Use of Service Oriented Architecture for Scada Networks

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems involve the use of distributed processing to operate geographically dispersed endpoint hardware components. They manage the control networks used to monitor and direct large-scale operations such as utilities and transit systems that are essential to national infrastructure. SCADA industrial control networks (ICNs) have long operated in obscurity and been kept isolated largely through strong physical security. Today, Internet technologies are increasingly being utilized to access control networks, giving rise to a growing concern that they are becoming more vulnerable to attack. Like SCADA, distributed processing is also central to cloud computing or, more formally, the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) computing model. Certain distinctive properties differentiate ICNs from the enterprise networks that cloud computing developments have focused on. The objective of this project is to determine if modern cloud computing technologies can be also applied to improving dated SCADA distributed processing systems. Extensive research was performed regarding control network requirements as compared to those of general enterprise networks. Research was also conducted into the benefits, implementation, and performance of SOA to determine its merits for application to control networks. The conclusion developed is that some aspects of cloud computing might be usefully applied to SCADA systems but that SOA fails to meet ICN requirements in a certain essential areas. The lack of current standards for SOA security presents an unacceptable risk to SCADA systems that manage dangerous equipment or essential services. SOA network performance is also not sufficiently deterministic to suit many real-time hardware control applications. Finally, SOA environments cannot as yet address the regulatory compliance assurance requirements of critical infrastructure SCADA systems

PRN OPINION PAPER: Application of precision medicine across pharmacy specialty areas

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149551/1/jac51107_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149551/2/jac51107.pd

The effectiveness, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for maltreated children and adolescents: an evidence synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment is a substantial social problem that affects large numbers of children and young people in the UK, resulting in a range of significant short- and long-term psychosocial problems. OBJECTIVES: To synthesise evidence of the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of interventions addressing the adverse consequences of child maltreatment. STUDY DESIGN: For effectiveness, we included any controlled study. Other study designs were considered for economic decision modelling. For acceptability, we included any study that asked participants for their views. PARTICIPANTS: Children and young people up to 24 years 11 months, who had experienced maltreatment before the age of 17 years 11 months. INTERVENTIONS: Any psychosocial intervention provided in any setting aiming to address the consequences of maltreatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychological distress [particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety, and self-harm], behaviour, social functioning, quality of life and acceptability. METHODS: Young Persons and Professional Advisory Groups guided the project, which was conducted in accordance with Cochrane Collaboration and NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidance. Departures from the published protocol were recorded and explained. Meta-analyses and cost-effectiveness analyses of available data were undertaken where possible. RESULTS: We identified 198 effectiveness studies (including 62 randomised trials); six economic evaluations (five using trial data and one decision-analytic model); and 73 studies investigating treatment acceptability. Pooled data on cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for sexual abuse suggested post-treatment reductions in PTSD [standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.44 (95% CI -4.43 to -1.53)], depression [mean difference -2.83 (95% CI -4.53 to -1.13)] and anxiety [SMD -0.23 (95% CI -0.03 to -0.42)]. No differences were observed for post-treatment sexualised behaviour, externalising behaviour, behaviour management skills of parents, or parental support to the child. Findings from attachment-focused interventions suggested improvements in secure attachment [odds ratio 0.14 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.70)] and reductions in disorganised behaviour [SMD 0.23 (95% CI 0.13 to 0.42)], but no differences in avoidant attachment or externalising behaviour. Few studies addressed the role of caregivers, or the impact of the therapist-child relationship. Economic evaluations suffered methodological limitations and provided conflicting results. As a result, decision-analytic modelling was not possible, but cost-effectiveness analysis using effectiveness data from meta-analyses was undertaken for the most promising intervention: CBT for sexual abuse. Analyses of the cost-effectiveness of CBT were limited by the lack of cost data beyond the cost of CBT itself. CONCLUSIONS: It is not possible to draw firm conclusions about which interventions are effective for children with different maltreatment profiles, which are of no benefit or are harmful, and which factors encourage people to seek therapy, accept the offer of therapy and actively engage with therapy. Little is known about the cost-effectiveness of alternative interventions. LIMITATIONS: Studies were largely conducted outside the UK. The heterogeneity of outcomes and measures seriously impacted on the ability to conduct meta-analyses. FUTURE WORK: Studies are needed that assess the effectiveness of interventions within a UK context, which address the wider effects of maltreatment, as well as specific clinical outcomes. STUDY REGISTRATION: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42013003889. FUNDING: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme

Food Insecurity Prevalence Across Diverse Sites During COVID-19: A Year of Comprehensive Data

Key Findings NFACT includes 18 study sites in 15 states as well as a national poll, collectively representing a sample size of more than 26,000 people. Some sites have implemented multiple survey rounds, here we report results from 22 separate surveys conducted during the year since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. 18 out of 19 surveys in 14 sites with data for before and since the pandemic began found an increase in food insecurity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to before the pandemic. In nearly all surveys (18/19) that measured food insecurity both before and during the pandemic, more Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) were classified as food insecure during the pandemic as compared to before it began. Prevalence of food insecurity for BIPOC respondents was higher than the overall population in the majority of surveys (19/20) sampling a general population. In almost all surveys (21/22), the prevalence of food insecurity for households with children was higher than the overall prevalence of food insecurity. Food insecurity prevalence was higher for households experiencing a negative job impact during the pandemic (i.e. job loss, furlough, reduction in hours) in nearly all surveys and study sites (21/22). Food insecurity prevalence in most sites was significantly higher before COVID-19 than estimates from that time period. Reporting a percent change between pre and during COVID-19 prevalence may provide additional information about the rate of change in food insecurity since the start of the pandemic, which absolute prevalence of food insecurity may not capture. Results highlight consistent trends in food insecurity outcomes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, across diverse study sites, methodological approaches, and time

PRN OPINION PAPER: Application of Precision Medicine across Pharmacy Specialty Areas

Clinical pharmacists have been incorporating precision medicine into practice for decades. Drug selection and dosing based on patient-specific clinical factors such as age, weight, renal function, drug interactions, plasma drug concentrations, and diet are expected as part of routine clinical practice. Newer concepts of precision medicine such as pharmacogenomics have recently been implemented into clinical care, while other concepts such as epigenetics and pharmacomicrobiomics still predominantly exist in the research area but clinical translation is expected in the future. The purpose of this paper is to describe current and emerging aspects of precision medicine as it relates to clinical pharmacy across a variety of specialty areas of practice, with perspectives from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Research Network membership