Algorithm for wireless sensor networks in ginseng field in precision agriculture.

In the research on energy-efficient networking methods for precision agriculture, a hot topic is the energy issue of sensing nodes for individual wireless sensor networks. The sensing nodes of the wireless sensor network should be enabled to provide better services with limited energy to support wide-range and multi-scenario acquisition and transmission of three-dimensional crop information. Further, the life cycle of the sensing nodes should be maximized under limited energy. The transmission direction and node power consumption are considered, and the forward and high-energy nodes are selected as the preferred cluster heads or data-forwarding nodes. Taking the cropland cultivation of ginseng as the background, we put forward a particle swarm optimization-based networking algorithm for wireless sensor networks with excellent performance. This algorithm can be used for precision agriculture and achieve optimal equipment configuration in a network under limited energy, while ensuring reliable communication in the network. The node scale is configured as 50 to 300 nodes in the range of 500 × 500 m2, and simulated testing is conducted with the LEACH, BCDCP, and ECHERP routing protocols. Compared with the existing LEACH, BCDCP, and ECHERP routing protocols, the proposed networking method can achieve the network lifetime prolongation and mitigate the decreased degree and decreasing trend of the distance between the sensing nodes and center nodes of the sensor network, which results in a longer network life cycle and stronger environment suitability. It is an effective method that improves the sensing node lifetime for a wireless sensor network applied to cropland cultivation of ginseng.

Transforming the health information system using mobile and geographic information technologies, Papua New Guinea.

In the context of declining economic growth, now exacerbated by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, Papua New Guinea is increasing the efficiency of its health systems to overcome difficulties in reaching global health and development targets. Before 2015, the national health information system was fragmented, underfunded, of limited utility and accessed infrequently by health authorities. We built an electronic system that integrated mobile technologies and geographic information system data sets of every house, village and health facility in the country. We piloted the system in 184 health facilities across five provinces between 2015 and 2016. By the end of 2020, the system's mobile tablets were rolled out to 473 facilities in 13 provinces, while the online platform was available in health authorities of all 22 provinces, including church health services. Fractured data siloes of legacy health programmes have been integrated and a platform for civil registration systems established. We discuss how mobile technologies and geographic information systems have transformed health information systems in Papua New Guinea over the past 6 years by increasing the timeliness, completeness, quality, accessibility, flexibility, acceptability and utility of national health data. To achieve this transformation, we highlight the importance of considering the benefits of mobile tools and using rich geographic information systems data sets for health workers in primary care in addition to the needs of public health authorities.

Dans un contexte de déclin de la croissance économique, exacerbé par la pandémie de maladie à coronavirus, la Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée a décidé d'augmenter l'efficacité de ses systèmes sanitaires afin de surmonter les difficultés à atteindre les objectifs globaux en matière de santé et de développement. Avant 2015, le système d'information sanitaire national était fragmenté, sous-financé, peu utile et rarement consulté par les autorités sanitaires. Nous avons donc conçu un système électronique intégrant des technologies mobiles et des ensembles de données géographiques provenant de chaque ménage, de chaque village et de chaque établissement de soins du pays. Entre 2015 et 2016, nous avons piloté le système dans 184 établissements de soins répartis sur cinq provinces. Fin 2020, les tablettes mobiles du système ont été distribuées dans 473 établissements de 13 provinces, tandis que les autorités sanitaires des 22 provinces du pays, y compris les services sanitaires confessionnels, ont pu accéder à la plateforme en ligne. Les silos de données fragmentées des programmes de santé antérieurs y ont été incorporés et une plateforme destinée aux registres d'état civil a été créée. Le présent document se penche sur la manière dont les technologies d'information mobiles et géographiques ont transformé les systèmes d'information sanitaire en Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée ces six dernières années en améliorant la ponctualité, l'exhaustivité, la qualité, l'accessibilité, la flexibilité, la recevabilité et l'utilité des données nationales sur la santé. Pour réaliser cette transformation, il est à nos yeux essentiel de tenir compte des avantages que représentent les outils mobiles, et de tirer profit des vastes ensembles de données géographiques non seulement pour les travailleurs des soins de santé primaires, mais aussi pour les besoins des autorités de santé publique.

