Attribution of Spear Phishing Attacks: A Literature Survey

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-08-01

header of an email, verbally informed by another person, or easily ascertained via the handwriting of the text. In a few specific cases, this...scene would be scrutinised, based on both the handwriting and the content of the letter, to identify a suspect. The goal of this phase is to establish

Online Hand Holding in Fixing Computer Glitches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldsborough, Reid

2005-01-01

According to most surveys, computer manufacturers such as HP puts out reliable products, and computers in general are less troublesome than in the past. But personal computers are still prone to bugs, conflicts, viruses, spyware infestations, hacker and phishing attacks, and--most of all--user error. Unfortunately, technical support from computer…

Phishing for suitable targets in the Netherlands: routine activity theory and phishing victimization.

PubMed

Leukfeldt, E Rutger

2014-08-01

This article investigates phishing victims, especially the increased or decreased risk of victimization, using data from a cybercrime victim survey in the Netherlands (n=10,316). Routine activity theory provides the theoretical perspective. According to routine activity theory, several factors influence the risk of victimization. A multivariate analysis was conducted to assess which factors actually lead to increased risk of victimization. The model included background and financial data of victims, their Internet activities, and the degree to which they were "digitally accessible" to an offender. The analysis showed that personal background and financial characteristics play no role in phishing victimization. Among eight Internet activities, only "targeted browsing" led to increased risk. As for accessibility, using popular operating systems and web browsers does not lead to greater risk, while having up-to-date antivirus software as a technically capable guardian has no effect. The analysis showed no one, clearly defined group has an increased chance of becoming a victim. Target hardening may help, but opportunities for prevention campaigns aimed at a specific target group or dangerous online activities are limited. Therefore, situational crime prevention will have to come from a different angle. Banks could play the role of capable guardian.

Learning to Detect Phishing Emails

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

assumptions, such as certain words like “ viagra ” being indicative of a class of un-desirable emails, no longer hold when the attackers are using the same...offering to sell “ viagra ” over the Internet does not need to convince potential buyers that they are a pharmacy that the user already has a relationship

Detecting Targeted Malicious Email through Supervised Classification of Persistent Threat and Recipient Oriented Features

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amin, Rohan Mahesh

2010-01-01

Targeted email attacks to enable computer network exploitation have become more prevalent, more insidious, and more widely documented in recent years. Beyond nuisance spam or phishing designed to trick users into revealing personal information, targeted malicious email (TME) facilitates computer network exploitation and the gathering of sensitive…

Anti-social networking: crowdsourcing and the cyber defence of national critical infrastructures.

PubMed

Johnson, Chris W

2014-01-01

We identify four roles that social networking plays in the 'attribution problem', which obscures whether or not cyber-attacks were state-sponsored. First, social networks motivate individuals to participate in Distributed Denial of Service attacks by providing malware and identifying potential targets. Second, attackers use an individual's social network to focus attacks, through spear phishing. Recipients are more likely to open infected attachments when they come from a trusted source. Third, social networking infrastructures create disposable architectures to coordinate attacks through command and control servers. The ubiquitous nature of these architectures makes it difficult to determine who owns and operates the servers. Finally, governments recruit anti-social criminal networks to launch attacks on third-party infrastructures using botnets. The closing sections identify a roadmap to increase resilience against the 'dark side' of social networking.

Developing Network Situational Awareness through Visualizations of Fused Intrusion Detection System Alerts

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

Phishing with Plug and Play Exploit. In this attack, the at- tacker sets up a website offering the visitor free “ porn ” if they sign up. The user is allowed... porn alert so its unclear at the moment if 100.20.3.127 is compromised and if so, how it is compromised because there are no other alerts at this time...unauthorized porn website. The investigation would conclude that the attacker at 51.251.22.183 used the information gained from the website to open an

Application distribution model and related security attacks in VANET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikaein, Navid; Kanti Datta, Soumya; Marecar, Irshad; Bonnet, Christian

2013-03-01

In this paper, we present a model for application distribution and related security attacks in dense vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET) and sparse VANET which forms a delay tolerant network (DTN). We study the vulnerabilities of VANET to evaluate the attack scenarios and introduce a new attacker`s model as an extension to the work done in [6]. Then a VANET model has been proposed that supports the application distribution through proxy app stores on top of mobile platforms installed in vehicles. The steps of application distribution have been studied in detail. We have identified key attacks (e.g. malware, spamming and phishing, software attack and threat to location privacy) for dense VANET and two attack scenarios for sparse VANET. It has been shown that attacks can be launched by distributing malicious applications and injecting malicious codes to On Board Unit (OBU) by exploiting OBU software security holes. Consequences of such security attacks have been described. Finally, countermeasures including the concepts of sandbox have also been presented in depth.

Training users to counteract phishing.

PubMed

Mayhorn, Christopher B; Nyeste, Patrick G

2012-01-01

Phishing is an increasingly more prevalent form of online, social engineered scams that escalate costs and risks to society year to year. This study demonstrates an association between anti-phishing training techniques used in previous research and individual differences which could affect phishing susceptibility. Results indicated that anti-phishing training in both a simple comic and more complex video game form is helpful in decreasing phishing susceptibility as measured by Miss rates for all individuals including college aged and computer savvy participants. Based on the results of the present study, implications for future efforts to combat phishing are discussed.

A Survey on Cyber Security awareness among college students in Tamil Nadu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senthilkumar, K.; Easwaramoorthy, Sathishkumar

2017-11-01

The aim of the study is to analyse the awareness of cyber security on college students in Tamil Nadu by focusing various security threats in the internet. In recent years cybercrime is an enormous challenge in all areas including national security, public safety and personal privacy. To prevent from a victim of cybercrime everyone must know about their own security and safety measures to protect by themselves. A well-structured questionnaire survey method will be applied to analyse the college student’s awareness in the area of cyber security. This survey will be going to conducted in major cities of Tamil Nadu by focusing various security threats like email, virus, phishing, fake advertisement, popup windows and other attacks in the internet. This survey examines the college students’ awareness and the level of awareness about the security issues and some suggestions are set forth to overcome these issues.

PhishGuru: A System for Educating Users about Semantic Attacks

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-04-14

Psychological based social engineering. Tech. rep., SANS Institute, 2003. [119] Macmillan, N. A., and Creelman , C. D. Detection Theory: A User’s Guide...36, 76, 84, 148, 157, 161]. In marketing, the focus is on strategies to enhance consumer persuasion and trust building [37,40,68, 189]. In psychology ...and science, social work, fine arts, nursing, music, and psychology . Two of the participants had only a high school degree. Using a wall projector, we

Unintentional Insider Threats: A Review of Phishing and Malware Incidents by Economic Sector

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

the conclusions in the Verizon Data Breach Report 2013 that 47% of malware was downloaded through e-mail at- tachments, 48% of hacking took place...the attackers pivoted onto other systems and databases and exfiltrated approximately 8.2 GB of data . BREACH : Accessing an employee account via a...Symantec. “Internet Security Threat Report 2014.” 2013 Trends 19 (April 2014). Symantec Cor- poration. [Verizon 2013] Verizon. 2013 Data Breach Investigations

Hybrid methods for cybersecurity analysis :

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Davis, Warren Leon,; Dunlavy, Daniel M.

2014-01-01

Early 2010 saw a signi cant change in adversarial techniques aimed at network intrusion: a shift from malware delivered via email attachments toward the use of hidden, embedded hyperlinks to initiate sequences of downloads and interactions with web sites and network servers containing malicious software. Enterprise security groups were well poised and experienced in defending the former attacks, but the new types of attacks were larger in number, more challenging to detect, dynamic in nature, and required the development of new technologies and analytic capabilities. The Hybrid LDRD project was aimed at delivering new capabilities in large-scale data modeling andmore » analysis to enterprise security operators and analysts and understanding the challenges of detection and prevention of emerging cybersecurity threats. Leveraging previous LDRD research e orts and capabilities in large-scale relational data analysis, large-scale discrete data analysis and visualization, and streaming data analysis, new modeling and analysis capabilities were quickly brought to bear on the problems in email phishing and spear phishing attacks in the Sandia enterprise security operational groups at the onset of the Hybrid project. As part of this project, a software development and deployment framework was created within the security analyst work ow tool sets to facilitate the delivery and testing of new capabilities as they became available, and machine learning algorithms were developed to address the challenge of dynamic threats. Furthermore, researchers from the Hybrid project were embedded in the security analyst groups for almost a full year, engaged in daily operational activities and routines, creating an atmosphere of trust and collaboration between the researchers and security personnel. The Hybrid project has altered the way that research ideas can be incorporated into the production environments of Sandias enterprise security groups, reducing time to deployment from months and years to hours and days for the application of new modeling and analysis capabilities to emerging threats. The development and deployment framework has been generalized into the Hybrid Framework and incor- porated into several LDRD, WFO, and DOE/CSL projects and proposals. And most importantly, the Hybrid project has provided Sandia security analysts with new, scalable, extensible analytic capabilities that have resulted in alerts not detectable using their previous work ow tool sets.« less

Why Phishing Works: Project for an Information Security Capstone Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pollacia, Lissa; Ding, Yan Zong; Yang, Seung

2015-01-01

This paper presents a project which was conducted in a capstone course in Information Security. The project focused on conducting research concerning the various aspects of phishing, such as why phishing works and who is more likely to be deceived by phishing. Students were guided through the process of conducting research: finding background and…

Security issues of Internet-based biometric authentication systems: risks of Man-in-the-Middle and BioPhishing on the example of BioWebAuth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeitz, Christian; Scheidat, Tobias; Dittmann, Jana; Vielhauer, Claus; González Agulla, Elisardo; Otero Muras, Enrique; García Mateo, Carmen; Alba Castro, José L.

2008-02-01

Beside the optimization of biometric error rates the overall security system performance in respect to intentional security attacks plays an important role for biometric enabled authentication schemes. As traditionally most user authentication schemes are knowledge and/or possession based, firstly in this paper we present a methodology for a security analysis of Internet-based biometric authentication systems by enhancing known methodologies such as the CERT attack-taxonomy with a more detailed view on the OSI-Model. Secondly as proof of concept, the guidelines extracted from this methodology are strictly applied to an open source Internet-based biometric authentication system (BioWebAuth). As case studies, two exemplary attacks, based on the found security leaks, are investigated and the attack performance is presented to show that during the biometric authentication schemes beside biometric error performance tuning also security issues need to be addressed. Finally, some design recommendations are given in order to ensure a minimum security level.

A Secure Mobile-Based Authentication System for e-Banking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rifà-Pous, Helena

Financial information is extremely sensitive. Hence, electronic banking must provide a robust system to authenticate its customers and let them access their data remotely. On the other hand, such system must be usable, affordable, and portable. We propose a challenge-response based one-time password (OTP) scheme that uses symmetric cryptography in combination with a hardware security module. The proposed protocol safeguards passwords from keyloggers and phishing attacks. Besides, this solution provides convenient mobility for users who want to bank online anytime and anywhere, not just from their own trusted computers.

Analysis of an Anti-Phishing Lab Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werner, Laurie A.; Courte, Jill

2010-01-01

Despite advances in spam detection software, anti-spam laws, and increasingly sophisticated users, the number of successful phishing scams continues to grow. In addition to monetary losses attributable to phishing, there is also a loss of confidence that stifles use of online services. Using in-class activities in an introductory computer course…

Don't Get "Phished" out of Cyberspace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldsborough, Reid

2004-01-01

Identity theft via bogus e-mail links, or "phishing," is escalating, with criminals becoming ever more brazen and sophisticated in their online schemes to trick people into revealing their personal information. People do get scammed. Phishing messages that appear to be sent by trusted companies dupe 3 percent of the people who receive…

Using an Interactive Online Quiz to Recalibrate College Students' Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions about Phishing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perrault, Evan K.

2018-01-01

Despite improved spam filtering technology, phishing continues to be a prevalent threat for college students. The current study found that approximately 4-in-10 of the students surveyed (N = 462) indicate they do not know what phishing is and the threat it poses. Students also report initially overestimating their confidence to successfully…

Phishing E-Mails--Six Month Investigation into What People Click

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lehrfeld, Michael R.

2014-01-01

Phishing and SPAM emails have been used by marketers and hackers alike since the inception of email and the Internet. Phishing messages have become so common that many legitimate emails often get flagged and placed in a user's spam bucket. No one is denying that these messages are at a minimum a nuisance, and in many cases malicious. But what is…

Textual and visual content-based anti-phishing: a Bayesian approach.

PubMed

Zhang, Haijun; Liu, Gang; Chow, Tommy W S; Liu, Wenyin

2011-10-01

A novel framework using a Bayesian approach for content-based phishing web page detection is presented. Our model takes into account textual and visual contents to measure the similarity between the protected web page and suspicious web pages. A text classifier, an image classifier, and an algorithm fusing the results from classifiers are introduced. An outstanding feature of this paper is the exploration of a Bayesian model to estimate the matching threshold. This is required in the classifier for determining the class of the web page and identifying whether the web page is phishing or not. In the text classifier, the naive Bayes rule is used to calculate the probability that a web page is phishing. In the image classifier, the earth mover's distance is employed to measure the visual similarity, and our Bayesian model is designed to determine the threshold. In the data fusion algorithm, the Bayes theory is used to synthesize the classification results from textual and visual content. The effectiveness of our proposed approach was examined in a large-scale dataset collected from real phishing cases. Experimental results demonstrated that the text classifier and the image classifier we designed deliver promising results, the fusion algorithm outperforms either of the individual classifiers, and our model can be adapted to different phishing cases. © 2011 IEEE

An innovative privacy preserving technique for incremental datasets on cloud computing.

PubMed

Aldeen, Yousra Abdul Alsahib S; Salleh, Mazleena; Aljeroudi, Yazan

2016-08-01

Cloud computing (CC) is a magnificent service-based delivery with gigantic computer processing power and data storage across connected communications channels. It imparted overwhelming technological impetus in the internet (web) mediated IT industry, where users can easily share private data for further analysis and mining. Furthermore, user affable CC services enable to deploy sundry applications economically. Meanwhile, simple data sharing impelled various phishing attacks and malware assisted security threats. Some privacy sensitive applications like health services on cloud that are built with several economic and operational benefits necessitate enhanced security. Thus, absolute cyberspace security and mitigation against phishing blitz became mandatory to protect overall data privacy. Typically, diverse applications datasets are anonymized with better privacy to owners without providing all secrecy requirements to the newly added records. Some proposed techniques emphasized this issue by re-anonymizing the datasets from the scratch. The utmost privacy protection over incremental datasets on CC is far from being achieved. Certainly, the distribution of huge datasets volume across multiple storage nodes limits the privacy preservation. In this view, we propose a new anonymization technique to attain better privacy protection with high data utility over distributed and incremental datasets on CC. The proficiency of data privacy preservation and improved confidentiality requirements is demonstrated through performance evaluation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Online Safety: Fraud, Security, Phishing, Vishing

MedlinePlus

... Theft Online Safety Privacy Report Scams and Frauds Online Safety Be aware of these scams when you' ... Security and Safety Internet Fraud Phishing and Vishing Online Security and Safety The internet makes many everyday ...

Robust and Efficient Anti-Phishing Techniques

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-27

card Phishing email ............................................................. 11  Figure 3 Architecture of prototype system...retailers, and social networking services such as Fidelity, Twitter, and iTunes , Amazon, Paypal, Ebay, Visa, Facebook, Bank of America, Chase, and...Services 1 13 iTunes Online Retailer 1 14 Other Online Services/Retailer 13 Table 3 Type 1 Legitimate Email Dataset Vendor Type No. of Emails

Cyber Exercise Playbook

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-01

unclassified tools and techniques that can be shared with PNs, to include social engineering, spear phishing , fake web sites, physical access attempts, and...and instead rely on commercial services such as Yahoo or Google . Some nations have quite advanced cyber security practices, but may take vastly...unauthorized access to data/systems Inject external network scanning, email phishing , malicious website access, social engineering Sample

What Instills Trust? A Qualitative Study of Phishing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jakobsson, Markus; Tsow, Alex; Shah, Ankur; Blevis, Eli; Lim, Youn-Kyung

This paper reports the highlights of a user study which gauges reactions to a variety of common "trust indicators" - such as logos, third party endorsements, and padlock icons - over a selection of authentic and phishing stimuli. In the course of the think-aloud protocol, participants revealed different sensitivities to email messages and web pages. Our principal result is the analysis of what makes phishing emails and web pages appear authentic. This is not only of interest from a pure scientific point of view, but can also guide the design of legitimate material to avoid unnecessary risks. A second result of ours are observations of what makes legitimate content appear dubious to consumers. This is a result with obvious applications to online advertising.

Statistical Models for Predicting Threat Detection From Human Behavior.

PubMed

Kelley, Timothy; Amon, Mary J; Bertenthal, Bennett I

2018-01-01

Users must regularly distinguish between secure and insecure cyber platforms in order to preserve their privacy and safety. Mouse tracking is an accessible, high-resolution measure that can be leveraged to understand the dynamics of perception, categorization, and decision-making in threat detection. Researchers have begun to utilize measures like mouse tracking in cyber security research, including in the study of risky online behavior. However, it remains an empirical question to what extent real-time information about user behavior is predictive of user outcomes and demonstrates added value compared to traditional self-report questionnaires. Participants navigated through six simulated websites, which resembled either secure "non-spoof" or insecure "spoof" versions of popular websites. Websites also varied in terms of authentication level (i.e., extended validation, standard validation, or partial encryption). Spoof websites had modified Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and authentication level. Participants chose to "login" to or "back" out of each website based on perceived website security. Mouse tracking information was recorded throughout the task, along with task performance. After completing the website identification task, participants completed a questionnaire assessing their security knowledge and degree of familiarity with the websites simulated during the experiment. Despite being primed to the possibility of website phishing attacks, participants generally showed a bias for logging in to websites versus backing out of potentially dangerous sites. Along these lines, participant ability to identify spoof websites was around the level of chance. Hierarchical Bayesian logistic models were used to compare the accuracy of two-factor (i.e., website security and encryption level), survey-based (i.e., security knowledge and website familiarity), and real-time measures (i.e., mouse tracking) in predicting risky online behavior during phishing attacks. Participant accuracy in identifying spoof and non-spoof websites was best captured using a model that included real-time indicators of decision-making behavior, as compared to two-factor and survey-based models. Findings validate three widely applicable measures of user behavior derived from mouse tracking recordings, which can be utilized in cyber security and user intervention research. Survey data alone are not as strong at predicting risky Internet behavior as models that incorporate real-time measures of user behavior, such as mouse tracking.

Exploring Learners' Sequential Behavioral Patterns, Flow Experience, and Learning Performance in an Anti-Phishing Educational Game

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Jerry Chih-Yuan; Kuo, Cian-Yu; Hou, Huei-Tse; Lin, Yu-Yan

2017-01-01

The purposes of this study were to provide a game-based anti-phishing lesson to 110 elementary school students in Taiwan, explore their learning behavioral patterns, and investigate the effects of the flow states on their learning behavioral patterns and learning achievement. The study recorded behaviour logs, and applied a pre- and post-test on…

The effect of decentralized behavioral decision making on system-level risk.

PubMed

Kaivanto, Kim

2014-12-01

Certain classes of system-level risk depend partly on decentralized lay decision making. For instance, an organization's network security risk depends partly on its employees' responses to phishing attacks. On a larger scale, the risk within a financial system depends partly on households' responses to mortgage sales pitches. Behavioral economics shows that lay decisionmakers typically depart in systematic ways from the normative rationality of expected utility (EU), and instead display heuristics and biases as captured in the more descriptively accurate prospect theory (PT). In turn, psychological studies show that successful deception ploys eschew direct logical argumentation and instead employ peripheral-route persuasion, manipulation of visceral emotions, urgency, and familiar contextual cues. The detection of phishing emails and inappropriate mortgage contracts may be framed as a binary classification task. Signal detection theory (SDT) offers the standard normative solution, formulated as an optimal cutoff threshold, for distinguishing between good/bad emails or mortgages. In this article, we extend SDT behaviorally by rederiving the optimal cutoff threshold under PT. Furthermore, we incorporate the psychology of deception into determination of SDT's discriminability parameter. With the neo-additive probability weighting function, the optimal cutoff threshold under PT is rendered unique under well-behaved sampling distributions, tractable in computation, and transparent in interpretation. The PT-based cutoff threshold is (i) independent of loss aversion and (ii) more conservative than the classical SDT cutoff threshold. Independently of any possible misalignment between individual-level and system-level misclassification costs, decentralized behavioral decisionmakers are biased toward underdetection, and system-level risk is consequently greater than in analyses predicated upon normative rationality. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

Which Teaching Strategy Is Better for Enhancing Anti-Phishing Learning Motivation and Achievement? The Concept Maps on Tablet PCs or Worksheets?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Jerry Chih-Yuan; Lee, Kuan-Hsien

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of the integration of concept maps and tablet PCs in anti-phishing education for enhancing students' learning motivation and achievement. The subjects were 155 students from grades 8 and 9. They were divided into an experimental group (77 students) and a control group (78 students). To begin…

The XBabelPhish MAGE-ML and XML translator.

PubMed

Maier, Don; Wymore, Farrell; Sherlock, Gavin; Ball, Catherine A

2008-01-18

MAGE-ML has been promoted as a standard format for describing microarray experiments and the data they produce. Two characteristics of the MAGE-ML format compromise its use as a universal standard: First, MAGE-ML files are exceptionally large - too large to be easily read by most people, and often too large to be read by most software programs. Second, the MAGE-ML standard permits many ways of representing the same information. As a result, different producers of MAGE-ML create different documents describing the same experiment and its data. Recognizing all the variants is an unwieldy software engineering task, resulting in software packages that can read and process MAGE-ML from some, but not all producers. This Tower of MAGE-ML Babel bars the unencumbered exchange of microarray experiment descriptions couched in MAGE-ML. We have developed XBabelPhish - an XQuery-based technology for translating one MAGE-ML variant into another. XBabelPhish's use is not restricted to translating MAGE-ML documents. It can transform XML files independent of their DTD, XML schema, or semantic content. Moreover, it is designed to work on very large (> 200 Mb.) files, which are common in the world of MAGE-ML. XBabelPhish provides a way to inter-translate MAGE-ML variants for improved interchange of microarray experiment information. More generally, it can be used to transform most XML files, including very large ones that exceed the capacity of most XML tools.

Statistical Models for Predicting Threat Detection From Human Behavior

PubMed Central

Kelley, Timothy; Amon, Mary J.; Bertenthal, Bennett I.

2018-01-01

Users must regularly distinguish between secure and insecure cyber platforms in order to preserve their privacy and safety. Mouse tracking is an accessible, high-resolution measure that can be leveraged to understand the dynamics of perception, categorization, and decision-making in threat detection. Researchers have begun to utilize measures like mouse tracking in cyber security research, including in the study of risky online behavior. However, it remains an empirical question to what extent real-time information about user behavior is predictive of user outcomes and demonstrates added value compared to traditional self-report questionnaires. Participants navigated through six simulated websites, which resembled either secure “non-spoof” or insecure “spoof” versions of popular websites. Websites also varied in terms of authentication level (i.e., extended validation, standard validation, or partial encryption). Spoof websites had modified Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and authentication level. Participants chose to “login” to or “back” out of each website based on perceived website security. Mouse tracking information was recorded throughout the task, along with task performance. After completing the website identification task, participants completed a questionnaire assessing their security knowledge and degree of familiarity with the websites simulated during the experiment. Despite being primed to the possibility of website phishing attacks, participants generally showed a bias for logging in to websites versus backing out of potentially dangerous sites. Along these lines, participant ability to identify spoof websites was around the level of chance. Hierarchical Bayesian logistic models were used to compare the accuracy of two-factor (i.e., website security and encryption level), survey-based (i.e., security knowledge and website familiarity), and real-time measures (i.e., mouse tracking) in predicting risky online behavior during phishing attacks. Participant accuracy in identifying spoof and non-spoof websites was best captured using a model that included real-time indicators of decision-making behavior, as compared to two-factor and survey-based models. Findings validate three widely applicable measures of user behavior derived from mouse tracking recordings, which can be utilized in cyber security and user intervention research. Survey data alone are not as strong at predicting risky Internet behavior as models that incorporate real-time measures of user behavior, such as mouse tracking. PMID:29713296

Solid versus Liquid Particle Sampling Efficiency of Three Personal Aerosol Samplers when Facing the Wind

PubMed Central

Koehler, Kirsten A.; Anthony, T. Renee; Van Dyke, Michael

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine the facing-the-wind sampling efficiency of three personal aerosol samplers as a function of particle phase (solid versus liquid). Samplers examined were the IOM, Button, and a prototype personal high-flow inhalable sampler head (PHISH). The prototype PHISH was designed to interface with the 37-mm closed-face cassette and provide an inhalable sample at 10 l min−1 of flow. Increased flow rate increases the amount of mass collected during a typical work shift and helps to ensure that limits of detection are met, particularly for well-controlled but highly toxic species. Two PHISH prototypes were tested: one with a screened inlet and one with a single-pore open-face inlet. Personal aerosol samplers were tested on a bluff-body disc that was rotated along the facing-the-wind axis to reduce spatiotemporal variability associated with sampling supermicron aerosol in low-velocity wind tunnels. When compared to published data for facing-wind aspiration efficiency for a mouth-breathing mannequin, the IOM oversampled relative to mannequin facing-the-wind aspiration efficiency for all sizes and particle types (solid and liquid). The sampling efficiency of the Button sampler was closer to the mannequin facing-the-wind aspiration efficiency than the IOM for solid particles, but the screened inlet removed most liquid particles, resulting in a large underestimation compared to the mannequin facing-the-wind aspiration efficiency. The open-face PHISH results showed overestimation for solid particles and underestimation for liquid particles when compared to the mannequin facing-the-wind aspiration efficiency. Substantial (and statistically significant) differences in sampling efficiency were observed between liquid and solid particles, particularly for the Button and screened-PHISH, with a majority of aerosol mass depositing on the screened inlets of these samplers. Our results suggest that large droplets have low penetration efficiencies through screened inlets and that particle bounce, for solid particles, is an important determinant of aspiration and sampling efficiencies for samplers with screened inlets. PMID:21965462

Streaming data analytics via message passing with application to graph algorithms

DOE PAGES

Plimpton, Steven J.; Shead, Tim

2014-05-06

The need to process streaming data, which arrives continuously at high-volume in real-time, arises in a variety of contexts including data produced by experiments, collections of environmental or network sensors, and running simulations. Streaming data can also be formulated as queries or transactions which operate on a large dynamic data store, e.g. a distributed database. We describe a lightweight, portable framework named PHISH which enables a set of independent processes to compute on a stream of data in a distributed-memory parallel manner. Datums are routed between processes in patterns defined by the application. PHISH can run on top of eithermore » message-passing via MPI or sockets via ZMQ. The former means streaming computations can be run on any parallel machine which supports MPI; the latter allows them to run on a heterogeneous, geographically dispersed network of machines. We illustrate how PHISH can support streaming MapReduce operations, and describe streaming versions of three algorithms for large, sparse graph analytics: triangle enumeration, subgraph isomorphism matching, and connected component finding. Lastly, we also provide benchmark timings for MPI versus socket performance of several kernel operations useful in streaming algorithms.« less

SeDiCi: An Authentication Service Taking Advantage of Zero-Knowledge Proofs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grzonkowski, Sławomir

Transmission of users' profiles over insecure communication means is a crucial task of today's ecommerce applications. In addition, the users have to createmany profiles and remember many credentials. Thus they retype the same information over and over again. Each time the users type their credentials, they expose them to phishing or eavesdropping attempts.These problems could be solved by using Single Sign-on (SSO). The idea of SSO is that the users keep using the same set of credentials when visiting different websites. For web-aplications, OpenID1. is the most prominent solution that partially impelemtns SSO. However, OpenID is prone to phishing attempts and it does not preserve users' privacy [1].

Phishing

MedlinePlus

... Money & Credit Homes & Mortgages Health & Fitness Jobs & Making Money Privacy, Identity & Online Security Limiting Unwanted Calls and Emails Online Security "Free" Security Scans Computer Security Disposing of Old Computers ...

The Role of Human Factors/Ergonomics in the Science of Security: Decision Making and Action Selection in Cyberspace.

PubMed

Proctor, Robert W; Chen, Jing

2015-08-01

The overarching goal is to convey the concept of science of security and the contributions that a scientifically based, human factors approach can make to this interdisciplinary field. Rather than a piecemeal approach to solving cybersecurity problems as they arise, the U.S. government is mounting a systematic effort to develop an approach grounded in science. Because humans play a central role in security measures, research on security-related decisions and actions grounded in principles of human information-processing and decision-making is crucial to this interdisciplinary effort. We describe the science of security and the role that human factors can play in it, and use two examples of research in cybersecurity--detection of phishing attacks and selection of mobile applications--to illustrate the contribution of a scientific, human factors approach. In these research areas, we show that systematic information-processing analyses of the decisions that users make and the actions they take provide a basis for integrating the human component of security science. Human factors specialists should utilize their foundation in the science of applied information processing and decision making to contribute to the science of cybersecurity. © 2015, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Water Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

Mike Morris, former Associate Director of STAC, formed pHish Doctor, Inc. to develop and sell a pH monitor for home aquariums. The monitor, or pHish Doctor, consists of a sensor strip and color chart that continually measures pH levels in an aquarium. This is important because when the level gets too high, ammonia excreted by fish is highly toxic; at low pH, bacteria that normally break down waste products stop functioning. Sales have run into the tens of thousands of dollars. A NASA Tech Brief Technical Support Package later led to a salt water version of the system and a DoE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for development of a sensor for sea buoys. The company, now known as Ocean Optics, Inc., is currently studying the effects of carbon dioxide buildup as well as exploring other commercial applications for the fiber optic sensor.

Lifestyle Changes for Heart Attack Prevention

MedlinePlus

... Venous Thromboembolism Aortic Aneurysm More Lifestyle Changes for Heart Attack Prevention Updated:Mar 29,2018 Sounds simple doesn' ... to read. Many topics also available in Spanish . Heart Attack Tools & Resources My Cardiac Coach What Is a ...

Aspirin

MedlinePlus

... aches. Nonprescription aspirin is also used to prevent heart attacks in people who have had a heart attack in the past or who have angina (chest ... are experiencing or who have recently experienced a heart attack. Nonprescription aspirin is also used to prevent ischemic ...

Can Vitamins Help Prevent a Heart Attack?

MedlinePlus

... taking vitamins help prevent heart disease or a heart attack? Answers from Rekha Mankad, M.D. It's not yet clear ... risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack. But, what is known is that no vitamin ...

[Management of patients with bronchial asthma received general anesthesia and surgical intervention].

PubMed

To, Masako; Tajima, Makoto; Ogawa, Cyuhei; Otomo, Mamoru; Suzuki, Naohito; Sano, Yasuyuki

2002-01-01

Stimulation to bronchial mucosa is one of the major risk factor of asthma attack. When patients receive surgical intervention and general anesthesia, they are always exposed to stimulation to bronchial mucosa. Prevention method of bronchial asthma attack during surgical intervention is not established yet. We investigated that clinical course of patients with bronchial asthma who received general anesthesia and surgical intervention. Seventy-six patients with bronchial asthma were received general anesthesia and surgical intervention from 1993 to 1998. Twenty-four patients were mild asthmatic patients, 39 were moderate asthmatic patients and 13 were severe asthmatic patients. Preoperative treatment for preventing asthma attack was as follows; Eight patients were given intravenous infusion of aminophylline before operation. Fifty-two patients were given intravenous infusion of aminophylline and hydrocortisone before operation. Three patients were given intravenous infusion of hydrocortisone for consecutive 3 days before operation. Thirteen patients were given no treatment for preventing asthma attack. One patient was suffered from asthma attack during operation. She was given no preventing treatment for asthma attack before operation. Three patients were suffered from asthma attack after operation. No wound dehiscence was observed in all patients. To prevent asthma attack during operation, intravenous infusion of steroid before operation is recommended, when patients with asthma receive general anesthesia and surgical intervention.

Fast WEP-Key Recovery Attack Using Only Encrypted IP Packets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teramura, Ryoichi; Asakura, Yasuo; Ohigashi, Toshihiro; Kuwakado, Hidenori; Morii, Masakatu

Conventional efficient key recovery attacks against Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) require specific initialization vectors or specific packets. Since it takes much time to collect the packets sufficiently, any active attack should be performed. An Intrusion Detection System (IDS), however, will be able to prevent the attack. Since the attack logs are stored at the servers, it is possible to prevent such an attack. This paper proposes an algorithm for recovering a 104-bit WEP key from any IP packets in a realistic environment. This attack needs about 36, 500 packets with a success probability 0.5, and the complexity of our attack is equivalent to about 220 computations of the RC4 key setups. Since our attack is passive, it is difficult for both WEP users and administrators to detect our attack.

IT Expo

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-21

Jaci Mize of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at Stennis Space Center learns about 'phishing,' a favorite ploy used by hackers to gain sensitive information from unsuspecting computer users, during the eighth annual Information Technology Expo held June 2, 2012,1 at the rocket engine test facility.

Unintentional Insider Threats: A Review of Phishing and Malware Incidents

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

their agency as deliberate, malicious hackers [1]. This research supports the conclusions in the 2013 Verizon Data Breach Report that 47% of...References [1] SolarWinds. SolarWinds Federal Cybersecurity Survey Summary Report. SolarWinds, 2014. [2] Verizon. 2013 Data Breach Investigations

Development of protected endorsement for online banking using mobile phones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narayana, Galla; Venkateswarlu, Tammineni; Kumar, G. S. P.; Padmavathamma, Mokkala; Sreekanth, G.; Delhibabu, K.; Prasad, A. R.

2013-03-01

Securing Online Banking transactions for customer is the primary goal of financial institutions that provides Internet banking facility. Mobile phones play an important role in our society as more and more functions having been integrated within mobile phones, such as Internet browsing, mobile banking, and shopping. Mobiles phones can be used to secure ATM card pins by sending to the customer directly rather than in emails or by other means which has a possibility of hacking. In this paper we have proposed method of generating a Private Key Security Token by bank authentication servers which uses IMSI registers and IMEI number of client's mobile registered. The key is generated by implementing RIPE MD160 and Hex Encode Algorithm. Token received is valid only for that client mobile only and can be generated upon request by customer dynamically. The client is given a PIN and a Master Key when registered to the Online Banking Services. If in case a client's mobile is lost, authentication is done using Unique Master Key, else the Private Key Token is used there by making transactions secured and simple without the need of carrying any USB Tokens. The additional functionality provides the client more security on their transactions. Due to this Phishing attacks by the hackers is avoided.

Naval War College. Volume 60, Number 2, Spring 2007

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

attacks of grave conse- quences. The aspiration of this small-wars force element is to prevent even one nuclear, biological , or chemical weapon attack...153 Preventive Attack and Weapons of Mass...Default screen Bioethics and Armed Conflict: Moral Dilemmas of Medicine and War, by Michael L. Gross reviewed by Arthur M. Smith, MD

Don't Let "Phishers" Steal from You

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldsborough, Reid

2005-01-01

Many people still have not heard about the many ways identity theft via bogus e-mail links, or "phishing," is escalating, with criminals becoming ever more brazen and sophisticated in their online schemes to trick people into revealing their personal information. The tricksters are getting trickier. One of the newest scares involves…

Taking Care of Yourself

MedlinePlus

... high blood pressure, staying on your medicines is critical to prevent heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and ... high blood pressure, staying on your medicines is critical to prevent heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and ...

Facts about Chickenpox and Shingles for Adults

MedlinePlus

... heart failure, heart attack, type II diabetes and major depression. Prevention Chickenpox can be prevented by vaccination. Children ... heart failure, heart attack, type II diabetes and major depression. Antiviral medications can be used to treat shingles ...

The Benefits, and Fear, of Cookie Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldsborough, Reid

2004-01-01

"Cookies" are tiny Web browser helpers and are an example of how the useful can get tossed in with the dangerous through the near hysteria brought about by the real threats of computer viruses, hacking, spyware, spam and phishing. This article briefly discusses antispyware legislation by Congress and the pros and cons of past and future…

Stand & Deliver

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villano, Matt

2006-01-01

October is national Cyber Security Awareness Month, and for the world of higher education, that means it is time to take a look at defense systems and plan for the future. Clearly, more planning is needed now than ever before. According to the majority of IT market research firms, phishing and identity theft have leapfrogged spam and spyware as…

Information security: where computer science, economics and psychology meet.

PubMed

Anderson, Ross; Moore, Tyler

2009-07-13

Until ca. 2000, information security was seen as a technological discipline, based on computer science but with mathematics helping in the design of ciphers and protocols. That perspective started to change as researchers and practitioners realized the importance of economics. As distributed systems are increasingly composed of machines that belong to principals with divergent interests, incentives are becoming as important to dependability as technical design. A thriving new field of information security economics provides valuable insights not just into 'security' topics such as privacy, bugs, spam and phishing, but into more general areas of system dependability and policy. This research programme has recently started to interact with psychology. One thread is in response to phishing, the most rapidly growing form of online crime, in which fraudsters trick people into giving their credentials to bogus websites; a second is through the increasing importance of security usability; and a third comes through the psychology-and-economics tradition. The promise of this multidisciplinary research programme is a novel framework for analysing information security problems-one that is both principled and effective.

Ethanol injection of ornamental trees facilitates testing insecticide efficacy against ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae).

PubMed

Reding, Michael E; Oliver, Jason B; Schultz, Peter B; Ranger, Christopher M; Youssef, Nadeer N

2013-02-01

Exotic ambrosia beetles are damaging pests in ornamental tree nurseries in North America. The species Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motshulsky) and Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford) are especially problematic. Management of these pests relies on preventive treatments of insecticides. However, field tests of recommended materials on nursery trees have been limited because of unreliable attacks by ambrosia beetles on experimental trees. Ethanol-injection of trees was used to induce colonization by ambrosia beetles to evaluate insecticides and botanical formulations for preventing attacks by ambrosia beetles. Experiments were conducted in Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia. Experimental trees injected with ethanol had more attacks by ambrosia beetles than uninjected control trees in all but one experiment. Xylosandrus crassiusculus and X. germanus colonized trees injected with ethanol. In most experiments, attack rates declined 8 d after ethanol-injection. Ethanol-injection induced sufficient pressure from ambrosia beetles to evaluate the efficacy of insecticides for preventing attacks. Trunk sprays of permethrin suppressed cumulative total attacks by ambrosia beetles in most tests. Trunk sprays of the botanical formulations Armorex and Veggie Pharm suppressed cumulative total attacks in Ohio. Armorex, Armorex + Permethrin, and Veggie Pharm + Permethrin suppressed attacks in Tennessee. The bifenthrin product Onyx suppressed establishment of X. germanus in one Ohio experiment, and cumulative total ambrosia beetle attacks in Virginia. Substrate drenches and trunk sprays of neonicotinoids, or trunk sprays of anthranilic diamides or tolfenpyrad were not effective. Ethanol-injection is effective for inducing attacks and ensuring pressure by ambrosia beetles for testing insecticide efficacy on ornamental trees.

Evaluation of insecticides for protecting Southwestern ponderosa pines from attack by engraver beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae).

PubMed

DeGomez, Tom E; Hayes, Christopher J; Anhold, John A; McMillin, Joel D; Clancy, Karen M; Bosu, Paul P

2006-04-01

Insecticides that might protect pine trees from attack by engraver beetles (Ips spp.) have not been rigorously tested in the southwestern United States. We conducted two field experiments to evaluate the efficacy of several currently and potentially labeled preventative insecticides for protecting high-value ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa Dougl ex. Laws., from attack by engraver beetles. Preventative sprays (0.19% permethrin [Permethrin Plus C]; 0.03, 0.06, and 0.12% bifenthrin [Onyx]; and 1.0 and 2.0% carbaryl [Sevin SL] formulations) and systemic implants (0.875 g per capsule acephate [Acecap] and 0.650 g per capsule dinotefuran) were assessed on bolts (sections of logs) as a surrogate for live trees for a period of 13 mo posttreatment. The pine engraver, Ips pini (Say), was the most common bark beetle found attacking control and treated bolts, but sixspined ips, Ips calligraphus (Germar), and Ips lecontei Swain also were present. After approximately 13 mo posttreatment in one experiment, the spray treatments with 2.0% carbaryl, 0.19% permethrin, and 0.06 or 0.12% bifenthrin prevented Ips attack on the bolts at a protection level of > or = 70%. The acephate and dinotefuran systemic insecticides, and the 0.03% bifenthrin spray, provided inadequate (< or = 36%) protection in this experiment. For the other experiment, sprayed applications of 1.0% carbaryl, 0.19% permethrin, and 0.06% bifenthrin prevented beetle attack at protection levels of > or = 90, > or = 80, and > or = 70%, respectively, when bolts were exposed to Ips beetle attack for approximately 9-15 wk posttreatment. The sprays with 0.19% permethrin and 0.06% bifenthrin also provided > or = 90% protection when bolts were exposed for approximately 15-54 wk posttreatment. We concluded that under the conditions tested, 1.0 and 2.0% carbaryl, 0.19% permethrin, and 0.06 and 0.12% binfenthrin were acceptable preventative treatments for protecting ponderosa pine from successful engraver beetle attack for one entire flight season in the U.S. Southwest.

Ars Dictaminis Perverted: The Personal Solicitation E-Mail as a Genre

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Derek G.

2009-01-01

Phishing e-mails deceive individuals into giving out personal information which may then be utilized for identity theft. One particular type, the Personal Solicitation E-mail (PSE) mimics personal letters--modern perversions of "ars dictaminis" (the classical art of letter writing). In this article, I determine and discuss 19 appeals common to the…

Design of Cyber Attack Precursor Symptom Detection Algorithm through System Base Behavior Analysis and Memory Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Sungmo; Kim, Jong Hyun; Cagalaban, Giovanni; Lim, Ji-Hoon; Kim, Seoksoo

More recently, botnet-based cyber attacks, including a spam mail or a DDos attack, have sharply increased, which poses a fatal threat to Internet services. At present, antivirus businesses make it top priority to detect malicious code in the shortest time possible (Lv.2), based on the graph showing a relation between spread of malicious code and time, which allows them to detect after malicious code occurs. Despite early detection, however, it is not possible to prevent malicious code from occurring. Thus, we have developed an algorithm that can detect precursor symptoms at Lv.1 to prevent a cyber attack using an evasion method of 'an executing environment aware attack' by analyzing system behaviors and monitoring memory.

RNAi-mediated silencing of hepatic Alas1 effectively prevents and treats the induced acute attacks in acute intermittent porphyria mice.

PubMed

Yasuda, Makiko; Gan, Lin; Chen, Brenden; Kadirvel, Senkottuvelan; Yu, Chunli; Phillips, John D; New, Maria I; Liebow, Abigail; Fitzgerald, Kevin; Querbes, William; Desnick, Robert J

2014-05-27

The acute hepatic porphyrias are inherited disorders of heme biosynthesis characterized by life-threatening acute neurovisceral attacks. Factors that induce the expression of hepatic 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase 1 (ALAS1) result in the accumulation of the neurotoxic porphyrin precursors 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and porphobilinogen (PBG), which recent studies indicate are primarily responsible for the acute attacks. Current treatment of these attacks involves i.v. administration of hemin, but a faster-acting, more effective, and safer therapy is needed. Here, we describe preclinical studies of liver-directed small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting Alas1 (Alas1-siRNAs) in a mouse model of acute intermittent porphyria, the most common acute hepatic porphyria. A single i.v. dose of Alas1-siRNA prevented the phenobarbital-induced biochemical acute attacks for approximately 2 wk. Injection of Alas1-siRNA during an induced acute attack significantly decreased plasma ALA and PBG levels within 8 h, more rapidly and effectively than a single hemin infusion. Alas1-siRNA was well tolerated and a therapeutic dose did not cause hepatic heme deficiency. These studies provide proof-of-concept for the clinical development of RNA interference therapy for the prevention and treatment of the acute attacks of the acute hepatic porphyrias.

Detecting and Preventing Sybil Attacks in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Message Authentication and Passing Method.

PubMed

Dhamodharan, Udaya Suriya Raj Kumar; Vayanaperumal, Rajamani

2015-01-01

Wireless sensor networks are highly indispensable for securing network protection. Highly critical attacks of various kinds have been documented in wireless sensor network till now by many researchers. The Sybil attack is a massive destructive attack against the sensor network where numerous genuine identities with forged identities are used for getting an illegal entry into a network. Discerning the Sybil attack, sinkhole, and wormhole attack while multicasting is a tremendous job in wireless sensor network. Basically a Sybil attack means a node which pretends its identity to other nodes. Communication to an illegal node results in data loss and becomes dangerous in the network. The existing method Random Password Comparison has only a scheme which just verifies the node identities by analyzing the neighbors. A survey was done on a Sybil attack with the objective of resolving this problem. The survey has proposed a combined CAM-PVM (compare and match-position verification method) with MAP (message authentication and passing) for detecting, eliminating, and eventually preventing the entry of Sybil nodes in the network. We propose a scheme of assuring security for wireless sensor network, to deal with attacks of these kinds in unicasting and multicasting.

Detecting and Preventing Sybil Attacks in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Message Authentication and Passing Method

PubMed Central

Dhamodharan, Udaya Suriya Raj Kumar; Vayanaperumal, Rajamani

2015-01-01

Wireless sensor networks are highly indispensable for securing network protection. Highly critical attacks of various kinds have been documented in wireless sensor network till now by many researchers. The Sybil attack is a massive destructive attack against the sensor network where numerous genuine identities with forged identities are used for getting an illegal entry into a network. Discerning the Sybil attack, sinkhole, and wormhole attack while multicasting is a tremendous job in wireless sensor network. Basically a Sybil attack means a node which pretends its identity to other nodes. Communication to an illegal node results in data loss and becomes dangerous in the network. The existing method Random Password Comparison has only a scheme which just verifies the node identities by analyzing the neighbors. A survey was done on a Sybil attack with the objective of resolving this problem. The survey has proposed a combined CAM-PVM (compare and match-position verification method) with MAP (message authentication and passing) for detecting, eliminating, and eventually preventing the entry of Sybil nodes in the network. We propose a scheme of assuring security for wireless sensor network, to deal with attacks of these kinds in unicasting and multicasting. PMID:26236773

An open-label study to evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of lanadelumab for prevention of attacks in hereditary angioedema: design of the HELP study extension.

PubMed

Riedl, Marc A; Bernstein, Jonathan A; Craig, Timothy; Banerji, Aleena; Magerl, Markus; Cicardi, Marco; Longhurst, Hilary J; Shennak, Mustafa M; Yang, William H; Schranz, Jennifer; Baptista, Jovanna; Busse, Paula J

2017-01-01

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is characterized by recurrent attacks of subcutaneous or submucosal edema. Attacks are unpredictable, debilitating, and have a significant impact on quality of life. Patients may be prescribed prophylactic therapy to prevent angioedema attacks. Current prophylactic treatments may be difficult to administer (i.e., intravenously), require frequent administrations or are not well tolerated, and breakthrough attacks may still occur frequently. Lanadelumab is a subcutaneously-administered monoclonal antibody inhibitor of plasma kallikrein in clinical development for prophylaxis of hereditary angioedema attacks. A Phase 1b study supported its efficacy in preventing attacks. A Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm study has been completed and an open-label extension is currently ongoing. The primary objective of the open-label extension is to evaluate the long-term safety of repeated subcutaneous administrations of lanadelumab in patients with type I/II HAE. Secondary objectives include evaluation of efficacy and time to first angioedema attack to determine outer bounds of the dosing interval. The study will also evaluate immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, quality of life, characteristics of breakthrough attacks, ease of self-administration, and safety/efficacy in patients who switch to lanadelumab from another prophylactic therapy. The open-label extension will enroll patients who completed the double-blind study ("rollover patients") and those who did not participate in the double-blind study ("non-rollover patients"), which includes patients who may or may not be currently using another prophylactic therapy. Rollover patients will receive a single 300 mg dose of lanadelumab on Day 0 and the second dose after the patient's first confirmed angioedema attack. Thereafter, lanadelumab will be administered every 2 weeks. Non-rollover patients will receive 300 mg lanadelumab every 2 weeks regardless of the first attack. All patients will receive their last dose on Day 350 (maximum of 26 doses), and will then undergo a 4-week follow-up. Prevention of attacks can reduce the burden of illness associated with HAE. Prophylactic therapy requires extended, repeated dosing and the results of this study will provide important data on the long-term safety and efficacy of lanadelumab, a monoclonal antibody inhibitor of plasma kallikrein for subcutaneous administration for the treatment of HAE. Trial registration NCT02741596.

BetterThanPin: Empowering Users to Fight Phishing (Poster)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Teik Guan

The BetterThanPin concept is an online security service that allows users to enable almost any Cloud or Web-based account (e.g. Gmail, MSN, Yahoo, etc) to be protected with "almost" 2-factor authentication (2FA). The result is that users can now protect their online accounts with better authentication, without waiting for the service or cloud provider.

Patients' perceptions of their heart attack and recovery: the influence of epidemiological "evidence" and personal experience.

PubMed

Wiles, R

1998-06-01

Secondary prevention of heart disease is widely viewed as likely to be more successful and cost effective than primary prevention. However, people's willingness to adopt lifestyle change is a complex issue in which people's perceptions of disease causation and risk as well as a range of socio-economic factors are important. This paper reports on a qualitative study of people following heart attack which examines their understandings of heart attack and the salience that lifestyle advice has in the light of these understandings. In-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 people recovering from heart attack. Each person was interviewed twice: at around two weeks and five months following their heart attack. The study found that information about recovery provided by health professionals was based on a simplified version of epidemiological evidence. This information played a central role in people's understandings about the nature of heart attack and their future risk in the early weeks following heart attack. However, as interviewees came to terms with the shock of the event, they tended to lose their trust in "official" accounts of cause and recovery and evidence from lay epidemiology that contradicted official accounts tended to emerge. This evidence encouraged interviewees to question the explanatory power of official accounts and to view the adoption of long-term lifestyle change as an action that would not guarantee protection from a further heart attack. This was true whether or not people's experiences of recovery reflected those "predicted" by health professionals although those awaiting further surgery or tests tended to maintain trust in official accounts over a longer period. It is concluded that the failure of official accounts to acknowledge the random nature of the occurrence of heart attack, the severity of heart attack and the level of recovery from heart attack is a central feature in people's reluctance to view lifestyle change as a rational action to take to prevent a further cardiac event.

Robust Structural Analysis and Design of Distributed Control Systems to Prevent Zero Dynamics Attacks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weerakkody, Sean; Liu, Xiaofei; Sinopoli, Bruno

We consider the design and analysis of robust distributed control systems (DCSs) to ensure the detection of integrity attacks. DCSs are often managed by independent agents and are implemented using a diverse set of sensors and controllers. However, the heterogeneous nature of DCSs along with their scale leave such systems vulnerable to adversarial behavior. To mitigate this reality, we provide tools that allow operators to prevent zero dynamics attacks when as many as p agents and sensors are corrupted. Such a design ensures attack detectability in deterministic systems while removing the threat of a class of stealthy attacks in stochasticmore » systems. To achieve this goal, we use graph theory to obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for the presence of zero dynamics attacks in terms of the structural interactions between agents and sensors. We then formulate and solve optimization problems which minimize communication networks while also ensuring a resource limited adversary cannot perform a zero dynamics attacks. Polynomial time algorithms for design and analysis are provided.« less

Management of children and young people (CYP) with asthma: a clinical audit report.

PubMed

Levy, Mark L; Ward, Angela; Nelson, Sara

2018-05-21

An asthma attack or exacerbation signals treatment failure. Most attacks are preventable and failure to recognize risk of asthma attacks are well recognized as risk factors for future attacks and even death. Of the 19 recommendations made by the United Kingdom National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) (1) only one has been partially implemented-a National Asthma Audit; however, this hasn't reported yet. The Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in London implemented a clinical asthma audit on 291 children and young people aged under 19 years (CYP) who had been treated for asthma attacks in 2016. This was funded as a Local Incentive Scheme (LIS) aimed at improving quality health care delivery. Two years after the publication of the NRAD report it is surprising that risks for future attacks were not recognized, that few patients were assessed objectively during attacks and only 10% of attacks were followed up within 2 days. However, it is encouraging that CYP hospital admissions following the audit were reduced by 16%, with clear benefit for patients, their families and the local health economy. This audit has provided an example of how clinicians can focus learning on patients who have had asthma attacks and utilize these events as a catalyst for active reflection in particular on modifiable risk factors. Through identification of these risks and active optimization of management, preventable asthma attacks could become 'never events'.

The Alberta Stroke Prevention in TIAs and mild strokes (ASPIRE) intervention: rationale and design for evaluating the implementation of a province-wide TIA triaging system.

PubMed

Jeerakathil, Thomas; Shuaib, Ashfaq; Majumdar, Sumit R; Demchuk, Andrew M; Butcher, Kenneth S; Watson, Tim J; Dean, Naeem; Gordon, Deb; Edmond, Cathy; Coutts, Shelagh B

2014-10-01

Stroke risk after transient ischaemic attack is high and, it is a challenge worldwide to provide urgent assessment and preventive services to entire populations. To determine whether a province-wide transient ischaemic attack Triaging algorithm and transient ischaemic attack hotline (the Alberta Stroke Prevention in transient ischaemic attacks and mild strokes intervention) can reduce the rate of stroke recurrence following transient ischaemic attack across the population of Alberta, Canada (population 3·7 million, 90-day rate of post-stroke transient ischaemic attack currently 9·5%). It also seeks to improve upon current transient ischaemic attack triaging rules by incorporating time from symptom onset as a predictive variable. The transient ischaemic attack algorithm and hotline were developed with a broad consensus of clinicians, patients, policy-makers, and researchers and based on local adaptation of the work of others and research and insights developed within the province. Because neither patient-level nor region-level randomization was possible, we conducted a quasi-experimental design examining changes in the post-transient ischaemic attack rate of stroke recurrence before and after the 15-month implementation period using an interrupted time-series regression analysis. The design controls for changes in case-mix, co-interventions, and secular trends. A prospective transient ischaemic attack cohort will also be concurrently created with telephone follow-up at seven-days and 90 days as well as passive follow-up over the longer term using linkages to provincial healthcare administrative databases. The primary outcome measure is the change in recurrence rate of stroke following transient ischaemic attack at seven-days and 90 days, comparing a period of two-years before vs. two-years after the intervention is implemented. All cases of recurrent stroke will be validated. Secondary outcomes include functional status, hospitalizations, morbidity, and mortality. We are undertaking a rigorous evaluation of a population-based approach to improving quality of transient ischaemic attack care. Whether positive or negative, our work should provide important insights for all potential stakeholders. © 2012 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2012 World Stroke Organization.

Fuzzy Expert System for Heart Attack Diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassan, Norlida; Arbaiy, Nureize; Shah, Noor Aziyan Ahmad; Afizah Afif@Afip, Zehan

2017-08-01

Heart attack is one of the serious illnesses and reported as the main killer disease. Early prevention is significant to reduce the risk of having the disease. The prevention efforts can be strengthen through awareness and education about risk factor and healthy lifestyle. Therefore the knowledge dissemination is needed to play role in order to distribute and educate public in health care management and disease prevention. Since the knowledge dissemination in medical is important, there is a need to develop a knowledge based system that can emulate human intelligence to assist decision making process. Thereby, this study utilized hybrid artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to develop a Fuzzy Expert System for Diagnosing Heart Attack Disease (HAD). This system integrates fuzzy logic with expert system, which helps the medical practitioner and people to predict the risk and as well as diagnosing heart attack based on given symptom. The development of HAD is expected not only providing expert knowledge but potentially become one of learning resources to help citizens to develop awareness about heart-healthy lifestyle.

Cougar attacks on humans: a case report.

PubMed

McKee, Denise

2003-01-01

Cougar attacks on humans are increasing. Presented is a case report of a nonfatal 2-year-old male cougar attack on an 8-year-old girl in British Columbia. Discussions of wound management, rabies postexposure prophylaxis (RPEP), and the possible psychologic ramifications of such an attack are presented. Also reviewed are recommendations on actions that may be helpful in preventing an attack following a sudden encounter with a cougar. Humans must learn to coexist with cougars, which present a small but real threat to people.

