Examining Food Security, Fruit and Vegetable Intake, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Outcomes of Produce Prescription (PPR) Programs: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: Outcomes from produce prescription (PPR) programs, an exemplar of a Food is Medicine intervention, have not been synthesized. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review to examine the impact of PPR programs on food security, fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, and/or cardiovascular risk factors (HbA1c, blood pressure, and blood lipids). DESIGN: Searches were conducted across three databases (PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science). Eligible studies were published between August 2012 and April 2023, conducted in the US in child/family, or adult populations, written in English and had a PPR program as an exposure. OUTCOMES VARIABLES MEASURED: Food security, FV intake, and/or cardiovascular risk factors. RESULTS: Twenty studies ranging from a duration of between 6 weeks to 24 months were included. Of the 5 studies (3 in child/family and 4 in adult populations) that analyzed changes in food security status, all reported significant (P < 0.05) improvements after the PPR program. Approximately half of the included studies found significant (P < 0.05) increases in fruit, vegetable, and/or FV intake. Only studies in adult populations included cardiovascular risk factor outcomes. In these studies, mixed findings were reported; however, there were significant (P < 0.05) improvements in HbA1c when PPR programs enrolled individuals with type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: PPR programs provide an opportunity to improve food security in child/family, and adult populations. Evidence to support whether PPR programs increase FV intake and improve cardiovascular disease risk factors outside of HbA1c in adult populations with high HbA1c upon enrollment is less known.

Biotechnological studies towards improvement of finger millet using multi-omics approaches.

A plethora of studies have uncovered numerous important genes with agricultural significance in staple crops. However, when it comes to orphan crops like minor millet, genomic research lags significantly behind that of major crops. This situation has promoted a focus on exploring research opportunities in minor millets, particularly in finger millet, using cutting-edge methods. Finger millet, a coarse cereal known for its exceptional nutritional content and ability to withstand environmental stresses represents a promising climate-smart and nutritional crop in the battle against escalating environmental challenges. The existing traditional improvement programs for finger millet are insufficient to address global hunger effectively. The lack of utilization of high-throughput platforms, genome editing, haplotype breeding, and advanced breeding approaches hinders the systematic multi-omics studies on finger millet, which are essential for pinpointing crucial genes related to agronomically important and various stress responses. The growing environmental uncertainties have widened the gap between the anticipated and real progress in crop improvement. To overcome these challenges a combination of cutting-edge multi-omics techniques such as high-throughput sequencing, speed breeding, mutational breeding, haplotype-based breeding, genomic selection, high-throughput phenotyping, pangenomics, genome editing, and more along with integration of deep learning and artificial intelligence technologies are essential to accelerate research efforts in finger millet. The scarcity of multi-omics approaches in finger millet leaves breeders with limited modern tools for crop enhancement. Therefore, leveraging datasets from previous studies could prove effective in implementing the necessary multi-omics interventions to enrich the genetic resource in finger millet.

Association of precipitation extremes and crops production and projecting future extremes using machine learning approaches with CMIP6 data.

Precipitation extremes have surged in frequency and duration in recent decades, significantly impacting various sectors, including agriculture, water resources, energy, and public health worldwide. Pakistan, being highly susceptible to climate change and extremes, has experienced adverse events in recent times, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive investigation into the relationship between precipitation extremes and crops production. This study focuses on assessing the association between precipitation extremes on crops production, with a particular emphasis on the Punjab province, a crucial region for the country's food production. The initial phase of the study involved exploring the associations between precipitation extremes and crops production for the duration of 1980-2014. Notably, certain precipitation extremes, such as maximum CDDs (consecutive dry days), R99p (extreme precipitation events), PRCPTOT (precipitation total) and SDII (simple daily intensity index) exhibited strong correlations with the production of key crops like wheat, rice, garlic, dates, moong, and masoor. In the subsequent step, four machine learning (ML) algorithms were trained and tested using observed daily climate data (including maximum and minimum temperatures and precipitation) alongside model reference data (1985-2014) as predictors. Gradient boosting machine (GBM) was selected for its superior performance and employed to project precipitation extremes for three distinct future periods (F1: 2025-2049, F2: 2050-2074, F3: 2075-2099) under the SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 derived from the CMIP6 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6) archive. The projection results indicated an increasing and decreasing trend in CWDs (maximum consecutive wet days) and CDDs, respectively, at various meteorological stations. Furthermore, R10mm (the number of days with precipitation equal to or exceeding 10 mm) and R25mm displayed an overall increasing trend at most of the stations, though some exhibited a decreasing trend. These trends in precipitation extremes have potential consequences, including the risk of flash floods and damage to agriculture and infrastructure. However, the study emphasizes that with proper planning, adaptation measures, and mitigation strategies, the potential losses and damages can be significantly minimized in the future.

