Exploring a new security framework for future healthcare systems

The Internet of Things is driving impactful and significant changes in healthcare systems across the globe. The use of mobile and wireless technologies to support healthcare environments has enormous potential to transform healthcare. For example, healthcare data, which is considered to be very sensitive, must be securely accessed, processed and stored. However, digital healthcare IT platforms are increasingly coming under attack by malware such as Ransomware. In addition, there is now a need to integrate eHealth and mHealth mechanisms into national healthcare systems. New technologies, such as blockchain, are being used to address these issues. What is needed is a new framework which can use these technologies to secure healthcare. This paper proposes a new security framework that responds to these security concerns. The framework is then used to design an implementation framework with new mechanisms including Capabilities, Secure Remote Procedure Calls and a Service Management Framework

Filtration properties of staple fibre thermo-bonded nonwoven fabrics

Thermal bonded polyester staple fibre nonwoven fabrics have been produced, considering different proportions of binder fibres, directions of web laid as variables, and bonding time and bonding temperature as constant. The influence of process variables on fabric properties, such as bursting strength, air permeability, bubble point diameter, mean flow pore diameter and filtration efficiency with three different particle (1, 0.5, and 0.3µ) along with the overall filtration efficiency have been tested and the results are compared with spun laced nonwoven fabrics. The fibres are oriented in cross and parallel directions, this arrangement of fibres leads to increase in bursting strength. The trend in air permeability of cross-laid web fabrics is found similar to spunlaced fabrics. The pore sizes of the thermal bonded fabrics have been minimized by laying the web in cross direction and increasing the binder fibre proportion; it has minimum variation with spunlaced fabrics. Aerosols of different particles are fed to the upstream of the filters with the face velocity of 16.6 cm/s which is then maintained as constant. The maximum filtration efficiency achieved is found to be 93.13% which is around 13% higher than that of the spunlaced fabric. For 80g/m2 fabrics with 0.3µ particles, the filtration efficiency of spun laced fabric is only 38% which is around one and a half time lesser than 80 g/m2 of thermal bonded fabric; 90g/m2 fabrics show equal and better properties than 100g/m2 fabrics

Securing future healthcare environments in a post-COVID-19 world: moving from frameworks to prototypes

The deployment of Internet of Things platforms as well as the use of mobile and wireless technologies to support healthcare environments have enormous potential to transform healthcare. This has also led to a desire to make eHealth and mHealth part of national healthcare systems. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the requirement to do this in order to reduce the number of patients needing to attend hospitals and General Practitioner surgeries. This direction however has resulted in a renewed need to look at security of future healthcare platforms including information and data security as well as network and cyber-physical security. There have been security frameworks that were developed to address such issues. However, it is necessary to develop a security framework with a combination of security mechanisms that can be used to provide all the essential security requirements for healthcare systems. In addition, there is now a need to move from frameworks to prototypes which is the focus of this paper. Several security frameworks for eHealth and mHealth are first examined. This leads to a new reference model from which an implementation framework is developed using new mechanisms such as Capabilities, Secure Remote Procedure Calls and a Service Management Framework. The prototype is then evaluated against practical security requirements

Effect of functionalization of polymeric nanoparticles incorporated with whole attenuated rabies virus antigen on sustained release and efficacy

Nanovaccines introduced a new dimension to prevent or cure diseases in an efficient and sustained manner. Various polymers have been used for the drug delivery to increase the therapeutic value with minimal side effects. Thus the present study incorporates both nanotechnology and polymers for the drug delivery. Poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid)-b-poly(ethylene glycol) was incorporated with the rabies whole attenuated viral antigen using double emulsion (W/O/W) method and characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Chitosan-PEG nanoparticles incorporated with the rabies whole attenuated virus antigen (CS-PEG NP-RV Ag.) were prepared using Ionic Gelation method. The CS-PEG NP-RV Ag. was surface modified with biocompatible polymers such as Acacia, Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), Casein, Ovalbumin and Starch by Ionic Gelation method. The morphology was confirmed by SEM and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The surface modification was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Zeta potential. The size distribution of CS-PEG-RV Ag. and surface modified CS-PEG-RV Ag. by respective biocompatible polymers was assessed by Zetasizer. Release profile of both stabilized nanoparticles was carried out by modified centrifugal ultrafiltration method which showed the sustained release pattern of the Rabies Ag. Immune stimulation under in-vitro condition was studied using rosette assay and phagocytosis assay. In-vitro toxicity using human blood and genotoxicity using human blood DNA was also studied to assess the toxicity of the nanoformulations. The results of these studies infer that PLGA-b-PEG nanoparticles, CS-PEG and surface modified CS-PEG nanoparticles may be an efficient nanocarrier for the RV Ag. to elicit immune response sustainably with negligible toxic effect to the human system

