A Survey on Security and Privacy Issues in Contact Tracing Application of Covid-19.

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Government and public health authorities around the world are developing contact tracing apps as a way to trace and slow the unfold of the virus. There is major divergence among nations, however, between a "privacy-first" approach that protects citizens' information at the price of very restricted access for public health authorities and a "data-first" approach that stores massive amounts of knowledge that, whereas of immeasurable price to epidemiologists. Contact tracing apps work by gathering information from people who have tested positive for the virus and so locating and notifying individuals with whom those people are in shut contact, oftentimes by use of GPS, Bluetooth, or wireless technology. All of the user's information is employed and picked up, the study found that users' information would be created anonymous, encrypted, secured, and can be transmitted on-line and stored solely in an aggregated format. Contact tracing apps use either a centralized or a decentralized approach to work the user's information. Apps that use a centralized approach have high privacy risks. In this paper, the researcher's contributions related to the security and privacy of Contact tracing apps have been discussed and, later research gaps have been identified with proposed solutions.

A Short Exploration of Selected Sensitive CYP3A4 Substrates (Probe Drug).

BACKGROUND: CYP450 enzymes in the liver have a significant role in the metabolism of xenobiotics. Probe drug strategy is broadly used to evaluate the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic drug/ herb-drug interactions/ food-drug interactions. Probe drugs reveal the exact pathway of drug metabolism in the liver by their targeted tractability property. The CYP3A4 isoenzyme metabolizes the majority of the drugs (65%). METHODS: The characteristics of targeted probe drugs were observed from the admetSAR (version2) online database. RESULTS: Midazolam is widely used as a probe drug because of its peculiar character. Midazolam affirms the accurate and consistent prediction of pharmacokinetic mediated drug interactions even in nanogram concentrations with or without a potent CYP3A inhibitor. Remarkably, midazolam is used as a CYP3A4 substrate in the majority of in vivo studies. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that midazolam shows a good response in all clinical studies because of its lesser half-life and bioavailability when compared with other probe drugs.

Assessment of Herb-drug Interactions Based on the Pharmacokinetic Changes of Probe Drug, Midazolam.

BACKGROUND: In healthy volunteers, the probe drug method is widely practised to assess the pharmacokinetic mediated herb-drug interactions (HDI). We analyzed the clinical evidence of CYP3 A4 probe drug, Midazolam. METHODS: Literatures, where Midazolam was used as a probe drug for prediction of herb-drug interaction, were surveyed through an online database such as google scholar, Scopus, Cochrane, PubMed and clinicaltrials.gov. RESULTS: Midazolam was considered a sensitive probe for CYP3A4 substrates due to its bioavailability. We observed that not all the herbs are causing drug interaction. However, significant changes of the Midazolam pharmacokinetics were found after high-dose and long-term intake of some herbs and food supplements, suggesting the induction and/or inhibition of CYP activities. CONCLUSION: Probe drug technique is one of the easiest ways for predicting CYP enzyme-mediated herb-drug interactions. Midazolam shows a good response in clinical studies because of short halflife and low harmfulness compared with other probe drugs.

Improving the Accuracy of Feature Selection in Big Data Mining Using Accelerated Flower Pollination (AFP) Algorithm.

In recent times, the main problem associated with big data analytics is its high dimensional data over the search space. Such data gathers continuously in search space making traditional algorithms infeasible for data mining in real time environment. Hence, feature selection is an important method to lighten the load during processing while inducing a model for mining. However, mining over such high dimensional data leads to formulation of optimal feature subset, which grows exponentially and leads to intractable computational demand. In this paper, a novel lightweight mechanism is used as a feature selection method, which solves the after effects arising with optimal feature selection. The feature selection in big data mining is done using accelerated flower pollination (AFP) algorithm. This method improves the accuracy of feature selection with reduced processing time. The proposed method is tested under larger set of data with high dimensionality to test the performance of proposed method.

A new approach to classify and rank events based videos based on Event of Detection.

In the ongoing days, the development of sight and sound substance and information stockpiling produces colossally. Clients can extricate any kind of data they require from recordings. This outcomes in quick development of video information, client's discover complexity while procurement their important data. To address this, EBR (Event Based Ranking) propose another way to deal with group and rank mixed media occasions based recordings as per client's advantage. Clients are generally keen on the best positioned and occasion pertinent recordings of returned query output. An occasion based positioning methodology which empowers clients to iteratively peruse the video as per their inclination. The proposed conspire has new way to deal with order and rank occasions based recordings. It improves the exactness of video recovery which incorporates certain functionalities for customized look. The data of clients' input is used in re-positioning technique to additionally enhance the recovering exactness. It gives the customized lastly re-positioned pertinent outcomes to shape a brought together precise query output. EBR is more precise in foreseeing and positioning client particular inclinations and diminishes the time many-sided quality. This Paper proposed a calculation comprises of: video rank calculation, occasion term suggestion, and client criticism and client session.

Rat brain myo-inositol 3-phosphate synthase is a phosphoprotein.

The therapeutic effects of lithium in bipolar disorder are poorly understood. Lithium decreases free inositol levels by inhibiting inositol monophosphatase 1 and myo-inositol 3-phosphate synthase (IPS). In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that IPS can be phosphorylated. This was evident when purified rat IPS was dephosphorylated by lambda protein phosphatase and analyzed by phospho-specific ProQ-Diamond staining and Western blot analysis. These techniques demonstrated a mobility shift consistent with IPS being phosphorylated. Mass spectral analysis revealed that Serine-524 (S524), which resides in the hinge region derived from exon 11 of the gene, is the site for phosphorylation. Further, an antibody generated against a synthetic peptide of IPS containing monophosphorylated-S524, was able to discriminate the phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms of IPS. The phosphoprotein is found in the brain and testis, but not in the intestine. The intestinal IPS isoform lacks the peptide bearing S524, and hence, cannot be phosphorylated. Evidences suggest that IPS is monophosphorylated at S524 and that the removal of this phosphate does not alter its enzymatic activity. These observations suggest a novel function for IPS in brain and other tissues. Future studies should resolve the functional role of phospho-IPS in brain inositol signaling.