Bending the curve of global freshwater biodiversity loss: what are the prospects?

Freshwater biodiversity conservation has received substantial attention in the scientific literature and is finally being recognized in policy frameworks such as the Global Biodiversity Framework and its associated targets for 2030. This is important progress. Nonetheless, freshwater species continue to be confronted with high levels of imperilment and widespread ecosystem degradation. An Emergency Recovery Plan (ERP) proposed in 2020 comprises six measures intended to "bend the curve" of freshwater biodiversity loss, if they are widely adopted and adequately supported. We review evidence suggesting that the combined intensity of persistent and emerging threats to freshwater biodiversity has become so serious that current and projected efforts to preserve, protect and restore inland-water ecosystems may be insufficient to avert substantial biodiversity losses in the coming decades. In particular, climate change, with its complex and harmful impacts, will frustrate attempts to prevent biodiversity losses from freshwater ecosystems already affected by multiple threats. Interactions among these threats will limit recovery of populations and exacerbate declines resulting in local or even global extinctions, especially among low-viability populations in degraded or fragmented ecosystems. In addition to impediments represented by climate change, we identify several other areas where the absolute scarcity of fresh water, inadequate scientific information or predictive capacity, and a widespread failure to mitigate anthropogenic stressors, are liable to set limits on the recovery of freshwater biodiversity. Implementation of the ERP rapidly and at scale through many widely dispersed local actions focused on regions of high freshwater biodiversity and intense threat, together with an intensification of ex-situ conservation efforts, will be necessary to preserve native freshwater biodiversity during an increasingly uncertain climatic future in which poorly understood, emergent and interacting threats have become more influential. But implementation of the ERP must be accompanied by measures that will improve water, energy and food security for humans - without further compromising the condition of freshwater ecosystems. Unfortunately, the inadequate political implementation of policies to arrest widely recognized environmental challenges such as climate change do not inspire confidence about the possible success of the ERP. In many parts of the world, the Anthropocene future seems certain to include extended periods with an absolute scarcity of uncontaminated surface runoff that will inevitably be appropriated by humans. Unless there is a step-change in societal awareness of - and commitment to - the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, together with necessary actions to arrest climate change, implementation of established methods for protecting freshwater biodiversity may not bend the curve enough to prevent continued ecosystem degradation and species loss.

Strengthening health systems during non-pandemic period: Toward universal health coverage in the pandemic agreement.

Reflecting the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global response was reviewed by the Independent Review Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. Based on the panel reports, the World Health Organization (WHO) member states decided to establish the intergovernmental negotiating body for drafting a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, aiming for approval at the 77th World Health Assembly in 2024 (May 27- June 1). Amidst this process, the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Japan (NCGM), as a global health organization focusing on health system strengthening in low- and middle-income countries, from the perspective of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), provided technical inputs to the representatives of the Japanese government. This paper summarizes crucial aspects of the NCGM inputs, including maintaining essential health services delivery during a pandemic, responding to evolving demand of health workforce, and ensuring the equitable distribution of pandemic products. These aspects can contribute to not only strengthening health crisis response and preparedness, but also achieving UHC. Therefore, the concerted efforts focusing on UHC and health crisis could yield synergistic effects. In addition, another aspect stresses the importance of social protection systems beyond health sector to reach vulnerable populations experiencing hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the whole-of-government approach including social policies is covered in the draft pandemic agreement, it is hoped that the upcoming pandemic agreement will trigger each member state to expand the scope of health crisis management beyond the health sector.

