Control of Clinical Pathogens by the Haemolymph of Paratelphusa hydrodromous, a Freshwater Crab

In the present study, effort has been made to find the antimicrobial activity of haemolymph collected from freshwater crab, Paratelphusa hydrodromous. The haemolymph collected was tested for antimicrobial assay by disc diffusion method against clinical pathogens. Five bacterial species, namely, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and five fungal strains, namely and Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus sp., and Mucor sp., were selected for the study. The result shows a strong response of haemolymph against the clinical pathogens which confirms the immune mechanism of the freshwater crab

A Console GRID Leveraged Authentication and Key Agreement Mechanism for LTE/SAE

Growing popularity of multimedia applications, pervasive connectivity, higher bandwidth, and euphoric technology penetration among bulk of the human race that happens to be cellular technology users, has fueled the adaptation to long-term evolution (LTE)/system architecture evolution. The LTE fulfills the resource demands of the next generation applications for now. We identify security issues in authentication mechanism used in LTE that without countermeasures might give super user rights to unauthorized users. The LTE uses static LTE key to derive the entire key hierarchy, i.e., LTE follows Evolved Packet System–Authentication and Key Agreement based authentication, which discloses user identity, location, and other personally identifiable information. To counter this, we propose a public key cryptosystem named “International mobile subscriber identity Protected Console Grid based Authentication and Key Agreement (IPG-AKA) protocol” to address the vulnerabilities related to weak key management. From the data obtained from threat modeling and simulation results, we claim that the IPG-AKA scheme not only improves security of authentication procedures, but also shows improvements in authentication loads and reduction in key generation time. The empirical results and qualitative analysis presented in this paper prove that IPG-AKA improves security in authentication procedure and performance in the LTE

Humoral response to viral vector COVID-19 vaccine in hemodialysis patients

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine is not readily available in many countries where dosing interval is spaced more than ideal. Patients with chronic kidney disease, especially those on maintenance hemodialysis, have a tendency for a reduced immune response. This study was undertaken to demonstrate the distinct humoral immune response to the viral vector COVID-19 vaccine in patients with kidney failure receiving maintenance hemodialysis. Methods The study was carried out with two cohorts: 1) patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis and 2) healthcare workers from the same dialysis center as controls, each group with 72 subjects. Participants received a dose of Covishield ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 coronavirus vaccine. The humoral immunological response was determined using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay which quantitatively measures antibodies to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike protein receptor-binding domain. Results All study subjects in the control group developed a humoral response (antibody titer of ≥0.8 U/mL), while only 64 of 72 in the dialysis group (88.9%) were responders. Age (ρ = –0.234, p = 0.04) and sodium level (ρ = 0.237, p = 0.04) correlated with low antibody titer in bivariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, only age (odds ratio, 1.10; 95% confidence interval, 1.01–1.22; p = 0.045)was associated with nonresponders. Conclusion Our study demonstrated a weak antibody response of hemodialysis patients to the viral vector COVID-19 vaccine. Older age was associated with nonresponders. Evaluation of both humoral and cellular immunity after the second vaccine dose and serial antibody titers can help determine the need for booster shots

An optimal multitier resource allocation of cloud RAN in 5G using machine learning

The networks are evolving drastically since last few years in order to meetuser requirements. For example, the 5G is offering most of the available spec-trum under one umbrella. In this work, we will address the resource allocationproblem in fifth-generation (5G) networks, to be exact in the Cloud Radio AccessNetworks (C-RANs). The radio access network mechanisms involve multiplenetwork topologies that are isolated based on the spectrum bands and it shouldbe enhanced with numerous access technology in the deployment of 5G net-work. The C-RAN is one of the optimal technique to combine all the availablespectral bands. However, existing C-RAN mechanisms lacks the intelligence per-spective on choosing the spectral bands. Thus, C-RAN mechanism requires anadvanced tool to identify network topology to allocate the network resources forsubstantial traffic volumes. Therefore, there is a need to propose a frameworkthat handles spectral resources based on user requirements and network behav-ior. In this work, we introduced a new C-RAN architecture modified as multitierHeterogeneous Cloud Radio Access Networks in a 5G environment. This archi-tecture handles spectral resources efficiently. Based on the simulation analysis,the proposed multitier H-CRAN architecture with improved control unit innetwork management perspective enables augmented granularity, end-to-endoptimization, and guaranteed quality of service by 15 percentages over theexisting system

A Quantum Safe Key Hierarchy and Dynamic Security Association for LTE/SAE in 5G Scenario

Millions of devices are going to participate in 5G producing a huge space for security threats. The 5G specification goals require rigid and robust security protocol against such threats. Quantum cryptography is a recently emerged term in which we test the robustness of security protocols against Quantum computers. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a security protocol called Quantum Key GRID for Authentication and Key Agreement (QKG-AKA) scheme for the dynamic security association. This scheme is efficiently deployed in Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture without any significant modifications in the underlying base system. The proposed QKGAKA mechanism is analyzed for robustness and proven safe against quantum computers. The simulation results and performance analysis show drastic improvement regarding security and key management over existing schemes

