Lightweight Mutual Authentication Protocol for Low Cost RFID Tags

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology one of the most promising technologies in the field of ubiquitous computing. Indeed, RFID technology may well replace barcode technology. Although it offers many advantages over other identification systems, there are also associated security risks that are not easy to be addressed. When designing a real lightweight authentication protocol for low cost RFID tags, a number of challenges arise due to the extremely limited computational, storage and communication abilities of Low-cost RFID tags. This paper proposes a real mutual authentication protocol for low cost RFID tags. The proposed protocol prevents passive attacks as active attacks are discounted when designing a protocol to meet the requirements of low cost RFID tags. However the implementation of the protocol meets the limited abilities of low cost RFID tags.Comment: 11 Pages, IJNS

The Effects of Corruption on Government Expenditures: Arab Countries Experience

Corruption is popularly defined as the abuse of public power for private gains. Corruption as a phenomenon , is a global problem and exist in varying degrees in different countries. Corruption poses a serious development challenge, it has a number of adverse consequences on domestic investment, on foreign direct investment, on economic growth, on the size and composition of government expenditure. The purpose of this paper is to briefly review the literature in order to discuss what the latter suggests about the relationship between corruption and the composition of government expenditure (education and health government expenditures) and to investigate empirically( using simple regression model) this relation for the case of Arab countries. We found that corruption reduces education and health spending as part of total public spending. Keywords: corruption, Government expenditures, Arab countrie

Delivery of RNA interfering effectors against HPV-16 E6 and E7 proteins in OSCC cells

Introduction: Safe and effective delivery of short interfering RNA/short hairpin RNA (siRNA/shRNA) molecules for the purpose of RNA interference was one of the biggest challenges in the past 20 years. Transkingdom RNA interference (tkRNAi) was suggested as an alternative to the traditional delivery protocols. This work aimed to evaluate the efficiency and the potency of an improved bacterial delivery system in inhibiting human papilloma virus 16 (HPV16)-E7-specific mRNA in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Method and Results: Firstly, shRNA plasmids were constructed and transformed in the CEQ221 bacteria to construct the delivery vehicles. After bacterial transfection of the tumor cells, the ability of the modified bacteria to penetrate and collect in the tumor cells was confirmed by fluorescent microscopy. Efficiency of shRNA delivery and expression was confirmed by measuring the expression level of small siRNA and target gene mRNA via qRT-PCR; followed by a confirmation via western blot. Significant drop in the IC50 of the CEQ221-E7 targeting HPV16-E7 in oral squamous carcinoma cells as compared to their control counterparts CEQ221-GFP; and higher total apoptosis and activated caspase-3 activation confirmed the functional effect of the bacterial delivery-mediated inhibition of the HPV16-E7. Conclusion: Transkingdom RNA interference is a potent tool to inhibit specific target genes in mammalian cells. It was proved for the first time that tkRNAi is capable of inhibiting HPV16-E7 gene in oral squamous cell carcinoma triggering apoptosis and lowering proliferation activity and eventually leading to target cell death.Sicherer und effektiver Transfer von Short-interfering-RNA-/Short-hairpin-RNA-Molekülen (siRNA/shRNA) zum Zweck der RNA-Interferenz war eine der größten Herausforderungen der vergangenen 20 Jahre. Als Alternative zu den herkömmlichen Transferprotokollen wurde eine Transkingdom-RNA-Interferenz (tkRNAi) vorgeschlagen. Die hier vorgestellte Arbeit hat die Effizienz und Wirksamkeit eines verbesserten Bakterien-Übertragungssystems zur Hemmung der humanpapillomvirus-16-(HPV16)-E7-spezifischen mRNA oraler Plattenepithelkarzinom-Zellen (oral squamous cell carcinoma , OSCC) untersucht. Methodik und Ergebnisse: Zunächst wurden Plasmide konstruiert, welche neben einer therapeutischen shRNA zwei unterschiedliche Proteine kodieren. Das erste „Invasin“ verleiht nichtinvasiven, nichtpathogenen Bakterien einen invasiven Phänotyp. Das zweite Protein „Listeriolysin O“ zeigt sich dafür verantwortlich, dass die therapeutischen shRNA-Moleküle nach bakterieller Invasion in der Zielzelle freigesetzt werden. Nach bakterieller Transfektion der Tumorzellen, wurde die Fähigkeit der modifizierten Bakterien, in Tumorzellen einzudringen und sich dort zu sammeln mittels Fluoreszenzmikrokospie nachgewiesen. Die Effizienz des Transfers und der Expression der shRNA wurde durch die Messung des Expressionsniveaus von kleiner siRNA und der Zielgen-mRNA mit qRT-PCR bestimmt; bestätigt per Western-Blot. Ein signifikanter Abfall des IC50 von anti-HPV16-E7 CEQ221-E7 in oraler Plattenepithelkarzinom-Zellen im Vergleich zu CEQ221-GFP; und eine höhere Gesamtapoptose sowie eine aktivierte Caspase-3-Aktivierung bestätigten den funktionellen Effekt der durch die bakterielle Abgabe vermittelten Hemmung des HPV16-E7. Schlussfolgerungen: Transkingdom-RNA-Interferenz ist ein wirksames Instrument zur Hemmung spezifischer Zielgene in Säugetierzellen. Es wurde zum ersten Mal nachgewiesen, dass tkRNAi das HPV16-E7-Gen beim oralen Plattenepithelkarzinom hemmen, Apoptose auslösen und die Proliferationsaktivität senken kann, was schließlich zum Tod von Zielzellen führt

Integrable and continuous solutions of a nonlinear quadratic integral equation

This addendum concerns the paper of the above title found in EJQTDE No. 25 (2008). There are some misprints in that paper: (i) Page 3, line 5 should be $k:[0,1] \times[0,1]\rightarrow R_+$ satisfies Carath\'{e}odory condition (i.e. measurable in $t$ for all $s \in [0,1]$ and continuous in $s$ for all $t\in [0,1]$) such that $\int_0^1 k(t,s) m_2(s)ds$ is bounded $\forall t\in[0,1].$ (ii) Page 6, line 6 should be $k:[0,1] \times [0,1]\rightarrow R_+$ satisfies Carath\'{e}odory condition (i.e. measurable in $s$ for all $t \in~[0,1]$ and continuous in $t$ for all $s \in [0,1]$) such that $k(t,s)m_2(s)\in L_1 \forall t\in[0,1].