En el contexto de un crecimiento económico en declive, agravado ahora por la pandemia de la enfermedad por coronavirus, Papúa Nueva Guinea está aumentando la eficiencia de sus sistemas sanitarios para superar las dificultades para alcanzar los objetivos globales de salud y desarrollo. Antes de 2015, el sistema nacional de información sanitaria estaba fragmentado, carecía de fondos suficientes, su utilidad era limitada y las autoridades sanitarias accedían a él con poca frecuencia. Construimos un sistema electrónico que integraba tecnologías móviles y conjuntos de datos del sistema de información geográfica de cada casa, pueblo y centro de salud del país. Entre 2015 y 2016 pusimos a prueba el sistema en 184 centros de salud de cinco provincias. A finales de 2020, las tabletas móviles del sistema se implementaron en 473 centros de 13 provincias, mientras que la plataforma en línea estaba disponible en las autoridades sanitarias de las 22 provincias, incluidos los servicios de salud de las iglesias. Se han integrado los silos de datos fracturados de los programas sanitarios heredados y se ha establecido una plataforma para los sistemas de registro civil. Exponemos cómo las tecnologías móviles y los sistemas de información geográfica han transformado los sistemas de información sanitaria en Papúa Nueva Guinea en los últimos seis años, aumentando la puntualidad, la exhaustividad, la calidad, la accesibilidad, la flexibilidad, la aceptabilidad y la utilidad de los datos sanitarios nacionales. Para lograr esta transformación, destacamos la importancia de tener en cuenta los beneficios de las herramientas móviles y de utilizar conjuntos de datos ricos en sistemas de información geográfica para los trabajadores sanitarios de la atención primaria, además de las necesidades de las autoridades sanitarias públicas.

Reinventing How Pharmacy Educators Connect as a Community.

The onset of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has added a new layer of complexity to an already difficult period for academic pharmacy. The need to follow social-distancing guidelines has resulted in rapid adoption of technology-enabled communication strategies. While these technologies provide unprecedented ways in which we can connect as an academic community, we must consider their effectiveness in not only promoting exchange of information, but also creating inspiration within the community and supporting the level of interdependence required to tackle the difficult challenges that lie ahead. As the connecting body within the community of pharmacy education, it is incumbent on the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) to consider how we will adapt during this period of disruption. We must adopt new strategies that will allow our members to connect in new, meaningful ways, ways that stimulate ideas, new partnerships, and an overall sense of hope for our future.

An Efficient Cross-Domain Data Transmission Scheme for Wireless Body Area Networks.

Wireless body area networks (WBANs) have become a prospective technology for the next generation healthcare services, in which tiny sensors are placed either on the skin or in the body of human to transmit real-time monitored data to the medical service provider (MSP). In order to protect the transmitted data from leakage, forgery or alteration, constructing a secure data transmission scheme for WBANs that achieves confidentiality, authentication and integrity is necessary. Also, in practical application of WBANs, patient and MSP are in different domain networks in general. In this article, we first design a cross-domain certificateless signcryption (CDCS) scheme, then an efficient cross-domain data transmission scheme for WBANs is proposed based on the new CDCS scheme. The data transmission scheme realizes authentication, confidentiality, anonymity, nonrepudiation, integrity, registration security and KSTI security. Compared to present two security schemes for the WBANs based on certificateless signcryption, our designed scheme entitles patient and MSP to use different cryptographic parameter in different domain networks. Moreover, the new scheme has advantages in communication overhead and computation cost.

Security analysis and secure channel-free certificateless searchable public key authenticated encryption for a cloud-based Internet of things.

With the rapid development of informatization, an increasing number of industries and organizations outsource their data to cloud servers, to avoid the cost of local data management and to share data. For example, industrial Internet of things systems and mobile healthcare systems rely on cloud computing's powerful data storage and processing capabilities to address the storage, provision, and maintenance of massive amounts of industrial and medical data. One of the major challenges facing cloud-based storage environments is how to ensure the confidentiality and security of outsourced sensitive data. To mitigate these issues, He et al. and Ma et al. have recently independently proposed two certificateless public key searchable encryption schemes. In this paper, we analyze the security of these two schemes and show that the reduction proof of He et al.'s CLPAEKS scheme is incorrect, and that Ma et al.'s CLPEKS scheme is not secure against keyword guessing attacks. We then propose a channel-free certificateless searchable public key authenticated encryption (dCLPAEKS) scheme and prove that it is secure against inside keyword guessing attacks under the enhanced security model. Compared with other certificateless public key searchable encryption schemes, this scheme has higher security and comparable efficiency.

