Secure Communication Protocols, Secret Sharing and Authentication Based on Goldbach Partitions

This thesis investigates the use of Goldbach partitions for secure communication protocols and for finding large prime numbers that are fundamental to these protocols. It is proposed that multiple third parties be employed in TLS/SSL and secure communication protocols to distribute the trust and eliminate dependency on a single third party, which decreases the probability of forging a digital certificate and enhances the overall security of the system. Two methods are presented in which the secret key is not compromised until all third parties involved in the process are compromised. A new scheme to distribute secret shares using two third parties in the piggy bank cryptographic paradigm is proposed. Conditions under which Goldbach partitions are efficient in finding large prime numbers are presented. A method is also devised to sieve prime numbers which uses less number of operations as compared to the Sieve of Eratosthenes.Electrical Engineerin

Assessing Faculty Preference Regarding Online Tools for Assessment in Medical Education: A Cross-Sectional Multi-Center Study

Purpose: E-assessment is a novel practice in developing countries; hence it is essential to determine the online platforms and tools preferred by health sciences education faculty for online assessment. The purpose of this study was to assess the preference of faculty in medical and dental education regarding the online tools for e-assessment of undergraduate students. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted from June until August 2020 on the faculty of medical and dental undergraduate programs of private and public sector institutes across Karachi, with a sample size of 152. Data was collected through convenience sampling using a validated questionnaire and was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Mean and standard deviation was calculated for numerical data while frequencies and percentages analyzed for categorical data. Results: A total of 125 faculty members participated in the study, having mean age of 37.8±9.99 years, with the majority affiliated with medical program (78%), working in private institutes (58.4%), and teaching basic sciences (64%). Faculty of both basic and clinical sciences preferred Question and Answer (Zoom) for formative assessment (37.6% and 20.8% respectively). Although most faculty were found to not use any online tool for summative assessment, nonetheless, Socrative was preferred for this purpose (23.2% basic sciences, 12.8% clinical sciences). Almost 68% of the faculty faced difficulties in conducting e-assessments and reported that their issues were not resolved effectively (48.2%). Conclusion: Formative assessment was found to be preferably conducted by the Question-and-Answer feature of Zoom. Even though most of the faculty reported not utilizing any online tool for conducting summative assessment, it was found that quiz-based platforms were preferred

Management of Fournier’s Gangrene; A Randomized Controlled Trial at High Volume Center Comparing the Efficacy of Honey and Eusol Dressing in Wound Healing

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of honey dressing in Fournier’s Gangrene against conventional Edinburgh University solution of lime (EUSOL) dressing. METHODOLOGY: This was a prospective experimental study conducted in Liaquat National Medical College and Hospital Karachi for duration of 5 and half years. Total 44 patients having gangrene and no co morbid conditions were included in this study. Patients who had co-morbid conditions like deranged coagulation profile and CVA, who were not willing to participate or loss to follow up were excluded from the study. After getting baseline blood workup (i.e. CBC, S. Creatinine, S. Electrolytes, Urine D/R, C/S and Diabetic workup) done and taking consent, the patients were immediately shifted to operation theatre, the incision and drainage was performed, and the necrotic tissues were debrided. Pus cultures were sent, and patients were started on routine intravenous antibiotics (3rd generation Cephalosporin and metronidazole). A Dressing of wound was done randomly by honey in Group A and by Eusol in Group B. Patients were discharged after wound was completely healed. The data were obtained and analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Mann-Whitney U-test and chi-square test was applied to find out the significance. RESUTS: The patients in Group A got slough cleared in4.82±0.96 days, on average requiring 3.22±0.75 number of debridement’s, complete wound healing and duration of hospital stay being 9.54±0.74 days. The patients in Group B got slough cleared in 8±0.87 days, requiring 5.32±0.72 number of debridement’s, complete wound healing and duration of hospital stay 13.68±1.09 days.There was a significant difference in slough clearance, number of debridement’s required, time taken for complete wound healing and hospital stay between Group A and Group B (P-value <0.001). CONCLUSION: This study predicted that honey is very valuable in the management of Fournier’s gangrene as it ensured early clearance of slough, required lesser number of debridement’s, had early wound healing and had relatively shorter duration of stay in hospital than those treated with conventional EUSOL as dressing material

