AODVSEC: A Novel Approach to Secure Ad Hoc on-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) Routing Protocol from Insider Attacks in MANETs

Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) is a collection of mobile nodes that can communicate with each other using multihop wireless links without requiring any fixed based-station infrastructure and centralized management. Each node in the network acts as both a host and a router. In such scenario, designing of an efficient, reliable and secure routing protocol has been a major challenging issue over the last many years. Numerous schemes have been proposed for secure routing protocols and most of the research work has so far focused on providing security for routing using cryptography. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to secure Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol from the insider attacks launched through active forging of its Route Reply (RREP) control message. AODV routing protocol does not have any security provision that makes it less reliable in publicly open ad hoc network. To deal with the concerned security attacks, we have proposed AODV Security Extension (AODVSEC) which enhances the scope of AODV for the security provision. We have compared AODVSEC with AODV and Secure AODV (SAODV) in normal situation as well as in presence of the three concerned attacks viz. Resource Consumption (RC) attack, Route Disturb (RD) attack, Route Invasion (RI) attack and Blackhole (BH) attack. To evaluate the performances, we have considered Packet Delivery Fraction (PDF), Average End-to-End Delay (AED), Average Throughput (AT), Normalized Routing Load (NRL) and Average Jitter and Accumulated Average Processing Time.Comment: 20 Pages, 24 Figure

The Effect of a Maternal Mediterranean Diet in Pregnancy on Insulin Resistance is Moderated by Maternal Negative Affect.

There is inconsistent evidence that healthy dietary interventions can effectively mitigate the risk of adverse outcomes associated with elevated insulin resistance in pregnancy, suggesting that other moderating factors may be at play. Maternal psychological state is an important factor to consider in this regard, because stress/mood state can directly influence glycemia and a bidirectional relationship may exist between nutrition and psychological state. The objective of this study was to examine the interaction between maternal negative affect and diet quality on third trimester insulin resistance. We conducted a prospective longitudinal study of N = 203 women with assessments in early and mid-pregnancy, which included an ecological momentary assessment of maternal psychological state, from which a negative affect score (NAS) was derived, and 24-h dietary recalls, from which the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) was computed. The homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was computed from third trimester fasting plasma glucose and insulin values. Early pregnancy MDS was inversely associated with the HOMA-IR, but this did not maintain significance after adjusting for covariates. There was a significant effect of the mid-pregnancy MDS*NAS interaction term with the HOMA-IR in the adjusted model, such that a higher negative affect was found to override the beneficial effects of a Mediterranean diet on insulin resistance. These results highlight the need to consider nutrition and affective state concurrently in the context of gestational insulin resistance

Yield and quality of carrageenan from Kappaphycus alvarezii subjected to different physical and chemical treatments

With a view to findout a suitable method for carrageenan extraction from Kappaphycus alvarezii, a detailed investigation was made on quantitative and qualitative estimation of carrageenan subjected to different physical and chemical treatments. The dried material presoaked in KOH and heated for 5 hours at 900C and precipitated with propanol gave the maximum yield of 59.4 % and viscosity of 25.25 cps. In Ca(OH)2 treatment, the yield was almost similar to that of KOH treatment but the viscosity was very low (9.45 cps). The gel was found to be brown in colour when treated with NaOH and milky white with Ca (OH) 2. KOH gel was thick, translucent with high viscosity. Pretreatments of dried seaweed with NaOH, KOH and Ca (OH) 2 followed by pressure-cooking showed relatively higher yield of carrageenan, but the viscosity, clarity and the texture of the gel were found to be poor. Clarity of gel obtained by KOH- methanol treatment was higher when compared to other treatments. The yield of carrageenan was higher when the extracted material was frozen overnight and thawed, but the gel was brown in colour with less rigidity. The present study shows that treatment with KOH gives better yield and quality gel

