SECURE SMART TRAFFIC LIGHT SYSTEM USING AUXILIARY DATA IN COOPERATIVE AWARENESS MESSAGE

Current smart traffic lights (STLs) can provide access to a traffic signal, which a vehicle, such as an emergency vehicle, can manipulate through a Cooperative Awareness Message (CAM) object. However, researchers have demonstrated that STLs can be easily hacked using an abusive CAM object. To address such a weakness, techniques are presented herein that secure a STL with auxiliary data that is attached to a CAM object, which can be used by a vehicle on-board unit (OBU) and smartphones. Aspects of the presented techniques reduce the encryption and decryption overhead that is incurred when attaching a security header as part of a CAM message. Further aspects of the presented techniques ensure that the authenticity and integrity of a CAM message can be validated through a roadside infrastructure (e.g., Roadside Units (RSUs)) and STLs with the help of a central server

Knowledge, practices and influencing factors defining unhealthy food behavior among adolescents in India: a scoping review

Unhealthy food behaviors are the major contributing factors to the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among adolescents in India. Knowledge and practices related to unhealthy eating are significant factors influencing adolescents’ food behavior. In this scoping review, we aim to map evidence and identify gaps on knowledge, practices, and the influencing factors associated with unhealthy food behavior among Indian adolescents by examining the existing literature. Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework and the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’ manual were used for this review. After the screening, 33 articles were identified according to the inclusion criteria. Data extraction was performed according to the study objectives, followed by narrative summarization. The studies included a total of 20,566 adolescents. Most studies reported insufficient knowledge about healthy food choices among adolescents. Diet intake patterns among the adolescents showed a lower amount of fruits and vegetables and an increase in fried items, sugar-sweetened beverages, packaged food, and fast food in both sexes, with a broader association with peer influence (21.2%), parental unhealthy food behavior (15.1%), place of residence (6.06%), emotional status (6.06%), and mass media exposure (18.1%). The scoping review highlights the need for targeted interventions aimed at improving the knowledge and practices of Indian adolescents by promoting healthy food choices and sensitizing them about the risk of non-communicable diseases. The analysis of evidence around adolescent dietary behavior in India shows a monotonous, limited, and narrow range in scope, indicating the extended need for research

AUDITING CONSTRUCTION QUALITY USING SATELLITE IMAGE TELEMETRY

Currently, the construction audit process is manual and as a result may yield inferior quality assurance data collection and report generation. Such an approach may lead to a construction project having poor quality. To address such challenges, techniques are presented herein that leverage satellites and their telemetry data. Aspects of the presented techniques support the remote auditing of construction quality and aid in completing the ‘detective work’ behind fraudulent construction claims (based on different construction parameters, the composition of the materials that are employed during construction, etc.). Further aspects of the presented techniques support estimating the ceiling life of a construction project; augmenting hyperspectral analysis with regular satellite imagery, thus creating a new view that helps to identify the composition of construction materials, the dimensions of a construction project, etc.; and the automatic generation of audit reports. Aspects of the presented techniques may be employed in a number of use cases including, for example, road quality determination, rooftop quality determination, public infrastructure (such as metro rail, etc.) quality determination, etc

Synthesis, Antiinflammatory and Antibacterial Activity of Novel Indolyl-isoxazoles

Chalcones were synthesized by reacting indole-3-aldehyde, prepared by Vilsemeir Haack reaction with 4-substituted acetophenone in ethanolic KOH solution. These chalcones were immediately reacted with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in presence of glacial acetic acid as reagent to obtain the corresponding isoxazole derivatives. The synthesized heterocycles were characterized on the basis of physical, chemical tests and spectroscopic data. These compounds were tested for the acute antiinflammatory activity and antibacterial activity using carrageenan-induced rat paw edema method and cup-plate method, respectively

Pigment mediated biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles using diatom Amphora sp. and its antimicrobial activity

