An efficient and private RFID authentication protocol supporting ownership transfer

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) systems are getting pervasively deployed in many daily life applications. But this increased usage of RFID systems brings some serious problems together, security and privacy. In some applications, ownership transfer of RFID labels is sine qua non need. Specifically, the owner of RFID tag might be required to change several times during its lifetime. Besides, after ownership transfer, the authentication protocol should also prevent the old owner to trace the tags and disallow the new owner to trace old transactions of the tags. On the other hand, while achieving privacy and security concerns, the computation complexity should be considered. In order to resolve these issues, numerous authentication protocols have been proposed in the literature. Many of them failed and their computation load on the server side is very high. Motivated by this need, we propose an RFID mutual authentication protocol to provide ownership transfer. In our protocol, the server needs only a constant-time complexity for identification when the tag and server are synchronized. In case of ownership transfer, our protocol preserves both old and new owners’ privacy. Our protocol is backward untraceable against a strong adversary who compromise tag, and also forward untraceable under an assumption

Thermomechanical analysis of porous solid oxide fuel cell by using peridynamics

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is widely used in hybrid marine propulsion systems due to its high power output, excellent emission control and wide fuel suitability. However, the operating temperature in SOFC will rise up to 800–1000 ℃ due to redox reaction among hydrogen and oxygen ions. This provides a suitable environment for ions transporting through ceramic materials. Under such operation temperatures, degradation may occur in the electrodes and electrolyte. As a result, unstable voltage, low capacity and cell failure may eventually occur. This study presents thermomechanical analysis of a porous SOFC cell plate which contains electrodes, electrolytes and pores. A microscale specimen in the shape of a plate is considered in order to maintain uniform temperature loading and increase the accuracy of estimation. A new computational technique, peridynamics, is utilized to calculate the deformations and stresses of the cell plate. Moreover, the crack formation and propagation are also obtained by using peridynamics. According to the numerical results, damage evolution depends on the electrolyte/electrode interface strength during the charging process. For weak interface strength case, damage emerges at the electrode/electrolyte interface. On the other hand, for stronger interface cases, damage emerges on pore boundaries especially with sharp corner

An Efficient and Private Authentication Protocol for RFID Systems

Radio Frequency IDentification based systems are getting pervasively deployed in many real-life applications in various settings for identification and authentication of remote objects. However, the messages that are transmitted over a insecure channel, are vulnerable to security and privacy concerns such as data privacy, location privacy of tag owner and etc. Recently, Yeh et al.’s proposed a RFID authentication protocol based on quadratic residue which is claimed to provide location privacy and prevent possible attacks. In this paper, we formally analyzed the protocol and we proved that the protocol provides destructive privacy according to Vaudenay privacy model. Moreover, we proposed a unilateral authentication protocol and we prove that our protocol satisfies higher privacy level such as narrow strong privacy. Besides, we proposed an enhanced version of our proposed protocol, which has same privacy level as Yeh et al.’s protocol, but has reader authentication against stronger adversaries. Furthermore, the enhanced version of our protocol uses smaller number of cryptographic operations when comparedto Yeh et al.’s protocol and it is also cost efficient at the server and tag side and requires O(1) complexity to identify a RFID tag

Caesarean Section with Spinal Anesthesia and Postspinal Headache

Purpose: To find out ‘what is the leading cause of postpartum headache in patients undergoing caesarean section with spinal anesthesia under elective conditions?’Methods: Our study was conducted with retrospective, controlled assessment of 304 patients who underwent caesarean section with spinal anesthesia under elective conditions at our institution between 1 June 2012 and 1 November 2012. The patients were assessed in terms of postpartum headache. They were divided into 2 groups: the group with headache versus the group without headache (the latter was the control group). Both groups were compared with respect to age, body mass index (BMI), number of previous pregnancies, indications for caesarean section, the spinal needle used during spinal anesthesia, preoperative and postoperative amount of fluid administration, and mobilization time.Results: None of the factors that are effective in development of headache, i.e. age, multiparity, the indication for caesarean section, BMI, and needle type, was statistically significant in logistic regression analysis. Only the needle type was significantly related to headache in Chi-Square test. All headache episodes were mild and improved with conservative therapy. We did not find any difference between groups with respect to age, BMI, number of previous pregnancies, indications for caesarean section, preoperative and postoperative amount of fluid administration, and mobilization time.Conclusion: In patients undergoing cesarean section with spinal anesthesia under elective conditions the main cause of headache is the type of the spinal needle used

Assessment of the relationship between a narrow fragmented QRS complex and coronary slow flow

Background: The coronary slow flow (CSF) phenomenon is a delayed antegrade progression of contrast agent to the distal branch of a coronary artery in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). A narrow fragmented QRS (fQRS) has been reported as a significant predictor of sudden cardiac death in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between a narrow fQRS on the admission electrocardiogram (ECG) and CSF on coronary angiography. Methods: This study included 165 consecutive patients (112 CSF, 53 controls) who underwent first-time diagnostic conventional coronary angiography for suspected CAD. Coronary flow was quantified by thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame count (TFC). The patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of a narrow fQRS complex on the admission ECG. Results: Forty four patients were in the fQRS group (mean age, 52.97 ± 3.13 years). There was no difference between the two groups with respect to age, gender, body mass index, family history, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, or diabetes mellitus. The extent of CSF was significantly greater in the fQRS group compared to the non-fragmented group (p < 0.001). A significant correlation was also found between mean TFC values and fQRS (p < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, only CSF (p = 0.03) was a significant independent predictor for narrow fQRS, after adjustment for other parameters. Conclusions: The narrow fQRS is a simple, inexpensive, and readily available noninvasive ECG parameter that may be a new potential indicator of myocardial damage in patients with CSF.