Diabetes - preventing heart attack and stroke

MedlinePlus

Diabetes complications - heart; Coronary artery disease - diabetes; CAD - diabetes; Cerebrovascular disease - diabetes ... with diabetes have a higher chance of having heart attacks and strokes. Smoking and having high blood ...

Human behaviour can trigger large carnivore attacks in developed countries

PubMed Central

Penteriani, Vincenzo; Delgado, María del Mar; Pinchera, Francesco; Naves, Javier; Fernández-Gil, Alberto; Kojola, Ilpo; Härkönen, Sauli; Norberg, Harri; Frank, Jens; Fedriani, José María; Sahlén, Veronica; Støen, Ole-Gunnar; Swenson, Jon E.; Wabakken, Petter; Pellegrini, Mario; Herrero, Stephen; López-Bao, José Vicente

2016-01-01

The media and scientific literature are increasingly reporting an escalation of large carnivore attacks on humans in North America and Europe. Although rare compared to human fatalities by other wildlife, the media often overplay large carnivore attacks on humans, causing increased fear and negative attitudes towards coexisting with and conserving these species. Although large carnivore populations are generally increasing in developed countries, increased numbers are not solely responsible for the observed rise in the number of attacks by large carnivores. Here we show that an increasing number of people are involved in outdoor activities and, when doing so, some people engage in risk-enhancing behaviour that can increase the probability of a risky encounter and a potential attack. About half of the well-documented reported attacks have involved risk-enhancing human behaviours, the most common of which is leaving children unattended. Our study provides unique insight into the causes, and as a result the prevention, of large carnivore attacks on people. Prevention and information that can encourage appropriate human behaviour when sharing the landscape with large carnivores are of paramount importance to reduce both potentially fatal human-carnivore encounters and their consequences to large carnivores. PMID:26838467

Human behaviour can trigger large carnivore attacks in developed countries.

PubMed

Penteriani, Vincenzo; Delgado, María del Mar; Pinchera, Francesco; Naves, Javier; Fernández-Gil, Alberto; Kojola, Ilpo; Härkönen, Sauli; Norberg, Harri; Frank, Jens; Fedriani, José María; Sahlén, Veronica; Støen, Ole-Gunnar; Swenson, Jon E; Wabakken, Petter; Pellegrini, Mario; Herrero, Stephen; López-Bao, José Vicente

2016-02-03

The media and scientific literature are increasingly reporting an escalation of large carnivore attacks on humans in North America and Europe. Although rare compared to human fatalities by other wildlife, the media often overplay large carnivore attacks on humans, causing increased fear and negative attitudes towards coexisting with and conserving these species. Although large carnivore populations are generally increasing in developed countries, increased numbers are not solely responsible for the observed rise in the number of attacks by large carnivores. Here we show that an increasing number of people are involved in outdoor activities and, when doing so, some people engage in risk-enhancing behaviour that can increase the probability of a risky encounter and a potential attack. About half of the well-documented reported attacks have involved risk-enhancing human behaviours, the most common of which is leaving children unattended. Our study provides unique insight into the causes, and as a result the prevention, of large carnivore attacks on people. Prevention and information that can encourage appropriate human behaviour when sharing the landscape with large carnivores are of paramount importance to reduce both potentially fatal human-carnivore encounters and their consequences to large carnivores.

Intrusion Detection Systems with Live Knowledge System

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-31

Ripple -down Rule (RDR) to maintain the knowledge from human experts with knowledge base generated by the Induct RDR, which is a machine-learning based RDR...propose novel approach that uses Ripple -down Rule (RDR) to maintain the knowledge from human experts with knowledge base generated by the Induct RDR...detection model by applying Induct RDR approach. The proposed induct RDR ( Ripple Down Rules) approach allows to acquire the phishing detection

Insecurity of Wireless Networks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sheldon, Frederick T; Weber, John Mark; Yoo, Seong-Moo

Wireless is a powerful core technology enabling our global digital infrastructure. Wi-Fi networks are susceptible to attacks on Wired Equivalency Privacy, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), and WPA2. These attack signatures can be profiled into a system that defends against such attacks on the basis of their inherent characteristics. Wi-Fi is the standard protocol for wireless networks used extensively in US critical infrastructures. Since the Wired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) security protocol was broken, the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) protocol has been considered the secure alternative compatible with hardware developed for WEP. However, in November 2008, researchers developed an attack on WPA,more » allowing forgery of Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) packets. Subsequent enhancements have enabled ARP poisoning, cryptosystem denial of service, and man-in-the-middle attacks. Open source systems and methods (OSSM) have long been used to secure networks against such attacks. This article reviews OSSMs and the results of experimental attacks on WPA. These experiments re-created current attacks in a laboratory setting, recording both wired and wireless traffic. The article discusses methods of intrusion detection and prevention in the context of cyber physical protection of critical Internet infrastructure. The basis for this research is a specialized (and undoubtedly incomplete) taxonomy of Wi-Fi attacks and their adaptations to existing countermeasures and protocol revisions. Ultimately, this article aims to provide a clearer picture of how and why wireless protection protocols and encryption must achieve a more scientific basis for detecting and preventing such attacks.« less

Tacrolimus

MedlinePlus

... rejection (attack of a transplanted organ by the immune system of a person receiving the organ) in people ... It works by decreasing the activity of the immune system to prevent it from attacking the transplanted organ.

Belatacept Injection

MedlinePlus

... rejection (attack of a transplanted organ by the immune system of a person receiving the organ) of kidney ... It works by decreasing the activity of the immune system to prevent it from attacking the transplanted kidney.

The maul of the wild. Animal attacks can produce significant trauma.

PubMed

Conrad, L

1994-03-01

Wild-animal attacks are almost an anachronism in our day and age. They remind us that humans can still be food or prey. Cougar attacks, though rare, produce significant trauma. Characteristic patterns of injury and wound infection should be appropriately identified and treated. As we protect wild-animal species and acknowledge their right to share territory, interactions--and possibly attacks--are likely to increase. Awareness, education, knowledge and prevention, rather than the elimination of animal populations, may be the best way to control wild-animal attacks on humans in the future.

Preventive treatment of migraine.

PubMed

Silberstein, Steven D

2005-01-01

Migraine preventive therapy, even in the absence of a headache, is given in an attempt to reduce the frequency, duration, or severity of attacks. Circumstances that might warrant preventive treatment include disabling migraine attacks, the overuse of acute medications or failure of or contraindication to acute medications, troublesome side effects from medication, hemiplegic migraine, or very frequent headaches (more than 2 a week). The major medication groups for preventive treatment include anticonvulsants, antidepressants, b-adrenergic blockers, calcium channel antagonists, serotonin antagonists, neurotoxins, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and others. If preventive medication is indicated, the agent preferentially should be chosen from one of the first-line categories, based on the drug's side-effect profile and the patient's coexistent and comorbid conditions.

Critical Infrastructure Protection: EMP Impacts on the U.S. Electric Grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boston, Edwin J., Jr.

The purpose of this research is to identify the United States electric grid infrastructure systems vulnerabilities to electromagnetic pulse attacks and the cyber-based impacts of those vulnerabilities to the electric grid. Additionally, the research identifies multiple defensive strategies designed to harden the electric grid against electromagnetic pulse attack that include prevention, mitigation and recovery postures. Research results confirm the importance of the electric grid to the United States critical infrastructures system and that an electromagnetic pulse attack against the electric grid could result in electric grid degradation, critical infrastructure(s) damage and the potential for societal collapse. The conclusions of this research indicate that while an electromagnetic pulse attack against the United States electric grid could have catastrophic impacts on American society, there are currently many defensive strategies under consideration designed to prevent, mitigate and or recover from an electromagnetic pulse attack. However, additional research is essential to further identify future target hardening opportunities, efficient implementation strategies and funding resources.

SiC: An Agent Based Architecture for Preventing and Detecting Attacks to Ubiquitous Databases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinzón, Cristian; de Paz, Yanira; Bajo, Javier; Abraham, Ajith; Corchado, Juan M.

One of the main attacks to ubiquitous databases is the structure query language (SQL) injection attack, which causes severe damages both in the commercial aspect and in the user’s confidence. This chapter proposes the SiC architecture as a solution to the SQL injection attack problem. This is a hierarchical distributed multiagent architecture, which involves an entirely new approach with respect to existing architectures for the prevention and detection of SQL injections. SiC incorporates a kind of intelligent agent, which integrates a case-based reasoning system. This agent, which is the core of the architecture, allows the application of detection techniques based on anomalies as well as those based on patterns, providing a great degree of autonomy, flexibility, robustness and dynamic scalability. The characteristics of the multiagent system allow an architecture to detect attacks from different types of devices, regardless of the physical location. The architecture has been tested on a medical database, guaranteeing safe access from various devices such as PDAs and notebook computers.

Adaptive Suspicious Prevention for Defending DoS Attacks in SDN-Based Convergent Networks

PubMed Central

Dao, Nhu-Ngoc; Kim, Joongheon; Park, Minho; Cho, Sungrae

2016-01-01

The convergent communication network will play an important role as a single platform to unify heterogeneous networks and integrate emerging technologies and existing legacy networks. Although there have been proposed many feasible solutions, they could not become convergent frameworks since they mainly focused on converting functions between various protocols and interfaces in edge networks, and handling functions for multiple services in core networks, e.g., the Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) technique. Software-defined networking (SDN), on the other hand, is expected to be the ideal future for the convergent network since it can provide a controllable, dynamic, and cost-effective network. However, SDN has an original structural vulnerability behind a lot of advantages, which is the centralized control plane. As the brains of the network, a controller manages the whole network, which is attractive to attackers. In this context, we proposes a novel solution called adaptive suspicious prevention (ASP) mechanism to protect the controller from the Denial of Service (DoS) attacks that could incapacitate an SDN. The ASP is integrated with OpenFlow protocol to detect and prevent DoS attacks effectively. Our comprehensive experimental results show that the ASP enhances the resilience of an SDN network against DoS attacks by up to 38%. PMID:27494411

Adaptive Suspicious Prevention for Defending DoS Attacks in SDN-Based Convergent Networks.

PubMed

Dao, Nhu-Ngoc; Kim, Joongheon; Park, Minho; Cho, Sungrae

2016-01-01

The convergent communication network will play an important role as a single platform to unify heterogeneous networks and integrate emerging technologies and existing legacy networks. Although there have been proposed many feasible solutions, they could not become convergent frameworks since they mainly focused on converting functions between various protocols and interfaces in edge networks, and handling functions for multiple services in core networks, e.g., the Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) technique. Software-defined networking (SDN), on the other hand, is expected to be the ideal future for the convergent network since it can provide a controllable, dynamic, and cost-effective network. However, SDN has an original structural vulnerability behind a lot of advantages, which is the centralized control plane. As the brains of the network, a controller manages the whole network, which is attractive to attackers. In this context, we proposes a novel solution called adaptive suspicious prevention (ASP) mechanism to protect the controller from the Denial of Service (DoS) attacks that could incapacitate an SDN. The ASP is integrated with OpenFlow protocol to detect and prevent DoS attacks effectively. Our comprehensive experimental results show that the ASP enhances the resilience of an SDN network against DoS attacks by up to 38%.

Development and Analysis of Security Policies in Security Enhanced Android

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-01

Privilege - Escalation Attacks on Android ,” Proc. 19th Annual...Services, Bethesda, MD, 2011, pp. 239–252. 98 [43] L. Davi, et al. “ Privilege Escalation Attacks on Android ,” Proc. 13th Int. Conf. on Information...TaintDroid. XManDroid dynamically analyzes applications’ transitive permission usage in order to prevent application-level privilege escalation attacks

Attacks on practical quantum key distribution systems (and how to prevent them)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Nitin; Stiller, Birgit; Khan, Imran; Elser, Dominique; Marquardt, Christoph; Leuchs, Gerd

2016-07-01

With the emergence of an information society, the idea of protecting sensitive data is steadily gaining importance. Conventional encryption methods may not be sufficient to guarantee data protection in the future. Quantum key distribution (QKD) is an emerging technology that exploits fundamental physical properties to guarantee perfect security in theory. However, it is not easy to ensure in practice that the implementations of QKD systems are exactly in line with the theoretical specifications. Such theory-practice deviations can open loopholes and compromise security. Several such loopholes have been discovered and investigated in the last decade. These activities have motivated the proposal and implementation of appropriate countermeasures, thereby preventing future attacks and enhancing the practical security of QKD. This article introduces the so-called field of quantum hacking by summarising a variety of attacks and their prevention mechanisms.

A U.S. Biodefense Strategy Primer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Poulin, D

2009-05-11

The anthrax mailings that followed the attacks of September 11, 2001 highlighted the need for a comprehensive national strategy to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the effects of biological attacks. The goal of U.S. biodefense strategy is to reduce the likelihood of a future biological event, improve overall U.S. public health security, and minimize the economic and social disruption of a biological incident. Presidential communications, federal legislation, and executive agency planning documents provide the foundation for this strategy. Central to current U.S. biodefense strategy is the 2004 Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 10, Biodefense for the 21st Century,more » which states that ''the United States will use all means necessary to prevent, protect against, and mitigate biological weapons attacks perpetrated against our homeland and our global interests.'' HSPD-10 also sets forth four pillars of U.S. biodefense: {sm_bullet} Threat awareness includes timely, accurate, and relevant intelligence, threat assessment, and the anticipation of future threats. {sm_bullet} Prevention and protection involve continuing and expanding efforts to limit access to agents, technologies, and knowledge to certain groups and countries as well as protecting critical infrastructure from the effects of biological attacks. {sm_bullet} Surveillance and detection provide early warning or recognition of biological attacks to permit a timely response and mitigation of consequences as well as attribution. {sm_bullet} Response and recovery include pre-attack planning and preparedness, capabilities to treat casualties, risk communications, physical control measures, medical countermeasures, and decontamination capabilities.« less

A hybrid protection approaches for denial of service (DoS) attacks in wireless sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunasekaran, Mahalakshmi; Periakaruppan, Subathra

2017-06-01

Wireless sensor network (WSN) contains the distributed autonomous devices with the sensing capability of physical and environmental conditions. During the clustering operation, the consumption of more energy causes the draining in battery power that leads to minimum network lifetime. Hence, the WSN devices are initially operated on low-power sleep mode to maximise the lifetime. But, the attacks arrival cause the disruption in low-power operating called denial of service (DoS) attacks. The conventional intrusion detection (ID) approaches such as rule-based and anomaly-based methods effectively detect the DoS attacks. But, the energy consumption and false detection rate are more. The absence of attack information and broadcast of its impact to the other cluster head (CH) leads to easy DoS attacks arrival. This article combines the isolation and routing tables to detect the attack in the specific cluster and broadcasts the information to other CH. The intercommunication between the CHs prevents the DoS attacks effectively. In addition, the swarm-based defence approach is proposed to migrate the fault channel to normal operating channel through frequency hop approaches. The comparative analysis between the proposed table-based intrusion detection systems (IDSs) and swarm-based defence approaches with the traditional IDS regarding the parameters of transmission overhead/efficiency, energy consumption, and false positive/negative rates proves the capability of DoS prediction/prevention in WSN.

The role of mental disorder in attacks on European politicians 1990-2004.

PubMed

James, D V; Mullen, P E; Meloy, J R; Pathé, M T; Farnham, F R; Preston, L; Darnley, B

2007-11-01

The only systematic studies of attacks on public figures come from the USA. These studies de-emphasize the role of mental illness and suggest threats are of no predictive value. This study re-examines these questions through a study of attacks on European politicians. All non-terrorist attacks on elected politicians in Western Europe between 1990 and 2004 were analysed. Twenty-four attacks were identified, including five involving fatalities, and eight serious injuries. Ten attackers were psychotic, four drunk, nine politically motivated and one unclassifiable. Eleven attackers evidenced warning behaviours. The mentally disordered, most of whom gave warnings, were responsible for most of the fatal and seriously injurious attacks. A greater awareness of the link between delusional fixations on public figures and subsequent attacks could aid prevention. Equally importantly, recognition would encourage earlier intervention in people who, irrespective of whether they eventually attack, have delusional preoccupations which ruin their lives.

Analysis of System Training Impact for Major Defense Acquisition Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-08-01

simulation fidelity but rather were due to poor training development planning, the absence of instructional support and training features on the simulation...reduce detectability of the soldier, prevent attack if detected, prevent damage if attacked, minimize medical injury if wounded or otherwise injured, and...instance, a National Guard tank battalion that stores and maintains its tanks at a central maintenance/training facility may find it more cost

Patent foramen ovale closure and migraine: science and sensibility.

PubMed

Gupta, Vinod Kumar

2010-09-01

Migraine has been associated with patent foramen ovale (PFO), and PFO closure has become the most high-profile nonpharmacologic invasive therapy recommended for the prevention of recurrent migraine attacks, as well as for preventing further attacks in cryptogenic stroke. The results of Migraine Intervention with STARFlex Technology (MIST), a controversial but important recent randomized clinical trial (RCT) of PFO closure for migraine, do not support PFO closure for preventing migraine attacks. All patients with migraine, however, do not have a PFO, and the characteristic periodicity and predictability of migraine cannot be explained on the basis of paradoxical embolism through the PFO. Closure of the PFO or atrial septal defect can aggravate migraine suddenly. PFO increases in size with age, but migraine generally subsides with the passage of years. Serendipity does play a role in some medical discoveries, but in the absence of a logically defensible theoretical basis, chance and statistics can both become misleading. With soft end points, RCTs in migraine patients can generate conflicting and irreconcilable data. RCTs cannot supplant or substitute clinical common sense or justify serendipity. Scientific progress mandates that any serendipitous research must ultimately conform to the principles of the basic sciences surrounding the chance discovery. PFO closure for preventing migraine attacks is an unfortunate, but sobering, chapter in the migraine research saga.

Face liveness detection for face recognition based on cardiac features of skin color image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suh, Kun Ha; Lee, Eui Chul

2016-07-01

With the growth of biometric technology, spoofing attacks have been emerged a threat to the security of the system. Main spoofing scenarios in the face recognition system include the printing attack, replay attack, and 3D mask attack. To prevent such attacks, techniques that evaluating liveness of the biometric data can be considered as a solution. In this paper, a novel face liveness detection method based on cardiac signal extracted from face is presented. The key point of proposed method is that the cardiac characteristic is detected in live faces but not detected in non-live faces. Experimental results showed that the proposed method can be effective way for determining printing attack or 3D mask attack.

Women's Heart Disease: Heart Attack Symptoms

MedlinePlus

... this page please turn JavaScript on. Feature: Women's Heart Disease Heart Attack Symptoms Past Issues / Winter 2014 Table ... NHLBI has uncovered some of the causes of heart diseases and conditions, as well as ways to prevent ...

Inflammation and neuropathic attacks in hereditary brachial plexus neuropathy

PubMed Central

Klein, C; Dyck, P; Friedenberg, S; Burns, T; Windebank, A; Dyck, P

2002-01-01

Objective: To study the role of mechanical, infectious, and inflammatory factors inducing neuropathic attacks in hereditary brachial plexus neuropathy (HBPN), an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by attacks of pain and weakness, atrophy, and sensory alterations of the shoulder girdle and upper limb muscles. Methods: Four patients from separate kindreds with HBPN were evaluated. Upper extremity nerve biopsies were obtained during attacks from a person of each kindred. In situ hybridisation for common viruses in nerve tissue and genetic testing for a hereditary tendency to pressure palsies (HNPP; tomaculous neuropathy) were undertaken. Two patients treated with intravenous methyl prednisolone had serial clinical and electrophysiological examinations. One patient was followed prospectively through pregnancy and during the development of a stereotypic attack after elective caesarean delivery. Results: Upper extremity nerve biopsies in two patients showed prominent perivascular inflammatory infiltrates with vessel wall disruption. Nerve in situ hybridisation for viruses was negative. There were no tomaculous nerve changes. In two patients intravenous methyl prednisolone ameliorated symptoms (largely pain), but with tapering of steroid dose, signs and symptoms worsened. Elective caesarean delivery did not prevent a typical postpartum attack. Conclusions: Inflammation, probably immune, appears pathogenic for some if not all attacks of HBPN. Immune modulation may be useful in preventing or reducing the neuropathic attacks, although controlled trials are needed to establish efficacy, as correction of the mutant gene is still not possible. The genes involved in immune regulation may be candidates for causing HBPN disorders. PMID:12082044

Securing internet by eliminating DDOS attacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niranchana, R.; Gayathri Devi, N.; Santhi, H.; Gayathri, P.

2017-11-01

The major threat caused to the authorised usage of Internet is Distributed Denial of Service attack. The mechanisms used to prevent the DDoS attacks are said to overcome the attack’s ability in spoofing the IP packets source addresses. By utilising Internet Protocol spoofing, the attackers cause a consequential load over the networks destination for policing attack packets. To overcome the IP Spoofing level on the Internet, We propose an Inter domain Packet Filter (IPF) architecture. The proposed scheme is not based on global routing information. The packets with reliable source addresses are not rejected, the IPF frame work works in such a manner. The spoofing capability of attackers is confined by IPF, and also the filter identifies the source of an attack packet by minimal number of candidate network.

The Limits of Cyberspace Deterrence

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

networks are secure, this protection would also take the form of deterring, preventing, detect- ing, and defending against cyber attacks . As a result...tar- get into inaction. In a nuclear scenario, all nations are aware of the American ability to attribute a nuclear attack to its source, U.S...through degraded environment and improving ability to attribute and defeat attacks on systems and infrastructure. Military must provide broad range of

Fecal-orally transmitted diseases among travelers are decreasing due to better hygienic standards at travel destination.

PubMed

Baaten, Gijs G; Sonder, Gerard J B; Van Der Loeff, Maarten F Schim; Coutinho, Roel A; Van Den Hoek, Anneke

2010-01-01

To evaluate whether changes in attack rates of fecal-orally transmitted diseases among travelers are related to changes in pretravel vaccination practices or better hygienic standards at travel destination. National surveillance data on all laboratory-confirmed cases of travel-related hepatitis A, shigellosis, and typhoid fever diagnosed in the Netherlands from 1995 to 2006 were matched with the number of Dutch travelers to developing countries to calculate region-specific annual attack rates. Trends in attack rates of non-vaccine-preventable shigellosis were compared with those of vaccine-preventable hepatitis A and typhoid fever. Trends were also compared with three markers for hygienic standards of the local population at travel destinations, drawn from the United Nations Development Programme database: the human development index, the sanitation index, and the water source index. Attack rates among Dutch travelers to developing regions declined for hepatitis A, shigellosis, and typhoid fever. Region-specific trends in attack rates of shigellosis resembled trends of hepatitis A and typhoid fever. Declining attack rates of the three fecal-orally transmitted diseases correlated with improvements in socioeconomic, sanitary, and water supply conditions of the local population at travel destination. These findings suggest that improved hygienic standards at travel destination strongly contributed to the overall decline in attack rates of fecal-orally transmitted diseases among visiting travelers. © 2010 International Society of Travel Medicine.

Migraine preventive therapy: selection of appropriate patients and general principles of management.

PubMed

D'Amico, Domenico; Lanteri-Minet, Michel

2006-08-01

The goal of this review is to communicate the rationale and the possible benefits of migraine preventive treatments to clinicians and patients, and to address the many problematic issues created by missed diagnosis or misdiagnoses and inadequate migraine management. Successful implementation of migraine preventive treatment requires appropriate patient selection based on several factors, including the frequency of migraine attacks (> or =2-3 attacks/month), the level of disability incurred and the frequency of acute medication usage. Unfortunately, several epidemiologic surveys indicate that preventive therapies are significantly underutilized, which supports the need for greater dialog concerning migraine prevention between consumers and physicians. Effective migraine preventive therapy should reduce the frequency, duration, and severity of migraine, and also improve function, reduce disability, and possibly reduce the risk of worsening the headache syndrome, through acute medication overuse.

How to Prevent Type-Flaw Guessing Attacks on Password Protocols

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-01-01

How to prevent type-flaw guessing attacks on password protocols∗ Sreekanth Malladi , Jim Alves-Foss Center for Secure and Dependable Systems...respectively. R Retagging 〈−(t, f),+(t′, f)〉. The retagging strand captures the concept of receiving a message of one type and sending it, with a claim of a...referrees for insightful comments. Thanks are also due to Ricardo Corin for many helpful technical discus- sions. References [AN94] M. Abadi and R

Research on the technology of detecting the SQL injection attack and non-intrusive prevention in WEB system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Haibin

2017-05-01

Among numerous WEB security issues, SQL injection is the most notable and dangerous. In this study, characteristics and procedures of SQL injection are analyzed, and the method for detecting the SQL injection attack is illustrated. The defense resistance and remedy model of SQL injection attack is established from the perspective of non-intrusive SQL injection attack and defense. Moreover, the ability of resisting the SQL injection attack of the server has been comprehensively improved through the security strategies on operation system, IIS and database, etc.. Corresponding codes are realized. The method is well applied in the actual projects.

Improving Insider Threat Training Awareness and Mitigation Programs at Nuclear Facilities.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abbott, Shannon

In recent years, insider threat programs have become an important aspect of nuclear security, and nuclear security training courses. However, many nuclear security insider threat programs fail to address the insider threat attack and monitoring potential that exists on information technology (IT) systems. This failure is critical because of the importance of information technology and networks in today’s world. IT systems offer an opportunity to perpetrate dangerous insider attacks, but they also present an opportunity to monitor for them and prevent them. This paper suggests a number of best practices for monitoring and preventing insider attacks on IT systems, andmore » proposes the development of a new IT insider threat tabletop that can be used to help train nuclear security practitioners on how best to implement IT insider threat prevention best practices. The development of IT insider threat best practices and a practical tabletop exercise will allow nuclear security practitioners to improve nuclear security trainings as it integrates a critical part of insider threat prevention into the broader nuclear security system.« less

Diagnosis and management of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) in Iran: A consensus guideline and recommendations.

PubMed

Sahraian, Mohammad Ali; Moghadasi, Abdorreza Naser; Azimi, Amir Reza; Asgari, Nasrin; H Akhoundi, Fahimeh; Abolfazli, Roya; Alaie, Shekoofeh; Ashtari, Fereshteh; Ayromlou, Hormoz; Baghbanian, Seyed Mohammad; Moghadam, Nahid Beladi; Fatehi, Farzad; Foroughipour, Mohsen; Langroodi, Hamidreza Ghalyanchi; Majdinasab, Nastaran; Nickseresht, Alireza; Nourian, Abbas; Shaygannejad, Vahid; Torabi, Hamid Reza

2017-11-01

Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) is a relapsing neuro inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that typically presents with optic neuritis or myelitis and may cause severe disability. The diagnostic criteria have been updated and several immunosuppressive agents have been demonstrated to prevent acute exacerbations. As the disease rarely develops in a progressive course, management of acute attacks and proper prevention of exacerbations may change the long term out-come and prevent future disability. Consensus recommendations and guidelines will help the physicians to improve their practice and unify the treatment approaches in different communities. In order to develop a national consensus and recommendations for the diagnosis and management of NMOSD in Iran, a group of neurologists with long term experience in management of NMOSD were gathered to develop this consensus based on available national and international data. The primary draft was prepared and discussed to suggest the most appropriate treatment for these patients. We propose strategies for early diagnosis and treatment for prevention of relapses and minimizing consequences of attacks as a primary therapeutic goal. Attacks are currently treated with intravenous corticosteroids and, in refractory cases, with plasma exchange. All participants agreed on preventive treatment with currently available immunosuppressive agents such as azothioprin, rituximab and mycofenolate mofetil based on previous positive data in NMOSD in order to reduce attack frequency. The current consensus reviews the previous data and provides the clinicians with practical recommendations and advices for the diagnosis and management of NMOSD based on scientific data and clinical experience. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preventing Terrorism Using Information Sharing Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-09-01

in fusing information and providing valuable intelligence that thwarted a terrorist attack at Disneyland . A videotape was received that contained a...creditable threat of a Sarin gas attack at Disneyland . The LA TEW conducted the initial analysis of the tape and the initial investigation that

Nobody Sells Gold for the Price of Silver: Dishonesty, Uncertainty and the Underground Economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herley, Cormac; Florêncio, Dinei

The underground economy has attracted a lot of attention recently as a key component of cybercrime. In particular the IRC markets for stolen identities, phishing kits, botnets, and cybercrime related services have been extensively studied. It is suggested that sophisticated underground markets show great specialization and maturity. There are complex divisions of labor and service offerings for every need. Stolen credentials are traded in bulk for pennies on the dollar. It is suggested that large sums move on these markets.

A Socio-Technical Approach to Preventing, Mitigating, and Recovering from Ransomware Attacks.

PubMed

Sittig, Dean F; Singh, Hardeep

2016-01-01

Recently there have been several high-profile ransomware attacks involving hospitals around the world. Ransomware is intended to damage or disable a user's computer unless the user makes a payment. Once the attack has been launched, users have three options: 1) try to restore their data from backup; 2) pay the ransom; or 3) lose their data. In this manuscript, we discuss a socio-technical approach to address ransomware and outline four overarching steps that organizations can undertake to secure an electronic health record (EHR) system and the underlying computing infrastructure. First, health IT professionals need to ensure adequate system protection by correctly installing and configuring computers and networks that connect them. Next, the health care organizations need to ensure more reliable system defense by implementing user-focused strategies, including simulation and training on correct and complete use of computers and network applications. Concomitantly, the organization needs to monitor computer and application use continuously in an effort to detect suspicious activities and identify and address security problems before they cause harm. Finally, organizations need to respond adequately to and recover quickly from ransomware attacks and take actions to prevent them in future. We also elaborate on recommendations from other authoritative sources, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Similar to approaches to address other complex socio-technical health IT challenges, the responsibility of preventing, mitigating, and recovering from these attacks is shared between health IT professionals and end-users.

A Socio-Technical Approach to Preventing, Mitigating, and Recovering from Ransomware Attacks

PubMed Central

Singh, Hardeep

2016-01-01

Summary Recently there have been several high-profile ransomware attacks involving hospitals around the world. Ransomware is intended to damage or disable a user’s computer unless the user makes a payment. Once the attack has been launched, users have three options: 1) try to restore their data from backup; 2) pay the ransom; or 3) lose their data. In this manuscript, we discuss a socio-technical approach to address ransomware and outline four overarching steps that organizations can undertake to secure an electronic health record (EHR) system and the underlying computing infrastructure. First, health IT professionals need to ensure adequate system protection by correctly installing and configuring computers and networks that connect them. Next, the health care organizations need to ensure more reliable system defense by implementing user-focused strategies, including simulation and training on correct and complete use of computers and network applications. Concomitantly, the organization needs to monitor computer and application use continuously in an effort to detect suspicious activities and identify and address security problems before they cause harm. Finally, organizations need to respond adequately to and recover quickly from ransomware attacks and take actions to prevent them in future. We also elaborate on recommendations from other authoritative sources, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Similar to approaches to address other complex socio-technical health IT challenges, the responsibility of preventing, mitigating, and recovering from these attacks is shared between health IT professionals and end-users. PMID:27437066

Improved Fake-State Attack to the Quantum Key Distribution Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Sheng; Wang, Jian; Tang, Chao-jing

2012-09-01

It has been showed that most commercial quantum cryptosystems are vulnerable to the fake-state attacks, which employ the loophole that the avalanche photodiodes as single photon detectors still produce detection events in the linear mode. However, previous fake-state attacks may be easily prevented by either installing a watch dog or reconfiguring the dead-time assigning component. In this paper, we present a new technique to counteract the after-pulse effect ever enhanced by the fake-state attacks, in order to lower the quantum bit error rate. Obviously, it is more difficult to detect the presented attack scheme. Indeed, it contributes to promoting of implementing a secure quantum cryptosystem in real life.

Using Reputation Based Trust to Overcome Malfunctions and Malicious Failures in Electric Power Protection Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-01

concert with a physical attack. Additionally, the importance of preventive measures implemented by a social human network to counteract a cyber attack...integrity of the data stored on specific computers. This coordinated cyber attack would have been successful if not for the trusted social network...established by Mr. Hillar Aarelaid, head of the Estonian computer 6 emergency response team (CERT). This social network consisted of Mr. Hillar Aarelaid

Internet firewalls: questions and answers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ker, Keith

1996-03-01

As organizations consider connecting to the Internet, the issue of internetwork security becomes more important. There are many tools and components that can be used to secure a network, one of which is a firewall. Modern firewalls offer highly flexible private network security by controlling and monitoring all communications passing into or out of the private network. Specifically designed for security, firewalls become the private network's single point of attack from Internet intruders. Application gateways (or proxies) that have been written to be secure against even the most persistent attacks ensure that only authorized users and services access the private network. One-time passwords prevent intruders from `sniffing' and replaying the usernames and passwords of authorized users to gain access to the private network. Comprehensive logging permits constant and uniform system monitoring. `Address spoofing' attacks are prevented. The private network may use registered or unregistered IP addresses behind the firewall. Firewall-to-firewall encryption establishes a `virtual private network' across the Internet, preventing intruders from eavesdropping on private communications, eliminating the need for costly dedicated lines.

Understanding public confidence in government to prevent terrorist attacks.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baldwin, T. E.; Ramaprasad, A,; Samsa, M. E.

A primary goal of terrorism is to instill a sense of fear and vulnerability in a population and to erode its confidence in government and law enforcement agencies to protect citizens against future attacks. In recognition of its importance, the Department of Homeland Security includes public confidence as one of the principal metrics used to assess the consequences of terrorist attacks. Hence, a detailed understanding of the variations in public confidence among individuals, terrorist event types, and as a function of time is critical to developing this metric. In this exploratory study, a questionnaire was designed, tested, and administered tomore » small groups of individuals to measure public confidence in the ability of federal, state, and local governments and their public safety agencies to prevent acts of terrorism. Data was collected from three groups before and after they watched mock television news broadcasts portraying a smallpox attack, a series of suicide bomber attacks, a refinery explosion attack, and cyber intrusions on financial institutions, resulting in identity theft. Our findings are: (a) although the aggregate confidence level is low, there are optimists and pessimists; (b) the subjects are discriminating in interpreting the nature of a terrorist attack, the time horizon, and its impact; (c) confidence recovery after a terrorist event has an incubation period; and (d) the patterns of recovery of confidence of the optimists and the pessimists are different. These findings can affect the strategy and policies to manage public confidence after a terrorist event.« less

[Comparative analysis of phenomenology of paroxysms of atrial fibrillation and panic attacks].

PubMed

San'kova, T A; Solov'eva, A D; Nedostup, A V

2004-01-01

To study phenomenology of attacks of atrial fibrillation (AF) and to compare it with phenomenology of panic attacks for elucidation of pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation and for elaboration of rational therapeutic intervention including those aimed at correction of psychovegetative abnormalities. Patients with nonrheumatic paroxysmal AF (n=105) and 100 patients with panic attacks (n=100). Clinical, cardiological and neurological examination, analysis of patients complaints during attacks of AF, and comparison them with diagnostic criteria for panic attack. It was found that clinical picture of attacks of AF comprised vegetative, emotional and functional neurological phenomena similar to those characteristic for panic attacks. This similarity as well as positive therapeutic effect of clonazepam allowed to propose a novel pathogenic mechanism of AF attacks. Severity of psychovegetative disorders during paroxysm of AF could be evaluated by calculation of psychovegetative iudex: Psychovegetative index should be used for detection of panic attack-like component in clinical picture of AF paroxysm and thus for determination of indications for inclusion of vegetotropic drugs, e. g. clonazepam, in complex preventive therapy.

Novel Duplicate Address Detection with Hash Function

PubMed Central

Song, GuangJia; Ji, ZhenZhou

2016-01-01

Duplicate address detection (DAD) is an important component of the address resolution protocol (ARP) and the neighbor discovery protocol (NDP). DAD determines whether an IP address is in conflict with other nodes. In traditional DAD, the target address to be detected is broadcast through the network, which provides convenience for malicious nodes to attack. A malicious node can send a spoofing reply to prevent the address configuration of a normal node, and thus, a denial-of-service attack is launched. This study proposes a hash method to hide the target address in DAD, which prevents an attack node from launching destination attacks. If the address of a normal node is identical to the detection address, then its hash value should be the same as the “Hash_64” field in the neighboring solicitation message. Consequently, DAD can be successfully completed. This process is called DAD-h. Simulation results indicate that address configuration using DAD-h has a considerably higher success rate when under attack compared with traditional DAD. Comparative analysis shows that DAD-h does not require third-party devices and considerable computing resources; it also provides a lightweight security resolution. PMID:26991901

The current state of bioterrorist attack surveillance and preparedness in the US

PubMed Central

Grundmann, Oliver

2014-01-01

The use of biological agents as weapons to disrupt established structures, such as governments and especially larger urban populations, has been prevalent throughout history. Following the anthrax letters sent to various government officials in the fall of 2001, the US has been investing in prevention, surveillance, and preparation for a potential bioterrorism attack. Additional funding authorized since 2002 has assisted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency to invest in preventative research measures as well as preparedness programs, such as the Laboratory Response Network, Hospital Preparedness Program, and BioWatch. With both sentinel monitoring systems and epidemiological surveillance programs in place for metropolitan areas, the immediate threat of a large-scale bioterrorist attack may be limited. However, early detection is a crucial factor to initiate immediate response measures to prevent further spread following dissemination of a biological agent. Especially in rural areas, an interagency approach to train health care workers and raise awareness for the general public remain primary tasks, which is an ongoing challenge. Risk-management approaches in responding to dissemination of biological agents, as well as appropriate decontamination measures that reduce the probability of further contamination, have been provided, and suggest further investments in preparedness and surveillance. Ongoing efforts to improve preparedness and response to a bioterrorist attack are crucial to further reduce morbidity, mortality, and economic impact on public health. PMID:25328421

Survival of the relocated population of the U. S. after a nuclear attack. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haaland, C.M.; Chester, C.V.; Wigner, E.P.

1976-06-01

The feasibility of continued survival after a hypothetical nuclear attack is evaluated for people relocated from high-risk areas during the crisis period before the attack. The attack consists of 6559 MT, of which 5951 MT are ground bursts on military, industrial, and urban targets. Relocated people are assumed to be adequately protected from fallout radiation by shelters of various kinds. The major problems in the postattack situation will be the control of exposure to fallout radiation, and prevention of severe food shortages to several tens of millions of people.

Prevention of homicidal violence in schools in Germany: the Berlin Leaking Project and the Networks Against School Shootings Project (NETWASS).

PubMed

Leuschner, Vincenz; Bondü, Rebecca; Schroer-Hippel, Miriam; Panno, Jennifer; Neumetzler, Katharina; Fisch, Sarah; Scholl, Johanna; Scheithauer, Herbert

2011-01-01

Since 1999, Germany has experienced at least twelve serious cases of targeted school violence. This article describes two projects designed to fill the gap between universal prevention and emergency response in preventing severe forms of school violence in Germany. The Berlin Leaking Project examined the viability of preventive efforts based on early identification of leaking behavior that often precedes targeted school attacks. Leaking refers to any behavior or communication that indicates a student is preparing to carry out a violent attack. This would include explicit or implied threats of violence, apparent fascination with prior acts of violence such as Columbine, and any evidence of planning or preparation to carry out an attack. The NETWASS project will test a training program and intervention strategy based on those findings, examining the usefulness of a threat assessment approach to prevent violence by training teachers to recognize leaking behavior by students. This approach is extended by training teachers on a larger scale to identify leaking and then having a school-based team evaluate the student and initiate appropriate interventions, such as mental health services, and in some cases, law enforcement action. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

Control definition study for advanced vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lapins, M.; Martorella, R. P.; Klein, R. W.; Meyer, R. C.; Sturm, M. J.

1983-01-01

The low speed, high angle of attack flight mechanics of an advanced, canard-configured, supersonic tactical aircraft designed with moderate longitudinal relaxed static stability (Static Margin, SM = 16% C sub W at M = 0.4) was investigated. Control laws were developed for the longitudinal axis (""G'' or maneuver and angle of attack command systems) and for the lateral/directional axes. The performance of these control laws was examined in engineering simulation. A canard deflection/rate requirement study was performed as part of the ""G'' command law evaluation at low angles of attack. Simulated coupled maneuvers revealed the need for command limiters in all three aircraft axes to prevent departure from controlled flight. When modified with command/maneuver limiters, the control laws were shown to be adequate to prevent aircraft departure during aggressive air combat maneuvering.

Preventing Shoulder-Surfing Attack with the Concept of Concealing the Password Objects' Information

PubMed Central

Ho, Peng Foong; Kam, Yvonne Hwei-Syn; Wee, Mee Chin

2014-01-01

Traditionally, picture-based password systems employ password objects (pictures/icons/symbols) as input during an authentication session, thus making them vulnerable to “shoulder-surfing” attack because the visual interface by function is easily observed by others. Recent software-based approaches attempt to minimize this threat by requiring users to enter their passwords indirectly by performing certain mental tasks to derive the indirect password, thus concealing the user's actual password. However, weaknesses in the positioning of distracter and password objects introduce usability and security issues. In this paper, a new method, which conceals information about the password objects as much as possible, is proposed. Besides concealing the password objects and the number of password objects, the proposed method allows both password and distracter objects to be used as the challenge set's input. The correctly entered password appears to be random and can only be derived with the knowledge of the full set of password objects. Therefore, it would be difficult for a shoulder-surfing adversary to identify the user's actual password. Simulation results indicate that the correct input object and its location are random for each challenge set, thus preventing frequency of occurrence analysis attack. User study results show that the proposed method is able to prevent shoulder-surfing attack. PMID:24991649

Stroke

MedlinePlus

... of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), but not aspirin, may increase the risk of heart attack or ... your doctor about whether you may benefit from aspirin primary prevention , or using aspirin to help prevent ...

When Zealots Wage War.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dennis, Bruce L.

1997-01-01

Since Spring 1995, a Bedford, New York superintendent and her district have been virulently attacked by two parents who initially accused them of promoting Satanism, exemplified in an after-school game called Magic: The Gathering. These parents are now attacking drug prevention programs, various homework assignments, and literature selections. The…

Network Security Is Manageable

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Gary

2006-01-01

An effective systems librarian must understand security vulnerabilities and be proactive in preventing problems. Specifics of future attacks or security challenges cannot possibly be anticipated, but this paper suggests some simple measures that can be taken to make attacks less likely to occur: program the operating system to get automatic…

Interpersonal coordination tendencies supporting the creation/prevention of goal scoring opportunities in futsal.

PubMed

Vilar, Luís; Araújo, Duarte; Davids, Keith; Travassos, Bruno; Duarte, Ricardo; Parreira, João

2014-01-01

Research on 1vs1 sub-phases in team sports has shown how one player coordinates his/her actions with his/her opponent and the location of a target/goal to attain performance objectives. In this study, we extended this approach to analysis of 5vs5 competitive performance in the team sport of futsal to provide a performance analysis framework that explains how players coordinate their actions to create/prevent opportunities to score goals. For this purpose, we recorded all 10 futsal matches of the 2009 Lusophony Games held in Lisbon. We analysed the displacement trajectories of a shooting attacker and marking defender in plays ending in a goal, a goalkeeper's save, and a defender's interception, at four specific moments during performance: (1) assisting attacker's ball reception and (2) moment of passing, (3) shooter's ball reception, and (4), shot on goal. Statistical analysis showed that when a goal was scored, the defender's angle to the goal and to the attacker tended to decrease, the attacker was able to move to the same distance to the goal alongside the defender, and the attacker was closer to the defender and moving at the same velocity (at least) as the defender. This study identified emergent patterns of coordination between attackers and defenders under key competitive task constraints, such as the location of the goal, which supported successful performance in futsal.

Hypothermia during migraine attacks.

PubMed

Porta-Etessam, Jesús; Cuadrado, María L; Rodríguez-Gómez, Octavio; Valencia, Cristina; García-Ptacek, Sara

2010-11-01

Episodic spontaneous hypothermia is an infrequent disorder. Here, the case of a patient with migraine who experienced hypothermia during her migraine attacks is presented. The authors propose that larger clinical series should be studied to evaluate the occurrence of hypothermia in migraine, as well as the possible influence of some preventive regimens in this setting.

Adolescents and Exercise Induced Asthma

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Pamela; Bickanse, Shanna; Bogenreif, Mike; VanSickle, Kyle

2008-01-01

This article defines asthma and exercise induced asthma, and provides information on the triggers, signs, and symptoms of an attack. It also gives treatments for these conditions, along with prevention guidelines on how to handle an attack in the classroom or on the practice field. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Preventing and managing aggression and violence in the NHS.

PubMed

Bleetman, Anthony; Fayeye, Oloruntoba O

2003-12-01

Streaming in emergency departments reduces waiting times and stress, and removes the causes of most violent attacks against staff. In spite of this some people will still attack staff. Staff must be protected by a sound trust policy and effective and realistic training, monitored by a good reporting system.

[Acute asthma attacks introduced by anesthesia before nasal endoscopic surgery].

PubMed

Lü, Xiaofei; Han, Demin; Zhou, Bing; Ding, Bin

2004-05-01

In order to pay our attention to the perioperative treatment before nasal endoscopic surgery. Three patients with asthma accompanied chronic sinusitis were analyzed systemically, who had undergone acute attacks of asthma introduced by anesthesia. Anesthetic drugs and instruments can lead to acute attacks of asthma, because sinusitis with asthma means allergic airway inflammation, broncho-hyperreactivity and lower compensatory pulmonary function. Then all of the 3 cases had missed the preoperative treatment. Anesthetic drugs and instruments can lead to acute attacks of asthma. The perioperative treatment before nasal endoscopic surgery is very important for the prevention of the occurrences of this severe complication. Except emergency, the operation should be can celled for avoiding the acute attack of asthma introduced by anesthesia.

Chess therapy: A new approach to curing panic attack.

PubMed

Barzegar, Kazem; Barzegar, Somayeh

2017-12-01

To study the effect of playing cell phone chess game on treating panic attack. The chess game on an android cell phone was played by the researcher who was affected by panic attack as a post-traumatic disorder immediately after or before feeling of the start of symptoms. The right level of difficulty, i.e., levels 2-4, was selected for optimal results. Playing chess game on the android cell phone prevented the manifestation of panic attack and led to the cure of this traumatic condition. Chess therapy with the right level of difficulty can be recommended as a very effective non-pharmaceutical method for the successful treatment of panic attacks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using agility to combat cyber attacks.

PubMed

Anderson, Kerry

2017-06-01

Some incident response practitioners feel that they have been locked in a battle with cyber criminals since the popular adoption of the internet. Initially, organisations made great inroads in preventing and containing cyber attacks. In the last few years, however, cyber criminals have become adept at eluding defence security technologies and rapidly modifying their exploit strategies for financial or political gains. Similar to changes in military combat tactics, cyber criminals utilise distributed attack cells, real-time communications, and rapidly mutating exploits to minimise the potential for detection. Cyber criminals have changed their attack paradigm. This paper describes a new incident response paradigm aimed at combating the new model of cyber attacks with an emphasis on agility to increase the organisation's ability to respond rapidly to these new challenges.

Normobaric hyperoxia markedly reduces brain damage and sensorimotor deficits following brief focal ischaemia.

PubMed

Ejaz, Sohail; Emmrich, Julius V; Sitnikov, Sergey L; Hong, Young T; Sawiak, Stephen J; Fryer, Tim D; Aigbirhio, Franklin I; Williamson, David J; Baron, Jean-Claude

2016-03-01

'True' transient ischaemic attacks are characterized not only clinically, but also radiologically by a lack of corresponding changes on magnetic resonance imaging. During a transient ischaemic attack it is assumed that the affected tissue is penumbral but rescued by early spontaneous reperfusion. There is, however, evidence from rodent studies that even brief focal ischaemia not resulting in tissue infarction can cause extensive selective neuronal loss associated with long-lasting sensorimotor impairment but normal magnetic resonance imaging. Selective neuronal loss might therefore contribute to the increasingly recognized cognitive impairment occurring in patients with transient ischaemic attacks. It is therefore relevant to consider treatments to reduce brain damage occurring with transient ischaemic attacks. As penumbral neurons are threatened by markedly constrained oxygen delivery, improving the latter by increasing arterial O2 content would seem logical. Despite only small increases in arterial O2 content, normobaric oxygen therapy experimentally induces significant increases in penumbral O2 pressure and by such may maintain the penumbra alive until reperfusion. Nevertheless, the effects of normobaric oxygen therapy on infarct volume in rodent models have been conflicting, although duration of occlusion appeared an important factor. Likewise, in the single randomized trial published to date, early-administered normobaric oxygen therapy had no significant effect on clinical outcome despite reduced diffusion-weighted imaging lesion growth during therapy. Here we tested the hypothesis that normobaric oxygen therapy prevents both selective neuronal loss and sensorimotor deficits in a rodent model mimicking true transient ischaemic attack. Normobaric oxygen therapy was applied from the onset and until completion of 15 min distal middle cerebral artery occlusion in spontaneously hypertensive rats, a strain representative of the transient ischaemic attack-prone population. Whereas normoxic controls showed normal magnetic resonance imaging but extensive cortical selective neuronal loss associated with microglial activation (present both at Day 14 in vivo and at Day 28 post-mortem) and marked and long-lasting sensorimotor deficits, normobaric oxygen therapy completely prevented sensorimotor deficit (P < 0.02) and near-completely Day 28 selective neuronal loss (P < 0.005). Microglial activation was substantially reduced at Day 14 and completely prevented at Day 28 (P = 0.002). Our findings document that normobaric oxygen therapy administered during ischaemia nearly completely prevents the neuronal death, microglial inflammation and sensorimotor impairment that characterize this rodent true transient ischaemic attack model. Taken together with the available literature, normobaric oxygen therapy appears a promising therapy for short-lasting ischaemia, and is attractive clinically as it could be started at home in at-risk patients or in the ambulance in subjects suspected of transient ischaemic attack/early stroke. It may also be a straightforward adjunct to reperfusion therapies, and help prevent subtle brain damage potentially contributing to long-term cognitive and sensorimotor impairment in at-risk populations. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Breakthrough attacks in patients with hereditary angioedema receiving long-term prophylaxis are responsive to icatibant: findings from the Icatibant Outcome Survey.

PubMed

Aberer, Werner; Maurer, Marcus; Bouillet, Laurence; Zanichelli, Andrea; Caballero, Teresa; Longhurst, Hilary J; Perrin, Amandine; Andresen, Irmgard

2017-01-01

Patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE) due to C1-inhibitor deficiency (C1-INH-HAE) experience recurrent attacks of cutaneous or submucosal edema that may be frequent and severe; prophylactic treatments can be prescribed to prevent attacks. However, despite the use of long-term prophylaxis (LTP), breakthrough attacks are known to occur. We used data from the Icatibant Outcome Survey (IOS) to evaluate the characteristics of breakthrough attacks and the effectiveness of icatibant as a treatment option. Data on LTP use, attacks, and treatments were recorded. Attack characteristics, treatment characteristics, and outcomes (time to treatment, time to resolution, and duration of attack) were compared for attacks that occurred with versus without LTP. Data on 3228 icatibant-treated attacks from 448 patients with C1-INH-HAE were analyzed; 30.1% of attacks occurred while patients were using LTP. Attack rate, attack severity, and the distribution of attack sites were similar across all types of LTP used, and were comparable to the results found in patients who did not receive LTP. Attacks were successfully treated with icatibant; 82.5% of all breakthrough attacks were treated with a single icatibant injection without C1-INH rescue medication. Treatment outcomes were comparable for breakthrough attacks across all LTP types, and for attacks without LTP. Patients who use LTP should be aware that breakthrough attacks can occur, and such attacks can be severe. Thus, patients with C1-INH-HAE using LTP should have emergency treatment readily available. Data from IOS show that icatibant is effective for the treatment of breakthrough attacks. Trial Registration NCT01034969.

Automated Software Vulnerability Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sezer, Emre C.; Kil, Chongkyung; Ning, Peng

Despite decades of research, software continues to have vulnerabilities. Successful exploitations of these vulnerabilities by attackers cost millions of dollars to businesses and individuals. Unfortunately, most effective defensive measures, such as patching and intrusion prevention systems, require an intimate knowledge of the vulnerabilities. Many systems for detecting attacks have been proposed. However, the analysis of the exploited vulnerabilities is left to security experts and programmers. Both the human effortinvolved and the slow analysis process are unfavorable for timely defensive measure to be deployed. The problem is exacerbated by zero-day attacks.

Cougar attacks on children: injury patterns and treatment.

PubMed

Kadesky, K M; Manarey, C; Blair, G K; Murphy, J J; Verchere, C; Atkinson, K

1998-06-01

Cougar attacks on humans appear to be on the rise. A review of all attacks on children was performed to determine the method of attack and injury patterns so that a treatment regimen as well as possible preventative measures could be determined. A review of all attacks, including attacks on children, was performed, including three recent attacks treated at our institution. Situation, adult supervision, patient age, injuries recorded, survival, and mode of attack, if known, were reviewed. There were 50 documented attacks on children with a 25% fatality rate. Most children were not alone at the time of the attack (92%), and in many instances adult supervision was present or nearby. Severe head and neck lacerations along with puncture wounds were the most common injury. Examples of typical cervical injuries include a nonfatal vertebral artery injury, phrenic nerve injury, a fatal internal carotid artery injury, and a fatal cervical spine injury. The cougar was rabid in two cases. Pasteurella resulted in late infections in two patients. Based on the pattern of injuries, the authors recommend aggressive evaluation for occult cervical injuries as well as surgical debridement. Antibiotics should cover oropharyngeal flora including Pasteurella multocida. Rabies prophylaxis is indicated. Adult supervision in wilderness areas is not necessarily protective.

Therapeutic principles of primaquine against relapse of Plasmodium vivax malaria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baird, J. K.

2018-03-01

Plasmodium vivax causes tens of millions of clinical attacks annually all across the malarious globe. Unlike the other major cause of human malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax places dormant stages called hypnozoites into the human liver that later awaken and provoke multiple clinical attacks in the weeks, months, and few years following the infectious anopheline mosquito bite. The only available treatment to prevent those recurrent attacks is primaquine (hypnozoitocide), and it must be administered with the drugs applied to end the acute attack (blood schizontocides). This paper reviews the therapeutic principles of applying primaquine to achieve radical cure of acute vivax malaria.

Identifying and tracking attacks on networks: C3I displays and related technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manes, Gavin W.; Dawkins, J.; Shenoi, Sujeet; Hale, John C.

2003-09-01

Converged network security is extremely challenging for several reasons; expanded system and technology perimeters, unexpected feature interaction, and complex interfaces all conspire to provide hackers with greater opportunities for compromising large networks. Preventive security services and architectures are essential, but in and of themselves do not eliminate all threat of compromise. Attack management systems mitigate this residual risk by facilitating incident detection, analysis and response. There are a wealth of attack detection and response tools for IP networks, but a dearth of such tools for wireless and public telephone networks. Moreover, methodologies and formalisms have yet to be identified that can yield a common model for vulnerabilities and attacks in converged networks. A comprehensive attack management system must coordinate detection tools for converged networks, derive fully-integrated attack and network models, perform vulnerability and multi-stage attack analysis, support large-scale attack visualization, and orchestrate strategic responses to cyber attacks that cross network boundaries. We present an architecture that embodies these principles for attack management. The attack management system described engages a suite of detection tools for various networking domains, feeding real-time attack data to a comprehensive modeling, analysis and visualization subsystem. The resulting early warning system not only provides network administrators with a heads-up cockpit display of their entire network, it also supports guided response and predictive capabilities for multi-stage attacks in converged networks.

Secure or Insure: An Economic Analysis of Security Interdependencies and Investment Types

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grossklags, Jens

2009-01-01

Computer users express a strong desire to prevent attacks, and to reduce the losses from computer and information security breaches. However, despite the widespread availability of various technologies, actual investments in security remain highly variable across the Internet population. As a result, attacks such as distributed denial-of-service…

77 FR 73282 - Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Airplanes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-10

... system for the angle of attack sensor, the total air temperature, and the pitot probes. We are issuing this AD to prevent ice from forming on air data system sensors and consequent loss of or misleading... angle of attack sensor, the total air temperature, and the pitot probes. Actions Since Issuance of NPRM...

