, [Tpᴿᴿ]Tl. In Chapter Two, the properties of [Toᴿ] ligands have been evaluated versus related L₂X ligands. [Toᴿ] ligands are substantially more sterically demanding than the corresponding [Tmᴿ] sulfur donor ligand and related [O₃] donor ligands. However, electronically, the [Toᴿ] ligands exhibit weaker electron donating properties than other L₂X type ligands. Finally, the coordination chemistry of [Toᴿ] ligands with various metal compounds has been briefly investigated. The synthesis of a new class of bidentate ligands has been detailed in Chapter Three. Namely the bis(2-oxo-1-t-butylimidazolyl)hydroborato and bis (2-oxo-1-alkylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato, [Boᴮᵘᵗ] and [Boᴿᴮᵉⁿᶻ], have been synthesized via the reaction of MBH₄ with two equivalents of the respective 2-imidazolone. Chelation of [Boᴮᵘᵗ] and [BoᴹᵉBenz] to a metal center results in a flexible 8-membered ring that is capable of adopting a "boat-like" conformation that allows for secondary M••• H—B interactions. Chapter Four describes the synthesis of [Boᴿᴮᵉⁿᶻ]₂Zr(CH₂Ph)₂ and [Toᴿᴮᵉⁿᶻ]Zr(CH₂Ph)₃ with different alkyl substituents. Treatment of [Toᴮᵘᵗᴮᵉⁿᶻ]Zr(CH₂Ph)₃ with ([PhNHMe₂][B{C₆F₅)₄]) in a coordinating solvent, Et₂O, generates {[Toᴮᵘᵗᴮᵉⁿᶻ]Zr(CH₂Ph)₂(OEt₂)}{B(C₆F₅)₄} which exhibit a very low activity for ethylene polymerization. However, a coordinatively unsaturated cationic zirconium alkyl complex was obtained by the treatment of ([PhNHMe₂][B{C₆F₅)₄]) with [Toᴮᵘᵗᴮᵉⁿᶻ]Zr(CH₂Ph)₃ or [Toᴬᵈᴮᵉⁿᶻ]Zr(CH₂Ph)₃ which generate [Toᴮᵘᵗᴮᵉⁿᶻ]Zr(CH₂Ph)₂[B(C₆F₅)₄ or [Toᴬᵈᴮᵉⁿᶻ]Zr(CH₂Ph)₂[B(C₆F₅)₄], respectively. Moderate activity for ethylene polymerization was obtained for t-butyl while high activity was obtained for the adamantyl derivatives. Finally, Chapter Five describes the synthesis of new oxygen-rich ligands, namely tris (2-pyridonyl)methane, [Tpomᴿ]H. They are obtained via the reaction of 2-pyridones with CHX₃ and K₂CO₃ in the presence of [Buⁿ₄N]Br, followed by acid-catalyzed isomerization with camphorsulfonic acid. These compounds provide access to a new class of L₃X alkyl ligands that feature oxygen donors and are capable of forming metallacarbatranes, as exemplified by [Κ⁴-Tpomᴮᵘᵗ]ZnOC₆H₄Buᵗ. In addition, the [Tpomᴮᵘᵗ] ligand also allows isolation of a monovalent thallium alkyl compound, [Tpomᴮᵘᵗ]Tl, in which the Tl—C bond is long and has little covalent character

Induction Assisted Single Point Incremental Forming of Advanced High Strength Steels

Induction Assisted Single Point Incremental Forming (IASPIF) is a die-less hot sheet metal forming. The IASPIF does not apply characteristic complex tooling like those applied in deep drawing and bending. In this thesis, induction heating was used to heat up the sheet while simultaneously forming with a tool. The research goal is to improve the formability of high strength steels by heating. The IASPIF consists of non-complicated set up that allows induction heating to be utilized through the coil inductor moved under the sheet and synchronized with the forming tool that moves on the upper side of the sheet. The advanced high strength steel alloys, DP980, DP600 and 22MnB5 steels, were investigated. The influence of induction heating on formability was evaluated by the maximum wall angle that can be achieved in a single pass. Additionally, tool diameter and tool feed rate was also varied. The most influencing parameters were tool feed rate, induction power, and the profile depth. A new forming strategy was also developed by control the heating temperature through coupling the formed profile depth with a successively increased tool feed rate. The forming forces of DP980 steel sheet, were reduced from 7 kN to 2.5 kN when forming process was performed at room and elevated temperature, respectively. Stretching stresses were developed during forming process causing a high reduction in the resulting wall part thickness. New findings in this investigation were the reverse relationship between the step-down depth and the thickness reduction percentage. The smaller the tool diameter, the better was the formability. The finite element simulation of the investigated forming process showed that the increase in heating