The Effect of Sex on the Remimazolam Dosage Required for Successful i-gel Supraglottic Airway Insertion with Remifentanil in Non-Paralyzed Patients: An Up-and-Down Sequential Allocation Trial.

(1) Background: The physiological and pharmacological variations between men and women are known to influence drug efficacy. The objective of this study was to determine the 50% and 95% effective doses (ED50 and ED95) of remimazolam required for i-gel supraglottic airway (ISA) insertion under remifentanil infusion without neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) in both males and females. (2) Methods: Patients aged 19-65 years, scheduled for general anesthesia using ISA, were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into two groups based on their sex. The anesthesia process began with a remifentanil infusion targeting an effect-site concentration of 3.0 ng/mL, accompanied by a remimazolam injection. The initial remimazolam dose was 0.25 mg/kg, and it was adjusted with a step size of 0.05 mg/kg based on the outcome of ISA insertion in the preceding patient. (3) Results: The ED50 of remimazolam (mean ± standard error) was 0.28 ± 0.02 mg/kg in the male group and 0.18 ± 0.02 mg/kg in the female group (p < 0.001). Additionally, ED95, which was calculated using the isotonic regression method, was significantly comparable between the male and female groups (male: 0.35 mg/kg, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.34-0.35; female: 0.29 mg/kg, 95% CI = 0.25-0.30). (4) Conclusions: This study showed that both the ED50 and the ED95 of remimazolam for successful ISA insertion was higher for men than that for women. Therefore, while using remimazolam alongside remifentanil infusion without NMBAs for ISA insertion, one should consider the patient's sex for appropriate dosing.

Preventive effect of aripiprazole once-monthly on relapse into mood episodes in bipolar disorder: A multicenter, one-year, retrospective, mirror image study.

BACKGROUND: We conducted a one-year, retrospective, mirror-image study to investigate the clinical effectiveness and safety of aripiprazole once monthly (AOM) in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). We compared pre-treatment conditions with outcomes after 12 months of AOM treatment. METHODS: Seventy-five bipolar patients were recruited from 12 hospitals in Korea. We included 75 patients with BD who had received at least three AOM treatments from September 2019 to September 2022 and had accessible electronic medical record (EMRs) for the year before and after the baseline visit. RESULTS: The overall number of mood episodes significantly decreased from a mean of 1.5 ± 1.2 episodes pre-AOM to 0.5 ± 1.2 episodes post-AOM. Manic episodes significantly decreased from 0.8 ± 0.8 episodes pre-AOM to 0.2 ± 0.5 episodes post-AOM, and depressive episodes significantly decreased from 0.5 ± 0.8 episodes pre-AOM to 0.2 ± 0.6 episodes post-AOM (p = 0.017). Moreover, the number of psychiatric medications and pills and the proportion of patients treated with complex polypharmacy were significantly decreased post-AOM. LIMITATIONS: The small sample size was insufficient to fully represent the entire population of individuals with BD, and potential selection bias was introduced due to only including subjects who received AOM three or more times. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that AOM can reduce mood episode relapse and may be clinically beneficial in the treatment of BD patients, potentially reducing issues associated with polypharmacy in some individuals.

Optimizing Optical Dielectrophoretic (ODEP) Performance: Position- and Size-Dependent Droplet Manipulation in an Open-Chamber Oil Medium.

An optimization study is presented to enhance optical dielectrophoretic (ODEP) performance for effective manipulation of an oil-immersed droplet in the floating electrode optoelectronic tweezers (FEOET) device. This study focuses on understanding how the droplet's position and size, relative to light illumination, affect the maximum ODEP force. Numerical simulations identified the characteristic length (Lc) of the electric field as a pivotal factor, representing the location of peak field strength. Utilizing 3D finite element simulations, the ODEP force is calculated through the Maxwell stress tensor by integrating the electric field strength over the droplet's surface and then analyzed as a function of the droplet's position and size normalized to Lc. Our findings reveal that the optimal position is xopt= Lc+ r, (with r being the droplet radius), while the optimal droplet size is ropt = 5Lc, maximizing light-induced field perturbation around the droplet. Experimental validations involving the tracking of droplet dynamics corroborated these findings. Especially, a droplet sized at r = 5Lc demonstrated the greatest optical actuation by performing the longest travel distance of 13.5 mm with its highest moving speed of 6.15 mm/s, when it was initially positioned at x0= Lc+ r = 6Lc from the light's center. These results align well with our simulations, confirming the criticality of both the position (xopt) and size (ropt) for maximizing ODEP force. This study not only provides a deeper understanding of the position- and size-dependent parameters for effective droplet manipulation in FEOET systems, but also advances the development of low-cost, disposable, lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices for multiplexed biological and biochemical analyses.

