SECURITY& PRIVACY THREATS, ATTACKS AND COUNTERMEASURES IN INTERNET OF THINGS

The idea to connect everything to anything and at any point of time is what vaguely defines the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT is not only about providing connectivity but also facilitating interaction among these connected things. Though the term IoT was introduced in 1999 but has drawn significant attention during the past few years, the pace at which new devices are being integrated into the system will profoundly impact the world in a good way but also poses some severe queries about security and privacy. IoT in its current form is susceptible to a multitudinous set of attacks. One of the most significant concerns of IoT is to provide security assurance for the data exchange because data is vulnerable to some attacks by the attackers at each layer of IoT. The IoT has a layered structure where each layer provides a service. The security needs vary from layer to layer as each layer serves a different purpose. This paper aims to analyze the various security and privacy threats related to IoT. Some attacks have been discussed along with some existing and proposed countermeasures

Estimation of Reservoir Porosity Using Seismic Post-Stack Inversion in Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan

Seismic post-stack inversion is one of the best techniques for effective reservoir characterization. This study intends to articulate the application of Model-Based Inversion (MBI) and Probabilistic Neural Networks (PNN) for the identification of reservoir properties i.e. porosity estimation. MBI technique is applied to observe the low impedance zone at the porous reservoir formation. PNN is a geostatistical technique that transforms the impedance volume into porosity volume. Inverted porosity is estimated to observe the spatial distribution of porosity in the Lower Goru sand reservoir beyond the well data control. The result of inverted porosity is compared with that of well-computed porosity. The estimated inverted porosity ranges from 13-13.5% which shows a correlation of 99.63% with the computed porosity of the Rehmat-02 well. The observed low impedance and high porosity cube at the targeted horizon suggest that it could be a probable potential sand channel. Furthermore, the results of seismic post-stack inversion and geostatistical analysis indicate a very good agreement with each other. Hence, the seismic post-stack inversion technique can effectively be applied to estimate the reservoir properties for further prospective zones identification, volumetric estimation and future exploration

FinTech and macroeconomics: Dataset from the US peer-to-peer lending platform

We aggregate the United States (US) state-level data with LendingClub's loan book covering the period from 2008 to 2019. LendingClub is a FinTech lending company that provides loans through a technology-driven platform. It was one of the pioneering and leading US peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms. Our dataset consists of over two million observations (N=2,703,430) with diverse loan, borrowers and state-specific features. We provide the description of variables, descriptive statistics, and STATA code with the full dataset. The US possesses significant cross-state variation in terms of economic and demographic characteristics while having risk-sharing policies at the federal level to protect states' creditworthiness. This unique feature of our combined database creates an ideal opportunity to explore the P2P lending market within the context of macroeconomic variables. As the dataset covers a 12-year period for all US states, it enables further cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of the FinTech lending market

CAPITAL STRUCTURE, LIQUIDITY AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF THE FIRMS IN CEMENT AND SUGAR INDUSTRIES OF PAKISTAN

This research examines the impact of firm capital structure and liquidity on the financial performance of sugar and cement sector firms in Pakistan. The study used the secondary data of 30 firms randomly selected for the period 2005 to 2017. The data was analyzed through statistical tools like correlation and regression. The results revealed that the capital structure proxies have a negative correlation with financial performance proxies of these sector firms.The results indicated that debts to equity ratio and the fund capital ratio has a negative insignificant impact however the debts ratio and Funded debts ratio were found having a negative significant impact on the financial proxies of these selected firms. The results indicated a positive correlation of the liquidity with the financial performance of these firms. The results demonstrating positive effect of current and quick ratios on the financial performance proxies of these firms. The study has some meaningful insights for the financial managers and decision makers of these firms

Coverage of Baluchistan Issues in leading Newspapers of Pakistan

The conflict between Baloch nationalists and the Government of Pakistan has been a constant feature in the history of Pakistan. The study explores the treatment of conflict issues in Baluchistan in the editorials and columns of dailies of Pakistan, Jang and Dawn, in the year 2012. Findings show that the coverage on Baluchistan did not adequately reflect the intensity of the conflict. Most frequent themes were on political and religious leadership, foreign hands in Baluchistan and strategic importance of Baluchistan. Most of the opinion articles and columns, blamed bad governance, partial judicial system and rough attitude of security forces with local people as major reasons for the conflict in Baluchistan besides Bugti‟s murder and foreign proxy involvement

Relationship of Physical Properties of Limestone and Marble with Rock Strength Under Specific Geological Conditions from Khyber Region Hunza

The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) is one of the input parameters mostly used in surface andunderground designs. A literature review revealed that most of the empirical equations between UCS and Schmidthammer rebound number (N) are not satisfactory because of the low coefficient of correlation. In most of the cases, asingle formula is used for all types of rocks. In this study, a relationship UCS with N, slake durability, moisture content,and specific gravity has been developed for a particular limestone and marble deposit. These equations help todetermine the strength of these deposits directly using N value and other properties. The UCS value increased withincreasing N value, specific gravity, and slake durability. While the UCS value decreased with increasing moisturecontent. A relation between slaking cycles and slake durability index is also developed. In this study, the slakedurability value decreased with increasing slaking cycles for both limestone and marble. The UCS showed a linearrelationship with these physical properties

Clinico-epidemiological features of hypopharyngeal cancer patients presenting at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib medical university, Bangladesh

Background: In Bangladesh, hypopharyngeal cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in head neck region. In this study, the clinico-epidemiological characteristics of patients with hypopharyngeal cancer were evaluated. Methods: From November 2021 to October 2022, 172 patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma were included in this descriptive, cross-sectional study at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib medical university's department of clinical oncology. During in-person interviews, data were gathered from patients using a pre-made questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the patients was 54.42 (±7.652) years, and the majority of them (59.3%) were between the ages of 51 and 60. Male patients made up 81.4% of the total patient population, and 51.16% of them were farmers. The majority of the cases (79.07%) consumed tobacco. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most prevalent histological type among the patients (92%), and most of them had a moderate degree of differentiation (65.12%). The pyriform fossa (81.4%) was the most common primary sub site. Conclusions: In conclusion, tobacco users and middle-aged men are more likely to develop hypopharyngeal cancer. The most common histological type is moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, with tumours most commonly seen in the pyriform fossa of hypopharynx