Self-Defense or Assertiveness Training and Women's Responses to Sexual Attacks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brecklin, Leanne R.; Ullman, Sarah E.

2005-01-01

Self-defense classes aim to prevent violence against women by strengthening women's capacity to defend themselves; however, little research has examined the effects of self-defense training on women's attempts to fight back during actual attacks. This study investigated the relationship of self-defense or assertiveness training and women's…

2035 Biodeterrence: Problems and Promises for Biodefense

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-17

7 How are Bioweapons Different from other Weapons...the nature of biological threats and how dual-use research, their formidable attributes, and their WMD potential make them a threat the United...its objective to prevent an attack or at least greatly mitigate the effects of an attack. How are Bioweapons Different from other Weapons? The

In-Place Preservative Treatments for Covered Bridges

Treesearch

Stan Lebow; Jeff Morrell

2014-01-01

Covered bridges can be vulnerable to damage from fungal decay and insect attack. This paper describes procedures for selecting and applying in-place treatments to prevent or arrest biodegradation, and summarizes recent research evaluating some of these treatments. Wood moisture is the key to decay and termite attack, and the first line of defense against...

SDN-based path hopping communication against eavesdropping attack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chuanhao; Bu, Youjun; Zhao, Zheng

2016-10-01

Network eavesdropping is one of the most popular means used by cyber attackers, which has been a severe threat to network communication security. Adversaries could capture and analyze network communication data from network nodes or links, monitor network status and steal sensitive data such as username and password etc. Traditional network usually uses static network configuration, and existing defense methods, including firewall, IDS, IPS etc., cannot prevent eavesdropping, which has no distinguishing characteristic. Network eavesdropping become silent during most of the time of the attacking process, which is why it is difficult to discover and to defend. But A successful eavesdropping attack also has its' precondition, which is the target path should be relatively stable and has enough time of duration. So, In order to resolve this problem, it has to work on the network architecture. In this paper, a path hopping communication(PHC) mechanism based on Software Define Network (SDN) was proposed to solve this problem. In PHC, Ends in communication packets as well as the routing paths were changed dynamically. Therefore, the traffic would be distributed to multiple flows and transmitted along different paths. so that Network eavesdropping attack could be prevented effectively. It was concluded that PHC was able to increase the overhead of Network eavesdropping, as well as the difficulty of communication data recovery.

[A survey of perioperative asthmatic attack among patients with bronchial asthma underwent general anesthesia].

PubMed

Ie, Kenya; Yoshizawa, Atsuto; Hirano, Satoru; Izumi, Sinyuu; Hojo, Masaaki; Sugiyama, Haruhito; Kobayasi, Nobuyuki; Kudou, Kouichirou; Maehara, Yasuhiro; Kawachi, Masaharu; Miyakoshi, Kouichi

2010-07-01

We investigated the risk factor of perioperative asthmatic attack and effectiveness of preventing treatment for asthmatic attack before operation. We performed retrospective chart review of one hundred eleven patients with asthma underwent general anesthesia and surgical intervention from January 2006 to October 2007 in our hospital. The rate of perioperative asthmatic attack were as follows; 10.2% (5 in 49 cases) in no pretreatment group, 7.5% (3 in 40 cases) in any pretreatments except for systemic steroid, and 4.5% (1 in 22 cases) in systemic steroid pretreatment group. Neither preoperative asthma severity nor duration from the last attack had significant relevancy to perioperative attack rate. The otolaryngological surgery, especially those have nasal polyp and oral surgery had high perioperative asthma attack rate, although there was no significant difference. We recommend the systemic steroid pretreatment for asthmatic patients, especially when they have known risk factor such as administration of the systemic steroid within 6 months, or possibly new risk factor such as nasal polyp, otolaryngological and oral surgery.

Secure Data Aggregation in Wireless Sensor Network-Fujisaki Okamoto(FO) Authentication Scheme against Sybil Attack.

PubMed

Nirmal Raja, K; Maraline Beno, M

2017-07-01

In the wireless sensor network(WSN) security is a major issue. There are several network security schemes proposed in research. In the network, malicious nodes obstruct the performance of the network. The network can be vulnerable by Sybil attack. When a node illicitly assertions multiple identities or claims fake IDs, the WSN grieves from an attack named Sybil attack. This attack threatens wireless sensor network in data aggregation, synchronizing system, routing, fair resource allocation and misbehavior detection. Henceforth, the research is carried out to prevent the Sybil attack and increase the performance of the network. This paper presents the novel security mechanism and Fujisaki Okamoto algorithm and also application of the work. The Fujisaki-Okamoto (FO) algorithm is ID based cryptographic scheme and gives strong authentication against Sybil attack. By using Network simulator2 (NS2) the scheme is simulated. In this proposed scheme broadcasting key, time taken for different key sizes, energy consumption, Packet delivery ratio, Throughput were analyzed.

Sensor data security level estimation scheme for wireless sensor networks.

PubMed

Ramos, Alex; Filho, Raimir Holanda

2015-01-19

Due to their increasing dissemination, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have become the target of more and more sophisticated attacks, even capable of circumventing both attack detection and prevention mechanisms. This may cause WSN users, who totally trust these security mechanisms, to think that a sensor reading is secure, even when an adversary has corrupted it. For that reason, a scheme capable of estimating the security level (SL) that these mechanisms provide to sensor data is needed, so that users can be aware of the actual security state of this data and can make better decisions on its use. However, existing security estimation schemes proposed for WSNs fully ignore detection mechanisms and analyze solely the security provided by prevention mechanisms. In this context, this work presents the sensor data security estimator (SDSE), a new comprehensive security estimation scheme for WSNs. SDSE is designed for estimating the sensor data security level based on security metrics that analyze both attack prevention and detection mechanisms. In order to validate our proposed scheme, we have carried out extensive simulations that show the high accuracy of SDSE estimates.

Sensor Data Security Level Estimation Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Ramos, Alex; Filho, Raimir Holanda

2015-01-01

Due to their increasing dissemination, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have become the target of more and more sophisticated attacks, even capable of circumventing both attack detection and prevention mechanisms. This may cause WSN users, who totally trust these security mechanisms, to think that a sensor reading is secure, even when an adversary has corrupted it. For that reason, a scheme capable of estimating the security level (SL) that these mechanisms provide to sensor data is needed, so that users can be aware of the actual security state of this data and can make better decisions on its use. However, existing security estimation schemes proposed for WSNs fully ignore detection mechanisms and analyze solely the security provided by prevention mechanisms. In this context, this work presents the sensor data security estimator (SDSE), a new comprehensive security estimation scheme for WSNs. SDSE is designed for estimating the sensor data security level based on security metrics that analyze both attack prevention and detection mechanisms. In order to validate our proposed scheme, we have carried out extensive simulations that show the high accuracy of SDSE estimates. PMID:25608215

Countermeasure against blinding attacks on low-noise detectors with a background-noise-cancellation scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Min Soo; Park, Byung Kwon; Woo, Min Ki; Park, Chang Hoon; Kim, Yong-Su; Han, Sang-Wook; Moon, Sung

2016-12-01

We developed a countermeasure against blinding attacks on low-noise detectors with a background-noise-cancellation scheme in quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. Background-noise cancellation includes self-differencing and balanced avalanche photon diode (APD) schemes and is considered a promising solution for low-noise APDs, which are critical components in high-performance QKD systems. However, its vulnerability to blinding attacks has been recently reported. In this work, we propose a countermeasure that prevents this potential security loophole from being used in detector blinding attacks. An experimental QKD setup is implemented and various tests are conducted to verify the feasibility and performance of the proposed method. The obtained measurement results show that the proposed scheme successfully detects occurring blinding-attack-based hacking attempts.

Panic-attack-induced transient leukocytosis in a healthy male: a case report.

PubMed

Iskandar, Joseph W; Griffeth, Benjamin; Sapra, Mamta; Singh, Karamjit; Giugale, Juan M

2011-01-01

The lifetime prevalence of panic attacks is 28.3% in American adults 18 years and older. The age of onset of panic attack extends throughout adulthood; however, it typically develops in early adulthood, with median age of onset of 22 years [Kessler R.C., Chiu W.T., Jin R., Ruscio A.M., Shear K., Walters E.E. The epidemiology of panic attacks, panic disorder, and agoraphobia in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006 Apr;63(4):415-24.]. As reported in our case, panic attacks could induce transient leukocytosis in healthy adults. If practitioners recognize this association, expensive investigations and extensive hospital stays may be prevented, although prudent practice would likely still require some type of investigations. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tools for Understanding Identity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Creese, Sadie; Gibson-Robinson, Thomas; Goldsmith, Michael

Identity attribution and enrichment is critical to many aspects of law-enforcement and intelligence gathering; this identity typically spans a number of domains in the natural-world such as biographic information (factual information – e.g. names, addresses), biometric information (e.g. fingerprints) and psychological information. In addition to these natural-world projections of identity, identity elements are projected in the cyber-world. Conversely, undesirable elements may use similar techniques to target individuals for spear-phishing attacks (or worse), and potential targets or their organizations may want to determine how to minimize the attack surface exposed. Our research has been exploring the construction of a mathematical modelmore » for identity that supports such holistic identities. The model captures the ways in which an identity is constructed through a combination of data elements (e.g. a username on a forum, an address, a telephone number). Some of these elements may allow new characteristics to be inferred, hence enriching the holistic view of the identity. An example use-case would be the inference of real names from usernames, the ‘path’ created by inferring new elements of identity is highlighted in the ‘critical information’ panel. Individual attribution exercises can be understood as paths through a number of elements. Intuitively the entire realizable ‘capability’ can be modeled as a directed graph, where the elements are nodes and the inferences are represented by links connecting one or more antecedents with a conclusion. The model can be operationalized with two levels of tool support described in this paper, the first is a working prototype, the second is expected to reach prototype by July 2013: Understanding the Model The tool allows a user to easily determine, given a particular set of inferences and attributes, which elements or inferences are of most value to an investigator (or an attacker). The tool is also able to take into account the difficulty of the inferences, allowing the user to consider different scenarios depending on the perceived resources of the attacker, or to prioritize lines of investigation. It also has a number of interesting visualizations that are designed to aid the user in understanding the model. The tool works by considering the inferences as a graph and runs various graph-theoretic algorithms, with some novel adaptations, in order to deduce various properties. Using the Model To help investigators exploit the model to perform identity attribution, we have developed the Identity Map visualization. For a user-provided set of known starting elements and a set of desired target elements for a given identity, the Identity Map generates investigative workflows as paths through the model. Each path consists of a series of elements and inferences between them that connect the input and output elements. Each path also has an associated confidence level that estimates the reliability of the resulting attribution. Identity Map can help investigators understand the possible ways to make an identification decision and guide them toward the data-collection or analysis steps required to reach that decision.« less

[The standardized perioperative treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps and asthma].

PubMed

Li, Tingting; Ju, Jianbao; Yu, Hailing; Xie, Daoyu

2015-04-01

To discuss the perioperative treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and asthma. Retrospective analysis of perioperative clinical data of 43 cases with CRSwNP and asthma. The admitted and under endoscopic surgery. Patients with preventing perioperative asthma attacks and corresponding standardized treatment were Observed. Thirty-five cases were stable during perioperative period and without asthma. Seven patients diagnosed as mild and moderate asthma attacks because of low pulse oximetry (SpO2 92%-95%) and scattered wheeze heard in the lungs. So these patients were sent to ICU for the treatment. They went back to ward after their conditions turned to stable and no asthma during perioperative. One patient diagnosed as severe asthma attack, because irritability and suffocation happened, SpO2 decreased from 99% to 84%-81%, diffuse wheeze could be heard in the whole lung . So we give him tracheal intubation and sent him to ICU for advanced treatment after breathing smooth. Five days later the patient retuned to the ward in stable condition and with no asthma attack again. Before operation the patients should be give some corresponding standardized comprehensive treatment according to the nasal symptoms and the degree of asthma attack, such as the application of topical steroid and antiallergic medicine. And some special treatment should be given to reduce airway hyperresponsiveness mucosa during anesthesia. These methods can reduce the risk of the asthma attacks and improve perioperative safety, prevent serious complications.

A Game Theoretical Approach to Hacktivism: Is Attack Likelihood a Product of Risks and Payoffs?

PubMed

Bodford, Jessica E; Kwan, Virginia S Y

2018-02-01

The current study examines hacktivism (i.e., hacking to convey a moral, ethical, or social justice message) through a general game theoretic framework-that is, as a product of costs and benefits. Given the inherent risk of carrying out a hacktivist attack (e.g., legal action, imprisonment), it would be rational for the user to weigh these risks against perceived benefits of carrying out the attack. As such, we examined computer science students' estimations of risks, payoffs, and attack likelihood through a game theoretic design. Furthermore, this study aims at constructing a descriptive profile of potential hacktivists, exploring two predicted covariates of attack decision making, namely, peer prevalence of hacking and sex differences. Contrary to expectations, results suggest that participants' estimations of attack likelihood stemmed solely from expected payoffs, rather than subjective risks. Peer prevalence significantly predicted increased payoffs and attack likelihood, suggesting an underlying descriptive norm in social networks. Notably, we observed no sex differences in the decision to attack, nor in the factors predicting attack likelihood. Implications for policymakers and the understanding and prevention of hacktivism are discussed, as are the possible ramifications of widely communicated payoffs over potential risks in hacking communities.

Self-defense or assertiveness training and women's responses to sexual attacks.

PubMed

Brecklin, Leanne R; Ullman, Sarah E

2005-06-01

Self-defense classes aim to prevent violence against women by strengthening women's capacity to defend themselves; however, little research has examined the effects of self-defense training on women's attempts to fight back during actual attacks. This study investigated the relationship of self-defense or assertiveness training and women's physical and psychological responses to subsequent rape attacks (N = 1,623). Multivariate analyses showed that victims with preassault training were more likely to say that their resistance stopped the offender or made him less aggressive than victims without training. Women with training before their assaults were angrier and less scared during the incident than women without training, consistent with the teachings of self-defense training. Preassault training participants rated their degree of non-consent or resistance as lower than did nonparticipants, perhaps because they held themselves to a higher standard. Suggestions for future research on women's self-defense training and rape prevention are offered.

Effects of tonabersat on migraine with aura: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study.

PubMed

Hauge, Anne W; Asghar, Mohammed S; Schytz, Henrik W; Christensen, Karl; Olesen, Jes

2009-08-01

Migraine with aura is thought likely to be caused by cortical spreading depression (CSD). Tonabersat inhibits CSD, and we therefore investigated whether tonabersat has a preventive effect in migraine with aura. In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 40 mg tonabersat once daily was compared with matched placebo in patients who had at least one aura attack per month during the past 3 months. Randomisation was by computer-generated list. Patients kept a detailed diary to enable objective diagnosis of each attack as migraine with aura, migraine without aura, or other type of headache. Primary endpoints were a reduction in aura attacks with or without headache and a reduction in migraine headache days with or without an aura. Analysis was per protocol. This trial is registered, number NCT00332007. 39 patients were included in the study, of whom 31 were included in the statistical analysis of efficacy. Median (IQR) attacks of aura were reduced from 3.2 (1.0-5.0) per 12 weeks on placebo to 1.0 (0-3.0) on tonabersat (p=0.01), whereas the other primary outcome measure, median migraine headache days with or without aura, was not significantly different between placebo and tonabersat groups (3.0 days in each group; p=0.09). Tonabersat was well tolerated but overall had more side-effects than placebo. Tonabersat showed a preventive effect on attacks of migraine aura but no efficacy on non-aura attacks, in keeping with its known inhibitory effect on CSD. The results support the theory that auras are caused by CSD and that this phenomenon is not involved in attacks without aura. Minster Pharmaceuticals; Lundbeck Foundation.

The potential economic burden of Zika in the continental United States.

PubMed

Lee, Bruce Y; Alfaro-Murillo, Jorge A; Parpia, Alyssa S; Asti, Lindsey; Wedlock, Patrick T; Hotez, Peter J; Galvani, Alison P

2017-04-01

As the Zika virus epidemic continues to spread internationally, countries such as the United States must determine how much to invest in prevention, control, and response. Fundamental to these decisions is quantifying the potential economic burden of Zika under different scenarios. To inform such decision making, our team developed a computational model to forecast the potential economic burden of Zika across six states in the US (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) which are at greatest risk of Zika emergence, under a wide range of attack rates, scenarios and circumstances. In order to accommodate a wide range of possibilities, different scenarios explored the effects of varying the attack rate from 0.01% to 10%. Across the six states, an attack rate of 0.01% is estimated to cost $183.4 million to society ($117.1 million in direct medical costs and $66.3 million in productivity losses), 0.025% would result in $198.6 million ($119.4 million and $79.2 million), 0.10% would result in $274.6 million ($130.8 million and $143.8 million) and 1% would result in $1.2 billion ($268.0 million and $919.2 million). Our model and study show how direct medical costs, Medicaid costs, productivity losses, and total costs to society may vary with different attack rates across the six states and the circumstances at which they may exceed certain thresholds (e.g., Zika prevention and control funding allocations that are being debated by the US government). A Zika attack rate of 0.3% across the six states at greatest risk of Zika infection, would result in total costs that exceed $0.5 billion, an attack rate of 1% would exceed $1 billion, and an attack rate of 2% would exceed $2 billion.

Exploring Windows Domain-Level Defenses Against Authentication Attacks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nichols, Jeff A.; Curtis, Laura

2016-01-01

We investigated the security resilience of the current Windows Active Directory (AD) environments to Pass-the-Hash and Pass- the-Ticket credential theft attacks. While doing this, we discovered a way to trigger the removal of all previously issued authentication credentials for a client, thus preventing their use by attackers. After triggered, the user is forced to contact the domain administrators and to authenticate to the AD to continue. This could become the basis for a response that arrests the spread of a detected attack. Operating in a virtualized XenServer environment, we were able to carefully determine and recreate the conditions necessary tomore » cause this response.« less

Intercept-Resend-Measure Attack Towards Quantum Private Comparison Protocol Using Genuine Four-Particle Entangled States and its Improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Hong-Ming

2018-03-01

Recently, Jia et al. proposed the quantum private comparison protocol with the genuine four-particle entangled states (Jia et al., Int. J. Theor. Phys. 51(4), 1187-1194 (2012)). Jia et al. claimed that in this protocol, TP cannot obtain Alice and Bob's secrets and only knows their comparison result. However, in this paper, we demonstrate that if TP is a genuine semi-honest third party, he can totally obtain Alice and Bob's secrets by launching a particular intercept-resend-measure attack. After suggesting the intercept-resend-measure attack strategy from TP first, we put forward one corresponding improvement to prevent this attack.

A Method of Synchrophasor Technology for Detecting and Analyzing Cyber-Attacks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCann, Roy; Al-Sarray, Muthanna

Studying cybersecurity events and analyzing their impacts encourage planners and operators to develop innovative approaches for preventing attacks in order to avoid outages and other disruptions. This work considers two parts in security studies; detecting an integrity attack and examining its effects on power system generators. The detection was conducted through employing synchrophasor technology to provide authentication of ACG commands based on observed system operating characteristics. The examination of an attack is completed via a detailed simulation of a modified IEEE 68-bus benchmark model to show the associated power system dynamic response. The results of the simulation are discussed formore » assessing the impacts of cyber threats.« less

Evaluation of insecticides for protecting southwestern ponderosa pines from attack by engraver beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

Treesearch

Tom E. DeGomez; Christopher J. Hayes; John A. Anhold; Joel D. McMillin; Karen M. Clancy; Paul P. Bosu

2006-01-01

Insecticides that might protect pine trees from attack by engraver beetles (Ips spp.) have not been rigorously tested in the southwestern United States. We conducted two field experiments to evaluate the efficacy of several currently and potentially labeled preventative insecticides for protecting high-value ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa...

Formosan and native subterranean termite attack of pressure-treated SPF wood species exposed in Louisiana

Treesearch

Stan Lebow; Todd Shupe; Bessie Woodward; Douglas Crawford; Brian Via; Cherilyn Hatfield

2006-01-01

This study evaluated the relative ability of three types of wood preservatives to inhibit attack by Formosan subterranean termites (FST) (Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki) and native subterranean termites (Reticulitermes spp.). The study also evaluated the roles of preservative retention and penetration in preventing termite damage. Sections of boards from six wood...

September 11th, the Internet, and the Affects on Information Provision in Libraries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Stuart

The September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States have contributed greatly to a change in the information environment around the world. The weeks following the attacks saw governments around the world rush to pass legislation designed to prevent future acts of terrorism. Much of this legislation targeted information flow, especially on the…

Develop a solution for protecting and securing enterprise networks from malicious attacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamuru, Harshitha; Nijim, Mais

2014-05-01

In the world of computer and network security, there are myriad ways to launch an attack, which, from the perspective of a network, can usually be defined as "traffic that has huge malicious intent." Firewall acts as one of the measure in order to secure the device from incoming unauthorized data. There are infinite number of computer attacks that no firewall can prevent, such as those executed locally on the machine by a malicious user. From the network's perspective, there are numerous types of attack. All the attacks that degrade the effectiveness of data can be grouped into two types: brute force and precision. The Firewall that belongs to Juniper has the capability to protect against both types of attack. Denial of Service (DoS) attacks are one of the most well-known network security threats under brute force attacks, which is largely due to the high-profile way in which they can affect networks. Over the years, some of the largest, most respected Internet sites have been effectively taken offline by Denial of Service (DOS) attacks. A DoS attack typically has a singular focus, namely, to cause the services running on a particular host or network to become unavailable. Some DoS attacks exploit vulnerabilities in an operating system and cause it to crash, such as the infamous Win nuke attack. Others submerge a network or device with traffic so that there are no more resources to handle legitimate traffic. Precision attacks typically involve multiple phases and often involves a bit more thought than brute force attacks, all the way from reconnaissance to machine ownership. Before a precision attack is launched, information about the victim needs to be gathered. This information gathering typically takes the form of various types of scans to determine available hosts, networks, and ports. The hosts available on a network can be determined by ping sweeps. The available ports on a machine can be located by port scans. Screens cover a wide variety of attack traffic as they are configured on a per-zone basis. Depending on the type of screen being configured, there may be additional settings beyond simply blocking the traffic. Attack prevention is also a native function of any firewall. Juniper Firewall handles traffic on a per-flow basis. We can use flows or sessions as a way to determine whether traffic attempting to traverse the firewall is legitimate. We control the state-checking components resident in Juniper Firewall by configuring "flow" settings. These settings allow you to configure state checking for various conditions on the device. You can use flow settings to protect against TCP hijacking, and to generally ensure that the fire-wall is performing full state processing when desired. We take a case study of attack on a network and perform study of the detection of the malicious packets on a Net screen Firewall. A new solution for securing enterprise networks will be developed here.

Game Theory for Proactive Dynamic Defense and Attack Mitigation in Cyber-Physical Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Letchford, Joshua

While there has been a great deal of security research focused on preventing attacks, there has been less work on how one should balance security and resilience investments. In this work we developed and evaluated models that captured both explicit defenses and other mitigations that reduce the impact of attacks. We examined these issues both in more broadly applicable general Stackelberg models and in more specific network and power grid settings. Finally, we compared these solutions to existing work in terms of both solution quality and computational overhead.

Cluster headache syndrome. Ways to abort or ward off attacks.

PubMed

Marks, D R; Rapoport, A M

1992-02-15

Cluster headache is a syndrome of severe head and facial pain accompanied by autonomic abnormalities. Men are affected more frequently than women. Headaches occur daily during periods of susceptibility, which may be followed by periods of remission. The etiology of cluster headache is uncertain. Recent work suggests that hypothalamic dysfunction and/or oxyhemoglobin desaturation may be involved in its pathogenesis. Effective medical regimens are available for aborting acute attacks and for preventing attacks. Surgical ablation of the trigeminal ganglion has been effective in some patients when conventional medical therapy has failed.

Guidelines for the prevention of stroke in patients with stroke and transient ischemic attack: a guideline for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

PubMed

Kernan, Walter N; Ovbiagele, Bruce; Black, Henry R; Bravata, Dawn M; Chimowitz, Marc I; Ezekowitz, Michael D; Fang, Margaret C; Fisher, Marc; Furie, Karen L; Heck, Donald V; Johnston, S Claiborne Clay; Kasner, Scott E; Kittner, Steven J; Mitchell, Pamela H; Rich, Michael W; Richardson, DeJuran; Schwamm, Lee H; Wilson, John A

2014-07-01

The aim of this updated guideline is to provide comprehensive and timely evidence-based recommendations on the prevention of future stroke among survivors of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. The guideline is addressed to all clinicians who manage secondary prevention for these patients. Evidence-based recommendations are provided for control of risk factors, intervention for vascular obstruction, antithrombotic therapy for cardioembolism, and antiplatelet therapy for noncardioembolic stroke. Recommendations are also provided for the prevention of recurrent stroke in a variety of specific circumstances, including aortic arch atherosclerosis, arterial dissection, patent foramen ovale, hyperhomocysteinemia, hypercoagulable states, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, sickle cell disease, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, and pregnancy. Special sections address use of antithrombotic and anticoagulation therapy after an intracranial hemorrhage and implementation of guidelines. © 2014 American Heart Association, Inc.

Efficacy of a Community-Based Physical Activity Program KM2H2 for Stroke and Heart Attack Prevention among Senior Hypertensive Patients: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Phase-II Trial.

PubMed

Gong, Jie; Chen, Xinguang; Li, Sijian

2015-01-01

To evaluate the efficacy of the program Keep Moving toward Healthy Heart and Healthy Brain (KM2H2) in encouraging physical activities for the prevention of heart attack and stroke among hypertensive patients enrolled in the Community-Based Hypertension Control Program (CBHCP). Cluster randomized controlled trial with three waves of longitudinal assessments at baseline, 3 and 6 months post intervention. Community-based and patient-centered self-care for behavioral intervention in urban settings of China. A total of 450 participants diagnosed with hypertension from 12 community health centers in Wuhan, China were recruited, and were randomly assigned by center to receive either KM2H2 plus standard CBHCP care (6 centers and 232 patients) or the standard care only (6 centers and 218 patients). KM2H2 is a behavioral intervention guided by the Transtheoretical Model, the Model of Personalized Medicine and Social Capital Theory. It consists of six intervention sessions and two booster sessions engineered in a progressive manner. The purpose is to motivate and maintain physical activities for the prevention of heart attack and stroke. Heart attack and stroke (clinically diagnosed, primary outcome), blood pressure (measured, secondary outcome), and physical activity (self-report, tertiary outcome) were assessed at the individual level during the baseline, 3- and 6-month post-intervention. Relative to the standard care, receiving KM2H2 was associated with significant reductions in the incidence of heart attack (3.60% vs. 7.03%, p < .05) and stroke (5.11% vs. 9.90%, p<0.05), and moderate reduction in blood pressure (-3.72 mmHg in DBP and -2.92 mmHg in DBP) at 6-month post-intervention; and significant increases in physical activity at 3- (d = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.85) and 6-month (d = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.85) post-intervention, respectively. The program KM2H2 is efficacious to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke among senior patients who are on anti-hypertensive medication. Findings of this study provide solid data supporting a formal phase-III trial to establish the effectiveness of KM2H2 for use in community settings for prevention. ISRCTN Register ISRCTN12608966.

Cheating prevention in visual cryptography.

PubMed

Hu, Chih-Ming; Tzeng, Wen-Guey

2007-01-01

Visual cryptography (VC) is a method of encrypting a secret image into shares such that stacking a sufficient number of shares reveals the secret image. Shares are usually presented in transparencies. Each participant holds a transparency. Most of the previous research work on VC focuses on improving two parameters: pixel expansion and contrast. In this paper, we studied the cheating problem in VC and extended VC. We considered the attacks of malicious adversaries who may deviate from the scheme in any way. We presented three cheating methods and applied them on attacking existent VC or extended VC schemes. We improved one cheat-preventing scheme. We proposed a generic method that converts a VCS to another VCS that has the property of cheating prevention. The overhead of the conversion is near optimal in both contrast degression and pixel expansion.

Recent advances in management and treatment of hereditary angioedema.

PubMed

Sardana, Niti; Craig, Timothy J

2011-12-01

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare autosomal-dominant disease characterized by recurrent self-limiting episodes of skin and mucosal edema. Morbidity and mortality are significant, and new and pending therapies are now available to reduce the risk associated with the disease. To update the reader on new advances in HAE to improve patient care. We performed a literature search of Ovid, PubMed, and Google to develop this review. Articles that are necessary for the understanding and use of the new therapeutic options for HAE were chosen, and studies of high quality were used to support the use of therapies, and in most cases, results from phase III studies were used. Until recently, therapy for HAE attacks in the United States consisted of symptom relief with narcotics, hydration, and fresh-frozen plasma, which contains active C1 inhibitor. Therapy to prevent HAE attacks has been confined to androgens and, occasionally, antifibrinolytic agents; however, both drug groups have significant adverse effects. The approval of C1-inhibitor concentrate for prevention and acute therapy has improved efficacy and safety. Ecallantide has also been approved for therapy of attacks, and icatibant is expected to be approved in the next few months for attacks. Recombinant C1 inhibitor is presently in phase III studies and should be available for attacks in the near future. In this article we review the changing therapeutic options available for patients in 2011 and beyond.

75 FR 43992 - Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-27

... applications. Therapeutics for the Treatment and Prevention of Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Disease... prevention of cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke and inflammation... which atherosclerosis is a significant contributing factor or cause. Global sales for cardiovascular...

The Contradiction in the "Prevent Duty": Democracy vs "British Values"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolton, Suke

2017-01-01

The duty to monitor "the failure to uphold British Values" in the "Prevent" strategy, introduced in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, is itself an attack on British democracy. This article explains the contradictory nature of the "Prevent Duty." First, the current state of democracy in Britain is examined…

A chance-constrained programming model to allocate wildfire initial attack resources for a fire season

Treesearch

Yu Wei; Michael Bevers; Erin Belval; Benjamin Bird

2015-01-01

This research developed a chance-constrained two-stage stochastic programming model to support wildfire initial attack resource acquisition and location on a planning unit for a fire season. Fire growth constraints account for the interaction between fire perimeter growth and construction to prevent overestimation of resource requirements. We used this model to examine...

Metasystox-R, applied in Mauget injectors, ineffective in protecting individual ponderosa pines from western pine beetles

Treesearch

Michael I. Haverty; Patrick J. Shea; John M. Wenz

1996-01-01

The effectiveness of registered application rates of the insecticide metasystox-R applied with Mauget tree injectors (INJECT-A-CIDE) was assessed in two strategies: (1) treatment of trees before western pine beetle attack (preventive treatment), and (2) treatment of trees after attack by western pine beetle (remedial treatment) for protection of individual, high-value...

Subterranean termites - their prevention and control in buildings

Treesearch

Chris Peterson; Terence L. Wagner; Joseph E. Mulrooney; Thomas G. Shelton

2006-01-01

Subterranean termites are the most important insect pest of wood in the United States. Living in large underground colonies, termites may attack any wood in contact with the soil and may even construct protective shelter tubes over nonwood materials to attack wood above ground. Most damage in the United States is caused by termites in the genus Reticulitermes, but an...

Expanding the Limits of Evidence-Based Medicine: A Discourse Analysis of Cardiac Rehabilitation Clinical Practice Guidelines.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wise, Meg

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, and cardiac rehabilitation, a form of post-MI (myocardial infarction) education, accounts for at most 20% of improved lifestyle behavior that can effectively manage symptoms, delay or prevent subsequent attacks, and lower mortality and morbidity rates. In an attempt to improve…

Cyber-Physical Attack-Resilient Wide-Area Monitoring, Protection, and Control for the Power Grid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ashok, Aditya; Govindarasu, Manimaran; Wang, Jianhui

Cyber security and resiliency of Wide-Area Monitoring, Protection and Control (WAMPAC) applications is critically important to ensure secure, reliable, and economic operation of the bulk power system. WAMPAC relies heavily on the security of measurements and control commands transmitted over wide-area communication networks for real-time operational, protection, and control functions. Also, the current “N-1 security criteria” for grid operation is inadequate to address malicious cyber events and therefore it is important to fundamentally redesign WAMPAC and to enhance Energy Management System (EMS) applications to make them attack-resilient. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end defense-in-depth architecture for attack-resilient WAMPAC thatmore » addresses resilience at both the infrastructure layer and the application layers. Also, we propose an attack-resilient cyber-physical security framework that encompasses the entire security life cycle including risk assessment, attack prevention, attack detection, attack mitigation, and attack resilience. The overarching objective of this paper is to provide a broad scope that comprehensively describes most of the major research issues and potential solutions in the context of cyber-physical security of WAMPAC for the power grid.« less

Design of Provider-Provisioned Website Protection Scheme against Malware Distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yagi, Takeshi; Tanimoto, Naoto; Hariu, Takeo; Itoh, Mitsutaka

Vulnerabilities in web applications expose computer networks to security threats, and many websites are used by attackers as hopping sites to attack other websites and user terminals. These incidents prevent service providers from constructing secure networking environments. To protect websites from attacks exploiting vulnerabilities in web applications, service providers use web application firewalls (WAFs). WAFs filter accesses from attackers by using signatures, which are generated based on the exploit codes of previous attacks. However, WAFs cannot filter unknown attacks because the signatures cannot reflect new types of attacks. In service provider environments, the number of exploit codes has recently increased rapidly because of the spread of vulnerable web applications that have been developed through cloud computing. Thus, generating signatures for all exploit codes is difficult. To solve these problems, our proposed scheme detects and filters malware downloads that are sent from websites which have already received exploit codes. In addition, to collect information for detecting malware downloads, web honeypots, which automatically extract the communication records of exploit codes, are used. According to the results of experiments using a prototype, our scheme can filter attacks automatically so that service providers can provide secure and cost-effective network environments.

Privacy in Pharmacogenetics: An End-to-End Case Study of Personalized Warfarin Dosing.

PubMed

Fredrikson, Matthew; Lantz, Eric; Jha, Somesh; Lin, Simon; Page, David; Ristenpart, Thomas

2014-08-01

We initiate the study of privacy in pharmacogenetics, wherein machine learning models are used to guide medical treatments based on a patient's genotype and background. Performing an in-depth case study on privacy in personalized warfarin dosing, we show that suggested models carry privacy risks, in particular because attackers can perform what we call model inversion : an attacker, given the model and some demographic information about a patient, can predict the patient's genetic markers. As differential privacy (DP) is an oft-proposed solution for medical settings such as this, we evaluate its effectiveness for building private versions of pharmacogenetic models. We show that DP mechanisms prevent our model inversion attacks when the privacy budget is carefully selected . We go on to analyze the impact on utility by performing simulated clinical trials with DP dosing models. We find that for privacy budgets effective at preventing attacks, patients would be exposed to increased risk of stroke, bleeding events, and mortality . We conclude that current DP mechanisms do not simultaneously improve genomic privacy while retaining desirable clinical efficacy, highlighting the need for new mechanisms that should be evaluated in situ using the general methodology introduced by our work.

Privacy in Pharmacogenetics: An End-to-End Case Study of Personalized Warfarin Dosing

PubMed Central

Fredrikson, Matthew; Lantz, Eric; Jha, Somesh; Lin, Simon; Page, David; Ristenpart, Thomas

2014-01-01

We initiate the study of privacy in pharmacogenetics, wherein machine learning models are used to guide medical treatments based on a patient’s genotype and background. Performing an in-depth case study on privacy in personalized warfarin dosing, we show that suggested models carry privacy risks, in particular because attackers can perform what we call model inversion: an attacker, given the model and some demographic information about a patient, can predict the patient’s genetic markers. As differential privacy (DP) is an oft-proposed solution for medical settings such as this, we evaluate its effectiveness for building private versions of pharmacogenetic models. We show that DP mechanisms prevent our model inversion attacks when the privacy budget is carefully selected. We go on to analyze the impact on utility by performing simulated clinical trials with DP dosing models. We find that for privacy budgets effective at preventing attacks, patients would be exposed to increased risk of stroke, bleeding events, and mortality. We conclude that current DP mechanisms do not simultaneously improve genomic privacy while retaining desirable clinical efficacy, highlighting the need for new mechanisms that should be evaluated in situ using the general methodology introduced by our work. PMID:27077138

Reactance and Coping Responses to Tobacco Counter-Advertisements.

PubMed

Wehbe, Michelle S; Basil, Michael; Basil, Debra

2017-07-01

Tobacco prevention messages generally take one of three tactics: They can be educational, attack the tobacco industry, or attack particular brands. Being a smoker and smoking a particular brand may form an essential part of a person's self-identity. As such, reactance theory suggests that attack messages can unintentionally attack smokers' self-image. A 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 experiment using six different messages and 260 respondents tested whether smokers have different reactions to tobacco counter-advertisements than nonsmokers. It also examined whether attacking a smoker's brand leads to greater reactance and other maladaptive responses compared to attacking other brands. Consistent with predictions, smokers reported more maladaptive coping responses and fewer adaptive coping responses to tobacco counter-ads than nonsmokers. The study also reveals differences attributable to brand identification. These findings suggest that interventions should consider different counter-advertising tactics for smokers and nonsmokers. Similar admonitions may apply to counter-advertising strategies on other health issues.

SCA security verification on wireless sensor network node

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Wei; Pizarro, Carlos; de la Torre, Eduardo; Portilla, Jorge; Riesgo, Teresa

2011-05-01

Side Channel Attack (SCA) differs from traditional mathematic attacks. It gets around of the exhaustive mathematic calculation and precisely pin to certain points in the cryptographic algorithm to reveal confidential information from the running crypto-devices. Since the introduction of SCA by Paul Kocher et al [1], it has been considered to be one of the most critical threats to the resource restricted but security demanding applications, such as wireless sensor networks. In this paper, we focus our work on the SCA-concerned security verification on WSN (wireless sensor network). A detailed setup of the platform and an analysis of the results of DPA (power attack) and EMA (electromagnetic attack) is presented. The setup follows the way of low-cost setup to make effective SCAs. Meanwhile, surveying the weaknesses of WSNs in resisting SCA attacks, especially for the EM attack. Finally, SCA-Prevention suggestions based on Differential Security Strategy for the FPGA hardware implementation in WSN will be given, helping to get an improved compromise between security and cost.

Two of a kind? Differences and similarities of attacks in schools and in institutes of higher education.

PubMed

Bondü, Rebecca; Beier, Sophia

2015-01-01

School attacks are attracting increasing attention in aggression research. Recent systematic analyses provided new insights into offense and offender characteristics. Less is known about attacks in institutes of higher education (e.g., universities). It is therefore questionable whether the term "school attack" should be limited to institutions of general education or could be extended to institutions of higher education. Scientific literature is divided in distinguishing or unifying these two groups and reports similarities as well as differences. We researched 232 school attacks and 45 attacks in institutes of higher education throughout the world and conducted systematic comparisons between the two groups. The analyses yielded differences in offender (e.g., age, migration background) and offense characteristics (e.g., weapons, suicide rates), and some similarities (e.g., gender). Most differences can apparently be accounted for by offenders' age and situational influences. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research and the development of preventative measures. © The Author(s) 2014.

Hereditary Angioedema Attacks Resolve Faster and Are Shorter after Early Icatibant Treatment

PubMed Central

Maurer, Marcus; Kaplan, Allen; Investigators, on behalf of I. O. S.

2013-01-01

Background Attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) are unpredictable and, if affecting the upper airway, can be lethal. Icatibant is used for physician- or patient self-administered symptomatic treatment of HAE attacks in adults. Its mode of action includes disruption of the bradykinin pathway via blockade of the bradykinin B2 receptor. Early treatment is believed to shorten attack duration and prevent severe outcomes; however, evidence to support these benefits is lacking. Objective To examine the impact of timing of icatibant administration on the duration and resolution of HAE type I and II attacks. Methods The Icatibant Outcome Survey is an international, prospective, observational study for patients treated with icatibant. Data on timings and outcomes of icatibant treatment for HAE attacks were collected between July 2009–February 2012. A mixed-model of repeated measures was performed for 426 attacks in 136 HAE type I and II patients. Results Attack duration was significantly shorter in patients treated <1 hour of attack onset compared with those treated ≥1 hour (6.1 hours versus 16.8 hours [p<0.001]). Similar significant effects were observed for <2 hours versus ≥2 hours (7.2 hours versus 20.2 hours [p<0.001]) and <5 hours versus ≥5 hours (8.0 hours versus 23.5 hours [p<0.001]). Treatment within 1 hour of attack onset also significantly reduced time to attack resolution (5.8 hours versus 8.8 hours [p<0.05]). Self-administrators were more likely to treat early and experience shorter attacks than those treated by a healthcare professional. Conclusion Early blockade of the bradykinin B2 receptor with icatibant, particularly within the first hour of attack onset, significantly reduced attack duration and time to attack resolution. PMID:23390491

Multiparty quantum key agreement with single particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Bin; Gao, Fei; Huang, Wei; Wen, Qiao-yan

2013-04-01

Two conditions must be satisfied in a secure quantum key agreement (QKA) protocol: (1) outside eavesdroppers cannot gain the generated key without introducing any error; (2) the generated key cannot be determined by any non-trivial subset of the participants. That is, a secure QKA protocol can not only prevent the outside attackers from stealing the key, but also resist the attack from inside participants, i.e. some dishonest participants determine the key alone by illegal means. How to resist participant attack is an aporia in the design of QKA protocols, especially the multi-party ones. In this paper we present the first secure multiparty QKA protocol against both outside and participant attacks. Further more, we have proved its security in detail.

Timing of prophylactic surgery in prevention of diverticulitis recurrence: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

PubMed

Richards, Robert J; Hammitt, James K

2002-09-01

Although surgery is recommended after two or more attacks of uncomplicated diverticulitis, the optimal timing for surgery in terms of cost-effectiveness is unknown. A Markov model was used to compare the costs and outcomes of performing surgery after one, two, or three uncomplicated attacks in 60-year-old hypothetical cohorts. Transition state probabilities were assigned values using published data and expert opinion. Costs were estimated from Medicare reimbursement rates. Surgery after the third attack is cost saving, yielding more years of life and quality adjusted life years at a lower cost than the other two strategies. The results were not sensitive to many of the variables tested in the model or to changes made in the discount rate (0-5%). In conclusion, performing prophylactic resection after the third attack of diverticulitis is cost saving in comparison to resection performed after the first or second attacks and remains cost-effective during sensitivity analysis.

An Unprecedented Blue Chromophore Found in Nature using a "Chemistry First" and Molecular Networking Approach: Discovery of Dactylocyanines A-H.

PubMed

Bonneau, Natacha; Chen, Guanming; Lachkar, David; Boufridi, Asmaa; Gallard, Jean-François; Retailleau, Pascal; Petek, Sylvain; Debitus, Cécile; Evanno, Laurent; Beniddir, Mehdi A; Poupon, Erwan

2017-10-17

Guided by a "chemistry first" approach using molecular networking, eight new bright-blue colored natural compounds, namely dactylocyanines A-H (3-10), were isolated from the Polynesian marine sponge Dactylospongia metachromia. Starting from ilimaquinone (1), an hemisynthetic phishing probe (2) was prepared for annotating and matching structurally related natural substances in D. metachromia crude extract network. This strategy allowed characterizing for the first time in Nature the blue zwitterionic quinonoid chromophore. The solvatochromic properties of the latter are reported. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Sulfinpyrazone

MedlinePlus

... arthritis. It works by lowering the amount of uric acid in your blood, preventing gout attacks. The drug ... Sulfinpyrazone helps your body get rid of uric acid through your urine. This process may cause kidney stones. To help prevent kidney stones, be sure to drink 10 to 12 glasses (8 ...

Safe2Tell® : an anonymous, 24/7 reporting system for preventing school violence.

PubMed

Payne, Susan R T; Elliott, Delbert S

2011-01-01

There is widespread agreement that many school shootings could be prevented if authorities were informed that a student was planning or preparing to carry out an attack. A universal problem is that young people are highly reluctant to report on their peers. This code of silence represents a major barrier to prevention efforts. In response to the Columbine shooting, the state of Colorado established the Safe2Tell® anonymous, 24/7 reporting system for receiving and forwarding threats of violence, bullying, and other concerns. This article describes how the program has grown to the point that it now receives more than 100 calls per month. A series of case examples illustrates its success in responding to threatening situations, including twenty-eight potential school attacks. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

Prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis

PubMed Central

Gallagher, J Christopher; Tella, Sri Harsha

2014-01-01

In the beginning, that is from the 1960's, when a link between menopause and osteoporosis was first identified; estrogen treatment was the standard for preventing bone loss, however there was no fracture data, even though it was thought to be effective. This continued until the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study in 2001 that published data on 6 years of treatment with hormone therapy that showed an increase in heart attacks and breast cancer. Even though the risks were small, 1 per 1500 users annually, patients were worried and there was a large drop off in estrogen use. In later analyses the WHI study showed that estrogen reduced fractures and actually prevented heart attacks in the 50-60 year age group. Estrogen alone appeared to be safer to use than estrogen + the progestin medroxyprogesterone acetate and actually reduced breast cancer. PMID:24176761

Combating Transnational Terrorism in the East African Region: The Role of the African Union Mission in Somalia

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

four main groups : prevention; disruption; prosecution; and coordination and information sharing. Under prevention, counterterrorism forces are... group has transformed into small active units capable of conducting assassinations, kidnapping, planting improvised explosive devices, and attacking...remaining challenges and highlights 1 International Crisis Group , “Working to Prevent Conflict Worldwide

Have No PHEAR: Networks Without Identifiers

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-07

packet processing, cryptography , or other computationally intensive func- tionality is present. This prevents, e.g., SDN-based onion routing from being...client registration protocol uses public key cryptography in its identity verification handshake. An attacker could exploit this by continually...and M. K. Wright. Timing Attacks in Low-Latency Mix-Based Systems. In A. Juels, editor, Proceedings of Financial Cryptography (FC ’04), pages 251–265

Coronary heart disease risk in patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack and no known coronary heart disease: findings from the Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) trial.

PubMed

Amarenco, Pierre; Goldstein, Larry B; Sillesen, Henrik; Benavente, Oscar; Zweifler, Richard M; Callahan, Alfred; Hennerici, Michael G; Zivin, Justin A; Welch, K Michael A

2010-03-01

Noncoronary forms of atherosclerosis (including transient ischemic attacks or stroke of carotid origin or >50% stenosis of the carotid artery) are associated with a 10-year vascular risk of >20% and are considered as a coronary heart disease (CHD) -risk equivalent from the standpoint of lipid management. The Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) trial included patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack and no known CHD regardless of the presence of carotid atherosclerosis. We evaluated the risk of developing clinically recognized CHD in SPARCL patients. A total of 4731 patients (mean age, 63 years) was randomized to 80 mg/day atorvastatin placebo. The rates of major coronary event, any CHD event, and any revascularization procedure were evaluated. After 4.9 years of follow-up, the risks of a major coronary event and of any CHD end point in the placebo group were 5.1% and 8.6%, respectively. The rate of outcome of stroke decreased over time, whereas the major coronary event rate was stable. Relative to those having a large vessel-related stroke at baseline, those having a transient ischemic attack, hemorrhagic stroke, small vessel stroke, or a stroke of unknown cause had similar absolute rates for a first major coronary event and for any CHD event; transient ischemic attack, small vessel, and unknown cause groups had lower absolute revascularization procedure rates. Major coronary event, any CHD event, and any revascularization procedure rates were similarly reduced in all baseline stroke subtypes in the atorvastatin arm compared with placebo with no heterogeneity between groups. CHD risk can be substantially reduced by atorvastatin therapy in patients with recent stroke or transient ischemic attack regardless of stroke subtype.

Threshold quantum secret sharing based on single qubit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Changbin; Miao, Fuyou; Meng, Keju; Yu, Yue

2018-03-01

Based on unitary phase shift operation on single qubit in association with Shamir's ( t, n) secret sharing, a ( t, n) threshold quantum secret sharing scheme (or ( t, n)-QSS) is proposed to share both classical information and quantum states. The scheme uses decoy photons to prevent eavesdropping and employs the secret in Shamir's scheme as the private value to guarantee the correctness of secret reconstruction. Analyses show it is resistant to typical intercept-and-resend attack, entangle-and-measure attack and participant attacks such as entanglement swapping attack. Moreover, it is easier to realize in physic and more practical in applications when compared with related ones. By the method in our scheme, new ( t, n)-QSS schemes can be easily constructed using other classical ( t, n) secret sharing.

Characterization of attacks on public telephone networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorenz, Gary V.; Manes, Gavin W.; Hale, John C.; Marks, Donald; Davis, Kenneth; Shenoi, Sujeet

2001-02-01

The U.S. Public Telephone Network (PTN) is a massively connected distributed information systems, much like the Internet. PTN signaling, transmission and operations functions must be protected from physical and cyber attacks to ensure the reliable delivery of telecommunications services. The increasing convergence of PTNs with wireless communications systems, computer networks and the Internet itself poses serious threats to our nation's telecommunications infrastructure. Legacy technologies and advanced services encumber well-known and as of yet undiscovered vulnerabilities that render them susceptible to cyber attacks. This paper presents a taxonomy of cyber attacks on PTNs in converged environments that synthesizes exploits in computer and communications network domains. The taxonomy provides an opportunity for the systematic exploration of mitigative and preventive strategies, as well as for the identification and classification of emerging threats.

Localization-Free Detection of Replica Node Attacks in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Similarity Estimation with Group Deployment Knowledge

PubMed Central

Ding, Chao; Yang, Lijun; Wu, Meng

2017-01-01

Due to the unattended nature and poor security guarantee of the wireless sensor networks (WSNs), adversaries can easily make replicas of compromised nodes, and place them throughout the network to launch various types of attacks. Such an attack is dangerous because it enables the adversaries to control large numbers of nodes and extend the damage of attacks to most of the network with quite limited cost. To stop the node replica attack, we propose a location similarity-based detection scheme using deployment knowledge. Compared with prior solutions, our scheme provides extra functionalities that prevent replicas from generating false location claims without deploying resource-consuming localization techniques on the resource-constraint sensor nodes. We evaluate the security performance of our proposal under different attack strategies through heuristic analysis, and show that our scheme achieves secure and robust replica detection by increasing the cost of node replication. Additionally, we evaluate the impact of network environment on the proposed scheme through theoretic analysis and simulation experiments, and indicate that our scheme achieves effectiveness and efficiency with substantially lower communication, computational, and storage overhead than prior works under different situations and attack strategies. PMID:28098846

Localization-Free Detection of Replica Node Attacks in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Similarity Estimation with Group Deployment Knowledge.

PubMed

Ding, Chao; Yang, Lijun; Wu, Meng

2017-01-15

Due to the unattended nature and poor security guarantee of the wireless sensor networks (WSNs), adversaries can easily make replicas of compromised nodes, and place them throughout the network to launch various types of attacks. Such an attack is dangerous because it enables the adversaries to control large numbers of nodes and extend the damage of attacks to most of the network with quite limited cost. To stop the node replica attack, we propose a location similarity-based detection scheme using deployment knowledge. Compared with prior solutions, our scheme provides extra functionalities that prevent replicas from generating false location claims without deploying resource-consuming localization techniques on the resource-constraint sensor nodes. We evaluate the security performance of our proposal under different attack strategies through heuristic analysis, and show that our scheme achieves secure and robust replica detection by increasing the cost of node replication. Additionally, we evaluate the impact of network environment on the proposed scheme through theoretic analysis and simulation experiments, and indicate that our scheme achieves effectiveness and efficiency with substantially lower communication, computational, and storage overhead than prior works under different situations and attack strategies.

A Novel Protective Framework for Defeating HTTP-Based Denial of Service and Distributed Denial of Service Attacks.

PubMed

Saleh, Mohammed A; Abdul Manaf, Azizah

2015-01-01

The growth of web technology has brought convenience to our life, since it has become the most important communication channel. However, now this merit is threatened by complicated network-based attacks, such as denial of service (DoS) and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Despite many researchers' efforts, no optimal solution that addresses all sorts of HTTP DoS/DDoS attacks is on offer. Therefore, this research aims to fix this gap by designing an alternative solution called a flexible, collaborative, multilayer, DDoS prevention framework (FCMDPF). The innovative design of the FCMDPF framework handles all aspects of HTTP-based DoS/DDoS attacks through the following three subsequent framework's schemes (layers). Firstly, an outer blocking (OB) scheme blocks attacking IP source if it is listed on the black list table. Secondly, the service traceback oriented architecture (STBOA) scheme is to validate whether the incoming request is launched by a human or by an automated tool. Then, it traces back the true attacking IP source. Thirdly, the flexible advanced entropy based (FAEB) scheme is to eliminate high rate DDoS (HR-DDoS) and flash crowd (FC) attacks. Compared to the previous researches, our framework's design provides an efficient protection for web applications against all sorts of DoS/DDoS attacks.

A Novel Protective Framework for Defeating HTTP-Based Denial of Service and Distributed Denial of Service Attacks

PubMed Central

Saleh, Mohammed A.; Abdul Manaf, Azizah

2015-01-01

The growth of web technology has brought convenience to our life, since it has become the most important communication channel. However, now this merit is threatened by complicated network-based attacks, such as denial of service (DoS) and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Despite many researchers' efforts, no optimal solution that addresses all sorts of HTTP DoS/DDoS attacks is on offer. Therefore, this research aims to fix this gap by designing an alternative solution called a flexible, collaborative, multilayer, DDoS prevention framework (FCMDPF). The innovative design of the FCMDPF framework handles all aspects of HTTP-based DoS/DDoS attacks through the following three subsequent framework's schemes (layers). Firstly, an outer blocking (OB) scheme blocks attacking IP source if it is listed on the black list table. Secondly, the service traceback oriented architecture (STBOA) scheme is to validate whether the incoming request is launched by a human or by an automated tool. Then, it traces back the true attacking IP source. Thirdly, the flexible advanced entropy based (FAEB) scheme is to eliminate high rate DDoS (HR-DDoS) and flash crowd (FC) attacks. Compared to the previous researches, our framework's design provides an efficient protection for web applications against all sorts of DoS/DDoS attacks. PMID:26065015

The influence of weather on migraine – are migraine attacks predictable?

PubMed Central

Hoffmann, Jan; Schirra, Tonio; Lo, Hendra; Neeb, Lars; Reuter, Uwe; Martus, Peter

2015-01-01

Objective The study aimed at elucidating a potential correlation between specific meteorological variables and the prevalence and intensity of migraine attacks as well as exploring a potential individual predictability of a migraine attack based on meteorological variables and their changes. Methods Attack prevalence and intensity of 100 migraineurs were correlated with atmospheric pressure, relative air humidity, and ambient temperature in 4-h intervals over 12 consecutive months. For each correlation, meteorological parameters at the time of the migraine attack as well as their variation within the preceding 24 h were analyzed. For migraineurs showing a positive correlation, logistic regression analysis was used to assess the predictability of a migraine attack based on meteorological information. Results In a subgroup of migraineurs, a significant weather sensitivity could be observed. In contrast, pooled analysis of all patients did not reveal a significant association. An individual prediction of a migraine attack based on meteorological data was not possible, mainly as a result of the small prevalence of attacks. Interpretation The results suggest that only a subgroup of migraineurs is sensitive to specific weather conditions. Our findings may provide an explanation as to why previous studies, which commonly rely on a pooled analysis, show inconclusive results. The lack of individual attack predictability indicates that the use of preventive measures based on meteorological conditions is not feasible. PMID:25642431

HEALTH CARE PERSONNEL AND WORKPLACE VIOLENCE IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS OF A VOLATILE METROPOLIS: RESULTS FROM KARACHI, PAKISTAN

PubMed Central

Zafar, Waleed; Siddiqui, Emaduddin; Ejaz, Kiran; Shehzad, Muhammad Umer; Khan, Uzma Rahim; Jamali, Seemin; Razzak, Junaid A.