HISTOLOGICAL PATTERN OF OVARIAN TUMORS IN REPRODUCTIVE AGE GROUPS

OBJECTIVES: To detect the frequency of histological pattern of ovarian tumor in reproductive age group in a tertiary care Hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This cross sectional descriptive study had been carried out at dept. of obstetrics and gynecology at Isra University Hospital Hyderabad. Total 106 patients with following presenting complaint of ovarian tumors like abdominal mass, bloating, discomfort, pain or pelvic swelling and ultrasound showed ovarian mass greater than 4 cm were included in this study. Ultrasound finding was recorded. Specimen for histopathological examination was sent to pathology department. All the data was recorded on the predesigned proforma. Results: The average age of the patients was 34.57±6.2 years. Frequency of histological pattern of ovarian tumor which was epithelial cell tumor was observed in 50% (53/1060) cases followed by germ cell tumor 33.96% (36/106) and sex cord stromal tumor was 16.04% (17/106) cases. Conclusion: Our interpretations as well as outcomes are proven as significant base line data about frequency & pattern of ovarian tumors in our area and it is concluded that exact histological analysis as well as staging is curatively & prognostic-ally valuably. Key Words: Ovarian tumors, Malignancies, Histological patter

Vulnerability Assessment & Analysis of Software-Defined Networking using a Virtual Testbed

Software-Defined Networking is an advance and modern network architecture that is dynamic, cost-effective, manageable, and adaptable to support the nature of modern applications. Even though SDN solved many limitations and complexities available in traditional networks, the improved network architecture has also bought many new and existing security threats into account. The intruder's aim is to target the central controller, which makes this network the only point of network failure. It is essential to integrate SDN Network with Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to counter the security threats. The proposed work includes developing a virtual testbed for the simulation of the SDN network, where the OVS-switch supporting the OpenFlow protocol is connected to the network topology created using Mininet Simulator. SNORT (signature-based IDS) is integrated with the network to monitor traffic and detect security threats. The vulnerability Assessment of the designed network shows the effective detection of all the major attacks lies in broad attack categories: DoS, Probe, R2L, and U2

Wide-Range Humidity&ndash;Temperature Hybrid Flexible Sensor Based on Strontium Titanate and Poly 3,4 Ethylenedioxythiophene Polystyrene Sulfonate for Wearable 3D-Printed Mask Applications

In this paper, we report a fast, linear wide-range hybrid flexible sensor based on a novel composite of strontium titanate (SrTiO3) and poly 3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS) as a sensing layer. Inter-digitate electrodes (IDEs) were printed for humidity monitoring (finger: 250 &micro;m; spacing: 140 &micro;m; length: 8 mm) whilst a meander-based pattern was printed for the temperature measurement (meander thickness: 180 &micro;m; spacing: 400 &micro;m) on each side of the PET substrate using silver ink. Moreover, active layers with different concentration ratios were coated on the electrodes using a spray coating technique. The as-developed sensor showed an excellent performance, with a humidity measurement range of (10&ndash;90% RH) and temperature measurement range of (25&ndash;90 &deg;C) with a fast response (humidity: 5 s; temperature: 4.2 s) and recovery time (humidity: 8 s; temperature: 4.4 s). The reliability of the sensor during mechanical bending of up to 5.5 mm was validated with a reliable performance. The sensor was also used in real-world applications to measure human respiration. For this, a suggested sensor-based autonomous wireless node was included in a 3D-printed mask. The manufactured sensor was an excellent contender for wearable and environmental applications because of its exceptional performance, which allowed for the simultaneous measurement of both quantities by a single sensing device

Awareness, perceptions and attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional and comparative study of students of healthcare professions

Purpose: To investigate health professions student’s awareness, attitude, and perception towards the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and also to determine the influence of socio- demographic variables on the descriptive outcomes of this study. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, comparative study was conducted among Undergraduate Health Professions Students (n=398) at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences at Riyadh campus, through a validated questionnaire. Results: The results of the study revealed that among various modalities of CAM, most students were aware and used prayers/spirituality, followed by nutritional supplements, cupping, massage, herbal medicine and yoga. The least effective modality was aromatherapy, whereas the most harmful modality was acupuncture. The data showed that the students obtained more information from friends/relatives and media and less from formal CAM training/courses. Awareness/self-use and beliefs/attitudes were found to have significant associations (p &lt; 0.05) in regard to gender, parent’s educational level, and family income. Conclusion: The study shows that most of the healthcare students are aware of and demonstrate positive attitudes towards the effectiveness and safety of most CAM modalities. However, the lack of formal training or courses is a major barrier towards its use and practice