Synopsis of Cybersecurity and Risks Associated with Cybercrime to Susceptible and Blameless Global Citizenries

Cybercrime, a collapse of the world economy, social and economic insecurity are all continual threats to the global society. Our interconnected, global civilization will soon be affected negatively and economically by the rapidly evolving cybersecurity challenge. Leaders of both developed and developing countries must be ready to launch a defence strategy against those who carry out cybersecurity attacks. In the past, local, national, and worldwide communications relied on radio networks, conventional mail systems, and fax machines to send data and documents. This paper critically performed a synopsis of cybersecurity and the risks associated with cybercrime to susceptible and blameless global citizenries. The world's transmission and communication processes are now controlled by the culture of high definition television, broadband direct connection, electronic mail, Internet access, and cyber-technology. All segments of the global innocent population are constantly at risk as a result of the excessive rate of advancement in cyber-technology. Attacks on blameless people in Paris and San Bernardino serve as a reminder to leaders of developed and developing countries to develop cyber security-savvy workforces in order to avert future catastrophes. Cybercrime poses a grave threat to the physical wellbeing of innocent members of the society worldwide. Individuals, governmental bodies, businesses, financial institutions, and higher education systems are all at risk from cybercriminals operating in isolation. The establishment of a unified front to cooperate via confidence, dedication, and commitment must be among the most credible and reliable approaches to stop cybercriminals today and in the future. All facets of international organizations and educational settings are being affected by cybersecurity concerns. The exchange of ideas, values, and beliefs as well as the teaching and learning process are all parts of the culture of the educational enterprise. Presidents, vice chancellors, professors, instructors, and other educators are urged to develop a plan of action to safeguard the infrastructure, critical data, and other assets of the entire educational system against cyber-attacks. The unanticipated events in Paris, France, and San Bernardino, California, in the United States, are a persistent trend and a decisive step that empowers national and higher education leaders, professors, instructors, and allied educators to put in place a well-organized action plan, efficient security measures, and workforces to neutralize perpetrators' malign intent to destroy all the institutions of human civilization. According to the research findings, a Global Collaborative Partnership (GCP) should be established with policies and directives to offer steady security to vulnerable global citizens. Additionally, as part of the GCP ground plan, software designers must have preventative built-in capabilities to deter cybercriminals

Contextual Coding in Qualitative Research Involving Participants with Diverse Sociocultural Backgrounds

Understanding participants' perspectives in qualitative research is contingent on unravelling the essential meaning of their speech. When data are collected in native language and translated into English language, the underlying sociocultural meaning of participants' speech can be missed. This paper discusses a new contextual coding approach and illustrates its application in research. The technique was used in a phenomenological study in Pakistan and a mixed methods study in Europe. Contextual coding entails a preliminary coding stage involving data reading in native language, choosing socially and culturally relevant words and phrases, and developing preliminary codes. The concluding coding stage focuses on creating a sociocultural query list, seeking answers through discussions among multilingual individuals, and finding a common language for code description. Contextual coding can enable researchers to understand sociocultural meaning of their data at an early stage, rather than waiting at the later stage of theme development to contextualize the findings

Volatile profile of green coffee beans from Coffea arabica L. plants grown at different altitudes in Ethiopia

ABSTRACT. This study was aimed to identify volatile compounds of 31 green coffee bean samples and evalute their correlation with altitude of the coffee plants grown in two zones (Gedeo and Jimma) in Ethiopia. A total of 81 different compounds were detected. The contents of dominant volatile compounds in green coffee beans were in the range: trans-linalooloxide (3.24⎯19.13%), linalool (1.56⎯21.76%), 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (2.34⎯15.08%) and cis-linalooloxide (1.03⎯13.27%). In addition, benzene acetaldehyde (0.45⎯10.97%), 2-heptanol (0.67⎯8.49%), ⍺-terpineol (0.64⎯6.52%), phenylethyl alcohol (0.44⎯4.98%) and furfural (0.92⎯5.3%) were the next dominant compounds. The volatile compounds identified in the green coffee beans are groups of alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, pyrazines, pyridines, and furans. The volatile compounds in green coffee beans showed either weak positive or weak negative correlation with the altitude of coffee plants indicating that variation in altitude of the coffee plants does not significantly influence the volative compounds of green coffee beans.               KEY WORDS: Coffea arabica L., Coffee plants, Green coffee beans, Volatile compounds, Effect of altitudes, Heterocyclic compounds Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2019, 33(3), 401-413.   DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v33i3.