Prevalence of household food insecurity and its association with food waste.

BACKGROUND: Household food waste significantly contributes to overall food waste. While the relationship between food security and food waste has been extensively studied at the macro level, there is a need for research focusing on the quantitative association between food security and food waste at the household level in developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of household food insecurity and household food waste and to examine the association between household food security and food waste using direct measurements. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 215 households in Bogor Regency, Indonesia, participated in this cross-sectional study. Food waste was measured using waste composition analysis and a 7-day diary. The Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) questionnaire was used to assess household food security, while household income and the proportion of food expenditure were considered confounding factors. The association between food security and food waste was examined using Kendall tau-b and ordinal logistic regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of household food insecurity was 18.6%, and the average household food waste was 77 kg/cap/year. Cereals, tubers, and their derivatives (especially rice) and vegetables were major contributors to edible waste, while fruits dominated inedible waste. A negative association was observed between food waste and household food security (edible FW: p = 0.044, r = -0.110; total FW: p = 0.038, r = -0.114), suggesting that household food waste decreases as the severity of food insecurity increases. However, after adjusting for household income, the proportion of food expenditure, and the education levels of spouses, this association became statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: There was no significant association between household food security status and food waste. Household income plays a significant role in determining the quantity of household food waste, as higher income is associated with increased food waste. Strategies to prevent and reduce food waste should focus on major contributors such as rice and vegetables, especially among families with higher food accessibility.

Theoretical framework for biological control of pest: a mathematical modeling approach.

Crop losses to pests were the main obstacle to food security globally. Pest control was a laudable exercise, but the exercise could be hindered by the inevitable adjustment between pest reductions, operation costs as well as impacts on the environment and human health. The pest could be controlled by many methods, but biological control was the most popular technique because it addressed inevitable trade-offs between costs and side effects. In this paper, a mathematical model was developed to quantify intricate biological procedures in the context of biological control using prey-predator mechanisms. Three equilibrium points (one trivial and two non-trivial) were derived, and the stability of each equilibrium point was examined. The stability results indicated that the adoption of biological control might neutralize pest infestation but the situation might not persist (unstable trivial equilibrium). It was also discovered that pest control through biological means might fail if the predator was wrongly selected or if the population of the predator vanished while the pest remained in existence (unstable non-trivial equilibrium). The analytical results were finally justified by a means of simulation via a computer-in-built maple program.

Is there a LINKAGE between credit access, land use, and crop diversification in achieving food security? Evidence from cocoa-producing households in Nigeria.

Cocoa farmers in Nigeria adopt crop diversification to safeguard the food security of their households. Although credit and land are thought to play a vital role in crop diversification, they continue to have limited access to credit and land. This study investigated the linkages between access to credit, land use, crop diversification, and food security with a focus on cocoa farming households. A multistage sampling procedure was used to obtain data for the study. Data were analyzed with the aid of descriptive statistics, the Heifindahl index, the Tobit regression model, the food consumption score, and the ordered Logit regression model. The results for the entire respondents showed mean values of 55 years for age, 31 years for farming experience, 6 people for household size, and 5 ha for farm size. Heifindahl index shows 38.67 % of the respondents had low crop diversification in the study area. Tobit regression model reveals that access to credit, farming experience, cooperative organization, access to extension service, farm size, distance to farms, and labour are the main albeit significant factors that determine crop diversification among cocoa farming households. Food consumption score revealed that 46.67 % were poor, 30.67 % were at the borderline and about 27.67 % were within the acceptable threshold. The ordered logit model revealed that crop diversification index, formal education, access to credit, farm size, land use, and farming experience have a significant influence on the food security of households. The study concluded that there is a positive relationship between access to credit, land use, crop diversification, and food security. Therefore, the government and financial institutions should make credit facilities accessible to cocoa farmers to improve their livelihood.

