Security Model for Cloud Computing: Case Report of Organizational Vulnerability

Cloud computing services have quickly become a mainstay in business, leading to success as a business model and numerous advantages from the client’s point of view. Ease and amount of storage and computational services provisions were not previously accessible or affordable. However, parallel to this explosion has been significant security risk concerns. Thus, it is important to understand and define these security risks in a cybersecurity framework. This paper will take a case study approach to approach past security risks and propose a model that can be followed by organizations to eliminate the risk of Cloud-related cyberattacks. The main aims of this systematic literature review (SLR) are to (1) address security risks/vulnerabilities that can target cloud environments, (2) define tools that can be used by organizations to defend their cloud environment against those security risks/vulnerabilities, and (3) analyze case studies of significant cyberattacks and provide recommendations for organizations to mitigate such cyberattacks. This paper will propose a novel cloud cybersecurity model from a two-pronged offensive and defensive perspective for implementation by organizations to enhance their security infrastructure.

Agronomic Management Strategies to Reduce the Yield Loss Associated with Spring Harvested Corn in Ontario

Some growers in northern corn (Zea mays L.) producing regions forgo the typical autumn harvest for various reasons, but not without the risk of significant yield loss. Therefore, strategies are needed for managing the risks to yield when harvesting corn in spring. Field experiments, with various management strategies, were initiated in Ontario, Canada near Belmont and Ridgetown in 2009 and near Belmont, Ridgetown, and Lucan in 2010. Management strategies investigated the use of hybrids with a range in maturity, the use of standard and reduced plant populations, and the use of a foliar fungicide applied around tasseling. The parameters examined were stay-green in autumn, lodging in spring, and grain yield, moisture, and test weight of corn harvested in autumn and spring. Standard corn production practices consist of using a full-season hybrid planted at 80,000 plants&middotha-1 with no late-season fungicide application;however, if over-wintered at Belmont, corn managed using these practices resulted in a 23.1% yield loss (12.1 vs 9.3 Mg&middotha-1) averaged across years when the crop was harvested in the spring. An overwintering management strategy for corn was identified, which consisted of planting at a reduced plant population (60,000 plants&middotha-1) and spraying the crop with QUILT&reg (azoxystrobin + propiconazole at 200 g a.i. ha-1) at the VT to R1 growth stage. Averaged across all hybrids, this strategy minimized yield losses through improvements on corn standability with only a 3.5% yield loss at Ridgetown and a 13.2% yield loss at Belmont. Furthermore, grain test weights for corn with the overwintering strategy were similar to or greater than corn overwintered with the standard production practice. However, weather conditions have the potential to overwhelm any management strategy. In spite of the favorable data indicating reduced risks with a spring harvest, lodging was still higher than expected and yield losses would likely be unacceptable for most growers to make a spring corn harvest a widely accepted practice, unless autumn grain moistures are extremely high, drying charges are high, and if stalk strength going into the winter was exceptional.

Advanced Concept Ramjet Propulsion System Utilizing In-Situ Positron Antimatter Derived from Ultra-Intense Laser with Fundamental Performance Analysis

The fundamental performance analysis of an advanced concept ramjet propulsion system using antimatter is presented. Antimatter is generated by ultra-intense laser pulses incident on a gold target. The scientific foundation for the generation of antimatter by an ultra-intense laser was established in the early 1970’s and later demonstrated at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from 2008 to 2009. Antimatter on the scale of 2 × 1010 positrons were generated through a ~1 ps pulse from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Titan laser that has an intensity of ~1020 W/cm2. The predominant mechanism is the Bethe-Heitler process, which involves high-energy bremsstrahlung photons as a result of electron-nuclei interaction. Propulsion involving lasers through chemical rather than non-chemical interaction has been previously advocated by Phipps. The major utilities of the ultra-intense laser derived antimatter ramjet are the capability to generate antimatter without a complex storage system and the ability to decouple the antimatter ramjet propulsion system from the energy source. For instance the ultra-intense laser and energy source could be terrestrial, while the ramjet could be mounted to a UAV as a propulsion system. With the extrapolation of current technologies, a sufficient number of pulses by ultra-intense lasers are eventually anticipated for the generation of antimatter to heat the propulsive flow of a ramjet. Fundamental performance analysis is provided based on an ideal ramjet derivation that is modified to address the proposed antimatter ramjet architecture.