Nursing staff's evaluation of facilitators and barriers during implementation of wireless nurse call systems in residential care facilities. A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Traditional nurse call systems used in residential care facilities rely on patients to summon assistance for routine or emergency needs. Wireless nurse call systems (WNCS) offer new affordances for persons unable to actively or consciously engage with the system, allowing detection of hazardous situations, prevention and timely treatment, as well as enhanced nurse workflows. This study aimed to explore facilitators and barriers of implementation of WNCSs in residential care facilities. METHODS: The study had a cross-sectional descriptive design. We collected data from care providers (n = 98) based on the Measurement Instrument for Determinants of Innovation (MIDI) framework in five Norwegian residential care facilities during the first year of WNCS implementation. The self-reporting MIDI questionnaire was adapted to the contexts. Descriptive statistics were used to explore participant characteristics and MIDI item and determinant scores. MIDI items to which ≥20% of participants disagreed/totally disagreed were regarded as barriers and items to which ≥80% of participants agreed/totally agreed were regarded as facilitators for implementation. RESULTS: More facilitators (n = 22) than barriers (n = 6) were identified. The greatest facilitators, reported by 98% of the care providers, were the expected outcomes: the importance and probability of achieving prompt call responses and increased safety, and the normative belief of unit managers. During the implementation process, 87% became familiar with the systems, and 86 and 90%, respectively regarded themselves and their colleagues as competent users of the WNCS. The most salient barriers, reported by 37%, were their lack of prior knowledge and that they found the WNCS difficult to learn. No features of the technology were identified as barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the care providers gave a positive evaluation of the WNCS implementation. The barriers to implementation were addressed by training and practicing technological skills, facilitated by the influence and support by the manager and the colleagues within the residential care unit. WNCSs offer a range of advanced applications and services, and further research is needed as more WNCS functionalities are implemented into residential care services.

MARC: A Novel Framework for Detecting MITM Attacks in eHealthcare BLE Systems.

Real-time and ubiquitous patient monitoring demands the use of wireless data acquisition through resource constrained medical sensors, mostly configured with No-input No-output (NiNo) capabilities. Bluetooth is one of the most popular and widely adopted means of communicating this sensed information to a mobile terminal. However, over simplified implementations of Bluetooth low energy (BLE) protocol in eHealth sector is susceptible to several wireless attacks, in particular the Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack. The issue arises due to a lack of mutual authentication and integrity protection between the communicating devices, which may lead to compromise of confidentiality, availability and even the integrity of this safety-critical information. This research paper presents a novel framework named MARC to detect, analyze, and mitigate Bluetooth security flaws while focusing upon MITM attack against NiNo devices. For this purpose, a comprehensive solution has been proposed, which can detect MITM signatures based upon four novel anomaly detection metrics: analyzing Malicious scan requests, Advertisement intervals, RSSI levels, and Cloned node addresses. The proposed solution has been evaluated through practical implementation and demonstration of different attack scenarios, which show promising results concerning accurate and efficient detection of MITM attacks.

Understanding digital health: Productive tensions at the intersection of sociology of health and science and technology studies.

In this editorial introduction, we explore how digital health is being explored at the intersection of sociology of health and science and technology studies (STS). We suggest that socio-material approaches and practice theories provide a shared space within which productive tensions between sociology of health and STS can continue. These tensions emerge around the long-standing challenges of avoiding technological determinism while maintaining a clear focus on the materiality and agency of technologies and recognising enduring sets of relations that emerge in new digital health practices while avoiding social determinism. The papers in this Special Issue explore diverse fields of healthcare (e.g. reproductive health, primary care, diabetes management, mental health) within which heterogenous technologies (e.g. health apps, mobile platforms, smart textiles, time-lapse imaging) are becoming increasingly embedded. By synthesising the main arguments and contributions in each paper, we elaborate on four key dimensions within which digital technologies create ambivalence and (re)configure health practices. First, promissory digital health highlights contradictory virtues within discourses that configure digital health. Second, (re)configuring knowledge outlines ambivalences of navigating new information environments and handling quantified data. Third, (re)configuring connectivity explores the relationships that evolve through digital networks. Fourth, (re)configuring control explores how new forms of power are inscribed and handled within algorithmic decision-making in health. We argue that these dimensions offer fruitful perspectives along which digital health can be explored across a range of technologies and health practices. We conclude by highlighting applications, methods and dimensions of digital health that require further research.

Integration of Real-Time Electronic Health Records and Wireless Technology in a Mobile Stroke Unit.

