Managing Network Security with Snort Open Source Intrusion Detection Tools

Organizations both large and small are constantly looking to improve their posture on security. Hackers and intruders have made many successful attempts to bring down high-profile company networks and web services for lack of adequate security. Many methods have been developed to secure the network infrastructure and communication over the Internet such as the firewall and intrusion detection systems. While most organizations deploy security equipment, they still encounter the challenge of monitoring and reviewing the security events. There are various intrusion detection tools in the market for free. Also, there are multiple ways to detect these attacks and vulnerabilities from being exploited and leaking corporate data on the internet. One method involves using intrusion detection systems to detect the attack and block or alert the appropriate staff of the attack. Snort contains a suite of tools that aids the administrators in detecting these events. In this paper, Snort IDS was analysed on how it manages the network from installation to deployment with additional tools that helps to analyse the security data. The components and rules to operate Snort were also discussed. As with other IDS it has advantages and disadvantages

Discrete adjoint for coupled conjugate heat transfer

The typical method to solve multi-physics problems such as Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) is the partitioned approach which couples separate solvers through boundary conditions. Effective gradient-based optimisation of partitioned CHT problems requires the adjoint of the coupling to maintain the efficiency of the original multi-physics coupling, which is a significant challenge. The use of automatic differentiation (AD) has the potential to ease this burden and leads to generic gradient computation methods. In this paper, we present how to automate the generation of adjoint fluid and solid solvers for a CHT adjoint using Automatic Differentiation (AD). The derivation of the adjoint of the loose coupling algorithms is shown for three fixed-point coupling algorithms. Application of the coupled adjoint algorithm is shown to two CHT optimisation benchmark cases for inverse design and shape optimisation. The results demonstrate that Robin-based coupling algorithms have faster runtimes and are an attractive option for CHT optimisation problems

Oral health awareness, practices and status of patients with diabetes attending a tertiary health institution in Nigeria

Background: Despite the reported increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus, very few studies have documented report on oral health awareness and oral health conditions of individuals with diabetes mellitus from our environment. Thus this study aimed at assessing the oral health awareness, practices and status of individuals with diabetes mellitus attending a tertiary health facility in Nigeria.Methods: A cross sectional survey of 143 patients with diabetes attending the medical outpatients' clinic of the hospital. Information was obtained from participants using pretested structured questionnaires and oral examination. Tests of associations were determined using Chi-square and student t test.Results: One-fifth (20.3%) of the respondents were aware of good oral health preventing oral diseases in diabetes. Thirty-five (24.5%) knew that diabetes could worsen oral health condition and only 3 (2.1%) could correctly explain the association between diabetes and oral health conditions. Forty-three (30.1%) had participated in an oral health education program focused on diabetes and oral health. The majority (88.6%) had calculus accumulation while none had a healthy periodontium.Conclusion: Oral health awareness, practices and status of patients with diabetes were poor in our environment. Thus, these individuals need to be better informed of the relationship between oral health and diabetes.Keywords: Oral disease; diabetes; awareness; oral health educatio

Salivary Secretion and Composition in Malaria: A Case-control Study

Summary: No previous studies have documented changes in salivary secretion in patients with malaria. This study aimed to compare salivary secretion and composition in malaria positive and malaria negative individuals. Ninety participants composed of 40 malaria parasite positive and 50 malaria parasite negative individuals (age and gender matched) were included. Malaria diagnosis was achieved by microscopic examination of Giemsa stained thick and thin film of blood smears. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess presence or absence of oral symptoms in the malaria parasite positive individuals. Whole saliva samples were collected and analyzed for flow rate, pH, total protein and concentrations of electrolytes (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Cl-, PO42- and HCO32-). Data were analysed using Independent-Samples t-test and Spearman’s correlation test. The salivary flow rate was significantly reduced in malaria parasite positive individuals (P = 0.001). Oral symptoms were present in 82.5% of the malaria parasite positive individuals. There was no significant difference in the salivary pH, total protein and electrolyte ion concentrations between the two groups. Also, Spearman’s correlation test showed no significant relationship between the presence of oral symptom and the salivary parameters. Salivary flow rates are reduced in the individuals with malaria. However, presence of oral symptoms in these individuals may not be attributed to the reduced salivary flow rate. Further studies are needed to validate our findings and elucidate mechanisms involved.Keywords: Saliva, Malaria, Salivary flow rate, Salivary electrolytes, Salivary pH, Salivary total protein