Effects of polyamine synthesis enzymes on angiogenesis and apoptosis during endometriosis

Objectives: Since we assumed that endometriosis is a benign cell division disorder, our study was conducted to investigate the effects of the relationships between polyamine synthesis and angiogenesis in the formation of endometriosis. Material and methods: Thirty-five patients with endometriosis and 35 healthy female women were included in the study. The patient and the control groups were compared regarding the blood levels of agmatine, argininecarboxylase (ADC), ornithinecarboxylase (ODC), agmatinase, arginase, ornithine, and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Results: There is a statistically significant difference between the patient and the control groups regarding the agmatinase, arginase and VEGF levels (higher in the patient group) (p < 0.05). There is no statistically significant difference between the patient and the control groups regarding the ODC, ornithine and the ADC levels (p > 0.05). There is a statistically significant difference between the patient and the control groups regarding the agmatine levels (higher in the control group) (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The increase in the serum levels of polyamine synthesis enzymes may contribute to the formation of endometriosis. It is anticipated that the study of the relationship between enzymes and molecules in the polyamine synthesis pathway and angiogenesis in patients with endometriosis will contribute to the literature

Short-term effects of transcatheter aortic valve implantation on left atrial appendage function

Background: The beneficial effects of the transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) on echocardiographic parameters including left atrial (LA) and left ventricular (LV) functions were described by previous studies. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of TAVI on left atrial appendage (LAA) function assessed by transthoracic and transesophageal echocar­diography. Methods: Fifty-five patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis were included in this prospective study. LAA early and late emptying velocities, LAA filling velocity, peak early diastolic (EM), late diastolic (AM), and systolic (SM) velocities were measured with pulsed wave Doppler and tissue Doppler imaging, and E/Em ratio was calculated before and 7.1 ± 2.8 days after TAVI. A subgroup analysis was performed in accordance with the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of the patients and the severity of their LV diastolic dysfunction. Results: Although the post-procedure peaks and mean gradients of the patients decreased sig­nificantly, the LVEF increased significantly in those who had low LVEF before the procedure. The post-procedure E/Em ratio decreased significantly (p < 0.001). The post-procedural LAA mean filling velocity and EM velocity were significantly higher than the pre-procedural filling velocity (p < 0.001, p = 0.002, respectively). In the subgroup analysis, the post-procedural LAA filling velocity, early and late LAA emptying velocities, in addition to the mean velocity of the EM, AM, and SM were significantly higher than before the procedure in patients with LVEF of < 50% and E/Em ratios of > 15. Conclusions: LAA function improved soon after the TAVI procedure, especially in patients with low LVEF and marked LV diastolic dysfunction

Effect of variant histology presence and squamous differentiation on oncological results and patient’s survival after radical cystectomy

Objective: To evaluate the effect of variant histology on pathological and survival findings in patients undergoing radical cystectomy due to muscle invasive bladder cancer. Materials and methods: Data from 146 patients with radical cystectomy performed due to muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma between January 2006 to November 2016 at our clinic were investigated. The preoperative and postoperative data of patients with variant histology were compared with nonvariant urothelial carcinoma patients. Then of patients with variant histology only those with squamous differentiation (SqD) were compared with nonvariant urothelial carcinoma patients in terms of preoperative, postoperative and survival data. Results: Of the 146 patients, 23 had carcinoma with variant histology. Of these, 17 had SqD, 4 had glandular differentiation, 1 patient had plasmocytoid variant and 1 patient had sarcomatoid variant. In patients with variant histology, postoperative T stage and upstaging was higher, with no difference observed in terms of overall and cancer-specific survival compared with nonvariant urothelial cancer patients. SqD patients were observed to have higher postoperative T stage compared to nonvariant urothelial cancer patients, with no significant difference observed in terms of survival. Conclusions: In cystectomy pathologies, patients with variant histology (especially SqD patients) were observed to have proportionally higher T stage compared to nonvariant urothelial carcinoma; however there were no significant differences for overall survival and cancer-specific survival

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

A media comparison study on first aid instruction

WOS: 000312307400010Aims: A basic knowledge and understanding of first aid can be invaluable for both teachers and students to be able to provide emergency care in the event of an accident, possibly saving lives and minimizing injury in school settings. The purpose of this research was to perform a comparison of online and face-to-face delivery modes for an introductory first aid course to determine if there existed a difference in student teachers' success depending on the delivery modes. Methods: The research compares participants' achievements in a first aid class taught by the same instructor using either face-to-face or online delivery modes. In total, five sections of the course were assigned to either a face-to face or an online treatment condition. Results: The results of a paired samples t-test indicated that student teachers both in experiment and control groups performed adequately to attain the course goals (p < .05). The difference between the mean scores of all groups in pre- and post-tests verified the achievement of the participant learners. The results of a further independent t-test on groups' performances on the post application of the achievement test showed a significant variance in favour of participants who received online teaching (p < .05). Conclusion: The findings of the study suggest that, while both online and face-to-face mode can be effective in achieving learning goals of first aid content, online learning was found to be more effective in comparison to traditional classroom instruction