A secure data transmission framework for IoT enabled healthcare.

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has transformed healthcare by connecting medical devices, sensors, and patients, significantly improving patient care. However, the sensitive data exchanged through IoMT is vulnerable to security attacks, raising serious privacy concerns. Traditional key sharing mechanisms are susceptible to compromise, posing risks to data integrity. This paper proposes a Timestamp-based Secret Key Generation (T-SKG) scheme for resource-constrained devices, generating a secret key at the patient's device and regenerating it at the doctor's device, thus eliminating direct key sharing and minimizing key compromise risks. Simulation results using MATLAB and Java demonstrate the T-SKG scheme's resilience against guessing, birthday, and brute force attacks. Specifically, there is only a 9 % chance of key compromise in a guessing attack if the attacker knows the key sequence pattern, while the scheme remains secure against brute force and birthday attacks within a specified timeframe. The T-SKG scheme is integrated into a healthcare framework to securely transmit health vitals collected using the MySignals sensor kit. For confidentiality, the Data Encryption Standard (DES) with various Cipher Block modes (ECB, CBC, CTR) is employed.

Latinos' diminished returns of educational attainment on reducing food insecurity: the role of ethnic disparities in family structure and employment.

Background: Higher education is widely recognized as a strategy to mitigate food insecurity. However, marginalized and racialized groups, especially Latinos, often do not experience the same economic and health benefits from their educational achievements as non-Latino Whites, highlighting a pattern of diminished returns within these communities. Aims: This study aims to explore the disparities in how educational attainment influences marital status and employment, and subsequently, food insecurity among Latino and non-Latino adults. Methods: Utilizing data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which encompassed 27,648 adults from both Latino and non-Latino backgrounds, this research applied a structural equation model to examine the relationship between educational attainment, ethnicity, and food insecurity. The study specifically focused on the mediating roles of marital status and employment. Results: Findings reveal significant interactions between education and ethnicity affecting marital status and employment, both of which serve as protective factors against food insecurity. These results indicate that higher levels of unemployment and lower marriage rates may disproportionately escalate food insecurity among Latinos, irrespective of educational attainment. Conclusion: The study highlights profound societal and environmental obstacles that prevent Latinos from leveraging educational achievements to improve their marital and employment statuses, and thereby, their food security. Addressing these disparities demands targeted interventions directed at Latino communities to bridge gaps in employment and marriage rates stemming from educational disparities. A holistic strategy that transcends mere access to education is essential to dismantle the societal barriers that undermine the educational dividends for Latino communities.

Financial literacy, social security, and healthcare cost anxiety in China.

This study examines the impact of financial literacy and social security on healthcare cost anxiety in China using data from the 2021 Global Financial Inclusion database. Employing an ordered logit model and its marginal effects, we analyse how these factors influence varying levels of healthcare cost anxiety (worried, somewhat worried, and not worried at all) across total, female-headed and male-headed households. Financial literacy and social security both demonstrate significant negative effects on healthcare cost anxiety across all household types. It implied that individuals who save for old age and those with social security coverage are less likely to experience high levels of healthcare cost anxiety. The ordered logit results show consistent negative coefficients for financial literacy and social security across all household categories. Marginal effects analysis further illustrates how these factors affect the probability of falling into each category of healthcare cost anxiety. These findings underscore the importance of promoting financial literacy and expanding social security coverage as potential strategies to alleviate healthcare cost anxiety in China.

