Parasitic infestation in Chondrostoma regium and Aphanius vladykovi of the Behesht-Abad River (Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiary)

Parasitic infestation of two native fish species in Behesht-Abad River were investigated at spring 2013. In this study 52 Chondrostoma regium and Aphanius vladykovi (26 from each species) were sampled and transferred to the laboratory. Then the weight and total length of fish were measured and investigated their infestation to parasites by microscope and stereomicrpscope. Some of the observed parasites are reported for the first time as new host records of: Philometra sp on the abdominal cavity of C. regium, Moreover, some external and internal parasites identified to the species and genus level including: Ichthyophthirius multifiliis in skin and gill of C. regium and A. vladykovi, one immature digenean; Allocreadium isoporum on the intestine of A. vladykovi and Trichodina sp on gill and skin of C. regium and A. vladykovi. The highest frequency of I. multifiliis (96.15%) was observed in gill of A. vladykovi and the lowest frequency was related to Tricodina sp in skin of C. regium (23.07%). A. isoporum Infestation was only observed in the intestine of A. vladykovi (mean±SD; 5.42±3.73) and philometra sp infection was only observed in the abdominal cavity of C. regium (mean±SD; 3.25±.82). The maximum average (±SD) infection intensity belonged to I. multifiliis in skin of C. regium (69.9±72.07, range: 12-196)

Markov Decision Process for Modeling Social Engineering Attacks and Finding Optimal Attack Strategies

It is important to comprehend the attacker\u27s behavior and capacity in order to build a stronger fortress and thus be able to protect valuable assets more effectively. Prior to launching technical and physical attacks, an attacker may enter the reconnaissance stage and gather sensitive information. To collect such valuable data, one of the most effective approaches is through conducting social engineering attacks, borrowing techniques from deception theory. As a result, it is of utmost importance to understand when an attacker behaves truthfully and when the attacker opts to be deceitful. This paper models attacker\u27s states using the Markov Decision Process (MDP) and studies the attacker\u27s decision for launching deception attacks in terms of cooperation and deception costs. The study is performed through MDP modeling, where the states of attackers are modeled along with the permissible actions that can be taken. We found that the optimal policy regarding being deceitful or truthful depends on the cost associated with deception and how much the attacker can afford to take the risk of launching deception attacks. More specifically, we observed that when the cost of cooperation is low (e.g., 10%), by taking MDP optimal policy, the attacker cooperates with the victim as much as possible in order to gain their trust; whereas, when the cost of cooperation is high (e.g., 50%), the attacker takes deceptive action earlier in order to minimize the cost of interactions while maximizing the impact of the attack. We report four case studies and simulations through which we demonstrate the trade-off between cooperative and deceptive actions in accordance with their costs to attackers

Kontribusi Metropolitan terhadap Polutan Udara Berbahaya Timbal dan Merkuri dari Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Uap (Batu Bara)

Metropolitan mengkonsumsi energi besar untuk memenuhi aktivitasnya yang sangat beragam dan berlangsung hampir 24 jam. Energi yang dihasilkan di Indonesia dominan berasal dari Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Uap (PLTU) berbahan bakar batu bara. Pembakaran batu bara menghasilkan polutan udara berbahaya, antara lain timbal (Pb) dan merkuri (Hg). Pemerintah Indonesia telah menetapkan baku mutu udara ambien untuk timbal dalam pengendalian pencemaran udara (1999) dan baru-baru ini meratifikasi Konvensi Minamata mengenai merkuri (2017). Tujuan studi ini adalah untuk menganalisis konsentrasi dan sebaran Pb dan Hg di udara ambien yang bersumber dari PLTU terbesar di Indonesia. Sampel Pb dan Hg diambil dari total partikel tersuspensi (TSP) yang disampling menggunakan alat High Volume Air Sampler (HVAS) lalu dianalisis menggunakan X-Ray Flourencence (XRF) untuk Pb dan Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) untuk Hg. Pengukuran dilakukan duplo selama dua hari di tiga titik sampling yaitu Desa Lebak Gede, Dermaga Tongkang dan Pantai Salira. Konsentrasi Pb terukur berkisar antara 0,014–0,159μg/Nm3. Sedangkan untuk Hg terukur berkisar 0,0035–0,0134 μg/Nm3. Hasil pengukuran menunjukkan konsentrasi Pb dan Hg masih memenuhi baku mutu di udara ambien, namun perlu terus diawasi. Perbandingan Pb terhadap TSP 0,051% dan Hg terhadap TSP 0,0051%. Sebaran Pb dan Hg di atmosfer dipengaruhi faktor meteorologi dan waktu tinggalnya di atmosfer yang dapat mencapai 10 hari sehingga dapat memberi dampak pada skala lokal maupun regional. Metropolitan perlu mengendalikan konsumsi energinya untuk mengurangi polutan udara berbahaya. Perlu penelitian lebih lanjut dengan jumlah sampel yang lebih banyak dengan kekerapan waktu sampling serta evaluasi terhadap baku mutu itu sendiri.Kata kunci: TSP, timbal, merkuri, PLTU, metropolita

Gender-specific 30-day outcomes after carotid endarterectomy and carotid artery stenting in the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Registry

ObjectiveAlthough the optimal treatment of carotid stenosis remains unclear, available data suggest that women have higher risk of adverse events after carotid revascularization. We used data from the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Registry to determine the effect of gender on outcomes after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting (CAS).MethodsThere were 9865 patients (40.6% women) who underwent CEA (n = 6492) and CAS (n = 3373). The primary end point was a composite of death, stroke, and myocardial infarction at 30 days.ResultsThere was no difference in age and ethnicity between genders, but men were more likely to be symptomatic (41.6% vs 38.6%; P < .003). There was a higher prevalence of hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in women, whereas men had a higher prevalence of coronary artery disease, history of myocardial infarction, and smoking history. For disease etiology in CAS, restenosis was more common in women (28.7% vs 19.7%; P < .0001), and radiation was higher in men (6.2% vs 2.6%; P < .0001). Comparing by gender, there were no statistically significant differences in the primary end point for CEA (women, 4.07%; men, 4.06%) or CAS (women, 6.69%; men, 6.80%). There remains no difference after stratification by symptomatology and multivariate risk adjustment.ConclusionsIn this large, real-world analysis, women and men demonstrated similar results after CEA or CAS. These data suggest that, contrary to previous reports, women do not have a higher risk of adverse events after carotid revascularization