The rapid integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is transforming the traditional electrical grid into a {\em Smart Grid}. Smart grids enable two-way communication and improved monitoring and control between utilities and customers. However, due to its heterogeneous nature, public exposure, and weak security at low-powered devices, the Smart Grid has vulnerabilities to various malicious threats, adversaries, and cyber attacks, which may affect cost and service availability. Additionally, when the systems' confidentiality, integrity, or availability are compromised, the resulting fallout can threaten national security and have cascading effects on human lives. Given the extreme consequences of an attack, smart-grid technology must be thoroughly tested for correct operation and security {\em before} it is deployed. As a result, vulnerability testing of smart grids, not only for correctness but for security purposes, has been the subject of numerous studies by academics, government agencies, and private companies. This paper reviews the vulnerabilities associated with the smart grid and spotlights simulation as the vulnerability testing methodology conducted in recent pertinent research works. It also presents various security aspects of the smart grid, including grid applications, system and network infrastructure and components, cyber threats and attacks, simulation, and different mitigation techniques. Finally, we analyze the gaps in the current research works, focusing on simulation. We briefly present a real-time simulation testbed that mimics customer behaviour and integrates hardware in the loop to apply attack methods, analyze vulnerabilities and risk mitigation associated with the smart grid system, and propose future work to improve the current framework.

Genetic disorders are quite a major topic of discussion and debate in the recent world of biological sciences. Turner’s syndrome is one such disorder caused by a chromosome aneuploidy and it has characteristic symptoms in the patient or the affected individual. The amniotic fluid is a complex biological material found in the amniotic sac of pregnant women and they can provide valuable knowledge and understanding of the pathogenesis of this particular chromosomal abnormality. In this study, global gene expression analysis of cell-free RNA in amniotic fluid supernatant was used to detect genes/organ systems which may be significant in the pathophysiology of Turner’s syndrome. The cell-free RNA from the amniotic fluid of five mid-trimester Turner’s syndrome fetuses and five euploid female fetuses matched for age of gestation were extracted, amplified and hybridized onto Affymetrix U33 Plus 2.0. array. The paired t-test was used to identify the significantly differentially regulated genes. Biological interpretation was conducted using ingenuity pathway analysis and BioGPS gene expression atlas. Of the genes, XIST was especially downregulated and SHOX was not expressed differentially. One of the most highly represented organ systems was the hematologic/immune system, differentiating the transcriptome of Turner’s syndrome from other chromosomal aneuploidies that are discussed in this area of science. The differences in the transcriptome of the Turner’s syndrome are due to genome-wide dysregulation. The hematologic/immune system differences are significant in early-onset autoimmune dysfunction. There are other genes which have been identified that are associated with the cardiovascular and the skeletal system, as these are often seen to be affected in the female patients with turner’s syndrome. Hopefully, such knowledge gained from this study will help us to understand the deeper mechanisms of this disorder and the possible treatments of this disease.

The most common liver disorder nowadays is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) and it is a progressive disease that rises in severity from steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH), fibrosis and cirrhosis to increase risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma. It is a cause of great concern as there is an estimated seventy million Americans who are currently affected by NAFLD, and this is expected to only increase because of its association with obesity and diabetes and also a lack of therapies to keep its development and progression in check. In this particular study we performed a gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA) of differentially expressed genes in a green tea against methionine-choline deficient diet in high-fat patients in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD). The downregulated genes were used to perform an enrichment analysis and in the ARCHS4 TFs Coexpression database the most significant gene was found to be KLF5_human_tf_ARCHS4_coexpression. In the ARCHS4 Kinases Coexpression pathway database STYK1_human_kinase_ARCHS4 Coexpression was found to be the most significant gene. And finally for the upregulated genes a similar enrichment analysis was performed and in the humancy database γ-linolenate biosynthesis_Homo sapiens_PWY-6000 gene was discovered to be the most significant one. This study has used bioinformatics tools and the Enrichr software to perform a comparative analysis of differentially expressed gene sets for high-fat patients having a diet consisting of green tea against a methionine-choline deficient diet. Green tea is known to contain several antioxidants and polyphenols which provide protection against many liver diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD). The present study simply tries to build awareness of this to the general public and allow them to learn more about certain diets which have protective effects against liver diseases. Hopefully by implementing these in their daily lifestyles the public can gain some form of protection against these types of liver disorders.