Fundamental Architecture and Analysis of an Antimatter Ultra-Intense Laser Derived Pulsed Space Propulsion System

Antimatter has been generated in large quantities by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Titan laser. The Titan laser is an ultra-intense laser system on the order of approximately 1020W/cm2 with pulse durations of roughly 1ps. With the Titan laser incident on a high atomic number target, such as gold, antimatter on the scale of 2 × 1010 positrons are generated. Roughly 90% of the generated positrons are ejected anisotropic and aft to the respective target. The mechanisms for the laser-derived positron antimatter generation involve electron interaction with the nuclei based on bremsstrahlung photons that yield electron-positron pairs as a consequence of the Bethe-Heitler process, which predominates the Trident process. Given the constraints of the current and near future technology space, a pulsed space propulsion configuration is advocated for antimatter derived space propulsion, similar in concept to pulsed radioisotope propulsion. Antimatter is generated through an ultra-intense laser on the scale of a Titan laser incident on a gold target and annihilated in a closed chamber, representative of a combustion chamber. Upon reaching a temperature threshold, the closed chamber opens, producing a pulse of thrust. The implication of the pulsed space propulsion antimatter architecture is that the energy source for the antimatter propulsion system can be decoupled from the actual spacecraft. In contrast to conventional chemical propulsion systems, which require storage of its respective propulsive chemical potential energy, the proposed antimatter propulsion architecture may have the energy source at a disparate location from the spacecraft. The ultra-intense laser could convey its laser energy over a distance to the actual spacecraft equipped with the positron antimatter pulsed space propulsion system. Hydrogen is considered as the propulsive fluid, in light of its low molecular weight. Fundamental analysis is applied to preliminarily define the performance of the positron antimatter derived pulsed space propulsion system. The fundamental performance analysis of the antimatter pulsed space propulsion system successfully reveals the architecture is viable for further evaluation.

Clinically Relevant Assessment of the Variability of Glycemic Response and Its Affect on Surgical Site Infection Rates?

Purpose: Despite growing interest in perioperative glycemic control, little data existdefining?the optimal value(s) to use to define appropriate glycemic management and the impact on the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI).?The aim of this study?was to assess variation in glycemic response and risk of SSI and hospital stay as defined by themaximum, minimum, and area under the curve for?perioperative glucose in patients undergoing?colectomy. We specifically used standard of care obtained glucose levels to reflect limitations of observations typically used to assess quality of care. Methods: All patients undergoing colectomy from 7/2007?to?6/2008 were assessed for the?maximum and minimum levels of standard of care glucose levels, as well as area under the curve (AUC) for?elevated glucose?perioperatively. These were assessed for patients with and without SSI?(SSI vs nSSI). Results: 183 consecutive patients were evaluated (22 diabetics). The incidence of SSI for?the entire?population was 17/183 (9.3%) without significant difference between the?groups with respect to mean?blood glucose level (SSI-136;nSSI-136). However, the SSI?group had a higher maximum glucose level?(SSI-194;nSSI 162;p??110?mg/dl (SSI-59%;nSSI-62%) or glucose >?150?mg/dl (SSI 6%;nSSI 18%). Conclusions: The data demonstrate that patients with SSI have wider fluctuations inglycemic response?compared to non-SSI when standard of care serum glucose levels?wasreviewed. Therefore, quality program monitoring of glucose impact on SSI should focus on both maximum and minimum levels during the perioperative period to better define process improvement in colectomy patients.

