Enabling trust and security in digital twin management:a blockchain-based approach with ethereum and IPFS

The emergence of Industry 5.0 has highlighted the significance of information usage, processing, and data analysis when maintaining physical assets. This has enabled the creation of the Digital Twin (DT). Information about an asset is generated and consumed during its entire life cycle. The main goal of DT is to connect and represent physical assets as close to reality as possible virtually. Unfortunately, the lack of security and trust among DT participants remains a problem as a result of data sharing. This issue cannot be resolved with a central authority when dealing with large organisations. Blockchain technology has been proposed as a solution for DT information sharing and security challenges. This paper proposes a Blockchain-based solution for digital twin using Ethereum blockchain with performance and cost analysis. This solution employs a smart contract for information management and access control for stakeholders of the digital twin, which is secure and tamper-proof. This implementation is based on Ethereum and IPFS. We use IPFS storage servers to store stakeholders’ details and manage information. A real-world use-case of a production line of a smartphone, where a conveyor belt is used to carry different parts, is presented to demonstrate the proposed system. The performance evaluation of our proposed system shows that it is secure and achieves performance improvement when compared with other methods. The comparison of results with state-of-the-art methods showed that the proposed system consumed fewer resources in a transaction cost, with an 8% decrease. The execution cost increased by 10%, but the cost of ether was 93% less than the existing methods

Using ensemble modeling to predict breeding habitat of the red-listed Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) in the Western Himalayas of Pakistan

Quantifying a species geographic range is a necessary requirement for targeted and effective conservation management and planning. The Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) is a globally threatened Galliformes, endemic to the Western Himalayas. The breeding habitat of the species is believed to be exposed to increased anthropogenic pressures. There is a general lack of empirically-based approaches to protect the breeding habitat of this species. To this end, we used recent records of breeding tragopan to develop an ensemble model of the breeding habitat in Pakistan for this Vulnerable species. The model predicted a total area of 10,410 km2 as potential breeding habitat for the species nationally. Of this, 2979 km2 (28.6%) were potentially highly suitable (P > 0.4), 2544 km2 (24.4%) were moderately suitable (0.2 >P < 0.4), and 4887 km2 (46.9%) were of low suitability (P < 0.2). The breeding sites of the species were recorded with mean global human modification gradient of 0.33 ± 0.06 which implies that habitat suitability for the Tragopan now appears associated with areas of moderate land modification. Therefore, the predicted highly suitable area (core breeding area) was only 79 km2 (or 2.6%) of the total predicted area suitable for breeding. Hence, the potential breeding habitat of this species may be degraded owing to human habitat interference. We propose that the remaining pockets of high suitability for breeding which remain free from human impacts are declared as protected areas with immediate effect. Areas of high suitability with already existing human disturbance should receive high attention by conservation managers and policy makers, attempting to reduce further human impact. Our model further suggests that more detailed studies at a landscape level should be carried out urgently to successfully protect this globally threatened species from further habitat deterioration

Diagnostic accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology in parotid lesions

Objective:Histopathology of parotid gland tumors is extremely varied and complex due to heterogeneous cellular composition. Preoperative diagnostic tools include fine needle aspiration cytology, the role of which remains controversial. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the diagnosis of parotid gland tumors. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed charts of 129 Patients who underwent parotidectomy for parotid lesions at Aga Khan University Hospital from 2002 to 2010. We compared the results of preoperative FNAC with final histopathological diagnosis. Results: Concordance with histological results was observed in 86%, specificity was 98%, sensitivity was 84%, and diagnostic accuracy was 94%. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that preoperative cytology in parotid lesions is fairly accurate and useful in diagnosing benign from malignant and in planning appropriate approach for treatment

Field Assessment of Non-nuclear Methods Used for Hot Mix Asphalt Density Measurement

Destructive nature along with the associated higher cost of the traditional core method used for hot mix asphalt density measurement has convinced researchers switching to some non-destructive technique for this purpose which is cost efficient as well. Earlier, nuclear density gauges were introduced for this purpose which was non-destructive as well. Since such devices were associated with the use of gamma rays, therefore, leading to safety and health issues. Last decade observed a revolution in asphalt density measurement technique with the evolution of non-nuclear density gauges. This research work is carried out with the objective to determine the efficiency and accuracy of a newly developed non-nuclear density gauge i.e. PQI-380 for field conditions as it needs its thorough evaluation prior to future uses in many of the developing countries including Pakistan. Density data obtained using standard core method and non-nuclear density gauge for 195 location confirms the satisfactory performance of the instrument. Results obtained show that the coefficient of correlation is near to 0.9. which refers to a strong correlation between the density data. Moreover, performance criteria e.g. root mean square error and mean absolute error between the density data set is also very low confirming the good measuring abilities of the device. Instrument performed well for repeatability analysis giving maximum coefficient of variance less than 5 percent