A Multi-Site Randomized Trial of a Clinical Decision Support Intervention to Improve Problem List Completeness

OBJECTIVE: To improve problem list documentation and care quality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We developed algorithms to infer clinical problems a patient has that are not recorded on the coded problem list using structured data in the electronic health record (EHR) for 12 clinically significant heart, lung, and blood diseases. We also developed a clinical decision support (CDS) intervention which suggests adding missing problems to the problem list. We evaluated the intervention at 4 diverse healthcare systems using 3 different EHRs in a randomized trial using 3 predetermined outcome measures: alert acceptance, problem addition, and National Committee for Quality Assurance Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (NCQA HEDIS) clinical quality measures. RESULTS: There were 288 832 opportunities to add a problem in the intervention arm and the problem was added 63 777 times (acceptance rate 22.1%). The intervention arm had 4.6 times as many problems added as the control arm. There were no significant differences in any of the clinical quality measures. DISCUSSION: The CDS intervention was highly effective at improving problem list completeness. However, the improvement in problem list utilization was not associated with improvement in the quality measures. The lack of effect on quality measures suggests that problem list documentation is not directly associated with improvements in quality measured by National Committee for Quality Assurance Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (NCQA HEDIS) quality measures. However, improved problem list accuracy has other benefits, including clinical care, patient comprehension of health conditions, accurate CDS and population health, and for research. CONCLUSION: An EHR-embedded CDS intervention was effective at improving problem list completeness but was not associated with improvement in quality measures

A Comparative study on Efficacy of Microneedling Plus Subcision with and without 50% TCA Cross in Atrophic Acne Scars

BACKGROUND: Post acne atrophic scars are difficult to treat and varied in their scar morphology. Several treatment modalities have been described which are classified into energy based devices and non energy based.The demand for less invasive but highly effective treatment for scars is growing. OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed at assessing the efficacy of microneedling plus subcision with and without 50% TCA CROSS in atrophic acne scars. The objective is to perform microneedling plus subcision with 50% TCA CROSS in the study participants of one group and microneedling plus subcision in participants of another group, thereby assessing efficacy of combination modalities and added benefit of 50% TCA CROSS in atrophic acne scars. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty patients with Grade 2-4 atrophic acne scars(Goodman and Baron qualitative grading system) attending skin outpatient department of either sex, in age group 16-35 years were enrolled in the study and randomly divided into two groups. Thirty patients in group 1 were treated with Subcision plus 50% TCA CROSS at first visit, 6th and 12th week and Microneedling done at 3rd, 9th and 15th week. Similarly thirty patients in group 2 were treated with Subcision at first visit, 6th and 12th week and Microneedling done at 3rd , 9th and 15th week. Grading of acne scar photographs was done at baseline, at every sitting and 1 and 3 months after last procedure. Patient own evaluation of improvement was assessed. RESULTS: In both groups, all 12 patients with grade 2 improved to grade 1 (100% improvement). 14 patients in group 1 with grade 3 scars, 5 (35.7%) patients improved to grade 1 and 9 (64.3%) patients to grade 2. Out of 14 patients in group 2, 4 (30.7%) patients improved to grade 1 and 9 (69.3%) patients improved to grade 2. In patients with grade 4 scars, improvement to grade 2 is seen in 80% (8) and 75% (6) of patients in group 1 and 2 respectively. 2 patients in each groups with grade 4 scar show only one grade improvement. Eventhough there was significant improvement in scar grade in both groups before and after treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in scar grade improvement between two groups (P value > 0.005). CONCLUSION: The combination of microneedling and subcision with and without 50% TCA CROSS showed that combination therapy is effective in treating atrophic acne scars rather than unimodal therapy. But no stastical different seen between improvement in both groups,thus questioned the efficacy of 50% TCA CROSS in atrophic acne scars

Understanding Susceptibility to Social Engineering Attacks Through Online Privacy Behaviors

Human-based social engineering attacks continue to grow in popularity, with increasing numbers of cases reported yearly. This can be accredited to the ease with which common social engineering attacks can be launched, and the abundance of information available online that attackers can use against their targets. Current mitigative strategies and awareness trainings against social engineering attacks incorporate an understanding of the major factors that influence individual susceptibility to social engineering attacks. These strategies emphasize an engagement in secure behaviors and practices, especially with respect to identifying the key indicators in any form of communication or situation that can classify it as a social engineering attack. There is also an emphasis on restricting the amount of information that individuals should share about themselves in workplace settings. However, these approaches do not comprehensively consider the different intrinsic motivations that individuals develop to engage in the protective behaviors necessary to assure their safety against social engineering attacks, regardless of environment. Individual attitudes and behaviors about online privacy could hold the key to defending oneself by way of restricting unwarranted access to associated information online. Psychological traits and attitudes developed in response to the perception of social engineering as a threat could act as motivators for engaging in privacy protective behaviors, which in turn could affect the extent to which an individual can protect themselves from social engineering attacks. This thesis investigates the role of privacy protective behaviors in impacting an individual’s susceptibility to social engineering attacks and the impacts of specific privacy factors as motivating antecedents to engagement in privacy protective behaviors