Development and Algorithmization of a Method for Analyzing the Degree of Uniqueness of Personal Medical Data

The purpose of this investigation is to develop a method for quantitative assessment of the uniqueness of personal medical data (PMD) to improve their protection in medical information systems (MIS). The relevance of the goal is due to the fact that impersonal PMD can form unique combinations that are potentially of interest to intruders and threaten to reveal the patient's identity and medical confidentiality. Existing approaches were analyzed, and a new method for quantifying the degree of uniqueness of PMD was proposed. A weakness in existing approaches is the assumption that an attacker will use exact matching to identify people. The novelty of the method proposed in this paper lies in the fact that it is not limited to this hypothesis, although it has its limitations: it is not applicable to small samples. The developed method for determining the PMD uniqueness coefficient is based on the assumption of a multidimensional distribution of features, characterized by a covariance matrix, and a normal distribution, which provides the most reliable reflection of the existing relationships between features when analyzing large data samples. The results obtained in computational experiments show that efficiency is no worse than that of focus groups of specialized experts. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2023-04-01-09 Full Text: PD

A Framework for Occupational Fraud Detection by Social Network Analysis

International audienceThis paper explores issues related to occupational fraud detection. We observe over the past years, a broad use of network research across social and physical sciences including but not limited to social sharing and filtering, recommendation systems, marketing and customer intelligence, counter intelligence and law enforcement. However, the rate of social network analysis adoption in organizations by control professionals or even by academics for insider fraud detection purpose is still very low. This paper introduces the OFD – Occupational Fraud Detection framework, based on formal social network analysis and semantic reasoning principles by taking a design science research perspective

Mlh1 deficiency in normal mouse colon mucosa associates with chromosomally unstable colon cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) genome is unstable and different types of instabilities, such as chromosomal instability (CIN) and microsatellite instability (MSI) are thought to reflect distinct cancer initiating mechanisms. Although 85% of sporadic CRC reveal CIN, 15% reveal mismatch repair (MMR) malfunction and MSI, the hallmarks of Lynch syndrome with inherited heterozygous germline mutations in MMR genes. Our study was designed to comprehensively follow genome-wide expression changes and their implications during colon tumorigenesis. We conducted a long-term feeding experiment in the mouse to address expression changes arising in histologically normal colonic mucosa as putative cancer preceding events, and the effect of inherited predisposition (Mlh1(+/-)) and Western-style diet (WD) on those. During the 21-month experiment, carcinomas developed mainly in WD-fed mice and were evenly distributed between genotypes. Unexpectedly, the heterozygote (B6.129-Mlh1tm1Rak) mice did not show MSI in their CRCs. Instead, both wildtype and heterozygote CRC mice showed a distinct mRNA expression profile and shortage of several chromosomal segregation gene-specific transcripts (Mlh1, Bub1, Mis18a, Tpx2, Rad9a, Pms2, Cenpe, Ncapd3, Odf2 and Dclre1b) in their colon mucosa, as well as an increased mitotic activity and abundant numbers of unbalanced/atypical mitoses in tumours. Our genome-wide expression profiling experiment demonstrates that cancer preceding changes are already seen in histologically normal colon mucosa and that decreased expressions of Mlh1 and other chromosomal segregation genes may form a field-defect in mucosa, which trigger MMR-proficient, chromosomally unstable CRC.Peer reviewe

Bully Victimization, Depression, and the Role of Protective Factors among College-Age LGBTQ Students