Cette étude examine l'impact de la littératie financière et de la sécurité sociale sur l'anxiété liée aux coûts des soins de santé en Chine à l'aide des données de la base de données mondiale sur l'inclusion financière 2021. En utilisant un modèle logit ordonné et ses effets marginaux, nous analysons comment ces facteurs influencent différents niveaux d'anxiété liée aux coûts de santé (inquiet, quelque peu inquiet et pas du tout inquiet) dans l'ensemble des ménages dirigés par une femme ou un homme. La littératie financière et la sécurité sociale démontrent toutes deux des effets négatifs significatifs sur l'anxiété liée aux coûts des soins de santé dans tous les types de ménages. Cela implique que les personnes qui épargnent pour leur vieillesse et celles qui bénéficient d'une couverture de sécurité sociale sont moins susceptibles de ressentir des niveaux élevés d'anxiété liée aux coûts des soins de santé. Les résultats du logit ordonné montrent des coefficients négatifs cohérents pour la culture financière et la sécurité sociale dans toutes les catégories de ménages. L'analyse des effets marginaux illustre en outre comment ces facteurs affectent la probabilité d'appartenir à chaque catégorie d'anxiété liée aux coûts des soins de santé. Ces résultats soulignent l'importance de promouvoir la culture financière et d'élargir la couverture de sécurité sociale en tant que stratégies potentielles pour atténuer l'anxiété liée aux coûts des soins de santé en Chine.

Implementing virtual desktops for clinical research at an academic health center: a case report.

Objectives: To address the challenges of sharing clinical research data through the implementation of cloud-based virtual desktops, enhancing collaboration among researchers while maintaining data security. Materials and Methods: This case study details the deployment of virtual desktops at UMass Chan Medical School (UMass Chan). The process involved forming a Research Informatics Steering Executive workgroup, identifying key requirements, implementing Amazon WorkSpaces, and establishing configurable data management for research support. Results: Key lessons include the significance of collaboration, balancing user-friendliness and functionality, flexibility in data management, maximizing virtual desktop efficiency within budget constraints, and continuous user feedback. The implementation of virtual desktops supports secure collaborative research, advancing medical knowledge and improving healthcare outcomes. Discussion: The structured approach to implementing virtual desktops addresses data security, regulatory compliance, and real-time collaboration challenges. Continuous feedback and iterative improvements have enhanced the system's effectiveness. Conclusion: The successful implementation of virtual desktops at UMass Chan demonstrates the potential for such systems to support secure, collaborative research, offering insights for similar initiatives in other academic health centers.

A Comprehensive Scoping Review of Empirical Studies on Earned Secure Attachment.

Earned-Secure Attachment (ESA) can be defined as the process by which individuals with insecure childhood attachment rise above malevolent childhood experiences to develop secure relationships pattern in adulthood. To our knowledge, no previous review has summarized findings from empirical literature about this topic. To fill this gap, we conduct a preregistered scoping review (research published until 2023) following the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews, to find how ESA has been defined, assessed, and studied in the empirical literature. Four databases were searched (Scopus, PsycInfo, PubMed and Web of Science), 24 studies were included in the review and were assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Findings from our review reveal a more formal than substantial agreement on the conceptualization of ESA and the conclusions that can be made, considering the heterogeneity of our results, are only preliminary. Developmental factors, the association between ESA and depressive symptoms and the role of fathers remain poorly defined, although the importance of secondary attachment figures and reflective functioning as factors that may contribute to earned-security in attachment is clear. Recommendations and future steps for researchers and practitioners are highlighted.

The rapid prosperity of China's Pearl River Delta from the perspective of social-ecological coupling: implications for sustainable management.

Systems theory and complex science, especially knowledge of social-ecological interdependencies, are urgently needed in planning and decision-making on sustainable urban development due to the intensification of the contradiction between human development and nature conservation. Here, we present an analytical framework, the "social-ecological coupling trajectory", that integrates the social-ecological coupling, multi-stability, causal feedbacks and sustainable management through understanding the evolution of the urban social-ecological system (SES). This framework is applied to a typical urban SES, i.e., China's rapidly prosperous Pearl River Delta (PRD). Our results indicate that the SES evolution in the PRD is a phased process, which is accompanied by a continuous decline in major ecosystem services (ESs) and the disproportionate decline of ecological management performance. Further analysis shows that social and economic policies have a decisive role in driving the evolution of SES and the cumulative effect of sustained human interference is directly linked to the disproportionate increase in sustainability challenges. The findings of critical slowing down and evolution patterns of SES in the PRD may provide evidence for the threshold recognition and regime shift prediction in SES. In sum, this study expands the theoretical framework and empirical knowledge of SES evolution and provides a pathway for sustainable development of regions seeking prosperity from the social-ecological coupling perspective.