Neonatal White Matter Maturation Is Associated With Infant Language Development

Background: While neonates have no sophisticated language skills, the neural basis for acquiring this function is assumed to already be present at birth. Receptive language is measurable by 6 months of age and meaningful speech production by 10-18 months of age. Fiber tracts supporting language processing include the corpus callosum (CC), which plays a key role in the hemispheric lateralization of language; the left arcuate fasciculus (AF), which is associated with syntactic processing; and the right AF, which plays a role in prosody and semantics. We examined if neonatal maturation of these fiber tracts is associated with receptive language development at 12 months of age. Methods: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was performed in 86 infants at 26.6 ± 12.2 days post-birth. Receptive language was assessed via the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory at 12 months of age. Tract-based fractional anisotropy (FA) was determined using the NA-MIC atlas-based fiber analysis toolkit. Associations between neonatal regional FA, adjusted for gestational age at birth and age at scan, and language development at 12 months of age were tested using ANOVA models. Results: After multiple comparisons correction, higher neonatal FA was positively associated with receptive language at 12 months of age within the genu (p < 0.001), rostrum (p < 0.001), and tapetum (p < 0.001) of the CC and the left fronto-parietal AF (p = 0.008). No significant clusters were found in the right AF. Conclusion: Microstructural development of the CC and the AF in the newborn is associated with receptive language at 12 months of age, demonstrating that interindividual variation in white matter microstructure is relevant for later language development, and indicating that the neural foundation for language processing is laid well ahead of the majority of language acquisition. This suggests that some origins of impaired language development may lie in the intrauterine and potentially neonatal period of life. Understanding how interindividual differences in neonatal brain maturity relate to the acquisition of function, particularly during early development when the brain is in an unparalleled window of plasticity, is key to identifying opportunities for harnessing neuroplasticity in health and disease

Longitudinal Metabolomic Profiling of Amino Acids and Lipids across Healthy Pregnancy

Pregnancy is characterized by a complexity of metabolic processes that may impact fetal development and ultimately, infant health outcomes. However, our understanding of whole body maternal and fetal metabolism during this critical life stage remains incomplete. The objective of this study is to utilize metabolomics to profile longitudinal patterns of fasting maternal metabolites among a cohort of non-diabetic, healthy pregnant women in order to advance our understanding of changes in protein and lipid concentrations across gestation, the biochemical pathways by which they are metabolized and to describe variation in maternal metabolites between ethnic groups. Among 160 pregnant women, amino acids, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, keto-bodies and non-esterified fatty acids were detected by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, while polar lipids were detected through flow-injected mass spectrometry. The maternal plasma concentration of several essential and non-essential amino acids, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, free carnitine, acetylcarnitine, phosphatidylcholines and sphingomyelins significantly decreased across pregnancy. Concentrations of several TCA intermediates increase as pregnancy progresses, as well as the keto-body β-hydroxybutyrate. Ratios of specific acylcarnitines used as indicators of metabolic pathways suggest a decreased beta-oxidation rate and increased carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 enzyme activity with advancing gestation. Decreasing amino acid concentrations likely reflects placental uptake and tissue biosynthesis. The absence of any increase in plasma non-esterified fatty acids is unexpected in the catabolic phase of later pregnancy and may reflect enhanced placental fatty acid uptake and utilization for fetal tissue growth. While it appears that energy production through the TCA cycle increases as pregnancy progresses, decreasing patterns of free carnitine and acetylcarnitine as well as increased carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 rate and β-hydroxybutyrate levels suggest a concomitant upregulation of ketogenesis to ensure sufficient energy supply in the fasting state. Several differences in metabolomic profiles between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women demonstrate phenotypic variations in prenatal metabolism which should be considered in future studies

Variation in the Maternal Corticotrophin Releasing Hormone-Binding Protein (CRH-BP) Gene and Birth Weight in Blacks, Hispanics and Whites

