Disseminated Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in HIV positive patient - A Case Report

Disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis and HIV dual-infection is seldom reported. Leishmaniasis and HIV co-infection may intensify the immunedefect and is the chief reason for atypical presentation and widespread progression of cutaneous leishmaniasis and its defiance to conventional therapy. Here we report a 38-yearold HIV-positive ladywhopresented with a 6-month history of a progressive papule and nodular eruptions of leishmaniasis on face, trunk and extremities that was recalcitrant to treatment.Keywords: Co-infection, Diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis, HIV infection

Deep Learning Modalities for Biometric Alteration Detection in 5G Networks-Based Secure Smart Cities

Smart cities and their applications have become attractive research fields birthing numerous technologies. Fifth generation (5G) networks are important components of smart cities, where intelligent access control is deployed for identity authentication, online banking, and cyber security. To assure secure transactions and to protect user’s identities against cybersecurity threats, strong authentication techniques should be used. The prevalence of biometrics, such as fingerprints, in authentication and identification makes the need to safeguard them important across different areas of smart applications. Our study presents a system to detect alterations to biometric modalities to discriminate pristine, adulterated, and fake biometrics in 5G-based smart cities. Specifically, we use deep learning models based on convolutional neural networks (CNN) and a hybrid model that combines CNN with convolutional long-short term memory (ConvLSTM) to compute a three-tier probability that a biometric has been tempered. Simulation-based experiments indicate that the alteration detection accuracy matches those recorded in advanced methods with superior performance in terms of detecting central rotation alteration to fingerprints. This makes the proposed system a veritable solution for different biometric authentication applications in secure smart cities

Quantum walks: a comprehensive review

Quantum walks, the quantum mechanical counterpart of classical random walks, is an advanced tool for building quantum algorithms that has been recently shown to constitute a universal model of quantum computation. Quantum walks is now a solid field of research of quantum computation full of exciting open problems for physicists, computer scientists, mathematicians and engineers. In this paper we review theoretical advances on the foundations of both discrete- and continuous-time quantum walks, together with the role that randomness plays in quantum walks, the connections between the mathematical models of coined discrete quantum walks and continuous quantum walks, the quantumness of quantum walks, a summary of papers published on discrete quantum walks and entanglement as well as a succinct review of experimental proposals and realizations of discrete-time quantum walks. Furthermore, we have reviewed several algorithms based on both discrete- and continuous-time quantum walks as well as a most important result: the computational universality of both continuous- and discrete- time quantum walks.Comment: Paper accepted for publication in Quantum Information Processing Journa

Adherence to intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy in urban Kano, Northern Nigeria

Malaria in pregnancy is associated with substantial risk of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. The uptake of preventive antimalarials is low in malaria endemic countries, including Nigeria. Using a cross-sectional study design, we assessed factors associated with uptake and adherence to intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) among antenatal attendees in primary health centers in Kano, northern Nigeria (n=239). A total of 137 respondents (57.3%) reported receiving preventive antimalarials, but only 88 respondents (36.8%) [95% confidence interval (CI): 30.7-43.3%] reported ingesting pills in the clinic under supervision. Factors associated with adherence to IPTp after adjustment for potential confounding included: advanced maternal age [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) (95%CI) = 2.1 (1.3-6.37)], higher educational attainment [AOR (95%CI) = 3.2 (1.32-6.72)], higher parity [AOR (95%CI) = 1.6 (1.07-3.94)], lower gestational age at booking [AOR (95% CI) = 1.72 (1.24-3.91)], and use of insecticide-treated nets [AOR (95%CI) = 2.03 (1.13-3.26)]. There is a need for strengthening health systems and addressing cultural factors that impede efforts at expanding coverage of malaria prevention strategies in Nigeria

Energy-Efficient Relay-Based Void Hole Prevention and Repair in Clustered Multi-AUV Underwater Wireless Sensor Network

Underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) enable various oceanic applications which require effective packet transmission. In this case, sparse node distribution, imbalance in terms of overall energy consumption between the different sensor nodes, dynamic network topology, and inappropriate selection of relay nodes cause void holes. Addressing this problem, we present a relay-based void hole prevention and repair (ReVOHPR) protocol by multiple autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for UWSN. ReVOHPR is a global solution that implements different phases of operations that act mutually in order to efficiently reduce and identify void holes and trap relay nodes to avoid it. ReVOHPR adopts the following operations as ocean depth (levels)-based equal cluster formation, dynamic sleep scheduling, virtual graph-based routing, and relay-Assisted void hole repair. For energy-efficient cluster forming, entropy-based eligibility ranking (E2R) is presented, which elects stable cluster heads (CHs). Then, dynamic sleep scheduling is implemented by the dynamic kernel Kalman filter (DK2F) algorithm in which sleep and active modes are based on the node's current status. Intercluster routing is performed by maximum matching nodes that are selected by dual criteria, and also the data are transmitted to AUV. Finally, void holes are detected and repaired by the bicriteria mayfly optimization (BiCMO) algorithm. The BiCMO focuses on reducing the number of holes and data packet loss and maximizes the quality of service (QoS) and energy efficiency of the network. This protocol is timely dealing with node failures in packet transmission via multihop routing. Simulation is implemented by the NS3 (AquaSim module) simulator that evaluates the performance in the network according to the following metrics: Average energy consumption, delay, packet delivery rate, and throughput. The simulation results of the proposed REVOHPR protocol comparing to the previous protocols allowed to conclude that the REVOHPR has considerable advantages. Due to the development of a new protocol with a set of phases for data transmission, energy consumption minimization, and void hole avoidance and mitigation in UWSN, the number of active nodes rate increases with the improvement in overall QoS. © 2021 Amir Chaaf et al

Evaluation of Moringa oleifera (L) Aqueous Seed Extracts on Aphrodisiac, Gonadal and Epididymal Sperm Reserves of Wistar Rats

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of Moringa oleifera (L) aqueous seed extract on aphrodisiac, gonadal andepididymal sperm reserves of Wistar rats. Twenty-five male and fifteen female Wistar rats aged two months weighing 150 –200 g were purchased and housed in cages at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. The Wistarrats were provided with a 12 hours light and dark cycle, fed with pellets of broiler starter and drinking water were provided adlibitum. The rats were acclimatized for 14 days and they were randomly divided into 5 groups A, B, C, D and E. Group B, Cand D as treatment groups, whereas, group A and E were negative and positive controls, respectively, with 5 rats in each groupand each was kept singly in separate cage. Groups A and E received 1 ml of distilled water and 5 mg of sildenafil citrate orallyrespectively. Groups B, C and D received suspension of Moringa oleifera aqueous seed extract orally at the dose rate 100, 200and 300 mg/kg respectively, between 9:00 - 10:00 am daily for 21 days. Female rats were paired with males at a ratio of 1:1,and mating behaviour recorded. Group C and E male rats showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase in mounting frequency (MF),respectively. Intromission frequency (IF) was significantly (p < 0.05) increase in group C and E, respectively. Gonadal andepididymal sperm reserves were significantly different (p < 0.05) between the M. oleifera treated and control groups. Keywords: Aphrodisiac: Gonadal sperm reserves: Moringa oleifera aqueous seeds extract; Fertilit