DistB-Condo: Distributed Blockchain-based IoT-SDN Model for Smart Condominium

Condominium network refers to intra-organization networks, where smart buildings or apartments are connected and share resources over the network. Secured communication platform or channel has been highlighted as a key requirement for a reliable condominium which can be ensured by the utilization of the advanced techniques and platforms like Software-Defined Network (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Blockchain (BC). These technologies provide a robust, and secured platform to meet all kinds of challenges, such as safety, confidentiality, flexibility, efficiency, and availability. This work suggests a distributed, scalable IoT-SDN with Blockchain-based NFV framework for a smart condominium (DistB-Condo) that can act as an efficient secured platform for a small community. Moreover, the Blockchain-based IoT-SDN with NFV framework provides the combined benefits of leading technologies. It also presents an optimized Cluster Head Selection (CHS) algorithm for selecting a Cluster Head (CH) among the clusters that efficiently saves energy. Besides, a decentralized and secured Blockchain approach has been introduced that allows more prominent security and privacy to the desired condominium network. Our proposed approach has also the ability to detect attacks in an IoT environment. Eventually, this article evaluates the performance of the proposed architecture using different parameters (e.g., throughput, packet arrival rate, and response time). The proposed approach outperforms the existing OF-Based SDN. DistB-Condo has better throughput on average, and the bandwidth (Mbps) much higher than the OF-Based SDN approach in the presence of attacks. Also, the proposed model has an average response time of 5% less than the core model

Breast cancer risk factor knowledge among nurses in teaching hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in both the developed and the developing world. The incidence of breast cancer in Karachi, Pakistan is 69.1 per 100,000 with breast cancer presentation in stages III and IV being common (≥ 50%). The most pragmatic solution to early detection lies in breast cancer education of women. Nurses constitute a special group having characteristics most suited for disseminating breast cancer information to the women. We assessed the level of knowledge of breast cancer risk factors among registered female nurses in teaching hospitals of Karachi. We also identified whether selected factors among nurses were associated with their knowledge of breast cancer risk factors, so that relevant measures to improve knowledge of nurses could be implemented. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in seven teaching hospitals of Karachi using stratified random sampling with proportional allocation. A total of 609 registered female nurses were interviewed using a structured questionnaire adapted from the Stager's Comprehensive Breast Cancer Knowledge Test. Knowledge of breast cancer risk factors was categorized into good, fair and poor categories. Ordinal regression was used to identify factors associated with risk knowledge among nurses. RESULTS: Thirty five percent of nurses had good knowledge of risk factors. Graduates from private nursing schools (aOR = 4.23, 95% CI: 2.93, 6.10), nurses who had cared for breast cancer patients (aOR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.99), those having received a breast examination themselves (aOR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.08, 2.26) or those who ever examined a patient's breast (aOR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.34, 2.61) were more likely to have good knowledge. CONCLUSION: A relatively small proportion of the nursing population had good level of knowledge of the breast cancer risk factors. This knowledge is associated with nursing school status, professional breast cancer exposure and self history of clinical breast examination. Since only about one-third of the nurses had good knowledge about risk factors, there is a need to introduce breast cancer education in nursing schools particularly in the public sector. Continuing nursing education at the workplace can be of additional benefit

Bayesian signaling game based efficient security model for MANETs

Game Theory acts as a suitable tool offering promising solutions to security-related concerns in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (i.e., MANETs). In MANETs, security forms a prominent concern as it includes nodes which are usually portable and require significant coordination between them. Further, the absence of physical organisation makes such networks susceptible to security breaches, hindering secure routing and execution among nodes. Game Theory approach has been manipulated in the current study to achieve an analytical view while addressing the security concerns in MANETs. This paper offers a Bayesian-Signaling game model capable of analysing the behaviour associated with regular as well as malicious nodes. In the proposed model, the utility of normal nodes has been increased while reducing the utility linked to malicious nodes. Moreover, the system employs a reputation system capable of stimulating best cooperation between the nodes. The regular nodes record incessantly to examine their corresponding nodes’ behaviours by using the belief system of Bayes-rules. On its comparison with existing schemes, it was revealed that the presented algorithm provides better identification of malicious nodes and attacks while delivering improved throughput and reduced false positive rate

Does corporate reputation matter? Role of social media in consumer intention to purchase innovative food product

The exponential growth of the corporate reputation in food industry has resulted in innovations in every link of its supply chain. There have been studies that have characterized innovation in various industries from the perspective of technology, but far fewer in the area of corporate reputation, consumer perception, and intention towards innovations in food products. This research analyses the innovations in the food industry from the perspective of the consumer and provides a conceptual framework of food innovation stages. The study also investigates the relationship between corporate reputation and intention towards food innovation along with the other components of TPB model with an extension of social media engagement. The results from India and US samples confirm that social media engagement have a significant role to play in creating intention to purchase innovative food products. The study compares the US and Indian samples and identifies differences in subjective norms and perceived behavioural control

The effects of educational program on child care knowledge and behaviors of mothers of children under five years with pneumonia

Objectives: This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of the educational program on child care knowledge and behaviors of mothers of children aged under five years. Materials and Methods: The quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design was used to examine the effects of educational program on child care knowledge and behaviors of mothers of children under five years old with pneumonia. Fifty mothers of children under five years hospitalized with pneumonia were purposively assigned following standard procedure into either experimental or control group. Mothers of the study group received educational program together with children’s routine care, where as control group mothers just attended their children receiving treatment. Subsequently mothers’ knowledge, evaluated through structured Knowledge Questionnaire and behavioral information, through Behavioral Checklist Form were evaluated. Data were expressed as number (percent) and mean (SD) as appropriate. Demographic characteristics were analyzed by using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Independent t-test and paired t-test were used to calculate statistical difference between groups as applicable. Results: Findings revealed that, subjects of both groups are homogenous in terms of demographic characteristics, but significant difference was observed regarding their mean (±SD) knowledge (25.04±5.81 vs 34.64±3.86, p&lt;0 .001) and behavior score (6.64±2.23 vs 17.68±1.89; p&lt;0.001) between control and study group respectively. Conclusions: It was concluded that educational program supported that nurses need to involve themselves through helpful method of the educational program to teach the mothers' knowledge about pneumonia and their behavior during caring their sick children. Such program could effectively increase both knowledge and behavior of mothers of children under five with pneumonia. Key words: Pneumonia; knowledge and behavior; education program. DOI: 10.3329/bjms.v9i3.6468Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.09 No.3 July 2010, pp.136-142</jats:p

Feed the Future Bangladesh Aquaculture Activity Annual Performance Datasets

This dataset contains productivity, nutrition and women empowerment survey data of Feed the Future Bangladesh Aquaculture Activit