2015-01-01

Background Workplace violence (WPV) is an important challenge faced by health care personnel in the emergency department (ED). Study Objectives To determine the prevalence and nature of WPV reported by physicians and nurses working in the EDs of four of the largest tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan and to understand the mental health impact of experiencing WPV. Methods This cross-sectional survey was conducted between September and November 2008 using a widely used questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization. Overall, 266 (86% response rate) questionnaires were included in this study. Results A total of 44 (16.5%) physicians and nurses said they had been physically attacked, and 193 (72.5%) said that they had experienced verbal abuse in the last 12 months. Among those who reported physical attack, 29.6% reported that the last incident involved a weapon, and in 64% of cases the attacker was a patient’s relative. Eighty-six percent thought that the last attack could have been prevented, and 64% said that no action was taken against the attacker. After adjusting for covariates, physicians were less likely than nurses to report physical attack (odds ratio [OR] 0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.2–1.0), and personnel with greater work experience (OR 4.8; 95% CI 2.0–11.7) and those who said that there were procedures to report WPV in their workplace (OR 3.2; 95% CI 1.6–6.5) were more likely to report verbal abuse. WPV was associated with mental health effects in the form of bothersome memories, super-alertness, and feelings of avoidance and futility. Conclusion WPV is an important challenge in the EDs of large hospitals in Karachi. A majority of respondents feel that WPV is preventable, but only a minority of attackers face consequences. PMID:24011477

Efficacy of a Community-Based Physical Activity Program KM2H2 for Stroke and Heart Attack Prevention among Senior Hypertensive Patients: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Phase-II Trial

PubMed Central

Gong, Jie; Chen, Xinguang; Li, Sijian

2015-01-01

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of the program Keep Moving toward Healthy Heart and Healthy Brain (KM2H2) in encouraging physical activities for the prevention of heart attack and stroke among hypertensive patients enrolled in the Community-Based Hypertension Control Program (CBHCP). Design Cluster randomized controlled trial with three waves of longitudinal assessments at baseline, 3 and 6 months post intervention. Setting Community-based and patient-centered self-care for behavioral intervention in urban settings of China. Participants A total of 450 participants diagnosed with hypertension from 12 community health centers in Wuhan, China were recruited, and were randomly assigned by center to receive either KM2H2 plus standard CBHCP care (6 centers and 232 patients) or the standard care only (6 centers and 218 patients). Intervention KM2H2 is a behavioral intervention guided by the Transtheoretical Model, the Model of Personalized Medicine and Social Capital Theory. It consists of six intervention sessions and two booster sessions engineered in a progressive manner. The purpose is to motivate and maintain physical activities for the prevention of heart attack and stroke. Outcome Measures Heart attack and stroke (clinically diagnosed, primary outcome), blood pressure (measured, secondary outcome), and physical activity (self-report, tertiary outcome) were assessed at the individual level during the baseline, 3- and 6-month post-intervention. Results Relative to the standard care, receiving KM2H2 was associated with significant reductions in the incidence of heart attack (3.60% vs. 7.03%, p < .05) and stroke (5.11% vs. 9.90%, p<0.05), and moderate reduction in blood pressure (-3.72mmHg in DBP and -2.92 mmHg in DBP) at 6-month post-intervention; and significant increases in physical activity at 3- (d = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.85) and 6-month (d = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.85) post-intervention, respectively. Conclusion The program KM2H2 is efficacious to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke among senior patients who are on anti-hypertensive medication. Findings of this study provide solid data supporting a formal phase-III trial to establish the effectiveness of KM2H2 for use in community settings for prevention. Trial Registration ISRCTN Register ISRCTN12608966 PMID:26426421

Subclinical endophthalmitis following a rooster attack.

PubMed

Lekse Kovach, Jaclyn; Maguluri, Srilakshmi; Recchia, Franco M

2006-12-01

Ocular injury resulting from rooster attacks is rarely reported in the literature. Sadly, the target of these attacks is most often children younger than 3 years old, whose naiveté of the aggressive, territorial behavior of birds can place them at risk. Acute sequelae of these attacks can result in a lifetime of visual impairment. The possibility of a subacute or occult infection is an unusual occurrence that must always be considered. In an effort to prevent future attacks and ocular casualties, we present a case of a 12-month-old boy who suffered an open globe following a rooster attack. The open globe was emergently repaired. One week later, a white cataract was noticed on examination in the absence of systemic or ocular signs of inflammation. Traumatic endophthalmitis and lenticular abscess were suspected during examination under anesthesia. Vitrectomy, lensectomy, and injection of intravitreal antibiotics were performed. Culture of lenticular and vitreous aspirates grew alpha-streptococcus. Alpha-streptococcal endophthalmitis can result from ocular injuries caused by rooster pecking. The infection may present insidiously and without typical ocular or systemic symptoms or signs. Management is challenging and may require surgery.

The Study of Counterterrorism Mechanisms in Taiwan

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

system on preventing natural disasters . It was not until after the 9/11 attack that Japan began to face squarely the threats of terrorist attacks...investigate suspects and their lawyers could provide testimony to the federal jury. After the 9/11 incident, Congress revised the Act several times, and it...announced, which emphasizes “natural disasters ” as a threat to the homeland security environment.63 After Hurricane Katrina, besides the original

Insider Threat: Preventing Direct Action Attacks Within the United States Army

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-09

violence within the United States, this study focused solely on cases where a US Army Soldier attacked fellow Soldiers. For the purposes of this study ...chapters will examine Army doctrine and two case studies , in detail. The conclusion of this project will provide recommendations on improved... study specifically on insider threats pertaining to targeted violence, this literature review does not include information pertaining to cases

Achieving Homeland Security in a Time of Diminishing Resources

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-08

and merged over 22 federal agencies and programs under the DHS umbrella. The overall mission of DHS is to enact “ a concerted national effort to ensure... A concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States; reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, major disasters...activity or effort performed to protect a nation against attack or other threats National Security. Requirement to maintain the survival of the state

Safe2Tell[R]: An Anonymous, 24/7 Reporting System for Preventing School Violence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Payne, Susan R. T.; Elliott, Delbert S.

2011-01-01

There is widespread agreement that many school shootings could be prevented if authorities were informed that a student was planning or preparing to carry out an attack. A universal problem is that young people are highly reluctant to report on their peers. This code of silence represents a major barrier to prevention efforts. In response to the…

Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation for secondary prevention after transient ischemic attack or mild stroke: I: feasibility and risk factors.

PubMed

Prior, Peter L; Hachinski, Vladimir; Unsworth, Karen; Chan, Richard; Mytka, Sharon; O'Callaghan, Christina; Suskin, Neville

2011-11-01

Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (CCR), which integrates structured lifestyle interventions and medications, reduces morbidity and mortality among cardiac patients. CCR has not typically been used with cerebrovascular populations, despite important commonalities with heart patients. We tested feasibility and effectiveness of 6-month outpatient CCR for secondary prevention after transient ischemic attack or mild, nondisabling stroke. This article presents risk factors. A future article will discuss psychological outcomes. Consecutive consenting subjects having sustained a transient ischemic attack or mild, nondisabling stroke within the previous 12 months (mean, 11.5 weeks; event-to-CCR entry) with ≥1 vascular risk factor, were recruited from a stroke prevention clinic providing usual care. We measured 6-month CCR outcomes following a prospective cohort design. Of 110 subjects recruited from January 2005 to April 2006, 100 subjects (mean age, 64.9 years; 46 women) entered and 80 subjects completed CCR. We obtained favorable, significant intake-to-exit changes in: aerobic capacity (+31.4%; P<0.001), total cholesterol (-0.30 mmol/L; P=0.008), total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (-11.6%; P<0.001), triglycerides (-0.27 mmol/L; P=0.003), waist circumference (-2.44 cm; P<0.001), body mass index (-0.53 kg/m(2); P=0.003), and body weight (-1.43 kg; P=0.001). Low-density lipoprotein (-0.24 mmol/L), high-density lipoprotein (+0.06 mmol/L), systolic (-3.21 mm Hg) and diastolic (-2.34 mm Hg) blood pressure changed favorably, but nonsignificantly. A significant shift toward nonsmoking occurred (P=0.008). Compared with intake, 11 more individuals (25.6% increase) finished CCR in the lowest-mortality risk category of the Duke Treadmill Score (P<0.001). CCR is feasible and effective for secondary prevention after transient ischemic attack or mild, nondisabling stroke, offering a promising model for vascular protection across chronic disease entities. We know of no similar previous investigation, and are now conducting a randomized trial.

Health-Related Quality of Life with Subcutaneous C1-Inhibitor for Prevention of Attacks of Hereditary Angioedema.

PubMed

Lumry, William R; Craig, Timothy; Zuraw, Bruce; Longhurst, Hilary; Baker, James; Li, H Henry; Bernstein, Jonathan A; Anderson, John; Riedl, Marc A; Manning, Michael E; Keith, Paul K; Levy, Donald S; Caballero, Teresa; Banerji, Aleena; Gower, Richard G; Farkas, Henriette; Lawo, John-Philip; Pragst, Ingo; Machnig, Thomas; Watson, Douglas J

2018-01-31

Hereditary angioedema with C1-inhibitor deficiency (C1-INH-HAE) impairs health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The objective of this study was to assess HRQoL outcomes in patients self-administering subcutaneous C1-INH (C1-INH[SC]; HAEGARDA) for routine prevention of HAE attacks. Post hoc analysis of data from the placebo-controlled, crossover phase III COMPACT study (Clinical Studies for Optimal Management of Preventing Angioedema with Low-Volume Subcutaneous C1-Inhibitor Replacement Therapy). Ninety patients with C1-INH-HAE were randomized to 1 of 4 treatment sequences: C1-INH(SC) 40 or 60 IU/kg twice weekly for 16 weeks, preceded or followed by 16 weeks of twice weekly placebo injections. All HAE attacks were treated with open-label on-demand treatment as necessary. HRQoL assessments at week 14 (last visit) included the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions Questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI), and the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM). Compared with placebo (on-demand treatment alone), treatment with twice weekly C1-INH(SC) (both doses combined) was associated with better EQ-5D visual analog scale general health, less HADS anxiety, less WPAI presenteeism, work productivity loss, and activity impairment, and greater TSQM effectiveness and overall treatment satisfaction. More patients self-reported a "good/excellent" response during routine prevention with C1-INH(SC) compared with on-demand only (placebo prophylaxis) management. For each HRQoL measure, a greater proportion of patients had a clinically meaningful improvement during C1-INH(SC) treatment compared with placebo. In patients with frequent HAE attacks, a treatment strategy of routine prevention with self-administered twice weekly C1-INH(SC) had a greater impact on improving multiple HAE-related HRQoL impairments, most notably anxiety and work productivity, compared with on-demand treatment alone (placebo prophylaxis). Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cybersecurity for distributed energy resources and smart inverters

DOE PAGES

Qi, Junjian; Hahn, Adam; Lu, Xiaonan; ...

2016-12-01

The increased penetration of distributed energy resources (DER) will significantly increase the number of devices that are owned and controlled by consumers and third parties. These devices have a significant dependency on digital communication and control, which presents a growing risk from cyber attacks. This paper proposes a holistic attack-resilient framework to protect the the integrated DER and the critical power grid infrastructure from malicious cyber attacks, helping ensure the secure integration of DER without harming the grid reliability and stability. Specifically, we discuss the architecture of the cyber-physical power system with a high penetration of DER and analyze themore » unique cybersecurity challenges introduced by DER integration. Next, we summarize important attack scenarios against DER, propose a systematic DER resilience analysis methodology, and develop effective and quantifiable resilience metrics and design principles. Lastly, we introduce attack prevention, detection, and response measures specifically designed for DER integration across cyber, physical device, and utility layers of the future smart grid.« less

Network traffic intelligence using a low interaction honeypot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nyamugudza, Tendai; Rajasekar, Venkatesh; Sen, Prasad; Nirmala, M.; Madhu Viswanatham, V.

2017-11-01

Advancements in networking technology have seen more and more devices becoming connected day by day. This has given organizations capacity to extend their networks beyond their boundaries to remote offices and remote employees. However as the network grows security becomes a major challenge since the attack surface also increases. There is need to guard the network against different types of attacks like intrusion and malware through using different tools at different networking levels. This paper describes how network intelligence can be acquired through implementing a low-interaction honeypot which detects and track network intrusion. Honeypot allows an organization to interact and gather information about an attack earlier before it compromises the network. This process is important because it allows the organization to learn about future attacks of the same nature and allows them to develop counter measures. The paper further shows how honeypot-honey net based model for interruption detection system (IDS) can be used to get the best valuable information about the attacker and prevent unexpected harm to the network.

Cybersecurity for distributed energy resources and smart inverters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qi, Junjian; Hahn, Adam; Lu, Xiaonan

The increased penetration of distributed energy resources (DER) will significantly increase the number of devices that are owned and controlled by consumers and third parties. These devices have a significant dependency on digital communication and control, which presents a growing risk from cyber attacks. This paper proposes a holistic attack-resilient framework to protect the the integrated DER and the critical power grid infrastructure from malicious cyber attacks, helping ensure the secure integration of DER without harming the grid reliability and stability. Specifically, we discuss the architecture of the cyber-physical power system with a high penetration of DER and analyze themore » unique cybersecurity challenges introduced by DER integration. Next, we summarize important attack scenarios against DER, propose a systematic DER resilience analysis methodology, and develop effective and quantifiable resilience metrics and design principles. Lastly, we introduce attack prevention, detection, and response measures specifically designed for DER integration across cyber, physical device, and utility layers of the future smart grid.« less

Mobile Web-Based Monitoring and Coaching: Feasibility in Chronic Migraine

PubMed Central

Mak, Sander B; Houtveen, Jan H; Kleiboer, Annet M; van Doornen, Lorenz JP

2007-01-01

Background The Internet can facilitate diary monitoring (experience sampling, ecological momentary assessment) and behavioral coaching. Online digital assistance (ODA) is a generic tool for mobile Web-based use, intended as an adjuvant to face-to-face or Internet-based cognitive behavioral treatment. A current ODA application was designed to support home-based training of behavioral attack prevention in chronic migraine, focusing on the identification of attack precursors and the support of preventive health behaviour. Objective The aim was to establish feasibility of the ODA approach in terms of technical problems and participant compliance, and ODA acceptability on the basis of ratings of user-friendliness, potential burden, and perceived support of the training for behavioral attack prevention in migraine. Methods ODA combines mobile electronic diary monitoring with direct human online coaching of health behavior according to the information from the diary. The diary contains three parts covering the following: (1) migraine headache and medication use, (2) attack precursors, and (3) self-relaxation and other preventive behavior; in addition, menstruation (assessed in the evening diary) and disturbed sleep (assessed in the morning diary) is monitored. The pilot study consisted of two runs conducted with a total of five women with chronic migraine without aura. ODA was tested for 8.5 days (range 4-12 days) per participant. The first test run with three participants tested 4-5 diary prompts per day. The second run with another three participants (including one subject who participated in both runs) tested a reduced prompting scheme (2-3 prompts per day) and minor adaptations to the diary. Online coaching was executed twice daily on workdays. Results ODA feasibility was established on the basis of acceptable data loss (1.2% due to the personal digital assistant; 5.6% due to failing Internet transmission) and good participant compliance (86.8% in the second run). Run 1 revealed some annoyance with the number of prompts per day. Overall ODA acceptability was evident by the positive participant responses concerning user-friendliness, absence of burden, and perceived support of migraine attack prevention. The software was adapted to further increase the flexibility of the application. Conclusions ODA is feasible and well accepted. Tolerability is a sensitive issue, and the balance between benefit and burden must be considered with care. ODA offers a generic tool to combine mobile coaching with diary monitoring,independently of time and space. ODA effects on improvement of migraine remain to be established. PMID:18166526

Review of the Diagnosis and Treatment of Periodic Paralysis

PubMed Central

Fontaine, Bertrand; Hanna, Michael G.; Johnson, Nicholas E.; Kissel, John T.; Sansone, Valeria A.; Shieh, Perry B.; Tawil, Rabi N.; Trivedi, Jaya; Cannon, Stephen C.; Griggs, Robert C.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Periodic paralyses (PPs) are rare neuromuscular disorders caused by mutations in skeletal muscle sodium, calcium, and potassium channel genes. PPs include hypokalemic paralysis, hyperkalemic paralysis, and Andersen‐Tawil syndrome. Common features of PP include autosomal dominant inheritance, onset typically in the first or second decades, episodic attacks of flaccid weakness, which are often triggered by diet or rest after exercise. Diagnosis is based on the characteristic clinic presentation then confirmed by genetic testing. In the absence of an identified genetic mutation, documented low or high potassium levels during attacks or a decrement on long exercise testing support diagnosis. The treatment approach should include both management of acute attacks and prevention of attacks. Treatments include behavioral interventions directed at avoidance of triggers, modification of potassium levels, diuretics, and carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. Muscle Nerve 57: 522–530, 2018 PMID:29125635

Formal Analysis of Key Integrity in PKCS#11

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falcone, Andrea; Focardi, Riccardo

PKCS#11 is a standard API to cryptographic devices such as smarcards, hardware security modules and usb crypto-tokens. Though widely adopted, this API has been shown to be prone to attacks in which a malicious user gains access to the sensitive keys stored in the devices. In 2008, Delaune, Kremer and Steel proposed a model to formally reason on this kind of attacks. We extend this model to also describe flaws that are based on integrity violations of the stored keys. In particular, we consider scenarios in which a malicious overwriting of keys might fool honest users into using attacker's own keys, while performing sensitive operations. We further enrich the model with a trusted key mechanism ensuring that only controlled, non-tampered keys are used in cryptographic operations, and we show how this modified API prevents the above mentioned key-replacement attacks.

Detection of network attacks based on adaptive resonance theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bukhanov, D. G.; Polyakov, V. M.

2018-05-01

The paper considers an approach to intrusion detection systems using a neural network of adaptive resonant theory. It suggests the structure of an intrusion detection system consisting of two types of program modules. The first module manages connections of user applications by preventing the undesirable ones. The second analyzes the incoming network traffic parameters to check potential network attacks. After attack detection, it notifies the required stations using a secure transmission channel. The paper describes the experiment on the detection and recognition of network attacks using the test selection. It also compares the obtained results with similar experiments carried out by other authors. It gives findings and conclusions on the sufficiency of the proposed approach. The obtained information confirms the sufficiency of applying the neural networks of adaptive resonant theory to analyze network traffic within the intrusion detection system.

Ocean enemy's lasting sting: chronic cutaneous reaction after Cnidarian attack.

PubMed

Naumann, D; Hejmadi, R K; Evriviades, D

2013-01-01

Cnidaria stings cause a wide range of cutaneous and systemic symptoms, normally occurring shortly after the venomous insult (1). We report a case of worsening cutaneous reaction over an eight-year period following a Cnidaria attack sustained whilst maritime swimming. The lesion was characterised by severe, ulcerating chronic inflammation that required wide local excision and skin grafting. Prevention and early identification of Cnidaria envenomation is important for those treating maritime swimmers.

Practical Guide for Emergency Crime Prevention and Penal System Alternatives in Crisis Relocation Planning.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-09-01

93117____________ 11. CONTROLLING OFFICE NAMIE AND ADDRESS 12. REPORT DATE Federal Emergency Management Agency 21 September 1982 13. NUMBER OF...relocation is the controlled , orderly evacuation of a community that is a possible target for attack by a foreign power. The concept of crisis...SI s Relocation? Crisis relocation is the controlled , orderly evacuation of a comunity which is considered a possible target for foreign attack

A study of IEEE 802.15.4 security framework for wireless body area networks.

PubMed

Saleem, Shahnaz; Ullah, Sana; Kwak, Kyung Sup

2011-01-01

A Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is a collection of low-power and lightweight wireless sensor nodes that are used to monitor the human body functions and the surrounding environment. It supports a number of innovative and interesting applications, including ubiquitous healthcare and Consumer Electronics (CE) applications. Since WBAN nodes are used to collect sensitive (life-critical) information and may operate in hostile environments, they require strict security mechanisms to prevent malicious interaction with the system. In this paper, we first highlight major security requirements and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks in WBAN at Physical, Medium Access Control (MAC), Network, and Transport layers. Then we discuss the IEEE 802.15.4 security framework and identify the security vulnerabilities and major attacks in the context of WBAN. Different types of attacks on the Contention Access Period (CAP) and Contention Free Period (CFP) parts of the superframe are analyzed and discussed. It is observed that a smart attacker can successfully corrupt an increasing number of GTS slots in the CFP period and can considerably affect the Quality of Service (QoS) in WBAN (since most of the data is carried in CFP period). As we increase the number of smart attackers the corrupted GTS slots are eventually increased, which prevents the legitimate nodes to utilize the bandwidth efficiently. This means that the direct adaptation of IEEE 802.15.4 security framework for WBAN is not totally secure for certain WBAN applications. New solutions are required to integrate high level security in WBAN.

A Study of IEEE 802.15.4 Security Framework for Wireless Body Area Networks

PubMed Central

Saleem, Shahnaz; Ullah, Sana; Kwak, Kyung Sup

2011-01-01

A Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is a collection of low-power and lightweight wireless sensor nodes that are used to monitor the human body functions and the surrounding environment. It supports a number of innovative and interesting applications, including ubiquitous healthcare and Consumer Electronics (CE) applications. Since WBAN nodes are used to collect sensitive (life-critical) information and may operate in hostile environments, they require strict security mechanisms to prevent malicious interaction with the system. In this paper, we first highlight major security requirements and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks in WBAN at Physical, Medium Access Control (MAC), Network, and Transport layers. Then we discuss the IEEE 802.15.4 security framework and identify the security vulnerabilities and major attacks in the context of WBAN. Different types of attacks on the Contention Access Period (CAP) and Contention Free Period (CFP) parts of the superframe are analyzed and discussed. It is observed that a smart attacker can successfully corrupt an increasing number of GTS slots in the CFP period and can considerably affect the Quality of Service (QoS) in WBAN (since most of the data is carried in CFP period). As we increase the number of smart attackers the corrupted GTS slots are eventually increased, which prevents the legitimate nodes to utilize the bandwidth efficiently. This means that the direct adaptation of IEEE 802.15.4 security framework for WBAN is not totally secure for certain WBAN applications. New solutions are required to integrate high level security in WBAN. PMID:22319358

Adaptive cyber-attack modeling system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonsalves, Paul G.; Dougherty, Edward T.

2006-05-01

The pervasiveness of software and networked information systems is evident across a broad spectrum of business and government sectors. Such reliance provides an ample opportunity not only for the nefarious exploits of lone wolf computer hackers, but for more systematic software attacks from organized entities. Much effort and focus has been placed on preventing and ameliorating network and OS attacks, a concomitant emphasis is required to address protection of mission critical software. Typical software protection technique and methodology evaluation and verification and validation (V&V) involves the use of a team of subject matter experts (SMEs) to mimic potential attackers or hackers. This manpower intensive, time-consuming, and potentially cost-prohibitive approach is not amenable to performing the necessary multiple non-subjective analyses required to support quantifying software protection levels. To facilitate the evaluation and V&V of software protection solutions, we have designed and developed a prototype adaptive cyber attack modeling system. Our approach integrates an off-line mechanism for rapid construction of Bayesian belief network (BN) attack models with an on-line model instantiation, adaptation and knowledge acquisition scheme. Off-line model construction is supported via a knowledge elicitation approach for identifying key domain requirements and a process for translating these requirements into a library of BN-based cyber-attack models. On-line attack modeling and knowledge acquisition is supported via BN evidence propagation and model parameter learning.

ACE inhibitors

MedlinePlus

... Diabetes - keeping active Diabetes - low blood sugar - self-care Diabetes - preventing heart attack and stroke Diabetes - taking care of your feet Diabetes - tests and checkups Diabetes - when you are sick ...

Comment on 'Quantum direct communication with authentication'

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Zhan-jun; Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Acquisition and Manipulation of Ministry of Education of China, School of Physics and Material Science, Anhui University, Hefei 230039; Liu, Jun

2007-02-15

Two protocols of quantum direct communication with authentication [Phys. Rev. A 73, 042305 (2006)] were recently proposed by Lee, Lim, and Yang. In this paper we will show that in the two protocols the authenticator Trent should be prevented from knowing the secret message. The first protocol can be eavesdropped on by Trent using the intercept-measure-resend attack, while the second protocol can be eavesdropped on by Trent using a simple single-qubit measurement. To fix these leaks, we revise the original versions of the protocols by using the Pauli Z operation {sigma}{sub z} instead of the original bit-flip operation X. Asmore » a consequence, the attacks we present can be prevented and accordingly the protocol securities are improved.« less

Security attack detection algorithm for electric power gis system based on mobile application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Chao; Feng, Renjun; Wang, Liming; Huang, Wei; Guo, Yajuan

2017-05-01

Electric power GIS is one of the key information technologies to satisfy the power grid construction in China, and widely used in power grid construction planning, weather, and power distribution management. The introduction of electric power GIS based on mobile applications is an effective extension of the geographic information system that has been widely used in the electric power industry. It provides reliable, cheap and sustainable power service for the country. The accurate state estimation is the important conditions to maintain the normal operation of the electric power GIS. Recent research has shown that attackers can inject the complex false data into the power system. The injection attack of this new type of false data (load integrity attack LIA) can successfully bypass the routine detection to achieve the purpose of attack, so that the control center will make a series of wrong decision. Eventually, leading to uneven distribution of power in the grid. In order to ensure the safety of the electric power GIS system based on mobile application, it is very important to analyze the attack mechanism and propose a new type of attack, and to study the corresponding detection method and prevention strategy in the environment of electric power GIS system based on mobile application.

Spatiotemporal Patterns and Predictability of Cyberattacks

PubMed Central

Chen, Yu-Zhong; Huang, Zi-Gang; Xu, Shouhuai; Lai, Ying-Cheng

2015-01-01

A relatively unexplored issue in cybersecurity science and engineering is whether there exist intrinsic patterns of cyberattacks. Conventional wisdom favors absence of such patterns due to the overwhelming complexity of the modern cyberspace. Surprisingly, through a detailed analysis of an extensive data set that records the time-dependent frequencies of attacks over a relatively wide range of consecutive IP addresses, we successfully uncover intrinsic spatiotemporal patterns underlying cyberattacks, where the term “spatio” refers to the IP address space. In particular, we focus on analyzing macroscopic properties of the attack traffic flows and identify two main patterns with distinct spatiotemporal characteristics: deterministic and stochastic. Strikingly, there are very few sets of major attackers committing almost all the attacks, since their attack “fingerprints” and target selection scheme can be unequivocally identified according to the very limited number of unique spatiotemporal characteristics, each of which only exists on a consecutive IP region and differs significantly from the others. We utilize a number of quantitative measures, including the flux-fluctuation law, the Markov state transition probability matrix, and predictability measures, to characterize the attack patterns in a comprehensive manner. A general finding is that the attack patterns possess high degrees of predictability, potentially paving the way to anticipating and, consequently, mitigating or even preventing large-scale cyberattacks using macroscopic approaches. PMID:25992837

Mortality and management of 96 shark attacks and development of a shark bite severity scoring system.

PubMed

Lentz, Ashley K; Burgess, George H; Perrin, Karen; Brown, Jennifer A; Mozingo, David W; Lottenberg, Lawrence

2010-01-01

Humans share a fascination and fear of sharks. We predict that most shark attacks are nonfatal but require skilled, timely medical intervention. The development of a shark bite severity scoring scale will assist communication and understanding of such an injury. We retrospectively reviewed records of the prospectively maintained International Shark Attack File (ISAF) at the University of Florida. The ISAF contains 4409 investigations, including 2979 documented attacks, 96 of which have complete medical records. We developed a Shark-Induced Trauma (SIT) Scale and calculated the level of injury for each attack. Medical records were reviewed for the 96 documented shark attack victims since 1921. Calculated levels of injury in the SIT Scale reveal 40 Level 1 injuries (41.7%), 16 Level 2 injuries (16.7%), 18 Level 3 injuries (18.8%), 14 Level 4 injuries (14.6%), and eight Level 5 injuries (8.3%). The overall mortality of shark attacks was 8.3 per cent. However, SIT Scale Level 1 injuries comprised the greatest percentage of cases at 41.7 per cent. Injury to major vascular structures increases mortality and necessitates immediate medical attention and definitive care by a surgeon. Shark bites deserve recognition with prompt resuscitation, washout, débridement, and follow up for prevention of infection and closure of more complex wounds.

Spatiotemporal patterns and predictability of cyberattacks.

PubMed

Chen, Yu-Zhong; Huang, Zi-Gang; Xu, Shouhuai; Lai, Ying-Cheng

2015-01-01

A relatively unexplored issue in cybersecurity science and engineering is whether there exist intrinsic patterns of cyberattacks. Conventional wisdom favors absence of such patterns due to the overwhelming complexity of the modern cyberspace. Surprisingly, through a detailed analysis of an extensive data set that records the time-dependent frequencies of attacks over a relatively wide range of consecutive IP addresses, we successfully uncover intrinsic spatiotemporal patterns underlying cyberattacks, where the term "spatio" refers to the IP address space. In particular, we focus on analyzing macroscopic properties of the attack traffic flows and identify two main patterns with distinct spatiotemporal characteristics: deterministic and stochastic. Strikingly, there are very few sets of major attackers committing almost all the attacks, since their attack "fingerprints" and target selection scheme can be unequivocally identified according to the very limited number of unique spatiotemporal characteristics, each of which only exists on a consecutive IP region and differs significantly from the others. We utilize a number of quantitative measures, including the flux-fluctuation law, the Markov state transition probability matrix, and predictability measures, to characterize the attack patterns in a comprehensive manner. A general finding is that the attack patterns possess high degrees of predictability, potentially paving the way to anticipating and, consequently, mitigating or even preventing large-scale cyberattacks using macroscopic approaches.

Security Measures to Protect Mobile Agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dadhich, Piyanka; Govil, M. C.; Dutta, Kamlesh

2010-11-01

The security issues of mobile agent systems have embarrassed its widespread implementation. Mobile agents that move around the network are not safe because the remote hosts that accommodate the agents initiates all kinds of attacks. These hosts try to analyze the agent's decision logic and their accumulated data. So, mobile agent security is the most challenging unsolved problems. The paper analyzes various security measures deeply. Security especially the attacks performed by hosts to the visiting mobile agent (the malicious hosts problem) is a major obstacle that prevents mobile agent technology from being widely adopted. Being the running environment for mobile agent, the host has full control over them and could easily perform many kinds of attacks against them.

[Allergology and clinical immunology].

PubMed

Coattrenec, Yann; Harr, Thomas; Chizzolini, Carlo; Jandus, Peter

2018-01-10

Hereditary angioedema (HA) is a disabling and potentially fatal condition. The management of HA includes treatment of acute attacks, short-term prophylaxis to prevent an attack, and long-term prophylaxis to minimize the frequency and severity of recurrent attacks. In this article, we will present new therapeutic alternatives for long term prophylaxis. Glucocorticoids (GC) usage leads to a number of severe side-effects. In giant cell arteritis, the use of tocilizumab in conjunction with low doses of GC reduces the number of relapses. In ANCA-associated vasculitis the use of an anti-C5R (avacopan) alone or in conjunction with low doses of GC results in similar remission rates to those induced by high dose GC.

Quantum key distribution with hacking countermeasures and long term field trial.

PubMed

Dixon, A R; Dynes, J F; Lucamarini, M; Fröhlich, B; Sharpe, A W; Plews, A; Tam, W; Yuan, Z L; Tanizawa, Y; Sato, H; Kawamura, S; Fujiwara, M; Sasaki, M; Shields, A J

2017-05-16

Quantum key distribution's (QKD's) central and unique claim is information theoretic security. However there is an increasing understanding that the security of a QKD system relies not only on theoretical security proofs, but also on how closely the physical system matches the theoretical models and prevents attacks due to discrepancies. These side channel or hacking attacks exploit physical devices which do not necessarily behave precisely as the theory expects. As such there is a need for QKD systems to be demonstrated to provide security both in the theoretical and physical implementation. We report here a QKD system designed with this goal in mind, providing a more resilient target against possible hacking attacks including Trojan horse, detector blinding, phase randomisation and photon number splitting attacks. The QKD system was installed into a 45 km link of a metropolitan telecom network for a 2.5 month period, during which time the system operated continuously and distributed 1.33 Tbits of secure key data with a stable secure key rate over 200 kbit/s. In addition security is demonstrated against coherent attacks that are more general than the collective class of attacks usually considered.

The Challenges of Defense Support of Civil Authorities and Homeland Defense in the Cyber Domain

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-20

Information Grid ( GIG ) against a cyber attack has taken the forefront in national level discussions. The U.S. homeland’s assumed sanctuary against...other U.S. government agencies and key operators within the private sector to detect, deter, prevent, and thwart exploitation of CIKR and the GIG ...CIKR) and the Global Information Grid ( GIG ) against a cyber attack has taken the forefront in national level discussions. The U.S. homeland’s

Minimum Disclosure Counting for the Alternative Vote

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Roland; Buckland, Richard

Although there is a substantial body of work on preventing bribery and coercion of voters in cryptographic election schemes for plurality electoral systems, there are few attempts to construct such schemes for preferential electoral systems. The problem is preferential systems are prone to bribery and coercion via subtle signature attacks during the counting. We introduce a minimum disclosure counting scheme for the alternative vote preferential system. Minimum disclosure provides protection from signature attacks by revealing only the winning candidate.

World at Risk: The Report of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

we brought together a staff of more than two dozen profes- sionals and subject matter experts from across the national security, intelli - gence, and...cities or time-phased attacks (i.e., “reload”). For federal planning purposes, it will be assumed that the Universal Adversary ( UA ) will attack five...that biologists will become terrorists. The last point bears repeating. We accept the validity of intelli - gence estimates about the current

3-Methylcyclohex-2-en-1-one for area and individual tree protection against spruce beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) attack in the southern Rocky Mountains

Treesearch

E. Matthew Hansen; A. Steven Munson; Darren C. Blackford; Andrew D. Graves; Tom W. Coleman; L. Scott Baggett

2017-01-01

We tested 3-methylcyclohex-2-en-1-one (MCH) and an Acer kairomone blend (AKB) as repellent semiochemicals for area and single tree protection to prevent spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis Kirby) attacks at locations in Utah and New Mexico. In the area protection study, we compared host infestation rates of MCH applications at three densities (20, 40, and 80 g MCH...

Modeling and Analyzing Intrusion Attempts to a Computer Network Operating in a Defense in Depth Posture

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-09-01

protection. Firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS’s), Anti-Virus (AV) software , and routers are such tools used. In recent years, computer security...associated with operating systems, application software , and computing hardware. When IDS’s are utilized on a host computer or network, there are two...primary approaches to detecting and / or preventing attacks. Traditional IDS’s, like most AV software , rely on known “signatures” to detect attacks

BFT replication resistant to MAC attacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zbierski, Maciej

2016-09-01

Over the last decade numerous Byzantine fault-tolerant (BFT) replication protocols have been proposed in the literature. However, the vast majority of these solutions reuse the same authentication scheme, which makes them susceptible to a so called MAC attack. Such vulnerability enables malicious clients to undetectably prevent the replicated service from processing incoming client requests, and consequently making it permanently unavailable. While some BFT protocols attempted to address this issue by using different authentication mechanisms, they at the same time significantly degraded the performance achieved in correct environments. This article presents a novel adaptive authentication mechanism which can be combined with practically any Byzantine fault-tolerant replication protocol. Unlike previous solutions, the proposed scheme dynamically switches between two operation modes to combine high performance in correct environments and liveness during MAC attacks. The experiment results presented in the article demonstrate that the proposed mechanism can sufficiently tolerate MAC attacks without introducing any observable overhead whenever no faults are present.

NASA's Research in Aircraft Vulnerability Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Cheryl L.

2005-01-01

Since its inception in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) role in civil aeronautics has been to develop high-risk, high-payoff technologies to meet critical national aviation challenges. Following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, NASA recognized that it now shared the responsibility for improving homeland security. The NASA Strategic Plan was modified to include requirements to enable a more secure air transportation system by investing in technologies and collaborating with other agencies, industry, and academia. NASA is conducting research to develop and advance innovative and commercially viable technologies that will reduce the vulnerability of aircraft to threats or hostile actions, and identify and inform users of potential vulnerabilities in a timely manner. Presented in this paper are research plans and preliminary status for mitigating the effects of damage due to direct attacks on civil transport aircraft. The NASA approach to mitigation includes: preventing loss of an aircraft due to a hit from man-portable air defense systems; developing fuel system technologies that prevent or minimize in-flight vulnerability to small arms or other projectiles; providing protection from electromagnetic energy attacks by detecting directed energy threats to aircraft and on/off-board systems; and minimizing the damage due to high-energy attacks (explosions and fire) by developing advanced lightweight, damage-resistant composites and structural concepts. An approach to preventing aircraft from being used as weapons of mass destruction will also be discussed.

The usual treatment of trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias.

PubMed

Pareja, Juan A; Álvarez, Mónica

2013-10-01

Trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias include cluster headache, paroxysmal hemicrania, and short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection, tearing, and rhinorrhea (SUNCT). Conventional pharmacological therapy can be successful in the majority of trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias patients. Most cluster headache attacks respond to 100% oxygen inhalation, or 6 mg subcutaneous sumatriptan. Nasal spray of sumatriptan (20 mg) or zolmitriptan (5 mg) are recommended as second choice. The bouts can be brought under control by a short course of corticosteroids (oral prednisone: 60-100 mg/day, or intravenous methylprednisolone: 250-500 mg/day, for 5 days, followed by tapering off the dosage), or by long-term prophylaxis with verapamil (at least 240 mg/day). Alternative long-term preventive medications include lithium carbonate (800-1600 mg/day), methylergonovine (0.4-1.2 mg/day), and topiramate (100-200 mg/day). As a rule, paroxysmal hemicrania responds to preventive treatment with indomethacin (75-150 mg/day). A short course of intravenous lidocaine (1-4 mg/kg/hour) can reduce the flow of attacks during exacerbations of SUNCT. Lamotrigine (100-300 mg/day) is the preventive drug of choice for SUNCT. Gabapentin (800-2700 mg/day), topiramate (50-300 mg/day), and carbamazepine (200-1600 mg/day) may be of help. © 2013 American Headache Society.

Naratriptan

MedlinePlus

Naratriptan is used to treat the symptoms of migraine headaches (severe, throbbing headaches that sometimes are accompanied ... that cause pain, nausea, and other symptoms of migraine. Naratriptan does not prevent migraine attacks or reduce ...

Sumatriptan

MedlinePlus

Sumatriptan is used to treat the symptoms of migraine headaches (severe, throbbing headaches that sometimes are accompanied ... that cause pain, nausea, and other symptoms of migraine. Sumatriptan does not prevent migraine attacks or reduce ...

Eletriptan

MedlinePlus

Eletriptan is used to treat the symptoms of migraine headaches (severe throbbing headaches that sometimes are accompanied ... that cause pain, nausea, and other symptoms of migraine. Eletriptan does not prevent migraine attacks or reduce ...

Almotriptan

MedlinePlus

Almotriptan is used to treat the symptoms of migraine headaches (severe, throbbing headaches that sometimes are accompanied ... that cause pain, nausea, and other symptoms of migraine. Almotriptan does not prevent migraine attacks or reduce ...

Rizatriptan

MedlinePlus

Rizatriptan is used to treat the symptoms of migraine headaches (severe, throbbing headaches that sometimes are accompanied ... that cause pain, nausea, and other symptoms of migraine. Rizatriptan does not prevent migraine attacks or reduce ...

Zolmitriptan

MedlinePlus

Zolmitriptan is used to treat the symptoms of migraine headaches (severe throbbing headaches that sometimes are accompanied ... that cause pain, nausea, and other symptoms of migraine. Zolmitriptan does not prevent migraine attacks or reduce ...

Frovatriptan

MedlinePlus

Frovatriptan is used to treat the symptoms of migraine headaches (severe throbbing headaches that sometimes are accompanied ... that cause pain, nausea, and other symptoms of migraine. Frovatriptan does not prevent migraine attacks or reduce ...

Dog bite injuries in children: a preliminary survey.

PubMed

Gandhi, R R; Liebman, M A; Stafford, B L; Stafford, P W

1999-09-01

Dog bite injuries in children are a preventable health problem. To characterize this type of injury, we have undertaken to define demographic criteria and patterns of injury inflicted by dogs in our pediatric population. A retrospective chart review was conducted of pediatric patients with dog bite injuries admitted to a Level I pediatric trauma center from January 1986 through June 1998. Patient demographics, canine characteristics, and hospital patient data were collected and analyzed using the Excel program and appropriate statistical methodology. There were 67 patient records reviewed. Thirty-eight (57%) of the patients were male, and 29 (43%) were female. There were 43 (64%) white children, 22 (33%) African-American children, and 2 (3%) Hispanic children. The average age of the children was 6.2 +/- 4.2 years, with an average weight of 23.3 +/- 13.7 kg. More than half the attacks occurred in the afternoon and 55 per cent of these attacks were documented as "unprovoked" attacks. Thirty-one (46%) of these attacks involved family pets, and 30 (45%) dogs were known to the attacked child. The head and neck was involved in greater than 67 per cent of these injuries. Pit bulls caused 25 per cent of the bite injuries. Large dogs were responsible for 88 per cent of the attacks. Forty-four (66%) patients required operative intervention. Twenty-eight of these patients had multiple anatomical areas injured. There were 44 procedures involving the head and neck, 21 involving extremities, and 6 involving other areas of the body. All patients 5 years of age and under had head and neck injuries. Dog bite injuries requiring admission occur more in male children. Caucasian and African American children were the majority of children affected. The children under 5 years of age suffered the most devastating injuries. More than half of these attacks were not provoked. More than two-thirds of the injuries to these children involved the head and neck. We conclude that effective prevention strategies must stress careful supervision of young children and the family or neighbor's dog, a scenario that may easily lead to complacency and set the stage for a severe injury.

Effects of autogenic training on nitroglycerin-induced headaches.

PubMed

Juhasz, Gabriella; Zsombok, Terezia; Gonda, Xenia; Nagyne, Nora; Modosne, Edit; Bagdy, Gyorgy

2007-03-01

To investigate the prophylactic and acute effects of autogenic training (AT) during a nitroglycerin-induced migraine attack. Thirty female migraineurs (without aura) and 11 controls participated in the study. Of these, 11 migraineurs and 5 controls practiced AT regularly for at least 6 months prior to and during the sublingual nitroglycerin test. Headache intensity and characteristics were recorded with a standardized method. During the nitroglycerin challenge, blood was collected for plasma cortisol determination and blood pressure and pulse rate were recorded. As a long-term preventive treatment, AT significantly decreased the mean headache frequency and intensity (P = .001) compared to the pretreatment period in the migraineurs who regularly practiced AT (n = 11). During the nitroglycerin challenge, AT successfully attenuated the nitroglycerin-induced acute decrease in blood pressure and pulse rate (P = .013; n = 16 AT subjects vs n = 25 non-AT subjects). However, it was not effective in preventing immediate headache (P = .71), did not decrease the frequency of acute migraine attacks (P = .79), and could not alleviate acute migraine pain (P = .78; n = 16 AT subjects vs n = 25 non-AT subjects). Plasma cortisol concentration significantly increased (P = .003) during the acute migraine attack (n = 22), and migraine intensity correlated with plasma cortisol elevations (P < .001; n = 41) and showed a tendency of negative correlation with morning plasma cortisol concentration (P = .08; n = 41). However, AT did not alter plasma cortisol responses (P = .99; n = 16 AT subjects vs n = 25 non-AT subjects). (1) The long-term AT therapy proved to be a significantly effective preventive intervention in migraine sufferers. We hypothesized that this long-term effect of AT is based on modulation of the pain anticipation system, which is strongly correlated with function of the anterior cingulate cortex. (2) We demonstrated that AT could not alter the nitroglycerin-induced acute migraine attacks, which are directly related to the dysfunctional brainstem activation according to previous studies. (3) Our results suggested that there are multiple, complex relationships between cortisol responses and migraine pain, which are possibly mediated by the brain serotonergic system. (4) In addition, our results provide further evidence that nitroglycerin-induced vasodilatation is not directly connected to either immediate headache or delayed migraine attack.

Sodium Oxybate

MedlinePlus

Sodium oxybate is used to prevent attacks of cataplexy (episodes of muscle weakness that begin suddenly and ... urge to sleep during daily activities, and cataplexy). Sodium oxybate is in a class of medications called ...

Vertebrobasilar circulatory disorders

MedlinePlus

... nih.gov/pubmed/26763920 . Kernan WN, Ovbiagele B, Black HR, et al. Guidelines for the prevention of stroke in patients with stroke and transient ischemic attack: a guideline for healthcare professionals from the ...

Blood Transfusion

MedlinePlus

... cells) Plasma and cryoprecipitate Gamma globulin Albumin Blood Irradiation A rare but potentially life-threatening complication of ... who are considered to have impaired immune system. Irradiation prevents white cells from attacking. Red Cell Transfusion ...

Antiplatelet Therapy

MedlinePlus

... platelets from sticking together and forming blood clots. Aspirin is the most common type of antiplatelet medicine. ... are recovering from a heart attack are given aspirin to prevent further blood clots from forming in ...

Lone Actor Terrorist Attack Planning and Preparation: A Data-Driven Analysis.

PubMed

Schuurman, Bart; Bakker, Edwin; Gill, Paul; Bouhana, Noémie

2017-10-23

This article provides an in-depth assessment of lone actor terrorists' attack planning and preparation. A codebook of 198 variables related to different aspects of pre-attack behavior is applied to a sample of 55 lone actor terrorists. Data were drawn from open-source materials and complemented where possible with primary sources. Most lone actors are not highly lethal or surreptitious attackers. They are generally poor at maintaining operational security, leak their motivations and capabilities in numerous ways, and generally do so months and even years before an attack. Moreover, the "loneness" thought to define this type of terrorism is generally absent; most lone actors uphold social ties that are crucial to their adoption and maintenance of the motivation and capability to commit terrorist violence. The results offer concrete input for those working to detect and prevent this form of terrorism and argue for a re-evaluation of the "lone actor" concept. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Forensic Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Management of victims of urban chemical attack: the French approach.

PubMed

Laurent, J F; Richter, F; Michel, A

1999-10-01

Since the early 1980s several disasters involving mass release of toxic substances have focused the attention of different administrations and the fire services into producing protocols and guidelines for action in civilian situations. The bomb attack in the Tokyo subway, in March 1995, made it clear that a terrorist attack using highly toxic agents is now feasible. Management of disasters in the civil sector in France is based upon two interlinked plans: the Red Plan, which covers on-site organisation, and the White Plan, which concerns the interface with hospital services. Special procedures have been developed to adapt the Red and White Plans for use in the event of toxic attack and concern the deployment of emergency responding personnel, the provision of life support and antidotes in the contaminated zone, the prevention of secondary contamination and the transport and reception of victims at the hospital. Based on the established principle of pre-hospital resuscitation and well-tried assistance plans, this doctrine allows a safe and effective response to terrorist attacks as well as to other toxic release incidents.

A Security Analysis on Kempf-Koodli's Security Scheme for Fast Mobile IPv6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

You, Ilsun; Sakurai, Kouichi; Hori, Yoshiaki

Recently, the security scheme, proposed by Kempf and Koodli, has been adopted as a security standard for Fast handover for Mobile IPv6. But, it does not prevent denial of service attacks while resulting in high computation cost. More importantly, we find that it is still vulnerable to redirection attacks because it fails to secure the Unsolicited Neighbor Advertisement messages. In this paper, Kempf-Koodli's scheme is formally analyzed through BAN-logic and its weaknesses are demonstrated.

Striking First: Preemptive and Preventive Attack in U.S. National Security Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh , PA...source of petroleum before a U.S. oil embargo could bring the Japanese war effort in China to its knees .29 Such cases have significant parallels with...anticipation of being attacked are a cen- tral concern in virtually all rules of engagement. 16 Striking First both to serve as a basis for the rest of

Experimental demonstration of counterfactual quantum key distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, M.; Wu, G.; Wu, E.; Zeng, H.

2011-04-01

Counterfactual quantum key distribution provides natural advantage against the eavesdropping on the actual signal particles. It can prevent the photon-number-splitting attack when a weak coherent light source is used for the practical implementation. We experimentally realized the counterfactual quantum key distribution in an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer of 12.5-km-long quantum channel with a high-fringe visibility of 97.4%. According to the security analysis, the system was robust against the photon-number-splitting attack. The article is published in the original.

Statistics attack on `quantum private comparison with a malicious third party' and its improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Jun; Ho, Chih-Yung; Hwang, Tzonelih

2018-02-01

Recently, Sun et al. (Quantum Inf Process:14:2125-2133, 2015) proposed a quantum private comparison protocol allowing two participants to compare the equality of their secrets via a malicious third party (TP). They designed an interesting trap comparison method to prevent the TP from knowing the final comparison result. However, this study shows that the malicious TP can use the statistics attack to reveal the comparison result. A simple modification is hence proposed to solve this problem.

A Clock Fingerprints-Based Approach for Wireless Transmitter Identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Caidan; Xie, Liang; Huang, Lianfen; Yao, Yan

Cognitive radio (CR) was proposed as one of the promising solutions for low spectrum utilization. However, security problems such as the primary user emulation (PUE) attack severely limit its applications. In this paper, we propose a clock fingerprints-based authentication approach to prevent PUE attacks in CR networks with the help of curve fitting and classifier. An experimental setup was constructed using the WLAN cards and software radio devices, and the corresponding results show that satisfied identification can be achieved for wireless transmitters.

Do bark beetle sprays prevent Phloeosinus species from attacking cypress and juniper?

Treesearch

Chris Hayes; Tom DeGomez; Karen Clancy; Joel McMillin; John Anhold

2008-01-01

(Please note, this is an abstract only) Phloeosinus-caused mortality of Arizona cypress, (Cupressus arizonica), oneseed juniper, (Juniperus monosperma) and alligator juniper, (J. deppeana) has been observed at high levels in Arizona during the past 3 years. Currently, there are limited preventative measures to protect high-value cypress and juniper trees against...

Preventing and Profiling Malicious Insider Attacks

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-01

malicious insiders. This research program could also be extended to look at general human factors issues surrounding information security behaviours ... behaviours . This research also draws on corresponding studies into fraud and espionage in non IT scenarios. A range of preventative measures is...This includes motivating factors, personality traits and observable behaviours that may assist organisations in the detection and profiling of

Preventing Children's Posttraumatic Stress after Disaster with Teacher-Based Intervention: A Controlled Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolmer, Leo; Hamiel, Daniel; Laor, Nathaniel

2011-01-01

Objective: The psychological outcomes that the exposure to mass trauma has on children have been amply documented in the past decades. The objective of this study is to describe the effects of a universal, teacher-based preventive intervention implemented with Israeli students before the rocket attacks that occurred during Operation Cast Lead,…

Muscular imbalance and shoulder pain in volleyball attackers.

PubMed Central

Kugler, A; Krüger-Franke, M; Reininger, S; Trouillier, H H; Rosemeyer, B

1996-01-01

OBJECTIVE: In overhead sports such as volleyball, baseball, or tennis shoulder problems are very common. The aim of this study was to identify features which may correlate with shoulder problems in volleyball attackers. METHODS: 30 competitive volleyball attackers (mean age 25 years) were included in the study; 15 were suffering from shoulder pain and 15 had no history of shoulder pain. The results were compared with those of a control group of 15 recreational athletes without any overhead sports activities. RESULTS: Volleyball attackers have a different muscular and capsular pattern at the playing shoulder compared to the opposite shoulder. Their playing shoulder is depressed, the scapula lateralised, and the dorsal muscles and the posterior and inferior part of the shoulder capsule shortened. These differences were of more significance in volleyball attackers with shoulder pain than in volleyball players without shoulder pain. In contrast to recreational athletes without any overhead sports activity, there were no significant difference in the comparison of the two shoulders. The histories, clinical and sonographic findings did not reveal further typical features for volleyball attackers with shoulder pain. CONCLUSIONS: Muscular balance of the shoulder girdle is very important in this sport. It is therefore imperative to include adequate stretching and muscular training programme for the prevention, as well as for therapy, of shoulder pain in volleyball attackers. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 PMID:8889124

Sumatriptan Nasal Spray

MedlinePlus

... spray is used to treat the symptoms of migraine headaches (severe, throbbing headaches that sometimes are accompanied ... that cause pain, nausea, and other symptoms of migraine. Sumatriptan does not prevent migraine attacks or reduce ...

Zolmitriptan Nasal Spray

MedlinePlus

... spray is used to treat the symptoms of migraine headaches (severe, throbbing headaches that sometimes are accompanied ... that cause pain, nausea, and other symptoms of migraine. Zolmitriptan does not prevent migraine attacks or reduce ...

The Radioactive Contamination of Food Following Nuclear Attack

PubMed Central

Massey, E. E.

1967-01-01

The relative radiation hazards from early and delayed fallout following a nuclear attack have been reviewed. It is indicated that the hazard to life from whole-body gamma irradiation from early fallout far outweighs the hazard from radioactive contamination of food. Nevertheless, because of the possible effects of iodine-131, the consumption by infants of fresh milk from animals which have ingested contaminated fodder should be avoided if possible during the first few weeks after attack. During the same period, water from covered supplies should be used in preference to that from open reservoirs. It is more important, however, to alleviate hunger and thirst in both man and animal than to prevent the temporary ingestion of food which may be contaminated by fallout. PMID:6071130

A Probabilistic Risk Mitigation Model for Cyber-Attacks to PMU Networks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mousavian, Seyedamirabbas; Valenzuela, Jorge; Wang, Jianhui

The power grid is becoming more dependent on information and communication technologies. Complex networks of advanced sensors such as phasor measurement units (PMUs) are used to collect real time data to improve the observability of the power system. Recent studies have shown that the power grid has significant cyber vulnerabilities which could increase when PMUs are used extensively. Therefore, recognizing and responding to vulnerabilities are critical to the security of the power grid. This paper proposes a risk mitigation model for optimal response to cyber-attacks to PMU networks. We model the optimal response action as a mixed integer linear programmingmore » (MILP) problem to prevent propagation of the cyber-attacks and maintain the observability of the power system.« less

What is Metabolic Syndrome?

MedlinePlus

... 22, 2012 | News Release NIH launches trial to evaluate anti-inflammatory treatment for preventing heart attacks, strokes, ... and Usage No FEAR Act Grants and Funding Customer Service/Center for Health Information Email Alerts Jobs ...

Tacrolimus Injection

MedlinePlus

... of the transplanted organ by the transplant recipient's immune system) in people who have received kidney, liver, or ... It works by decreasing the activity of the immune system to prevent it from attacking the transplanted organ.

Diabetes - what to ask your doctor - type 2

MedlinePlus

... Diabetes - keeping active Diabetes - low blood sugar - self-care Diabetes - preventing heart attack and stroke Diabetes - taking care of your feet Diabetes - tests and checkups Diabetes - when you are sick ...

Microblogging violent attacks on medical staff in China: a case study of the Longmen County People's Hospital incident.

PubMed

Tian, Jia; Du, Li

2017-05-19

A violent attack on medical staff in Guangdong Province, in which a female doctor at Longmen County People's Hospital (LCPH) was severely injured by a knife-wielding patient, has drawn significant public attention to the phenomenon of hospital violence and initiated discussions on how to resolve violence in hospitals. Social networking sites, such as Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter, have played a role in this public debate. The incident at LCPH provides an opportunity to examine how Weibo has been used in the debate about violence against medical staff in China. Using the Sina Weibo's built-in search tool, we established a dataset of 661 Chinese-language micro-blogs containing the search terms: Longmen ("), doctor ("), and slash (") that were posted between July 15, 2015, the date of the violent incident at LCPH, and August 15, 2015. We performed a content analysis of the micro-blogs to examine: users' demographics, attitudes toward the injured doctor and the attacker, possible reasons for the hospital violence, and proposed measures for preventing doctors from violent incidents. 73.2% of the micro-blogs were sent by individual Weibo users, and 26.8% were posted by organizations. For individual users, around 10.0% described themselves as either doctors or healthcare providers, but users from the legal profession were rarely identified. Moreover, only 3 micro-blogs proposed concrete strategies for preventing hospital violence, and nearly 10.0% of micro-blogs expressed regrets about entering a medical career and attempts to quit medical positions. In general 56.3% of micro-blogs showed sympathy for the injured doctor, while less than 25.0% of micro-blogs explicitly condemned the attacker's behavior. Weibo users played a role in distributing news information about the violent incident at LCPH; however, the legal perspective is inadequately discussed in the debate, and discussion of constructive measures for protecting doctors and preventing hospital violence was rare. Our research suggests that critical challenges for the Chinese health care system will remain or become worse if no effective measures are implemented to prevent hospital violence.