Antihyperlipidaemic and Antioxidant Potential of Fermented Citrullus vulgaris Seeds (Thunb.) on Tyloxapol-induced Hyperlipidaemic Rats: A Comparison With Fluvastatin

Globally fermented foods form an integral part of the staple diet of people. Fermented Citrullus vulgaris (FCV) (ogiri) seeds is a nutritious natural fermented condiment that features frequently in West African diets as a spice.This study investigated the antihyperlipidaemic potential of this condiment in tyloxapol-induced hyperlipidaemic rats with reference to that of fluvastatin, a standard antilipidaemic drug. The antioxidant potential of the condiment was also examined using different relevant in vitro assays. Albino rats were divided into six groups (n=5), based on the diet and treatment received. The groups were standard feed (control); FCV supplemented feed; standard feed with tyloxapol administered at the end of the experimental period (tyloxapol control); FCV supplemented feed and tyloxapol at the end of the experimental period; standard feed with fluvastatin sodium (40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg body weight separately) followed by tyloxapol. The results revealed that administration of tyloxapol induced significant (p < 0.05) increase in total-cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG). These lipid increases were significantly mitigated in groups initially pre-fed with supplemented FCV feed. Plasma TC decreased by 69.38% (p < 0.05); TG by 80.58% (p < 0.05); LDL-C by 7.80% (p < 0.05) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels increased by 78.61% (p < 0.05). FCV showed appreciable antioxidant activities in vitro in a dose dependent manner. Histomorphological examination of the liver suggested that the FCV possessed hepatoprotective potential. These results suggest that FCV consumption may be a possible dietary measure for the control of dyslipidaemia

Current Status of Canine Babesiosis and the Situation in Nigeria: A Review

Nigerian Veterinary Journal, Vol. 32(2): 2011; 69 - 7

Serum calcium levels of premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal rural women of Zuturung District, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Background: Changes in sex hormones during the menopause transition period have an impact on calcium homeostasis. We studied the age at menopause, anthropometric and mean serum calcium levels in a cohort of premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women in Zuturung, Kaduna state, Nigeria. Methods:135 subjects participated in the crossectional study. They comprised of 38 premenopausal, 22 perimenopausal and 75 postmenopausal subjects. After administering a questionnaire, the height (m), weight (g), and waist circumference (cm) of the subjects were determined using standard methods while the body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) was calculated. 5 milliliters of blood were collected via venipuncture and serum calcium level was determined by utilizing standard laboratory methods. Results:The results showed a mean and median age at menopause of 44.23±2.74 years and 44 years, respectively. Postmenopausal and perimenopausal subjects were more likely to be overweight with mean BMI 26.07±5.99 kg/m2and 26.42±7.27kg/m2 respectively, compared with their premenopausal counterparts with BMI of 25.18±3.48kg/m2 (p&lt;0.001). The postmenopausal and perimenopausal subjects also had a longer waist circumference of 89.63±10.66cm and 92.19±11.91cm respectively compared with the premenopausal women 83.73±8.00cm (p&lt;0.001). Only 73.86% of the postmenopausal women had a BMI ≥25kg/m2 whereas the prevalence of central obesity as determined using the waist circumference among the postmenopausal subjects was 79%. Mean serum calcium levels were slightly lower amongst both postmenopausal and perimenopausal subjects, 2.30±0.35mg/dl and 2.36±0.13mg/dl respectively as compared with the premenopausal women 2.37±0.15mg/dl. These differences were not significant (p&gt;0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest a lower mean age at menopause, a higher BMI, a longer waist circumference for the postmenopausal subjects (which was significant) with lower mean serum calcium levels (that was not significant) as compared with their premenopausal subjects. We recommend calcium supplementation and screening of postmenopausal women for postmenopausal osteoporosis. Keywords: Body mass index, calcium, menopause, osteoporosis, waist circumference, Zuturung distric