Background: Given the unique role of the corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) system in human fetal development, the aim of our study was to estimate the association of birth weight with DNA sequence variation in three maternal genes involved in regulating CRH production, bioavailability and action: CRH, CRH-Binding Protein (CRH-BP), and CRH type 1 receptor (CRH-R1), respectively, in three racial groups (African-Americans, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic Whites). Methods: Our study was carried out on a population-based sample of 575 mother-child dyads. We resequenced the three genes in mouse-human hybrid somatic cell lines and selected SNPs for genotyping. Results: A significant association was observed in each race between birth weight and maternal CRH-BP SNP genotypes. Estimates of linkage disequilibrium and haplotypes established three common haplotypes marked by the rs1053989 SNP in all three races. This SNP predicted significant birth weight variation after adjustment for gestational age, maternal BMI, parity, and smoking. African American and Hispanic mothers carrying the A allele had infants whose birth weight was on average 254 and 302 grams, respectively, less than infants having C/C mothers. Non-Hispanic White mothers homozygous for the A allele had infants who were on average 148 grams less than those infants having A/C and C/C mothers. Conclusions: The magnitudes of the estimates of the birth weight effects are comparable to the combined effects of multiple SNPs reported in a recent meta-analysis of 6 GWAS studies and is quantitatively larger than that associated with maternal cigarette smoking. This effect was persistent across subpopulations that vary with respect to ancestry and environment. © 2012 Wadhwa et al

Aspects of Biology of the Weed of Arable Crops broom corn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.)

Grass weeds such as Panicum miliaceum L. (broom corn millet) are a persistent problem for agriculture, causing significant crop losses. A weedy biotype of broom corn millet is already a troublesome weed on North American arable farms, and has recently emerged as a threat to New Zealand corn and maize crops. This thesis describes aspects of the biology of broom corn millet under New Zealand conditions. Experiments were designed to understand under what conditions broom corn millet is mostly likely to affect crop growth. Experiments were conducted in a glass house and a laboratory to observe the effect of temperature on germination and early growth of broom corn millet. The pot-based glasshouse experiment compared germination and growth between a range of controlled substrate temperatures. The response of broom corn millet to temperature was typical of that expected for a C₄ plant. At 10°C seeds germinated later and in lower proportions compared to 15°C, 20°C and 25°C. Growth and above ground dry biomass accumulation also increased with increasing substrate temperature, with the highest dry biomass accumulated at 25°C, primarily because of increases in germination rate. In a laboratory experiment conducted at temperatures ranging from 5°C and 34°C, temperatures greater than or equal to 20°C were more favourable for germination of broom corn millet seeds. The optimum temperatures for germination were 27°C to 34°C. The threshold germination temperature for the seed lot used was 7.4°C. Broom corn millet seeds were tested for their ability to germinate and emerge from a range of planting depths when planted in pots containing 16 soil types from around New Zealand. Seedlings emerged from 120 mm depth in all soil types. In six soil types seeds of broom corn millet were able to emerge from the greatest depth tested of 170 mm, very deep compared to most herbaceous weeds. In general, seedling emergence reduced with increasing depth, whereas suicidal germination increased. Step-wise binomial regression of emergence against various soil physical properties did not reveal any significant relationship between soil physical properties and seedling emergence. To observe the affect of competition on both the weed (broom corn millet) and the crop (sweet corn), plants of both species were grown together in pots at a range of planting ratios. Plants were also grown in monoculture to observe growth without competition. In the competition trial broom corn millet emerged after sweet corn and affected sweet corn above ground biomass during the first four weeks. However, this effect did not persist as sweet corn biomass increased irrespective of the level of competition from broom corn millet plants. The monoculture experiment indicated that sweet corn grew better without competition whereas growth of broom corn millet was stimulated while growing in competition. The poor competition by broom corn millet plants was assumed to be the result of unseasonal low temperatures during the period immediately after sewing and demonstrated that broom corn millet plants emerging after the crop may not affect crop growth. The likely persistence of New Zealand broom corn millet seeds in soil is unknown. A laboratory based Controlled Ageing Test (CAT) was therefore evaluated for its ability to predict the persistence of seeds. The test was conducted using seeds of nodding thistle (Carduus nutans), for which real time persistence data is available. In two additional experiments, the CAT was used to estimate the potential persistence of New Zealand sourced broom corn millet seeds. The CAT derived half life time (P₅₀) of nodding thistle seeds did not compare well with the field derived P₅₀ for nodding thistle seeds, with the CAT results suggesting less persistence compared to actual persistence. Examination of the CAT results for broom corn millet showed a decline in seed viability from 30 to 50 days, followed by a sharp decline at 75 days. The midpoint of the initial decline (40 days) was taken as the P50 for broom corn millet. This value is similar to existing information for broom corn millet in North America, and indicates that broom corn millet will form a moderately persistent seed bank in New Zealand. In conclusion, results suggest that higher temperatures favour the growth of broom corn millet. Planting of crops earlier in the season may reduce competition by this weed. However, increasing temperatures as a result of global climate change will enhance conditions for broom corn millet and may increase future crop losses caused by this weed. The ability of broom corn millet’s relatively large seeds to germinate and emerge from depth will limit the efficiency of conventional weed control practices, such as ploughing and stale seed beds. The ability to form a moderately persistent seed bank suggests that once introduced, broom corn millet will be challenging to eradicate because of its prolific seed production. Significant changes in weed control practices will therefore be required to manage broom corn millet in the future

