Ubiquitous healthcare profile management applying smart card technology

Nowadays, the patient-centric healthcare approach is focused on ubiquitous healthcare services. Furthermore, the adoption of cloud computing technology leads to more efficient ubiquitous healthcare systems. Moreover, the personalization of the delivery of ubiquitous healthcare services is enabled with the introduction of user profiles. In this paper, we propose five generic healthcare profile structures corresponding to the main categories of the participating entities included in a typical ubiquitous healthcare system in a cloud computing environment. In addition, we propose a profile management system incorporating smart card technology to increase its efficiency and the quality of the provided services of the ubiquitous healthcare system

A new framework for ubiquitous context-aware healthcare applications

Nowadays, there is a significant lack of generic application frameworks providing third party developers with the appropriate mechanisms for building ubiquitous contextaware healthcare applications over medical heterogeneous networks. In this paper, we propose a new framework integrating context-aware and security mechanisms with mechanisms that allow the ease exploitation of the core networks’ functionality to enable third party developers to build reliable and secure ubiquitous context-aware healthcare applications over medical heterogeneous networks

PKI security in large-scale healthcare networks

During the past few years a lot of PKI (Public Key Infrastructures) infrastructures have been proposed for healthcare networks in order to ensure secure communication services and exchange of data among healthcare professionals. However, there is a plethora of challenges in these healthcare PKI infrastructures. Especially, there are a lot of challenges for PKI infrastructures deployed over large-scale healthcare networks. In this paper, we propose a PKI infrastructure to ensure security in a large-scale Internet-based healthcare network connecting a wide spectrum of healthcare units geographically distributed within a wide region. Furthermore, the proposed PKI infrastructure facilitates the trust issues that arise in a large-scale healthcare network including multi-domain PKI infrastructures

A new framework architecture for next generation e-Health services

The challenge for fast and low-cost deployment of ubiquitous personalized e-Health services has prompted us to propose a new framework architecture for such services. We have studied the operational features and the environment of e-Health services and we led to a framework structure that extends the ETSI/Parlay architecture, which is used for the deployment of standardized services over the next generation IP networks. We expanded the ETSI/Parlay architecture with new service capability features as well as sensor, profiling and security mechanisms. The proposed framework assists the seamless integration, within the e-Health service structure, of diverse facilities provided by both the underlying communication and computing infrastructure as well as the patient's bio and context sensor networks. Finally, we demonstrate the deployment of a tele-monitoring service in smart home environment based on the proposed framework architecture

Upstream-binding factor is sequestered into herpes simplex virus type 1 replication compartments

Previous reports have shown that adenovirus recruits nucleolar protein upstream-binding factor (UBF) into adenovirus DNA replication centres. Here, we report that despite having a different mode of viral DNA replication, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) also recruits UBF into viral DNA replication centres. Moreover, as with adenovirus, enhanced green fluorescent protein-tagged fusion proteins of UBF inhibit viral DNA replication. We propose that UBF is recruited to the replication compartments to aid replication of HSV-1 DNA. In addition, this is a further example of the role of nucleolar components in viral life cycle

Effect of Electron Energy Distribution Function on Power Deposition and Plasma Density in an Inductively Coupled Discharge at Very Low Pressures

A self-consistent 1-D model was developed to study the effect of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) on power deposition and plasma density profiles in a planar inductively coupled plasma (ICP) in the non-local regime (pressure < 10 mTorr). The model consisted of three modules: (1) an electron energy distribution function (EEDF) module to compute the non-Maxwellian EEDF, (2) a non-local electron kinetics module to predict the non-local electron conductivity, RF current, electric field and power deposition profiles in the non-uniform plasma, and (3) a heavy species transport module to solve for the ion density and velocity profiles as well as the metastable density. Results using the non-Maxwellian EEDF model were compared with predictions using a Maxwellian EEDF, under otherwise identical conditions. The RF electric field, current, and power deposition profiles were different, especially at 1mTorr, for which the electron effective mean free path was larger than the skin depth. The plasma density predicted by the Maxwellian EEDF was up to 93% larger for the conditions examined. Thus, the non-Maxwellian EEDF must be accounted for in modeling ICPs at very low pressures.Comment: 19 pages submitted to Plasma Sources Sci. Techno

General insurance marketing: a review and future research agenda

The financial services sector is a huge and diverse industry comprising many different forms of organisations and product offerings. Yet, a review of past papers in the Journal of Financial Services Marketing (JFSM) reveals a heavy bias towards articles on banking, to the neglect of other equally important financial services categories. The purpose of this paper is to address this imbalance and to call for more research to be conducted in a wider range of financial services categories. In particular, general insurance is singled out as a category worthy of further research. Looking to the past, this paper reviews research published to-date on general insurance in the JFSM to establish a benchmark and explore theoretical contributions. Attention is then turned to the future to identify a research agenda for the general insurance sector going forward. 5 important themes are identified: trust, transparency and simplification, technology, HNW and Takaful