Antiplatelet regimens in the long-term secondary prevention of transient ischaemic attack and ischaemic stroke: an updated network meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Niu, Peng-Peng; Guo, Zhen-Ni; Jin, Hang; Xing, Ying-Qi; Yang, Yi

2016-01-01

Objective To examine the comparative efficacy and safety of different antiplatelet regimens in patients with prior non-cardioembolic ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack. Design Systematic review and network meta-analysis. Data sources As on 31 March 2015, all randomised controlled trials that investigated the effects of antiplatelet agents in the long-term (≥3 months) secondary prevention of non-cardioembolic transient ischaemic attack or ischaemic stroke were searched and identified. Outcome measures The primary outcome measure of efficacy was serious vascular events (non-fatal stroke, non-fatal myocardial infarction and vascular death). The outcome measure of safety was any bleeding. Results A total of 36 randomised controlled trials (82 144 patients) were included. Network meta-analysis showed that cilostazol was significantly more effective than clopidogrel (OR 0.77, 95% credible interval 0.60–0.98) and low-dose (75–162 mg daily) aspirin (0.69, 0.55–0.86) in the prevention of serious vascular events. Aspirin (50 mg daily) plus dipyridamole (400 mg daily) and clopidogrel reduced the risk of serious vascular events compared with low-dose aspirin; however, the difference was not statistically significant. Furthermore, low-dose aspirin was as effective as higher daily doses. Cilostazol was associated with a significantly lower bleeding risk than most of the other regimens. Moreover, aspirin plus clopidogrel was associated with significantly more haemorrhagic events than other regimens. Direct comparisons showed similar results as the network meta-analysis. Conclusions Cilostazol was significantly more effective than aspirin and clopidogrel alone in the long-term prevention of serious vascular events in patients with prior non-cardioembolic ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack. Cilostazol was associated with a significantly lower bleeding risk than low-dose aspirin (75–162 mg daily) and aspirin (50 mg daily) plus dipyridamole (400 mg daily). Low-dose aspirin was as effective as higher daily doses. However, further large, randomised, controlled, head-to-head trials are needed, especially in non-Asian ethnic groups. PMID:26988347

Cholesterol and lifestyle

MedlinePlus

... normal range. These healthy habits may help prevent future heart attacks and other health problems. Eat foods ... with health and disease. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman’s Cecil Medicine . 25th ed. Philadelphia, PA: ...

National Response Framework (NRF)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The NRF establishes a single, comprehensive approach to domestic incident management to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. Built on the National Incident Management System template.

Managing migraine by patient profile: role of frovatriptan.

PubMed

Cady, Roger K; Farmer, Kathleen

2016-01-01

For the last quarter of a century, triptans have been available for acute treatment of migraine but with little guidance on which of the different triptan products to use for which patient or which attack of migraine. In this article, we propose a structured approach to analysis of individual migraine attacks and patient characteristics as a means of defining and optimizing acute intervention. Assessment of patient and attack profiles includes the "5-Ps": pattern, phenotype, patient, pharmacology, and precipitants. Attending to these five components of information can assist in developing an individualized behavioral, pharmacological, and nonpharmacological comprehensive treatment plan for most migraine patients. This clinical approach is then focused on frovatriptan because of its unique molecular signature and potential novel clinical applications. Frovatriptan like all triptans is indicated for acute treatment of migraine but its role has been explored in management of several unique migraine phenotypes. Frovatriptan has the longest half-life of any triptan and consequently is often promoted for acute treatment of migraine of longer duration. It has also been studied as a short-term preventive treatment in women with menstrual-related migraine. Given that 60% of female migraineurs suffer from menstrual-related migraine, this population is the obvious group for continued study. Small studies have also explored frovatriptan's use in treating migraine predicted by premonitory symptoms as a preventive for the headache phase of migraine. By identifying patient and attack profiles, clinicians may effectively determine the viability of frovatriptan as an effective pharmacological intervention for migraine.

Managing migraine by patient profile: role of frovatriptan

PubMed Central

Cady, Roger K; Farmer, Kathleen

2016-01-01

For the last quarter of a century, triptans have been available for acute treatment of migraine but with little guidance on which of the different triptan products to use for which patient or which attack of migraine. In this article, we propose a structured approach to analysis of individual migraine attacks and patient characteristics as a means of defining and optimizing acute intervention. Assessment of patient and attack profiles includes the “5-Ps”: pattern, phenotype, patient, pharmacology, and precipitants. Attending to these five components of information can assist in developing an individualized behavioral, pharmacological, and nonpharmacological comprehensive treatment plan for most migraine patients. This clinical approach is then focused on frovatriptan because of its unique molecular signature and potential novel clinical applications. Frovatriptan like all triptans is indicated for acute treatment of migraine but its role has been explored in management of several unique migraine phenotypes. Frovatriptan has the longest half-life of any triptan and consequently is often promoted for acute treatment of migraine of longer duration. It has also been studied as a short-term preventive treatment in women with menstrual-related migraine. Given that 60% of female migraineurs suffer from menstrual-related migraine, this population is the obvious group for continued study. Small studies have also explored frovatriptan’s use in treating migraine predicted by premonitory symptoms as a preventive for the headache phase of migraine. By identifying patient and attack profiles, clinicians may effectively determine the viability of frovatriptan as an effective pharmacological intervention for migraine. PMID:27103792

Socioeconomic burden of hereditary angioedema: results from the hereditary angioedema burden of illness study in Europe.

PubMed

Aygören-Pürsün, Emel; Bygum, Anette; Beusterien, Kathleen; Hautamaki, Emily; Sisic, Zlatko; Wait, Suzanne; Boysen, Henrik B; Caballero, Teresa

2014-07-04

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) due to C1 inhibitor deficiency is a rare but serious and potentially life-threatening disease marked by spontaneous, recurrent attacks of swelling. The study objective was to characterize direct and indirect resource utilization associated with HAE from the patient perspective in Europe. The study was conducted in Spain, Germany, and Denmark to assess the real-world experience of HAE via a cross-sectional survey of HAE patients, including direct and indirect resource utilization during and between attacks for patients and their caregivers over the past 6 months. A regression model examined predictors of medical resource utilization. Overall, 164 patients had an attack in the past 6 months and were included in the analysis. The most significant predictor of medical resource utilization was the severity of the last attack (OR 2.6; p < 0.001). Among patients who sought medical care during the last attack (23%), more than half utilized the emergency department. The last attack prevented patients from their normal activities an average of 4-12 hours. Patient and caregiver absenteeism increased with attack severity and frequency. Among patients who were working or in school (n = 120), 72 provided work/school absenteeism data, resulting in an estimated 20 days missing from work/school on average per year; 51% (n = 84) indicated that HAE has hindered their career/educational advancement. HAE poses a considerable burden on patients and their families in terms of direct medical costs and indirect costs related to lost productivity. This burden is substantial at the time of attacks and in between attacks.

3-Methylcyclohex-2-en-1-one for area and individual tree protection against spruce beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) attack in the southern Rocky Mountains.

PubMed

Hansen, E Matthew; Munson, A Steven; Blackford, Darren C; Graves, Andrew D; Coleman, Tom W; Baggett, L Scott

2017-10-01

We tested 3-methylcyclohex-2-en-1-one (MCH) and an Acer kairomone blend (AKB) as repellent semiochemicals for area and single tree protection to prevent spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis Kirby) attacks at locations in Utah and New Mexico. In the area protection study, we compared host infestation rates of MCH applications at three densities (20, 40, and 80 g MCH ha-1) against a control treatment over 0.64 ha plots centered within ~1.25 ha treatment blocks. All treatments included two baited funnel traps within the plot to assure spruce beetle pressure. Following beetle attack, plots were surveyed for new spruce beetle attacks and to quantify stand characteristics. The probability of more severe spruce beetle attacks was significantly reduced, by ~50%, in each of the MCH area treatments compared with the control treatment but there was no significant treatment difference among the MCH deployment densities. For the single tree protection study, we compared attack rates of MCH, Acer kairomone blend (AKB), and MCH plus AKB on spruce beetle-baited trees against bait-only trees. Each treatment was applied over a range of host diameters to test for host size effects. Seventy-five percent of control trees were mass-attacked, about one-third of MCH- and AKB-alone spruce was mass-attacked, and no MCH plus AKB spruce were mass-attacked. These results suggest that MCH alone is a marginal area and single tree protectant against spruce beetle but that deployment with other repellents can significantly increase treatment efficacy. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2017. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

Socioeconomic burden of hereditary angioedema: results from the hereditary angioedema burden of illness study in Europe

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Hereditary angioedema (HAE) due to C1 inhibitor deficiency is a rare but serious and potentially life-threatening disease marked by spontaneous, recurrent attacks of swelling. The study objective was to characterize direct and indirect resource utilization associated with HAE from the patient perspective in Europe. Methods The study was conducted in Spain, Germany, and Denmark to assess the real-world experience of HAE via a cross-sectional survey of HAE patients, including direct and indirect resource utilization during and between attacks for patients and their caregivers over the past 6 months. A regression model examined predictors of medical resource utilization. Results Overall, 164 patients had an attack in the past 6 months and were included in the analysis. The most significant predictor of medical resource utilization was the severity of the last attack (OR 2.6; p < 0.001). Among patients who sought medical care during the last attack (23%), more than half utilized the emergency department. The last attack prevented patients from their normal activities an average of 4–12 hours. Patient and caregiver absenteeism increased with attack severity and frequency. Among patients who were working or in school (n = 120), 72 provided work/school absenteeism data, resulting in an estimated 20 days missing from work/school on average per year; 51% (n = 84) indicated that HAE has hindered their career/educational advancement. Conclusion HAE poses a considerable burden on patients and their families in terms of direct medical costs and indirect costs related to lost productivity. This burden is substantial at the time of attacks and in between attacks. PMID:24996814

Public knowledge of heart attack in a Nepalese population survey.

PubMed

Limbu, Yuba R; Malla, Rabi; Regmi, Shyam R; Dahal, Ramesh; Nakarmi, Hari L; Yonzan, Ganesh; Gartaula, Ritu P

2006-01-01

Limited knowledge of heart attack symptoms may prevent patients from seeking time-dependent thrombolytic therapy, an intervention that offers impressive survival benefit. Previous studies carried out in developed countries demonstrated a deficit of knowledge about a wide range of heart attack symptoms. The aim of this study was to describe knowledge of heart attack, knowledge of heart attack symptoms, and anticipated first response to symptoms among the lay public in Nepal. A total of 1192 participants (657 men and 535 women age 16 to 88 years old) were interviewed in a cross-sectional manner. Those <16 years of age, all health professionals, and individuals with a history of heart attack were excluded. A total of 862 (72.3%) participants had heard of heart attack. Significantly more male than female participants had heard of heart attack (P <.001). Of the respondents, 91.7% with >or=10 years of education (ED-2) had heard of heart of attack, whereas only 54% respondents with <10 years of education or who were illiterate (unable to read and write) (ED-1) had heard of heart attack, and in both the male and female populations, a higher percentage of the ED-2 group had heard of heart attack than the ED-1 group (92.6% vs. 60% and 85.6% vs. 49.6%, respectively). A significantly higher number of respondents from 31 to 50 years of age (AGE-2) had heard of heart attack than those 16 to 30 years of age (AGE-1) and those >50 years of age (AGE-3) (P <.001). Among 862 respondents who had heard of heart attack, 21.3% could not name any heart attack symptoms. A total of 16 different heart attack symptoms were named. Fainting or collapsing (48%), chest pain (22.4%), shortness of breath (9%), dizziness (8.4%), palpitations (7.4%), and sweating (7.4%) were the leading symptoms named by respondents. Fainting or collapsing and chest pain and shortness of breath were named more frequently among the ED-2 group respondents and the AGE-3 group men. Only 3.7% could name >or=2 typical heart attack symptoms. A significantly larger number of the ED-2 group named >or=2 typical symptoms than their counterparts (P <0.001). A large number (77.6%) of respondents preferred immediate hospital referral and/or doctor consultation after a heart attack. In Nepal, better-educated men are more aware of heart attack. Fainting or collapsing and chest pain and shortness of breath were leading heart attack symptoms named by the general population. Public heart attack awareness is not adequate and knowledge of wide range of heart attack symptoms is deficient in the Nepalese general population.

Fatal dog attacks, 1989-1994.

PubMed

Sacks, J J; Lockwood, R; Hornreich, J; Sattin, R W

1996-06-01

To update data on fatal dog bites and see if past trends have continued. To merge data from vital records, the Humane Society of the United States, and searches of electronic news files. United States. U.S. residents dying in the U.S. from 1989 through 1994 from dog bites. We identified 109 dog bite-related fatalities, of which 57% were less than 10 years of age. The death rate for neonates was two orders of magnitude higher than for adults and the rate for children one order of magnitude higher. Of classifiable deaths, 22% involved an unrestrained dog off the owner's property, 18% involved a restrained dog on the owner's property, and 59% involved an unrestrained dog on the owner's property. Eleven attacks involved a sleeping infant; 19 dogs involved in fatal attacks had a prior history of aggression; and 19 of 20 classifiable deaths involved an unneutered dog. Pit bulls, the most commonly reported breed, were involved in 24 deaths; the next most commonly reported breeds were rottweilers (16) and German shepherds (10). The dog bite problem should be reconceptualized as a largely preventable epidemic. Breed-specific approaches to the control of dog bites do not address the issue that many breeds are involved in the problem and that most of the factors contributing to dog bites are related to the level of responsibility exercised by dog owners. To prevent dog bite-related deaths and injuries, we recommend public education about responsible dog ownership and dog bite prevention, stronger animal control laws, better resources for enforcement of these laws, and better reporting of bites. Anticipatory guidance by pediatric health care providers should address dog bite prevention.

Multi-constituent cardiovascular pills (MCCP)--challenges and promises of population-based prophylactic drug therapy for prevention of heart attack.

PubMed

Jamieson, Michael J; Naghavi, Morteza

2007-01-01

Risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) are highly co-prevalent but poorly identified and treated. The Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education (SHAPE) Task Force from the Association for Eradication of Heart Attack (AEHA) has recently proposed a new strategy that recommends screening for subclinical atherosclerosis and implementing aggressive treatment of "vulnerable patients". The Task Force has also envisioned future developments that may shift mass screening strategies to mass prophylactic therapy. The "Polypill" concept, introduced by Wald and Law suggests a combination of statin, low-dose antihypertensives, aspirin and folic acid, in a single pill, taken prophylactically by high risk population can cut CVD event rates by as much as 80%. In this communication, we review the challenges and promises of such a strategy. "Polypill" is but one of an astronomical number of possible multiconstituent pills (MCCP). Attractive as the MCCP concept is, it lacks evidence from randomized controlled trials, and begs numerous questions about the credibility of the concept, the design and synthesis of such complex pills, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, bioequivalence, "class" vs. unique properties, interactions, evidence of clinical efficacy and safety, regulatory approval, post-marketing surveillance, prescription vs. over-the-counter use, responsibility for initiating and monitoring therapy, patient education, counterfeiting and importation, reimbursement, advertisement, patent protection, commercial viability, etc. If these issues are favorably addressed, MCCP stand to dramatically change the manner in which CVD is prevented particularly in developing societies. Notwithstanding, assuming low commercial interests, realizing the promises of MCCP will demand serious attention from national public health policymakers. The clinical and regulatory implications of population-based secondary prevention (which rely on a different evidence base, and in which entirely different risk-benefit and cost-effectiveness considerations apply) remain issues for active debate.

Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Stroke

PubMed Central

Meschia, James F.; Bushnell, Cheryl; Boden-Albala, Bernadette; Braun, Lynne T.; Bravata, Dawn M.; Chaturvedi, Seemant; Creager, Mark A.; Eckel, Robert H.; Elkind, Mitchell S.V.; Fornage, Myriam; Goldstein, Larry B.; Greenberg, Steven M.; Horvath, Susanna E.; Iadecola, Costantino; Jauch, Edward C.; Moore, Wesley S.; Wilson, John A.

2016-01-01

The aim of this updated statement is to provide comprehensive and timely evidence-based recommendations on the prevention of stroke among individuals who have not previously experienced a stroke or transient ischemic attack. Evidence-based recommendations are included for the control of risk factors, interventional approaches to atherosclerotic disease of the cervicocephalic circulation, and antithrombotic treatments for preventing thrombotic and thromboembolic stroke. Further recommendations are provided for genetic and pharmacogenetic testing and for the prevention of stroke in a variety of other specific circumstances, including sickle cell disease and patent foramen ovale. PMID:25355838

Evaluation of general-use insecticides for preventing host colonization by New Jersey southern pine beetles.

Treesearch

Brian Strom; W.K. Oldland; J.R. Meeker; J. Dunn

2015-01-01

Four general-use insecticides (Astro, Onyx, Dominion Tree & Shrub, and Xytect 2F) were evaluated for their effectiveness at preventing attacks by the southern pine beetle (SPB) (Dendroctonus frontalis) and the small southern pine engraver (Ips avulsus) using a previously developed small-bolt method. Evaluations were conducted between 58 and 126 days post treatment...

Characteristics of Student Assistance and Prevention Counseling Programs in Response to Environmental Impacts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corrigan, Matthew J.; Videka, Lynn; Loneck, Barry; Newman, Lucy J.; Rajendran, Kushmand

2014-01-01

The impacts of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, were observed in Student Assistance and Prevention Counseling programs in New York schools. Methods: A mixed-method study of programs across the state, consisting of interviews (N = 14) and record reviews (N = 407), was conducted in New York State in 2002. Standardized state forms were used…

Secure Cluster Head Sensor Elections Using Signal Strength Estimation and Ordered Transmissions

PubMed Central

Wang, Gicheol; Cho, Gihwan

2009-01-01

In clustered sensor networks, electing CHs (Cluster Heads) in a secure manner is very important because they collect data from sensors and send the aggregated data to the sink. If a compromised node is elected as a CH, it can illegally acquire data from all the members and even send forged data to the sink. Nevertheless, most of the existing CH election schemes have not treated the problem of the secure CH election. Recently, random value based protocols have been proposed to resolve the secure CH election problem. However, these schemes cannot prevent an attacker from suppressing its contribution for the change of CH election result and from selectively forwarding its contribution for the disagreement of CH election result. In this paper, we propose a modified random value scheme to prevent these disturbances. Our scheme dynamically adjusts the forwarding order of contributions and discards a received contribution when its signal strength is lower than the specified level to prevent these malicious actions. The simulation results have shown that our scheme effectively prevents attackers from changing and splitting an agreement of CH election result. Also, they have shown that our scheme is relatively energy-efficient than other schemes. PMID:22408550

Update on security plans to prevent bioterrorism attacks during agricultural bacilli programs

Treesearch

Robert A. Fusco

2003-01-01

In the aftermath of September 11, security in aerial application suppression programs utilizing Bacillus thuringiensis has become a critical concern for State pest control managers and aerial applicators.

Piloted simulator evaluation of a relaxed static stability fighter at high angle-of-attack

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lapins, M.; Klein, R. W.; Martorella, R. P.; Cangelosi, J.; Neely, W. R., Jr.

1982-01-01

A piloted simulator evaluation of the stability and control characteristics of a relaxed static stability fighter aircraft was conducted using a differential maneuvering simulator. The primary purpose of the simulation was to evaluate the effectiveness of the limiters in preventing departure from controlled flight. The simulation was conducted in two phases, the first consisting of open-loop point stability evaluations over a range of subsonic flight conditions, the second concentrating on closed-loop tracking of a preprogrammed target in low speed, high angle-of-attack air combat maneuvering. The command limiters were effective in preventing departure from controlled flight while permitting competent levels of sustained maneuvering. Parametric variations during the study included the effects of pitch control power and wing-body static margin. Stability and control issues were clearly shown to impact the configuration design.

Can people with Raynaud's phenomenon travel to high altitude?

PubMed

Luks, Andrew M; Grissom, Colin K; Jean, Dominique; Swenson, Erik R

2009-01-01

To determine whether high altitude travel adversely affects mountain enthusiasts with Raynaud's phenomenon. Volunteers with Raynaud's phenomenon were recruited using announcements disseminated by organizations dedicated to climbing or wilderness travel and Internet discussion boards dedicated to mountain activities to complete an online, anonymous survey. Survey questions addressed demographic variables, aspects of their Raynaud's phenomenon, and features of their mountain activities. Respondents compared experiences with Raynaud's phenomenon between high (>2440 m; 8000 feet) and low elevations and rated agreement with statements concerning their disease and the effects of high altitude. One hundred forty-two people, 98% of whom had primary Raynaud's phenomenon, completed the questionnaire. Respondents spent 5 to 7 days per month at elevations above 2440 m and engaged in 5.4 +/- 2.0 different activities. Eighty-nine percent of respondents engaged in winter sports and only 22% reported changing their mountain activities because of Raynaud's phenomenon. Respondents reported a variety of tactics to prevent and treat Raynaud's attacks, but only 12% used prophylactic medications. Fifteen percent of respondents reported an episode of frostbite following a Raynaud's phenomenon attack at high altitude. There was considerable heterogeneity in participants' perceptions of the frequency, duration, and severity of attacks at high altitude compared to their home elevation. Motivated individuals with primary Raynaud's phenomenon, employing various prevention and treatment strategies, can engage in different activities, including winter sports, at altitudes above 2440 m. Frostbite may be common in this population at high altitude, and care must be taken to prevent its occurrence.

Geographical Assesment of Results from Preventing the Parameter Tampering in a Web Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menemencioğlu, O.; Orak, İ. M.

2017-11-01

The improving usage of internet and attained intensity of usage rate attracts the malicious in around the world. Many preventing systems are offered by researchers with different infrastructures. Very effective preventing system was proposed most recently by the researchers. The previously offered mechanism has prevented the multi-type vulnerabilities after preventing system was put into use. The attack attempts have been recorded. The researchers analysed the results geographically, discussed the obtained results and made some inference of the results. Our assessments show that the geographical findings can be used to retrieve some implication and build an infrastructure which prevents the vulnerabilities by location.

Practical aspects in the management of hypokalemic periodic paralysis

PubMed Central

Levitt, Jacob O

2008-01-01

Management considerations in hypokalemic periodic paralysis include accurate diagnosis, potassium dosage for acute attacks, choice of diuretic for prophylaxis, identification of triggers, creating a safe physical environment, peri-operative measures, and issues in pregnancy. A positive genetic test in the context of symptoms is the gold standard for diagnosis. Potassium chloride is the favored potassium salt given at 0.5–1.0 mEq/kg for acute attacks. The oral route is favored, but if necessary, a mannitol solvent can be used for intravenous administration. Avoidance of or potassium prophylaxis for common triggers, such as rest after exercise, high carbohydrate meals, and sodium, can prevent attacks. Chronically, acetazolamide, dichlorphenamide, or potassium-sparing diuretics decrease attack frequency and severity but are of little value acutely. Potassium, water, and a telephone should always be at a patient's bedside, regardless of the presence of weakness. Perioperatively, the patient's clinical status should be checked frequently. Firm data on the management of periodic paralysis during pregnancy is lacking. Patient support can be found at . PMID:18426576

Investigating the Aftermath of Terror: Fundamental Outcomes, Methodological Choices, and Future Directions.

PubMed

Gradus, Jaimie L; Marx, Brian P; Sloan, Denise M

2016-06-01

Acts of terrorism are becoming increasingly common throughout the world. These events represent a significant public health concern given the associated health consequences. Although it is clear that terrorist attacks have mental and physical health sequelae, the exact nature and prevalence of these consequences are unclear. Epidemiological research can play an important role in better understanding the mental and physical impact of terrorist attacks. In this editorial, we highlight recent epidemiological research on these terrorism-related health outcomes. We also provide suggestions for how future studies can build on the existing literature and describe ways in which epidemiological methods can be harnessed to extend the current literature. Lastly, we offer recommendations on how to best prepare communities for the aftermath of terrorist attacks, highlighting secondary intervention and prevention strategies. Overall, multilevel strategies are needed to adequately cope with the growing rise of terrorist acts, and these strategies will have to be reassessed as the nature of terrorist attacks changes.

Rationale and design of a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study of terutroban 30 mg/day versus aspirin 100 mg/day in stroke patients: the prevention of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events of ischemic origin with terutroban in patients with a history of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (PERFORM) study.

PubMed

Bousser, M G; Amarenco, P; Chamorro, A; Fisher, M; Ford, I; Fox, K; Hennerici, M G; Mattle, H P; Rothwell, P M

2009-01-01

Ischemic stroke is the leading cause of mortality worldwide and a major contributor to neurological disability and dementia. Terutroban is a specific TP receptor antagonist with antithrombotic, antivasoconstrictive, and antiatherosclerotic properties, which may be of interest for the secondary prevention of ischemic stroke. This article describes the rationale and design of the Prevention of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular Events of ischemic origin with teRutroban in patients with a history oF ischemic strOke or tRansient ischeMic Attack (PERFORM) Study, which aims to demonstrate the superiority of the efficacy of terutroban versus aspirin in secondary prevention of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events. The PERFORM Study is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study being carried out in 802 centers in 46 countries. The study population includes patients aged > or =55 years, having suffered an ischemic stroke (< or =3 months) or a transient ischemic attack (< or =8 days). Participants are randomly allocated to terutroban (30 mg/day) or aspirin (100 mg/day). The primary efficacy endpoint is a composite of ischemic stroke (fatal or nonfatal), myocardial infarction (fatal or nonfatal), or other vascular death (excluding hemorrhagic death of any origin). Safety is being evaluated by assessing hemorrhagic events. Follow-up is expected to last for 2-4 years. Assuming a relative risk reduction of 13%, the expected number of primary events is 2,340. To obtain statistical power of 90%, this requires inclusion of at least 18,000 patients in this event-driven trial. The first patient was randomized in February 2006. The PERFORM Study will explore the benefits and safety of terutroban in secondary cardiovascular prevention after a cerebral ischemic event. Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

2013 Dade W. Moeller lecture: medical countermeasures against radiological terrorism.

PubMed

Moulder, John E

2014-08-01

Soon after the 9-11 attacks, politicians and scientists began to question our ability to cope with a large-scale radiological terrorism incident. The outline of what was needed was fairly obvious: the ability to prevent such an attack, methods to cope with the medical consequences, the ability to clean up afterward, and the tools to figure out who perpetrated the attack and bring them to justice. The medical response needed three components: the technology to determine rapidly the radiation doses received by a large number of people, methods for alleviating acute hematological radiation injuries, and therapies for mitigation and treatment of chronic radiation injuries. Research done to date has shown that a realistic medical response plan is scientifically possible, but the regulatory and financial barriers to achieving this may currently be insurmountable.

Quantum hacking on quantum key distribution using homodyne detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jing-Zheng; Kunz-Jacques, Sébastien; Jouguet, Paul; Weedbrook, Christian; Yin, Zhen-Qiang; Wang, Shuang; Chen, Wei; Guo, Guang-Can; Han, Zheng-Fu

2014-03-01

Imperfect devices in commercial quantum key distribution systems open security loopholes that an eavesdropper may exploit. An example of one such imperfection is the wavelength-dependent coupling ratio of the fiber beam splitter. Utilizing this loophole, the eavesdropper can vary the transmittances of the fiber beam splitter at the receiver's side by inserting lights with wavelengths different from what is normally used. Here, we propose a wavelength attack on a practical continuous-variable quantum key distribution system using homodyne detection. By inserting light pulses at different wavelengths, this attack allows the eavesdropper to bias the shot-noise estimation even if it is done in real time. Based on experimental data, we discuss the feasibility of this attack and suggest a prevention scheme by improving the previously proposed countermeasures.

Mitigation of corrosion attack on carbon steel coated cermet alloy in different anion contents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalid, Muhamad Azrin Mohd; Ismail, Azzura

2017-12-01

This research study evaluated the corrosion mechanism attack on carbon steel coated with cermet alloys (WC-9% Ni) in seawater at different sulphate-to-chloride ratios. The four different sulphate-to-chloride ratios were synthesised with the same seawater salinity of 3.5 % and same pH of real seawater. The corrosion tests involved immersion and electrochemical tests. The immersion test is used to determine the cermet coating ability to withstand the corrosion attack based on different ratios of anions present in the seawater at different periods of immersion. The corrosion attack was characterized by optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The aggressive anions present in the seawater influenced the corrosion attack on the cermet coating. For immersion test, results revealed that increasing sulphate more than chloride, increased the weight loss of cermets. The electrochemistry analysis showed that the passive layer forms on cermet coating prevented the material from further corrosion attack. However, due to its porosity, the passive layer collapsed and exposed the material for other corrosion reaction. For electrochemical test, the result shows that the solution with sulphate-to-chloride ratio of 0.14 (real seawater) has the highest corrosion current and Open Circuit Potential (OCP) compared to other solutions (different sulphate-to-chloride ratio). In conclusion, sulfate and chloride show their competition to attack the cermet coating on carbon steel and the higher the amount of chloride present in seawater, the higher the corrosion rate and pits formed on the cermet coating.

Anti-spoofing for display and print attacks on palmprint verification systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanhangad, Vivek; Bhilare, Shruti; Garg, Pragalbh; Singh, Pranjalya; Chaudhari, Narendra

2015-05-01

A number of approaches for personal authentication using palmprint features have been proposed in the literature, majority of which focus on improving the matching performance. However, of late, preventing potential attacks on biometric systems has become a major concern as more and more biometric systems get deployed for wide range of applications. Among various types of attacks, sensor level attack, commonly known as spoof attack, has emerged as the most common attack due to simplicity in its execution. In this paper, we present an approach for detection of display and print based spoof attacks on palmprint verifcation systems. The approach is based on the analysis of acquired hand images for estimating surface re ectance. First and higher order statistical features computed from the distributions of pixel intensities and sub-band wavelet coeefficients form the feature set. A trained binary classifier utilizes the discriminating information to determine if the acquired image is of real hand or a fake one. Experiments are performed on a publicly available hand image dataset, containing 1300 images corresponding to 230 subjects. Experimental results show that the real hand biometrics samples can be substituted by the fake digital or print copies with an alarming spoof acceptance rate as high as 79.8%. Experimental results also show that the proposed spoof detection approach is very effective for discriminating between real and fake palmprint images. The proposed approach consistently achieves over 99% average 10-fold cross validation classification accuracy in our experiments.

Corrosion Embrittlement of Duralumin III Effect of the Previous Treatment of Sheet Material on the Susceptibility to This Type of Corrosion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rawdon, Henry S

1928-01-01

As a result of testing, it was determined that control of the rate of quenching and the avoidance of accelerated aging by heating are the only means of modifying duralumin itself so as to minimize the intercrystalline form of corrosive attack. It is so simple a means that it should be adopted even though it may not completely prevent, but only reduce, this form of corrosive attack. By so doing, the need for protection of the surface is less urgent.

Masked Ballot Voting for Receipt-Free Online Elections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Roland; Buckland, Richard

To prevent bribery and coercion attacks on voters, current online election schemes rely on strong physical assumptions during the election. We introduce Masked Ballot, an online voting scheme that mitigates these attacks while using a more practical assumption: untappable channels are available but only before the election. During the election voters cast ballots over completely public channels without relying on untappable channels, anonymous channels or trusted devices. Masked Ballot performs only the voting part of an election and is designed to integrate with counting schemes that compute the final election result.

Nuclear Attack on U.S. Space-Based Assets: Current Strategy, Policy, Reality, and Implications for the Future.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-06-05

other.46 This can be useful when certain links 70 have been negated through the destruction of a ground station or actual jamming or interference...system is to attack the enemy’s ground station.59 The link segment can be jammed or spoofed60. However, the DoD has nothing in its inventory currently...currently conducted primarily by jamming assets that prevent the enemy use of his systems. These systems are classified and can only be discussed in

EPA Healthy Heart Program Webinar

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA is raising awareness of heart disease and its link to air pollution and other environmental factors as a partner in the Million Hearts, a national initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017.

EPA Science Matters: February 13, 2018

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

February is American Heart Month. EPA is raising awareness of heart disease and its link to air pollution and other environmental factors as a partner in Million Hearts, a national initiative to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Risk assessment and prioritization

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-01-01

The first step to take in order to prevent and minimize the dangers of disasters or attacks, is risk assessment, followed closely by prioritization. This article discusses key vulnerability and risk assessment that Volpe Center has conducted in suppo...

Aspirin to Prevent a First Heart Attack or Stroke

MedlinePlus

... Learn more about getting to NIH Get Email Alerts Receive automatic alerts about NHLBI related news and ... Connect With Us Contact Us Directly Get Email Alerts Receive automatic alerts about NHLBI related news and ...

Depredation of domestic herds by pumas based on farmer's information in Southern Brazil.

PubMed

Schulz, Francine; Printes, Rodrigo C; Oliveira, Larissa R

2014-10-15

Large carnivores such as pumas are frequently killed due to conflicts with human populations involving predation on domestic herds. In Southern Brazil, traditional pasture systems, where animals feed without specific husbandry practices is typical, becoming the herds vulnerable to puma attacks. The aim of this study was to examine the conflict between local people and pumas in a Protected Areas mosaic in southern Brazil. Forty-five face-to-face interviews with local people were performed during the year of 2011, using a structured questionnaire with open and closed questions about puma attack episodes in some farms. Based on responses, the conflict and puma attacks were described, and the characteristics of attacked farms and estimated financial losses were evaluated. The first respondents were indicated by the Local Environmental Agency, and the others were indicated by the first one and so on, which is known as "snow-ball" method. Our data suggested that pumas used to attack in unfavorable conditions of visibility (foggy days) and on easier prey (e.g. sheep). Most of the attacks reported were close to forested areas and were focused on free herds during feeding activities. Some farmers said they gave up their sheep breeding activity due to losses caused by puma attacks. However, some farmers could over estimate their losses. Moreover, pumas were considered a threat to domestic herds and respondents mentioned cases of illegal puma hunting in the area. The results of questionnaires suggested that puma attack episodes were related to fragmentation of their habitat associated to incorrect management of herds in the farms studied. The diagnosis of this type of conflict and the characterization of most attacked sites are extremely important to create strategies to prevent and control attacks by wild carnivores. Deep changes in husbandry practices added to educational programs should be implemented, in order to maintain the sustainability of rural activities as well as the survival of pumas in southern Brazil.

Phisherman v 1.0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Phisherman is an online software tool that was created to help experimenters study phishing. It can potentially be re-purposed to run other human studies. Phisherman enables studies to be run online, so that users can participate from their own computers. This means that experimenters can get data from subjects in their natural settings. Alternatively, an experimenter can also run the app online in a lab-based setting, if that is desired. The software enables the online deployment of a study that is comprised of three main parts: (1) a consent page, (2) a survey, and (3) an identification task, with instruction/transitionmore » screens between each part, allowing the experimenter to provide the user with instructions and messages. Upon logging in, the subject is taken to the permission page, where they agree to or do not agree to take part in the study. If the subject agrees to participate, then the software randomly chooses between doing the survey first (and identification task second) or the identification task first (and survey second). This is to balance possible order effects in the data. Procedurally, in the identification task, the software shows the stimuli to the subject, and asks if she thinks it is a phish (yes/no) and how confident she is about her answer. The subject is given 5 levels of certainty to select from, labeled "low" (1), to "medium" (3), to "high" (5), with the option of picking a level between low and medium (2), and between medium and high (4). After selecting his/her confidence level, then the "Next" button activates, allowing a user to move to the next email. The software saves a given subject's progress in the identification task, so that she may log in and out of the site. The consent page is a space for the experimenter to provide the subject with human studies board /internal review board information, and to formally consent to participate in the study. The survey is a space for the experimenter to provide questions and spaces for the users to input answers (allowing both multiple-choice and free-answer options). Phisherman includes administrative pages for managing the stimuli and users. This includes a tool for the experimenter to create, preview, edit, delete (if desired), and manage stimuli (emails). The stimuli may include pictures (uploaded to an appropriate folder) and links, for realism. The software includes a safety feature that prevents the user from going to any link location or opening a file/image. Instead of re-directing the subject's browser, the software provides a pop-up box with the URL location of where the user would have gone. Another administrative page may be used to create fake subject accounts for testing the software prior to deployment, as well as to delete subject accounts when necessary. Data from the experiment can be downloaded from another administrative page.« less

On-demand anakinra treatment is effective in mevalonate kinase deficiency.

PubMed

Bodar, E J; Kuijk, L M; Drenth, J P H; van der Meer, J W M; Simon, A; Frenkel, J

2011-12-01

Mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD) is a hereditary autoinflammatory syndrome marked by recurrent attacks of fever and inflammation. Severe enzyme deficiency results in mevalonic aciduria (MA) and milder deficiency in hyperimmunoglobulin D syndrome (HIDS). Treatment remains a challenge. To observe the effect of the recombinant interleukin-1 receptor antagonist anakinra in patients with MKD. A prospective observational study was undertaken. Two patients with MA started continuous treatment with anakinra (1-2 mg/kg/day) and nine patients with HIDS chose between continuous treatment and on-demand treatment (starting at first symptoms of attack, 100 mg/day or 1 mg/kg/day for 5-7 days). Anakinra induced partial remission in one patient with MA but there was no response in the other patient with MA. In one patient with HIDS continuous treatment induced complete remission for 7 months but was stopped because of side effects. Eight patients with HIDS preferred on-demand treatment from the start. This induced a clinical response (≥50% reduction in duration) in 8 of 12 treated attacks without a change in attack frequency. Anakinra prevented fever attacks due to vaccination without inhibiting antibody induction. No major side effects were seen. On-demand treatment with anakinra in HIDS decreases the duration and severity of fever attacks. Because of the burden of daily injections and relatively long asymptomatic intervals of HIDS, all patients with HIDS preferred on-demand treatment.

Exposure‐Response Model of Subcutaneous C1‐Inhibitor Concentrate to Estimate the Risk of Attacks in Patients With Hereditary Angioedema

PubMed Central

Tortorici, Michael A.; Pawaskar, Dipti; Pragst, Ingo; Machnig, Thomas; Hutmacher, Matthew; Zuraw, Bruce; Cicardi, Marco; Craig, Timothy; Longhurst, Hilary; Sidhu, Jagdev

2018-01-01

Subcutaneous C1‐inhibitor (HAEGARDA, CSL Behring), is a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐approved, highly concentrated formulation of a plasma‐derived C1‐esterase inhibitor (C1‐INH), which, in the phase III Clinical Studies for Optimal Management in Preventing Angioedema with Low‐Volume Subcutaneous C1‐inhibitor Replacement Therapy (COMPACT) trial, reduced the incidence of hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks when given prophylactically. Data from the COMPACT trial were used to develop a repeated time‐to‐event model to characterize the timing and frequency of HAE attacks as a function of C1‐INH activity, and then develop an exposure–response model to assess the relationship between C1‐INH functional activity levels (C1‐INH(f)) and the risk of an attack. The C1‐INH(f) values of 33.1%, 40.3%, and 63.1% were predicted to correspond with 50%, 70%, and 90% reductions in the HAE attack risk, respectively, relative to no therapy. Based on trough C1‐INH(f) values for the 40 IU/kg (40.2%) and 60 IU/kg (48.0%) C1‐INH (SC) doses, the model predicted that 50% and 67% of the population, respectively, would see at least a 70% decrease in the risk of an attack. PMID:29316335

Emulating a million machines to investigate botnets.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rudish, Donald W.

2010-06-01

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California are creating what is in effect a vast digital petridish able to hold one million operating systems at once in an effort to study the behavior of rogue programs known as botnets. Botnets are used extensively by malicious computer hackers to steal computing power fron Internet-connected computers. The hackers harness the stolen resources into a scattered but powerful computer that can be used to send spam, execute phishing, scams or steal digital information. These remote-controlled 'distributed computers' are difficult to observe and track. Botnets may take over parts of tens of thousandsmore » or in some cases even millions of computers, making them among the world's most powerful computers for some applications.« less

Polio and Prevention

MedlinePlus

... polio More extensive paralysis, involving the trunk and muscles of the thorax and abdomen, can result in quadriplegia. In the most severe cases (bulbar polio), poliovirus attacks the nerve cells of the brain stem, reducing breathing capacity and causing difficulty in swallowing ...

Stroke Risk Factors and Symptoms

MedlinePlus

... » [ pdf, 433 kb ] Order Materials » Stroke Risk Factors and Symptoms Risk Factors for a Stroke Stroke prevention is still ... it. Treatment can delay complications that increase the risk of stroke. Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). Seek help. ...

Disparities in adult African American women's knowledge of heart attack and stroke symptomatology: an analysis of 2003-2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey data.

PubMed

Lutfiyya, May Nawal; Cumba, Marites T; McCullough, Joel Emery; Barlow, Erika Laverne; Lipsky, Martin S

2008-06-01

Heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death of American women, respectively. African American women experience a disproportionate burden of these diseases compared with Caucasian women and are also more likely to delay seeking treatment for acute symptoms. As knowledge is a first step in seeking care, this study examined the knowledge of heart attack and stroke symptoms among African American women. This was a cross-sectional study analyzing 2003-2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) data. A composite heart attack and stroke knowledge score was computed for each respondent from the 13 heart attack and stroke symptom knowledge questions. Multivariate logistic regression was performed using low scores on the heart attack and stroke knowledge questions as the dependent variable. Twenty percent of the respondents were low scorers, and 23.8% were high scorers. Logistic regression analysis showed that adult African American women who earned low scores on the composite heart attack and stroke knowledge questions (range 0-8 points) were more likely to be aged 18-34 (OR = 1.36, CI 1.35, 1.37), be uninsured (OR = 1.32, CI 1.31, 1.33), have an annual household income <$35,000 (OR = 1.46, CI 1.45, 1.47), and have a primary healthcare provider (OR = 1.22, CI 1.20, 1.23). The findings indicated that knowledge of heart attack and stroke symptoms varied significantly among African American women, depending on socioeconomic variables. Targeting interventions to African American women, particularly those in lower socioeconomic groups, may increase knowledge of heart attack and stroke symptoms, subsequently improving preventive action taken in response to these conditions.

Was there unmet mental health need after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks?

PubMed

Stuber, Jennifer; Galea, Sandro; Boscarino, Joseph A; Schlesinger, Mark

2006-03-01

This study examined the use of professionals for mental health problems among New York City residents who were directly affected by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) or had a probable diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression in its aftermath. Correlates of help seeking from professionals for mental health problems after the attacks and barriers to care were also assessed. Data were from a random digit dial telephone survey of 2,752 adults representative of the Greater New York Metropolitan area conducted 6 months after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Fifteen percent of those directly affected and 36% of those with probable PTSD or depression sought help from a professional for a mental health problem after the attacks. There was little new utilization of professionals for mental health problems after the attacks among persons who were not already receiving care prior to September 11. Barriers that prevented people from seeking help for mental health problems 6 months after the September 11 attacks included traditional barriers to care (e.g., cost) and barriers that are unique to the post-disaster context (e.g., the belief that others need the services more than oneself). This study suggests that there was potential unmet mental health need in New York City 6 months after the September 11 attacks on the WTC, but these findings should be tempered by research showing an apparent decrease in population-rates of PTSD. In the aftermath of a disaster, interventions should target persons with mental health needs who were not previously seeking help from a professional for a mental health problem.

Towards a Cyber Defense Framework for SCADA Systems Based on Power Consumption Monitoring

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hernandez Jimenez, Jarilyn M; Chen, Qian; Nichols, Jeff A.

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) is an industrial automation system that remotely monitor, and control critical infrastructures. SCADA systems are major targets for espionage and sabotage attackers. According to the 2015 Dell security annual threat report, the number of cyber-attacks against SCADA systems has doubled in the past year. Cyber-attacks (i.e., buffer overflow, rootkits and code injection) could cause serious financial losses and physical infrastructure damages. Moreover, some specific cyber-attacks against SCADA systems could become a threat to human life. Current commercial off-the-shelf security solutions are insufficient in protecting SCADA systems against sophisticated cyber-attacks. In 2014 a report bymore » Mandiant stated that only 69% of organizations learned about their breaches from third entities, meaning that these companies lack of their own detection system. Furthermore, these breaches are not detected in real-time or fast enough to prevent further damages. The average time between compromise and detection (for those intrusions that were detected) was 205 days. To address this challenge, we propose an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) that detects SCADA-specific cyber-attacks by analyzing the power consumption of a SCADA device. Specifically, to validate the proposed approach, we chose to monitor in real-time the power usage of a a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). To this end, we configured the hardware of the tetsbed by installing the required sensors to monitor and collect its power consumption. After that two SCADA-specific cyber-attacks were simulated and TracerDAQ Pro was used to collect the power consumption of the PLC under normal and anomalous scenarios. Results showed that is possible to distinguish between the regular power usage of the PLC and when the PLC was under specific cyber-attacks.« less

Acute porphyrias in the USA: features of 108 subjects from porphyrias consortium.

PubMed

Bonkovsky, Herbert L; Maddukuri, Vinaya C; Yazici, Cemal; Anderson, Karl E; Bissell, D Montgomery; Bloomer, Joseph R; Phillips, John D; Naik, Hetanshi; Peter, Inga; Baillargeon, Gwen; Bossi, Krista; Gandolfo, Laura; Light, Carrie; Bishop, David; Desnick, Robert J

2014-12-01

Recent descriptions of the clinical and laboratory features of subjects with acute porphyrias in the US are lacking. Our aim was to describe clinical, biochemical, and genetic features of 108 subjects. Between September 2010 and December 2012, 108 subjects with acute porphyrias (90 acute intermittent porphyrias, 9 hereditary coproporphyrias, 9 variegate porphyrias) were enrolled into an observational study. Genetic testing was performed at a central genetic testing laboratory and clinical information entered into a central database. Selected features were compared with data for adults in the US. Most subjects (88/108, 81%) were female, with self-reported onset of symptoms in the second through fourth decades of life. The most common symptom was abdominal pain. Appendectomies and cholecystectomies were common before a diagnosis of porphyria. The diagnosis was delayed by a mean of 15 years. Anxiety and depression were common, and 18% complained of chronic symptoms, especially neuropathic and other pains. The incidences of systemic arterial hypertension, chronic kidney disease, seizure disorders, and psychiatric conditions were markedly increased. Mutations of the known causative genes were found in 102/105 of those tested, with novel mutations being found in 37, including in 7/8 subjects with hereditary coproporphyria. Therapy with intravenous hematin was the most effective therapy both for treatment of acute attacks and for prevention of recurrent attacks. Acute porphyrias often remain undiagnosed for more than a decade after first symptoms develop. Intravenous hematin is the treatment of choice, both for treatment of acute attacks and for prevention of recurrent attacks. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

30,000 fewer heart attacks and strokes in North Carolina: a challenge to prioritize prevention.

PubMed

Bertoni, Alain G; Ensley, Don; Goff, David C

2012-01-01

Heart disease and stroke are leading causes of death in North Carolina and are also important contributors to poor health and excess health care expenditures. The risk factors for heart disease, stroke, and other forms of cardiovascular disease are well known, and include smoking, high blood pressure, elevated serum cholesterol levels, diabetes mellitus, and obesity. These risk factors persist as a result of suboptimal assessment, treatment, and control; adverse trends in health behaviors; and environmental and societal conditions negatively affecting the pursuit of optimal cardiovascular health. If North Carolina is to do its share in making it possible for the national Million Hearts initiative to meet its goals, then 30,000 heart attacks and strokes need to be prevented in the state over the next 5 years. Both the Million Hearts initiative and North Carolina's Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force Plan include specific recommendations aimed at the primary and secondary prevention of heart disease and stroke. Million Hearts focuses on the ABCS: aspirin use when appropriate, blood pressure control, cholesterol control, and smoking cessation or abstention. The task force plan also addresses physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and the control of obesity and diabetes. The commentaries published in this issue of the NCMJ address the challenge of cardiovascular disease prevention among children and adults across the state and highlight efforts to enhance prevention via public policies and legislation, community coalitions, and quality improvement in the clinical arena.

The 2013 Dade W. Moeller Lecture: Medical Countermeasures Against Radiological Terrorism

PubMed Central

Moulder, John E.

2014-01-01

Soon after the 9–11 attacks, politicians and scientists began to question our ability to cope with a large-scale radiological terrorism incident. The outline of what was needed was fairly obvious: the ability to prevent such an attack; methods to cope with the medical consequences; the ability to clean up afterwards; and the tools to figure out who perpetrated the attack and bring them to justice. The medical response needed three components: the technology to rapidly determine the radiation doses received by a large number of people, methods for alleviating acute hematological radiation injuries, and therapies for mitigation and treatment of chronic radiation injuries. Research done to date has shown that a realistic medical response plan is scientifically possible, but the regulatory and financial barriers to achieving this may currently be insurmountable. PMID:24978287

Robust biometrics based authentication and key agreement scheme for multi-server environments using smart cards.

PubMed

Lu, Yanrong; Li, Lixiang; Yang, Xing; Yang, Yixian

2015-01-01

Biometrics authenticated schemes using smart cards have attracted much attention in multi-server environments. Several schemes of this type where proposed in the past. However, many of them were found to have some design flaws. This paper concentrates on the security weaknesses of the three-factor authentication scheme by Mishra et al. After careful analysis, we find their scheme does not really resist replay attack while failing to provide an efficient password change phase. We further propose an improvement of Mishra et al.'s scheme with the purpose of preventing the security threats of their scheme. We demonstrate the proposed scheme is given to strong authentication against several attacks including attacks shown in the original scheme. In addition, we compare the performance and functionality with other multi-server authenticated key schemes.

Perceived family social support buffers against the effects of exposure to rocket attacks on adolescent depression, aggression, and severe violence.

PubMed

Shahar, Golan; Henrich, Christopher C

2016-02-01

The authors compared the protective effects of 3 sources of perceived social support-from family members, friends, and school personnel-on internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescents exposed to rocket attacks. Data were based on 362 Israeli adolescents (median age = 14), chronically exposed to rockets from the Gaza Strip, for whom robust effects of exposure on internalizing and externalizing symptoms were reported during the 2009-2010 period (Henrich & Shahar, 2013). New analyses revealed that perceived family social support assessed in 2009 buffered against the effect of exposure to rocket attacks on depression, aggression, and severe violence during 2009-2010. Findings are consistent with a human-ecological perspective exposure to political violence and encourage the employment of family-based preventive interventions in afflicted areas. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Robust Biometrics Based Authentication and Key Agreement Scheme for Multi-Server Environments Using Smart Cards

PubMed Central

Lu, Yanrong; Li, Lixiang; Yang, Xing; Yang, Yixian

2015-01-01

Biometrics authenticated schemes using smart cards have attracted much attention in multi-server environments. Several schemes of this type where proposed in the past. However, many of them were found to have some design flaws. This paper concentrates on the security weaknesses of the three-factor authentication scheme by Mishra et al. After careful analysis, we find their scheme does not really resist replay attack while failing to provide an efficient password change phase. We further propose an improvement of Mishra et al.’s scheme with the purpose of preventing the security threats of their scheme. We demonstrate the proposed scheme is given to strong authentication against several attacks including attacks shown in the original scheme. In addition, we compare the performance and functionality with other multi-server authenticated key schemes. PMID:25978373

Patent Foramen Ovale Closure for Secondary Prevention of Cryptogenic Stroke: Updated Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.

PubMed

Vaduganathan, Muthiah; Qamar, Arman; Gupta, Ankur; Bajaj, Navkaranbir; Golwala, Harsh B; Pandey, Ambarish; Bhatt, Deepak L

2018-05-01

Patent foramen ovale closure represents a potential secondary prevention strategy for cryptogenic stroke, but available trials have varied by size, device studied, and follow-up. We conducted a systematic search of published randomized clinical trials evaluating patent foramen ovale closure versus medical therapy in patients with recent stroke or transient ischemic attack using PubMED, EMBASE, and Cochrane through September 2017. Weighting was by random effects models. Of 480 studies screened, we included 5 randomized clinical trials in the meta-analysis in which 3440 patients were randomized to patent foramen ovale closure (n = 1829) or medical therapy (n = 1611) and followed for an average of 2.0 to 5.9 years. Index stroke/transient ischemic attack occurred within 6 to 9 months of randomization. The primary end point was composite stroke/transient ischemic attack and death (in 3 trials) or stroke alone (in 2 trials). Patent foramen ovale closure reduced the primary end point (0.70 vs 1.48 events per 100 patient-years; risk ratio [RR], 0.52 [0.29-0.91]; I 2  = 55.0%) and stroke/transient ischemic attack (1.04 vs 2.00 events per 100 patient-years; RR, 0.55 [0.37-0.82]; I 2  = 42.2%) with modest heterogeneity compared with medical therapy. Procedural bleeding was not different between study arms (1.8% vs 1.8%; RR, 0.94 [0.49-1.83]; I 2  = 29.2%), but new-onset atrial fibrillation/flutter was increased with patent foramen ovale closure (6.6% vs 0.7%; RR, 4.69 [2.17-10.12]; I 2  = 29.3%). In patients with recent cryptogenic stroke, patent foramen ovale closure reduces recurrent stroke/transient ischemic attack compared with medical therapy, but is associated with a higher risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation/flutter. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Forskolin compared with beclomethasone for prevention of asthma attacks: a single-blind clinical trial.

PubMed

Huerta, M; Urzúa, Z; Trujillo, X; González-Sánchez, R; Trujillo-Hernández, B

2010-01-01

This single-blind study compared the efficacy of oral forskolin versus inhaled beclomethasone for mild or moderately persistent adult asthma. Patients were randomly assigned to receive forskolin (one 10-mg capsule orally per day; n = 30) or beclomethasone (two 50 microg inhalations every 12 h; n = 30) for 2 months. No statistically significant improvement occurred in any lung function parameter in the forskolin-treated patients. Subjects in the beclomethasone-treated group presented a slight but statistically significant improvement in percentage forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)), percentage forced expiratory flow in the middle (25 - 75%) expiratory phase (FEF(25 - 75%)) and percentage forced vital capacity (FVC) after 2 months of treatment, though the improvement in absolute values for FEV(1), FEF(25 - 75%), FVC and FEV(1):FVC did not reach statistical significance. There was no statistically significant difference between the forskolin and beclomethasone treatment groups for any lung function parameter at baseline or after treatment. None of the beclomethasone-treated patients had an asthma attack and one forskolin-treated patient had a mild asthma attack during the 2-month study period. More studies are needed in adult asthma patients to confirm whether forskolin may be a useful preventive treatment for mild or moderately persistent adult asthma.

Preventive DNA repair by sanitizing the cellular (deoxy)nucleoside triphosphate pool.

PubMed

Nagy, Gergely N; Leveles, Ibolya; Vértessy, Beáta G

2014-09-01

The occurrence of modified bases in DNA is attributed to some major factors: incorporation of altered nucleotide building blocks and chemical reactions or radiation effects on bases within the DNA structure. Several enzyme families are involved in preventing the incorporation of noncanonical bases playing a 'sanitizing' role. The catalytic mechanism of action of these enzymes has been revealed for a number of representatives in clear structural and kinetic detail. In this review, we focus in detail on those examples where clear evidence has been produced using high-resolution structural studies. Comparing the protein fold and architecture of the enzyme active sites, two main classes of sanitizing deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate pyrophosphatases can be assigned that are distinguished by the site of nucleophilic attack. In enzymes associated with attack at the α-phosphorus, it is shown that coordination of the γ-phosphate group is also ensured by multiple interactions. By contrast, enzymes catalyzing attack at the β-phosphorus atom mainly coordinate the α- and the β-phosphate only. Characteristic differences are also observed with respect to the role of the metal ion cofactor (Mg(2+) ) and the coordination of nucleophilic water. Using different catalytic mechanisms embedded in different protein folds, these enzymes present a clear example of convergent evolution. © 2014 FEBS.

Electrocardiographic measures of left ventricular hypertrophy in the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial.

