Beyond the Office Walls: Understanding Security and Shadow Security Behaviours in a Remote Work Context

Organisational security research has primarily focused on user security behaviour within workplace boundaries, examining behaviour that complies with security policies and behaviour that does not. Here, researchers identified shadow security behaviour: where security-conscious users apply their own security practices which are not in compliance with official security policy. Driven by the growth in remote work and the increasing diversity of remote working arrangements, our qualitative research study aims to investigate the nature of security behaviours within remote work settings. Using Grounded Theory, we interviewed 20 remote workers to explore security related practices within remote work. Our findings describe a model of personal security and how this interacts with an organisational security model in remote settings. We model how remote workers use an appraisal process to relate the personal and organisational security models, driving their security-related behaviours. Our model explains how different levels of alignment between the personal and organisational models can drive compliance, non-compliance, and shadow security behaviour in remote work settings. We discuss the implications of our findings for remote work security and highlight the importance of maintaining informal security communications for remote workers, homogenising security interactions, and adopting user experience design for remote work solutions

Bilateral simultaneous rotational ankle fractures: case series and literature review

Bilateral Simultaneous rotational ankle injuries are rare entities with little number of cases reported in literature. Unlike axial type ankle fractures, they tend to happen as a result of pivoting trauma on the supportive limb. We conducted a case series and literature review of patients who presented with simultaneous bilateral ankle injuries and discussed their presentation and imaging. A total of Four cases in our institute and 6 separate cases reported in literature were found who sustained bilateral simultaneous rotational ankle fractures. There were 10 cases, nine of which were simultaneous and symmetrical ankle injuries. Injuries found were; Maisonneuve fracture, Tillaux fracture, Syndesmotic injury, Lauge-Hansen’s supination external rotation (SER), pronation external rotation (PER), supination adduction (SAD), and pronation abduction (PA). Four cases were presented in our institute over the last 10 years. A single case was asymmetrical in nature given the presence of an associated distal tibial metaphyseal fracture. Bilateral rotational ankle injuries are rare entity presenting simultaneously unlike axial type ankle fractures. When they present, they are likely caused by higher mechanism of injury than typical unilateral rotational ankle fractures. SER injuries are the most commonly found mechanism in both unilateral and bilateral ankle injuries.

International Consensus Statement on Rhinology and Allergy: Rhinosinusitis

Background: The 5 years since the publication of the first International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Rhinosinusitis (ICAR‐RS) has witnessed foundational progress in our understanding and treatment of rhinologic disease. These advances are reflected within the more than 40 new topics covered within the ICAR‐RS‐2021 as well as updates to the original 140 topics. This executive summary consolidates the evidence‐based findings of the document. Methods: ICAR‐RS presents over 180 topics in the forms of evidence‐based reviews with recommendations (EBRRs), evidence‐based reviews, and literature reviews. The highest grade structured recommendations of the EBRR sections are summarized in this executive summary. Results: ICAR‐RS‐2021 covers 22 topics regarding the medical management of RS, which are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Additionally, 4 topics regarding the surgical management of RS are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Finally, a comprehensive evidence‐based management algorithm is provided. Conclusion: This ICAR‐RS‐2021 executive summary provides a compilation of the evidence‐based recommendations for medical and surgical treatment of the most common forms of RS

COVAC: A Blockchain-based COVID Testing and Vaccination Tracking System

Blockchain is an emerging technology based on a distributed digital ledger system. Decentralized trust is one of the key factors behind the blockchain-based system. The transparency of such a system is better than a conventional centralized ledger system. By using a blockchain-based transaction system, any business organization can harness key benefits like data integrity, confidentiality, and anonymity without involving any third party in control of the transactions. Since the blockchain is used in numerous applications, the horizon is expanding at an unprecedented pace. It was found that tracking COVID vaccination in a transparent and accountable way is an emerging need, especially after the pandemic outbreak around the world. The blockchain platform is a good match for such applications. In this study, a blockchain-based COVID-19 testing and vaccination tracking system, called COVAC, has been designed to manage the COVID testing and vaccination process for local organizations. The “Prototype Software Development" approach was used to determine the system requirements according to the practical knowledge obtained through the vaccine monitoring and screening tests process and then communicated with local healthcare facilities to determine whether these requirements were satisfied. The blockchain-based implementation ensured the system transparency, integrity, and security of data on COVID-19 testing and vaccinatio

Improved salt rejection, hydrophilicity and mechanical properties of novel thermoplastic polymer/chitosan nanofibre membranes

The present study reports on the preparation of novel nanofibre membranes from the thermoplastic polymer polyvinylidene fluoride coated with chitosan to enhance membrane properties such as hydrophilicity, mechanical properties, water flux and salt rejection. Initially, a supporting layer was produced from polyvinylidene fluoride using phase inversion methods, followed by being coated with chitosan using either electrospinning or immersion methods. Two types of fabricated membranes with different coating methods were characterized and tested for physical and chemical performance using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, tensile tests, permeation tests (water flux and salt rejection) and contact angle measurements. It was found that the support membrane (polyvinylidene fluoride) produced by the phase inversion method that was coated with chitosan using electrospinning showed better performance, with a salt rejection up to 70% for MgSO4, a decreased the contact angle (52°) and improved the elongation at the breaking point (~82%). </jats:p

Nasoseptal flap and rigid reconstruction in endoscopic endonasal skull base surgeries: The longitudinal experience of a single center

Background Recently, endoscopic endonasal approaches (EEA) have been used for skull base defect reconstruction surgeries. The nasoseptal flap (NSF), a vascular pedicled flap, was introduced to decrease postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage. Purposes This study aimed to outline the authors’ institutional experience using NSF and rigid implants in anterior skull base defect reconstruction surgeries following EEA. Design A retrospective cohort review of patients who underwent NSF reconstruction following EEA in the Otorhinolaryngology and Neurosurgery Departments at King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from January 2015 to May 2021, divided into 2 time periods according to the reconstruction technique. Result Out of the 106 patients who underwent EEA, 77 underwent NSF reconstruction. The majority had expanded EEA (94.8%). The mean age was 40.21 ± 17.7 years, and the female gender represented 61% of the sample. More than half of the sample underwent right NSF (57.1%). Meningioma was the most common diagnosis (45.5%). The clivus was the most frequent site of lesions (23.4%). The overall rate of postoperative CSF leakage and lumbar drainage (LD) insertion was 15.6% and 51.9%, respectively. The duration of LD was a median of four days. The overall failure rate was 13%, declining from 20% in the first period to 5.4% in the second period. Rigid implants were used significantly more in the first period than in the second period (67.5% versus 16.2%, P &lt; 0.001). Meningitis, the highest postoperative complication, was reported in 6 patients (7.8%). One patient died three weeks postoperatively after massive nasal bleeding. No significant difference was found between either side of the NFS regarding the CSF leakage and failure rate. Conclusion In the authors’ experience, there has been an overt decline in failure rates and complications of EEA over the last three years due to increased experience among surgeons and a standardization of reconstruction techniques. Minimal reconstruction may provide satisfactory results by decreasing the use of rigid implants. An endoscopic endonasal approach with an NSF for anterior skull base defect reconstruction is considered a safe procedure with no significant difference between the sides of the flap. </jats:sec