A Reference Architecture for Improving Security and Privacy in Internet of Things Applications

As the promise of the Internet of Things (IoT) materializes in our everyday lives, we are often challenged with a number of concerns regarding the efficacy of the current data privacy solutions that support the pervasive components at play in IoT. The privacy and security concerns surrounding IoT often manifests themselves as a treat to end-user adoption and negatively impacts trust among end-users in these solutions. In this paper, we present a reference software architecture for building cloud-enabled IoT applications in support of collaborative pervasive systems aimed at achieving trustworthiness among end-users in IoT scenarios. We present a case study that leverages this reference architecture to protect sensitive user data in an IoT application implementation and evaluate the response of an end-user study accomplished through a survey

A high-altitude balloon experiment to probe stratospheric electric fields from low latitudes

The Earth's electrical environment hosts a giant electrical circuit, often referred to as the global electric circuit (GEC), linking the various sources of electrical generators located in the lower atmosphere, the ionosphere and the magnetosphere. The middle atmosphere (stratosphere and mesosphere) has been traditionally believed to be passively transmitting electric fields generated elsewhere. Some observations have reported anomalously large electric fields at these altitudes, and the scientific community has had to revisit the earlier hypothesis time and again. At stratospheric altitudes and especially at low latitudes, horizontal electric fields are believed to be of ionospheric origin. Though measurements of these fields from a balloon platform are challenging because of their small magnitudes (around a few mV m−1), a suitably designed long-duration balloon experiment capable of detecting such small fields can provide useful information on the time evolution of ionospheric electric fields, which is otherwise possible only using radar or satellite in situ measurements. We present herein details of one such experiment, BEENS (Balloon Experiment on the Electrodynamics of Near Space), carried out from a low-latitude site in India. The instrument package for this experiment is comprised of four deployable booms for measurements of horizontal electric fields and one inclined boom for vertical electric field measurements, all equipped with conducting spheres at the tip. The experiment was conducted from Hyderabad (17.5° N, 78.6° E) during the post-midnight hours on 14 December 2013. In spite of a few shortcomings we report herein, a noticeable feature of the observations has been the detection of horizontal electric fields of ∼ 5 mV m−1 at the stratospheric altitudes of ∼ 35 km

A study on the ayurveda intervention (Virechana - therapeutic purgation and Rasayana - rejuvenation) on molecular gene expression profiling in familial breast cancer patients

Background: The study was conducted to assess the ayurvedic intervention Virechana - therapeutic purgation and Rasayana - rejuvenation on predisposed familial breast cancer expression profiling of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Materials and Methods: The total RNA was extracted from blood of five subjects of familial breast cancer predisposition patients using PAX Gene Blood RNA Kit who had undergone the ayurvedic intervention Virechana - therapeutic purgation and Rasayana - rejuvenation therapy. BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene expression was assessed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The qPCR-based BRCA1 gene expression results were analyzed for fold variation based on Ct values using the following formula: 2 (−ΔΔCt), where ΔCt is the Ct (GOI) − avg.(Ct (HKG)), GOI is the gene of interest, and HKG is the housekeeping gene. Results: In one subject (S1), the upregulation (61.82) showed further increase (843.36) by therapeutic purgation and then decreased below the baseline level (11.3) in the rejuvenation phase. In three subjects (S2, S3, and S5), the upregulated genes (1488.87, 15825.9, and 19.16) showed down trend continuously till rejuvenation phase (1.92, 4.17, and 3.97) but not to downregulation. Another subject (S4) showed reversal of genetic expression, i.e., downregulated gene (−1) showed upregulation (237,900.70) continuously throughout the therapy, which is in conformity of the proposed hypothesis, i.e., biopurification (therapeutic purgation) followed by rejuvenation leads to upregulation of gene. Conclusion: With the available limited and diversified data, it may be concluded that therapeutic purgation followed by rejuvenation (Narasimha Rasayana) therapy exerted effect on gene expression, but further study needs to be conducted with more number of samples

RNA interference: new mechanistic and biochemical insights with application in oral cancer therapy

Smaranda Buduru,1 Alina-Andreea Zimta,2 Cristina Ciocan,2 Cornelia Braicu,3 Diana Dudea,4 Alexandra Iulia Irimie,4 Ioana Berindan-Neagoe2,3,5 1Department of Prosthetics and Dental Materials, Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 2MEDFUTURE – Research Center for Advanced Medicine, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 3Research Center for Functional Genomics and Translational Medicine, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 4Department of Prosthetic Dentistry and Dental Materials, Division Dental Propaedeutic, Aesthetic, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 5Department of Functional Genomics and Experimental Pathology, The Oncology Institute “Prof Dr Ion Chiricuta”, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Abstract: Over the last few decades, the incidence of oral cancer has gradually increased, due to the negative influence of environmental factors and also abnormalities within the genome. The main issues in oral cancer treatment consist in surpassing resistance and recurrence. However, continuous discovery of altered signaling pathways in these tumors provides valuable information for the identification of novel gene candidates targeted in personalized therapy. RNA interference (RNAi) is a natural mechanism that involves small interfering RNA (siRNA); this can be exploited in biomedical research by using natural or synthetic constructs for activation of the mechanism. Synthetic siRNA transcripts were developed as a versatile class of molecular tools that have a diverse range of programmable roles, being involved in the regulation of several biological processes, thereby providing the perspective of an alternative option to classical treatment. In this review, we summarize the latest information related to the application of siRNA in oral malignancy together with molecular aspects of the technology and also the perspective upon the delivery system. Also, the emergence of newer technologies such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9 or transcription activator-like effector nucleases in comparison with the RNAi approach is discussed in this paper. Keywords: RNA interference, oral cancer, therapeutic strategy, mechanistic and biochemical insight

Enhancement of Anti-Tumoral Properties of Paclitaxel Nano-Crystals by Conjugation of Folic Acid to Pluronic F127: Formulation Optimization, In Vitro and In Vivo Study

A brand-new nano-crystal (NC) version of the hydrophobic drug Paclitaxel (PT) were formulated for cancer treatment. A stable NC formulation for the administration of PT was created using the triblock co-polymer Pluronic F127. To achieve maximum entrapment effectiveness and minimal particle size, the formulation was improved using the central composite design by considering agitation speed and vacuum pressure at five levels (coded as +1.414, +1, 0, −1, and −1.414). According to the Design Expert software’s predictions, 13 runs were created and evaluated for the chosen responses. The formulation prepared with an agitation speed of 1260 RPM and a vacuum pressure of 77.53 mbar can meet the requirements of the ideal formulation in order to achieve 142.56 nm of PS and 75.18% EE, according to the level of desirability (D = 0.959). Folic acid was conjugated to Pluronic F127 to create folate receptor-targeted NC. The drug release profile of the nano-crystals in vitro demonstrated sustained release over an extended period. Folate receptor (FR)-targeted NC (O-PT-NC-Folate) has also been prepared by conjugating folic acid to Pluronic F127. MTT test is used to validate the targeting efficacy on the FR-positive human oral cancer cell line (KB). At pharmacologically relevant concentrations, the PT nano-crystal formulation did not cause hemolysis. Compared to non-targeted NC of PT, the O-PT-NC-Folate showed a comparable but more sustained anti-cancer effect, according to an in vivo anti-tumor investigation in NCI/ADR-RES cell lines. The remarkable anti-tumor effectiveness, minimal toxicity, and simplicity of scale-up manufacturing of the NC formulations indicate their potential for clinical development. Other hydrophobic medications that are formulated into nano-systems for improved therapy may benefit from the formulation approach