Copy move forgery detection using key point localized super pixel based on texture features

The most important barrier in the image forensic is to ensue a forgery detection method such can detect the copied region which sustains rotation, scaling reflection, compressing or all. Traditional SIFT method is not good enough to yield good result. Matching accuracy is not good. In order to improve the accuracy in copy move forgery detection, this paper suggests a forgery detection method especially for copy move attack using Key Point Localized Super Pixel (KLSP). The proposed approach harmonizes both Super Pixel Segmentation using Lazy Random Walk (LRW) and Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) based key point extraction. The experimental result indicates the proposed KLSP approach achieves better performance than the previous well known approaches

A Systematic Review on the Status and Progress of Homomorphic Encryption Technologies

With the emergence of big data and the continued growth in cloud computing applications, serious security and privacy concerns emerged. Consequently, several researchers and cybersecurity experts have embarked on a quest to extend data encryption to big data systems and cloud computing applications. As most cloud users turn to using public cloud services, confidentiality becomes and even more complicated issue. Cloud clients storing their data on a public cloud always seek solutions to confidentiality problem. Homomorphic encryption emerged as a possible solution where client’s data is encrypted on the cloud in a way that allows some search and manipulation operations without proper decryption. In this paper, we present a systematic review of research paper published in the field of homomorphic encryption. This paper uses PRISMA checklist alongside some items of Cochrane’s Quality Assessment to review studies retrieved from various resources. It was highly noticeable in the reviewed papers that security in big data and cloud computing has received most attention. Most papers suggested the use of homomorphic encryption although the thematic analysis has identified other potential concerns. Regarding the quality of the articles, 38% of the articles failed to meet three checklist items, including explicit statement of research objectives, procedure recognition and sources of funding used in the study. The review also presented compendium textual analysis of different homomorphic encryption algorithms, application areas, and areas of future developments. Results of the evaluation through PRISMA and the Cochrane tool showed that a majority of research articles discussed the potential use and application of Homomorphic Encryption as a solution to the growing demands of big data and absence of security and privacy mechanisms therein. This was evident from 26 of the total 59 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The term Homomorphic Encryption appeared 1802 times in the word cloud derived from the selected articles, which speaks of its potential to ensure security and privacy, while also preserving the CIA triad in the context of big data and cloud computing

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707

Ruling out (160, 54, 18) difference sets in some nonabelian groups

We prove the following theorems. Theorem A. Let G be a group of order 160 satisfying one of the following conditions. (1) G has an image isomorphic to D20 ×  Z2(for example, if G ≃ D20 × K). (2) G has a normal 5-Sylow subgroup and an elementary abelian 2-Sylow subgroup. (3) G has an abelian image of exponent 2, 4, 5, or 10 and order greater than 20. Then G cannot contain a (160, 54, 18) difference set. Theorem B. Suppose G is a nonabelian group with 2-Sylow subgroup S and 5-Sylow subgroup T and contains a (160, 54, 18) difference set. Then we have one of three possibilities. (1) T is normal, |ϕ(S)| = 8, and one of the following is true: (a) G = S × T and S is nonabelian; (b) G has a D10image; or (c) G has a Frobenius image of order 20. (2) G has a Frobenius image of order 80. (3) G is of index 6 in A Γ L(1, 16). To prove the first case of Theorem A, we find the possible distribution of a putative difference set with the stipulated parameters among the cosets of a normal subgroup using irreducible representations of the quotient; we show that no such distribution is possible. The other two cases are due to others. In the second (due to Pott) irreducible representations of the elementary abelian quotient of order 32 give a contradiction. In the third (due to an anonymous referee), the contradiction derives from a theorem of Lander together with Dillon\u27s “dihedral trick.” Theorem B summarizes the open nonabelian cases based on this work

Design of an Antibiotic-Releasing Polymer: Physicochemical Characterization and Drug Release Patterns

Conventional drug delivery has its share of shortcomings, especially its rapid drug release with a relatively short duration of therapeutic drug concentrations, even in topical applications. Prolonged drug release can be effectively achieved by modifying the carrier in a drug delivery system. Among the several candidates for carriers studied over the years, poly (ether ether ketone), a biocompatible thermoplastic, was chosen as a suitable carrier. Its inherent hydrophobicity was overcome by controlled sulfonation, which introduced polar sulfonate groups onto the polymer backbone. Optimization of the sulfonation process was completed by the variation of the duration, temperature of the sulfonation, and concentration of sulfuric acid. The sulfonation was confirmed by EDS and the degree of sulfonation was determined by an NMR analysis (61.6% and 98.9%). Various physical properties such as morphology, mechanical strength, and thermal stability were studied using scanning electron microscopy, tensile testing, and thermogravimetric analysis. Cytotoxicity tests were performed on the SPEEK samples to study the variation in biocompatibility against a Vero cell line. The drug release kinetics of ciprofloxacin (CP) and nalidixic acid sodium salt (NA)-loaded membranes were studied in deionized water as well as SBF and compared against the absorbance of standardized solutions of the drug. The data were then used to determine the diffusion, distribution, and permeability coefficients. Various mathematical models were used to fit the obtained data to establish the order and mechanism of drug release. Studies revealed that drug release occurs by diffusion and follows zero-order kinetics