Interoperable Credentials Management for Wholesale Banking

A gap exists between wholesale-banking business practices and security best practices: wholesale banks operate within the boundaries of contract law, while security best practices often relies upon a benevolent trusted party outside the scope of straightforward contracts. While some business domains may be able to bridge this gap, the ultra-high-value transactions used in business-to-business banking substantially increase the size of the gap. The gap becomes most apparent when regarded from the perspective of interoperability. If a single user applies the same credential to sign high-value transactions at multiple banks, then the trusted-party model becomes overly cumbersome and conflicts with an acceptable concept of liability. This paper outlines the business complexities of wholesale banking and proposes a solution called Partner Key Management (PKM). PKM technology manages the credentials required to authenticate users and sign transactions. This paper presents PKM technology by describing an interoperable protocol, requisite data structures, and an interoperable XML definition. The paper uses formal methods to demonstrate a security equivalence between revocation options within PKM against the security offered by the traditional Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), a technology that features the benevolent trusted party

Reduced functional measure of cardiovascular reserve predicts admission to critical care unit following kidney transplantation

Background: There is currently no effective preoperative assessment for patients undergoing kidney transplantation that is able to identify those at high perioperative risk requiring admission to critical care unit (CCU). We sought to determine if functional measures of cardiovascular reserve, in particular the anaerobic threshold (VO2AT) could identify these patients. Methods: Adult patients were assessed within 4 weeks prior to kidney transplantation in a University hospital with a 37-bed CCU, between April 2010 and June 2012. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), echocardiography and arterial applanation tonometry were performed. Results: There were 70 participants (age 41.7614.5 years, 60% male, 91.4% living donor kidney recipients, 23.4% were desensitized). 14 patients (20%) required escalation of care from the ward to CCU following transplantation. Reduced anaerobic threshold (VO2AT) was the most significant predictor, independently (OR = 0.43; 95% CI 0.27–0.68; p,0.001) and in the multivariate logistic regression analysis (adjusted OR = 0.26; 95% CI 0.12–0.59; p = 0.001). The area under the receiveroperating- characteristic curve was 0.93, based on a risk prediction model that incorporated VO2AT, body mass index and desensitization status. Neither echocardiographic nor measures of aortic compliance were significantly associated with CCU admission. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first prospective observational study to demonstrate the usefulness of CPET as a preoperative risk stratification tool for patients undergoing kidney transplantation. The study suggests that VO2AT has the potential to predict perioperative morbidity in kidney transplant recipients

The prevalence of hyperglycaemia and its relationship with mortality, readmissions and length of stay in an older acute surgical population : a multicentre study

Funding statement This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sector.Peer reviewedPostprin

Effectiveness of a targeted exercise intervention in reversing older peoples mild balance dysfunction: A randomised controlled trail

Background: Previous research has mainly targeted older people with high risk of falling. The effectiveness of exercise interventions in older people with mild levels of balance dysfunction remains unexplored. Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a home balance and strength exercise intervention in older people systematically screened as having mild balance dysfunction. Design: This was a community-based, randomized controlled trial with assessors blinded to group allocation. Participants: Study participants were older people who reported concerns about their balance but remained community ambulant (n=225). After a comprehensive balance assessment, those classified as having mild balance dysfunction (n=165) were randomized into the trial. Intervention: Participants in the intervention group (n=83) received a 6-month physical therapist–prescribed balance and strength home exercise program, based on the Otago Exercise Program and the Visual Health Information Balance and Vestibular Exercise Kit. Participants in the control group (n=82) continued with their usual activities. Outcome Measures: Laboratory and clinical measures of balance, mobility, and strength were assessed at baseline and at a 6-month reassessment.Results: After 6 months, the intervention group (n=59) significantly improved relative to the control group (n=62) for: the Functional Reach Test (mean difference=2.95 cm, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.75 to 4.15), the Step Test (2.10 steps/15 seconds, 95% CI=1.17 to 3.02), hip abductor strength (0.02, 95% CI=0.01 to 0.03), and gait step width (2.17 cm, 95% CI=1.23 to 3.11). There were nonsignificant trends for improvement on most other measures. Fourteen participants in the intervention group (23.7%) achieved balance performance within the normative range following the exercise program, compared with 3 participants (4.8%) in the control group. Limitations: Loss to follow-up (26.6%) was slightly higher than in some similar studies but was unlikely to have biased the results. Conclusions: A physical therapist–prescribed home exercise program targeting balance and strength was effective in improving a number of balance and related outcomes in older people with mild balance impairment

Building A Rigorous Foundation For Assurance Into Information Assurance Education

mission is to promote improvement in systems and information assurance through research, education, and technology transfer. The goal of the CSA educational program is to develop students with a broad background in security and information assurance who distinguish themselves by their ability to (1) analyze, synthesize, and make judgments based on engineering and computer-science principles, and (2) use analytical techniques to evaluate the implications of policies, standards, and procedures; the ramifications of changes; and the potential dangers of refinements. A key—and, we believe, unique—component of our program is our emphasis on using formal mathematics and logic to provide a rigorous basis for the assurance of information and information systems. All students in our program must take a combination of courses that provide hands-on experience both in building systems and in using formal models to analyze and evaluate system behavior. In this paper, we discuss our experiences in developing and delivering a Systems Assurance program in which mathematical logic is an integral component. I

Formal Development of Secure Email

Developing systems that are assured to be secure requires precise and accurate descriptions of specifications, designs, implementations, and security properties. Formal specification and verification have long been recognized as giving the highest degree of assurance. In this paper, we describe a software development process that integrates formal verification and synthesis. We demonstrate this process by developing assured sender and receiver C++ code for a secure electronic mail system, Privacy Enhanced Mail. We use higher-order logic for system-requirements specification, design specifications and design verification. We use a combination of higher-order logic and category theory and tools supporting these formalisms to refine specifications and synthesize code. Much of our work is applicable to other secure email protocols, as our development is parameterized, component-based, and reusable