Antimicrobial activities of the leaves and roots of Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb

Plants are the rich natural source of bioactive compounds. The more diversified composition of the plants makes their role as biomedicine. These bioactive molecules are often lethal to both plants and animals. Based on ethnomedical use, the leaves and root of Elaeagnus umbellata (Elaeagnaceae) were extracted successively with various organic solvents and water. These crude extracts were screened for their toxic potential against three Gram- positive bacteria, five Gram- negative bacteria, one  yeast, and one fungus by using disc diffusion method. The acetone, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, chloroform, ethanol and  methanol extracts of the plant possessed significant antimicrobial activities on both Gram- positive and Gram- negative bacteria. The acetone, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of leaves and roots of the plant exhibited prominent activities while chloroform, ethanol extracts showed moderate activity and water extract showed no activity against all the tested bacteria. Ethanolic and methanolic extracts also showed considerable activity against fungus and yeast. The root extracts of the plant were found more active against the microorganisms.Keywords: Elaeagnus umbellata, extracts, fungi, yeast, antibiotic discs

Effect of Blood Pressure Lowering Therapy in Stroke Patients

Objective: The objective of the study is to assess the effect of blood pressure lowering with Candesartan in patients with stroke and elevated blood pressure admitted in this hospital.Study Design: Prospective descriptive observational study.Setting: Neurosurgery, Medical Emergency / OPD, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar.Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was done at the Department of Medicine and Neurosurgery, Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar from January 2013 to May 2014 (for One year and 5 months period) in a total of 357 patients. In this descriptive study, patients presenting to Emergency department or OPD with stroke and elevated blood pressure, presenting within 30 hours of symptom onset and with SBP ≥ 140 mmHg, diastolic &gt; 90 mmHg, were eligible for inclusion. Exclusion criteria were contraindicat-ions to or ongoing treatment with an angiotensin receptor blocker, markedly reduced consciousness, patients with chronic heart failure and intolerance to ACE inhibitors, patient unavailability for follow-up and pregnancy or breast – feeding. The acute phase treatment was a fixed dose of 4 mg on day 1, 8 mg on day 2 and 16 mg on days 3 to 7. Blood pressure was measured daily with the patient in the supine position using a blood pressure monitor. All patients were follow-up on day 7 and at 1 and 6 months after discharged from hospital.Results: Among 357 cases, 68.06% were males and 31.93% females. Majority (37.25%) belongs to age group of 61 – 70 years. Out of these, 66.10% patients were found to have ischemic and 33.89% patients had hemorrhagic stroke. Highest (40.05%) patients belonged to severe hypertensive group i.e. ≥ 180/110 mmHg. Target was achieved in 75.91% patients.Conclusions: Our data suggests that lowering BP in acute ICH is probably safe; however, it remains to be seen if this decreases hematoma expansion or improves outcome

Overexpression of EGFR in oral premalignant lesions and OSCC and its impact on survival and recurrence

Introduction: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) the sixth leading cancer worldwide ranks as the most common cancer in males, and the third most common in females in Pakistan. It is influenced by risk factors which are widely consumed in our population. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a tyrosine kinase receptor that is imperative for cell signalling, growth and differentiation. It is mutated and overexpressed in a variety of cancers, while in OSCC it has been linked to poor patient survival; premalignant to malignant transformation and recurrence. This study investigates the use of EGFR as a prognostic factor for OSCC.Materials and Methods: Premalignant (n=29) and OSCC (n=100) formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues were retrieved from the surgical archives of Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). Immunohistochemistry for EGFR overexpression was performed using monoclonal antibody on both groups. EGFR expression was correlated with habits of risk factor consumption, clinicopathologic features and 5-year survival and recurrence.Results: 15/29 premalignant and 67/100 OSCC patients had overexpressed EGFR. The upper/lower lip had the highest EGFR positivity among all premalignant sites of lesion (p=0.041). In OSCC patients, those who had EGFR overexpression had worse 5-year survival (univariate: p=0.048, multivariate: p=0.056) and higher chances of recurrence (univariate: p=0.01, multivariate: p=0.004) as compared to EGFR negative patients.Conclusion: EGFR is a viable candidate for an OSCC prognostic marker since its overexpression leads to poor survival and markedly increases the chances of recurrence