The healthcare data is an important asset and rich source of healthcare intellect. Medical databases, if created properly, will be large, complex, heterogeneous and time varying. The main challenge nowadays is to store and process this data efficiently so that it can benefit humans. Heterogeneity in the healthcare sector in the form of medical data is also considered to be one of the biggest challenges for researchers. Sometimes, this data is referred to as large-scale data or big data. Blockchain technology and the Cloud environment have proved their usability separately. Though these two technologies can be combined to enhance the exciting applications in healthcare industry. Blockchain is a highly secure and decentralized networking platform of multiple computers called nodes. It is changing the way medical information is being stored and shared. It makes the work easier, keeps an eye on the security and accuracy of the data and also reduces the cost of maintenance. A Blockchain-based platform is proposed that can be used for storing and managing electronic medical records in a Cloud environment.

Connected vehicles are a vital part of smart cities, which connect over a wireless connection and bring mobile computation and communication abilities. As a mediator, fog computing resides between vehicles and the cloud and provides vehicles with processing, storage, and networking power through Vehicular Ad-hoc networks (VANET). VANET is a time-sensitive technology that requires less time to process a request received from a vehicle. Delay and latency are the notorious issues of VANET and fog computing. To deal with such problems, in this work, we developed a priority-based fog computing model for smart urban vehicle transportation that reduces the delay and latency of fog computing. To upgrade the fog computing infrastructure to meet the latency and Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, 5G localized Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) servers have also been used, which resulted tremendously in reducing the delay and the latency. We decreased the data latency by 20% compared to the experiment carried using only cloud computing architecture. We also reduced the processing delay by 35% compared with the utilization of cloud computing architecture.

The overwhelming popularity of technology-based solutions and innovations to address day-to-day processes has significantly contributed to the emergence of smart cities. where millions of interconnected devices and sensors generate and share huge volumes of data. The easy and high availability of rich personal and public data generated in these digitalized and automated ecosystems renders smart cities vulnerable to intrinsic and extrinsic security breaches. Today, with fast-developing technologies, the classical username and password approaches are no longer adequate to secure valuable data and information from cyberattacks. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) can provide an effective solution to minimize the security challenges associated with legacy single-factor authentication systems (both online and offline). This paper identifies and discusses the role and need of MFA for securing the smart city ecosystem. The paper begins by describing the notion of smart cities and the associated security threats and privacy issues. The paper further provides a detailed description of how MFA can be used for securing various smart city entities and services. A new concept of blockchain-based multi-factor authentication named “BAuth-ZKP” for securing smart city transactions is presented in the paper. The concept focuses on developing smart contracts between the participating entities within the smart city and performing the transactions with zero knowledge proof (ZKP)-based authentication in a secure and privacy-preserved manner. Finally, the future prospects, developments, and scope of using MFA in smart city ecosystem are discussed.

Despite the existence of modern antidiabetic medications, diabetes still affects millions of individuals worldwide, with a high death and disability rate. There has been a concerted search for alternative natural medicinal agents; luteolin (LUT), a polyphenolic molecule, might be a good choice, both because of its efficacy and because of it having fewer side effects, compared to conventional medicines. This study aims to explore the antidiabetic potential of LUT in diabetic rats, induced by streptozotocin (STZ; 50 mg/kg b.w.), intraperitoneally. The level of blood glucose, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), body weight, glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), lipidemic status, antioxidant enzymes, and cytokines were assessed. Also, its action mechanism was explored through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Oral supplementation of LUT for 21 days resulted in a significant decrease in the blood glucose, oxidative stress, and proinflammatory cytokine levels, and modulated the hyperlipidemia profile. LUT also ameliorated the tested biomarkers of liver and kidney function. In addition, LUT markedly reversed the damage to the pancreas, liver, and kidney cells. Moreover, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations revealed excellent antidiabetic behavior of LUT. In conclusion, the current investigation revealed that LUT possesses antidiabetic activity, through the reversing of hyperlipidemia, oxidative stress, and proinflammatory status in diabetic groups. Therefore, LUT might be a good remedy for the management or treatment of diabetes.