temperature has a direct effect on rising the plastic strain from 0.2 at room temperature to 1.02 at 800 ◦ C. The maximum true strain achieved in the resulting wall part thickness was determined by FEM simulations and validated with experimental trials. The part shape accuracy was measured and the highest deflection was founded when the part was formed by the highest step-down depth. Moreover, the minimum deflection in the part shape was achieved by utilizing a high induction power in the experiments. Finally, the resulting mechanical properties of the 22MnB5 alloy sheet material were tailored during IASPIF. For this purpose, the sheets were locally heated by induction during the forming process and subsequently quenched at different rates. As a result, the produced tailored parts consist of three different regions, which consist of a ductile, transitional and hardened region. The proposed procedure allows forming and quenching at the same time without transfer and thus, process time was reduced.Die induktionsgestützte, inkrementelle Blechumformung (englisch: Induction Assisted Single-Point Incremental Forming IASPIF) ist Warmumformprozess, bei dem keine komplexen Werkzeuge wie beim Tiefziehen und Biegen benötigt werden. Inhalt dieser Arbeit ist die inkrementelle Umformung eines Bleches mit gleichzeitig ablaufender induktiver Erwärmung. Das Forschungsziel bestand in der Verbesserung der Umformbarkeit von hochfesten Stahlwerkstoffen wie DP600, DP980 und 22MnB5 durch eine gezielte partielle Erwärmung. Der prinzipielle Aufbau des Versuchsstandes besteht aus einem Spuleninduktor, der unterhalb des umzuformenden Blechs platziert ist, und der synchron mit dem Werkzeug – einem Drückdorn – während des Umformvorganges verfährt. Ein wesentlicher Untersuchungsschwerpunkt bestand in der Ermittlung der Einflussgrößen auf den untersuchten IASPIF-Prozess. Für die Bewertung der Umformbarkeit wurden hierbei der maximal erreichbare Teilwandwinkel und die Profiltiefe, die in einem Umformdurchgang herstellbar waren, ermittelt und ausgewertet. Darüber hinaus konnten im Rahmen der Arbeit die Induktionsleistung des Generators, der Werkzeugdurchmesser und die Werkzeugvorschubgeschwindigkeit als relevante Prozessparameter identifiziert werden. Im Ergebnis der durchgeführten Untersuchungen zeigten die Werkzeugvorschubgeschwindigkeit und die Induktionsleistung einen wesentlichen Einfluss auf die erreichbare Profiltiefe. Aufbauend auf den erzielten Ergebnissen konnte eine prozessangepasste Umformstrategie entwickelt werden, bei der eine konstante Erwärmungstemperatur durch das Koppeln der momentanen Profiltiefe mit einer sukzessiv steigenden Werkzeugvorschubgeschwindigkeit erreicht wird. Weiterhin ließen sich die Kräfte bei der Umformung eines Stahlbleches aus DP980 von 7 kN (bei Raumtemperatur) auf 2,5 kN (bei erhöhter Temperatur) reduzieren. Aufgrund des mit einem Streckziehvorgang vergleichbaren Spannungszustandes während des Umformprozesses war eine starke Verringerung der resultierenden Wanddicke zu beobachten. Als neue Erkenntnis in dieser Untersuchung konnte die umgekehrte Beziehung zwischen der Zustelltiefe und dem Dickenreduktionsprozentsatz abgleitet werden. Aus der Finite - Elemente - Simulation des vorgestellten Umformprozesses wurde erkennbar, dass die Erhöhung der Erwärmungstemperatur einen direkten Einfluss auf die plastische Dehnung von 0,2 (bei Raumtemperatur) auf 1,02 (bei 800 °C) hat. Mittels der numerischen Simulation und der nachfolgenden experimentellen Validierung erfolgte darüber hinaus die Bestimmung der maximalen wahren Dehnung, die in der resultierenden Wanddicke erreicht wurde. Bei den Versuchen mit der größten Zustellung ließ sich durch die Bestimmung der Teileformgenauigkeit die höchste Abweichung von der Sollgeometrie CAD Modell feststellen. Abschließend wurde nachgewiesen, dass der IASPIF Prozess auch zur Einstellung maßgeschneiderter Bauteileigenschaften wie der resultierenden mechanischen Eigenschaften des Blechmaterials aus 22MnB5 einsetzbar ist. Zu diesem Zweck wurden die Bleche während des Umformprozesses lokal induktiv erwärmt und anschließend zur Einstellung des gewünschten Gefüges bei unterschiedlichen Abkühlgeschwindigkeiten abgeschreckt