Patient privacy protection using anonymous access control techniques

Objective: The objective of this study is to develop a solution to preserve security and privacy in a healthcare environment where health-sensitive information will be accessed by many parties and stored in various distributed databases. The solution should maintain anonymous medical records and it should be able to link anonymous medical information in distributed databases into a single patient medical record with the patient identity. Methods: In this paper we present a protocol that can be used to authenticate and authorize patients to healthcare services without providing the patient identification. Healthcare service can identify the patient using separate temporary identities in each identification session and medical records are linked to these temporary identities. Temporary identities can be used to enable record linkage and reverse track real patient identity in critical medical situations. Results: The proposed protocol provides main security and privacy services such as user anonymity, message privacy, message confidentiality, user authentication, user authorization and message replay attacks. The medical environment validates the patient at the healthcare service as a real and registered patient for the medical services. Using the proposed protocol, the patient anonymous medical records at different healthcare services can be linked into one single report and it is possible to securely reverse track anonymous patient into the real identity. Conclusion: The protocol protects the patient privacy with a secure anonymous authentication to healthcare services and medical record registries according to the European and the UK legislations, where the patient real identity is not disclosed with the distributed patient medical records

Spectral signatures of thermal spin disorder and excess Mn in half-metallic NiMnSb

Effects of thermal spin disorder and excess Mn on the electronic spectrum of half-metallic NiMnSb are studied using first-principles calculations. Temperature-dependent spin disorder, introduced within the vector disordered local moment model, causes the valence band at the $\Gamma$ point to broaden and shift upwards, crossing the Fermi level and thereby closing the half-metallic gap above room temperature. The spectroscopic signatures of excess Mn on the Ni, Sb, and empty sites (Mn$_\mathrm{Ni}$, Mn$_\mathrm{Sb}$, and Mn$_\mathrm{E}$) are analyzed. Mn$_\mathrm{Ni}$ is spectroscopically invisible. The relatively weak coupling of Mn$_\mathrm{Sb}$ and Mn$_\mathrm{E}$ spins to the host strongly deviates from the Heisenberg model, and the spin of Mn$_\mathrm{E}$ is canted in the ground state. While the half-metallic gap is preserved in the collinear ground state of Mn$_\mathrm{Sb}$, thermal spin disorder of the weakly coupled Mn$_\mathrm{Sb}$ spins destroys it at low temperatures. This property of Mn$_\mathrm{Sb}$ may be the source of the observed low-temperature transport anomalies.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, updated version with minor revisions and an additional figure, accepted in Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Communication

Ergodic theorems for transient one-dimensional diffusions

For one-dimensional diffusions X that drift off to + ∞ we give conditions on a set B and the drift and diffusion coefficients of X for (1/t)∫t0 IB(X(u))du to converge w.p.l as t → ∞

Irrigation and drainage in the new millennium

Presented at the 2000 USCID international conference, Challenges facing irrigation and drainage in the new millennium on June 20-24 in Fort Collins, Colorado.Includes bibliographical references.Climate potential in respect to onset, magnitude and risk associated with rainfall for crop production in the Nilwala basin, Southern Sri Lanka was assessed using the daily rainfall of 12 stations scattered in different locations for more than 35 consecutive years (1950-1995). The program CROPWAT was used to assess the irrigation need. It was revealed that rainfall of the basin increases from south to north with increasing elevation and altitude. Within a 70-km distance in the south north gradient, rainfall elevates from 1656 mm at Kekanadura to 4216 mm at Kudawa. The net irrigation requirement of Yala rice in different locations varied from 1012 mm to 1246 mm. It was established that the irrigation need in the Nilwala upper catchment is below 40 % of the total water requirement, but in downstream areas it constitutes above 70% of the total water demand. Therefore both the Yala and Maha seasons in Nilwala downstream areas appeared to be unsuitable for rice cultivation without supplementary irrigation. From April 10th onward until May 20th is the best period for establishment of perennial crops at upper catchment areas. Optimum dates for crop establishment at the mid and lower part of the catchment falls on the 14th meteorological week. It is important to note that delaying crop establishment in Yala by 2 or 3 weeks from the optimum date would result in a considerable increase of irrigation need even in the upper catchment areas; it is not advisable to delay the establishment of Maha rice until October when rice varieties off our month duration are cultivated

Solar villages for sustainable development and reduction of poverty

"Solar Village" project has been designed to use clean energy technologies to empower rural communities to accelerate their social development and poverty reduction. This project started with a Higher Education (HE) - Link programme funded by the DFID (Department For International Development - UK), managed by the British Council and co-ordinated by the main author. The HE-Link continued in the 1990s and the solar village was piloted in September 2008 in Sri Lanka, and monitored for four years and now moving to the replication phase. This poster presents the concepts behind the project, activities taking place in the pilot village, its impacts and advantages for the whole society and current replication plans. This project can be modified to suit any community according to their social requirements, geography and the climate

Building Integrated Vegetation Systems and their Sustainability Aspects; A Literature Review