The eyes are the sense organs through we view the world around us, and the cornea is the transparent layer which covers the outer, visible part of the eye. It is known that the gene expression of corneal endothelium depends on age. And the expressed genes of the endothelium of cornea for pediatric samples is different than that of the adult samples. The purpose or objective of this study was to characterize human corneal endothelial cell (HCEnC) gene expression and differential gene expression and to detect the expressed genes mapped to chromosomal loci associated with some corneal endothelial dystrophies. Both upregulated and downregulated genes were analyzed. For this purpose, total RNA was isolated from ex vivo corneal endothelium taken from six pediatric and five adult corneas. The complementary DNA was hybridized to the Affymetrix GeneChip 1.1 ST array. The data analysis was performed using the Enrichr software for both upregulated and downregulated genes. These are described in more detail in the results and discussion section. This study uses bioinformatics tools to identify and analyse gene sets present in the transcriptome of the corneal endothelium, and tries to find out and observe the relation of the aging effect on the corneal endothelium gene expression. The human subjects had participated voluntarily and informed consent was obtained from all before carrying out any testing procedure. Proper guidelines from the hospital ethical committee were also followed and no harmful chemicals were used on the participants. This study simply aims to raise some awareness of the given topic among the local people so that they are better able to take informed choices about their health in the near future, and also so that they seek medical help when necessary and have no inhibitions in doing so.

Smart grid capabilities have grown significantly in recent years. The smart grid provides advanced real-time handling of faults, advanced automatic control for efficient electricity transmission, monitoring and collection of the electrical system's capacity, and communication for information sharing. Unfortunately, its exposure to public networks makes it increasingly vulnerable to privacy breaches, vulnerabilities, and cyber-attacks. Cyber security threats and vulnerabilities in smart grid networks have become a primary concern that needs to be addressed before deploying a smart grid. Furthermore, the wide range of protocols increases the attack surface of a smart grid. This study focuses on the vulnerability of Modbus, which is regarded as one of the most prevalent protocols in smart grid communication networks. This paper presents preliminary findings of analyzing cyber-attacks against the Modbus protocol using a virtual testbed to investigate its effects on the smart grid network protocol. The concept incorporates an emulated Modbus/TCP network environment built from open-source software components that imitate fundamental industrial control features of the smart grid. Finally, we analyze the cycle of a cyber-attack leading through Reconnaissance to a DoS attack on the Modbus/TCP protocol and propose improvements to the test bed for protocol attack detection and mitigation.

The smart grid system, an improvised form of the traditional grid, is considered a critical cyber-physical system. Due to its complex combination of smart and legacy technologies, this technology is characterized by a wide range of features such as full duplex communication, advanced metering infrastructure, remote monitoring, and control. However, despite this system’s substantial environmental and socio-economic impact on modern life, it poses severe security vulnerabilities due to its integration and interconnected and interdependent cyber-physical components. Based on the rapid development of cyber-physical systems (CPS), academics and industries have investigated relevant techniques to enhance and strengthen the security measures of the SG system. The intrusion detection system is a countermeasure, a powerful safeguard against various cyber-attacks and threats. The contribution of the IDSs to the SG paradigm is examined in this study. A comprehensive review has been presented in this study, highlighting different techniques, basic ideas, and analyses. Besides discussing the contemporary pertinent research studies, the shortcomings of the existing IDS for the SG system are also identified with a recommendation for future research direction.

Accumulation of extra fats in the body results in disturbance in homeostasis causing obesity. The pathophysiology of obesity has been associated with various genetic, epigenetic factors and the disturbed lifestyles of an individual. One of the outcomes is disturbance in the sleep cycle which leads to sleep disorders. The evolutionary significance of sleep lies in the fact that it saves energy and is crucial for adjustment of an individual to ecological and environmental factors, and thus maintains homeostasis. Sleep has an anabolic function and replenishes the wakefulness-associated loss of glycogen stores. However, the modern lifestyle is well known to disrupt sleep behavior and patterns affecting human health negatively. Alteration in homeostasis leads to several acute and chronic pathophysiological conditions like obesity and related metabolic morbidities being one amongst them. Shorter sleep duration and poor sleep quality are important risk factors associated with the development of obesity and have more adverse effects on energy homeostasis. Consequently, it is crucial to comprehend the obesity and sleep relationship and its therapeutic strategies, given that strong crosstalk exists between energy balance that favors obesity and sleep apnea. It is therefore highly recommended to the people with a high risk of obesity to maintain sleep discipline and good sleep hygiene in our daily life. Interventions are required to improve both sleep quality and quantity, and associated obesity. More focused research is needed for uncovering the pieces of evidence that determine whether such interventions can improve obesity-related health consequences. The present review discusses the important findings on the therapeutic and neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating sleep and obesity.