Food Banks as a "Treasure Trove": Users' Experiences of a Western Australian Food Relief Organization.

Food banks are providing crucial relief as food insecurity increases worldwide. While these services are essential for vulnerable populations, there is variability in foods available and users may experience poor nutritional quality, and an overabundance of discretionary foods, contributing to public health risks including overnutrition and obesity. Understanding how customers perceive food availability, variety, and quality is important to inform relief services and health interventions. This study reports the findings of a convergent parallel mixed-methods investigation of user experiences and perceptions of food availability, variety, and quality at a major food bank in Western Australia. Food bank customers (N = 207) at a food bank branch and mobile van locations completed a survey, with an option to complete a subsequent semi-structured interview (n = 15). Approximately 80% of the survey sample had low (48%) or very low (30%) food security, half of the sample had been using the food bank for longer than 6 months, and 77% reported the food bank as their first choice for food. Three-quarters (77%) reported financial barriers to a balanced diet in the past twelve months and described how limited availability and variety complicated shopping. Interviewees explained complex perceptions of these issues, including favouring healthy food while considering discretionary food as a "luxury" that enhanced their quality of life. Our findings suggest that food bank users experience barriers to maintaining a balanced diet, encounter variable supplies of healthy and nutritious foods, and have concerns about the impacts of frequent discretionary food consumption. These findings have implications for public health promotion.

Nutritional Health Risk (Food Security) in Thai Older Adults and Related Factors.

The older adult population in Thailand has been steadily increasing in recent years, and urbanization has resulted in many older adults living independently, leaving many at nutritional risk. The purpose of this research is to explore food security among Thai older adults using a simple screening tool, the DETERMINE tool, as well as from three surveys which reflect seniors' health and ultimately food security including the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), the self-efficacy for physical activity scale (SEPAS), and the health literacy questionnaire. The DETERMINE tool was used in Thailand for the first time in this study. The findings revealed a moderate risk of food insecurity amongst participants, as most of them claimed to have underlying diseases, eat alone, eat a few nutrient-rich foods, and take medication. The MMSE, SEPAS, and health literacy questionnaire results suggested that food security was found to be negatively correlated with higher cognitive ability, higher physical activity, self-efficacy, and higher health literacy. In conclusion, there appears to be a high risk for malnutrition among older adults in Thailand, particularly in those with low income and underlying diseases.

Secure Triggering Frame-Based Dynamic Power Saving Mechanism against Battery Draining Attack in Wi-Fi-Enabled Sensor Networks.

Wireless local area networks (WLANs) have recently evolved into technologies featuring extremely high throughput and ultra-high reliability. As WLANs are predominantly utilized in Internet of Things (IoT) and Wi-Fi-enabled sensor applications powered by coin cell batteries, these high-efficiency, high-performance technologies often cause significant battery depletion. The introduction of the trigger frame-based uplink transmission method, designed to enhance network throughput, lacks adequate security measures, enabling attackers to manipulate trigger frames. Devices receiving such frames must respond immediately; however, if a device receives a fake trigger frame, it fails to enter sleep mode, continuously sending response signals and thereby increasing power consumption. This problem is specifically acute in next-generation devices that support multi-link operation (MLO), capable of simultaneous transmission and reception across multiple links, rendering them more susceptible to battery draining attacks than conventional single-link devices. To address this, this paper introduces a Secure Triggering Frame-Based Dynamic Power Saving Mechanism (STF-DPSM) specifically designed for multi-link environments. Experimental results indicate that even in a multi-link environment with only two links, the STF-DPSM improves energy efficiency by an average of approximately 55.69% over conventional methods and reduces delay times by an average of approximately 44.7% compared with methods that consistently utilize encryption/decryption and integrity checks.