Abstract:There is a growing need of sustainable building development all over the world. It aims to decrease the adverse effects to the environment due to urbanization and escalating population growth. Since the building construction is considered as one of the main concerns, the priority was given to mitigate the negative impact to the environment. Therefore, incorporating sustainable elements and techniques to the buildings to regain the land loss due to construction activities in cities is currently practicing. Adding various vegetation types through different approaches, to obtain the expected results of better living condition around the building is called as building integrated vegetation systems (BIV). Vertical gardening systems, vertical farms, constructed green roofs and roof farms can be stated as main categories of BIV systems. However, there is a paucity of published critical reviews on such systems and therefore, this study is an attempt to review the overall sustainability aspects of BIV systems including environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and social sustainability. This study consists with a critical review of 114 research publications from relevant journals and online scientific databases. Finally, the identified sustainability aspects of each BIV systems were analyzed to select the best option in terms of greening a building which can be recommended for the implementations in future. Mainly, the importance of moving towards the sustainable solution which meets the food needs through BIV is finally discussed. Finally, it can be concluded that by incorporating green architecture with smart agriculture, we can expect green, healthy and productive cities which fulfill the main requirements of sustainable cities. Though there are many challenges to overcome, maintaining good management practices will give better output. Out of the 114 literature selected for this study, only 8 research papers were discussed about the drawbacks and the limitations of the BIV systems which is still having paucity of information. Keywords: Building Integrated Vegetation systems, Economic Sustainability, Environmental Sustainability, Social Sustainabilit

Pervasiveness of Breakfast Skipping and Its Associated Factors A Study of Undergraduates in State Universities in Colombo District

A cross sectional field study was conducted among a sample of 502undergraduates in state universities in Colombo district. The purpose was to study thepervasiveness of breakfast skipping and its associated factors among undergraduates.Convenience sampling was applied to select the sample and investigation was carriedout in all the faculties of four state universities in Colombo. Data collection was donevia a self administered pre tested questionnaire, and it met the acceptable standards ofvalidity and reliability. It was found that pervasiveness of breakfast skipping ismoderately high in the tested domain though breakfast affects undergraduates' healthstatus and ultimately the academic performance. Findings revealed that accommodation,frequency of skipping the dinner, fast food habits, academic year, daily academic timetable, smoking and financial reasons significantly contribute to breakfast skipping.Undergraduates staying in own houses are less likely to skip breakfast in comparison tothose who stay in hostels and boarding places. Third years and final years are morelikely to skip breakfast while smokers are less likely to skip. No significant relationshipis found between gender, consumption of nutritional supplements, time taken fortraveling and ethnic group with pervasiveness of breakfast skipping. Health awarenessprograms or education of healthy eating guidelines must be initiated for bothundergraduates and food caterers in universities. The quality and price of supplied foodsin universities must also be reviewed.Key words: Pervasiveness of breakfast skipping, Undergraduates, Food habit

Reflection of university extra-curricular activities of a candidate in employee selection: a descriptive study of HRM related jobs

The main purpose of this study was to identify whether there is a significant value given to the graduates who have engaged in university extracurricular activities in the selection process for a Human Resource Management related job. Further, the current study was designed to identify the industry perception about graduates those who have engaged in extracurricular activities, and who did not. This is a cross sectional descriptive research in nature. A standard questionnaire was used to collect the primary data through a survey. The respondents were the professionals who are directly engaging in the selection process selected from 40 private sector organizations in Sri Lanka. Descriptive statistics, paired sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data and make conclusions. Findings revealed that the private sector organizations significantly believe that graduates who have engaged in university extracurricular activities might have developed more skills, good personal qualities and other relevant employability behaviors than graduates those who haven't engaged. Thought the belief was that, further, it was identified the engagement in extracurricular activities is not a significant reason to get selected for a HR related job in the industry. It was found that the perception regarding undergraduates who have not engaged in extracurricular activities is not varying from industry to industry. But, findings revealed that the perception, and the given due recognition for undergraduates who have engaged in extracurricular activities is industry specific.</span

Optimizing University Mobility : An Internal Navigation and Crowd Management System

In the evolving landscape of educational technology, the article explores the critical frontier of indoor navigation systems, focusing on universities. Traditional approaches in higher education often fall short of meeting dynamic user expectations, necessitating revolutionary solutions. This research introduces an innovative internal navigation and crowd management system that seamlessly integrates augmented reality, natural language processing, machine learning, and image processing technologies. The Android platform serves as the foundation, harnessing augmented reality's transformative capabilities to provide real-time visual cues and personalized wayfinding experiences. The voice interaction module, backed by NLP and ML, creates an intelligent, context-aware assistant. The crowd management module, employing advanced image processing, delivers real-time crowd density insights. Personalized recommendations, powered by NLP and ML, offer tailored canteen suggestions based on user preferences. The agmented reality navigation module, using Mapbox, Unity Hub, AR Core, and Vuforia, enriches the user experience with dynamic visual cues. Results reveal the success of each module: the voice interaction module showcases continuous learning, user-centric feedback, contextual guidance excellence, robust security, and multimodal interaction flexibility. The crowd management module excels in video feed processing, image processing with OpenCV, and real-time availability information retrieval. The personalized recommendations module demonstrates high accuracy, equilibrium, and robust performance. The AR navigation module impresses with precision, enriched navigation, and tailored routes through machine learning. This cohesive system sets new benchmarks for user-centric technology in universities. Future work includes multi-university integration, intelligent spatial design, and real-time decision support, paving the way for more efficient, user-centered university experiences and contributing to the advancement of smart university environments. The research serves as a pivotal force in reshaping interactions within university spaces, envisioning a future where technology seamlessly enhances the essence of human interaction in educational environments