Correlation between caffeine contents of green coffee beans and altitudes of the coffee plants grown in southwest Ethiopia

Caffeine contents of 45 green coffee bean samples collected from coffee plants grown at different altitudes in Southwest Ethiopia was determined by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The caffeine contents were found in the range of 0.62 - 1.2% (w/w). A moderate negative correlation (R = 0.5463) was found between the caffeine contents of green coffee beans and the altitudes at which the coffee plants were grown. The caffeine contents of 9 of the green coffee bean samples analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) provided comparable results in the range of 0.60−1.1% (w/w). Statistical analysis of data (t-test) indicated absence of significant differences between the caffeine contents obtained by the two methods. Nonetheless, HPLC method is precise, accurate and reliable in determining caffeine content in green coffee bean samples while the UV-Vis spectrophotometry is simple, rapid, precise and more economical. KEY WORDS: Green coffee beans, Caffeine, Correlation between caffeine content and altitude of coffee plant, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, High performance liquid chromatography, Ethiopia Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2018, 32(1), 13-25DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v32i1.

Management of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes: a patient-centered approach: position statement of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).

Glycemic management in type 2 diabetes mellitus has become increasingly complex and, to some extent, controversial, with a widening array of pharmacological agents now available (1–5), mounting concerns about their potential adverse effects and new uncertainties regarding the benefits of intensive glycemic control on macrovascular complications (6–9). Many clinicians are therefore perplexed as to the optimal strategies for their patients. As a consequence, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) convened a joint task force to examine the evidence and develop recommendations for antihyperglycemic therapy in nonpregnant adults with type 2 diabetes. Several guideline documents have been developed by members of these two organizations (10) and by other societies and federations (2,11–15). However, an update was deemed necessary because of contemporary information on the benefits/risks of glycemic control, recent evidence concerning efficacy and safety of several new drug classes (16,17), the withdrawal/restriction of others, and increasing calls for a move toward more patient-centered care (18,19). This statement has been written incorporating the best available evidence and, where solid support does not exist, using the experience and insight of the writing group, incorporating an extensive review by additional experts (acknowledged below). The document refers to glycemic control; yet this clearly needs to be pursued within a multifactorial risk reduction framework. This stems from the fact that patients with type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality; the aggressive management of cardiovascular

Update and Next Steps for Real-World Translation of Interventions for Type 2 Diabetes Prevention: Reflections From a Diabetes Care Editors’ Expert Forum

The International Diabetes Federation estimates that 415 million adults worldwide now have diabetes and 318 million have impaired glucose tolerance. These numbers are expected to increase to 642 million and 482 million, respectively, by 2040. This burgeoning pandemic places an enormous burden on countries worldwide, particularly resource-poor regions. Numerous landmark trials evaluating both intensive lifestyle modification and pharmacological interventions have persuasively demonstrated that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or its onset can be delayed in high-risk individuals with impaired glucose tolerance. However, key challenges remain, including how to scale up such approaches for widespread translation and implementation, how to select appropriately from various interventions and tailor them for different populations and settings, and how to ensure that preventive interventions yield clinically meaningful, cost-effective outcomes. In June 2015, a Diabetes Care Editors’ Expert Forum convened to discuss these issues. This article, an outgrowth of the forum, begins with a summary of seminal prevention trials, followed by a discussion of considerations for selecting appropriate populations for intervention and the clinical implications of the various diagnostic criteria for prediabetes. The authors outline knowledge gaps in need of elucidation and explore a possible new avenue for securing regulatory approval of a prevention-related indication for metformin, as well as specific considerations for future pharmacological interventions to delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. They conclude with descriptions of some innovative, pragmatic translational initiatives already under way around the world

α-Hydroxybutyrate Is an Early Biomarker of Insulin Resistance and Glucose Intolerance in a Nondiabetic Population