Prevalence and Comorbidities of Adult Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder in a Community Sample from Korea.

Objective: : Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is prevalent in adults, and psychiatric comorbidities are common in adults with ADHD. We aimed to examine the prevalence of adult ADHD with several common psychiatric conditions in a community sample in Korea and the association between adult ADHD and risk of psychiatric comorbidities. Methods: : This study used a cross-sectional survey design. We provided supplementary and optional self-report questionnaires, including the Korean version of the World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) short screening scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for screening for depression, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test alcohol consumption questions, and the Korean version of the Mood Disorders Questionnaire, to Korean adults who visited one of six centers of a large private healthcare company for the National General Health Examination. Results: : A total of 17,799 subjects included in this study, and 430 (2.4%) were positive on the ASRS screen. ADHD was significantly associated with the 19-30-year-old age group (odds ratio [OR] = 3.938), lower income (OR = 1.298), depression (OR = 11.563), and bipolar disorder (OR = 3.162). Conclusion: : Adult ADHD was highly associated with depression and bipolar disorder, suggesting that clinicians should carefully evaluate and treat such psychiatric disorders in adults with ADHD symptoms.

Anti-Staphylococcal Activity of Ligilactobacillus animalis SWLA-1 and Its Supernatant against Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in Novel Rat Model of Acute Osteomyelitis.

Osteomyelitis caused by staphylococcal infection is a serious complication of orthopedic surgery. Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is the main causative agent of osteomyelitis in veterinary medicine. Methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) has been reported in companion animals, especially dogs. Multidrug-resistant S. pseudintermedius is an emerging pathogen and has acquired antibiotic resistance against various commercial antimicrobial agents. New antimicrobial compounds are urgently needed to address antibiotic resistance, and the development of novel agents has become an international research hotspot in recent decades. Antimicrobial compounds derived from probiotics, such as bacteriocins, are promising alternatives to classical antibiotics. In this study, the antibacterial activities of Ligilactobacillus animalis SWLA-1 and its concentrated cell-free supernatant (CCFS) were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. The CCFS of this bacterium showed no toxicity against osteoblast and myoblast cells in vitro, while significantly inhibiting the multidrug-resistant S. pseudintermedius KUVM1701GC strain in a newly established rat model. The CCFS significantly inhibited multidrug-resistant staphylococci both in vitro and in vivo. This suggests that CCFS derived from L. animalis SWLA-1 has potential as an alternative to classic antibiotics for staphylococcal infections in dogs.

An arrayed optofluidic system for three-dimensional (3D) focal control via electrowetting.

A new lens capability for three-dimensional (3D) focal control is presented using an optofluidic system consisting of n × n arrayed liquid prisms. Each prism module contains two immiscible liquids in a rectangular cuvette. Using the electrowetting effect, the shape of the fluidic interface can be rapidly adjusted to create its straight profile with the prism's apex angle. Consequently, an incoming ray is steered at the tilted interface due to the refractive index difference between two liquids. To achieve 3D focal control, individual prisms in the arrayed system are simultaneously modulated, allowing incoming light rays to be spatially manipulated and converged on a focal point located at Pfocal (fx, fy, fz) in 3D space. Analytical studies were conducted to precisely predict the prism operation required for 3D focal control. Using three liquid prisms positioned on the x-, y-, and 45°-diagonal axes, we experimentally demonstrated 3D focal tunability of the arrayed optofluidic system, achieving focal tuning along lateral, longitudinal, and axial directions as wide as 0 ≤ fx ≤ 30 mm, 0 ≤ fy ≤ 30 mm, and 500 mm ≤ fz ≤ ∞. This focal tunability of the arrayed system allows for 3D control of the lens's focusing power, which could not be attained by solid-type optics without the use of bulky and complex mechanical moving components. This innovative lens capability for 3D focal control has potential applications in eye-movement tracking for smart displays, autofocusing of smartphone cameras, or solar tracking for smart photovoltaic systems.

