Secure multimedia communication in smart devices reinforced by using one-time keys

Recently, smart devices have become more and more prevalent in the daily life. The spread of these devices introduced various use cases; however, communication has always been their primary functionality. With the development of WebRTC (Web Real- Time Communication) and the availability of this technology on smart devices, applications offering real-time multimedia communication features will become more pervasive. Though WebRTC presents a promising set of standards and interfaces for the task of carrying data from one end to another, there are security issues that are left in the hands of the application developers. In this thesis, we aim to achieve secure multimedia communication by tackling the key generation and distribution issue of WebRTC platform using a smart card for secure storage and operations. We tested different cryptographic algorithms on smart cards, and resultantly we designed a mechanism based on hash chains. This mechanism allowed synchronous generation of keys at both sides. The mechanism was implemented and tested on different brands of Java Cards. The results of the tests indicate that it is possible to produce a key under one-second time. In addition, the results were analyzed to optimize generation times of particular keys by adjusting chain length parameter of the mechanism. Consequently, the key generation method was integrated into Media Security Platform of Netas¸ Telecommunications A.S¸ ., which is based on WebRTC. The integration was performed under the guidance of a signaling scheme drafted for the message traffic for the key agreement. In conclusion, the successful integration and better results indicate an improvement over a previously used public key system

Robust two-factor smart card authentication

Being very resilient devices, smart cards have been commonly used for two-factor authentication schemes. However, the possibility of side-channel attacks renders private data stored in the cards vulnerable to compromise. With this in mind, we propose an authentication protocol that incorporates a second factor, which is as a password, in addition to the smart card. The scheme is aimed to withstand most common security breaches as well as compromised smart card scenarios and offline dictionary attacks on the passwords. Details of a reference implementation are also given along with performance evaluation of the proposed protocol comparing to the literature. Performance analyses show that the proposed protocol outperforms existing solutions in the literature. Moreover, the computational cost of the proposed protocol is less than 2 seconds on our reference implementation that uses commercially available smart cards

Performance characterization of plywood panels bonded with melamine-urea-formaldehyde resin and cellulose nanofibril/borax as an additive

In this study, different loading levels of cellulose nanofibril and borax were added as reinforcement in melamine-urea-formaldehyde adhesive to enhance the performance properties of plywood panels as engineered wood composites. Physical properties (density, thickness swelling, water absorption, and moisture content), mechanical properties (modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and bonding strength), and formaldehyde content were tested using relevant standards. The results showed that cellulose nanofibril and borax had a synergistic effect, resulting in improved physico-mechanical properties. The best results were obtained by combining 3 % cellulose nanofibril and borax. It was determined that the combination of cellulose nanofibril and borax reinforcement resulted in a significant improvement of around 15 % in the thickness swelling, water absorption, and moisture content of plywood panels. The combination of cellulose nanofibril and borax reinforcing resulted in a significant increase of around 26 % in the modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity of plywood panels, with a bonding strength of around 47 %. The reinforcement technique did result in a 34 % decrease in free formaldehyde content. As a consequence, cellulose nanofibril and borax can be used as effective additives in the production of plywood panels to enhance their performance properties

A Case of Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome Who Developed Tonic Status Epilepticus Induced by Intravenous Diazepam

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is an epileptic encephalopathy characterized by several types of seizures, special EEG patterns, and cognitive deterioration with resistance to therapy and poor prognosis. It is a well known phenomenon that some antiepileptic drugs (AED) have a worsening effect on some seizure types, especially in the generalized epilepsies of childhood. However, its underlying pathogenetic mechanisms are not fully understood. In this paper, a case with LGS who developed tonic status epilepticus induced by diazepame given intravenously is reported and the topic of seizure aggravation caused by AED and LGS is discussed

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Advanced Renewable Nanomaterials for Sustainable Development

At the UN General Assembly, 193 United Nations Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This initiative is a global call to action. To achieve sustainable development, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been defined, and nanoscience and nanotechnology play a critical role in these goals. Nanotechnology is regarded as an enabling technology since it involves the study, modification, manipulation, or creation of processes, structures, materials, or devices at the nanoscale. Nanotechnology is rapidly expanding in many areas, including aerospace, energy, automotive, medicine, and food, as well as in the textile, chemical, and electrical-electronic industries, and is expected to have a bright future. Nanomaterials are materials that are purposefully designed in a size range of 1 to 100 nm in 1, 2, or 3 dimensions. Nanotechnology and nanomaterials have a wide range of applications in every area of science and engineering, resulting in greater improvements. In particular, lignocellulose-based nanomaterials with a nanofibrillar structure are produced from natural resources and can be used in a wide range of commercial applications. The eco-friendliness, unique properties, and diverse capabilities of nanomaterials are being explored in order to develop innovative materials and applications in almost all areas. This review focused on nanotechnology and advanced renewable nanomaterials for sustainable development