Roadmap of Adversarial Machine Learning in Internet of Things-Enabled Security Systems.

Machine learning (ML) represents one of the main pillars of the current digital era, specifically in modern real-world applications. The Internet of Things (IoT) technology is foundational in developing advanced intelligent systems. The convergence of ML and IoT drives significant advancements across various domains, such as making IoT-based security systems smarter and more efficient. However, ML-based IoT systems are vulnerable to lurking attacks during the training and testing phases. An adversarial attack aims to corrupt the ML model's functionality by introducing perturbed inputs. Consequently, it can pose significant risks leading to devices' malfunction, services' interruption, and personal data misuse. This article examines the severity of adversarial attacks and accentuates the importance of designing secure and robust ML models in the IoT context. A comprehensive classification of adversarial machine learning (AML) is provided. Moreover, a systematic literature review of the latest research trends (from 2020 to 2024) of the intersection of AML and IoT-based security systems is presented. The results revealed the availability of various AML attack techniques, where the Fast Gradient Signed Method (FGSM) is the most employed. Several studies recommend the adversarial training technique to defend against such attacks. Finally, potential open issues and main research directions are highlighted for future consideration and enhancement.

A Physical-Layer Security Cooperative Framework for Mitigating Interference and Eavesdropping Attacks in Internet of Things Environments.

Intentional electromagnetic interference attacks (e.g., jamming) against wireless connected devices such as the Internet of Things (IoT) remain a serious challenge, especially as such attacks evolve in complexity. Similarly, eavesdropping on wireless communication channels persists as an inherent vulnerability that is often exploited by adversaries. This article investigates a novel approach to enhancing information security for IoT systems via collaborative strategies that can effectively mitigate attacks targeting availability via interference and confidentiality via eavesdropping. We examine the proposed approach for two use cases. First, we consider an IoT device that experiences an interference attack, causing wireless channel outages and hindering access to transmitted IoT data. A physical-layer-based security (PLS) transmission strategy is proposed in this article to maintain target levels of information availability for devices targeted by adversarial interference. In the proposed strategy, select IoT devices leverage a cooperative transmission approach to mitigate the IoT signal outages under active interference attacks. Second, we consider the case of information confidentiality for IoT devices as they communicate over wireless channels with possible eavesdroppers. In this case, we propose a collaborative transmission strategy where IoT devices create a signal outage for the eavesdropper, preventing it from decoding the signal of the targeted devices. The analytical and numerical results of this article illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed transmission strategy in achieving desired IoT security levels with respect to availability and confidentiality for both use cases.

The Application of GPS-Based Friend/Foe Localization and Identification to Enhance Security in Restricted Areas.

This paper is devoted to the application of object localization and identification with information combined from a radar system and a dedicated portable/mobile electronic device equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) receiver. This device is able to provide object's (staff member, and staff vehicle) rough location and identification. Such systems are required in very restrictive security areas like airports (e.g., open-air area and apron). Currently, the outdoor area of the airport is typically protected by a surveillance system operated by security guards. Surveillance systems are composed of different sensors, video and infrared cameras, and microwave radars. The sheer number of events generated via the system can lead to fatigue among staff, potentially resulting in the omission of critical events. To address this issue, we propose an electronic system equipped with a wireless module and a GPS module. This approach enables automatic identification of objects through the fusion of data from two independent systems (GPS and radar). The radar system is capable of precisely localizing and tracking objects, while the described system is able to identify registered objects. This paper contains a description of the subsystems of a portable/mobile electronic device. The fusion of information from the proposed system (rough location and identification) with the precise location obtained from short-range radar is intended to reduce the number of false alerts in the surveillance system.