Korean Medication Algorithm Project for Bipolar Disorder 2022: Comparisons with Other Treatment Guidelines.

The objective of this study was to compare recommendations of the Korean Medication Algorithm Project for Bipolar Disorder 2022 (KMAP-BP 2022) with other recently published guidelines for treating bipolar disorder. We reviewed a total of six recently published global treatment guidelines and compared treatment recommendation of the KMAP-BP 2022 with those of other guidelines. For initial treatment of mania, there were no significant differences across treatment guidelines. All guidelines recommended mood stabilizer (MS) or atypical antipsychotic (AAP) monotherapy or a combination of an MS with an AAP as a first-line treatment strategy in a same degree for mania. However, the KMAP-BP 2022 recommended MS + AAP combination therapy for psychotic mania, mixed mania and psychotic depression as treatment of choice. Aripiprazole, quetiapine and olanzapine were the first-line AAPs for nearly all phases of bipolar disorder across guidelines. Some guideline suggested olanzapine is a second-line options during maintenance treatment, related to concern about long-term tolerability. Most guidelines advocated newer AAPs (asenapine, cariprazine, long-acting injectable risperidone, and aripiprazole once monthly) as first-line treatment options for all phases while lamotrigine was recommended for depressive and maintenance phases. Lithium and valproic acid were commonly used as MSs in all phases of bipolar disorder. KMAP-BP 2022 guidelines were similar to other guidelines, reflecting current changes in prescription patterns for bipolar disorder based on accumulated research data. Strong preference for combination therapy was characteristic of KMAP-BP 2022, predominantly in the treatment of psychotic mania, mixed mania and psychotic depression.

Psychometric Properties of the Korean Version of Functioning Assessment Short Test in Bipolar Disorder.

Objective: The Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) is a relatively specific test for bipolar disorders designed to assess the main functioning problems experienced by patients. This brief instrument includes 24 items assessing impairment or disability in 6 domains of functioning: autonomy, occupational functioning, cognitive functioning, financial issues, interpersonal relationships, and leisure time. It has already been translated into standardized versions in several languages. The aim of this study is to measure the validity and reliability of the Korean version of FAST (K-FAST). Methods: A total of 209 bipolar disorder patients were recruited from 14 centers in Korea. K-FAST, Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Bipolar Depression Rating Scale (BDRS), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument Brief Form (WHOQOL-BREF) were administered, and psychometric analysis of the K-FAST was conducted. Results: The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) of the K-FAST was 0.95. Test-retest reliability analysis showed a strong correlation between the two measures assessed at a 1-week interval (ICC = 0.97; p < 0.001). The K-FAST exhibited significant correlations with GAF (r = -0.771), WHOQOL-BREF (r = -0.326), YMRS (r = 0.509) and BDRS (r = 0.598). A strong negative correlation with GAF pointed to a reasonable degree of concurrent validity. Although the exploratory factor analysis showed four factors, the confirmatory factor analysis of questionnaires had a good fit for a six factors model (CFI = 0.925; TLI = 0.912; RMSEA = 0.078). Conclusion: The K-FAST has good psychometric properties, good internal consistency, and can be applicable and acceptable to the Korean context.

Korean Medication Algorithm Project for Bipolar Disorder 2022, Fifth Revision: An Executive Summary.

Objective: We revised the Korean Medication Algorithm Project for Bipolar Disorder (KMAP-BP), first published in 2002 and revised in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018, to reflect recent progress in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Methods: The questionnaires consisted of 56 items for adult patients and 7 items for child/adolescent patients, and were used to obtain the consensus of experts regarding pharmacological treatment strategies for various phases of bipolar disorder. The review committee included 87 Korean psychiatrists and 40 child and adolescent psychiatry experts. Results: For treatment of manic episodes, a combination of a mood stabilizer (MS) and atypical antipsychotics (AAP), or monotherapy with MS or AAP were recommended as first-line treatments. Combinations of MS and AAP, or AAP and lamotrigine (LMT) were recommended as first-line treatments for depressive episodes regardless of the severity. Monotherapy with MS, AAP, or LMT were also first-line treatments for mild to moderate depressive episodes. For mixed features, a combination of MS and AAP, or monotherapy with AAP or MS were recommended as first-line treatments, and a combination of AAP and LMT, or MS and LMT were the first-line treatments for depressive mixed state. Conclusion: The recommendations of the KMAP-BP 2022 have changed from the previous version, to reflect the evolution of the social culture and healthcare system in Korea and recent evidence regarding pharmacotherapy of bipolar disorder. The KMAP-BP 2022 provides clinicians with a wealth of information regarding appropriate strategies to treat patients with bipolar disorder.