Client Satisfaction and Quality of Life at Primary Healthcare Clinics and Psychiatric Hospitals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Over the past few years, greater attention has been paid to the importance of incorporating behavioral health treatment into primary health care (PHC) settings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The purpose of the present study was to compare the participants’ satisfaction on psychological services and quality of life (QOL) among primary healthcare clinics, psychiatric hospitals and healthy controls. The Arabic version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-short version (WHOQOL-Bref) and Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) were administered to 36 PHC participants, 60 hospital participants, and 63 healthy controls. In all QOL domains, there was no significant difference obtained on participants’ QOL between PHC and hospital settings. Except for similar score to PHC participants on overall QOL (OQOL), healthy controls scored higher than the other two groups on four QOL domains and General Health (GH) facet. As for clients’ satisfaction, participants under PHC setting reported significantly higher satisfaction compared to hospitals and healthy controls. Hospital participants reported higher client care satisfaction than healthy controls. Improvement in the quality of mental health care such as ease of referrals and detection of undiagnosed mental health conditions could be the cause for higher satisfaction with PHC services. Stigma associated with mental illness creates serious barriers to Saudi patient’s access to psychiatric clinics of large hospitals. There is a need for incorporating qualified mental health providers into PHC and educating the general public to become aware of certain beliefs and attitudes that limit access to treatment and prospects for recovery of persons with mental illnesses.

Evaluating Effective Pediatric Psychological Trauma Treatments Post-Traumatic Natural Disasters

What are the best treatment approaches for children experiencing trauma after natural disasters? Historically, the U.S. emergency response system has not provided psychological support to communities impacted by disasters. Instead, the traditional emergency response community focused on ensuring the physical survival of the individuals and communities that it protects. The goal of all disaster interventions, whether physical or psychological in nature, is to restore the individual to his/her level of pre-disaster functioning. Emphasizing psychological intervention and treatment after disasters is essential in restoring health in individuals post-trauma because mental health is necessary for proper physical health, forming of coping mechanisms, and the ability of individuals to move past the trauma and lead normal lives. At young ages, the body is still developing mentally and physically, meaning the impact of a traumatic event may be completely different from that of most adults. For example, children have greater thought suppression, which leads to an associated increase in PTSD and internalizing behaviors. Thus, children require a different treatment approach to ensure that trauma is not long-lasting and prevalent in future adult life, such as through trouble expressing and regulating emotions, as well as vulnerability to future exposure to stress, which may negatively impact individuals’ identity and interpersonal abilities. The purpose of this review paper is to evaluate various memory-related disorders to then explain the pros and cons of various treatment approaches based on their efficiency in treating PTSD-related symptoms post-natural disasters in children. This review identifies the best pediatric trauma treatment approaches used after natural disasters, highlighting a lack of efficient, effective, and specific psychological treatments. By comparing various existing psychological treatments, this paper provides future directions for research by identifying existing gaps in the field and explains contrasting approaches for various memory-related and natural disaster related psychological trauma disorders.

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Associated with Autism Spectrum Features and Bumetanide as a Pharmacological Indication: A Case Report

A wide variety of genetic and non-genetic pathologies share serious psychiatric symptoms, which determine a poor quality of life for patients and their families. To evaluate whether bumetanide, a drug initially developed as a diuretic and currently analyzed for a new indication in patients with severe neuropsychiatric pathologies, could improve the disruptive and self-injurious behaviors secondary to Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) and characteristic of the autistic spectrum the case of this 6-year-old patient is considered. Following preclinical and clinical evidence of the efficacy of bumetanide in Tuberous Sclerosis and other neurodevelopmental disorders, the drug may alleviate the psychiatric manifestations (TAND) of Tuberous Sclerosis pathology. This would allow avoiding the excessive prescription of antipsychotic drugs indicated to control disruptive behaviors. Methodology: The Administración Nacional de Medicamentos, Alimentos y Tecnología Médica (ANMAT) approval was requested for compassionate use since it is not an approved drug in Argentina for this indication. The patient was evaluated with laboratory tests at T0, T1, T2, T3 and T4, corresponding to the basal moments, of 7 days, 30 days, 60 days and 90 days after starting the medication. Likewise, behavior was evaluated with the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) at the same times described. CARS was used for autistic characteristics and TAND Checklist for psychiatric disorders, both at the beginning. Bumetanide was administered at 1 mg/day and increased to 1.5 mg/day one month after the first dose. Results: We observed, in this case, the primary endpoint, irritability, showed moderate improvement. On the contrary, hyperactivity, attention, sociability and better connection through gaze experienced and evident improvement. Regarding isolation scales and stereotyped behaviors, an important improvement was found after 3 months of treatment with bumetanide, an antagonist NKCC1, evaluated through the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC). On the other hand, no remarkable adverse effects were observed.