An Insight into the Next-Generation Smart Membranes

Membranes are used in desalination or water treatment to separate pollutants from water based on characteristics such as size or charge. Nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF), microfiltration (MF), and reverse osmosis (RO) are typical membrane techniques. However, traditional membranes have a number of disadvantages, including fouling both on surfaces and in internal structures, uncontrollable pore size, and membrane features. Smart membranes, also known as stimuli-responsive membranes, have recently attracted attention due to their selectivity, tunable permeability, and tunable and/or reversible attributes. This new generation of smart membranes is created by integrating various stimuli-responsive materials into membrane substrates. These multi-functional smart membranes can self-adjust their physical and chemical features in response to environmental signals such as temperature, pH, light, and other stimuli. Thermo-responsive membranes, pH-responsive membranes, ion-responsive membranes, molecule-responsive membranes, UV-light-responsive membranes, glucose-responsive membranes, magnetic-responsive membranes, and redox-responsive membranes are the current kinds of smart membranes. Because of their smart structures, they have the potential to improve performance by providing high selectivity without reducing permeability, high mechanical stability, and high resistance against fouling, and can meet requirements such as molecular weight cut-off (MWCO), removal efficiencies, and wastewater quality. Smart membranes can show tunable features based on the condition of the stimulus or stimuli present internally or externally, resulting in improved and desirable controllability over the process of pollutant removal from water. Because of their physicochemical stability, repeatability, and long life, stimuli-responsive smart materials (mainly adsorbents and filtration membranes) have the potential to be key materials for membrane production, particularly in the field of water treatment. Smart membranes have a bright future, and it is important to investigate and encourage their use and advancement. This review provides a comprehensive overview of smart membranes

Status Epilepticus and Multiple Sclerosis: A Case Presentation and Literature Review

Purpose. To search the literature for the frequency, pathogenesis, prognosis, and treatment of seizures and status epilepticus (SE) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods. We report 2 patients with MS who presented with SE and review the literature. Results. Seizures and SE episodes worsened during MS relapses in the first patient. SE episodes and MS relapses significantly decreased after initiation of natalizumab treatment but she still had seizures and was taking 4 antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). The second patient had super refractory SE and was treated with AEDs and coma induction; SE was controlled in 1 week. Antibodies against glycine receptors were reported in her serum after her death. Conclusion. SE has been reported to remain refractory to conventional AEDs, and improve with treatment of MS relapse. Seizures often occur during MS relapses, and might be the presenting symptom of MS or the only symptom of a relapse. Patients with MS and epilepsy have been reported to have more severe MS disease courses. Seizures are refractory to treatment in patients with MS with chronic epilepsy; however, prognosis is quite good in patients experiencing provoked seizures during an MS relapse. Since some EEG findings may have prognostic value, their evaluation is invaluable for the determination of outcome. No treatment guidelines have been specified for patients with MS and SE. However, treatment with AEDs, ideally new-generation AEDs, and an MS treatment review with a new protocol will ensure a fast response to the improvement of SE

Peyzaj tasarımında termal modifikasyon ile iyileştirilen ahşap malzemenin ergonomik uygulamaları

Peyzaj tasarımında kullanılan donatı elemanları; sokak, cadde, bulvar, meydan, park ve rekreasyon alanlarında mekansal kaliteye katkı sağlayan ürünlerdir. Donatı elemanlarının tasarımında önemli bir ölçüt olan ergonomi ve malzeme kalitesi, dış mekanı kullanan insanların sağlıklı ve konforlu bir çevrede yaşamasına imkan sağlamaktadır. Tüm tasarım disiplinlerinde, ergonominin ve malzemenin doğru kullanımı, yapılan tasarımın sadece estetik değil, aynı zamanda kullanışlı olmasını ve bu tasarımların kültürün birer parçası olmasını sağlamaktadır. İnsan boyutlarının ve buna bağlı olarak araç-gereç-donatım boyutlarının ve kalite standartlarının belirlenmesi, insanlık tarihi boyunca önem taşıyan bir konu olmuştur. Termal modifikasyon işlemi, ahşap malzemenin boyutsal stabilizasyonunu iyileştiren bir yöntemdir. Dış mekanda kullanılan ahşap malzeme, yapılan bu işlem sayesinde daha stabil bir özelliğe kavuşmakta ve bu durum ergonomi açısından önem arz etmektedir. Bu çalışma kapsamında kentsel donatı elemanları ergonomik açıdan değerlendirilmiş ve bu donatıların tasarımında kullanılan teknolojik ölçütler termal modifikasyon ile iyileştirilen ahşap malzemeler kapsamında ele alınmıştır

Effects of Cigarette Smoking across Three Generations and of Perceptions of the Smoking-Cancer Relationship on the Cigarette Smoking Status of Turkish University Students

Background: This descriptive and cross-sectional study aimed to investigate effects of cigarette smoking across three generations and perceptions of the smoking-cancer relationship on the cigarette smoking status of Turkish university students. Materials and Methods: The study sample comprised of 434 university students studying in different departments of a university. Data were collected using a socio-demographic data collection form and the Decisional Balance Scaleqand evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test, CHAID and multiple regression analyses. Results: The average age of the students participating in the study is 19.6+.5.0, some 11.3% of the students reporting that they smoked cigarettes. No statistically significant relationship was ascertained between the cigarette smoking statuses of the students based on the cigarette smoking status of their grandparents (p=0.144). but there was alink to that of their parents (p=0.002). The difference between the cigarette smoking ratios of the students based on their perceptions of smoking-cancer relationship was statistically significant (p<0.001). Believing that there is a relationship between smoking and cancer decreased likelihood of cigarette smoking 3.7 fold. Cigarette smoking by grandparents, and believing that there is a relationship between smoking and cancer, and cigarette smoking by parents explained 8.3% of the cigarette smoking status of the students. Conclusions: While cigarette smoking by grandparents only indirectly influences cigarette smoking by the students, believing that there is a relationship between smoking and cancer, and cigarette smoking by parents are influential variables in determining cigarette smoking by Turkish students