A review of optoelectrowetting (OEW): from fundamentals to lab-on-a-smartphone (LOS) applications to environmental sensors.

Electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) has been extensively explored as an active-type technology for small-scale liquid handling due to its several unique advantages, including no requirement of mechanical components, low power consumption, and rapid response time. However, conventional EWOD devices are often accompanied with complex fabrication processes for patterning and wiring of 2D arrayed electrodes. Furthermore, their sandwich device configuration makes integration with other microfluidic components difficult. More recently, optoelectrowetting (OEW), a light-driven mechanism for effective droplet manipulation, has been proposed as an alternative approach to overcome these issues. By utilizing optical addressing on a photoconductive surface, OEW can dynamically control an electrowetting phenomenon without the need for complex control circuitry on a chip, while providing higher functionality and flexibility. Using commercially available spatial light modulators such as LCD displays and smartphones, millions of optical pixels are readily generated to modulate virtual electrodes for large-scale droplet manipulations in parallel on low-cost OEW devices. The benefits of the OEW mechanism have seen it being variously explored in its potential biological and biochemical applications. This review article presents the fundamentals of OEW, discusses its research progress and limitations, highlights various technological advances and innovations, and finally introduces the emergence of the OEW technology as portable smartphone-integrated environmental sensors.

Amisulpride Augmentation in Schizophrenia Patients with Poor Response to Olanzapine: A 4-week, Randomized, Rater-Blind, Controlled, Pilot Study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of continued olanzapine (OLA) versus amisulpride (AMI) augmentation in schizophrenic patients with poor response to OLA monotherapy. Methods: The present 4-week, randomized, rater-blinded study included 25 patients with schizophrenia who were partially or completely unresponsive to treatment with OLA monotherapy. Eligible subjects were randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to continuation of OLA monotherapy (OLA group) or OLA with AMI augmentation (AMI group). Efficacy was primarily evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at baseline and at 1, 2, and 4 weeks. Results: The changes in PANSS total score and PANSS-positive subscale score were significantly different (p < 0.05) between the OLA and AMI groups. The differences between the two groups in PANSS-negative subscale, PANSS-general subscale, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale scores were not statistically significant. Conclusion: AMI augmentation could be an effective strategy for patients with schizophrenia who show inadequate early response to OLA monotherapy.

Optical Dielectrophoretic (DEP) Manipulation of Oil-Immersed Aqueous Droplets on a Plasmonic-Enhanced Photoconductive Surface.

We present a plasmonic-enhanced dielectrophoretic (DEP) phenomenon to improve optical DEP performance of a floating electrode optoelectronic tweezers (FEOET) device, where aqueous droplets can be effectively manipulated on a light-patterned photoconductive surface immersed in an oil medium. To offer device simplicity and cost-effectiveness, recent studies have utilized a polymer-based photoconductive material such as titanium oxide phthalocyanine (TiOPc). However, the TiOPc has much poorer photoconductivity than that of semiconductors like amorphous silicon (a-Si), significantly limiting optical DEP applications. The study herein focuses on the FEOET device for which optical DEP performance can be greatly enhanced by utilizing plasmonic nanoparticles as light scattering elements to improve light absorption of the low-quality TiOPc. Numerical simulation studies of both plasmonic light scattering and electric field enhancement were conducted to verify wide-angle scattering light rays and an approximately twofold increase in electric field gradient with the presence of nanoparticles. Similarly, a spectrophotometric study conducted on the absorption spectrum of the TiOPc has shown light absorption improvement (nearly twofold) of the TiOPc layer. Additionally, droplet dynamics study experimentally demonstrated a light-actuated droplet speed of 1.90 mm/s, a more than 11-fold improvement due to plasmonic light scattering. This plasmonic-enhanced FEOET technology can considerably improve optical DEP capability even with poor-quality photoconductive materials, thus providing low-cost, easy-fabrication solutions for various droplet-based microfluidic applications.

