208 research outputs found
Privacy enhanced interface identifiers in IPv6
The Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPV6) proposed to
replace IPV4 to solve scalability challenges and improve
quality of service and security. Current implementation of IPv6
uses static value that is determined from the Media Access
Control (MAC) address as the Interface Identifier (IID). This
results in a deterministic IID for each user that is the same
regardless of any network changes. This provides an
eavesdropper with the ability to easily track the physical
location of the communicating nodes using simple tools, such
as ping and traceroute. Moreover, this address generation
method provides a means to correlate network traffic with a
specific user which can be achieved by filtering the IID and
traffic analysis. These serious privacy breaches need to be
addressed before widespread deployment of IPv6. In this paper
we propose a privacy-enhanced method for generating IID
which combines different network parameters. The proposed
method generates non-deterministic IIDs that is resistance
against correlation attack. We validate our approach using
Wireshark, ping and traceroute tools and show that our
proposed approach achieves better privacy compared to the
existing IID generation methods
Integration of blockchain with connected and autonomous vehicles : vision and challenge
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) are introduced to improve individuals’ quality of life by offering a wide range of services.
They collect a huge amount of data and exchange them with each other and the infrastructure. The collected data usually includes
sensitive information about the users and the surrounding environment. Therefore, data security and privacy are among the main
challenges in this industry. Blockchain, an emerging distributed ledger, has been considered by the research community as a potential
solution for enhancing data security, integrity and transparency in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). However, despite the
emphasis of governments on the transparency of personal data protection practices, CAV stakeholders have not been successful in
communicating appropriate information with the end-users regarding the procedure of collecting, storing and processing their personal
data, as well as the data ownership. This paper provides a vision of the opportunities and challenges of adopting blockchain in ITS from
the “data transparency" and “privacy" perspective. The main aim is to answer the following questions: (1) Considering the amount of
personal data collected by the CAVs, such as location, how the integration of blockchain technology would affect transparency, fairness
and lawfulness of personal data processing concerning the data subjects (as this is one of the main principles in the existing data
protection regulations)? (2) How the trade-off between transparency and privacy can be addressed in blockchain-based ITS use cases
Design and synthesis of non-peptide mimetics mapping the immunodominant myelin basic protein (MBP83–96) Epitope to function as T-cell receptor antagonists
Encephalitogenic T cells are heavily implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Their stimulation is triggered by the formation of a trimolecular complex between the human leukocyte antigen (HLA), an immunodominant myelin basic protein (MBP) epitope, and the T cell receptor (TCR). We detail herein our studies directed towards the rational design and synthesis of non-peptide mimetic molecules, based on the immunodominant MBP83–96 epitope that is recognized by the TCR in complex with HLA. We focused our attention on the inhibition of the trimolecular complex formation and consequently the inhibition of proliferation of activated T cells. A structure-based pharmacophore model was generated, in view of the interactions between the TCR and the HLA-MBP83–96 complex. As a result, new candidate molecules were designed based on lead compounds obtained through the ZINC database. Moreover, semi-empirical and density functional theory methods were applied for the prediction of the binding energy between the proposed non-peptide mimetics and the TCR. We synthesized six molecules that were further evaluated in vitro as TCR antagonists. Analogues 15 and 16 were able to inhibit to some extent the stimulation of T cells by the immunodominant MBP83–99 peptide from immunized mice. Inhibition was followed to a lesser degree by analogues 17 and 18 and then by analogue 19. These studies show that lead compounds 15 and 16 may be used for immunotherapy against MS
Evaluation of service quality from patients' viewpoint
Background: Measuring patients' perception from health service quality as an important element in the assessment of service quality has attracted much attention in recent years. Therefore, this study was conducted to find out how the patients evaluated service quality of clinics at teaching hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehran in 2017 and 400 patients were randomly selected from four hospitals. Data were collected using a questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were confirmed in previous study. In order to analyze the data, T-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient were calculated using SPSS 23. Results: The results indicated that among eight dimensions of health service quality, the patients were more satisfied with physician consultation, services costs and admission process. The highest and lowest mean scores were related to physician consultation (Mean = 4.17), and waiting time (Mean = 2.64), in that order. The total mean score of service quality was 3.73 (± 0.51) out of 5. Outpatient services were assessed as good, moderate and weak by 57.5, 40 and 2.5 of the patients, respectively. There was a significant relationship between the positive perception of service quality and reason for admission, source of recommendation, gender, education level, health status, and waiting time in the clinics (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The majority of the patients had a positive experience with visiting clinics and perceived service provision as good. In fact, patients' perceptions of physician consultation, provision of information to patients and the environment of delivering services, are the most important determinants of service quality in clinics. © 2019 The Author(s)
Design a fuzzy rule-based expert system to aid earlier diagnosis of gastric cancer