Background: Insulin resistance is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease progression. Current diagnostic tests, such as glycemic indicators, have limitations in the early detection of insulin resistant individuals. We searched for novel biomarkers identifying these at-risk subjects. Methods: Using mass spectrometry, non-targeted biochemical profiling was conducted in a cohort of 399 nondiabetic subjects representing a broad spectrum of insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance (based on the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp and oral glucose tolerance testing, respectively). Results: Random forest statistical analysis selected alpha-hydroxybutyrate (alpha-HB) as the top-ranked biochemical for separating insulin resistant (lower third of the clamp-derived M(FFM) = 33 [12] mu mol.min(-1).kg(FFM)(-1), median [interquartile range], n = 140) from insulin sensitive subjects (M(FFM) = 66 [23] mu mol.min(-1).kg(FFM)(-1)) with a 76% accuracy. By targeted isotope dilution assay, plasma alpha-HB concentrations were reciprocally related to M(FFM); and by partition analysis, an alpha-HB value of 5 mu g/ml was found to best separate insulin resistant from insulin sensitive subjects. alpha-HB also separated subjects with normal glucose tolerance from those with impaired fasting glycemia or impaired glucose tolerance independently of, and in an additive fashion to, insulin resistance. These associations were also independent of sex, age and BMI. Other metabolites from this global analysis that significantly correlated to insulin sensitivity included certain organic acid, amino acid, lysophospholipid, acylcarnitine and fatty acid species. Several metabolites are intermediates related to alpha-HB metabolism and biosynthesis. Conclusions: alpha-hydroxybutyrate is an early marker for both insulin resistance and impaired glucose regulation. The underlying biochemical mechanisms may involve increased lipid oxidation and oxidative stress

Sex differences in perceived risk and testing experience of HIV in an urban fishing setting in Ghana

The concept of neighborhood remains important in criminology but there is an increasing academic interest in the potential impact of the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP) on neighborhood based studies. In the present study data over arson from the Swedish rescue services 2007-2012 have been employed to analyze MAUP in the city of Malmö, Sweden. The city has been divided into 50*50 meter pixels as micro-places (n=64540) which have been assigned a value for arson from frequency of arson within the pixel. The analysis is based on a comparison of two types of administrative geographical units alongside 40 randomly generated sets of thiessen polygon geographical units. Empty two-level hierarchical regression models with the micro-places as level 1 unit have been used to calculate Intra-Class Correlations (ICC) separately with each of the 42 different geographical units of analysis as level 2 units. The analysis is repeated with two alternative methods, kernel density and euclidian distance, to calculate a value for each micro-place. Results show that administrative geographical units of analysis in some cases just are marginally better than geographical units with random boundaries if the basic urban structure is taken into account

Hepatic FoxOs link insulin signaling with plasma lipoprotein metabolism through an apolipoprotein M/sphingosine-1-phosphate pathway

Multiple beneficial cardiovascular effects of HDL depend on sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). S1P associates with HDL by binding to apolipoprotein M (ApoM). Insulin resistance is a major driver of dyslipidemia and cardiovascular risk. However, the mechanisms linking alterations in insulin signaling with plasma lipoprotein metabolism are incompletely understood. The insulin-repressible FoxO transcription factors mediate key effects of hepatic insulin action on glucose and lipoprotein metabolism. This work tested whether hepatic insulin signaling regulates HDL-S1P and aimed to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms. We report that insulin-resistant, nondiabetic individuals had decreased HDL-S1P levels, but no change in total plasma S1P. This also occurred in insulin-resistant db/db mice, which had low ApoM and a specific reduction of S1P in the HDL fraction, with no change in total plasma S1P levels. Using mice lacking hepatic FoxOs (L-FoxO1,3,4), we found that hepatic FoxOs were required for ApoM expression. Total plasma S1P levels were similar to those in controls, but S1P was nearly absent from HDL and was instead increased in the lipoprotein-depleted plasma fraction. This phenotype was restored to normal by rescuing ApoM in L-FoxO1,3,4 mice. Our findings show that insulin resistance in humans and mice is associated with decreased HDL-associated S1P. Our study shows that hepatic FoxO transcription factors are regulators of the ApoM/S1P pathway