An Authentication Scheme to Healthcare Security under Wireless Sensor Networks

In recent years, Taiwan has been seeing an extension of the average life expectancy and a drop in overall fertility rate, initiating our country into an aged society. Due to this phenomenon, how to provide the elderly and patients with chronic diseases a suitable healthcare environment has become a critical issue presently. Therefore, we propose a new scheme that integrates healthcare services with wireless sensor technology in which sensor nodes are employed to measure patients' vital signs. Data collected from these sensor nodes are then transmitted to mobile devices of the medical staff and system administrator, promptly enabling them to understand the patients' condition in real time, which will significantly improve patients' healthcare quality. As per the personal data protection act, patients' vital signs can only be accessed by authorized medical staff. In order to protect patients', the system administrator will verify the medical staff's identity through the mobile device using a smart card and password mechanism. Accordingly, only the verified medical staff can obtain patients' vital signs data such as their blood pressure, pulsation, and body temperature, etc.. Besides, the scheme includes a time-bounded characteristic that allows the verified staff access to data without having to have to re-authenticate and re-login into the system within a set period of time. Consequently, the time-bounded property also increases the work efficiency of the system administrator and user.     

Pre-medication with intravenous clonidine suppresses fentanyl-induced cough

BACKGROUND: A reflex cough is often observed after an intravenous bolus of fentanyl. This study was conducted to determine whether pre-treatment with intravenous clonidine could effectively attenuate fentanyl-induced cough. METHODS: Three hundred ASA I-II patients, aged between 18 and 80 years, undergoing various elective surgeries, were enrolled in this study. All patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups treated with intravenous clonidine 2 microg/kg (clonidine group) or the same volume of normal saline (control group). Intravenous fentanyl (2 microg/kg in 2 s) was injected 2 min after the clonidine or normal saline injection. Changes in the hemodynamics, auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) and Observer Assessment of Alertness/Sedation (OAA/S) rating scale were recorded before and 2 min after the clonidine or normal saline injection and 1 min after the fentanyl injection. The number of coughs 1 min after the fentanyl injection was also recorded. RESULTS: Patients in the clonidine group showed a significantly lower incidence of cough than those in the control group (17.3% vs. 38.7%, respectively; P < 0.01). The blood pressure was lower in the clonidine group than in the control group. There were no significant differences in AEP or OAA/S rating scale. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-treatment with intravenous clonidine (2 microg/kg) suppressed the reflex cough induced by fentanyl, with mild hemodynamic changes. Therefore, intravenous clonidine may be a clinically useful method of suppressing fentanyl-induced cough.     

Chinese herb Radix Polygoni Multiflori as a therapeutic drug for liver cirrhosis in mice

Liver regeneration not only plays a functional role in directing the restoration of liver mass after resection or injury, but also may have participated in effective therapy of liver cirrhosis. Additionally, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) appears to be a factor of great importance in liver regeneration and attenuated progression of experimental liver cirrhosis. The aim of this study is to use Radix Polygoni Multiflori (POMU) extract, a Chinese herb traditionally used for liver-protective therapy, as a reagent for the evaluation of its potential medicinal use in liver cirrhosis. We used in vitro coculture system to show that POMU could promote the expression of HGF by hepatic nonparenchymal cells, consequently the proliferation of primary liver cells and phagocytic activity of Kupffer cells using fluorescein-labeled Escherichia coli as the target, and inhibit the proliferation of stellate cells. Using dimethylnitrosamine-induced liver cirrhosis animal, POMU even at 20 mg/(kg day) dosage, was illustrated to reverse the pathogenic progression of the disease, decrease the hydroxyproline content and increases the expression of HGF messenger RNA in liver tissue. The survival rate was significantly increased in the POMU-treated animal. In conclusion, our study showed the promise of POMU in the medicinal use for the treatment of liver cirrhosis.     

Dermal delivery by niosomes of black tea extract as a sunscreen agent

Objectives  The primary objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using niosomes as a delivery vehicle for the dermal administration in vitro of black tea extract (BTE) as a sunscreen. Methods  Multi‐lamellar niosomes were obtained by means of a previously reported method of lipid hydration films. In vitro penetration experiments through nude mouse skin were carried out to evaluate the potential of niosomes as a dermal formulation. The nude mouse skin membrane allowed the effects of penetration with a niosome formulation to be evaluated. Penetration rates of caffeine‐ and gallic acid‐loaded niosomes in a steady state were higher than dispersion in aqueous solutions. Results  For skin permeation, higher transdermal absorption rates were seen with solutions of caffeine and gallic acid. Conclusions  In the near future, BTE as a sunscreen agent will be dermally delivered by niosomes.