PubMed

Ernst, Michael E; Davis, Barry R; Soliman, Elsayed Z; Prineas, Ronald J; Okin, Peter M; Ghosh, Alokananda; Cushman, William C; Einhorn, Paula T; Oparil, Suzanne; Grimm, Richard H

2016-12-01

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) predicts cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients. We analyzed baseline/follow-up electrocardiographies in 26,376 Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial participants randomized to amlodipine (A), lisinopril (L), or chlorthalidone (C). Prevalent/incident LVH was examined using continuous and categorical classifications of Cornell voltage. At 2 and 4 years, prevalence of LVH in the C group (5.57%; 6.14%) was not statistically different from A group (2 years: 5.47%; P = .806, 4 years: 6.54%; P = .857) or L group (2 years: 5.64%; P = .857, 4 years: 6.50%; P = .430). Incident LVH followed similarly, with no difference at 2 years for C (2.99%) compared to A (2.57%; P = .173) or L (3.16%; P = .605) and at 4 years (C = 3.52%, A = 3.29%, L = 3.71%; P = .521 C vs. A, P = .618 C vs. L). Mean Cornell voltage decreased comparably across treatment groups (Δ baseline, 2 years = +3 to -27 μV, analysis of variance P = .8612; 4 years = +10 to -17 μV, analysis of variance P = .9692). We conclude that risk reductions associated with C treatment in secondary end points of the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial cannot be attributed to differential improvements in electrocardiography LVH. Copyright © 2016 American Society of Hypertension. All rights reserved.

The evil circle of poverty: a qualitative study of malaria and disability

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background This article discusses the link between disability and malaria in a poor rural setting. Global malaria programmes and rehabilitation programmes are organized as vertical and separate programmes, and as such they focus on prevention, cure and control, and disability respectively. When looking at specific conditions and illnesses, the impairing long-term consequences of illness incidents during childhood are not questioned. Methods The study design was ethnographic with an open, exploratory approach. Data were collected in Mangochi District in Malawi through qualitative in-depth interviews and participant observation. Results Despite a local-based health service system, people living in poor rural areas are confronted with a multitude of barriers when accessing malaria prevention and treatment. Lack of skilled health personnel and equipment add to the general burden of poverty: insufficient knowledge about health care, problems connected to accessing the health facility in time, insufficient initiatives to prevent malaria attacks, and a general lack of attention to the long term disabling effects of a malaria attack. Conclusions This study points to the importance of building malaria programmes, research and statistics that take into consideration the consequences of permanent impairment after a malaria attack, as well as the context of poverty in which they often occur. In order to do so, one needs to develop methods for detecting people whose disabilities are a direct result of not having received health services after a malaria episode. This may be done through qualitative approaches in local communities and should also be supplemented by suitable surveys in order to estimate the problem on a larger scale. PMID:22236358

The evil circle of poverty: a qualitative study of malaria and disability.

PubMed

Ingstad, Benedicte; Munthali, Alister C; Braathen, Stine H; Grut, Lisbet

2012-01-11

This article discusses the link between disability and malaria in a poor rural setting. Global malaria programmes and rehabilitation programmes are organized as vertical and separate programmes, and as such they focus on prevention, cure and control, and disability respectively. When looking at specific conditions and illnesses, the impairing long-term consequences of illness incidents during childhood are not questioned. The study design was ethnographic with an open, exploratory approach. Data were collected in Mangochi District in Malawi through qualitative in-depth interviews and participant observation. Despite a local-based health service system, people living in poor rural areas are confronted with a multitude of barriers when accessing malaria prevention and treatment. Lack of skilled health personnel and equipment add to the general burden of poverty: insufficient knowledge about health care, problems connected to accessing the health facility in time, insufficient initiatives to prevent malaria attacks, and a general lack of attention to the long term disabling effects of a malaria attack. This study points to the importance of building malaria programmes, research and statistics that take into consideration the consequences of permanent impairment after a malaria attack, as well as the context of poverty in which they often occur. In order to do so, one needs to develop methods for detecting people whose disabilities are a direct result of not having received health services after a malaria episode. This may be done through qualitative approaches in local communities and should also be supplemented by suitable surveys in order to estimate the problem on a larger scale. © 2012 Ingstad et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

The Final Report and Findings of the "Safe School Initiative": Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vossekuil, Bryan; Fein, Robert A.; Reddy, Marisa; Borum, Randy; Modzeleski, William

This publication results from on ongoing collaboration between the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education. Its goals are to determine whether it could have been known that incidents of targeted violence at schools were being planned and whether anything could have been done to prevent them from occurring. Results from the Secret…

Use of Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation Among Heart Attack Survivors - 20 States and the District of Columbia, 2013 and Four States, 2015.

PubMed

Fang, Jing; Ayala, Carma; Luncheon, Cecily; Ritchey, Matthew; Loustalot, Fleetwood

2017-08-25

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States (1). Each year, approximately 790,000 adults have a myocardial infarction (heart attack), including 210,000 that are recurrent heart attacks (2). Cardiac rehabilitation (rehab) includes exercise counseling and training, education for heart-healthy living, and counseling to reduce stress. Cardiac rehab provides patients with education regarding the causes of heart attacks and tools to initiate positive behavior change, and extends patients' medical management after a heart attack to prevent future negative sequelae (3). A systematic review has shown that after a heart attack, patients using cardiac rehab were 53% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 41%-62%) less likely to die from any cause and 57% (95% CI = 21%-77%) less likely to experience cardiac-related mortality than were those who did not use cardiac rehab (3). However, even with long-standing national recommendations encouraging use of cardiac rehab (4), the intervention has been underutilized. An analysis of 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data found that only 34.7% of adults who reported a history of a heart attack also reported subsequent use of cardiac rehab (5). To update these estimates, CDC used the most recent BRFSS data from 2013 and 2015 to assess the use of cardiac rehab among adults following a heart attack. Overall use of cardiac rehab was 33.7% in 20 states and the District of Columbia (DC) in 2013 and 35.5% in four states in 2015. Cardiac rehab use was underutilized overall and differences were evident by sex, age, race/ethnicity, level of education, cardiovascular risk status, and by state. Increasing use of cardiac rehab after a heart attack should be encouraged by health systems and supported by the public health community.

Tracing Potential School Shooters in the Digital Sphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veijalainen, Jari; Semenov, Alexander; Kyppö, Jorma

There are over 300 known school shooting cases in the world and over ten known cases where the perpetrator(s) have been prohibited to perform the attack at the last moment or earlier. Interesting from our point of view is that in many cases the perpetrators have expressed their views in social media or on their web page well in advance, and often also left suicide messages in blogs and other forums before their attack, along the planned date and place. This has become more common towards the end of this decennium. In some cases this has made it possible to prevent the attack. In this paper we will look at the possibilities to find commonalities of the perpetrators, beyond the fact that they are all males from eleven to roughly 25 years old, and possibilities to follow their traces in the digital sphere in order to cut the dangerous development towards an attack. Should this not be possible, then an attack should be averted before it happens. We are especially interested in the multimedia data mining methods and social network mining and analysis that can be used to detect the possible perpetrators in time. We also present in this paper a probabilistic model that can be used to evaluate the success/failure rate of the detection of the possible perpetrators.

Vulnerability of network of networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Havlin, S.; Kenett, D. Y.; Bashan, A.; Gao, J.; Stanley, H. E.

2014-10-01

Our dependence on networks - be they infrastructure, economic, social or others - leaves us prone to crises caused by the vulnerabilities of these networks. There is a great need to develop new methods to protect infrastructure networks and prevent cascade of failures (especially in cases of coupled networks). Terrorist attacks on transportation networks have traumatized modern societies. With a single blast, it has become possible to paralyze airline traffic, electric power supply, ground transportation or Internet communication. How, and at which cost can one restructure the network such that it will become more robust against malicious attacks? The gradual increase in attacks on the networks society depends on - Internet, mobile phone, transportation, air travel, banking, etc. - emphasize the need to develop new strategies to protect and defend these crucial networks of communication and infrastructure networks. One example is the threat of liquid explosives a few years ago, which completely shut down air travel for days, and has created extreme changes in regulations. Such threats and dangers warrant the need for new tools and strategies to defend critical infrastructure. In this paper we review recent advances in the theoretical understanding of the vulnerabilities of interdependent networks with and without spatial embedding, attack strategies and their affect on such networks of networks as well as recently developed strategies to optimize and repair failures caused by such attacks.

[Prevention of migraine with flunarizine and acetylsalicylic acid. A double-blind study].

PubMed

Pothmann, R

1987-09-01

30 children between 7 and 17 years suffering from at least 2 attacks/month of common or classical migraine since more than 1 year were studied. After clinical exclusion of symptomatic headache 4 weeks were documented by means of a migraine diary. Prophylaxis with Calcium entry blocker Flunarizine (Sibelium) or Thromboxane A inhibitor Acetylsalicylic acid (ASS) was carried out in a double blind design for 3 months. Medication was given as one dosage in the evening: 2-5 mg/kg KG ASS or 5-10 mg Flunarizine. Documented attack frequency and duration were controlled at monthly physical examinations. Final results showed no differences in significant reduction of attack frequency or symptoms between both different therapeutic principals. 72.4% (ASS 73.3%; Flunarizine 71.4%) of patients were attack-free or had at least a 50% reduction. Migraine frequency of initially 7-8 was reduced to 1-2 attacks/month. Duration remained constant in both groups (1-3 h). Side effects were slight body weight gain or abdominal pain after intake, prophylaxis had not to be interrupted therefore. Longtime prognosis is not yet possible because the time of observation is too short so far. Both substances are definitely useful and have few side effects in childhood migraine. If the response to one is insufficient the other substance should be tried.

Protecting water and wastewater infrastructure from cyber attacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panguluri, Srinivas; Phillips, William; Cusimano, John

2011-12-01

Multiple organizations over the years have collected and analyzed data on cyber attacks and they all agree on one conclusion: cyber attacks are real and can cause significant damages. This paper presents some recent statistics on cyber attacks and resulting damages. Water and wastewater utilities must adopt countermeasures to prevent or minimize the damage in case of such attacks. Many unique challenges are faced by the water and wastewater industry while selecting and implementing security countermeasures; the key challenges are: 1) the increasing interconnection of their business and control system networks, 2) large variation of proprietary industrial control equipment utilized, 3) multitude of cross-sector cyber-security standards, and 4) the differences in the equipment vendor's approaches to meet these security standards. The utilities can meet these challenges by voluntarily selecting and adopting security standards, conducting a gap analysis, performing vulnerability/risk analysis, and undertaking countermeasures that best meets their security and organizational requirements. Utilities should optimally utilize their limited resources to prepare and implement necessary programs that are designed to increase cyber-security over the years. Implementing cyber security does not necessarily have to be expensive, substantial improvements can be accomplished through policy, procedure, training and awareness. Utilities can also get creative and allocate more funding through annual budgets and reduce dependence upon capital improvement programs to achieve improvements in cyber-security.

Enhancing U.S. Defenses Against Terrorist Air Attacks

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-01-01

effort between military and civilian organizations. The U.S. Air Force, law enforcement authorities, the Federal Aviation Administration, airport ... security personnel, and many other agencies share responsibility for closing gaps in our national air defenses and for preventing and foiling future

Studying Anxiety Disorders | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

MedlinePlus

... preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Panic Disorder : unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear, accompanied ... dizziness, or abdominal distress. Phobias often result in panic attacks. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) : chronic anxiety that can develop after exposure ...

Exposure-Response Model of Subcutaneous C1-Inhibitor Concentrate to Estimate the Risk of Attacks in Patients With Hereditary Angioedema.

PubMed

Zhang, Ying; Tortorici, Michael A; Pawaskar, Dipti; Pragst, Ingo; Machnig, Thomas; Hutmacher, Matthew; Zuraw, Bruce; Cicardi, Marco; Craig, Timothy; Longhurst, Hilary; Sidhu, Jagdev

2018-03-01

Subcutaneous C1-inhibitor (HAEGARDA, CSL Behring), is a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved, highly concentrated formulation of a plasma-derived C1-esterase inhibitor (C1-INH), which, in the phase III Clinical Studies for Optimal Management in Preventing Angioedema with Low-Volume Subcutaneous C1-inhibitor Replacement Therapy (COMPACT) trial, reduced the incidence of hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks when given prophylactically. Data from the COMPACT trial were used to develop a repeated time-to-event model to characterize the timing and frequency of HAE attacks as a function of C1-INH activity, and then develop an exposure-response model to assess the relationship between C1-INH functional activity levels (C1-INH(f)) and the risk of an attack. The C1-INH(f) values of 33.1%, 40.3%, and 63.1% were predicted to correspond with 50%, 70%, and 90% reductions in the HAE attack risk, respectively, relative to no therapy. Based on trough C1-INH(f) values for the 40 IU/kg (40.2%) and 60 IU/kg (48.0%) C1-INH (SC) doses, the model predicted that 50% and 67% of the population, respectively, would see at least a 70% decrease in the risk of an attack. © 2018 The Authors CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Collaboration Between Public Health and Law Enforcement: New Paradigms and Partnerships for Bioterrorism Planning and Response

PubMed Central

Cohen, Mitchell L.; Friedman, Cindy R.; Scripp, Robert M.; Watz, Craig G.

2002-01-01

The biological attacks with powders containing Bacillus anthracis sent through the mail during September and October 2001 led to unprecedented public health and law enforcement investigations, which involved thousands of investigators from federal, state, and local agencies. Following recognition of the first cases of anthrax in Florida in early October 2001, investigators from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were mobilized to assist investigators from state and local public health and law enforcement agencies. Although public health and criminal investigations have been conducted in concert in the past, the response to the anthrax attacks required close collaboration because of the immediate and ongoing threat to public safety. We describe the collaborations between CDC and FBI during the investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks and highlight the challenges and successes of public health and law enforcement collaborations in general. PMID:12396931

A Targeted Attack For Enhancing Resiliency of Intelligent Intrusion Detection Modules in Energy Cyber Physical Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Youssef, Tarek; El Hariri, Mohammad; Habib, Hani

Abstract— Secure high-speed communication is required to ensure proper operation of complex power grid systems and prevent malicious tampering activities. In this paper, artificial neural networks with temporal dependency are introduced for false data identification and mitigation for broadcasted IEC 61850 SMV messages. The fast responses of such intelligent modules in intrusion detection make them suitable for time- critical applications, such as protection. However, care must be taken in selecting the appropriate intelligence model and decision criteria. As such, this paper presents a customizable malware script to sniff and manipulate SMV messages and demonstrates the ability of the malware tomore » trigger false positives in the neural network’s response. The malware developed is intended to be as a vaccine to harden the intrusion detection system against data manipulation attacks by enhancing the neural network’s ability to learn and adapt to these attacks.« less

Modifying the ECC-based grouping-proof RFID system to increase inpatient medication safety.

PubMed

Ko, Wen-Tsai; Chiou, Shin-Yan; Lu, Erl-Huei; Chang, Henry Ker-Chang

2014-09-01

RFID technology is increasingly used in applications that require tracking, identification, and authentication. It attaches RFID-readable tags to objects for identification and execution of specific RFID-enabled applications. Recently, research has focused on the use of grouping-proofs for preserving privacy in RFID applications, wherein a proof of two or more tags must be simultaneously scanned. In 2010, a privacy-preserving grouping proof protocol for RFID based on ECC in public-key cryptosystem was proposed but was shown to be vulnerable to tracking attacks. A proposed enhancement protocol was also shown to have defects which prevented proper execution. In 2012, Lin et al. proposed a more efficient RFID ECC-based grouping proof protocol to promote inpatient medication safety. However, we found this protocol is also vulnerable to tracking and impersonation attacks. We then propose a secure privacy-preserving RFID grouping proof protocol for inpatient medication safety and demonstrate its resistance to such attacks.

Revealing of photon-number splitting attack on quantum key distribution system by photon-number resolving devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaidash, A. A.; Egorov, V. I.; Gleim, A. V.

2016-08-01

Quantum cryptography allows distributing secure keys between two users so that any performed eavesdropping attempt would be immediately discovered. However, in practice an eavesdropper can obtain key information from multi-photon states when attenuated laser radiation is used as a source of quantum states. In order to prevent actions of an eavesdropper, it is generally suggested to implement special cryptographic protocols, like decoy states or SARG04. In this paper, we describe an alternative method based on monitoring photon number statistics after detection. We provide a useful rule of thumb to estimate approximate order of difference of expected distribution and distribution in case of attack. Formula for calculating a minimum value of total pulses or time-gaps to resolve attack is shown. Also formulas for actual fraction of raw key known to Eve were derived. This method can therefore be used with any system and even combining with mentioned special protocols.

Information security threats and an easy-to-implement attack detection framework for wireless sensor network-based smart grid applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuna, G.; Örenbaş, H.; Daş, R.; Kogias, D.; Baykara, M.; K, K.

2016-03-01

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) when combined with various energy harvesting solutions managing to prolong the overall lifetime of the system and enhanced capabilities of the communication protocols used by modern sensor nodes are efficiently used in are efficiently used in Smart Grid (SG), an evolutionary system for the modernization of existing power grids. However, wireless communication technology brings various types of security threats. In this study, firstly the use of WSNs for SG applications is presented. Second, the security related issues and challenges as well as the security threats are presented. In addition, proposed security mechanisms for WSN-based SG applications are discussed. Finally, an easy- to-implement and simple attack detection framework to prevent attacks directed to sink and gateway nodes with web interfaces is proposed and its efficiency is proved using a case study.

Suicide to harass others: clues from mythology to understanding suicide bombing attacks.

PubMed

Preti, Antonio

2006-01-01

Suicide by revenge, the Samsonic suicide, and the suicide by devotio, all described in classical mythology and also reported in the ethnographic literature, belong to the same class of suicidal behaviors as kamikaze suicide and the suicide bombing attack: suicide to harass and burden others or suicide with a hostile intent. The lack of a social dimension to share in a positive manner may lead an individual to integrate him/herself in another social structure, e.g., a military organization, which allows the individual to express his/her desires and personal identity only by destroying others and themselves. The dynamics of these forms of suicide are also likely to work in other displays of life-threatening behavior, such as family annihilation, mass murder, and spree killing. A more thorough investigation of the dynamics operating in suicide bombing attacks could, therefore, contribute to preventative strategies against violence at large.

Campaign 2008: Innovative Ideas for Securing America. A Guide for Candidates

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-03

leadership to the Intelligence Community on “ cloak and dagger ” intelligence operations issues but is less involved in addressing key challenges in the day...that allow people in our intelligence agencies to do their jobs. “ Cloak and dagger ” issues typically garner public and media attention, but without...can we prevent future attacks by strengthening U.S. intelligence op- erations, tracking terrorist financing and preventing weapons of mass destruction

An Optimal Method for Detecting Internal and External Intrusion in MANET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafsanjani, Marjan Kuchaki; Aliahmadipour, Laya; Javidi, Mohammad M.

Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) is formed by a set of mobile hosts which communicate among themselves through radio waves. The hosts establish infrastructure and cooperate to forward data in a multi-hop fashion without a central administration. Due to their communication type and resources constraint, MANETs are vulnerable to diverse types of attacks and intrusions. In this paper, we proposed a method for prevention internal intruder and detection external intruder by using game theory in mobile ad hoc network. One optimal solution for reducing the resource consumption of detection external intruder is to elect a leader for each cluster to provide intrusion service to other nodes in the its cluster, we call this mode moderate mode. Moderate mode is only suitable when the probability of attack is low. Once the probability of attack is high, victim nodes should launch their own IDS to detect and thwart intrusions and we call robust mode. In this paper leader should not be malicious or selfish node and must detect external intrusion in its cluster with minimum cost. Our proposed method has three steps: the first step building trust relationship between nodes and estimation trust value for each node to prevent internal intrusion. In the second step we propose an optimal method for leader election by using trust value; and in the third step, finding the threshold value for notifying the victim node to launch its IDS once the probability of attack exceeds that value. In first and third step we apply Bayesian game theory. Our method due to using game theory, trust value and honest leader can effectively improve the network security, performance and reduce resource consumption.

Social engineering: mitigating a stealthy risk.

PubMed

Maas, Jos

2014-01-01

Can a Healthcare Facility (HCF) be victimized by Social Engineering (SE)? Yes, says the author If so, what can you do about it? This article explains what Social Engineering is; how it is used; and how to use proactive security to prevent such an attack.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: Strategic Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-05-01

technologies to detect, prevent, or mitigate asymmetric attacks, including suicide bombers, improvised explosive devices, and weapons of mass destruction...the Army’s Command Post of the Future (CPOF) to amplify the capabilities of overworked combat command and control staffs. Working with CPOF, PAL

Optimal Resource Allocation in Electrical Network Defense

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yao, Y; Edmunds, T; Papageorgiou, D

2004-01-15

Infrastructure networks supplying electricity, natural gas, water, and other commodities are at risk of disruption due to well-engineered and coordinated terrorist attacks. Countermeasures such as hardening targets, acquisition of spare critical components, and surveillance can be undertaken to detect and deter these attacks. Allocation of available countermeasures resources to sites or activities in a manner that maximizes their effectiveness is a challenging problem. This allocation must take into account the adversary's response after the countermeasure assets are in place and consequence mitigation measures the infrastructure operation can undertake after the attack. The adversary may simply switch strategies to avoid countermeasuresmore » when executing the attack. Stockpiling spares of critical energy infrastructure components has been identified as a key element of a grid infrastructure defense strategy in a recent National Academy of Sciences report [1]. Consider a scenario where an attacker attempts to interrupt the service of an electrical network by disabling some of its facilities while a defender wants to prevent or minimize the effectiveness of any attack. The interaction between the attacker and the defender can be described in three stages: (1) The defender deploys countermeasures, (2) The attacker disrupts the network, and (3) The defender responds to the attack by rerouting power to maintain service while trying to repair damage. In the first stage, the defender considers all possible attack scenarios and deploys countermeasures to defend against the worst scenarios. Countermeasures can include hardening targets, acquiring spare critical components, and installing surveillance devices. In the second stage, the attacker, with full knowledge of the deployed countermeasures, attempts to disable some nodes or links in the network to inflict the greatest loss on the defender. In the third stage, the defender re-dispatches power and restores disabled nodes or links to minimize the loss. The loss can be measured in costs, including the costs of using more expensive generators and the economic losses that can be attributed to loss of load. The defender's goal is to minimize the loss while the attacker wants to maximize it. Assuming some level of budget constraint, each side can only defend or attack a limited number of network elements. When an element is attacked, it is assumed that it will be totally disabled. It is assumed that when an element is defended it cannot be disabled, which may mean that it will be restored in a very short time after being attacked. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 will briefly review literature related to multilevel programming and network defense. Section 3 presents a mathematical formulation of the electrical network defense problem. Section 4 describes the solution algorithms. Section 5 discusses computational results. Finally, Sec. 6 explores future research directions.« less

Research on offense and defense technology for iOS kernel security mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Sijun; Wu, Hao

2018-04-01

iOS is a strong and widely used mobile device system. It's annual profits make up about 90% of the total profits of all mobile phone brands. Though it is famous for its security, there have been many attacks on the iOS operating system, such as the Trident apt attack in 2016. So it is important to research the iOS security mechanism and understand its weaknesses and put forward targeted protection and security check framework. By studying these attacks and previous jailbreak tools, we can see that an attacker could only run a ROP code and gain kernel read and write permissions based on the ROP after exploiting kernel and user layer vulnerabilities. However, the iOS operating system is still protected by the code signing mechanism, the sandbox mechanism, and the not-writable mechanism of the system's disk area. This is far from the steady, long-lasting control that attackers expect. Before iOS 9, breaking these security mechanisms was usually done by modifying the kernel's important data structures and security mechanism code logic. However, after iOS 9, the kernel integrity protection mechanism was added to the 64-bit operating system and none of the previous methods were adapted to the new versions of iOS [1]. But this does not mean that attackers can not break through. Therefore, based on the analysis of the vulnerability of KPP security mechanism, this paper implements two possible breakthrough methods for kernel security mechanism for iOS9 and iOS10. Meanwhile, we propose a defense method based on kernel integrity detection and sensitive API call detection to defense breakthrough method mentioned above. And we make experiments to prove that this method can prevent and detect attack attempts or invaders effectively and timely.

Extending injury prevention methodology to chemical terrorism preparedness: the Haddon Matrix and sarin.

PubMed

Varney, Shawn; Hirshon, Jon Mark; Dischinger, Patricia; Mackenzie, Colin

2006-01-01

The Haddon Matrix offers a classic epidemiological model for studying injury prevention. This methodology places the public health concepts of agent, host, and environment within the three sequential phases of an injury-producing incident-pre-event, event, and postevent. This study uses this methodology to illustrate how it could be applied in systematically preparing for a mass casualty disaster such as an unconventional sarin attack in a major urban setting. Nineteen city, state, federal, and military agencies responded to the Haddon Matrix chemical terrorism preparedness exercise and offered feedback in the data review session. Four injury prevention strategies (education, engineering, enforcement, and economics) were applied to the individual factors and event phases of the Haddon Matrix. The majority of factors identified in all phases were modifiable, primarily through educational interventions focused on individual healthcare providers and first responders. The Haddon Matrix provides a viable means of studying an unconventional problem, allowing for the identification of modifiable factors to decrease the type and severity of injuries following a mass casualty disaster such as a sarin release. This strategy could be successfully incorporated into disaster planning for other weapons attacks that could potentially cause mass casualties.

Resistance of biofilm-covered mortars to microbiologically influenced deterioration simulated by sulfuric acid exposure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Soleimani, Sahar, E-mail: ssoleima@connect.carleton.ca; Isgor, O. Burkan, E-mail: burkan_isgor@carleton.ca; Ormeci, Banu, E-mail: banu_ormeci@carleton.ca

2013-11-15

Following the reported success of biofilm applications on metal surfaces to inhibit microbiologically influenced corrosion, effectiveness and sustainability of E. coli DH5α biofilm on mortar surface to prevent microbiologically influenced concrete deterioration (MICD) are investigated. Experiments simulating microbial attack were carried out by exposing incrementally biofilm-covered mortar specimens to sulfuric acid solutions with pH ranging from 3 to 6. Results showed that calcium concentration in control reactors without biofilm was 23–47% higher than the reactors with biofilm-covered mortar. Formation of amorphous silica gel as an indication of early stages of acid attack was observed only on the control mortar specimensmore » without biofilm. During acidification, the biofilm continued to grow and its thickness almost doubled from ∼ 30 μm before acidification to ∼ 60 μm after acidification. These results demonstrated that E. coli DH5α biofilm was able to provide a protective and sustainable barrier on mortar surfaces against medium to strong sulfuric acid attack. -- Highlights: •Effectiveness of E.coli DH5α biofilm to prevent MICD was studied. •Conditions that lead to MICD were simulated by chemical acidification. •Biofilm-covered mortar specimens were exposed to sulfuric acid solutions. •The presence of biofilm helped reduce the chemically-induced mortar deterioration. •Biofilm remained alive and continued to grow during the acidification process.« less

[Deleterious Results of Safety Seeking Behaviours in Panic Disorder: Polydipsia and Diabetes Mellitus Type 2].

PubMed

Kurt, Emel; Karabaş, Özer; Yorguner, Neşe; Wurz, Axel; Topçuoğlu, Volkan

2016-01-01

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder that involves recurrent panic attacks, which emerge when a harmless stimulus is interpreted as "catastrophic". In an attempt to avoid the panic attack or prevent confrontation, the patient exhibits a dysfunctional attitude and behavior, such as evasion and safety-seeking behavior (SSB). Dysfunctional behavior leads to an increase in the recurrence of panic attacks and affects the patient's life in a negative way. According to the cognitive behavioral therapy model, SSB contributes to the continuation of unrealistic beliefs (e.g. physical experiences) regarding and prevents the patient from grasping new information that may potentially contradict the unrealistic cognitions. In this paper, we present a case with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder. Interestingly, this patient developed diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2 and psychogenic polydipsia (PPD) as a consequence of his SSB. PPD is a common occurrence in patients with psychiatric disorders, especially in schizophrenia. Up to now, no case of a panic disorder with either DM or PPD has been reported in the literature. While it is accepted that major depression poses a risk for DM type 2, panic disorder may also increase this risk. Treatment of the panic disorder with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) resulted in improvement of PPD and DM type 2. In conclusion, the role of SSB in medical disorders accompanied by psychiatric disorders should be kept in mind when treating these patients.

Conduct of Occupational Health During Major Disasters: A Comparison of Literature on Occupational Health Issues in the World Trade Center Terrorist Attack and the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

PubMed

Toyoda, Hiroyuki; Mori, Koji

2017-01-01

Workers who respond to large-scale disasters can be exposed to health hazards that do not exist in routine work. It is assumed that learning from past cases is effective for preparing for and responding to such problems, but published information is still insufficient. Accordingly, we conducted a literature review about the health issues and occupational health activities at the World Trade Center (WTC) terrorist attack and at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident to investigate how occupational health activities during disasters should be conducted. Seven studies about the WTC attack were extracted and categorized into the following topics: "in relation to emergency systems including occupational health management"; "in relation to improvement and prevention of health effects and occupational hygiene"; and "in relation to care systems aimed at mitigating health effects." Studies about the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident have been used in a previous review. We conclude that, to prevent health effects in workers who respond to large-scale disasters, it is necessary to incorporate occupational health regulations into the national response plan, and to develop practical support functions that enable support to continue for an extended period, training systems for workers with opportunities to report accidents, and care systems to mitigate the health effects.

Security of a sessional blind signature based on quantum cryptograph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Tian-Yin; Cai, Xiao-Qiu; Zhang, Rui-Ling

2014-08-01

We analyze the security of a sessional blind signature protocol based on quantum cryptograph and show that there are two security leaks in this protocol. One is that the legal user Alice can change the signed message after she gets a valid blind signature from the signatory Bob, and the other is that an external opponent Eve also can forge a valid blind message by a special attack, which are not permitted for blind signature. Therefore, this protocol is not secure in the sense that it does not satisfy the non-forgeability of blind signatures. We also discuss the methods to prevent the attack strategies in the end.

Introduction: Cybersecurity and Software Assurance Minitrack

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burns, Luanne; George, Richard; Linger, Richard C

Modern society is dependent on software systems of remarkable scope and complexity. Yet methods for assuring their security and functionality have not kept pace. The result is persistent compromises and failures despite best efforts. Cybersecurity methods must work together for situational awareness, attack prevention and detection, threat attribution, minimization of consequences, and attack recovery. Because defective software cannot be secure, assurance technologies must play a central role in cybersecurity approaches. There is increasing recognition of the need for rigorous methods for cybersecurity and software assurance. The goal of this minitrack is to develop science foundations, technologies, and practices that canmore » improve the security and dependability of complex systems.« less

Transient ischemic attack: reviewing the evolution of the definition, diagnosis, risk stratification, and management for the emergency physician.

PubMed

Siket, Matthew S; Edlow, Jonathan A

2012-08-01

A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is an episode of reversible neurologic deficit caused by temporary focal central nervous system hypoperfusion. TIA is a medical emergency. Because patients with TIA in the emergency department (ED) have a high risk for stroke within the next 48 hours, it is imperative for the clinician to recognize this golden opportunity to prevent a disabling stroke. This article reviews our conceptual understanding of TIA, its definition, diagnosis, ways to stratify stroke risk, the acute management and disposition in the ED, and the potential future role of diagnostic biomarkers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Erythromycin in therapy of cyclic vomiting syndrome].

PubMed

Pavlović, Momcilo; Radlović, Nedeljko; Leković, Zoran; Berenji, Karolina

2007-01-01

Cyclic vomiting syndrome is an insufficiently understood disorder which manifests itself in stereotypical episodes of vomiting with no detectable organic cause. Considering its unknown aetiology, drugs borrowed from various medication classes are applied in the therapy of this disorder, with variable success. Among other medicaments, erythromycin is also used in treatment of cyclic vomiting syndrome. This is a case study in which the application of erythromycin led to the prevention of attacks of cyclic vomiting syndrome. Our case report presents how periodical erythromycin therapy in two-week intervals at expected attack periods in a girl led to disappearance of cyclic vomiting. Adverse effects of erythromycin did not show up.

75 FR 44270 - Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-28

... Cardiovascular Disease Description of Invention: This technology consists of peptides and peptide-analogues that... atherosclerosis Treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke.... Global sales for cardiovascular therapeutics are expected to exceed $50b in 2010. Inventors: Amar A...

Decay under basementless houses prevented by soil covers

Treesearch

Jesse D. Diller

1954-01-01

Sills and joists of basementless houses on wet sites are subject to decay. Moisture vapor rising from the soil will condense on wood during cold weather (fig. 1). If the wood stays wet, fungi attack it and ultimately cause decay and possibly structural failure.

The effects of diaphenylsulfone (DDS) against chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum*

PubMed Central

Degowin, Richard L.; Eppes, R. Bennett; Carson, Paul E.; Powell, Robin D.

1966-01-01

In view of the problems caused by the chloroquine-resistance of some strains of Plasmodium falciparum, the authors have investigated the effectiveness of diaphenylsulfone against two such resistant strains, from Malaya and Viet-Nam. They found that diaphenylsulfone given during acute attacks of malaria had a blood schizontocidal activity against the Malayan resistant strain but was not rapidly effective in terminating acute attacks in non-immune persons, and that, when the drug was given prophylactically in relatively small doses, it was substantially effective in preventing patency of mosquito-induced infection with the same strain. The protective effect of diaphenylsulfone is that of a clinical prophylactic or suppressive drug; it does not appear to be a true causal prophylactic. It was also found that the protective effect is vitiated by the concurrent administration of paraaminobenzoic acid. These studies indicate a need for further assessment of the antimalarial value of sulfones and sulfonamides, both alone and in combination with other drugs, for prevention and cure. PMID:5328901

Bear Spray Safety Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Blome, C.D.; Kuzniar, R.L.

2009-01-01

A bear spray safety program for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was officially initiated by the Firearms Safety Committee to address accident prevention and to promote personnel training in bear spray and its transportation, storage, and use for defense against wild animals. Used as part of a system including firearms, or used alone for those who choose not to carry a firearm, bear spray is recognized as an effective tool that can prevent injury in a wild animal attack.

Toward Exposing Timing-Based Probing Attacks in Web Applications †

PubMed Central

Mao, Jian; Chen, Yue; Shi, Futian; Jia, Yaoqi; Liang, Zhenkai

2017-01-01

Web applications have become the foundation of many types of systems, ranging from cloud services to Internet of Things (IoT) systems. Due to the large amount of sensitive data processed by web applications, user privacy emerges as a major concern in web security. Existing protection mechanisms in modern browsers, e.g., the same origin policy, prevent the users’ browsing information on one website from being directly accessed by another website. However, web applications executed in the same browser share the same runtime environment. Such shared states provide side channels for malicious websites to indirectly figure out the information of other origins. Timing is a classic side channel and the root cause of many recent attacks, which rely on the variations in the time taken by the systems to process different inputs. In this paper, we propose an approach to expose the timing-based probing attacks in web applications. It monitors the browser behaviors and identifies anomalous timing behaviors to detect browser probing attacks. We have prototyped our system in the Google Chrome browser and evaluated the effectiveness of our approach by using known probing techniques. We have applied our approach on a large number of top Alexa sites and reported the suspicious behavior patterns with corresponding analysis results. Our theoretical analysis illustrates that the effectiveness of the timing-based probing attacks is dramatically limited by our approach. PMID:28245610

Toward Exposing Timing-Based Probing Attacks in Web Applications.

PubMed

Mao, Jian; Chen, Yue; Shi, Futian; Jia, Yaoqi; Liang, Zhenkai

2017-02-25

Web applications have become the foundation of many types of systems, ranging from cloud services to Internet of Things (IoT) systems. Due to the large amount of sensitive data processed by web applications, user privacy emerges as a major concern in web security. Existing protection mechanisms in modern browsers, e.g., the same origin policy, prevent the users' browsing information on one website from being directly accessed by another website. However, web applications executed in the same browser share the same runtime environment. Such shared states provide side channels for malicious websites to indirectly figure out the information of other origins. Timing is a classic side channel and the root cause of many recent attacks, which rely on the variations in the time taken by the systems to process different inputs. In this paper, we propose an approach to expose the timing-based probing attacks in web applications. It monitors the browser behaviors and identifies anomalous timing behaviors to detect browser probing attacks. We have prototyped our system in the Google Chrome browser and evaluated the effectiveness of our approach by using known probing techniques. We have applied our approach on a large number of top Alexa sites and reported the suspicious behavior patterns with corresponding analysis results. Our theoretical analysis illustrates that the effectiveness of the timing-based probing attacks is dramatically limited by our approach.

PHACK: An Efficient Scheme for Selective Forwarding Attack Detection in WSNs.

PubMed

Liu, Anfeng; Dong, Mianxiong; Ota, Kaoru; Long, Jun

2015-12-09

In this paper, a Per-Hop Acknowledgement (PHACK)-based scheme is proposed for each packet transmission to detect selective forwarding attacks. In our scheme, the sink and each node along the forwarding path generate an acknowledgement (ACK) message for each received packet to confirm the normal packet transmission. The scheme, in which each ACK is returned to the source node along a different routing path, can significantly increase the resilience against attacks because it prevents an attacker from compromising nodes in the return routing path, which can otherwise interrupt the return of nodes' ACK packets. For this case, the PHACK scheme also has better potential to detect abnormal packet loss and identify suspect nodes as well as better resilience against attacks. Another pivotal issue is the network lifetime of the PHACK scheme, as it generates more acknowledgements than previous ACK-based schemes. We demonstrate that the network lifetime of the PHACK scheme is not lower than that of other ACK-based schemes because the scheme just increases the energy consumption in non-hotspot areas and does not increase the energy consumption in hotspot areas. Moreover, the PHACK scheme greatly simplifies the protocol and is easy to implement. Both theoretical and simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in terms of high detection probability and the ability to identify suspect nodes.

PHACK: An Efficient Scheme for Selective Forwarding Attack Detection in WSNs

PubMed Central

Liu, Anfeng; Dong, Mianxiong; Ota, Kaoru; Long, Jun

2015-01-01

In this paper, a Per-Hop Acknowledgement (PHACK)-based scheme is proposed for each packet transmission to detect selective forwarding attacks. In our scheme, the sink and each node along the forwarding path generate an acknowledgement (ACK) message for each received packet to confirm the normal packet transmission. The scheme, in which each ACK is returned to the source node along a different routing path, can significantly increase the resilience against attacks because it prevents an attacker from compromising nodes in the return routing path, which can otherwise interrupt the return of nodes’ ACK packets. For this case, the PHACK scheme also has better potential to detect abnormal packet loss and identify suspect nodes as well as better resilience against attacks. Another pivotal issue is the network lifetime of the PHACK scheme, as it generates more acknowledgements than previous ACK-based schemes. We demonstrate that the network lifetime of the PHACK scheme is not lower than that of other ACK-based schemes because the scheme just increases the energy consumption in non-hotspot areas and does not increase the energy consumption in hotspot areas. Moreover, the PHACK scheme greatly simplifies the protocol and is easy to implement. Both theoretical and simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in terms of high detection probability and the ability to identify suspect nodes. PMID:26690178

Clinical significance of delta neutrophil index in the differential diagnosis between septic arthritis and acute gout attack within 24 hours after hospitalization

PubMed Central

Pyo, Jung Yoon; Kim, Dae Sik; Jung, Seung Min; Song, Jason Jungsik; Park, Yong-Beom; Lee, Sang-Won

2017-01-01

Abstract The most important differential diagnoses of acute monoarticular arthritis are septic arthritis and acute gout attack. Identifying infection is crucial in preventing the devastating outcome of septic arthritis. The delta neutrophil index (DNI) is a value that corresponds to the fraction of circulating immature granulocytes. As DNI reflects the burden of infection, we evaluated this index as a differentiating marker between septic arthritis and acute gout attack. The medical records of 149 patients with septic arthritis and 194 patients with acute gout attack were reviewed. A specific cell analyzer, ADVIA 2120, was used to measure DNI. Clinical and laboratory markers associated with predicting septic arthritis were assessed by using logistic regression. Patients with septic arthritis showed higher levels of DNI than those with acute gout attack (3.3 vs 0.6%, P < .001). Similar results were observed in patients without monosodium urate (MSU) crystal confirmation or those with normouricemia (3.3 vs 0.5 and 3.1 vs 0.7%, respectively; P < .001 for both). A DNI level of 1.9% was determined as the cutoff value for predicting septic arthritis. In the multivariate analysis, DNI was the most powerful independent value for predicting septic arthritis (odds ratio 14.003). This study showed the possibility of using DNI as a differentiating marker between septic arthritis and acute gout attack at the crucial early phase. DNI showed its relevance regardless of confirmation of MSU crystal deposition or serum level of uric acid. PMID:28746185

ICS logging solution for network-based attacks using Gumistix technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otis, Jeremy R.; Berman, Dustin; Butts, Jonathan; Lopez, Juan

2013-05-01

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) monitor and control operations associated with the national critical infrastructure (e.g., electric power grid, oil and gas pipelines and water treatment facilities). These systems rely on technologies and architectures that were designed for system reliability and availability. Security associated with ICS was never an inherent concern, primarily due to the protections afforded by network isolation. However, a trend in ICS operations is to migrate to commercial networks via TCP/IP in order to leverage commodity benefits and cost savings. As a result, system vulnerabilities are now exposed to the online community. Indeed, recent research has demonstrated that many exposed ICS devices are being discovered using readily available applications (e.g., ShodanHQ search engine and Google-esque queries). Due to the lack of security and logging capabilities for ICS, most knowledge about attacks are derived from real world incidents after an attack has already been carried out and the damage has been done. This research provides a method for introducing sensors into the ICS environment that collect information about network-based attacks. The sensors are developed using an inexpensive Gumstix platform that can be deployed and incorporated with production systems. Data obtained from the sensors provide insight into attack tactics (e.g., port scans, Nessus scans, Metasploit modules, and zero-day exploits) and characteristics (e.g., attack origin, frequency, and level of persistence). Findings enable security professionals to draw an accurate, real-time awareness of the threats against ICS devices and help shift the security posture from reactionary to preventative.

Ocular Involvement of Behçet's Syndrome: a Comprehensive Review.

PubMed

Ozyazgan, Yilmaz; Ucar, Didar; Hatemi, Gulen; Yazici, Yusuf

2015-12-01

Behçet's syndrome (BS) is a vasculitis involving several organ systems including the eyes. Ocular involvement is one of the most disabling complications of BS, causing loss of vision that may progress to blindness if left untreated. The typical form of ocular involvement is a relapsing and remitting panuveitis and retinal vasculitis. Initial attacks may spontaneously improve and subsequently disappear in a few weeks but tend to recur if left untreated. Destructive and recurrent attacks, especially with posterior segment and retina involvement, may cause irreversible ocular structural changes and permanent damage in sensory retina, resulting in loss of vision. The risk of irreversible damage to ocular tissue which may result in loss of vision warrants early and intensive treatment especially in patients at high risk such as young men who tend to follow an aggressive disease course. The management strategy involves rapid suppression of inflammation during the attacks and prevention of recurrent attacks. Local and systemic measures including immunosuppressives, corticosteroids, and biologic agents are used for this purpose. Surgery may be required in selected cases. The prognosis of eye involvement has greatly improved over the last decades with the effective use of immunosuppressives.

Fuzzy-information-based robustness of interconnected networks against attacks and failures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Qian; Zhu, Zhiliang; Wang, Yifan; Yu, Hai

2016-09-01

Cascading failure is fatal in applications and its investigation is essential and therefore became a focal topic in the field of complex networks in the last decade. In this paper, a cascading failure model is established for interconnected networks and the associated data-packet transport problem is discussed. A distinguished feature of the new model is its utilization of fuzzy information in resisting uncertain failures and malicious attacks. We numerically find that the giant component of the network after failures increases with tolerance parameter for any coupling preference and attacking ambiguity. Moreover, considering the effect of the coupling probability on the robustness of the networks, we find that the robustness of the assortative coupling and random coupling of the network model increases with the coupling probability. However, for disassortative coupling, there exists a critical phenomenon for coupling probability. In addition, a critical value that attacking information accuracy affects the network robustness is observed. Finally, as a practical example, the interconnected AS-level Internet in South Korea and Japan is analyzed. The actual data validates the theoretical model and analytic results. This paper thus provides some guidelines for preventing cascading failures in the design of architecture and optimization of real-world interconnected networks.

Increasing incidence of injuries and fatalities inflicted by wild animals in Kashmir.

PubMed

Nabi, Dar G; Tak, Shafaat Rashid; Kangoo, K A; Halwai, Manzoor A

2009-01-01

To clarify the causes of the increased incidence of injuries inflicted by wild animals in Kashmir, and to suggest preventive measures. A retrospective study reviewed records of these injuries. Data were collected from the hospital in Srinagar and from the Wildlife Protection Department of Kashmir. A total of 203 attacks (26 deaths and 177 near-fatal injuries) were recorded from January 2005 to October 2007, involving 145 (71.5%) male and 58 (28.5%) female victims. The attacking animal was a black bear in 104 (51.2%), a leopard in 18 (8.8%), a wolf in 7 (3.4%) and unidentified in 74 (36.4%) cases; 130 (64%) of these attacks occurred in southern Kashmir. The steady increase in human population in areas close to jungle results in deforestation and destruction of wildlife habitat. The reduction in monkeys and deer (the staple food of leopards) causes these dangerous predators to search for food in the areas occupied by humans, who may then be attacked. Treatment of these cases requires a multidisciplinary approach, including an orthopaedic surgeon, plastic surgeon, microbiologist and psychiatrist, to achieve best cosmetic and functional results.

Methods for reliability evaluation of trust and reputation systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janiszewski, Marek B.

2016-09-01

Trust and reputation systems are a systematic approach to build security on the basis of observations of node's behaviour. Exchange of node's opinions about other nodes is very useful to indicate nodes which act selfishly or maliciously. The idea behind trust and reputation systems gets significance because of the fact that conventional security measures (based on cryptography) are often not sufficient. Trust and reputation systems can be used in various types of networks such as WSN, MANET, P2P and also in e-commerce applications. Trust and reputation systems give not only benefits but also could be a thread itself. Many attacks aim at trust and reputation systems exist, but such attacks still have not gain enough attention of research teams. Moreover, joint effects of many of known attacks have been determined as a very interesting field of research. Lack of an acknowledged methodology of evaluation of trust and reputation systems is a serious problem. This paper aims at presenting various approaches of evaluation such systems. This work also contains a description of generalization of many trust and reputation systems which can be used to evaluate reliability of such systems in the context of preventing various attacks.

Taiwan: America’s Next War?

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-04-08

7. 29 Megatrends China, Beijing: Hauling Publishing House, May 1996, as cited in Richard Bernstein and Ross H. Munro, The Coming Conflict with...other economic interests in Asia  To prevent, deter and reduce the threat of nuclear, biological , and chemical (NBC) attacks on the U.S. and its

Communicating about the Risks of Terrorism (or Anything Else)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischhoff, Baruch

2011-01-01

Communication is essential to preventing terrorists from achieving their objectives. Effective communication can reduce terrorists' chances of mounting successful operations, creating threats that disrupt everyday life, and undermining the legitimacy of the societies that they attack. Psychological research has essential roles to play in that…

The Coronary Patient in Industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuster, B.

1971-01-01

The coronary patient, as he pertains to industry particularly NASA, is discussed. Concepts of precoronary care, acute attacks which may develop while on the job, and the return of the cardiac patient to work are covered. Major emphasis was on the prevention of sudden death due to coronary disease.

Preventing Heart Attacks and Strokes: Increasing Awareness of the Adverse Cardiovascular Health Impacts of Air Pollution

EPA Science Inventory

Summary: Chronic cardiovascular disease imposes a significant health and economic burden on individuals and communities. Despite decades of improvement in cardiovascular mortality, cardiovascular disease and stroke remain the leading cause of death in the U.S. and disparities i...

Healthy Heart Collaboration and Developed Toolkit

EPA Science Inventory

Impact: EPA is raising awareness of heart disease and its link to air pollution and other environmental factors as a partner in Million Hearts, a national initiative to prevent heart attacks and strokes. The talk will provide an up to date review of the evidence linking air poll...

WATER SECURITY MONITORING USING SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY - PHASE II

EPA Science Inventory

Clean drinking water is a critical component of the United States infrastructure and is therefore a potential target for terrorists. In addition to physical attacks to the water network, like dams, pumping stations and pipelines, there must be vigilance to prevent the water i...

WATER SECURITY MONITORING USING SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY - PHASE I

EPA Science Inventory

Clean drinking water is a critical component of the United States infrastructure and is therefore a potential target for terrorists. In addition to physical attacks to the water network including dams, pumping stations and pipelines, there must be vigilance to prevent the wate...

Karate and karate injuries.

PubMed Central

McLatchie, G.

1981-01-01

The origins of karate and its evolution as a sport are described. Karate injuries tend to occur in three main areas: the head and neck, the viscera, and the limbs. Effective legislation controlling karate, which could help prevent injuries, is lacking at the moment and should be established. Recommendations for the prevention of injury include the introduction of weight classes, mandatory provision of protective equipment such as padded flooring, and the outlawing of certain uncontrollable methods of attack. Images p84-a Fig. I Fig. II PMID:7248692

The Effect of a Coronary Artery Risk Evaluation Program on the Serum Lipid Values of a Selected Military Population

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-05-01

interventions reduced low density lipoproteins and serum cholesterol levels. The goals of risk factor reduction are disease prevention , delay of disease... preventing CAD (Lipid Research Clinics Program, 1984). A 1% reduction in cholesterol was associated with a 2 % reduction in risk (NIH, 1984). This includes...heart attack before age 65? Yes No 2 . Do you have Diabetes Mellitus ? Yes No 3. Do you have uncontrolled hypertension? (Blood Pressure consistently

Settling the 'Score' with Heart Disease

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

Technology and medicine forged a bond in 1986 when a group of dedicated NASA scientists, University of Southern California (USC) medical professors, and a Dutch cardiologist joined forces to prevent heart attacks, using ultrasound images of astronauts blood-flow patterns and the supercomputer depended upon to orchestrate the "Star Wars" Strategic Defense Initiative.

SYRACUSE ACTION FOR YOUTH.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ADDINGTON, HAROLD E.; AND OTHERS

A PROPOSAL WAS MADE TO PREVENT AND CONTROL JUVENILE DELINQUENCY BY OPENING OPPORTUNITIES AND DEVELOPING COMPETENCE AMONG DISADVANTAGED YOUTH. THE TOTAL COMMUNITY WAS MOBILIZED TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM TO ATTACK THE PROBLEM AT ALL LEVELS THEY WORKED FOR 18 MONTHS TO PLAN A SERIES OF CREATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS IN EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, AND COMMUNITY…

School Psychology Services: Community-Based, First-Order Crisis Intervention during the Gulf War.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klingman, Avigdor

1992-01-01

Examines the community-based mental health preventive measures undertaken by the school psychology services in response to the missile attacks on Israel during the Gulf War. Attempts to report and delineate the major assumptions and components of some of the key interventions. (Author/NB)

The Computer Virus Threat and What You Can Do about It.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lateulere, John

1992-01-01

Discussion of computer viruses describes two types of viruses and how they work; suggests ways to prevent or minimize virus risk; and explains how to recognize a virus and limit damage once a virus attacks. A sidebar lists several antivirus software products. (two references) (NRP)

Heart Health Education in the Young

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sunseri, Albert J.; Kruc, Joan E.

1978-01-01

The focus of this article is to examine selected approaches to heart health education, to describe a program the Heart Attack Prevention Program of the Chicago Heart Association is designing and implementing in heart health education, and to make recommendations concerning future development of health education programs by other agencies. (Author)

Age Related Changes in Preventive Health Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leventhal, Elaine A.; And Others

Health behavior may be influenced by age, beliefs, and symptomatology. To examine age-related health beliefs and behaviors with respect to six diseases (the common cold, colon-rectal cancer, lung cancer, heart attack, high blood pressure, and senility), 396 adults (196 males, 200 females) divided into three age groups completed a questionnaire…

Factors that affect mosquito bite prevention from permethrin-treated US military combat uniforms

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Historically, casualties from diseases have greatly outnumbered those from combat during military operations. Since 1951, US military combat uniforms have been chemically treated to protect personnel from arthropod attack. In the 1970s and 1980s, permethrin was one of several insecticides evaluate...

Computer Viruses: Prevention, Detection, and Treatment

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-12

executed, also carries out its covert function, potentially undetected. This class of attack earned the term "Trojan horse" from the original of Greek ... mythology , signifying a gift which conceals a malicious purpose. 1 cause harm. The offending code may be present in a code segment the user "touches," which

Clinical and Demographic Characteristics Associated With Suboptimal Primary Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack Prevention: Retrospective Analysis.

PubMed

Turner, Grace M; Calvert, Melanie; Feltham, Max G; Ryan, Ronan; Finnikin, Samuel; Marshall, Tom

2018-03-01

Primary prevention of stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) is important to reduce the burden of these conditions; however, prescribing of prevention drugs is suboptimal. We aimed to identify individual clinical and demographic characteristics associated with potential missed opportunities for prevention therapy with lipid-lowering, anticoagulant, or antihypertensive drugs before stroke/TIA. We analyzed anonymized electronic primary care records from a UK primary care database that covers 561 family practices. Patients with first-ever stroke/TIA, ≥18 years, with diagnosis between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2013, were included. Missed opportunities for prevention were defined as people with clinical indications for lipid-lowering, anticoagulant, or antihypertensive drugs but not prescribed these drugs before their stroke/TIA. Mixed-effect logistic regression models evaluated the relationship between missed opportunities and individual clinical/demographic characteristics. The inclusion criteria were met by 29 043 people with stroke/TIA. Patients with coronary heart disease, chronic kidney disease, peripheral arterial disease, or diabetes mellitus were at less risk of a missed opportunity for prescription of lipid-lowering and antihypertensive drugs. However, patients with a 10-year cardiovascular disease risk ≥20% but without these diagnoses had increased risk of having a missed opportunity for prescription of lipid-lowering drugs or antihypertensive drugs. Women were less likely to be prescribed anticoagulants but more likely to be prescribed antihypertensive drugs. The elderly (≥85 years of age) were less likely to be prescribed all 3 prevention drugs, compared with people aged 75 to 79 years. Knowing the patient characteristics predictive of missed opportunities for stroke prevention may help primary care identify and appropriately manage these patients. Improving the management of these groups may reduce their risk and potentially prevent large number of future strokes and TIAs in the population. © 2018 American Heart Association, Inc.

Under-prescribing of Prevention Drugs and Primary Prevention of Stroke and Transient Ischaemic Attack in UK General Practice: A Retrospective Analysis.

PubMed

Turner, Grace M; Calvert, Melanie; Feltham, Max G; Ryan, Ronan; Fitzmaurice, David; Cheng, K K; Marshall, Tom

2016-11-01

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability; worldwide it is estimated that 16.9 million people have a first stroke each year. Lipid-lowering, anticoagulant, and antihypertensive drugs can prevent strokes, but may be underused. We analysed anonymised electronic primary care records from a United Kingdom (UK) primary care database that covers approximately 6% of the UK population. Patients with first-ever stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA), ≥18 y, with diagnosis between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2013, were included. Drugs were considered under-prescribed when lipid-lowering, anticoagulant, or antihypertensive drugs were clinically indicated but were not prescribed prior to the time of stroke or TIA. The proportions of strokes or TIAs with prevention drugs under-prescribed, when clinically indicated, were calculated. In all, 29,043 stroke/TIA patients met the inclusion criteria; 17,680 had ≥1 prevention drug clinically indicated: 16,028 had lipid-lowering drugs indicated, 3,194 anticoagulant drugs, and 7,008 antihypertensive drugs. At least one prevention drug was not prescribed when clinically indicated in 54% (9,579/17,680) of stroke/TIA patients: 49% (7,836/16,028) were not prescribed lipid-lowering drugs, 52% (1,647/3,194) were not prescribed anticoagulant drugs, and 25% (1,740/7,008) were not prescribed antihypertensive drugs. The limitations of our study are that our definition of under-prescribing of drugs for stroke/TIA prevention did not address patients' adherence to medication or medication targets, such as blood pressure levels. In our study, over half of people eligible for lipid-lowering, anticoagulant, or antihypertensive drugs were not prescribed them prior to first stroke/TIA. We estimate that approximately 12,000 first strokes could potentially be prevented annually in the UK through optimal prescribing of these drugs. Improving prescription of lipid-lowering, anticoagulant, and antihypertensive drugs is important to reduce the incidence and burden of stroke and TIA.