Addendum to integrable and continuous solutions of a nonlinear quadratic integral equation

This addendum concerns the paper of the above title found in EJQTDE No. 25 (2008). There are some misprints in that paper: (i) Page 3, line 5 should be $k:[0,1] \times[0,1]\rightarrow R_+$ satisfies Carath\'{e}odory condition (i.e. measurable in $t$ for all $s \in [0,1]$ and continuous in $s$ for all $t\in [0,1]$) such that $\int_0^1 k(t,s) m_2(s)ds$ is bounded $\forall t\in[0,1].$ (ii) Page 6, line 6 should be $k:[0,1] \times [0,1]\rightarrow R_+$ satisfies Carath\'{e}odory condition (i.e. measurable in $s$ for all $t \in~[0,1]$ and continuous in $t$ for all $s \in [0,1]$) such that $k(t,s)m_2(s)\in L_1 \forall t\in[0,1].

Monotonic solutions of functional integral and differential equations of fractional order

The existence of positive monotonic solutions, in the class of continuous functions, for some nonlinear quadratic integral equations have been studied by J. Banas. Here we are concerned with a singular quadratic functional integral equations. The existence of positive monotonic solutions $x \in L_1[0,1]$ will be proved. The fractional order nonlinear functional differential equation will be given as a special case

Soil Contamination With Heavy Metals and Its Effect on Growth, Yield and Physiological Responses of Vegetable Crop Plants (Turnip and Lettuce)

The present study was conducted to investigate the impact of irrigation with industrial wastewater on soil and plant. For these purpose turnip and lettuce plants were cultivated in soil irrigated with wastewater then heavy metals content of the soil, plant growth, yield and the subsequent changes in biochemical constituents of plant were examined. Irrigation with wastewater was found to load the soil with heavy metals (Pb, Co, Ni and Cd) that were not detected in soil before irrigation. The magnitude of Cd in soils after irrigation with industrial wastewater exceeds the maximum allowable limit (3 mg Kg-1). Both turnip and lettuce exhibited significant decreases in leaf area, fresh weight and dry weight of shoots and roots as well as all the measured yield components in response to wastewater irrigation. The magnitude of decrease was positively correlated with the amounts of heavy metals detected in the soil and the inhibitory effect on turnip was much more pronounced than in lettuce. Furthermore, heavy metals accumulation in soil resulted in an oxidative damage to turnip and lettuce as indicated by the significant increase in lipid peroxidation and H2O2 levels in both plants comparing to control values. The significant increases in putrescine in lettuce and turnip shoots and roots and spermidine in lettuce roots as well as total phenolics and flavonoids in plants cultivated in soil enriched with heavy metals are believed to be defense mechanisms in turnip and lettuce plants to counteract the oxidative stress resulted from heavy metals contamination generated from irrigation with wastewater

Methanol and ethanol oxidation on carbon-supported platinum-based nanoparticles using a proton exchange membrane electrolysis cell

Direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFC) have been extensively studied as energy conversion devices. The most extensively studied alcohol is methanol, which has a higher anodic oxidation rate than other alcohols because it does not need to dissociate a C-C bond in order to oxidize completely to CO₂. However, recent research has focused on ethanol, which has several advantages over methanol, such as its high energy density, low crossover rate, and low toxicity. Ethanol would be a promising fuel if it could completely oxidize to CO₂ to generate 12 electrons. Our research aimed to develop high-activity catalysts that are more effective and give higher CO₂ faradaic yields compared to the most effective and widely known PtRu catalyst. Electrolysis cells are used instead of fuel cells to evaluate our prepared anodic catalysts to avoid chemical reactions between ethanol and oxygen. In this study, we have prepared Pt-based core-shell nanoparticles with PtRu and Ru cores and Pt at the surface in different amounts (PtRu@Pt and Ru@Pt). These catalysts were prepared using the polyol method without adding stabilizers that would block the surface and decrease alcohol oxidation activity. We investigated the effect of Pt thickness on Ru and PtRu cores by conducting cyclic voltammetry (CV) at ambient temperature and in a proton exchange membrane electrolysis cell (PEMEC) at 80°C. The results indicate that methanol and ethanol oxidation selectivity to form CO₂ increased with increasing Pt shell thickness. As compared to PtRu, PtRu@Pt₁.₇ had a higher selectivity for complete ethanol oxidation, while Ru@Pt₀.₆ had a higher activity for methanol oxidation. In many studies, Rh has been shown to increase the selectivity of Pt for oxidizing ethanol to CO₂. The Rh@Pt core-shell catalysts were prepared in an alkaline medium using ethanol as the reducing agent. Electrochemical results indicate that Rh@Pt with half a monolayer of Pt would be a highly effective catalyst for direct ethanol fuel cells. Furthermore, PtRh nanoparticles were investigated for methanol and ethanol oxidation reactions. The catalysts were synthesized using formic acid as a reducing agent. According to the PEMEC study, Pt₃.₀Rh demonstrated the best ethanol oxidation selectivity relative to Pt and PtRu at most applied potentials