Authentication Protocol for Cloud Databases Using Blockchain Mechanism

Cloud computing has made the software development process fast and flexible but on the other hand it has contributed to increasing security attacks. Employees who manage the data in cloud companies may face insider attack, affecting their reputation. They have the advantage of accessing the user data by interacting with the authentication mechanism. The primary aim of this research paper is to provide a novel secure authentication mechanism by using Blockchain technology for cloud databases. Blockchain makes it difficult to change user login credentials details in the user authentication process by an insider. The insider is not able to access the user authentication data due to the distributed ledger-based authentication scheme. Activity of insider can be traced and cannot be changed. Both insider and outsider user’s are authenticated using individual IDs and signatures. Furthermore, the user access control on the cloud database is also authenticated. The algorithm and theorem of the proposed mechanism have been given to demonstrate the applicability and correctness.The proposed mechanism is tested on the Scyther formal system tool against denial of service, impersonation, offline guessing, and no replay attacks. Scyther results show that the proposed methodology is secure cum robust

Niska masa szkieletu ważnym czynnikiem predykcyjnym osteoporozy u mężczyzn zakażonych wirusem HIV w Indiach

Introduction: This study evaluated prevalence and predictors of osteoporosis and sarcopenia in men with HIV. Material and methods: 220 men with HIV were screened, of which 115 men, 30–50 years-age, having at least 1-year follow-up, underwent hormonal and DEXA analysis. 40 controls were also evaluated. Results: Males with HIV had significantly lower BMD and Z-scores at all sites. Osteoporosis was diagnosed in 64.35%; commonest site being radius total (49.56%), followed by radius 33% (45.21%), radius ultra distal (36.52%), lumbar spine (19.13%), neck of femur (17.39%), total femur and greater trochanter (7.82% each). HIV patients had significantly lower fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM), total fat percent, bone mineral content, gynoid fat, percent skeletal muscle mass (PSMM). Men with osteoporosis had higher use of anti retroviral therapy (ART), immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), tuberculosis, lower FM, LM and PSMM. Logistic regression revealed PSMM, age and delta (Δ) CD4 count (change in CD4 count after 6–12 months of ART, compared to pre-ART) were best predictors of osteoporosis. Greater PSMM was associated with decreased osteoporosis, without adjusting for any variable (Model-1), adjusting for disease duration, tuberculosis and IRIS (Model-2), and model-2 plus gonadotropins and sex steroids (Model-3). Greater ΔCD4 count and age were associated with increased osteoporosis after adjusting for different models. Sarcopenia was observed in 40% men and none in controls. Conclusions: Men with decreased skeletal mass, age, severe immune dysfunction at diagnosis, having rapid increase in CD4 count following ART and IRIS have higher risk of osteoporosis in the long run.Introduction: This study evaluated prevalence and predictors of osteoporosis and sarcopaenia in men with HIV. Material and methods: A total of 220 men with HIV were screened, of which 115 men, 30–50 years-age, having at least one-year follow-up, underwent hormonal and DEXA analysis. Forty controls were also evaluated. Results: Males with HIV had significantly lower BMD and Z-scores at all sites. Osteoporosis was diagnosed in 64.35%, the common­est site being radius total (49.56%), followed by radius 33% (45.21%), radius ultra distal (36.52%), lumbar spine (19.13%), neck of femur (17.39%), and total femur and greater trochanter (7.82% each). HIV patients had significantly lower fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM), total fat percentage, bone mineral content, gynoid fat, and percentage skeletal muscle mass (PSMM). Men with osteoporosis had higher use of anti-retroviral therapy (ART), immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), tuberculosis, and lower FM, LM, and PSMM. Logistic regression revealed that PSMM, age, and delta (Δ) CD4 count (change in CD4 count after 6–12 months of ART, compared to pre-ART) were the best predictors of osteoporosis. Greater PSMM was associated with decreased osteoporosis, without adjusting for any variable (Model-1), adjusting for disease duration, tuberculosis and IRIS (Model-2), and model-2 plus gonadotropins and sex steroids (Model-3). Greater ΔCD4 count and age were associated with increased osteoporosis after adjusting for different models. Sarcopaenia was observed in 40% of men and in none of the controls. Conclusions: Men with decreased skeletal mass, age, severe immune dysfunction at diagnosis, having rapid increase in CD4 count fol­lowing ART and IRIS have higher risk of osteoporosis in the long run. Wnioski: Mężczyźni z obniżoną masą szkieletu, w starszym wieku i z ciężkimi niedoborami immunologicznymi w czasie rozpoznania, u których następuje gwałtowny wzrost liczby limfocytów CD4 po ART i IRIS, cechują się wyższym ryzykiem osteoporozy w perspektywie długoterminowej

Low-latency gravitational wave alert products and their performance in anticipation of the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run

Multi-messenger searches for binary neutron star (BNS) and neutron star-black hole (NSBH) mergers are currently one of the most exciting areas of astronomy. The search for joint electromagnetic and neutrino counterparts to gravitational wave (GW)s has resumed with Advanced LIGO (aLIGO)'s, Advanced Virgo (AdVirgo)'s and KAGRA's fourth observing run (O4). To support this effort, public semi-automated data products are sent in near real-time and include localization and source properties to guide complementary observations. Subsequent refinements, as and when available, are also relayed as updates. In preparation for O4, we have conducted a study using a simulated population of compact binaries and a Mock Data Challenge (MDC) in the form of a real-time replay to optimize and profile the software infrastructure and scientific deliverables. End-to-end performance was tested, including data ingestion, running online search pipelines, performing annotations, and issuing alerts to the astrophysics community. In this paper, we present an overview of the low-latency infrastructure as well as an overview of the performance of the data products to be released during O4 based on a MDC. We report on expected median latencies for the preliminary alert of full bandwidth searches (29.5 s) and for the creation of early warning triggers (-3.1 s), and show consistency and accuracy of released data products using the MDC. This paper provides a performance overview for LVK low-latency alert structure and data products using the MDC in anticipation of O4