Breaking majority rules: the politics of communities and citizens in Britain and India

In this interdisciplinary thesis I will be arguing that new configurations of state discrimination have outrun the vocabularies of liberal multiculturalism and secularism. These `majoritarianisms' are parasitic on the creeping foreclosure of secular spaces and identities from which emergent antiracist and antifascist struggles can be mounted. State multiculturalism in Britain and India has been instrumental in fertilising the sectarian soil in which the secular has decomposed. They have patronised cultural separateness only to make capital from the isolation of ethnic blocs from mainstream society by expressing exasperation at the reluctance of minorities to `integrate'. The faith and ethnic communities consolidated under the multiculturalist `management' of diversity have grown bereft of a political culture with which to interrogate the racist state. The privileging of cultural consciousness has been at the expense of political consciousness and an understanding of how discrimination cuts across cultural lines. The crisis of the secular is therefore simultaneously also a crisis of citizenship. The thesis opens with chapters that draw on sociological research and political commentary to assess the differing forms of majoritarianism and crises of citizenship in Britain and India respectively. In the third chapter I approach these issues through the prism of postcolonial theory using Gayatri Spivak's rehabilitation of responsibility as a collective right (2003) to arrive at a contemporary expression of political education. In the final two chapters I apply these principles to bring the multicultural and the secular into `productive crisis' in Indian and British contexts by circumventing the orthodox divisions that characterise intellectual approaches to anti-racism and antifascism. I argue that there is a role for a modified understanding of multiculturalism in the recovery of the secular. I conclude therefore that renewing secular culture is predicated on the Left's ability to reaffirm the reciprocity between political consciousness, citizenship and struggles for racial, ethnic and religious equality

Complementary supramolecular drug associates in perfecting the multidrug therapy against multidrug resistant bacteria

The inappropriate and inconsistent use of antibiotics in combating multidrug-resistant bacteria exacerbates their drug resistance through a few distinct pathways. Firstly, these bacteria can accumulate multiple genes, each conferring resistance to a specific drug, within a single cell. This accumulation usually takes place on resistance plasmids (R). Secondly, multidrug resistance can arise from the heightened expression of genes encoding multidrug efflux pumps, which expel a broad spectrum of drugs from the bacterial cells. Additionally, bacteria can also eliminate or destroy antibiotic molecules by modifying enzymes or cell walls and removing porins. A significant limitation of traditional multidrug therapy lies in its inability to guarantee the simultaneous delivery of various drug molecules to a specific bacterial cell, thereby fostering incremental drug resistance in either of these paths. Consequently, this approach prolongs the treatment duration. Rather than using a biologically unimportant coformer in forming cocrystals, another drug molecule can be selected either for protecting another drug molecule or, can be selected for its complementary activities to kill a bacteria cell synergistically. The development of a multidrug cocrystal not only improves tabletability and plasticity but also enables the simultaneous delivery of multiple drugs to a specific bacterial cell, philosophically perfecting multidrug therapy. By adhering to the fundamental tenets of multidrug therapy, the synergistic effects of these drug molecules can effectively eradicate bacteria, even before they have the chance to develop resistance. This approach has the potential to shorten treatment periods, reduce costs, and mitigate drug resistance. Herein, four hypotheses are presented to create complementary drug cocrystals capable of simultaneously reaching bacterial cells, effectively destroying them before multidrug resistance can develop. The ongoing surge in the development of novel drugs provides another opportunity in the fight against bacteria that are constantly gaining resistance to existing treatments. This endeavour holds the potential to combat a wide array of multidrug-resistant bacteria