BACKGROUND: UCHealth's Mobile Stroke Unit (MSU) at University of Colorado Hospital is an ambulance equipped with a computed tomography (CT) scanner and tele-stroke capabilities that began clinical operation in Aurora, Colorado January 2016. As one of the first MSU's in the United States, it was necessary to design unique and dynamic information technology infrastructure. This includes high-speed cellular connectivity, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance, cloud-based and remote access to electronic medical records (EMR), and reliable and rapid image transfer. Here we describe novel technologies incorporated into the MSU. Technological data-handling aspects of the MSU were reviewed. Functions evaluated include wireless connectivity while in transit, EMR access and manipulation in the field, CT with image transfer from the MSU to the hospital's Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS), and video and audio communication for neurological assessment. METHODS/RESULTS: The MSU wireless system was designed with redundancy to avoid dropped signals during data transfer. Two separate Internet Protocol destinations with split-tunnel architecture are assigned, for videoconferencing and for EMR data transfer. Brain images acquired in the ambulance CT scanner are transferred initially to an onboard laptop, then via Citrix Receiver to the hospital-based PACS server where they can be viewed in PACS or EMR by the stroke neurologist, neuroradiologist, and other providers. PACS and Radiology Information System are 2 of the XenApps utilized by CT technologists on board the MSU. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: These technologies will serve as a blueprint for development of similar units elsewhere, and as a framework for improvement in this technology.

Las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones: una alternativa a tener en cuenta en la Universidad Ciencias Médicas de Matanzas / The Information and Communication Technologies, an alternative to take into account in the University of Medical Sciences of Matanzas

RESUMEN Para la acreditación de las universidades es de suma importancia que estas respondan a las necesidades que tiene el mundo de recibir un profesional identificado con el desarrollo de las tecnologías de la información y comunicaciones, capaz de utilizarlas en favor de la docencia, la asistencia y la investigación. En esta era de nativos digitales resulta factible aprovechar el potencial tecnológico y llevar sus beneficios al ámbito educativo en función mejorar la calidad del proceso docente logrando convertir las tabletas y los móviles, herramientas que van a utilizar los alumnos de hoy para casi todas sus labores, en verdaderos utensilios del proceso docente educativo (AU).

ABSTRACT For the accreditation of the universities it is primarily important that they respond to the necessities the world has of receiving a professional identified with the development of the information and communication technologies, able to use them for the sake of teaching, health care and research. In this new era of digital natives, it is necessary to take advantage of the technological potential and lead its benefits to the educational sphere as a way of improving the quality of the teaching process, converting tablets and smartphones used by current students for almost all their tasks, into real tools of the teaching learning process (AU).

Las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones: una alternativa a tener en cuenta en la Universidad Ciencias Médicas de Matanzas / The Information and Communication Technologies, an alternative to take into account in the University of Medical Sciences of Matanzas

RESUMEN Para la acreditación de las universidades es de suma importancia que estas respondan a las necesidades que tiene el mundo de recibir un profesional identificado con el desarrollo de las tecnologías de la información y comunicaciones, capaz de utilizarlas en favor de la docencia, la asistencia y la investigación. En esta era de nativos digitales resulta factible aprovechar el potencial tecnológico y llevar sus beneficios al ámbito educativo en función mejorar la calidad del proceso docente logrando convertir las tabletas y los móviles, herramientas que van a utilizar los alumnos de hoy para casi todas sus labores, en verdaderos utensilios del proceso docente educativo.

ABSTRACT For the accreditation of the universities it is primarily important that they respond to the necessities the world has of receiving a professional identified with the development of the information and communication technologies, able to use them for the sake of teaching, health care and research. In this new era of digital natives, it is necessary to take advantage of the technological potential and lead its benefits to the educational sphere as a way of improving the quality of the teaching process, converting tablets and smartphones used by current students for almost all their tasks, into real tools of the teaching learning process.

A Survey of Healthcare Monitoring Systems for Chronically Ill Patients and Elderly.

The demand of healthcare systems for chronically ill patients and elderly has increased in the last few years. This demand is derived by the necessity to allow patients and elderly to be independent in their homes without the help of their relatives or caregivers. The prosperity of the information technology plays an essential role in healthcare by providing continuous monitoring and alerting mechanisms. In this paper, we survey the most recent applications in healthcare monitoring. We organize the applications into categories and present their common architecture. Moreover, we explain the standards used and challenges faced in this field. Finally, we make a comparison between the presented applications and discuss the possible future research paths.

Medical cyber-physical systems: A survey.