This study examined the prevalence and impact (or intensity) of four different bullying-victimization forms (physical, verbal, relational, cyber) as experienced by the LGBTQ college-age population. In addition, this study also investigated LGBTQ college students’ bully victimization experiences and their links to depressive symptomatology. The relationship between self-rated victimization and its impact and depression was also explored. Furthermore, given the potential for protective factors of various types to mitigate the negative impact of bullying, this study investigated social supports from family, friends, and campus to determine the strength of their moderating effects, individually and in combination, for each of the sexual minority subgroups (L-G-B-T-Q). The overall sample comprised 410 LGBTQ college-age participants. All members of each of the five sexual minority subgroups reported experiencing all forms of victimization (physical, verbal, relational, cyber), but at different rates. More specifically, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender participants each reported experiencing verbal victimization significantly more frequently than each of the other forms of victimization (i.e., physical, relational, and cyber). These participants also experienced significantly less physical victimization than either relational or cyber forms. For the questioning subgroup however, they reported experiencing similar amounts of verbal, cyber, and relational victimization. For the total sample, all four forms of bully-victimization (physical, verbal, relational, cyber) were significantly and positively correlated with depressive symptoms. When the relationship between self-reported victimization and depressive symptoms was investigated based on participants’ sexual minority subgroup, significant correlations were found between victimization and depressive symptoms for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender subgroups but not for the questioning subgroup. For the total sample, all four impact of bullying types (physical impact, verbal impact, relational impact, cyber impact) and their relationship to depressive symptoms were investigated. Participants’ ratings of verbal and relational impact of victimization significantly correlated with their endorsement of depression symptoms. Furthermore, significant correlations emerged between total impact of victimization and depressive symptoms for lesbian, gay, and transgender subgroups but not for the bisexual and questioning subgroups. Lastly, regression analyses indicated that family and friend supports did not moderate the relationship between total bully victimization and depressive symptoms for each of the five sexual minority groups (L, G, B, T, Q). Campus support, however, did moderate the relationship between bully victimization and depressive symptoms for the lesbian subgroup. When all sources of support (family, friend, campus) were combined, total social support did not moderate the relationship between bully victimization and depressive symptoms for any of the sexual minority subgroups

Nonnegative Matrix Factorization-Based Spatial-Temporal Clustering for Multiple Sensor Data Streams

Cyber physical systems have grown exponentially and have been attracting a lot of attention over the last few years. To retrieve and mine the useful information from massive amounts of sensor data streams with spatial, temporal, and other multidimensional information has become an active research area. Moreover, recent research has shown that clusters of streams change with a comprehensive spatial-temporal viewpoint in real applications. In this paper, we propose a spatial-temporal clustering algorithm (STClu) based on nonnegative matrix trifactorization by utilizing time-series observational data streams and geospatial relationship for clustering multiple sensor data streams. Instead of directly clustering multiple data streams periodically, STClu incorporates the spatial relationship between two sensors in proximity and integrates the historical information into consideration. Furthermore, we develop an iterative updating optimization algorithm STClu. The effectiveness and efficiency of the algorithm STClu are both demonstrated in experiments on real and synthetic data sets. The results show that the proposed STClu algorithm outperforms existing methods for clustering sensor data streams

The Effect of Middle School Music Ensemble Participation on the Relationship between Perceived School Connectedness, Self-Reported Bullying Behaviors, and Peer Victimization.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school connectedness and youth aggression with middle school students enrolled and not enrolled in a school-based music ensemble. Research questions were designed to generate data regarding the frequencies of bullying behaviors and perceptions of school connectedness. Data were secured from a large-scale, two-year randomized trial funded by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (# CE3240). Participants (N = 470) selected for this study attended two middle schools located in central Illinois and voluntarily responded to the questionnaire by self-reporting demographic information, including their enrollment in a music course, and their behaviors relating to bullying, victimization, and Internet Harassment. Results indicated that, on average, relatively few instances of bullying perpetration and peer victimization were reported to have occurred in the 30 days prior to data collection. A statistically significant difference was found between music ensemble and non-ensemble participants according to their mean Bullying Scale scores, which revealed that non-ensemble students in this sample perpetrate aggressive behaviors, on average, more frequently than do music ensemble students. Although all participants reported relatively few instances of bullying perpetration, instances of peer victimization were reported more frequently than were experiences perpetrating these behaviors. While participant self-reports of bullying behaviors were relatively low, their perceptions of school connectedness were relatively high. Multiple-group Structural Equation Modeling analyses demonstrated that the level of associations between school connectedness and Internet Harassment perpetration were significantly associated with adolescents enrolled in a music ensemble course during middle school. The results also displayed a stronger negative association between perceptions of school connectedness and Internet harassment perpetration for music ensemble students than for adolescents not enrolled in a school-based music ensemble. Mediation analyses demonstrated that adolescent perceptions of school connectedness did not mediate the relationship between a participant’s ensemble enrollment status and their self-reported frequencies of bullying, peer victimization, cyberbullying, and cyber victimization. Included are implications for the better support of preservice and in-service music teachers with regard to bullying in schools, alongside recommendations for music teacher education and suggestions for future research.PhDMusic: Music EducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113304/1/jrrawlin_1.pd