Predictors for attacks on people after deinstitutionalization.

PubMed

Nøttestad, J Aa; Linaker, O M

2002-09-01

The deinstitutionalization movement is presently spreading in Europe, but studies evaluating the effects of deinstitutionalization on behaviour disturbances among people with intellectual disability (ID) are inconclusive. The prevalence of aggressive behaviour among people with ID is high in both institutions and in community. Aggression and attacks on people are a significant problem for people with ID in both institutions and society. In the present paper, the authors focus on individuals who started attacking people after deinstitutionalization. The authors studied individual and environmental characteristics before and after deinstitutionalization to look for individual and environmental predictors for the development of aggression with the hope that some could be possible intervention points for preventive action. In an institution for people with ID, all who did not attack people before deinstitutionalization were included. The individuals who started attacking others after deinstitutionalization (n = 22) were the study group (group A) and those who did not (n = 42) comprised the control group (group B). The population was examined before and after deinstitutionalization. As far as possible the same methods were used at both occasions. The covariates included individual ones, such as mental health, behaviour disturbances and behaviour deficits, and environmental ones, such as caretaker education, caretaker:patient ratio, housing and leisure activities. Psychiatric disorders were identified in 1987 and 1995 with the Psychopathology Instrument for Mentally Retarded Adults (PIMRA), which was filled in by the caretakers. Group A showed significantly more self-injurious behaviour (SIB) than group B in 1987. The sum of behaviour disturbances shown in the past year, attacks on property, SIB and other disruptive behaviours were also significantly higher in group A than in group B. The soundness scores on the PIMRA for the people in group A were lower than for the people in group B. Group A contained significantly fewer people without behavioural problems in the past year. The authors could not find any differences on other individual characteristics such as aetiologies of ID and behaviour deficits in 1987. The caretakers' evaluations of the clients need for help, based on behaviour disturbances and mental health problems, were significantly higher in group A. The people in this study differed in age, gender and degree of ID from those in most other studies on ID and challenging behaviour. The individual predictors for starting to attack others after deinstitutionalization were SIB, a slight load of other behaviour problems and a low soundness score on the PIMRA. The only environmental predictor was the caretakers' evaluation of the subjects' need for help caused by behaviour problems and mental illness. The authors could not identify possible preventive intervention points, neither individual or environmental, and therefore, further studies are needed.

[Dangerous sharks in tropical seas].

PubMed

Maslin, J; Menard, G; Drouin, C; Pollet, L

2000-01-01

Sightseeing travel in tropical zones is a growing industry. The risks incurred by travelers depend on the destination, duration of stay, individual behavior, and type of leisure activity. Water sports expose visitors to encounters with dangerous marine animals. Shark attacks are rare but always serious occurrences. Divers should handle any shark, regardless of size, with due precaution. Prevention of shark attack depends on avoiding encounters by not attracting the attention of the shark and knowing the proper attitude to adopt in case an encounter should occur. Active and passive protection can be used, but each method has advantages and disadvantages depending on the situation. Rescue operations are difficult due to the gravity of injuries and their occurrence in a marine environment. This along with the nature of the aggressor explain that many attacks are immediately fatal. Wounds are often deep with involvement of bone, blood vessels, and nerves. A possible source of complication in survivors is infection, which can involve uncommon microorganisms associated with bacteria in sharks mouth or marine environment.

What good cyber resilience looks like.

PubMed

Hult, Fredrik; Sivanesan, Giri

In January 2012, the World Economic Forum made cyber attacks its fourth top global risk. In the 2013 risk report, cyber attacks were noted to be an even higher risk in absolute terms. The reliance of critical infrastructure on cyber working has never been higher; the frequency, intensity, impact and sophistication of attacks is growing. This trend looks likely to continue. It can be argued that it is no longer a question whether an organisation will be successfully hacked, but how long it will take to detect. In the ever-changing cyber environment, traditional protection techniques and reliance on preventive controls are not enough. A more agile approach is required to give assurance of a sufficiently secure digital society. Are we faced with a paradigm shift or a storm in a digital teacup? This paper offers an introduction to why cyber is important, a wider taxonomy on the topic and some historical context on how the discipline of cyber security has evolved, and an interpretation on what this means in the new normal of today.

Diagnosis, pathophysiology, and management of cluster headache.

PubMed

Hoffmann, Jan; May, Arne

2018-01-01

Cluster headache is a trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia characterised by extremely painful, strictly unilateral, short-lasting headache attacks accompanied by ipsilateral autonomic symptoms or the sense of restlessness and agitation, or both. The severity of the disorder has major effects on the patient's quality of life and, in some cases, might lead to suicidal ideation. Cluster headache is now thought to involve a synchronised abnormal activity in the hypothalamus, the trigeminovascular system, and the autonomic nervous system. The hypothalamus appears to play a fundamental role in the generation of a permissive state that allows the initiation of an episode, whereas the attacks are likely to require the involvement of the peripheral nervous system. Triptans are the most effective drugs to treat an acute cluster headache attack. Monoclonal antibodies against calcitonin gene-related peptide, a crucial neurotransmitter of the trigeminal system, are under investigation for the preventive treatment of cluster headache. These studies will increase our understanding of the disorder and perhaps reveal other therapeutic targets. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Known plaintext attack on double random phase encoding using fingerprint as key and a method for avoiding the attack.

PubMed

Tashima, Hideaki; Takeda, Masafumi; Suzuki, Hiroyuki; Obi, Takashi; Yamaguchi, Masahiro; Ohyama, Nagaaki

2010-06-21

We have shown that the application of double random phase encoding (DRPE) to biometrics enables the use of biometrics as cipher keys for binary data encryption. However, DRPE is reported to be vulnerable to known-plaintext attacks (KPAs) using a phase recovery algorithm. In this study, we investigated the vulnerability of DRPE using fingerprints as cipher keys to the KPAs. By means of computational experiments, we estimated the encryption key and restored the fingerprint image using the estimated key. Further, we propose a method for avoiding the KPA on the DRPE that employs the phase retrieval algorithm. The proposed method makes the amplitude component of the encrypted image constant in order to prevent the amplitude component of the encrypted image from being used as a clue for phase retrieval. Computational experiments showed that the proposed method not only avoids revealing the cipher key and the fingerprint but also serves as a sufficiently accurate verification system.

Introducing cyber.

PubMed

Hult, Fredrik; Sivanesan, Giri

In January 2012, the World Economic Forum made cyber attacks its fourth top global risk. In the 2013 risk report, cyber attacks were noted to be an even higher risk in absolute terms. The reliance of critical infrastructure on cyber working has never been higher; the frequency, intensity, impact and sophistication of attacks is growing. This trend looks likely to continue. It can be argued that it is no longer a question whether an organisation will be successfully hacked, but how long it will take to detect. In the ever-changing cyber environment, traditional protection techniques and reliance on preventive controls are not enough. A more agile approach is required to give assurance of a sufficiently secure digital society. Are we faced with a paradigm shift or a storm in a digital teacup? This paper offers an introduction to why cyber is important, a wider taxonomy on the topic and some historical context on how the discipline of cyber security has evolved, and an interpretation on what this means in the new normal of today.

Flood Stress as a Technique to Assess Preventive Insecticide and Fungicide Treatments for Protecting Trees against Ambrosia Beetles

PubMed Central

Ranger, Christopher M.; Schultz, Peter B.; Reding, Michael E.; Frank, Steven D.; Palmquist, Debra E.

2016-01-01

Ambrosia beetles tunnel into the heartwood of trees where they cultivate and feed upon a symbiotic fungus. We assessed the effectiveness of flood stress for making Cercis canadensis L. and Cornus florida L. trees attractive to attack as part of insecticide and fungicide efficacy trials conducted in Ohio and Virginia. Since female ambrosia beetles will not begin ovipositing until their symbiotic fungus is established within the host, we also assessed pre-treatment of trees with permethrin, azoxystrobin, and potassium phosphite on fungal establishment and beetle colonization success. Permethrin reduced attacks on flooded trees, yet no attacks occurred on any of the non-flooded trees. Fewer galleries created within flooded trees pre-treated with permethrin, azoxystrobin, and potassium phosphite contained the purported symbiotic fungus; foundress’ eggs were only detected in flooded but untreated trees. While pre-treatment with permethrin, azoxystrobin, and potassium phosphite can disrupt colonization success, maintaining tree health continues to be the most effective and sustainable management strategy. PMID:27548230

Industrial Control Systems/SCADA systems risk assessment in the energy sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falodun, Babatunde

The energy sector is one of the most critical components of our national infrastructure. It not only provides the electrical power and petroleum required to run day-to-day operations and mechanisms in society, it's also an important element that directly impacts the economy with regard to growth and stability. Industrial Control Systems (ICS) /Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA) are computerized mechanisms, they are both software and hardware that are used to control real time processes and operations in power plants and oil production facilities. A significant attack on these control systems that leads to widespread disruption of energy could result in catastrophic consequences for any major city and even the nation. This research paper explores cyber threats and vulnerabilities faced by ICS/SCADA systems in the energy sector and also highlights possible outcomes of a successful breach. Furthermore, the research underscores mitigation strategies that could be used to prevent and respond to an attack. Keywords: Cybersecurity, SCADA, Cyber Attacks, Threats, Vulnerabilities, Risk Assessment, Dr. Albert Orbinati.

Psychosocial responses to biological and chemical terrorist threats and events. Implications for the workplace.

PubMed

Beaton, Randal; Murphy, Shirley

2002-04-01

1. Both biological and chemical weapons (BCW) could potentially be used in future terrorist attacks on U.S. workplaces and communities. 2. Threats of BCW terrorism may lead to anxiety, adverse health effects, and the exacerbation of psychiatric symptoms and syndromes in workers and managers. 3. Actual BCW attacks will likely cause both acute and chronic mental disorders in a significant number of surviving victims who may also be employees or employers. 4. Occupational health nurses can help prevent or remediate maladaptive psychological responses by educating themselves and their work forces, assisting in a risk assessment of the workplace, understanding disaster planning, and assisting management in policy formulation and psychosocial triage.

PubMed Central

CANZI, P.; OCCHINI, A.; PAGELLA, F.; MARCHAL, F.; BENAZZO, M.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Juvenile recurrent parotitis (JRP) is the second most frequent salivary gland disease in childhood, defined as a recurrent non-suppurative and non-obstructive parotid inflammation. The recurring attacks actually represent the most dramatic and serious aspect of this pathology, since they significantly influence the quality of life, and there are no recognized therapies to avoid them. In recent years, there are reports of many international experiences related to the management of JRP by sialendoscopy. In this context, several authors have stressed the striking role of sialendoscopy in the prevention of JRP attacks. The objective of the current review is to overview the existing literature with particular regards to diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes after the application of sialendoscopy in patients suffering from JRP. PMID:24376291

Economics of Employer-Sponsored Workplace Vaccination to Prevent Pandemic and Seasonal Influenza

PubMed Central

Lee, Bruce Y.; Bailey, Rachel R.; Wiringa, Ann E.; Afriyie, Abena; Wateska, Angela R.; Smith, Kenneth J.; Zimmerman, Richard K.

2010-01-01

Employers may be loath to fund vaccination programs without understanding the economic consequences. We developed a decision analytic computational simulation model including dynamic transmission elements that determined the cost-benefit of employer-sponsored workplace vaccination from the employer's perspective. Implementing such programs was relatively inexpensive (<$35/vaccinated employee) and, in many cases, cost saving across diverse occupational groups in all seasonal influenza scenarios. Such programs were cost-saving for a 20% serologic attack rate pandemic scenario (−$15 to −$995) per vaccinated employee) and a 30% serologic attack rate pandemic scenario (range −$39 to −$1,494 per vaccinated employee) across all age and major occupational groups. PMID:20620168

Prevention of Malicious Nodes Communication in MANETs by Using Authorized Tokens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrakant, N.; Shenoy, P. Deepa; Venugopal, K. R.; Patnaik, L. M.

A rapid increase of wireless networks and mobile computing applications has changed the landscape of network security. A MANET is more susceptible to the attacks than wired network. As a result, attacks with malicious intent have been and will be devised to take advantage of these vulnerabilities and to cripple the MANET operation. Hence we need to search for new architecture and mechanisms to protect the wireless networks and mobile computing applications. In this paper, we examine the nodes that come under the vicinity of base node and members of the network and communication is provided to genuine nodes only. It is found that the proposed algorithm is a effective algorithm for security in MANETs.

Occupational Practitioner’s Role in the Management of a Crisis: Lessons Learned from the Paris November 2015 Terrorist Attack

PubMed Central

Descatha, Alexis; Huynh Tuong, Alice; Coninx, Pierre; Baer, Michel; Loeb, Thomas; Despréaux, Thomas

2016-01-01

In massive catastrophic events, occupational health practitioners are more and more frequently involved in the management of such situations. We aim to describe the multiple aspects of the role that occupational health practitioners might play, by focusing on the recent example of the Paris terrorist attack of November 2015. During and after the Paris attack, occupational practitioners, in collaboration with emergency and security professionals, were involved in psychological care, assembling information, follow-up, return-to-work, and improving in-company safety plans. Based on this experience and other industrial disasters, we distinguish three phases: the critical phase, the post-critical phase, and the anticipation phase. In the critical phase, the occupational practitioner cares for patients before the emergency professionals take charge, initiates the psychological management, and may also play an organizational role for company health aspects. In the post-critical phase, he or she would be involved in monitoring those affected by the events and participate in preventing, to the extent possible, posttraumatic stress disorder, helping victims in the return-to-work process, and improving procedures and organizing drills. In addition to their usual work of primary prevention, occupational practitioners should endeavor to improve preparedness in the anticipation phase, by taking part in contingency planning, training in first aid, and defining immediately applicable protocols. In conclusion, recent events have highlighted the essential role of occupational health services in anticipation of a crisis, management during the crisis, and follow-up. PMID:27703965

Resilient and Robust High Performance Computing Platforms for Scientific Computing Integrity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jin, Yier

As technology advances, computer systems are subject to increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks that compromise both their security and integrity. High performance computing platforms used in commercial and scientific applications involving sensitive, or even classified data, are frequently targeted by powerful adversaries. This situation is made worse by a lack of fundamental security solutions that both perform efficiently and are effective at preventing threats. Current security solutions fail to address the threat landscape and ensure the integrity of sensitive data. As challenges rise, both private and public sectors will require robust technologies to protect its computing infrastructure. The research outcomes from thismore » project try to address all these challenges. For example, we present LAZARUS, a novel technique to harden kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR) against paging-based side-channel attacks. In particular, our scheme allows for fine-grained protection of the virtual memory mappings that implement the randomization. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by hardening a recent Linux kernel with LAZARUS, mitigating all of the previously presented side-channel attacks on KASLR. Our extensive evaluation shows that LAZARUS incurs only 0.943% overhead for standard benchmarks, and is therefore highly practical. We also introduced HA2lloc, a hardware-assisted allocator that is capable of leveraging an extended memory management unit to detect memory errors in the heap. We also perform testing using HA2lloc in a simulation environment and find that the approach is capable of preventing common memory vulnerabilities.« less

Occupational Practitioner's Role in the Management of a Crisis: Lessons Learned from the Paris November 2015 Terrorist Attack.

PubMed

Descatha, Alexis; Huynh Tuong, Alice; Coninx, Pierre; Baer, Michel; Loeb, Thomas; Despréaux, Thomas

2016-01-01

In massive catastrophic events, occupational health practitioners are more and more frequently involved in the management of such situations. We aim to describe the multiple aspects of the role that occupational health practitioners might play, by focusing on the recent example of the Paris terrorist attack of November 2015. During and after the Paris attack, occupational practitioners, in collaboration with emergency and security professionals, were involved in psychological care, assembling information, follow-up, return-to-work, and improving in-company safety plans. Based on this experience and other industrial disasters, we distinguish three phases: the critical phase, the post-critical phase, and the anticipation phase. In the critical phase, the occupational practitioner cares for patients before the emergency professionals take charge, initiates the psychological management, and may also play an organizational role for company health aspects. In the post-critical phase, he or she would be involved in monitoring those affected by the events and participate in preventing, to the extent possible, posttraumatic stress disorder, helping victims in the return-to-work process, and improving procedures and organizing drills. In addition to their usual work of primary prevention, occupational practitioners should endeavor to improve preparedness in the anticipation phase, by taking part in contingency planning, training in first aid, and defining immediately applicable protocols. In conclusion, recent events have highlighted the essential role of occupational health services in anticipation of a crisis, management during the crisis, and follow-up.

An Audit of the Use of Gonadorelin Analogues to Prevent Recurrent Acute Symptoms in Patients with Acute Porphyria in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Schulenburg-Brand, Danja; Gardiner, Tricia; Guppy, Simon; Rees, David C; Stein, Penelope; Barth, Julian; Felicity Stewart, M; Badminton, Michael

2017-01-01

Severe recurrent acute attacks of porphyria have traditionally been treated with either prophylactic human haemin or gonadorelin analogues (GnA) in females. Evidence on the most effective treatment for this patient subgroup is lacking. This audit surveyed the use of prophylactic GnA in the UK.Twenty female patients (who experienced between 2 and 45 acute attacks of porphyria requiring hospitalisation and treatment with human haemin prior to GnA prophylaxis) were included in the audit. Data was retrospectively collected based on patient history and case review.Twenty three treatment courses were given lasting a median period of 12 months. Monthly subcutaneous Goserelin was most commonly used. In three patients in whom timing with the menstrual cycle was not considered, an acute attack occurred after initiation of the first dose. The majority of patients experienced oestrogen deficiency symptoms during treatment. Fifty percent of the prescribed courses of GnA resulted in a degree of clinical benefit. This successfully treated group experienced between 3 and 20 acute attacks prior to and between 0 and 6 acute attacks during GnA treatment.The audit revealed large variation in practice in the United Kingdom regarding indication, duration of treatment, specific drug used and management of side effects. In view of the limited treatment options available for this cohort and the mixed outcome successes reported, we believe it is reasonable for porphyria specialists to continue offering GnA treatment to women with severe recurrent debilitating acute attacks of porphyria associated with the menstrual cycle, and we propose best practice guidelines to standardise management.

A selected controlled trial of supplementary vitamin E for treatment of muscle cramps in hemodialysis patients.

PubMed

El-Hennawy, Adel S; Zaib, Salwat

2010-01-01

Muscle cramps are not uncommon complications of hemodialysis (HD) treatments and lead to early termination of HD sessions and are therefore a significant cause of under-dialysis. The etiology of cramps in dialysis patients remains a matter of debate. Many reports suggested that vitamin E (vit. E) may be effective for the prevention of HD-associated cramps. We decided to perform a selected controlled trial of supplementary vit. E for treatment of patients on HD who experience frequent attacks during and between HD sessions. The goal was to compare the number of attacks of muscle cramps with the patient's baseline over a specific period of time. In this study, 19 HD patients were randomly selected of different age groups and ethnicity. Patient must have had at least 60 attacks of muscle cramps during and between HD sessions over a 12-week period. All selected patients received vit. E at a dose of 400 international units daily for 12 weeks, and the number of attacks of muscle cramps was recorded. The frequency of muscle cramps decreased significantly during vit. E therapy, and, at the end of the trial, vit. E led to cramp reductions of 68.3%. The reduction in number of attacks of muscle cramps had no significant correlation with age, sex, etiology of end-stage renal disease, serum electrolytes, or HD duration, and it showed a statistically positive correlation (P = 0.0001) with vit. E therapy. No vit. E-related adverse effects were encountered during the trial. Short-term treatment with vit. E is safe and effective in reducing number of attacks of muscle cramps in HD patients, as shown in our study.

Power reduction and the radial limit of stall delay in revolving wings of different aspect ratio

PubMed Central

Kruyt, Jan W.; van Heijst, GertJan F.; Altshuler, Douglas L.; Lentink, David

2015-01-01

Airplanes and helicopters use high aspect ratio wings to reduce the power required to fly, but must operate at low angle of attack to prevent flow separation and stall. Animals capable of slow sustained flight, such as hummingbirds, have low aspect ratio wings and flap their wings at high angle of attack without stalling. Instead, they generate an attached vortex along the leading edge of the wing that elevates lift. Previous studies have demonstrated that this vortex and high lift can be reproduced by revolving the animal wing at the same angle of attack. How do flapping and revolving animal wings delay stall and reduce power? It has been hypothesized that stall delay derives from having a short radial distance between the shoulder joint and wing tip, measured in chord lengths. This non-dimensional measure of wing length represents the relative magnitude of inertial forces versus rotational accelerations operating in the boundary layer of revolving and flapping wings. Here we show for a suite of aspect ratios, which represent both animal and aircraft wings, that the attachment of the leading edge vortex on a revolving wing is determined by wing aspect ratio, defined with respect to the centre of revolution. At high angle of attack, the vortex remains attached when the local radius is shorter than four chord lengths and separates outboard on higher aspect ratio wings. This radial stall limit explains why revolving high aspect ratio wings (of helicopters) require less power compared with low aspect ratio wings (of hummingbirds) at low angle of attack and vice versa at high angle of attack. PMID:25788539

Experimental Evaluation of the Effect of Angle-of-attack on the External Aerodynamics and Mass Capture of a Symmetric Three-engine Air-breathing Launch Vehicle Configuration at Supersonic Speeds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Hyun D.; Frate, Franco C.

2001-01-01

A subscale aerodynamic model of the GTX air-breathing launch vehicle was tested at NASA Glenn Research Center's 10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel from Mach 2.0 to 3.5 at various angles-of-attack. The objective of the test was to investigate the effect of angle-of-attack on inlet mass capture, inlet diverter effectiveness, and the flowfield at the cowl lip plane. The flow-through inlets were tested with and without boundary-layer diverters. Quantitative measurements such as inlet mass flow rates and pitot-pressure distributions in the cowl lip plane are presented. At a 3deg angle-of-attack, the flow rates for the top and side inlets were within 8 percent of the zero angle-of-attack value, and little distortion was evident at the cowl lip plane. Surface oil flow patterns showing the shock/boundary-layer interaction caused by the inlet spikes are shown. In addition to inlet data, vehicle forebody static pressure distributions, boundary-layer profiles, and temperature-sensitive paint images to evaluate the boundary-layer transition are presented. Three-dimensional parabolized Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics calculations of the forebody flowfield are presented and show good agreement with the experimental static pressure distributions and boundary-layer profiles. With the boundary-layer diverters installed, no adverse aerodynamic phenomena were found that would prevent the inlets from operating at the required angles-of-attack. We recommend that phase 2 of the test program be initiated, where inlet contraction ratio and diverter geometry variations will be tested.

Survival of child after lion attack

PubMed Central

Dabdoub, Carlos F.; Dabdoub, Carlos B.; Chavez, Mario; Molina, Felipe

2013-01-01

Background: Injuries to humans caused by attacks from large predators are very rare, especially in the United States, Europe, or Latin America. A few cases were reported on accidents in zoos or animal farms, being very uncommon in children. The purposes of this report include describing the case of a child who sustained an attack by a lion named “Bang-Bang”, which resulted in injuries to the head, chest, and abdomen, as well as the subsequent neurosurgical treatment and providing a review of the literature. Case Description: We report the case of an 8-year-old boy who was attacked by a lion during a circus show. The patient underwent an emergent neurosurgical procedure, including parietal craniectomy, cleaning, and extensive surgical debridement of the wounds. Despite open severe head trauma with brain damage as well as thorax and abdomen trauma, the child survived, with minimal neurological sequelae. Conclusions: Human injury resulting from encounters with nondomesticated animals is increasingly rising throughout the world. This case highlights the potentially violent and aggressive nature of wild mammals held in captivity. Unusual wild animal attacks and the complex injuries that result may pose a challenge to surgeons practicing in resource-limited settings. In this sense, the best treatment in the mentioned case is the prevention of human injuries by these animals. In addition, to attend to these infrequent cases, the authors emphasize the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to achieve the best cosmetic and functional results. PMID:23869277

Attacks on quantum key distribution protocols that employ non-ITS authentication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pacher, C.; Abidin, A.; Lorünser, T.; Peev, M.; Ursin, R.; Zeilinger, A.; Larsson, J.-Å.

2016-01-01

We demonstrate how adversaries with large computing resources can break quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols which employ a particular message authentication code suggested previously. This authentication code, featuring low key consumption, is not information-theoretically secure (ITS) since for each message the eavesdropper has intercepted she is able to send a different message from a set of messages that she can calculate by finding collisions of a cryptographic hash function. However, when this authentication code was introduced, it was shown to prevent straightforward man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks against QKD protocols. In this paper, we prove that the set of messages that collide with any given message under this authentication code contains with high probability a message that has small Hamming distance to any other given message. Based on this fact, we present extended MITM attacks against different versions of BB84 QKD protocols using the addressed authentication code; for three protocols, we describe every single action taken by the adversary. For all protocols, the adversary can obtain complete knowledge of the key, and for most protocols her success probability in doing so approaches unity. Since the attacks work against all authentication methods which allow to calculate colliding messages, the underlying building blocks of the presented attacks expose the potential pitfalls arising as a consequence of non-ITS authentication in QKD post-processing. We propose countermeasures, increasing the eavesdroppers demand for computational power, and also prove necessary and sufficient conditions for upgrading the discussed authentication code to the ITS level.

The Adherence eValuation After Ischemic Stroke Longitudinal (AVAIL) registry: design, rationale, and baseline patient characteristics.

PubMed

Bushnell, Cheryl; Zimmer, Louise; Schwamm, Lee; Goldstein, Larry B; Clapp-Channing, Nancy; Harding, Tina; Drew, Laura; Zhao, Xin; Peterson, Eric

2009-03-01

Approximately one third of the 780,000 people in the United States who have a stroke each year have recurrent events. Although efficacious secondary prevention measures are available, levels of adherence to these strategies in patients who have had stroke are largely unknown. Understanding medication-taking behavior in this population is an important step to optimizing the appropriate use of proven secondary preventive therapies and reducing the risk of recurrent stroke. The Adherence eValuation After Ischemic Stroke Longitudinal (AVAIL) registry is a prospective study of adherence to stroke prevention medications from hospital discharge to 1 year in patients admitted with stroke or transient ischemic attack. The primary outcomes are medication usage as determined by patient interviews after 3 and 12 months. Potential patient-, provider-, and system-level barriers to persistence of medication use are also collected. Secondary outcomes include the rates of recurrent stroke or transient ischemic attack, vascular events, and rehospitalization and functional status as measured by the modified Rankin score. The AVAIL enrolled about 2,900 subjects from 106 hospitals from July 2006 through July 2008. The 12-month follow-up will be completed in August 2009. The AVAIL registry will document the current state of adherence and persistence to stroke prevention medications among a nationwide sample of patients. These data will be used to design interventions to improve the quality of care post acute hospitalization and reduce the risks of future stroke and cardiovascular events.

Public knowledge of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in Kuwait: a cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

Awad, Abdelmoneim; Al-Nafisi, Hala

2014-11-04

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is estimated to cause 46% of all mortalities in Kuwait. To design effective primary and secondary prevention programs, an assessment of a population's prior CVD knowledge is of paramount importance. There is scarcity of data on the existing CVD knowledge among the general Kuwaiti population. Hence, this study was performed to assess the level of knowledge towards CVD types, warning symptoms of heart attack or stroke, and CVD risk factors. It also explored public views on the community pharmacists' role in CVD prevention and management. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was performed using a pretested self-administered questionnaire on a sample of 900 randomly selected Kuwaiti individuals. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used in data analysis. The response rate was 90.7%. Respondents' knowledge about types of CVD, heart attack or stroke symptoms was low. Almost 60% of respondents did not know any type of CVD, and coronary heart disease was the commonest identified type (29.0%). Two-fifths of participants were not aware of any heart attack symptoms, and the most commonly known were chest pain (50.4%) and shortness of breath (48.0%). Approximately half of respondents did not recognize any stroke symptoms, and the most commonly recognized were 'confusion or trouble speaking' (36.4%) and 'numbness or weakness' (34.7%). Respondents' knowledge regarding CVD risk factors was moderate. The commonest factors identified by over four-fifths of participants were smoking, obesity, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, independent predictors of better level of CVD knowledge were females, age 50-59 years, high level of education, regular eating of healthy diet, and had a family history of CVD. Most of respondents only identified the role that pharmacists had to play is to help patients manage their medications, with a minimal role in other aspects of CVD prevention and management. There are deficiencies in CVD knowledge among Kuwaiti population, which could turn into insufficient preventative behaviours and suboptimal patient outcomes. There is an apparent need to establish more wide-spread and effective educational interventions, which should be sensitive to the perceptions, attitudes, and abilities of targeted individuals.

The association of a heart attack or stroke with depressive symptoms stratified by the presence of a close social contact: findings from the National Health and Aging Trends Study Cohort.

PubMed

Simning, Adam; Seplaki, Christopher L; Conwell, Yeates

2018-01-01

The objective of the study is to examine whether the risk of having clinically significant depressive symptoms following a heart attack or stroke varies by the presence of a close social contact. The National Health and Aging Trends Study is a nationally representative longitudinal survey of US Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older initiated in 2011. A total of 5643 older adults had information on social contacts at baseline and depressive symptoms at the 1-year follow-up interview. The two-item Patient Health Questionnaire identified clinically significant depressive symptoms. Interview questions examined social contacts and the presence of self-reported heart attack or stroke during the year of follow-up. A total of 297 older adults reported experiencing a heart attack and/or stroke between their baseline and follow-up interviews. In regression analyses accounting for sociodemographics, baseline depressive symptoms, medical comorbidity, and activities of daily living impairment, older adults with no close social contacts had increased odds of depressive symptoms at follow-up after experiencing a heart attack or stroke, while those with close social contacts had increased odds of depressive symptoms at follow-up after experiencing a stroke, but not a heart attack. Older adults have increased odds of having depressive symptoms following a self-reported stroke, but only those with no close social contacts had increased odds of depressive symptoms following a heart attack. Social networks may play a role in the mechanisms underlying depression among older adults experiencing certain acute health events. Future work exploring the potential causal relationships suggested here, if confirmed, could inform interventions to alleviate or prevent depression among at risk older adults. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evaluation of avoralstat, an oral kallikrein inhibitor, in a Phase 3 hereditary angioedema prophylaxis trial: the OPUS-2 study.

PubMed

Riedl, Marc A; Aygören-Pürsün, Emel; Baker, James; Farkas, Henriette; Anderson, John; Bernstein, Jonathan A; Bouillet, Laurence; Busse, Paula; Manning, Michael; Magerl, Markus; Gompels, Mark; Huissoon, Aarnoud P; Longhurst, Hillary; Lumry, William; Ritchie, Bruce; Shapiro, Ralph; Soteres, Daniel; Banerji, Aleena; Cancian, Mauro; Johnston, Douglas T; Craig, Timothy J; Launay, David; Li, H Henry; Liebhaber, Myron; Nickel, Timothy; Offenberger, Jacob; Rae, William; Schrijvers, Rik; Triggiani, Massimo; Wedner, H James; Dobo, Sylvia; Cornpropst, Melanie; Clemons, Desiree; Fang, Lei; Collis, Phil; Sheridan, William P; Maurer, Marcus

2018-04-24

Effective inhibition of plasma kallikrein may have significant benefits for patients with hereditary angioedema due to deficiency of C1 inhibitor (C1-INH-HAE) by reducing the frequency of angioedema attacks. Avoralstat is a small molecule inhibitor of plasma kallikrein. This study (OPuS-2) evaluated the efficacy and safety of prophylactic avoralstat 300 or 500 mg compared with placebo. OPuS-2 was a Phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. Subjects were administered avoralstat 300 mg, avoralstat 500 mg, or placebo orally 3 times per day for 12 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was the angioedema attack rate based on adjudicator-confirmed attacks. A total of 110 subjects were randomized and dosed. The least squares (LS) mean attack rates per week were 0.589, 0.675, and 0.593 for subjects receiving avoralstat 500 mg, avoralstat 300 mg, and placebo, respectively. Overall, 1 subject in each of the avoralstat groups and no subjects in the placebo group were attack-free during the 84-day treatment period. The LS mean duration of all confirmed attacks was 25.4, 29.4 and 31.4 hours for the avoralstat 500 mg, avoralstat 300 mg and placebo groups respectively. Using the Angioedema Quality of Life Questionnaire (AE-QoL), improved QoL was observed for the avoralstat 500 mg group compared with placebo. Avoralstat was generally safe and well tolerated. Although this study did not demonstrate efficacy of avoralstat in preventing angioedema attacks in C1-INH-HAE, it provided evidence of shortened angioedema episodes and improved QoL in the avoralstat 500 mg treatment group compared with placebo. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Negotiating Tensions Between Theory and Design in the Development of Mailings for People Recovering From Acute Coronary Syndrome

PubMed Central

Presseau, Justin; Nicholas Angl, Emily; Jokhio, Iffat; Schwalm, JD; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Bosiak, Beth; Natarajan, Madhu K; Ivers, Noah M

2017-01-01

Background Taking all recommended secondary prevention cardiac medications and fully participating in a formal cardiac rehabilitation program significantly reduces mortality and morbidity in the year following a heart attack. However, many people who have had a heart attack stop taking some or all of their recommended medications prematurely and many do not complete a formal cardiac rehabilitation program. Objective The objective of our study was to develop a user-centered, theory-based, scalable intervention of printed educational materials to encourage and support people who have had a heart attack to use recommended secondary prevention cardiac treatments. Methods Prior to the design process, we conducted theory-based interviews and surveys with patients who had had a heart attack to identify key determinants of secondary prevention behaviors. Our interdisciplinary research team then partnered with a patient advisor and design firm to undertake an iterative, theory-informed, user-centered design process to operationalize techniques to address these determinants. User-centered design requires considering users’ needs, goals, strengths, limitations, context, and intuitive processes; designing prototypes adapted to users accordingly; observing how potential users respond to the prototype; and using those data to refine the design. To accomplish these tasks, we conducted user research to develop personas (archetypes of potential users), developed a preliminary prototype using behavior change theory to map behavior change techniques to identified determinants of medication adherence, and conducted 2 design cycles, testing materials via think-aloud and semistructured interviews with a total of 11 users (10 patients who had experienced a heart attack and 1 caregiver). We recruited participants at a single cardiac clinic using purposive sampling informed by our personas. We recorded sessions with users and extracted key themes from transcripts. We held interdisciplinary team discussions to interpret findings in the context of relevant theory-based evidence and iteratively adapted the intervention accordingly. Results Through our iterative development and testing, we identified 3 key tensions: (1) evidence from theory-based studies versus users’ feelings, (2) informative versus persuasive communication, and (3) logistical constraints for the intervention versus users’ desires or preferences. We addressed these by (1) identifying root causes for users’ feelings and addressing those to better incorporate theory- and evidence-based features, (2) accepting that our intervention was ethically justified in being persuasive, and (3) making changes to the intervention where possible, such as attempting to match imagery in the materials to patients’ self-images. Conclusions Theory-informed interventions must be operationalized in ways that fit with user needs. Tensions between users’ desires or preferences and health care system goals and constraints must be identified and addressed to the greatest extent possible. A cluster randomized controlled trial of the final intervention is currently underway. PMID:28249831

Polar bear attacks on humans: Implications of a changing climate

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilder, James; Vongraven, Dag; Atwood, Todd C.; Hansen, Bob; Jessen, Amalie; Kochnev, Anatoly A.; York, Geoff; Vallender, Rachel; Hedman, Daryll; Gibbons, Melissa

2017-01-01

Understanding causes of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) attacks on humans is critical to ensuring both human safety and polar bear conservation. Although considerable attention has been focused on understanding black (U. americanus) and grizzly (U. arctos) bear conflicts with humans, there have been few attempts to systematically collect, analyze, and interpret available information on human-polar bear conflicts across their range. To help fill this knowledge gap, a database was developed (Polar Bear-Human Information Management System [PBHIMS]) to facilitate the range-wide collection and analysis of human-polar bear conflict data. We populated the PBHIMS with data collected throughout the polar bear range, analyzed polar bear attacks on people, and found that reported attacks have been extremely rare. From 1870–2014, we documented 73 attacks by wild polar bears, distributed among the 5 polar bear Range States (Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and United States), which resulted in 20 human fatalities and 63 human injuries. We found that nutritionally stressed adult male polar bears were the most likely to pose threats to human safety. Attacks by adult females were rare, and most were attributed to defense of cubs. We judged that bears acted as a predator in most attacks, and that nearly all attacks involved ≤2 people. Increased concern for both human and bear safety is warranted in light of predictions of increased numbers of nutritionally stressed bears spending longer amounts of time on land near people because of the loss of their sea ice habitat. Improved conflict investigation is needed to collect accurate and relevant data and communicate accurate bear safety messages and mitigation strategies to the public. With better information, people can take proactive measures in polar bear habitat to ensure their safety and prevent conflicts with polar bears. This work represents an important first step towards improving our understanding of factors influencing human-polar bear conflicts. Continued collection and analysis of range-wide data on interactions and conflicts will help increase human safety and ensure the conservation of polar bears for future generations.

A telephone hotline for transient ischaemic attack and stroke: prospective audit of a model to improve rapid access to specialist stroke care.

PubMed

Kerr, Enda; Arulraj, Nolan; Scott, Maggie; McDowall, Mike; van Dijke, Margrethe; Keir, Sarah; Sandercock, Peter; Dennis, Martin

2010-07-02

Patients with transient ischaemic attack or stroke benefit from early diagnosis, specialist assessment, and treatment with thrombolysis, and from stroke unit care and secondary prevention. The challenge with such patients is to minimise delays and ensure that treatment is appropriate, and to provide this care with the available resources. An ongoing prospective audit of a transient ischaemic attack and stroke clinic (1 January 2005 to 30 September 2009), as part of the Scottish Stroke Care Audit, and a three month targeted audit of immediate telephone access to a specialist stroke consultant (1 February 2009 to 30 April 2009). Stroke and transient ischaemic attack services in Lothian, a region of Scotland with a population of 810,000. Delays to assessment at a rapid access transient ischaemic attack and stroke clinic; delays to appropriate treatment. In February 2007 we introduced a 24 hours a day, seven days a week hotline to a consultant, who provided immediate advice on diagnosis, investigation, and emergency treatment for patients with transient ischaemic attack or stroke, and suggested the most appropriate care pathway, which might include an early appointment in a transient ischaemic attack and stroke clinic. The introduction of the hotline was associated with an immediate and sustained reduction in delays to assessment (from 13 to three days) and treatment. The proportion of participants taking statins at the time of visiting the clinic increased from 40% before the introduction of the hotline to 60% after the hotline was in place. Also, the hotline contributed to a reduction in the delay from last event to carotid surgery, from 58 days to 21.5 days. A total of 376 calls were received during the three month audit. Of the 273 (88%) referrers who responded to our questionnaire, 257 (94%) were very satisfied with the advice given over the hotline. Although associated with some disruption to the activities of the consultants, a 24 hours a day, seven days a week telephone hotline to a consultant is a feasible and effective means of reducing delays to specialist assessment and treatment of patients with transient ischaemic attack or stroke.

A retrospective analysis of the protective efficacy of tafenoquine and mefloquine as prophylactic anti-malarials in non-immune individuals during deployment to a malaria-endemic area.

PubMed

Dow, Geoffrey S; McCarthy, William F; Reid, Mark; Smith, Bryan; Tang, Douglas; Shanks, G Dennis

2014-02-06

In 2000/2001, the Australian Defense Forces (ADF), in collaboration with SmithKline Beecham and the United States Army, conducted a field trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of tafenoquine and mefloquine/primaquine for the prophylaxis of malaria amongst non-immune Australian soldiers deployed to East Timor (now called Timor Leste) for peacekeeping operations. The lack of a concurrent placebo control arm prevented an internal estimate of the malaria attack rate and so the protective efficacy of the study regimens was not determined at the time. In a retrospective analysis of the trial results, the all species malaria attack rate was estimated for the prophylactic phase of the study which was defined as the period between administration of the first prophylactic dose and the first dose of post-deployment medication. First, the Plasmodium vivax attack rate was estimated during the prophylactic phase of the deployment by adjusting the observed P. vivax relapse rate during post-deployment to account for the known anti-relapse efficacies (or effectiveness) of the study medications (determined from prior studies). The all species malaria attack rate (P. vivax and Plasmodium falciparum) was then determined by adjusting the P. vivax attack rate based on the ratio of P. falciparum to P. vivax observed during prior ADF deployments to Timor Leste. This estimated all species malaria attack rate was then used as the 'constant estimated attack rate' in the calculation of the protective efficacy of tafenoquine and mefloquine during the prophylactic phase of the deployment. The estimated attack rate during the prophylactic phase of the study was determined to be 7.88%. The protective efficacies of tafenoquine and mefloquine, with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), were determined to be 100% (93%-100%) and 100% (79%-100%) respectively. The protective efficacy of tafenoquine (200 mg per day for three days, followed by weekly 200 mg maintenance doses) is similar to that of the weekly standard of care (mefloquine, 250 mg).

A retrospective analysis of the protective efficacy of tafenoquine and mefloquine as prophylactic anti-malarials in non-immune individuals during deployment to a malaria-endemic area

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background In 2000/2001, the Australian Defense Forces (ADF), in collaboration with SmithKline Beecham and the United States Army, conducted a field trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of tafenoquine and mefloquine/primaquine for the prophylaxis of malaria amongst non-immune Australian soldiers deployed to East Timor (now called Timor Leste) for peacekeeping operations. The lack of a concurrent placebo control arm prevented an internal estimate of the malaria attack rate and so the protective efficacy of the study regimens was not determined at the time. Methods In a retrospective analysis of the trial results, the all species malaria attack rate was estimated for the prophylactic phase of the study which was defined as the period between administration of the first prophylactic dose and the first dose of post-deployment medication. First, the Plasmodium vivax attack rate was estimated during the prophylactic phase of the deployment by adjusting the observed P. vivax relapse rate during post-deployment to account for the known anti-relapse efficacies (or effectiveness) of the study medications (determined from prior studies). The all species malaria attack rate (P. vivax and Plasmodium falciparum) was then determined by adjusting the P. vivax attack rate based on the ratio of P. falciparum to P. vivax observed during prior ADF deployments to Timor Leste. This estimated all species malaria attack rate was then used as the ‘constant estimated attack rate’ in the calculation of the protective efficacy of tafenoquine and mefloquine during the prophylactic phase of the deployment. Results The estimated attack rate during the prophylactic phase of the study was determined to be 7.88%. The protective efficacies of tafenoquine and mefloquine, with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), were determined to be 100% (93%-100%) and 100% (79%-100%) respectively. Conclusions The protective efficacy of tafenoquine (200 mg per day for three days, followed by weekly 200 mg maintenance doses) is similar to that of the weekly standard of care (mefloquine, 250 mg). PMID:24502679

A Systems Engineering Framework for Implementing a Security and Critical Patch Management Process in Diverse Environments (Academic Departments' Workstations)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadi, Hadi

Use of the Patch Vulnerability Management (PVM) process should be seriously considered for any networked computing system. The PVM process prevents the operating system (OS) and software applications from being attacked due to security vulnerabilities, which lead to system failures and critical data leakage. The purpose of this research is to create and design a Security and Critical Patch Management Process (SCPMP) framework based on Systems Engineering (SE) principles. This framework will assist Information Technology Department Staff (ITDS) to reduce IT operating time and costs and mitigate the risk of security and vulnerability attacks. Further, this study evaluates implementation of the SCPMP in the networked computing systems of an academic environment in order to: 1. Meet patch management requirements by applying SE principles. 2. Reduce the cost of IT operations and PVM cycles. 3. Improve the current PVM methodologies to prevent networked computing systems from becoming the targets of security vulnerability attacks. 4. Embed a Maintenance Optimization Tool (MOT) in the proposed framework. The MOT allows IT managers to make the most practicable choice of methods for deploying and installing released patches and vulnerability remediation. In recent years, there has been a variety of frameworks for security practices in every networked computing system to protect computer workstations from becoming compromised or vulnerable to security attacks, which can expose important information and critical data. I have developed a new mechanism for implementing PVM for maximizing security-vulnerability maintenance, protecting OS and software packages, and minimizing SCPMP cost. To increase computing system security in any diverse environment, particularly in academia, one must apply SCPMP. I propose an optimal maintenance policy that will allow ITDS to measure and estimate the variation of PVM cycles based on their department's requirements. My results demonstrate that MOT optimizes the process of implementing SCPMP in academic workstations.

Multi-criteria analysis of the mechanism of degradation of Portland cement based mortars exposed to external sulphate attack

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

El-Hachem, R.; Roziere, E.; Grondin, F.

2012-10-15

This work aims to contribute to the design of durable concrete structures exposed to external sulphate attacks (ESA). Following a preliminary study aimed at designing a representative test, the present paper suggests a study on the effect of the water-to-cement (w/c) ratio and the cement composition in order to understand the degradation mechanisms. Length and mass measurements were registered continuously, leached calcium and hydroxide ions were also quantified. In parallel, scanning electron microscopy observations as well as X-ray microtomography were realised at different times to identify the formed products and the crack morphology. Test results provide information on the basicmore » aspects of the degradation mechanism, such as the main role of leaching and diffusion in the sulphate attack process. The mortar composition with a low w/c ratio leads to a better resistance to sulphate attack because the microstructure is less permeable. Reducing the C{sub 3}A content results in a macro-cracking decrease but it does not prevent expansion, which suggests the contribution of other expansive products, such as gypsum, in damage due to ESA. The observation of the cracks network in the microstructure helps to understand the micro-mechanisms of the degradation process.« less

A Secure Region-Based Geographic Routing Protocol (SRBGR) for Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Adnan, Ali Idarous; Hanapi, Zurina Mohd; Othman, Mohamed; Zukarnain, Zuriati Ahmad

2017-01-01

Due to the lack of dependency for routing initiation and an inadequate allocated sextant on responding messages, the secure geographic routing protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have attracted considerable attention. However, the existing protocols are more likely to drop packets when legitimate nodes fail to respond to the routing initiation messages while attackers in the allocated sextant manage to respond. Furthermore, these protocols are designed with inefficient collection window and inadequate verification criteria which may lead to a high number of attacker selections. To prevent the failure to find an appropriate relay node and undesirable packet retransmission, this paper presents Secure Region-Based Geographic Routing Protocol (SRBGR) to increase the probability of selecting the appropriate relay node. By extending the allocated sextant and applying different message contention priorities more legitimate nodes can be admitted in the routing process. Moreover, the paper also proposed the bound collection window for a sufficient collection time and verification cost for both attacker identification and isolation. Extensive simulation experiments have been performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed protocol in comparison with other existing protocols. The results demonstrate that SRBGR increases network performance in terms of the packet delivery ratio and isolates attacks such as Sybil and Black hole. PMID:28121992

A Secure Region-Based Geographic Routing Protocol (SRBGR) for Wireless Sensor Networks.

PubMed

Adnan, Ali Idarous; Hanapi, Zurina Mohd; Othman, Mohamed; Zukarnain, Zuriati Ahmad

2017-01-01

Due to the lack of dependency for routing initiation and an inadequate allocated sextant on responding messages, the secure geographic routing protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have attracted considerable attention. However, the existing protocols are more likely to drop packets when legitimate nodes fail to respond to the routing initiation messages while attackers in the allocated sextant manage to respond. Furthermore, these protocols are designed with inefficient collection window and inadequate verification criteria which may lead to a high number of attacker selections. To prevent the failure to find an appropriate relay node and undesirable packet retransmission, this paper presents Secure Region-Based Geographic Routing Protocol (SRBGR) to increase the probability of selecting the appropriate relay node. By extending the allocated sextant and applying different message contention priorities more legitimate nodes can be admitted in the routing process. Moreover, the paper also proposed the bound collection window for a sufficient collection time and verification cost for both attacker identification and isolation. Extensive simulation experiments have been performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed protocol in comparison with other existing protocols. The results demonstrate that SRBGR increases network performance in terms of the packet delivery ratio and isolates attacks such as Sybil and Black hole.

Worldwide Dissemination of Radopholus similis and Its Importance in Crop Production

PubMed Central

O'Bannon, J. H.

1977-01-01

The burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis, attacks agronomic and horticultural crops and many weeds, and is reported to reproduce on more than 250 plant species. Two races of R. similis are recognized. Although one race attacks citrus and the other race does not, they are morphologically similar. At present, the citrus race is found attacking citrus only in Florida, U.S.A., but it is known to infect more than 250 species and varieties of noncitrus plants. Although it has many hosts, R. similis is probably most widely distributed on banana and is found worldwide. Although best known as a pest of Piper nigrum, Musa spp., and Citrus spp., it also attacks many crops that are important in world commerce and in subsistence-type agriculture, a factor which makes it a significant agricultural pest. Worldwide dissemination occurs primarily when parasitized plants are moved into areas where the pest could adapt. Yield losses of 12.5 tons/ha in bananas have been reported from R. similis infection. Infections suppress orange and grapefruit yields as much as 70-80%. Because of the severity of R. similis damage (particularly to banana and citrus), extensive control programs have been developed. Prevention, cultural practices, resistant varieties, and chemical pesticides interact to reduce losses. PMID:19305565

Cultural Explanations of Sleep Paralysis in Italy: The Pandafeche Attack and Associated Supernatural Beliefs.

PubMed

Jalal, Baland; Romanelli, Andrea; Hinton, Devon E

2015-12-01

The current study examines cultural explanations regarding sleep paralysis (SP) in Italy. The study explores (1) whether the phenomenology of SP generates culturally specific interpretations and causal explanations and (2) what are the beliefs and local traditions associated with such cultural explanations. The participants were Italian nationals from the general population (n = 68) recruited in the region of Abruzzo, Italy. All participants had experienced at least one lifetime episode of SP. The sleep paralysis experiences and phenomenology questionnaire were orally administered to participants. We found a multilayered cultural interpretation of SP, namely the Pandafeche attack, associated with various supernatural beliefs. Thirty-eight percent of participants believed that this supernatural being, the Pandafeche-often referred to as an evil witch, sometimes as a ghost-like spirit or a terrifying humanoid cat-might have caused their SP. Twenty-four percent of all participants sensed the Pandafeche was present during their SP. Strategies to prevent Pandafeche attack included sleeping in supine position, placing a broom by the bedroom door, or putting a pile of sand by the bed. Case studies are presented to illustrate the study findings. The Pandafeche attack thus constitutes a culturally specific, supernatural interpretation of the phenomenology of SP in the Abruzzo region of Italy.

Kevlar: Transitioning Helix from Research to Practice

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-01

protective transformations are applied to application binaries before they are deployed. Salient features of Kevlar include applying high- entropy ...variety of classes. Kevlar uses novel, fine-grained, high- entropy diversification transformations to prevent an attacker from successfully exploiting...Kevlar include applying high- entropy randomization techniques, automated program repairs, leveraging highly-optimized virtual machine technology, and in

77 FR 11789 - Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Airplanes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-28

...-icing system for the angle of attack sensor, the total air temperature, and the pitot probes. We are proposing this AD to prevent ice from forming on air data system sensors and consequent loss of or... receive about this proposed AD. Discussion The air data sensor heating system, when ON, heats the pitot...

The challenge of bonding treated wood

Treesearch

Charles R. Frihart

2004-01-01

Wood products are quite durable if exposure to moisture is minimized; however, most uses of wood involve considerable exposure to moisture. To preserve the wood, chemicals are used to minimize moisture pickup, to prevent insect attack, and/or to resist microbial growth. The chemicals used as preservatives can interfere with adhesive bonds to wood. Given the many...

Preventing Terror Attacks in the Homeland: A New Mission for State and Local Police

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-09-01

18 Dale Couprie, Alan Goodbrand, Bin Li, and David Zhu, “ Soft Systems Methodology ,” Department of Computer Science (University of Calgary, 2002...Activities Authorization Act.” (50 USC. 403-1). June 2005. Couprie, Dale, Alan Goodbrand, Bin Li, and David Zhu. “ Soft Systems Methodology .” Department

Repeatability for oleoresin yield determinations in southern pines

Treesearch

J. H. Roberds; Brian L. Strom

2004-01-01

Flow of constitutive oleoresin is believed to be a major component of tree defense against attack by the southern pine pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann). Pines that exude large quantities of oleoresin are considered to be most capable of preventing or obstructing colonization by this destructive insect herbivore (Hodges et al. 1979;...

Crowdsourcing Intelligence to Combat Terrorism: Harnessing Bottom-Up Collection to Prevent Lone-Wolf Terror Attacks

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-01

websites and a YouTube station dedicated to radical Islamic topics. Also in April 2010, Chesser warned via email the creators of South Park, Trey...and severe depression .63 As with the issue of socially withdrawn individuals, not all people with the psychological problems listed above are

I-WASTE: EPA’s Suite of Homeland Security Decision Support Tools for the Waste and Disaster Debris Management and Disposal

EPA Science Inventory

In the U.S., a single comprehensive approach to all-hazards domestic incident management has been established by the Department of Homeland Security through the National Response Framework. This helps prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major di...

75 FR 70273 - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-17

... Institute Special Emphasis Panel, The Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering to Prevent Heart Attack Trial... Research Demonstration and Dissemination Projects. Date: December 14, 2010. Time: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Agenda... Assistance Program Nos. 93.233, National Center for Sleep Disorders Research; 93.837, Heart and Vascular...

A CompStat Counterterrorism Strategy to Protect Train and Subway Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services , Directorate for...Explosives on the London Underground .........................................54 VI. RECOVERY ...evacuation plan in an effort to aid in the recovery from an attack. This is essential in preventing the terrorists from accomplishing their goals of

Fire Protection for Buildings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edmunds, Jane

1972-01-01

Reviews attack on fire safety in high rise buildings made by a group of experts representing the iron and steel industry at a recent conference. According to one expert, fire problems are people oriented, which calls for emphasis on fire prevention rather than reliance on fire suppression and for fire pretection to be built into a structure.…

Academics and National-Security Experts Must Work Together

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gansler, Jacques S.; Gast, Alice P.

2008-01-01

In the years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the federal government's policies that deal with national security have changed significantly. In an effort to prevent the results of science and engineering research from being misused or falling into the wrong hands, government agencies that support studies are placing restrictions on…

On grey levels in random CAPTCHA generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newton, Fraser; Kouritzin, Michael A.

2011-06-01

A CAPTCHA is an automatically generated test designed to distinguish between humans and computer programs; specifically, they are designed to be easy for humans but difficult for computer programs to pass in order to prevent the abuse of resources by automated bots. They are commonly seen guarding webmail registration forms, online auction sites, and preventing brute force attacks on passwords. In the following, we address the question: How does adding a grey level to random CAPTCHA generation affect the utility of the CAPTCHA? We treat the problem of generating the random CAPTCHA as one of random field simulation: An initial state of background noise is evolved over time using Gibbs sampling and an efficient algorithm for generating correlated random variables. This approach has already been found to yield highly-readable yet difficult-to-crack CAPTCHAs. We detail how the requisite parameters for introducing grey levels are estimated and how we generate the random CAPTCHA. The resulting CAPTCHA will be evaluated in terms of human readability as well as its resistance to automated attacks in the forms of character segmentation and optical character recognition.

Emergency medical service providers' role in the early heart attack care program: prevention and stratification strategies.

PubMed

MacDonald, G S; Steiner, S R

1997-01-01

Emergency Medical Services-Early Heart Attack Care (EMS-EHAC) is a community-based program where paramedics increase the consumer's awareness about early chest pain symptom recognition. EMS-EHAC prevention, along with seamless chest pain care (between the paramedic and chest pain emergency department) can be the basis for an outcome-based study to examine the impact of advanced life support EMS. Studies that show the impact of care given by paramedics on the outcome of patient care must be designed to demonstrate the value and the cost benefit of providing advanced life support (ALS). Third party payers are going to examine if there are significant quality differences between ALS and basic life support (BLS) services. If significant benefits of ALS care cannot be demonstrated, the cost differences could potentially place the future of advanced life support paramedic programs in jeopardy. A positive outcome resulting in a lower acute cardiac event, and the realization of the cost benefits from the EMS-EHAC program could be utilized by EMS management to justify or expand advanced life support programs.

