DITrust Chain: Towards Blockchain-Based Trust Models for Sustainable Healthcare IoT Systems

© 2013 IEEE. Today, internet and device ubiquity are paramount in individual, formal and societal considerations. Next generation communication technologies, such as Blockchains (BC), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, etc. offer limitless capabilities for different applications and scenarios including industries, cities, healthcare systems, etc. Sustainable integration of healthcare nodes (i.e. devices, users, providers, etc.) resulting in healthcare IoT (or simply IoHT) provides a platform for efficient service delivery for the benefit of care givers (doctors, nurses, etc.) and patients. Whereas confidentiality, accessibility and reliability of medical data are accorded high premium in IoHT, semantic gaps and lack of appropriate assets or properties remain impediments to reliable information exchange in federated trust management frameworks. Consequently, We propose a Blockchain Decentralised Interoperable Trust framework (DIT) for IoT zones where a smart contract guarantees authentication of budgets and Indirect Trust Inference System (ITIS) reduces semantic gaps and enhances trustworthy factor (TF) estimation via the network nodes and edges. Our DIT IoHT makes use of a private Blockchain ripple chain to establish trustworthy communication by validating nodes based on their inter-operable structure so that controlled communication required to solve fusion and integration issues are facilitated via different zones of the IoHT infrastructure. Further, text{C}mathrm {sharp } implementation using Ethereum and ripple Blockchain are introduced as frameworks to associate and aggregate requests over trusted zones

Evaluation of indigenous Trichoderma isolates from Manipur as biocontrol agent against Pythium aphanidermatum on common beans

Pythium aphanidermatum is one of the common causal pathogen of damping-off disease of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) grown in Manipur. A total of 110 indigenous Trichoderma isolates obtained from North east India were screened for their biocontrol activity which can inhibit the mycelial growth of P. aphanidermatum, the causal organism of damping-off in beans. Out of the total isolates, 32% of them showed strong antagonistic activity against P. aphanidermatum under in vitro condition and subsequently 20 best isolates were selected based on their mycelial inhibition capacity against P. aphanidermatum for further analysis. Different biocontrol mechanisms such as protease, chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase activity, cellulase and production of volatile and non-volatile compounds were also assayed. Based on their relative biocontrol potency, only three indigenous Trichoderma isolates (T73, T80 and T105) were selected for pot culture experiment against damping-off diseases in common beans. In greenhouse experiment, Trichoderma isolates T-105 significantly reduced the pre- and post-emergence damping-off disease incidence under artificial infection with P. aphanidermatum and showed highest disease control percentage