Prevalence and Comorbidities of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Among Adults and Children/Adolescents in Korea.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the prevalence and comorbidities of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among adults and children/adolescents in Korea. METHODS: This study used data from the Korea Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service collected from 2008 to 2018. Study participants comprised patients with at least one diagnosis of ADHD (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Provisions, 10th revision code F90.0). Prevalence rates and psychiatric comorbidities were also analyzed. RESULTS: We identified 878,996 patients diagnosed with ADHD between 2008 and 2018. The overall prevalence rate of diagnosed ADHD increased steeply from 127.1/100,000 in 2008 to 192.9/100,000 in 2018; it increased 1.47 times in children/adolescents (≤ 18 years) and 10.1 times in adults (＞ 18 years) during this period. Among adult and children/ adolescent ADHD patients, 61.84% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 61.74-61.93) and 78.72% (95% CI 78.53- 78.91) had at least one psychiatric comorbidity, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that the prevalence rate of diagnosed ADHD has increased in Korea; however, it is lower than the global average. Further studies are required to identify and treat vulnerable populations appropriately.

Different outcomes of multiple sialadenitis involving the submandibular and zygomatic salivary glands in a Welsh Corgi dog.

A ten-year-old indoor, castrated male Cardigan Welsh Corgi (Canis familiaris) presented with the chief complaints of chronic vomiting, retching, hypersalivation, and bilateral submandibular masses for two months. The systemic examinations, including serum chemistry, radiography, ultrasonography, and fluoroscopy, were unremarkable. A fine-needle aspiration revealed bilateral submandibular sialadenitis. Broad-spectrum antibiotics with phenobarbital were prescribed to alleviate the ptyalism. Thereafter, the left submandibular glands were normalised, and the right submandibular glands decreased to half their size. Three weeks later, the animal had an emergency visit because of a sudden left exophthalmos. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed enlarged left zygomatic and right mandibular salivary glands. The affected glands were surgically removed; the histopathologic examination confirmed non-septic sialadenitis, and the patient was finally diagnosed with idiopathic sialadenitis. Vomiting continued after the gland removal and the dog required a gradual increase in the phenobarbital dosage and an additional antiepileptic drug (potassium bromide) to manage the symptoms. The patient died eight months later from an unknown cause. This case report of bilateral submandibular sialadenitis concurrent with unilateral zygomatic sialadenitis in a Welsh Corgi dog suggests that when multiple salivary glands are involved, the response to anti-epileptic drugs and the prognosis is poor compared to that involving a single salivary gland.

Capacitance Effects of a Hydrophobic-Coated Ion Gel Dielectric on AC Electrowetting.

We present experimental studies of alternating current (AC) electrowetting dominantly influenced by several unique characteristics of an ion gel dielectric in its capacitance. At a high-frequency region above 1 kHz, the droplet undergoes the contact angle modification. Due to its high-capacitance characteristic, the ion gel allows the contact angle change as large as Δθ = 26.4°, more than 2-fold improvement, compared to conventional dielectrics when f = 1 kHz. At the frequency range from 1 to 15 kHz, the capacitive response of the gel layer dominates and results in a nominal variation in the angle change as θ ≈ 90.9°. Above 15 kHz, such a capacitive response of the gel layer sharply decreases and leads to the drastic increase in the contact angle. At a low-frequency region below a few hundred Hz, the droplet's oscillation relying on the AC frequency applied was mainly observed and oscillation performance was maximized at corresponding resonance frequencies. With the high-capacitance feature, the ion gel significantly enlarges the oscillation performance by 73.8% at the 1st resonance mode. The study herein on the ion gel dielectric will help for various AC electrowetting applications with the benefits of mixing enhancement, large contact angle modification, and frequency-independent control.

Vibration motor-integrated low-cost, miniaturized system for rapid quantification of red blood cell aggregation.

