A QR Code Based Zero-Watermarking Scheme for Authentication of Medical Images in Teleradiology Cloud

Healthcare institutions adapt cloud based archiving of medical images and patient records to share them efficiently. Controlled access to these records and authentication of images must be enforced to mitigate fraudulent activities and medical errors. This paper presents a zero-watermarking scheme implemented in the composite Contourlet Transform (CT)—Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) domain for unambiguous authentication of medical images. Further, a framework is proposed for accessing patient records based on the watermarking scheme. The patient identification details and a link to patient data encoded into a Quick Response (QR) code serves as the watermark. In the proposed scheme, the medical image is not subjected to degradations due to watermarking. Patient authentication and authorized access to patient data are realized on combining a Secret Share with the Master Share constructed from invariant features of the medical image. The Hu’s invariant image moments are exploited in creating the Master Share. The proposed system is evaluated with Checkmark software and is found to be robust to both geometric and non geometric attacks

Soil organic carbon assessment under different land uses in Cauvery delta zone of Tamil Nadu, India

Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a vital role in soil fertility and is important for its contributions to mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The present study was undertaken to estimate the SOC stock in soils under different land uses of Cauvery Delta zone of Tamil Nadu. Four different land uses were selected for the study viz, Forests, Agriculture, Agro-forestry and Plantations. Soil samples were collected from Madukkur and Kalathur soil series of Cauvery Delta zone for soil carbon analysis. The soil samples were fractionated into three aggregate size classes viz., macro-aggregates (250-2000µm), micro-aggregates (53-250 µm) and silt and clay sized fraction (<53 µm). At 0-30 cm depth, the forest land use stored the maximum SOC stock in the different size fractions viz. macro-sized fraction (73.0 Mg ha-1), a micro-sized fraction (76.0 Mg ha-1) and silt+clay sized fraction (77.0 Mg ha-1) in Madukkur series. Agriculture land use registered the lowest SOC stock. Among the different size fractions, silt+clay sized fraction (< 53 µm) retained the maximum SOC in all the land uses. In Kalathur series also, maximum soil organic carbon stock was recorded in forest land use. The data generated in the study will be beneficial to the user groups viz., farmers in identifying the most suitable land use for enhancing the storage of soil organic carbon thereby improving yields of crops and trees

Combination Therapy Using Chimeric Monoclonal Antibodies Protects Mice from Lethal H5N1 Infection and Prevents Formation of Escape Mutants

10.1371/journal.pone.0005672PLoS ONE4

Characterization of Zinc-phthalocyanine–CdS composite thin films for photovoltaic applications

The optical properties of ZnPc–CdS composite thin films have been measured. The composite layers were prepared by vacuum evaporation. The electrical conduction mechanism prevailing in these junctions was of Poole–Frenkel type and the activation energy was found to have a linear dependence with applied field. The maximum photoconductivity occurred at an energy gap around 1.5 to 1.7 eV. The photosensitivity is found to increase with increase in applied voltage

Structural and morphological data of RF-Sputtered BiVO4 thin films

Structural and morphological modulation of rf-sputtered BiVO4 thin films deposited using mechanochemical synthesis prepared BiVO4 nano-powders as sintered target are included in this data article. The crystalline nature of as-prepared films, namely amorphous and crystalline was acquired with time and temperature dependent in-situ high temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD), at a time interval of 1 h. Typical Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra of annealed thin film of monoclinic BiVO4 structure is given. Furthermore, correlation between morphologies of various substrate temperature fabricated BiVO4 thin films are presented

A Bilayer SnO2/MoS2-Coated Evanescent Wave Fiber Optic Sensor for Acetone Detection—An Experimental Study

The need for sensors that measure the acetone content of exhaled breath for diabetes severity has recently increased. Clinical researchers have reported less than 0.8 ppm acetone concentration in the exhaled breath of an average individual, while that for a diabetic patient is higher than 1.8 ppm. This work reports the development of two sets of evanescent wave-based fiber optic sensor coated with SnO2 thin film and bilayer of SnO2/MoS2 to detect different acetone concentrations (0–250 ppm). In each set, we have studied the effect of clad thickness (chemical etch time 5min, 10 min, 15 min, 25 min, 40 min, and complete clad removal) to optimize the clad thickness for a better response. In Set 1, SnO2 thin film was used as the sensing layer, while in Set 2 a bilayer of SnO2 thin film/ MoS2 was used. Enhanced sensor response of ~23.5% is observed in the Set 2 probe with a response and recovery time of ~14 s/~17 s. A SnO2/MoS2-coated sensor prototype is developed using LEDs of different wavelength and intensity detector; its potential to detect different concentrations of acetone is tested. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Ultraviolet (UV) Spectroscopy, and Ellipsometry were used to study the structural, morphological and optical properties of the sensing layers. The present study indicates that the SnO2/MoS2-coated sensor has the potential to create a handheld sensor system for monitoring diabetes