PHOSPHORYLATION OF TAU PROTEIN IN BRAIN REGIONS OF CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE - INDUCED RATS: AMELIORATIVE EFFECT OF ERYTHROPOIETIN

Objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major clinical health problem as it is a systemic disorder that causes widespread organ damageand it is related to significant morbidity and mortality. Numerous studies have shown that, cognitive dysfunction increase in prevalence, due toincrease in reactive oxygen species in CKD severity. Tau proteins are proteins that stabilize microtubules. Hyperphosphorylation of tau reduces itsability to bind to microtubule causes dystabilization and production of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and neurodegeneration in the brain. Aberranthyperphosphorylation of tau is critical to the progression of neurodegeneration. Erythropoietin (EPO), a glycoprotein has been in clinical use formillions of anemic patients, and some studies show it has a neuroprotective role. Till now studies on the level of tau protein phosphorylation in brainregions of CKD-induced experimental animals and impact of EPO therapy are scarce. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of CKD and EPOtherapy on tau protein phosphorylation in brain regions of experimental rats.Methods: This study was performed on 48 adult male Wistar rats. Two phases were conducted to find out the difference between simultaneous andposttreatment of EPO. Phase I: 24 adult male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups (6 animals each): Group 1: Control, Group 2: 0.75% of adeninemixed diet for 4 weeks, Group 3: 0.75% of adenine mixed diet was given for 4 weeks and simultaneous administration of EPO (100 IU/kg btw, ip)thrice weekly. Group 4: EPO alone (100 IU/Kg btw, ip) thrice per week. All the animals were sacrificed uniformly at the end of 4 weeks. In Phase II,24 animals were maintained separately for 40 days experimental period and divided into 4 groups. Groups 1, 2, and 4 animals were treated as samementioned in Phase I. Group 3: For EPO posttreatment, adenine mixed diet was given for 4 weeks for chronic renal failure (CRF) induction. After the 4week, EPO (100 IU/Kg btw.) was administered daily once for 12 days. At the end of the 40 days, all the animals were sacrificed uniformly. In both thephases after the treatment period, the brain tissue was removed and samples were homogenized. Total tau protein and phosphorylated tau proteinexpressions were analyzed by western blotting method.Results: In results, both the total tau and phosphorylated tau protein levels were significantly increased all the brain regions of CRF-induced groupswhen compared to control. In both simultaneous and posttreatment of EPO, the levels were retrieved.Conclusion: This study proves that EPO supplementation has a promising role in neuroprotection by preventing abnormal phosphorylated tauprotein accumulation. This study also proves the clinical usefulness of EPO as a supplemental therapeutic agent in neurotoxicity.Keywords: Chronic renal failure, Cognitive dysfunction, Hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, Erythropoietin.t

SKELETAL MUSCLE: ONE OF THE SILENT TARGETS OF DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS

ABSTRACTObjective: Muscle weakness in diabetes has been considered a rare manifestation associated with severe diabetic neuropathy. However, similarfindings are lacking in individuals with early diabetes. Handgrip strength is a reliable measurement of the disability index. The present study wasdesigned to determine the effect of early Type 2 diabetes on handgrip strength in adults by handgrip dynamometer.Methods: 30 subjects with diabetes (1-5 years duration) were taken as case, and thirty age and sex-matched subjects without diabetes were takenas controls. Subjects with hypertension, heart diseases, and neuromuscular disorders were excluded. Skeletal muscle function was determined usinghand grip dynamometer. Maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) was measured thrice and best of that it was taken. For endurance time (ET) 50% ofMVC was taken. Anthropometric measurements were taken, and random blood sugar testing was done.Results: Compared to controls, cases had decreased mid forearm circumference (23.97±1.7 cm vs. 23.8±2.7 cm, p<0.005). MVC and ET were alsosignificantly reduced in cases when compared with control subjects (MVC, 32.46±6.865 kg vs. 22.48±4.420 kg, p<0.025) and ET (44.57±17.294 secondsvs. 16.63±9.810 seconds, p<0.022).Conclusion: Our study suggests that there is a decline in skeletal muscle strength in type 2 diabetes even before the disease manifests severely.This provides evidence that impaired grip strength is associated with adverse metabolic profile, in addition, to the loss of physical function, and thepotential for grip strength to be used in the clinical setting needs to be explored.Keywords: Skeletal muscle function, Handgrip, Diabetes, Endurance time, Maximum voluntary contraction