A comparative study on the effect of plant extracts with the antibiotics on organisms of hospital origin.

Thirty five plants belonging to twenty families were studied for their antimicrobial activity. Among the plants tested, 43 % showed antimicrobial activity. Fifteen plants belonging to 10 families exhibited activity against gram positive bacteria and gram negative bacteria. Four plants namely Azadirachta indica, Garadenia jasminoides, Magnifera indica, and Wrightia tinctora showed an appreciable activity against the gram positive bacteria and seven plants against gram negative organisms. Leaf extract of Tabermontana coronaria showed a maximum zone of inhibition (24 mm) against Staphylococcus aureus and the leaf extract of Sida cordifolia showed a maximum zone (20 mm) against Corynebacteriun diphtheriae. Mentha piperanta gave a maximum zone size against E,coli (22 mm) and Vibrio cholerae (20mm). The inhibitory percentage of the leaf extracts against various pathogens were observed to be Staphylococcus aureus (40%), E.coli (28%), Shigella sp (25%), Salmonella  sp (22%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis (20%), Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus vulgaris (17%), Vibrio cholera (14%) and Corynebacterium diphtheriae (11%). The results suggested that the leaf extracts of various plants has significant antibacterial activity against the tested microorganisms. The present study is done to compare the activity of the plant extracts with the activity of currently used antibiotics against the selected organisms.

Epidermal growth factor prevents acetaldehyde-induced paracellular permeability in Caco-2 cell monolayer.

BACKGROUND: Intestinal permeability and endotoxemia play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease. Previous studies showed that acetaldehyde disrupts intestinal epithelial barrier function and increases paracellular permeability by a tyrosine kinase-dependent mechanism. In the present study, the role of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in protection of epithelial barrier function from acetaldehyde was evaluated in Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cell monolayer. METHODS: Caco-2 cells on Transwell inserts were exposed to acetaldehyde in the absence or presence of EGF, and the paracellular permeability was evaluated by measuring transepithelial electrical resistance and unidirectional flux of inulin. Integrity of epithelial tight junctions and adherens junctions was analyzed by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy and immunoblot analysis of occludin, zonula occludens (ZO)-1, E-cadherin, and beta-catenin in the actin cytoskeleton. Reorganization of actin cytoskeletal architecture was examined by confocal microscopy. RESULTS: Acetaldehyde increased paracellular permeability to inulin and lipopolysaccharide, and EGF significantly reduced these effects of acetaldehyde in a time- and dose-dependent manner. EGF prevented acetaldehyde-induced reorganization of occludin, ZO-1, E-cadherin, and beta-catenin from the cellular junctions to the intracellular compartments. Acetaldehyde treatment induced a reorganization of actin cytoskeletal network and reduced the levels of occludin, ZO-1, E-cadherin, and beta-catenin associated with the actin cytoskeleton. EGF effectively prevented acetaldehyde-induced reorganization of actin cytoskeleton and the interaction of occludin, ZO-1, E-cadherin, and beta-catenin with the actin cytoskeleton. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that EGF attenuates acetaldehyde-induced disruption of tight junctions and adherens junctions and prevents acetaldehyde-induced reorganization of actin cytoskeleton and its interaction with occludin, ZO-1, E-cadherin, and beta-catenin.

Dietary influence of selenium on the incidence of N-nitrosodiethylamine-induced hepatoma with reference to drug and glutathione metabolizing enzymes.

The dietary administration of selenium (sodium selenite; 4 p.p.m.) daily has been found to be highly effective in reducing the incidence of cancer induced by N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN) in Wistar strain rats. Selenium treatment either before initiation, during initiation and selection/phenobarbital promotion phases of hepatocarcinogenesis has been found to be effective in elevating hepatic microsomal cytochrome b(5), NADPH-cytochrome C reductase and cytosolic aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activities to a statistically significant level measured either in the hyperplastic nodule or in the surrounding liver tissues compared to control animals. Moreover, selenium treatment throughout the study, decreases the cytosolic glutathione S-transferase and microsomal UDP-glucuronyl transferase activities by a significant degree when compared to control rats. Alterations in glutathione metabolizing enzyme activities (glutathione reductase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) were also observed in selenium-treated groups. Our results confirm the fact that selenium is particularly protective in limiting the action of DEN during the initiation phase of hepatocarcinogenesis.

Ocular manifestations of the lacrimo-auriculo-dento-digital syndrome.

We studied a mother and daughter with an extremely rare constellation of signs and symptoms. One or both had absent lacrimal puncta, nasolacrimal duct obstruction, chronic dacryocystitis, dry eyes, and epiphora. Systemic findings included salivary gland hyposecretion, dental hypoplasia and dysplasia, cup-shaped ears with hearing loss, and digital anomalies. These findings are consistent with those of the lacrimo-auriculo-dento-digital syndrome, a genetic disorder. Our study supports the autosomal dominant inheritance of this syndrome, delineates the ophthalmic manifestations, and provides evidence that renal anomalies are part of the disorder.

Neonatal hypoglycemia associated with umbilical artery catheter positioned at the eighth to ninth thoracic vertebrae.

Previous reports of neonatal hypoglycemia have been associated with malpositioned umbilical cord artery catheters. Neonatal hypoglycemia in association with normally positioned umbilical artery catheter and responsive to catheter repositioning is reported for the first time.