Occurrence of aflatoxins in milk and their effects on reproduction

Οι αφλατοξίνες είναι τοξικοί μεταβολίτες των μυκήτων Aspergillus flavus και Aspergillus parasiticus. Οι μύκητες αυτοί προσβάλλουν τις ζωοτροφές και κάτω από κατάλληλες συνθήκες παράγουν τις αφλατοξίνες (Β1, Β2, Gl, G2). Όταν οι τελευταίες καταναλωθούν από τα ζώα, προκύπτουν διάφορες παθολογικές καταστάσεις (αφλατοξινώσεις), με συμπτώματα που ποικίλλουν ανάλογα με το είδος του ζώου, την ηλικία, το βαθμό προσβολής της ζωοτροφής και την ποσότητα της προσλαμβανόμενης τροφής. Σήμερα, οι αφλατοξίνες απασχολούν όλο και περισσότεροτους ερευνητές, αφού προσβάλλουν σε σημαντικό βαθμό τις ζωοτροφές σε πολλά μέρη του κόσμου. Οι περιοχές με το μεγαλύτερο πρόβλημα είναι εκείνες με τροπικό ή υποτροπικό κλίμα, μιας και τα επίπεδα υγρασίας και θερμοκρασίας παίζουν σπουδαίο ρόλο στην ανάπτυξη των μυκήτων. Άμεση συνέπεια της λήψης αφλατοξίνης Β1 είναι η απέκκριση στο γάλα της αφλατοξίνης ΜΙ, μεταβολίτη της Β1. Η ΜΙ είναι δυνατό να ανιχνευθεί στο γάλακαι σε ορισμένες περιπτώσεις σε επίπεδα υψηλότερα από τα ανώτατα επιθυμητά όρια που ορίζει η νομοθεσία κάθε κράτους, καθιστώντας το γάλα ακατάλληλο για κατανάλωση. Πολλές είναι οι έρευνες που αναφέρονται στις επιδράσεις των αφλατοξινών στο αναπαραγωγικό σύστημα. Η γενετήσια ωριμότητα, η ανάπτυξη και ωρίμανση των ωοθυλακίων, τα επίπεδα των ορμονών, η κυοφορία, η ανάπτυξη του εμβρύου είναι μερικές από τις παραμέτρους που είναι δυνατό να επηρεαστούν από τις αφλατοξίνες. Σε ό,τι αφοράτο γεννητικό σύστημα του αρσενικού, οι περισσότερες αναφορές σχετίζονται με την πιθανή επίδραση των αφλατοξινών στο μέγεθος και στο βάρος των γεννητικών οργάνων, στη σπερματογένεση, στον αριθμό και στη μορφολογία των σπερματοζωαρίων, καθώς και στα επίπεδα των ορμονών.The aflatoxins are toxic metabolites of the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. These fungi invade the forages and under suitable conditions produce aflatoxins (Bl, B2, Gl, G2). The consumption of aflatoxins by the animals results in various pathological conditions (aflatoxicoses), with symptoms that vary depending on the species of animal, the age, the degree of forage invasion by the fungi and the quantity of the consumed feed. Nowadays, researchers pay more attention to the aflatoxins, because the latter do occur in many parts of the world. The regions more affected by aflatoxins are those with tropic or subtropic climate, since the levels of humidity and temperature play an important role in fungi's growth. The consumption of anatoxin Bl results in the excretion of aflatoxin Ml into the milk. Ml is one of Bl's metabolites and in some cases it is detected in concentrations higher than the maximum desirable limits fixed by each state, making the milk inappropriate for consumption. Furthermore, there are many reports about the effects of aflatoxins on the reproductive system. Sexual maturation, growth and maturation of the follicles, levels of hormones, gestation, growth of foetus are some of the parameters that are possibly influenced by aflatoxins. Regarding the genital system of male, most reports are related with the likely effect of aflatoxins on the size and weight of the genital organs, on spermatogenesis, on the number and morphology of spermatozoa, as well as on the levels of hormones

Integrity mechanism for eHealth tele-monitoring system in smart home environment

During the past few years, a lot of effort has been invested in research and development of eHealth telemonitoring systems that will provide many benefits for healthcare delivery from the healthcare provider to the patient’s home. However, there is a plethora of security requirements in eHealth tele-monitoring systems. Data integrity of the transferred medical data is one of the most important security requirements that should be satisfied in these systems, since medical information is extremely sensitive information, and even sometimes life threatening information. In this paper, we present a data integrity mechanism for eHealth tele-monitoring system that operates in a smart home environment. Agent technology is applied to achieve data integrity with the use of cryptographic smart cards. Furthermore, the overall security infrastructure and its various components are described