Introduction: Screening and health check-up programs are most important sanitary priorities, that should be undertaken to control dangerous diseases such as gastric cancer that affected by different factors. More than 50 of gastric cancer diagnoses are made during the advanced stage. Currently, there is no systematic approach for early diagnosis of gastric cancer. Objective: to develop a fuzzy expert system that canidentify gastric cancer risk levels in individuals. Methods: This system was implemented in MATLAB software, Mamdani inference technique applied to simulate reasoning of experts in the field, a total of 67 fuzzy rules extracted as a rule-base based on medical expert's opinion. Results: 50 case scenarios were usedto evaluate the system, the information of case reports is given to the system to find risk level of each case report then obtained results were compared with expert's diagnosis. Results revealed that sensitivity was 92.1 and the specificity was 83.1. Conclusions: The results show that is possible to develop a system that can identify High risk individuals for gastric cancer. The system can lead to earlier diagnosis, this may facilitate early treatment and reduce gastric cancer mortality rate. © 2018 Reza Safdari, Hadi Kazemi Arpanahi, Mostafa Langarizadeh, Marjan Ghazisaiedi, Hossein Dargahi, Kazem Zendehdel
High Performance Multicell Series Inverter-Fed Induction Motor Drive
This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: M. Khodja, D. Rahiel, M. B. Benabdallah, H. Merabet Boulouiha, A. Allali, A. Chaker, and M. Denai, ‘High-performance multicell series inverter-fed induction motor drive’, Electrical Engineering, Vol. 99 (3): 1121-1137, September 2017. The final publication is available at Springer via DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00202-016-0472-4.The multilevel voltage-source inverter (VSI) topology of the series multicell converter developed in recent years has led to improved converter performance in terms of power density and efficiency. This converter reduces the voltage constraints between all cells, which results in a lower transmission losses, high switching frequencies and the improvement of the output voltage waveforms. This paper proposes an improved topology of the series multicell inverter which minimizes harmonics, reduces torque ripples and losses in a variable-speed induction motor drive. The flying capacitor multilevel inverter topology based on the classical and modified phase shift pulse width modulation (PSPWM, MPSPWM) techniques are applied in this paper to minimize harmonic distortion at the inverter output. Simulation results are presented for a 2-kW induction motor drive and the results obtained demonstrate reduced harmonics, improved transient responses and reference tracking performance of the voltage in the induction motor and consequently reduced torque ripplesPeer reviewe
Time Profile of nNOS Expression in the Spinal Dorsal Horn After L₅ Spinal Root Transection in Rats
Using immunohistochemical analysis, we investigated the time profile of neuronal nitric
oxide synthase (nNOS) expression in the lumbar spinal cord up to day 28 after transection
of the L₅
spinal root. On day 14 after injury, we also evaluated the effect of intrathecal
application of 7-nitroindazole (7-NI), a selective nNOS inhibitor (8.15 µg in 5 µl), on thermal
hyperalgesia. Our results indicated that nerve transection increased the intensity of nNOSimmunoreactivity in superficial and deep laminae of the dorsal horn within a late stage (days
7 to 28) of the neuropathy model used. Furthermore, 7-NI attenuated nerve injury-evoked
thermal hypersensitivity on day 14 but did not reduce it between days 2 and 5 after transection.
These data suggest that nNOS overexpression is more involved in the development than in the
initiation of thermal hyperalgesia in L₅
-transected rats.Ми досліджували часовий профіль експресії нейронної NOсинтази (nNOS) у люмбальному відділі спинного мозку щурів протягом 28 діб після перерізання спінального корінця
L₅
, використовуючи імуногістохімічну методику. Ми також
оцінювали впливи інтратекальних аплікацій 7-нітроіндазолу (7-NI) – селективного інгібітора nNOS (8.15 мкг у 5 мкл)
на термічну гіпералгезію через 14 діб після ушкодження. В
результаті секції корінця кількість nNOS-імунореактивних
клітин у поверхневих та глибоких пластинах дорсального
рога зростала на відносно пізніх етапах (із сьомої по 28-му
добу) використаної моделі нейропатії. Аплікації 7-NI зменшували термічну гіперсенситивність, викликану пошкодженням нервових волокон, на 14-ту добу, але не впливали
на цей феномен протягом другої–п’ятої діб після індукції
нейропатії. Подібні дані вказують на те, що після перетину
корінця L₅
у щурів підвищена експресія nNOS більшою мірою залучена в процес розвитку, ніж в ініціацію термічної
гіпералгезії
Impact of health literacy and self-care behaviors on health-related quality of life in Iranians with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study
Background: Regarding the importance of health literacy as a key factor in self-care, appropriate understanding of health information by patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is fundamental for better management of risk factors, which can also benefit their quality of life. This study aimed to describe the relationship between health literacy (HL), and self-care behaviors with health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with T2DM. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was done in Iran in 2019. Patients were recruited randomly from health centers by medical records (n = 192, 55.2 male, mean age 58.12 years). The data collection included demographic form, health literacy questionnaire, diabetes self-care behavior questionnaire, and world health organization�s Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF). Analyses were adjusted for confounders using hierarchical regression analysis. Results: HL as predictor variables explained 47.5 of variance in overall HRQL (p value < 0.001), reading health information was the strongest HL dimension (β = 0.478). Self-care behaviors explained an additional 13.6 of the HRQL variance. In total, 65.5 of the variation in the HRQL is explained by the HL, self-care behavior, and the demographic variables. Conclusion: We found that more almost two-third of the HRQL explained by the HL and self-care behaviors. Given the importance of health literacy and self-care behaviors in the quality of life in patients with T2DM, adoption of health-promoting behaviors and increasing health literacy can be beneficial for promoting quality of life among these patients. © 2020, The Author(s)
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