Isolation and cellular fatty acid profile analyzation of two marine bioluminescent bacteria

192-195Two luminescent bacterial strains KOOS1 and KOOS2 isolated from surface mucus of Octopus sp. collected from Andaman were identified by their cellular fatty acid composition analyzation with the help of Microbial Identification system (MIDI). SIM indexes obtained for these isolated strains were 0.772 (KOOS1) and 0.754 (KOOS2) respectively and were identified as Photobacterium damselae and Vibrio fischeri. Major fatty acids found in Photobacterium damselae were Saturated: Dodecanoic acid (C12:0), Tetradecanoic acid (C14:0), Pentadecanoic acid (C15:0), Hexadecanoic acid (C16:0), Heptadecanoic acid (C17:0) and Octadecanoic acid (C18:0); and Unsaturated: 3-hydroxy-9-methyl decanoic acid (C11:0iso 3OH), 3-hydroxydodecanoic(C12:0 3OH), C16:1ω5c, Oleic acid (C18:1ω9c) and C18:1ω5c.In Vibrio fischeri Saturated: C12:0, Tridecanoic acid (C13:0), C15:0, C16:0, C17:0 and C18:0; and Unsaturated: C11:0iso 3OH,2-hydroxydodecanoic (C12:0 2OH), C12:03OH, C13:0iso, C14:0iso, C15:0iso, C15:0anteiso, C16:0iso, C17:0iso, C16:1ω5c, C15:0iso3OH, C17:1 ω8c and C17:1ω6c were found. Cyclopropane acids have not been detected in both Photobacterium damselae and Vibrio fischeri

EVALUATION OF PREHYPERTENSION, HYPERTENSION AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG I YEAR MEDICAL STUDENTS

  Background and Objectives: Pre-hypertension is associated with increased progression to hypertension and cardiovascular risk. The objective of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of pre-hypertension and hypertension, as well as the associated factors among Ist year medical students who are from a similar socioeconomic status, dietary habits and lifestyle.Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 137 Ist year medical students using digital blood pressure (BP) monitor on three different occasions and the average was taken and also a questionnaire was obtained to assess the associated factors and other demographic details. Data were analyzed with the use of SPSS software and results were demonstrated using descriptive tables where Chi-square test and one-way analysis was used.Result: The prevalence of elevated BP (pre-hypertension and hypertension) as per JNC 7 criteria, among the medical students was 46.7%. There was a significant association of pre-hypertension with the individual risk factor like the family history of diabetes mellitus, diet and stress.Conclusion: The study shows a significant proportion of individuals with elevated BP at a younger age, associated with risk factors such as family history of diabetes, diet and stress. Elevated BP increases the risk for the development of hypertension during adolescence. Hypertension being a disease of iceberg goes unnoticed leading to chronic disease, therefore identification at the earliest can curb the disease.Keywords: Pre-hypertension, Adolescents, Prevalence, Hypertension

Human Cognition and Emotion using Physio Psychological Approach : A Survey

A soldier’s responsibility in the military includes his physical and mental attitudes which makes him to support the army in a full-fledged manner. This type of human dimension recognizes Soldier readiness from training proficiency to motivation for the Army’s future success. It introduces the concept of holistic fitness, a comprehensive combination of the whole person, including all components of the human dimension as a triad of moral, cognitive and physical components. The human dimension concept is directly related to the human mind and memory system. In this research, a system which will be capable of recognizing human emotions based on physiological parameters of a human body is discussed. The data from the system is fed to a computer where it is stored. Stored information regarding human parameters is retrieved and classified using support vector machine to generate a data set about the various emotions the human poses at a specific situation. The emotion, thus calculated is grouped to generate a grade for his present status. This grade is used to recommend the suitable working environment for the person