Secure Service Discovery in Home Networks

This paper presents an architecture for secure service discovery for use in home networks. We give an overview and rationale of a cluster-based home network architecture that bridges different, often vendor specific, network technologies. We show how it integrates security, communication, and service discovery to achieve a secure and trusted way of deploying services in a domestic environment

Maternal–Fetal Microtransfusions and HIV-1 Mother-to-Child Transmission in Malawi

BACKGROUND: Between 25% and 35% of infants born to HIV-infected mothers become HIV-1 infected. One potential route of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) could be through a breakdown in the placental barrier (i.e., maternal–fetal microtransfusions). METHODS AND FINDINGS: Placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) is a 130-kD maternal enzyme that cannot cross the intact placental barrier. We measured PLAP activity in umbilical vein serum as an indicator of maternal–fetal microtransfusion, and related this to the risk of HIV-1 MTCT. A case-cohort study was conducted of 149 women randomly selected from a cohort of HIV-1-infected pregnant Malawians; these women served as a reference group for 36 cases of in utero MTCT and 43 cases of intrapartum (IP) MTCT. Cord PLAP activity was measured with an immunocatalytic assay. Infant HIV status was determined by real-time PCR. The association between cord PLAP activity and HIV-1 MTCT was measured with logistic regression using generalized estimating equations. Among vaginal deliveries, PLAP was associated with IP MTCT (risk ratio, 2.25 per log(10) ng/ml PLAP; 95% confidence interval, 0.95–5.32) but not in utero MTCT. In a multivariable model adjusted for HIV-1 RNA load, chorioamnionitis, and self-reported fever, the risk of IP MTCT almost tripled for every log(10) increase in cord PLAP activity (risk ratio, 2.87; 95% confidence interval, 1.05–7.83). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that during vaginal deliveries, placental microtransfusions are a risk factor for IP HIV-1 MTCT. Future studies are needed to identify factors that increase the risk for microtransfusions in order to prevent IP HIV-1 MTCT

Towards a Cross-Context Identity Management Framework in E-Health

Purpose - Modern e-health systems incorporate different healthcare providers in one system and provide an electronic platform to share medical information efficiently. In cross-context communications between healthcare providers, the same information can be interpreted as different types or values, so that one patient will be issued different identifiers by different healthcare providers. This paper aims to provide a solution to ensure interoperability so that multiple healthcare providers will be able to collaborate in one e-health system. Design/methodology/approach - This paper primarily focuses on how different healthcare providers, instead of the patients, are able to interact and share information on a common e-health platform. Findings - In the course of the work, it was found that previous e-health solutions mainly have a limited view of patient information, where a user-centric approach for identity management is usually restricted to a single healthcare provider. Interoperability in an e-health system becomes more problematic when more actors collaborate, and hence linkability from one context to another should not be straightforward. However, some form of linkability, such as the possibility to follow up a patient's medical treatment, is desirable in the e-health sector, even when it needs to cross different contexts. Therefore, the authors have designed an identity management mechanism to ensure semantic interoperability when data is exchanged among different authorized healthcare providers. Research limitations/implications - The paper points out that the next generation of e-health will move towards federated e-health and will require user-centricity and transparency properties so that patients are able to specify and verify the disclosure of their medical information. Originality/value - This paper proposes a new service for cross-context identity management in e-health systems, improving interoperability between agencies when context-specific information is transferred from one healthcare provider to another. How the proposed cross-context identity management service can be integrated in an e-health system is explained with a use case scenario. © 2009 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Revocation Lists (CRL).

Abstract. Currently, Belgium is introducing an electronic version of its identity card. In this article, we shortly describe the card, and give a brief introduction to its cryptographic features. In particular, we focus on the Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI) associated with the card