Human red blood cells (RBCs) aggregate under low shear conditions, which significantly modulates flow resistance and tissue perfusion. A higher aggregation tendency in blood thus serves as an important clinical indicator for the screening of cardiovascular disorders. Conventional ways of measuring RBC aggregation still require large sample volumes, cumbersome manual procedures, and expensive benchtop systems. These inconvenient and high-cost measurement methods hamper their clinical applicability. Here, we propose a low-cost, miniaturized system to overcome the limitations of these methods. Our system utilizes a coin vibration motor (CVM) to generate a localized vortex for disaggregating RBCs in a disposable fluidic chip. The design of the chip was optimized with fluid dynamics simulations to ensure sufficient shear flow in the localized vortex for RBC disaggregation. The time-dependent increase in light transmittance from an LED light source through the plasma gap while the RBCs re-aggregate is captured with a CMOS camera under stasis conditions to quantify the level of RBC aggregation. Our CVM-based aggregometer was validated against a commercial benchtop system for human blood samples under physiological and pathological conditions, and showed an excellent performance with a high intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.995. In addition, we were able to achieve a rapid measurement (<4 min) with the CVM-based aggregometer, requiring only a 6 µl blood sample. These illustrate the potential of our CVM-based aggregometer for low-cost point-of-care diagnostics without compromising the measurement sensitivity.

Pathologic mallet fracture of distal phalanx enchondroma: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Enchondromas arise from cartilaginous cells derived from the physis that persists throughout development. They are difficult to diagnose and are often discovered on radiographs after a trauma. PATIENT CONCERNS: We discuss the case of a 32-year-old woman with a pathologic mallet fracture of the distal phalanx that was initially misdiagnosed as common mallet fracture. DIAGNOSIS: Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an eccentrically located lesion expanding to the cortex, with a high signal intensity at T2 weighted image, suggesting pathologic fracture. INTERVENTIONS: We performed a operation, involving curettage and bone grafting. Complete removal of the lesion was confirmed intraoperatively with the image intensifier, and the cavity was irrigated and subsequently filled with allogenous bone and demineralized bone matrix. OUTCOMES: With an uneventful recovery, she gradually return to normal function within 3 months. Her symptoms improved and nearly full range of motion of the finger was seen at 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: Our case of pathologic mallet fracture was misdiagnosed as a simple fracture, suggesting that the mechanism of fracture and radiological diagnosis should be carefully considered.

A Distributed Oracle Using Intel SGX for Blockchain-Based IoT Applications.

A blockchain oracle problem is a problem that defines a mechanism for how to safely bring external data to the blockchain. Although there have been various research efforts to solve this problem, existing solutions are limited in that they do not support either data availability or data integrity. Furthermore, no solution has been proposed to minimize the response time when an oracle server is malicious or overloaded. This paper proposes a distributed oracle using Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX). The proposed approach uses multiple oracle servers to support data availability. It also supports data integrity using Intel SGX and Transport Layer Security (TLS) communication. The reputation system, which favors oracle servers with short response times, minimizes the average response time even if some of the oracle servers are malicious. The benchmarking results show that the response time of the proposed approach with 3 oracle servers is only 14% slower than a centralized oracle called Town-crier and scales well even if the number of oracle servers is increased up to 9. The reputation system is also evaluated, and its feasibility is analyzed using various experiments.

A Cloud-based Middleware for Self-Adaptive IoT-Collaboration Services.

The middleware framework for IoT collaboration services should provide efficient solutions to context awareness and uncertainty issues among multiple collaboration domains. However, existing middleware frameworks are mostly limited to a single system, and developing self-adaptive IoT collaboration services using existing frameworks requires developers to take considerable time and effort. Furthermore, the developed IoT collaboration services are often dependent on a particular domain, which cannot easily be referenced in other domains. This paper proposes a cloud-based middleware framework that provides a set of cloud services for self-adaptive IoT collaboration services. The proposed middleware framework is generic in the sense that it clearly separates domain-dependent components from the layers that leverage existing middleware frameworks. In addition, the proposed framework allows developers to upload domain-dependent components onto the cloud, search for registered components, and launch Virtual Machine (VM) running a new MAPE cycle via a convenient web-based interface. The feasibility of the proposed framework has been shown with a simulation of an IoT collaboration service that traces a criminal suspect. The performance evaluation shows that the proposed middleware framework runs with an overhead of only 6% compared to pure Java-based middleware and is scalable as the number of VMs increases up to 16.