Medical cyber-physical systems (MCPS) are healthcare critical integration of a network of medical devices. These systems are progressively used in hospitals to achieve a continuous high-quality healthcare. The MCPS design faces numerous challenges, including inoperability, security/privacy, and high assurance in the system software. In the current work, the infrastructure of the cyber-physical systems (CPS) are reviewed and discussed. This article enriched the researches of the networked Medical Device (MD) systems to increase the efficiency and safety of the healthcare. It also can assist the specialists of medical device to overcome crucial issues related to medical devices, and the challenges facing the design of the medical device's network. The concept of the social networking and its security along with the concept of the wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are addressed. Afterward, the CPS systems and platforms have been established, where more focus was directed toward CPS-based healthcare. The big data framework of CPSs is also included.

Systematic node management mechanism using ZigBee-based real-time vital sign information monitoring system to manage large numbers of patients.

BACKGROUND: Local hospitals must deal with large numbers of patients during mass casualty incidents, and the wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can help in these situations by monitoring vital signs. Conventional ZigBee nodes can obtain the ID of a device by assigning a unique 16-bit short address or by burning firmware into an IC. These methods tend to complicate node management and lack portability. OBJECTIVE: The study developed a node management mechanism to deal with a large number of patients in real-time, through the wireless monitoring of physiological signals. The mechanism proposed for the ZigBee WSN is based on a three-layer (Coordinator, Control Router, and End Device) tree topology. METHODS: The proposed system includes a node deployment process to formulate a ZigBee WSN as a tree topology, an algorithm to automatically number ZigBee nodes for monitoring and control system (MCS), and an algorithm to automatically obtain the short addresses of nodes for data collection. Specifically, an algorithm automatically collects data from ZigBee nodes for display on a computer graphical user interface (GUI). We also developed a reliable data transmission method capable of resolving the problem of packet loss. RESULTS: The proposed method has been applied in a local hospital. Our research findings provide a valuable reference for the development of ZigBee-based MCS. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed node management mechanism is faster, more reliable, and more intuitive to use, than traditional methods.

Wireless Teleophthalmology: A Novel, Low-Cost, Flexible Network Architecture and Its Performance Evaluation for Remote Eye Care Solutions.

INTRODUCTION: This article proposes a novel, cost-effective, flexible, and easy-to-deploy wireless teleophthalmology network architecture and performance evaluation for its potential use in remote areas. This study has used practical telecommunication standards, which is widely deployed throughout India. METHODS: In the proposed scenario, patient's eye images are obtained using a specified imaging modality, and then sent to a server at the primary eye care centre (PECC) using ZigBee a short-range wireless network. It is linked to the main server at the base eye hospital (BEH) through a GSM/UMTS (3G)/WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) network. After diagnostic evaluation of the eye image using various automated diagnostic software, data are sent to a physician in an urban center for further validation, which is connected through GSM/UMTS (3G)/WiMAX network. Performance evaluation of these wireless networks is carried out for their use in teleophthalmology application based on network parameters, namely throughput, average end-to-end delay, and average jitter. It is found that end-to-end delay is the most critical network parameter affecting overall quality of service (QoS) of the proposed teleophthalmology network. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate that WiMAX is the most suitable network among the considered networks for connecting PECC nodes with BEH main server, and further connecting main server with a doctor on the move. It is also deduced that for a given set of QoS parameters, WiMAX supports a load capacity of 22,000 packets at center nodes and the main server and it performs well even when the mobility speed of doctor exceeds 200 KPH.

A Secure Region-Based Geographic Routing Protocol (SRBGR) for Wireless Sensor Networks.

Due to the lack of dependency for routing initiation and an inadequate allocated sextant on responding messages, the secure geographic routing protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have attracted considerable attention. However, the existing protocols are more likely to drop packets when legitimate nodes fail to respond to the routing initiation messages while attackers in the allocated sextant manage to respond. Furthermore, these protocols are designed with inefficient collection window and inadequate verification criteria which may lead to a high number of attacker selections. To prevent the failure to find an appropriate relay node and undesirable packet retransmission, this paper presents Secure Region-Based Geographic Routing Protocol (SRBGR) to increase the probability of selecting the appropriate relay node. By extending the allocated sextant and applying different message contention priorities more legitimate nodes can be admitted in the routing process. Moreover, the paper also proposed the bound collection window for a sufficient collection time and verification cost for both attacker identification and isolation. Extensive simulation experiments have been performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed protocol in comparison with other existing protocols. The results demonstrate that SRBGR increases network performance in terms of the packet delivery ratio and isolates attacks such as Sybil and Black hole.