Marko Suvajdzic

Ekleen Kaur, Marko Suvajdzic

Layer-2 (L2) protocols address the fundamental limitations of Layer-1 (L1) blockchains by offloading computation while anchoring trust to the parent chain. This architectural shift, while boosting throughput, introduces a new, complex security surface defined by off-chain components like sequencers, bridges, and data availability mechanisms. Prior literature[31][33] offers fragmented views of this risk. This paper presents the first unified, security-focused survey that rigorously maps L2 architecture to its underlying cryptographic security. We dissect the technical progression from L1 primitives to the core of modern L2s, analyzing the security assumptions(Discrete Logarithm, Computational Diffie-Hellman, Bilinear Diffie-Hellman) of ZK frameworks (Groth16, Plonk) and their corresponding commitment schemes (KZG, IPA). We formalize a comprehensive L2 threat model encompassing sequencer liveness, bridge exploits, and data-availability failures. This work serves as an accessible yet rigorous reference for researchers and developers to reason about L2 security from a deep crypto-mathematical perspective.

Triton Ong, Matthew Ruppert, Parisa Rashidi et al.

Purpose: Preliminarily evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of using meditative virtual reality (VR) to improve the hospital experience of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods: Effects of VR were examined in a non-randomized, single-center cohort. Fifty-nine patients admitted to the surgical or trauma ICU of the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital participated. A Google Daydream headset was used to expose ICU patients to commercially available VR applications focused on calmness and relaxation (Google Spotlight Stories and RelaxVR). Sessions were conducted once daily for up to seven days. Outcome measures included pain level, anxiety, depression, medication administration, sleep quality, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, delirium status, and patient ratings of the VR system. Comparisons were made using paired t-tests and mixed models where appropriate. Results: The VR meditative intervention was found to improve patients' ICU experience with reduced levels of anxiety and depression; however, there was no evidence suggesting that VR had any significant effects on physiological measures, pain, or sleep. Conclusion: The use of VR technology in the ICU was shown to be easily implemented and well-received by patients.