A review of privacy and security of edge computing in smart healthcare systems: issues, challenges, and research directions

The healthcare industry is rapidly adapting to new computing environments and technologies. With academics increasingly committed to developing and enhancing healthcare solutions that combine the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing, there is a greater need than ever to adequately monitor the data being acquired, shared, processed, and stored. The growth of cloud, IoT, and edge computing models presents severe data privacy concerns, especially in the healthcare sector. However, rigorous research to develop appropriate data privacy solutions in the healthcare sector is still lacking. This paper discusses the current state of privacy-preservation solutions in IoT and edge healthcare applications. It identifies the common strategies often used to include privacy by the intelligent edges and technologies in healthcare systems. Furthermore, the study addresses the technical complexity, efficacy, and sustainability limits of these methods. The study also highlights the privacy issues and current research directions that have driven the IoT and edge healthcare solutions, with which more insightful future applications are encouraged

The effect of cycling hypoxia on MCF-7 cancer stem cells and the impact of their microenvironment on angiogenesis using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) as a model

Background Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among females. Hypoxia mediates cancer hallmarks and results from reduced oxygen level due to irregularities in tumor vascularization or when the tumor size prevents oxygen diffusion and triggers angiogenesis to compensate for low oxygen. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a rare subpopulation, able to self-renew and to give rise to tumor-initiating cells. It is proposed that CSCs’ secretions help to recruit endothelial cells via angiogenic factors to establish tumor vascularization. In the tumor microenvironment, the effect of hypoxia on CSCs and the impact of their secretions on triggering angiogenesis and tumor vascularization remain questionable. In this study, three-dimensional (3D) CSCs derived from MCF-7 were directly exposed to repetitive long-term cycles of hypoxia to assess its effect on CSCs and then to evaluate the role of the hypoxic CSCs’ (CSCsHYP) secretions in angiogenesis using (HUVECs) as a model for tumor neovascularization response. Methods CSCs derived from MCF-7 cell-line were expanded under repetitive, strictly optimized, long-term/continuous and intermittent hypoxic shots for almost four months to assess hypoxic effect on CSCs, sorted based on CD44+/CD24− biomarkers. Hypoxic phenotype of CSCsHYP was evaluated by assessing the acquired chemoresistance using MTT assay and elevated stemness properties were assessed by flow cytometry. To evaluate the effect of the secretions from CSCsHYP on angiogenesis, HUVECs were exposed to CSCsHYP conditioned-medium (CdM)—in which CSCs had been previously grown—to mimic the tumor microenvironment and to assess the effect of the secretions from CSCsHYP on the HUVECs’ capability of tube formation, migration and wound healing. Additionally, co-culture of CSCsHYP with HUVECs was performed. Results CSCsHYP acquired higher chemoresistance, increased stemness properties and obtained greater propagation, migration, and wound healing capacities, when compared to CSCs in normoxic condition (CSCsNOR). HUVECs’ tube formation and migration abilities were mediated by hypoxic (CSCs) conditioned media (CdM). Discussion This study demonstrates that chemoresistant and migrational properties of CSCs are enhanced under hypoxia to a certain extent. The microenvironment of CSCsHYP contributes to tumor angiogenesis and migration. Hypoxia is a key player in tumor angiogenesis mediated by CSCs

On-demand fuzzy clustering and ant-colony optimisation based mobile data collection in wireless sensor network

In a wireless sensor network (WSN), sensor nodes collect data from the environment and transfer this data to an end user through multi-hop communication. This results in high energy dissipation of the devices. Thus, balancing of energy consumption is a major concern in such kind of network. Appropriate cluster head (CH) selection may provide to be an efficient way to reduce the energy dissipation and prolonging the network lifetime in WSN. This paper has adopted the concept of fuzzy if-then rules to choose the cluster head based on certain fuzzy descriptors. To optimise the fuzzy membership functions, Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) has been used to improve their ranges. Moreover, recent study has confirmed that the introduction of a mobile collector in a network which collects data through short-range communications also aids in high energy conservation. In this work, the network is divided into clusters and a mobile collector starts from the static sink or base station and moves through each of these clusters and collect data from the chosen cluster heads in a single-hop fashion. Mobility based on Ant-Colony Optimisation (ACO) has already proven to be an efficient method which is utilised in this work. Additionally, instead of performing clustering in every round, CH is selected on demand. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been compared with some existing clustering algorithms. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol is more energy-efficient and provides better packet delivery ratio as compared to the existing protocols for data collection obtained through Matlab Simulations

Amiodarone Induced Myxedema Coma: Two Case Reports and Literature Review

Amiodarone is a benzofuran derivative that contains 37% iodine by weight and is structurally similar to the thyroid hormones. Amiodarone has a complex effect on the thyroid gland, ranging from abnormalities of thyroid function tests to overt thyroid dysfunction, with either thyrotoxicosis or hypothyroidism. Myxedema coma secondary to amiodarone use has been rarely reported in the literature. Our two case reports are an add on to the literature, and illustrate that amiodarone is an important cause of thyroid dysfunction including hypothyroidism and myxedema coma. Hence, healthcare providers should have a high index of suspicion for these conditions while treating patients who are taking amiodarone therapy as early recognition and management are essential to optimize outcomes

Right Atrial Fibroelastoma Presenting as Typical Atrial Flutter: Rare Disease in Unusual Location

Typical atrial flutter as initial presentation of papillary fibroelastoma involving the cavotricuspid isthmus is not described before in literature. To our knowledge only 14 cases have been reported in literature involving the right atrium. Very unusual location is at the junction between inferior vena cava (IVC) and right atria as only 1 case has been reported

Characterization of the biological effect of BiodentineTM on primary dental pulp stem cells

Background: Biodentine™ is relatively a new tricalcium silicate cement that has gained great attention of the researchers due to its biological potential in comparison with other materials. The aim of this study was to investigate the optimum concentrations of Biodentine in relation to its stimulatory or inhibitory effect on proliferation, migration and adhesion of stem cells of human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED). The cell cultures of SHED were treated with Biodentine™ extract at four different concentrations; 20mg/ml, 2mg/ml, 0.2mg/ml and 0.02mg/ml. Cells cultured without Biodentine™ were kept as a blank control. The proliferation potential of SHED cells was evaluated by MTT viability analysis for 6 days. Migration potential was investigated by wound healing and transwell migration assays. The growth, survival and communication potential of these cells was determined by Adhesion assay. Results: A significant increase was observed in the proliferation and migration of SHED at (2mg/ml, 0.2mg/ml and 0.02mg/ml) while higher concentration of Biodentine™ (20mg/ml) exhibited cytotoxic effect on the cells. However, three tested Biodentine™ concentrations were similar in effect (non-significant) to adhesion ability of cells when compared with blank control. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that lower concentrations of Biodentine™ can be considered as the optimum concentrations to enhance the stimulatory effect of Biodentine on SHED