Light induced biosynthesis of polycrystalline silver nanoparticles (SNPs) using the aqueous extract of a diatom Amphora-46 was studied. Rapid formation of stable SNPs was observed only on exposure of the reaction mixture to light. Strong surface plasmon resonance at 415 nm due to SNP formation was confirmed by spectroscopic analysis. TEM analysis confirmed the formation of polycrystalline spherical SNPs of an average size of 20–25 nm which was further corroborated by XRD, EDAX and SAED results. Compositional analysis using EDAX showed strong characteristic signal for silver. The XRD spectra show four intense diffraction peaks at 38.48°, 44°, 64.74°, and 77.4° which correspond well to (111), (200), (220), and (311) plane of (fcc) polycrystalline SNP and the intensity of peak at (111) plane is more than the other peaks, suggesting that this plane is the predominant one. Both XRD and SAED results clearly indicated that the SNPs were polycrystalline in nature and were of high purity. The bio-molecule responsible for the reduction of silver ion was identified to be a photosynthetic pigment fucoxanthin, which is light sensitive and acts as a reducing agent. Furthermore, the synthesized SNPs possess significant antimicrobial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. This study demonstrates for the first time, the involvement of photosynthetic pigment fucoxanthin isolated from Amphora-46 in silver nanoparticle formation through a light dependent reaction

Perception, practices, and understanding related to teenage pregnancy among the adolescent girls in India: a scoping review

Abstract Background Teenage pregnancy is a concerning public health problem in India. Misperception and misunderstanding about pregnancy and its preventive methods lead to pregnancy when adolescents are involved in unsafe sexual intercourse. This scoping review aims to discuss the evidence on the perception, practices, and understanding related to teenage pregnancy among adolescent girls in the Indian context. Method The Arksey and O'Malley scoping review framework and Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’ Manual were used for the scoping review. The Population, Concept, and Context strategy (PCC) ensured the review questions, eligibility criteria, and search strategy. The Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) was used. A literature search was done using electronic databases by specific keywords such as “teenage”, “adolescences”, “pregnancy”, “perception”, “knowledge”, “awareness”, etc. Relevant grey literature was identified through further searching. The review included studies that fulfil inclusion criteria having female adolescent groups aged from 10 to 19 years in the Indian context between the years 2000 and 2021. Result We found 40 eligible studies; more than half of these were from southern (35%) and northern (27.5%) regions, and studies from the rest of India were very sporadically distributed. Most studies (72.5%) were published in the last 10 years. The relevant extracted data from individual studies were synthesized and presented in the two major sections, perception, practices, and the second one, understanding and experiences among teenage girls. The understanding of pregnancy and teenage pregnancy-related preventive methods was detailed analysis in about 72% of papers whereas other aspects, such as perception (22.5%), practices (25%), and experiences (7.5%) were discussed in the remaining papers related to pregnancy among adolescent girls. Conclusion Evidence in the selected studies shows that understanding and practices are the major areas that were primarily explored, where perception, practices and experiences are the topics that are relatively less investigated. Literature synthesis derives misconception, lack of understanding, and practices without knowing the consequences are the key factors responsible for early pregnancies. Future interventions like increasing awareness, providing comprehensive reproductive knowledge, convenient health care aids, and proper counselling are adequate measures for minimalising the problem. The present analysis showed that studies are limited in their scope concerning various aspects of teenage pregnancy in India, so this scoping review gives essential perspectives on future research and implementation plans and policies in this field

Gelucire: A versatile polymer for modified release drug delivery system

Poly ethylene glycol (PEG) ester surfactants are synthesized by reacting polyethylene glycol with fatty acid. The polyethylene glycol comprises the hydrophilic part of the surfactant and the fatty acid is the lipophilic part. By varying the molecular weight of the PEG and the fatty acid, surfactants covering wide range of hydrophilic lipophilic balance (HLB) values can be produced. Gelucire is the family of vehicle derived from mixtures of mono, di and triglycerides with PEG esters of fatty acids. These are available with range of properties depending on their HLB and melting point range (33–65 °C). They have a wide variety of application in oral and topical formulations. The applications of oral formulation include solubility and bioavailability enhancement, sustain drug release, taste masking and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) protection from oxygen, light and humidity. The applications of topical formulations include stabilization of creams, lotions and gels, thickener, superior penetration of drug through skin. Gelucire containing only PEG esters are generally used in the preparation of fast release formulations. Gelucire containing only glycerides or a mixture of glycerides and PEG esters are used in the preparation of sustained release formulations. Owing to their extreme hydrophobicity and low density, are considered as appropriate carriers for designing sustained release drug delivery systems. In this review manuscript, applications of various grades of gelucire are compiled in the form of tables and discussed critically. A current literature on patents on gelucire based formulations was also discussed. Keywords: Polyethyleneglycol esters, Glycerides, Mixture of glycerides, Hydrophilic lipophilic balanc