A Review of Digital Twins and their Application in Cybersecurity based on Artificial Intelligence

The potential of digital twin technology is yet to be fully realized due to its diversity and untapped potential. Digital twins enable systems' analysis, design, optimization, and evolution to be performed digitally or in conjunction with a cyber-physical approach to improve speed, accuracy, and efficiency over traditional engineering methods. Industry 4.0, factories of the future, and digital twins continue to benefit from the technology and provide enhanced efficiency within existing systems. Due to the lack of information and security standards associated with the transition to cyber digitization, cybercriminals have been able to take advantage of the situation. Access to a digital twin of a product or service is equivalent to threatening the entire collection. There is a robust interaction between digital twins and artificial intelligence tools, which leads to strong interaction between these technologies, so it can be used to improve the cybersecurity of these digital platforms based on their integration with these technologies. This study aims to investigate the role of artificial intelligence in providing cybersecurity for digital twin versions of various industries, as well as the risks associated with these versions. In addition, this research serves as a road map for researchers and others interested in cybersecurity and digital security.Comment: 60 pages, 8 Figures, 15 Table

The social cognitions of victims of bullying:A systematic review

The nature of the relation between victimization of bullying and social information processing is unclear. The prevention hypothesis predicts that victims focus more on negative social cues to prevent further escalation. In contrast, the reaffiliation hypothesis predicts that victims focus more on positive social cues to restore the social situation. Alternatively, the desensitization hypothesis predicts that victims become increasingly insensitive to social cues because of a numbing effect. This systematic review examines evidence for these three hypotheses on the relation between victimization and social information processing. The focus is on two phases of social information processing: encoding of social information (attending to and registration of social cues) and interpreting social information (making sense of multiple social cues simultaneously). These phases are important prerequisites for behavioral responses. The systematic search led to the inclusion of 142 articles, which were published between 1998 and 2021 and received quality assessment. The studies included on average about 1600 participants (range: 14–25,684), who were on average 11.4 years old (range: 4.1–17.0). The topics covered in the literature included attention to and accurate registration of social cues, peer perception, attribution of situations, empathy, and theory of mind. The results were most often in line with the prevention hypothesis and suggested that victimization is related to a negative social-cognitive style, as shown by a more negative perception of peers in general and more negative situational attribution. Victimization seemed unrelated to abilities to empathize or understand others, which contradicted the desensitization hypothesis. However, desensitization may only occur after prolonged and persistent victimization, which to date has been sparsely studied. The reaffiliation hypothesis could not be thoroughly examined, because most studies did not include positive social cues. In bullying prevention, it is important to consider the negative social information processing style related to victimization, because this style may impede the development of positive social interactions

You\u27re So Gay! : Do Different Forms of Bullying Matter for Adolescent Males?

This study examined effects of adolescent males\u27 perceptions of being bullied because of verbal taunts related to gender nonconformity (i.e., They say I\u27m gay ). Participants included 251 ninth- (n = 77), tenth- (n = 96), and eleventh- (n = 78) grade students in a private, all-male college preparatory school. Participants were divided into two groups based on whether they were bullied by being called gay. Out of the 251 participants, 121 (48%) reported having been bullied and 127 (50%) stated that they had not been bullied during the past year (2% did not report). Of the 121 participants who had been bullied, 32 (26%) reported that they had been bullied because others called them gay (Group 1) and 89 (74%) reported that they had been bullied for other reasons, exclusive of being called gay (Group 2). Consistent with predictions, the boys who were bullied because they were called gay experienced greater psychological distress, greater verbal and physical bullying, and more negative perceptions of their school experiences than boys who were bullied for other reasons. Implications for school-based intervention services for bullying are discussed