Explaining the unexplainable: designing a national strategy on classroom communication concerning the 22 July terror attack in Norway

PubMed Central

Schultz, Jon-Håkon; Langballe, Åse; Raundalen, Magne

2014-01-01

Background In the context of crisis and disasters, school-aged children are a vulnerable group with fewer coping resources than adults. The school is a key arena for preventive interventions; teachers can be given a key role in large-scale school-based interventions following a man-made or natural disaster. Objectives This paper describes a practical example of designing a school-based population-level intervention. Methods The preventive measures were delivered as a national communication strategy between teachers and pupils aged 6–19 concerning the terror attack on 22 July 2011 in Norway. The strategy is based on principles from international research. Results The presentation contributes to the discussion of defining the teacher's role in school-based crisis interventions and dealing with high-intensity media coverage of war, terror, and catastrophes. Conclusions The presentation provides educational and psychological perspectives on how teachers can take an active role in helping pupils to deal with such events through two approaches: the therapeutic approach, to restore calm and feelings of safety; and the educational approach, to foster reflection and deeper understanding. PMID:25018859

Explaining the unexplainable: designing a national strategy on classroom communication concerning the 22 July terror attack in Norway.

PubMed

Schultz, Jon-Håkon; Langballe, Ase; Raundalen, Magne

2014-01-01

In the context of crisis and disasters, school-aged children are a vulnerable group with fewer coping resources than adults. The school is a key arena for preventive interventions; teachers can be given a key role in large-scale school-based interventions following a man-made or natural disaster. This paper describes a practical example of designing a school-based population-level intervention. The preventive measures were delivered as a national communication strategy between teachers and pupils aged 6-19 concerning the terror attack on 22 July 2011 in Norway. The strategy is based on principles from international research. The presentation contributes to the discussion of defining the teacher's role in school-based crisis interventions and dealing with high-intensity media coverage of war, terror, and catastrophes. THE PRESENTATION PROVIDES EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON HOW TEACHERS CAN TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN HELPING PUPILS TO DEAL WITH SUCH EVENTS THROUGH TWO APPROACHES: the therapeutic approach, to restore calm and feelings of safety; and the educational approach, to foster reflection and deeper understanding.

A Secure and Robust Approach to Software Tamper Resistance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Sudeep; Hiser, Jason D.; Davidson, Jack W.

Software tamper-resistance mechanisms have increasingly assumed significance as a technique to prevent unintended uses of software. Closely related to anti-tampering techniques are obfuscation techniques, which make code difficult to understand or analyze and therefore, challenging to modify meaningfully. This paper describes a secure and robust approach to software tamper resistance and obfuscation using process-level virtualization. The proposed techniques involve novel uses of software check summing guards and encryption to protect an application. In particular, a virtual machine (VM) is assembled with the application at software build time such that the application cannot run without the VM. The VM provides just-in-time decryption of the program and dynamism for the application's code. The application's code is used to protect the VM to ensure a level of circular protection. Finally, to prevent the attacker from obtaining an analyzable snapshot of the code, the VM periodically discards all decrypted code. We describe a prototype implementation of these techniques and evaluate the run-time performance of applications using our system. We also discuss how our system provides stronger protection against tampering attacks than previously described tamper-resistance approaches.

Towards secure quantum key distribution protocol for wireless LANs: a hybrid approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naik, R. Lalu; Reddy, P. Chenna

2015-12-01

The primary goals of security such as authentication, confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation in communication networks can be achieved with secure key distribution. Quantum mechanisms are highly secure means of distributing secret keys as they are unconditionally secure. Quantum key distribution protocols can effectively prevent various attacks in the quantum channel, while classical cryptography is efficient in authentication and verification of secret keys. By combining both quantum cryptography and classical cryptography, security of communications over networks can be leveraged. Hwang, Lee and Li exploited the merits of both cryptographic paradigms for provably secure communications to prevent replay, man-in-the-middle, and passive attacks. In this paper, we propose a new scheme with the combination of quantum cryptography and classical cryptography for 802.11i wireless LANs. Since quantum cryptography is premature in wireless networks, our work is a significant step forward toward securing communications in wireless networks. Our scheme is known as hybrid quantum key distribution protocol. Our analytical results revealed that the proposed scheme is provably secure for wireless networks.

Episodic migraines in children: limited evidence on preventive pharmacological treatments.

PubMed

Shamliyan, Tatyana A; Kane, Robert L; Ramakrishnan, Rema; Taylor, Frederick R

2013-10-01

The authors conducted a systematic literature review of preventive pharmacological treatments for episodic childhood migraines searching several databases through May 20, 2012. Episodic migraine prevention was examined in 24 publications of randomized controlled trials that enrolled 1578 children in 16 nonrandomized studies. Single randomized controlled trials provided low-strength evidence that propranolol would result in complete cessation of migraine attacks in 713 per 1000 children treated (95% confidence interval, 452-974); trazodone and nimodipine decreased migraine days, while topiramate, divalproex, and clonidine were no more effective than placebo in preventing migraines. Migraine prevention with multidisciplinary drug management was not sustained at 6 months. Divalproex resulted in treatment discontinuation due to adverse effects, and topiramate increased the risk of paresthesia, upper respiratory tract infection, and weight loss. Long-term preventive benefits and improvement in disability and quality of life are unknown. No studies examined quality of life or provided evidence for individualized treatment decisions.

Effects of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation on attack frequency over time and expanded response rates in patients with chronic cluster headache: a post hoc analysis of the randomised, controlled PREVA study.

PubMed

Gaul, Charly; Magis, Delphine; Liebler, Eric; Straube, Andreas

2017-12-01

In the PREVention and Acute treatment of chronic cluster headache (PREVA) study, attack frequency reductions from baseline were significantly more pronounced with non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation plus standard of care (nVNS + SoC) than with SoC alone. Given the intensely painful and frequent nature of chronic cluster headache attacks, additional patient-centric outcomes, including the time to and level of therapeutic response, were evaluated in a post hoc analysis of the PREVA study. After a 2-week baseline phase, 97 patients with chronic cluster headache entered a 4-week randomised phase to receive nVNS + SoC (n = 48) or SoC alone (n = 49). All 92 patients who continued into a 4-week extension phase received nVNS + SoC. Compared with SoC alone, nVNS + SoC led to a significantly lower mean weekly attack frequency by week 2 of the randomised phase; the attack frequency remained significantly lower in the nVNS + SoC group through week 3 of the extension phase (P < 0.02). Attack frequencies in the nVNS + SoC group were significantly lower at all study time points than they were at baseline (P < 0.05). Response rates were significantly greater with nVNS + SoC than with SoC alone when response was defined as attack frequency reductions of ≥25%, ≥50%, and ≥75% from baseline (≥25% and ≥50%, P < 0.001; ≥75%, P = 0.009). The 100% response rate was 8% with nVNS + SoC and 0% with SoC alone. Prophylactic nVNS led to rapid, significant, and sustained reductions in chronic cluster headache attack frequency within 2 weeks after its addition to SoC and was associated with significantly higher ≥25%, ≥50%, and ≥75% response rates than SoC alone. The rapid decrease in weekly attack frequency justifies a 4-week trial period to identify responders to nVNS, with a high degree of confidence, among patients with chronic cluster headache.

Quantum secret sharing using orthogonal multiqudit entangled states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Chen-Ming; Li, Zhi-Hui; Liu, Cheng-Ji; Li, Yong-Ming

2017-12-01

In this work, we investigate the distinguishability of orthogonal multiqudit entangled states under restricted local operations and classical communication. According to these properties, we propose a quantum secret sharing scheme to realize three types of access structures, i.e., the ( n, n)-threshold, the restricted (3, n)-threshold and restricted (4, n)-threshold schemes (called LOCC-QSS scheme). All cooperating players in the restricted threshold schemes are from two disjoint groups. In the proposed protocol, the participants use the computational basis measurement and classical communication to distinguish between those orthogonal states and reconstruct the original secret. Furthermore, we also analyze the security of our scheme in four primary quantum attacks and give a simple encoding method in order to better prevent the participant conspiracy attack.

Sialendoscopy in juvenile recurrent parotitis: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Canzi, P; Occhini, A; Pagella, F; Marchal, F; Benazzo, M

2013-12-01

Juvenile recurrent parotitis (JRP) is the second most frequent salivary gland disease in childhood, defined as a recurrent non-suppurative and non-obstructive parotid inflammation. The recurring attacks actually represent the most dramatic and serious aspect of this pathology, since they significantly influence the quality of life, and there are no recognized therapies to avoid them. In recent years, there are reports of many international experiences related to the management of JRP by sialendoscopy. In this context, several authors have stressed the striking role of sialendoscopy in the prevention of JRP attacks. The objective of the current review is to overview the existing literature with particular regards to diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes after the application of sialendoscopy in patients suffering from JRP.

Uncertainty and Risk Management in Cyber Situational Awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jason; Ou, Xinming; Rajagopalan, Raj

Handling cyber threats unavoidably needs to deal with both uncertain and imprecise information. What we can observe as potential malicious activities can seldom give us 100% confidence on important questions we care about, e.g. what machines are compromised and what damage has been incurred. In security planning, we need information on how likely a vulnerability can lead to a successful compromise to better balance security and functionality, performance, and ease of use. These information are at best qualitative and are often vague and imprecise. In cyber situational awareness, we have to rely on such imperfect information to detect real attacks and to prevent an attack from happening through appropriate risk management. This chapter surveys existing technologies in handling uncertainty and risk management in cyber situational awareness.

INDUCIBLE TRANSIENT CENTRAL RETINAL ARTERY VASOSPASM: A CASE REPORT.

PubMed

Mishulin, Aleksey; Ghandi, Sachin; Apple, Daniel; Lin, Xihui; Hu, Jonathan; Abrams, Gary W

2017-09-27

To report a case of inducible transient central retinal artery vasospasm with associated imaging. Observational case report. A 51-year-old man presented for outpatient follow-up for recurrent inducible transient vision loss in his right eye. He experienced an episode during examination and was found to have central retinal artery vasospasm. Fundus photography and fluorescein angiography obtained during his vasospastic attack confirmed retinal arterial vasospasm. Treatment with a calcium-channel blocker (nifedipine) has been effective in preventing recurrent attacks. Idiopathic primary vasospasm is a rare cause of transient vision loss that is difficult to confirm because of the transient nature. We obtained imaging showing the initiation and resolution of the vasospastic event. The patient was then successfully treated with a calcium-channel blocker.

Technology assessment or technology harassment: The attacks on science and technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, L., Jr.

1972-01-01

The manner in which technology is being assessed by various groups and individuals is discussed. Attacks on science and technology (specifically military uses and funding), and the disillusionment of the public with the lack of relevance of science to the public interest and with the infallible wisdom of scientists are described. The effects of the fear of environmental pollution are emphasized. It is concluded that the important issues of science, technology, and public policy will require a pluralistic definition of the public interest by open adversary proceedings. It is also felt that the danger is not that new technology will receive inadequate assessment for possible deleterious secondary effects, but that harassment by an overemotional political process may prevent its coming to fruition.

DoS detection in IEEE 802.11 with the presence of hidden nodes

PubMed Central

Soryal, Joseph; Liu, Xijie; Saadawi, Tarek

2013-01-01

The paper presents a novel technique to detect Denial of Service (DoS) attacks applied by misbehaving nodes in wireless networks with the presence of hidden nodes employing the widely used IEEE 802.11 Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) protocols described in the IEEE standard [1]. Attacker nodes alter the IEEE 802.11 DCF firmware to illicitly capture the channel via elevating the probability of the average number of packets transmitted successfully using up the bandwidth share of the innocent nodes that follow the protocol standards. We obtained the theoretical network throughput by solving two-dimensional Markov Chain model as described by Bianchi [2], and Liu and Saadawi [3] to determine the channel capacity. We validated the results obtained via the theoretical computations with the results obtained by OPNET simulator [4] to define the baseline for the average attainable throughput in the channel under standard conditions where all nodes follow the standards. The main goal of the DoS attacker is to prevent the innocent nodes from accessing the channel and by capturing the channel’s bandwidth. In addition, the attacker strives to appear as an innocent node that follows the standards. The protocol resides in every node to enable each node to police other nodes in its immediate wireless coverage area. All innocent nodes are able to detect and identify the DoS attacker in its wireless coverage area. We applied the protocol to two Physical Layer technologies: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) and the results are presented to validate the algorithm. PMID:25685510

DoS detection in IEEE 802.11 with the presence of hidden nodes.

PubMed

Soryal, Joseph; Liu, Xijie; Saadawi, Tarek

2014-07-01

The paper presents a novel technique to detect Denial of Service (DoS) attacks applied by misbehaving nodes in wireless networks with the presence of hidden nodes employing the widely used IEEE 802.11 Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) protocols described in the IEEE standard [1]. Attacker nodes alter the IEEE 802.11 DCF firmware to illicitly capture the channel via elevating the probability of the average number of packets transmitted successfully using up the bandwidth share of the innocent nodes that follow the protocol standards. We obtained the theoretical network throughput by solving two-dimensional Markov Chain model as described by Bianchi [2], and Liu and Saadawi [3] to determine the channel capacity. We validated the results obtained via the theoretical computations with the results obtained by OPNET simulator [4] to define the baseline for the average attainable throughput in the channel under standard conditions where all nodes follow the standards. The main goal of the DoS attacker is to prevent the innocent nodes from accessing the channel and by capturing the channel's bandwidth. In addition, the attacker strives to appear as an innocent node that follows the standards. The protocol resides in every node to enable each node to police other nodes in its immediate wireless coverage area. All innocent nodes are able to detect and identify the DoS attacker in its wireless coverage area. We applied the protocol to two Physical Layer technologies: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) and the results are presented to validate the algorithm.

Comparative efficacy trial of cupping and serkangabin versus conventional therapy of migraine headaches: A randomized, open-label, comparative efficacy trial.

PubMed

Firoozabadi, Mohammad Dehghani; Navabzadeh, Maryam; Roudsari, Mohammad Khodashenas; Zahmatkash, Mohsen

2014-12-01

Migraine headaches are the most common acute and recurrent headaches. Current treatment of a migraine headache consists of multiple medications for control and prevention of recurrent attacks. Global emergence of alternative medicine led us to examine the efficacy of cupping therapy plus serkangabin syrup in the treatment of migraine headaches. This study was a randomized, controlled, open-label, comparative efficacy trial. We randomly assigned patients with migraine into cupping therapy plus serkangabin group (30 patients) and conventional treatment group (30 patients). An investigator assessed the severity of headache, frequency of attacks in a week and duration of attacks per hour in 5 visits (at the end of 2 weeks, 1, 3 and 6 months). Generalized estimating equations approach was used to analyze repeated measures data to compare outcomes in both groups. Average age for cupping therapy group and conventional treatment group were 31.7 (±7.6) and 32.6 (±12.7) years, respectively (P = 0.45). After treatment for 2 weeks; and 1, 3 and 6 months, severity of headache (P = 0.80), frequency of migraine attacks (P = 0.63) and duration of attacks per hours (P = 0.48) were similar in conventional and cupping groups but these symptoms were decreased in each group during the study (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between cupping plus serkangabin therapy and conventional treatment in the treatment and prophylaxis of migraine. The alternative therapy may be used in cases of drug intolerance, no medication response, and in primary care.

Comparative efficacy trial of cupping and serkangabin versus conventional therapy of migraine headaches: A randomized, open-label, comparative efficacy trial

PubMed Central

Firoozabadi, Mohammad Dehghani; Navabzadeh, Maryam; Roudsari, Mohammad Khodashenas; Zahmatkash, Mohsen

2014-01-01

Background: Migraine headaches are the most common acute and recurrent headaches. Current treatment of a migraine headache consists of multiple medications for control and prevention of recurrent attacks. Global emergence of alternative medicine led us to examine the efficacy of cupping therapy plus serkangabin syrup in the treatment of migraine headaches. Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized, controlled, open-label, comparative efficacy trial. We randomly assigned patients with migraine into cupping therapy plus serkangabin group (30 patients) and conventional treatment group (30 patients). An investigator assessed the severity of headache, frequency of attacks in a week and duration of attacks per hour in 5 visits (at the end of 2 weeks, 1, 3 and 6 months). Generalized estimating equations approach was used to analyze repeated measures data to compare outcomes in both groups. Results: Average age for cupping therapy group and conventional treatment group were 31.7 (±7.6) and 32.6 (±12.7) years, respectively (P = 0.45). After treatment for 2 weeks; and 1, 3 and 6 months, severity of headache (P = 0.80), frequency of migraine attacks (P = 0.63) and duration of attacks per hours (P = 0.48) were similar in conventional and cupping groups but these symptoms were decreased in each group during the study (P < 0.001). Conclusion: There was no significant difference between cupping plus serkangabin therapy and conventional treatment in the treatment and prophylaxis of migraine. The alternative therapy may be used in cases of drug intolerance, no medication response, and in primary care. PMID:25709653

Protective responses to sublytic complement in the retinal pigment epithelium

PubMed Central

Tan, Li Xuan; Toops, Kimberly A.; Lakkaraju, Aparna

2016-01-01

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a key site of injury in inherited and age-related macular degenerations. Abnormal activation of the complement system is a feature of these blinding diseases, yet how the RPE combats complement attack is poorly understood. The complement cascade terminates in the cell-surface assembly of membrane attack complexes (MACs), which promote inflammation by causing aberrant signal transduction. Here, we investigated mechanisms crucial for limiting MAC assembly and preserving cellular integrity in the RPE and asked how these are compromised in models of macular degeneration. Using polarized primary RPE and the pigmented Abca4−/− Stargardt disease mouse model, we provide evidence for two protective responses occurring within minutes of complement attack, which are essential for maintaining mitochondrial health in the RPE. First, accelerated recycling of the membrane-bound complement regulator CD59 to the RPE cell surface inhibits MAC formation. Second, fusion of lysosomes with the RPE plasma membrane immediately after complement attack limits sustained elevations in intracellular calcium and prevents mitochondrial injury. Cholesterol accumulation in the RPE, induced by vitamin A dimers or oxidized LDL, inhibits these defense mechanisms by activating acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase), which increases tubulin acetylation and derails organelle traffic. Defective CD59 recycling and lysosome exocytosis after complement attack lead to mitochondrial fragmentation and oxidative stress in the RPE. Drugs that stimulate cholesterol efflux or inhibit ASMase restore both these critical safeguards in the RPE and avert complement-induced mitochondrial injury in vitro and in Abca4−/− mice, indicating that they could be effective therapeutic approaches for macular degenerations. PMID:27432952

Assessing DSM-IV symptoms of panic attack in the general population: an item response analysis.

PubMed

Sunderland, Matthew; Hobbs, Megan J; Andrews, Gavin; Craske, Michelle G

2012-12-20

Unexpected panic attacks may represent a non-specific risk factor for future depression and anxiety disorders. The examination of panic symptoms and associated latent severity levels may lead to improvements in the identification, prevention, and treatment of panic attacks and subsequent psychopathology for 'at risk' individuals in the general population. The current study utilised item response theory to assess the DSM-IV symptoms of panic in relation to the latent severity level of the panic attack construct in a sample of 5913 respondents from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related conditions. Additionally, differential item functioning (DIF) was assessed to determine if each symptom of panic targets the same level of latent severity between different sociodemographic groups (male/female, young/old). Symptoms indexing 'choking', 'fear of dying', and 'tingling/numbness' are some of the more severe symptoms of panic whilst 'heart racing', 'short of breath', 'tremble/shake', 'dizzy/faint', and 'perspire' are some of the least severe symptoms. Significant levels of DIF were detected in the 'perspire' symptom between males and females and the 'fear of dying' symptom between young and old respondents. The current study was limited to examining cross-sectional data from respondents who had experienced at least one panic attack across their lifetime. The findings of the current study provide additional information regarding panic symptoms in the general population that may enable researchers and clinicians to further refine the detection of 'at-risk' individuals who experience threshold and sub-threshold levels of panic. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Controversies Regarding Management of Vesico-ureteric Reflux.

PubMed

Babu, Ramesh; Chowdhary, Sujit

2017-07-01

The primary goal in the management of a child with urinary tract infection (UTI) is to prevent recurrence of UTI and acquired renal damage. Approximately 15% of children develop renal scarring after a first episode of febrile UTI. Vesico-ureteric reflux (VUR) is diagnosed in 30-40% of children imaged after first febrile UTI. The 'top-down' approach involving ultrasound and dimercaptosuccinic acid scan (DMSA) first after an appropriate interval following UTI, can help in avoiding voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG), an invasive test with higher radiation exposure. The majority view remains that VCUG should be done after the second attack of UTI in girls and first attack of UTI in boys. Although the evidence in favour of antibiotic prophylaxis remains doubtful in preventing renal scars associated with VUR, it remains the first line treatment for high-grade reflux (grade 3-5) with an aim to prevent UTI and allow spontaneous resolution of VUR. Early identification and appropriate treatment of associated bowel bladder dysfunction is an essential part of successful medical management of VUR. Endoscopic treatment of VUR, using a bulking agent, is useful in grade 3 VUR. The main controversy regarding intervention (endoscopic/open surgical intervention) involves absence of strong evidence for these interventions in reducing renal scarring on randomized controlled trials. However, several recent trials have found the surgical interventions to be effective in reducing recurrent pyelonephritis and repeated hospital admissions.

Nuclear security policy in the context of counter-terrorism in Cambodia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khun, Vuthy; Wongsawaeng, Doonyapong

2016-01-01

The risk of nuclear or dirty bomb attack by terrorists is one of the most urgent and threatening danger. The Cambodian national strategy to combat weapons of mass destruction (WMD) depicts a layered system of preventive measures ranging from securing materials at foreign sources to interdicting weapons or nuclear or other radioactive materials at ports, border crossings, and within the Cambodian institutions dealing with the nuclear security to manage the preventive programs. The aim of this study is to formulate guidance, to identify scenario of threat and risk, and to pinpoint necessary legal frameworks on nuclear security in the context of counterterrorism based on the International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear security series. The analysis of this study is guided by theoretical review, the review of international laws and politics, by identifying and interpreting applicable rules and norms establishing the nuclear security regime and how well enforcement of the regime is carried out and, what is the likelihood of the future reform might be. This study will examine the existing national legal frameworks of Cambodia in the context of counterterrorism to prevent acts of nuclear terrorism and the threat of a terrorist nuclear attack within the Cambodia territory. It will shed light on departmental lanes of national nuclear security responsibility, and provide a holistic perspective on the needs of additional resources and emphasis regarding nuclear security policy in the context of counterterrorism in Cambodia.

Legionnaires' disease case-finding algorithm, attack rates, and risk factors during a residential outbreak among older adults: an environmental and cohort study.

PubMed

Silk, Benjamin J; Foltz, Jennifer L; Ngamsnga, Kompan; Brown, Ellen; Muñoz, Mary Grace; Hampton, Lee M; Jacobs-Slifka, Kara; Kozak, Natalia A; Underwood, J Michael; Krick, John; Travis, Tatiana; Farrow, Olivia; Fields, Barry S; Blythe, David; Hicks, Lauri A

2013-06-27

During a Legionnaires' disease (LD) outbreak, combined epidemiological and environmental investigations were conducted to identify prevention recommendations for facilities where elderly residents live independently but have an increased risk of legionellosis. Survey responses (n = 143) were used to calculate attack rates and describe transmission routes by estimating relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Potable water collected from five apartments of LD patients and three randomly-selected apartments of residents without LD (n = 103 samples) was cultured for Legionella. Eight confirmed LD cases occurred among 171 residents (attack rate = 4.7%); two visitors also developed LD. One case was fatal. The average age of patients was 70 years (range: 62-77). LD risk was lower among residents who reported tub bathing instead of showering (RR = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.02-1.09, P = 0.03). Two respiratory cultures were characterized as L. pneumophila serogroup 1, monoclonal antibody type Knoxville (1,2,3), sequence type 222. An indistinguishable strain was detected in 31 (74%) of 42 potable water samples. Managers of elderly-housing facilities and local public health officials should consider developing a Legionella prevention plan. When Legionella colonization of potable water is detected in these facilities, remediation is indicated to protect residents at higher risk. If LD occurs among residents, exposure reduction, heightened awareness, and clinical surveillance activities should be coordinated among stakeholders. For prompt diagnosis and effective treatment, clinicians should recognize the increased risk and atypical presentation of LD in older adults.

The diagnostic efficiency of the extended German Brøset Violence Checklist to assess the risk of violence.

PubMed

Rechenmacher, Josef; Müller, Gerhard; Abderhalden, Christoph; Schulc, Eva

2014-01-01

The prevention of aggression and violence of patients is part of the challenge for the psychiatric inpatient care. Resources needed are a systematic risk assessment and taking preventive measures according to the risk. The extended Brøset Violence Checklist (BVC-CH) is an assessment instrument for the short-term assessment of the risk of violence for physical attacks toward medical staff and other patients. Until now, the instrument was only validated in the context of the development phase of the instrument. The aim of this study was to investigate how valid the BVC-CH scale is for adult psychiatry in acute inpatient care facilities. In a prospective cohort study, 232 consecutively admitted patients were assessed using the BVC-CH. The calculation of the predictive values was based on a contingency table. The discriminatory power of the instrument and the determination of the cutoff point were done using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Physical attacks were registered with the Staff Observation of Aggression Scale-Revised (SOAS-R). The sensitivity was 58.8% and the specificity was 96.8% by a cutoff point of > or = 7. By choosing a cutoff point of > or = 6, the sensitivity was 64.7% and the specificity was 95.1%. A value of .93 was determined for the area under the curve receiver operating characteristic (AUC(ROC)). Overall, the BVC-CH is a valid instrument for the short-term prediction of physical attacks. Further research of the BVC-CH is recommended but in particular for the cutoff point.

Bacterial lysate increases the percentage of natural killer T cells in peripheral blood and alleviates asthma in children.

PubMed

Lu, Yanming; Li, Yaqin; Xu, Lingyun; Xia, Min; Cao, Lanfang

2015-01-01

To assess the efficacy of conventional treatment combined with bacterial lysate [OM-85 Broncho-Vaxom (BV)] in the prevention of asthma in children as well as its influence on the number of natural killer T (NKT) cells and their cytokine production. Sixty children diagnosed with asthma were divided into either a BV-treated group (with oral OM-85 BV) or a conventional inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) group. The numbers of NKT cells and CD4+ NKT cells were measured in the peripheral blood by flow cytometry. The levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-10 after the blood cells had been cultured with an NKT cell agonist were detected by ELISA. After therapy, asthma attacks were significantly decreased compared with before therapy in both groups. However, after therapy, respiratory tract infections were reduced compared with before therapy in the BV-treated group only. Additionally, the frequency of asthma attacks and use of antibiotics in the BV-treated group were lower than in the ICS group. With BV treatment, the numbers of peripheral blood NKT cells and CD4+ NKT cells were higher after therapy than before therapy. After therapy, the ratio of IFN-γ/IL-4 and IL-10 levels were increased in the BV-treated group, whereas IL-4 was reduced in the BV-treated group compared with the ICS group. BV combined with conventional asthma treatment can prevent recurrent respiratory tract infections and suppress the severity of asthma attacks, possibly by altering the rates and cytokines of NKT cells. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel

The School District's Liability in Cases of Violent Attacks on Students and Employees.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maze, Jerry G.

The school's responsibility to provide a safe learning environment for students is examined in this paper. Failure to take preventative measures may result in loss of government tort immunity and charges of negligence liability. A review of case law indicates a trend toward successful litigation by plaintiffs against school districts--a decline in…

Bullying Prevention for School Safety (with Related Video)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Katie

2012-01-01

The nation watched in shock recently as four middle school boys barraged 68-year-old bus monitor Karen Klein with jabs about her weight, attacks on her family, and chuckled as they made violent and graphic threats. Klein remained quiet, taking the abuse and failing to respond to the students. This incident might have gone unnoticed and unreported,…

Preventing Active Timing Attacks in Low-Latency Anonymous Communication

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-26

measured routers with the modifiers “Exit”, “Fast”, “Running”, “Stable”, and “Valid”. The routers also had to be non- hibernating and could not have exit...Tor client was a custom client written in Java . Packet traces were recorded using tcpdump. The timestamps on these were used to determine the timing of

Genetic and phenotypic variability for constitutive oleoresin flow in loblolly pine

Treesearch

James H. Roberds; Brian L. Strom; F.P. Hain

2003-01-01

In loblolly pine, Pinus taeda L., flow of oleoresin at penetration sites is considered to be a major component of defense against attack by the southern pine beetle (SPB) Dendroctonus frontalis Zimm. Trees with copious amounts of constitutive or preformed oleoresin appear to be most able to prevent or impede colonization by this...

A Bird and Bee Problem in House Siding

Treesearch

Louis F. Wilson; Henry A. Huber

1976-01-01

Plywood house siding made to simulate reverse board-and-batten design is sometimes attacked by woodpeckers because leaf-cutting bees, their prey, make nests in holes in the plywood core. The problem can be prevented by plugging the holes before nesting occurs. If nesting does occur, the nest should be destroyed and then the holes plugged.

Why It Takes Prevention, Not Detection, to Fight Bioterrorism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janata, Jiri (Art)

2005-01-01

Following the events which took place on September 11, 2001, and the anthrax attacks which occurred after that date, US authorities became concerned with the idea that an assault with chemical or biological weapons could take place on American territory or in American ships or planes. A worrisome model for such an assault was the 1995 terrorist…

Residual activity of carbaryl protected lodgepole pine against mountain pine beetle, Dillon, Colorado, 1982 and 1983

Treesearch

Marion Page; Michael I. Haverty; Charles E. Richmond

1985-01-01

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) is the most destructive insect that attacks lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.), a species valued for multiple uses throughout North America. The effective residual life of carbaryl, applied as a 2 percent suspension of Sevimol to the bark of lodgepole pine to prevent...

A Novel Theranostic Platform for Targeted Cancer Therapy and Treatment Monitoring | Division of Cancer Prevention

Cancer.gov

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cancer treatment currently relies heavily upon administration of cytotoxic drugs that attack both cancerous and healthy cells due to limited selectivity of drugs. Therapeutic efficacy and systemic toxicity can be improved by employing a multifunctional drug delivery system that allows targeted drug delivery, controlled drug release and

Estimating the Benefits of Gypsy Moth Control on Timberland

Treesearch

David A. Gansner; Owen W. Herrick; Owen W. Herrick

1987-01-01

A recent study of forest stand losses to gypsy moth has provided basic information for evaluating the benefits of control on new frontiers of infestation. Protecting highly susceptible trees from impending attack can prevent a potential loss of 15 percent in their timber value and 2.8 percent in their compound rate of value growth.

The Consequences of the Trojan Horse Affair and a Possible Way Forward for Birmingham

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barton, Sarah; Hatcher, Richard

2014-01-01

The UK government seized the opportunity of the Trojan Horse affair to launch a damaging Islamophobic attack, eagerly relayed by a racist press, on the Muslim community in Birmingham and beyond, abusing Ofsted and the Prevent strategy as blatant instruments of ideologically-driven policy. The various reports found no evidence of radicalisation or…

77 FR 66411 - Airworthiness Directives; Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (Type Certificate Previously Held by...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-05

... airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report that the wiring for the 5-volt direct current (DC... instrument lighting control power supplies. We are proposing this AD to prevent failure of the wiring, which... wiring for other cockpit equipment such as the stick shaker function or angle-of-attack indicators. DATES...

Informing pest prevention efforts through Sentinel Plant Monitoring

Treesearch

2010-01-01

Botanic gardens with international collections provide a unique opportunity to help detect potential invasive threats to forest health. Nursery stock is well-recognized as a major pathway for the introduction of invasive insects and pathogens to native ecosystems. Plant health regulators need help knowing what pests attack host plants abroad so they can develop ways to...

Norms in Conflict: Statecraft, Preventive Force, and Counter Proliferation

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

power. Finally, the ethical character of norms offers a framework for the attacking state to justify its actions to the international community ...national identity, sanctions, and ethics play in counter-proliferation strategies. Finally, it concludes by offering policy recommendations for...role that national identity, sanctions, and ethics play in counter-proliferation strategies. Finally, it concludes by offering policy

School Preparation to the Terrorist Threat. SVRC Fact Sheet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Violence Resource Center, 2004

2004-01-01

This fact sheet provides a list of "lessons learned" to assist schools in better preparing for a crisis event. The list was compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Education specifically to assist schools in preparing for a terrorist attack. The lessons can help schools better identify appropriate…

Preventing Catastrophes from Data Loss

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldsborough, Reid

2004-01-01

What's the worst thing that can happen to your computer? Worse than a hard disk crash, virus infection, spam assault, denial-of-service attack, hacker take-over, fire, flood, or other human, mechanical or natural disaster is a faulty backup when you really need it. If the computer blows up, as long as your data is backed up securely, you can…

Chemical plants remain vulnerable to terrorists: a call to action.

PubMed

Lippin, Tobi Mae; McQuiston, Thomas H; Bradley-Bull, Kristin; Burns-Johnson, Toshiba; Cook, Linda; Gill, Michael L; Howard, Donna; Seymour, Thomas A; Stephens, Doug; Williams, Brian K

2006-09-01

U.S. chemical plants currently have potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities as terrorist targets. The possible consequences of these vulnerabilities echo from the tragedies of the Bhopal incident in 1984 to the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 and, most recently, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Findings from a 2004 nationwide participatory research study of 125 local union leaders at sites with very large volumes of highly hazardous chemicals suggest that voluntary efforts to achieve chemical plant security are not succeeding. Study respondents reported that companies had only infrequently taken actions that are most effective in preventing or in preparing to respond to a terrorist threat. In addition, companies reportedly often failed to involve key stakeholders, including workers, local unions, and the surrounding communities, in these efforts. The environmental health community thus has an opportunity to play a key role in advocating for and supporting improvements in prevention of and preparation for terrorist attacks. Policy-level recommendations to redress chemical site vulnerabilities and the related ongoing threats to the nation's security are as follows: a) specify detailed requirements for chemical site assessment and security ; b) mandate audit inspections supported by significant penalties for cases of noncompliance ; c) require progress toward achieving inherently safer processes, including the minimizing of storage of highly hazardous chemicals ; d) examine and require additional effective actions in prevention, emergency preparedness, and response and remediation ; e) mandate and fund the upgrading of emergency communication systems ; and f) involve workers and community members in plan creation and equip and prepare them to prevent and respond effectively to an incident.

Chemical Plants Remain Vulnerable to Terrorists: A Call to Action

PubMed Central

Lippin, Tobi Mae; McQuiston, Thomas H.; Bradley-Bull, Kristin; Burns-Johnson, Toshiba; Cook, Linda; Gill, Michael L.; Howard, Donna; Seymour, Thomas A.; Stephens, Doug; Williams, Brian K.

2006-01-01

U.S. chemical plants currently have potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities as terrorist targets. The possible consequences of these vulnerabilities echo from the tragedies of the Bhopal incident in 1984 to the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 and, most recently, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Findings from a 2004 nationwide participatory research study of 125 local union leaders at sites with very large volumes of highly hazardous chemicals suggest that voluntary efforts to achieve chemical plant security are not succeeding. Study respondents reported that companies had only infrequently taken actions that are most effective in preventing or in preparing to respond to a terrorist threat. In addition, companies reportedly often failed to involve key stakeholders, including workers, local unions, and the surrounding communities, in these efforts. The environmental health community thus has an opportunity to play a key role in advocating for and supporting improvements in prevention of and preparation for terrorist attacks. Policy-level recommendations to redress chemical site vulnerabilities and the related ongoing threats to the nation’s security are as follows: a) specify detailed requirements for chemical site assessment and security; b) mandate audit inspections supported by significant penalties for cases of noncompliance; c) require progress toward achieving inherently safer processes, including the minimizing of storage of highly hazardous chemicals; d) examine and require additional effective actions in prevention, emergency preparedness, and response and remediation; e) mandate and fund the upgrading of emergency communication systems; and f) involve workers and community members in plan creation and equip and prepare them to prevent and respond effectively to an incident. PMID:16966080

Cyberbullying Among Greek High School Adolescents.

PubMed

Gkiomisi, Athanasia; Gkrizioti, Maria; Gkiomisi, Athina; Anastasilakis, Dimitrios A; Kardaras, Panagiotis

2017-05-01

To investigate the presence of cyberbullying among Greek students and the efficacy of proposed preventive interventions. Three types of high schools (private, experimental and public) with different politics on on-line aggression were enrolled. All students of the aforementioned schools were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire. Around 62 % of the high school students experienced cyberbullying by electronic means, especially by cell phone, mostly the public school students (p 0.008). The bully was a stranger in more than 40 % of the cases. Over 60 % of the victims had not seeked help but dealt with the attack on their own. Only 20 % of the victims manifested sleep or eating disorders, physical/ psychological symptoms or changes in their social life as a consequence of the cyber-attack. Cyberbullying is a usual phenomenon among high school students. The bully is frequently unacquainted to the victim. Most of the victims are not physically or psychologically affected by the cyber-attack and do not share the event with anyone. There was a slight difference in the response of the students to cyberbullying among the different school politics of on-line aggression.

Science and Society Under Attack: The Need for Political As Well As Scientific Responses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berman, Marshall

2006-03-01

Today science and scientists are under attack. This is not new in human history. Copernicus delayed publishing for fear of possible persecution. Bruno was burned at the stake. Galileo was forced to recant. Darwin worked for 20 years without publishing his ideas, perhaps out of fear of possible consequences. In the US today, fundamentalist evangelicals have launched an attack on science, from intelligent design creationism, to stem cell research, global warming, vaccines to prevent cervical cancer, even museums that show exhibits on evolution. In the 21^st century, this medieval mentality must be strenuously resisted. Rational thought can co-exist with religious faith, unless extremism becomes the norm. Scientists have often ignored politics in their pursuit of new knowledge. But they must understand that public opinion is strongly influenced by non-scientific elements of society, from the pulpit, from politicians and bureaucrats, from a scientifically illiterate public, and from a media that frequently treats all points of view as equal, when they are most certainly not. Will science eventually be required to pass muster for religious fundamentalists in the near future?

Efficient and Security Enhanced Anonymous Authentication with Key Agreement Scheme in Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Jung, Jaewook; Moon, Jongho; Lee, Donghoon; Won, Dongho

2017-01-01

At present, users can utilize an authenticated key agreement protocol in a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) to securely obtain desired information, and numerous studies have investigated authentication techniques to construct efficient, robust WSNs. Chang et al. recently presented an authenticated key agreement mechanism for WSNs and claimed that their authentication mechanism can both prevent various types of attacks, as well as preserve security properties. However, we have discovered that Chang et al’s method possesses some security weaknesses. First, their mechanism cannot guarantee protection against a password guessing attack, user impersonation attack or session key compromise. Second, the mechanism results in a high load on the gateway node because the gateway node should always maintain the verifier tables. Third, there is no session key verification process in the authentication phase. To this end, we describe how the previously-stated weaknesses occur and propose a security-enhanced version for WSNs. We present a detailed analysis of the security and performance of our authenticated key agreement mechanism, which not only enhances security compared to that of related schemes, but also takes efficiency into consideration. PMID:28335572

Efficient and Security Enhanced Anonymous Authentication with Key Agreement Scheme in Wireless Sensor Networks.

PubMed

Jung, Jaewook; Moon, Jongho; Lee, Donghoon; Won, Dongho

2017-03-21

At present, users can utilize an authenticated key agreement protocol in a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) to securely obtain desired information, and numerous studies have investigated authentication techniques to construct efficient, robust WSNs. Chang et al. recently presented an authenticated key agreement mechanism for WSNs and claimed that their authentication mechanism can both prevent various types of attacks, as well as preserve security properties. However, we have discovered that Chang et al's method possesses some security weaknesses. First, their mechanism cannot guarantee protection against a password guessing attack, user impersonation attack or session key compromise. Second, the mechanism results in a high load on the gateway node because the gateway node should always maintain the verifier tables. Third, there is no session key verification process in the authentication phase. To this end, we describe how the previously-stated weaknesses occur and propose a security-enhanced version for WSNs. We present a detailed analysis of the security and performance of our authenticated key agreement mechanism, which not only enhances security compared to that of related schemes, but also takes efficiency into consideration.

Transient ischameic attack/stroke electronic decision support: a 14-month safety audit.

PubMed

Lavin, Timothy L; Ranta, Annemarei

2014-02-01

To assess the safety of a Transient Ischameic Attack (TIA)/Stroke Electronic Decision Support (EDS) tool in the primary care setting intended to aid general practitioners in the timely management of transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). A 14-month safety audit reviewing all patients managed with the help of the TIA/Stroke EDS tool. Major morbidity and mortality were assessed by screening patients for subsequent hospital admissions and investigating potential links to EDS use. Seventy-nine patients were managed with the aid of the TIA/Stroke EDS. EDS use resulted in 8 appropriate immediate hospital admissions because of patients being at high risk of stroke. Three patients had delayed admission, but care was fully guideline based and patients had no adverse outcome. Eleven admissions were unrelated to EDS use. Two deaths occurred; these did not result from inappropriate EDS advice. Results suggest that TIA/Stroke EDS use is not associated with major morbidity or mortality. Larger studies are needed to draw more definite conclusions regarding the utility of this TIA/Stroke EDS in preventing strokes. Copyright © 2014 National Stroke Association. All rights reserved.

Under-prescribing of Prevention Drugs and Primary Prevention of Stroke and Transient Ischaemic Attack in UK General Practice: A Retrospective Analysis

PubMed Central

Fitzmaurice, David; Cheng, K. K.; Marshall, Tom

2016-01-01

Background Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability; worldwide it is estimated that 16.9 million people have a first stroke each year. Lipid-lowering, anticoagulant, and antihypertensive drugs can prevent strokes, but may be underused. Methods and Findings We analysed anonymised electronic primary care records from a United Kingdom (UK) primary care database that covers approximately 6% of the UK population. Patients with first-ever stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA), ≥18 y, with diagnosis between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2013, were included. Drugs were considered under-prescribed when lipid-lowering, anticoagulant, or antihypertensive drugs were clinically indicated but were not prescribed prior to the time of stroke or TIA. The proportions of strokes or TIAs with prevention drugs under-prescribed, when clinically indicated, were calculated. In all, 29,043 stroke/TIA patients met the inclusion criteria; 17,680 had ≥1 prevention drug clinically indicated: 16,028 had lipid-lowering drugs indicated, 3,194 anticoagulant drugs, and 7,008 antihypertensive drugs. At least one prevention drug was not prescribed when clinically indicated in 54% (9,579/17,680) of stroke/TIA patients: 49% (7,836/16,028) were not prescribed lipid-lowering drugs, 52% (1,647/3,194) were not prescribed anticoagulant drugs, and 25% (1,740/7,008) were not prescribed antihypertensive drugs. The limitations of our study are that our definition of under-prescribing of drugs for stroke/TIA prevention did not address patients’ adherence to medication or medication targets, such as blood pressure levels. Conclusions In our study, over half of people eligible for lipid-lowering, anticoagulant, or antihypertensive drugs were not prescribed them prior to first stroke/TIA. We estimate that approximately 12,000 first strokes could potentially be prevented annually in the UK through optimal prescribing of these drugs. Improving prescription of lipid-lowering, anticoagulant, and antihypertensive drugs is important to reduce the incidence and burden of stroke and TIA. PMID:27846215

Victimization from workplace bullying after a traumatic event: time-lagged relationships with symptoms of posttraumatic stress.

PubMed

Nielsen, Morten Birkeland; Birkeland, Marianne Skogbrott; Hansen, Marianne Bang; Knardahl, Stein; Heir, Trond

2017-07-01

This study examined relationships between victimization from bullying and symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTSS) after exposure to a terror attack at the workplace. It was hypothesized that (1) victims of bullying report higher and more stable levels of PTSS over time compared to their non-bullied colleagues and (2) that PTSS provides an increased risk of subsequent victimization from bullying. The hypotheses were tested in a two-wave prospective sample comprising 2337 employees from Norwegian governmental ministries who were exposed to the 2011 Oslo terror attack. The two waves of data collection were conducted 10 and 22 months after the terror attack. Hypothesis 1 was partially supported: victims of bullying reported significantly higher levels of PTSS than non-bullied employees at both measurement points, but bullying was not related to the stability in PTSS over time. In support of hypothesis 2, PTSS at 10 months was significantly associated with an increased risk of feeling victimized by bullying 1 year later. The results indicate that victimization from bullying is associated with elevated levels of PTSS in the aftermath of a workplace terror attack, but that bullying does not have any impact on the long-term development of PTSS. PTSS may be a potential antecedent of bullying. These findings suggest that organizations must give high priority to the psychosocial work environment of traumatized employees to prevent further detrimental health consequences.

Mortality, mauling, and maiming by vicious dogs.

PubMed

Bini, John K; Cohn, Stephen M; Acosta, Shirley M; McFarland, Marilyn J; Muir, Mark T; Michalek, Joel E

2011-04-01

Maiming and death due to dog bites are uncommon but preventable tragedies. We postulated that patients admitted to a level I trauma center with dog bites would have severe injuries and that the gravest injuries would be those caused by pit bulls. We reviewed the medical records of patients admitted to our level I trauma center with dog bites during a 15-year period. We determined the demographic characteristics of the patients, their outcomes, and the breed and characteristics of the dogs that caused the injuries. Our Trauma and Emergency Surgery Services treated 228 patients with dog bite injuries; for 82 of those patients, the breed of dog involved was recorded (29 were injured by pit bulls). Compared with attacks by other breeds of dogs, attacks by pit bulls were associated with a higher median Injury Severity Scale score (4 vs. 1; P = 0.002), a higher risk of an admission Glasgow Coma Scale score of 8 or lower (17.2% vs. 0%; P = 0.006), higher median hospital charges ($10,500 vs. $7200; P = 0.003), and a higher risk of death (10.3% vs. 0%; P = 0.041). Attacks by pit bulls are associated with higher morbidity rates, higher hospital charges, and a higher risk of death than are attacks by other breeds of dogs. Strict regulation of pit bulls may substantially reduce the US mortality rates related to dog bites.

[Thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis, an endocrine emergency: clinical and genetic features in 25 patients].

PubMed

Silva, Magnus R Dias da; Chiamolera, Maria Izabel; Kasamatsu, Teresa S; Cerutti, Janete M; Maciel, Rui M B

2004-02-01

Thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis (THPP) is a medical emergency characterized by acute attacks of weakness, hypokalemia, and thyrotoxicosis that resolve with the treatment of hyperthyroidism. Attacks are transient, self-limited, associated with hypokalemia and resemble those of familial hypokalemic periodic paralysis (FHPP), an autosomal dominant neurological channelopathy. This study reviews the clinical features and genetic findings of THPP in 25 Brazilian patients. Most patients had weight loss, taquicardia, goiter, tremor, and ophthalmopathy. Most often attacks arose during the night and recovered spontaneously but some patients evolved to total quadriplegia, and few experienced cardiac arrhythmias. All patients had suppressed TSH and elevated T4 and most had positive anti-thyroid antibodies, indicating autoimmunity thyrotoxic etiology. Potassium was low in all patients during the crisis. Prophylactic potassium therapy has not been shown to prevent attacks; however it was useful for curbing the paralysis during the crisis. We identified the mutation R83H in the KCNE3 gene in one sporadic case, and M58V in the KCNE4 gene in one case with family history. Furthermore, we identified other genetic polymorphisms in the CACNA1S, SCN4A, KCNE1, KCNE2, KCNE1L, KCNJ2, KCNJ8 e KCNJ11 genes. We conclude that THPP is the most common treatable cause of acquired periodic paralysis; therefore, it must be included in the differential diagnosis of acute muscle weakness.

Impact of Pregnancy-Associated Malaria on Infant Malaria Infection in Southern Benin

PubMed Central

Borgella, Sophie; Fievet, Nadine; Huynh, Bich-Tram; Ibitokou, Samad; Hounguevou, Gbetognon; Affedjou, Jacqueline; Sagbo, Jean-Claude; Houngbegnon, Parfait; Guezo-Mévo, Blaise; Massougbodji, Achille; Luty, Adrian J. F.

2013-01-01

Background Infants of mothers with placental Plasmodium falciparum infections at delivery are themselves more susceptible to malaria attacks or to infection in early life. Methodology/ Principal Findings To assess the impact of either the timing or the number of pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) infections on the incidence of parasitemia or malaria attacks in infancy, we followed 218 mothers through pregnancy (monthly visits) up to delivery and their infants from birth to 12 months of age (fortnightly visits), collecting detailed clinical and parasitological data. After adjustment on location, mother’s age, birth season, bed net use, and placental malaria, infants born to a mother with PAM during the third trimester of pregnancy had a significantly increased risk of infection (OR [95% CI]: 4.2 [1.6; 10.5], p = 0.003) or of malaria attack (4.6 [1.7; 12.5], p = 0.003). PAM during the first and second trimesters had no such impact. Similarly significant results were found for the effect of the overall number of PAM episodes on the time to first parasitemia and first malaria attack (HR [95% CI]: 2.95 [1.58; 5.50], p = 0.001 and 3.19 [1.59; 6.38], p = 0.001) respectively. Conclusions/ Significance This study highlights the importance of protecting newborns by preventing repeated episodes of PAM in their mothers. PMID:24236190

MV-OPES: Multivalued-Order Preserving Encryption Scheme: A Novel Scheme for Encrypting Integer Value to Many Different Values

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadhem, Hasan; Amagasa, Toshiyuki; Kitagawa, Hiroyuki

Encryption can provide strong security for sensitive data against inside and outside attacks. This is especially true in the “Database as Service” model, where confidentiality and privacy are important issues for the client. In fact, existing encryption approaches are vulnerable to a statistical attack because each value is encrypted to another fixed value. This paper presents a novel database encryption scheme called MV-OPES (Multivalued — Order Preserving Encryption Scheme), which allows privacy-preserving queries over encrypted databases with an improved security level. Our idea is to encrypt a value to different multiple values to prevent statistical attacks. At the same time, MV-OPES preserves the order of the integer values to allow comparison operations to be directly applied on encrypted data. Using calculated distance (range), we propose a novel method that allows a join query between relations based on inequality over encrypted values. We also present techniques to offload query execution load to a database server as much as possible, thereby making a better use of server resources in a database outsourcing environment. Our scheme can easily be integrated with current database systems as it is designed to work with existing indexing structures. It is robust against statistical attack and the estimation of true values. MV-OPES experiments show that security for sensitive data can be achieved with reasonable overhead, establishing the practicability of the scheme.

Trustworthiness of detectors in quantum key distribution with untrusted detectors

DOE PAGES

Qi, Bing

2015-02-25

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) protocol has been demonstrated as a viable solution to detector side-channel attacks. One of the main advantages of MDI-QKD is that the security can be proved without making any assumptions about how the measurement device works. The price to pay is the relatively low secure key rate comparing with conventional quantum key distribution (QKD), such as the decoy-state BB84 protocol. Recently a new QKD protocol, aiming at bridging the strong security of MDI-QKD with the high e ciency of conventional QKD, has been proposed. In this protocol, the legitimate receiver employs a trusted linear opticsmore » network to encode information on photons received from an insecure quantum channel, and then performs a Bell state measurement (BSM) using untrusted detectors. One crucial assumption made in most of these studies is that the untrusted BSM located inside the receiver's laboratory cannot send any unwanted information to the outside. Here in this paper, we show that if the BSM is completely untrusted, a simple scheme would allow the BSM to send information to the outside. Combined with Trojan horse attacks, this scheme could allow Eve to gain information of the quantum key without being detected. Ultimately, to prevent the above attack, either countermeasures to Trojan horse attacks or some trustworthiness to the "untrusted" BSM device is required.« less

Applying Magneto-rheology to Reduce Blood Viscosity and Suppress Turbulence to Prevent Heart Attacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, R.

Heart attacks are the leading causes of death in USA. Research indicates one common thread, high blood viscosity, linking all cardiovascular diseases. Turbulence in blood circulation makes different regions of the vasculature vulnerable to development of atherosclerotic plaque. Turbulence is also responsible for systolic ejection murmurs and places heavier workload on heart, a possible trigger of heart attacks. Presently, neither medicine nor method is available to suppress turbulence. The only method to reduce the blood viscosity is to take medicine, such as aspirin. However, using medicine to reduce the blood viscosity does not help suppressing turbulence. In fact, the turbulence gets worse as the Reynolds number goes up with the viscosity reduction by the medicine. Here we report our new discovery: application of a strong magnetic field to blood along its flow direction, red blood cells are polarized in the magnetic field and aggregated into short chains along the flow direction. The blood viscosity becomes anisotropic: Along the flow direction the viscosity is significantly reduced, but in the directions perpendicular to the flow the viscosity is considerably increased. In this way, the blood flow becomes laminar, turbulence is suppressed, the blood circulation is greatly improved, and the risk for heart attacks is reduced. While these effects are not permanent, they last for about 24 hours after one magnetic therapy treatment.

Negotiating Tensions Between Theory and Design in the Development of Mailings for People Recovering From Acute Coronary Syndrome.

PubMed

Witteman, Holly O; Presseau, Justin; Nicholas Angl, Emily; Jokhio, Iffat; Schwalm, J D; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Bosiak, Beth; Natarajan, Madhu K; Ivers, Noah M

2017-03-01

Taking all recommended secondary prevention cardiac medications and fully participating in a formal cardiac rehabilitation program significantly reduces mortality and morbidity in the year following a heart attack. However, many people who have had a heart attack stop taking some or all of their recommended medications prematurely and many do not complete a formal cardiac rehabilitation program. The objective of our study was to develop a user-centered, theory-based, scalable intervention of printed educational materials to encourage and support people who have had a heart attack to use recommended secondary prevention cardiac treatments. Prior to the design process, we conducted theory-based interviews and surveys with patients who had had a heart attack to identify key determinants of secondary prevention behaviors. Our interdisciplinary research team then partnered with a patient advisor and design firm to undertake an iterative, theory-informed, user-centered design process to operationalize techniques to address these determinants. User-centered design requires considering users' needs, goals, strengths, limitations, context, and intuitive processes; designing prototypes adapted to users accordingly; observing how potential users respond to the prototype; and using those data to refine the design. To accomplish these tasks, we conducted user research to develop personas (archetypes of potential users), developed a preliminary prototype using behavior change theory to map behavior change techniques to identified determinants of medication adherence, and conducted 2 design cycles, testing materials via think-aloud and semistructured interviews with a total of 11 users (10 patients who had experienced a heart attack and 1 caregiver). We recruited participants at a single cardiac clinic using purposive sampling informed by our personas. We recorded sessions with users and extracted key themes from transcripts. We held interdisciplinary team discussions to interpret findings in the context of relevant theory-based evidence and iteratively adapted the intervention accordingly. Through our iterative development and testing, we identified 3 key tensions: (1) evidence from theory-based studies versus users' feelings, (2) informative versus persuasive communication, and (3) logistical constraints for the intervention versus users' desires or preferences. We addressed these by (1) identifying root causes for users' feelings and addressing those to better incorporate theory- and evidence-based features, (2) accepting that our intervention was ethically justified in being persuasive, and (3) making changes to the intervention where possible, such as attempting to match imagery in the materials to patients' self-images. Theory-informed interventions must be operationalized in ways that fit with user needs. Tensions between users' desires or preferences and health care system goals and constraints must be identified and addressed to the greatest extent possible. A cluster randomized controlled trial of the final intervention is currently underway. ©Holly O Witteman, Justin Presseau, Emily Nicholas Angl, Iffat Jokhio, JD Schwalm, Jeremy M Grimshaw, Beth Bosiak, Madhu K Natarajan, Noah M Ivers. Originally published in JMIR Human Factors (http://humanfactors.jmir.org), 01.03.2017.