Doing Well by Doing Good: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda for Sustainable Investment

This paper conducts a systematic review of the research work in the field of sustainable investment for identifying research gaps and laying down research agenda for the future. Articles on sustainable investment published in journals indexed at the Web of Science during 1989 and 2018 (so far) are reviewed for the purpose of this research. A total of 225 papers were found through the search criteria, out of which 213 papers were selected for review. The paper identifies gaps in the literature that can be considered as opportunities for future study. The analysis of these articles led us to note the need for an agenda that can present a holistic framework of sustainable investment with lesser variations and increased acceptability. The research agenda proposed by the paper may help researchers in framing their research problems around the gaps identified. Sustainable investment is a potential solution to social and ecological issues by transforming the financial markets to have more accountability for their impacts. Therefore, it is important to carry out extensive research in this field so as to develop it as an applied field of investment. There has so far been no attempt to perform a systematic review in the field of sustainable investment for a period of 20 years, as has been made in this paper

Quality of Work Life And Medical Teachers’ Commitment: A moderated mediation analysis of fear of COVID-19 and job satisfaction

This study is principally the first to test a moderated mediation model of COVID-19 fear and job satisfaction in the Quality of Work Life (QWL)-commitment relationship of medical teachers during the pandemic. The conceptual model draws its theoretical tenet from spillover and conservation of resources theories. Cluster sampling was incorporated from four metropolitan cities in India. A mixed-method research design was administered to 378 medical teachers amidst the pandemic. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) results indicate a significant positive association between the constructs. Path analyses have highlighted positive associations between QWL, job satisfaction, and affective commitment to medical institutions. Further, a partial mediation effect of job satisfaction in the QWL-commitment relationship is highlighted, adding a new dimension to past studies. Intriguingly, each of the positive associations between QWL, job satisfaction, and commitment was negated and significantly moderated by the fear of COVID-19 experienced by the medical teaching fraternity. The findings offer practical implications to the stakeholders (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Higher Education, Government of India, and State Governments) in enriching the QWL, job satisfaction, and medical teachers’ commitment induced by psychological stress, anxiety, role conflict, post-traumatic stress disorder, and fear of COVID-19 in the global pandemic

Weibull model for wind speed data analysis of different locations in India

Wind speed data should be fitted by a suitable statistical model like Weibull to determine expected number of hours per year in the critical wind speed range for a slender structure, which is required to determine the expected number of stress cycles in the projected working life of the structure. Apart from this, for the assessment of wind energy potential wind speed data should be fitted by an appropriate probability distribution. In the present scope of study, wind data of various locations of India have been fitted by Weibull model. Wind speed data are initially sampled in knot by Indian Meteorological Department and later converted into integer km/h before supplying them to the end user. Due to this conversion, wind speed data cannot be properly fitted by Weibull distribution and in this regard, the choice of appropriate class width becomes very much important. Without the choice of appropriate class width, estimated Weibull parameters become biased which would yield incorrect estimation of expected number of hours in critical wind speed ranges as well as wind energy potential. After taking appropriate class width of 4 km/h, it has been found that Weibull model is an adequate model to describe wind speed distributions of India. Weibull model has also been compared with other models such as Gamma and inverse Weibull distributions to establish its suitability than the others. In this study, the values of Weibull shape parameters vary from 1.3 to 2.3, whereas the values of scale parameters vary from 1.4 m/s to 6.5 m/s. The validity of Weibull model is also verified with a target confidence interval of 90%. The uncertainties involved in the estimation of available wind energy potential as well as the expected number of hours per year in critical wind speed ranges have also been considered due to random variation of wind climate in each year

Comparative evaluation of efficacy of adjunctive use of azithromycin and ciprofloxacin with scaling and root planning and scaling & root planning alone in the treatment of chronic periodontitis: a clinico microbiological study

Background and aims:The present study was envisaged to compare the efficacy of Adjunctive use of Azithromycin and Ciprofloxacin with Scaling and Root Planning and Scaling & Root Planning alone in the treatment of Chronic Periodontitis. Materials and methods: Forty five subjects with chronic periodontitis were randomly selected and divided into three groups as follows. Group 1: scaling and root planning without any systemic antibiotics (SRPalone). Group 2: scaling and root planning with systematic administration of ciprofloxacin (SRP+CIPRO). Group 3: scaling and root planning alone with systemic administration of azithromycin (SRP+AZM). Periodontal parameters comprising of plaque index, bleeding index, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level and microbiological parameters comprising of spirochete count and BANA test scores were assessed at base line and six weeks after completion of periodontal therapy for subjects in all the three groups. Results: The reduction in posttreatment scores as compared to pre-treatment scores of plaque index, bleeding index, pocket depth, clinical attachment levels and spirochete count was highly significant in all the groups (p<0.01). BANA hydrolysis is a reliable marker of periodontal disease as it has proved to be a suitable test for detection of spirochetes. Conclusion: The judicious use of systemic antibiotics in the treatment of chronic periodontitis may provide an additional benefit in the clinical outcome compared to SRP alone