Adversary Models for Mobile Device Authentication

Mobile device authentication has been a highly active research topic for over 10 years, with a vast range of methods proposed and analyzed. In related areas, such as secure channel protocols, remote authentication, or desktop user authentication, strong, systematic, and increasingly formal threat models have been established and are used to qualitatively compare different methods. However, the analysis of mobile device authentication is often based on weak adversary models, suggesting overly optimistic results on their respective security. In this article, we introduce a new classification of adversaries to better analyze and compare mobile device authentication methods. We apply this classification to a systematic literature survey. The survey shows that security is still an afterthought and that most proposed protocols lack a comprehensive security analysis. The proposed classification of adversaries provides a strong and practical adversary model that offers a comparable and transparent classification of security properties in mobile device authentication.

Physical activity, body mass index, and blood progranulin in older adults: cross-sectional associations in the MAPT study

Physical activity (PA) has been shown to moderate the negative effects of obesity on pro-inflammatory cytokines but its relationship with the adipokine progranulin (PGRN) remains poorly investigated. This study aimed to examine the cross-sectional main and interactive associations of body mass index (BMI) and PA level with circulating PGRN in older adults. Five-hundred and twelve subjects aged 70 years and over involved in the Multidomain Alzheimer Prevention Trial (MAPT) Study who underwent plasma PGRN measurements (ng/ml) were included. Self –reported PA levels were assessed using questionnaires. People were classified into three BMI categories: normal weight, overweight or obesity. Further categorization using PA tertiles was used to define highly active, moderately active and low active individuals. Multiple linear regressions were performed in order to test the associations of BMI, PA level, and their interaction with PGRN levels. Multiple linear regressions adjusted by age, sex, diabetes mellitus status, total cholesterol, creatinine level and MAPT group demonstrated significant interactive associations of BMI status and continuous PA such that in people without obesity, higher PA levels were associated with lower PGRN concentrations, while an opposite pattern was found in individuals with obesity. In addition, continuous BMI was positively associated with circulating PGRN in highly active individuals but not in their less active peers. This cross-sectional study demonstrated reverse patterns in older adults with obesity compared to those without obesity regarding the relationships between PA and PGRN levels. Longitudinal and experimental investigations are required to understand the mechanisms that underlie the present findings.

New Chitosan Polymer Scaffold Schiff Bases as Potential Cytotoxic Activity: Synthesis, Molecular Docking, and Physiochemical Characterization

In this work, we synthesize the sulfonated Schiff bases of the chitosan derivatives 2a-2j without the use of a catalyst in two moderately straightforward steps with good yield within a short reaction time. The morphology and chemical structure of chitosan derivatives were investigated using FT-IR, NMR (1H—13C), XRD, and SEM. Furthermore, our chitosan derivatives were tested for their anticancer activity against the MCF-7 cancer cell line, and doxorubicin was used as a standard. In addition, the normal cell lines of the breast cancer cell MCF-10A, and of the lung cell MRC-5 were tested. Compound 2 h, with a GI50 value of 0.02 µM for MCF-7, is highly active compared with the standard doxorubicin and other compounds. The synthesized compounds 2a-2j exhibit low cytotoxicity, with IC50 > 100 μg/ml, against normal cell lines MCF-10A, MRC-5. We also provide the results of an in-silico study involving the Methoxsalen protein (1Z11). Compound 2h exhibits a higher binding affinity for 1Z11 protein (−5.9 kcal/mol) and a lower binding affinity for Doxorubicin (−5.3 kcal/mol) than certain other compounds. As a result of the aforementioned findings, the use of compound 2h has an anticancer drug will be researched in the future.