Efficient secure comparison in the dishonest majority model

Secure comparison (SC) is an essential primitive in Secure Multiparty Computation (SMC) and a fundamental building block in Privacy-Preserving Data Analytics (PPDA). Although secure comparison has been studied since the introduction of SMC in the early 80s and many protocols have been proposed, there is still room for improvement, especially providing security against malicious adversaries who form the majority among the participating parties. It is not hard to develop an SC protocol secure against malicious majority based on the current state-of-the-art SPDZ framework. SPDZ is designed to work for arbitrary polynomially-bounded functionalities; it may not provide the most efficient SMC implementation for a specific task, such as SC. In this thesis, we propose a novel and efficient compiler specifically designed to convert most existing SC protocols with semi-honest security into the ones secure against the dishonest majority (malicious majority). We analyze the security of the proposed solutions using the real-ideal paradigm. Moreover, we provide computation and communication complexity analysis. Comparing to the current state-of-the-art SC protocols Rabbit and edaBits, our design offers significant performance gain. The empirical results show that the proposed solution is at least 5 and 10 times more efficient than Rabbit in run-time and communication cost respectively.Includes bibliographical references

A Comparative Study of Cloze Test and C-Test in Assessing Collocational Competence of Iranian EFL Learners

One of the dominant approaches to language testing is the integrative approach. This view of testing involves the testing of language in context. The present study aimed at shedding more lights into the effectiveness of the cloze test, C-test and open ended test in assessing Persian EFL learners' collocational competence. To this end, four hundred and twenty Persian EFL learners from Yazd and Shiraz universities were selected. They were from both intermediate and advanced proficiency groups. The participants were assigned into three groups of one hundred and forty learners and took each of the tests separately. The results yielded compelling reason to argue that advanced participants in all of these three tests performed much more efficiently compared to their intermediate peers and indicated more collocational competence. Moreover, the results did not provide support for the superiority of C-test over the other two tests which were mentioned. The study, suggested important implications for language learners, EFL instructors and materials developers

A Comparative Study of Cloze Test and C-Test in Assessing Collocational Competence of Iranian EFL Learners

One of the dominant approaches to language testing is the integrative approach. This view of testing involves the testing of language in context. The present study aimed at shedding more lights into the effectiveness of the cloze test, C-test and open ended test in assessing Persian EFL learners' collocational competence. To this end, four hundred and twenty Persian EFL learners from Yazd and Shiraz universities were selected. They were from both intermediate and advanced proficiency groups. The participants were assigned into three groups of one hundred and forty learners and took each of the tests separately. The results yielded compelling reason to argue that advanced participants in all of these three tests performed much more efficiently compared to their intermediate peers and indicated more collocational competence. Moreover, the results did not provide support for the superiority of C-test over the other two tests which were mentioned. The study, suggested important implications for language learners, EFL instructors and materials developers

Interlimb transfer of unimanual grasping movement in upper limb amputees - A pilot study.

Background. Inter-hemispheric communication is necessary during uni- manual grip of an object (1). The right and left hands share a level of representation in the motor program that is common to both (2). It could be essential to take into consideration bi- hemispheric activity to adapt prosthesis of individuals with upper limb amputation.\ud Objective. To determine the relevance of the inter-hemispheric dependence in the programing and execution of uni-manual grip in individuals with upper limb amputation.\ud Methods. Five adults with amputation of the upper limb above and below the elbow participated in this study. Each participant was seated and asked to grab and lift an instrumented cylinder with the sound hand 15 times (Figure 1). The cylinder enabled to record in real time the apposition axis (AO) passing by the thrum, the centre of the cylinder and the first finger as well as the forces applied during the griping period of 2000 ms. The participants were assessed during the temporary (PP) and definitive (PD) phases of prosthesis fitting the after the amputation. Student t-tests were used to determine the effect of different prosthetic phases on the force and orientation of the griping hand.\ud Results\ud 1. A significant reduction (p<0.01) of the forces applied by the sound hand between the two prosthetic phase for 4/5 of the participants (Figure 2)\ud 2. Some changes in the gripping orientation when the amputated hand was dominant for 2/3 of the participants (Figure 3) 3. No changes in the gripping orientation when the amputated hand was not dominant\ud Conclusion. Grip programming and execution with sound hand:\ud 1. Change between two prosthetic fitting phases\ud 2. Depend on the inter-hemispheric transfer related to the force regardless on the amputated hand.\ud 3. Depend on the inter-hemispheric transfer related to the gripping orientation only when the amputated side is dominant.\ud Adjustments in griping force and orientation of the prosthesis depending on the grip correction of the sound hand might be respectively more necessary regardless of the amputated hand and when the amputated hand is dominant.\ud Because of the variability between participants concerning the side of amputation and manual dominance, other studies will be required to generalise these results

Actualidad del pensamiento de Ruy Mauro Marini

Durante los últimos años, en diversos países de América Latina ha resurgido un fuerte debate sobre las potencialidades y límites del desarrollo económico en la región, tanto en ámbitos académicos como políticos. Muchas de estas discusiones reeditan, a veces explícitamente y otras implícitamente, conceptos y argumentos de debates que se dieron en nuestro continente a partir de fines de la década del cuarenta de fines del siglo pasado. El objetivo de este trabajo es abordar aspectos orientados a preguntarnos por la actualidad de una de las principales escuelas de pensamiento surgidas en este contexto: la corriente de la dependencia. Para ello, realizaremos una revisión crítica de las principales formulaciones teóricas de uno de sus referentes -Ruy Marini- y buscaremos recuperar categorías y herramientas conceptuales que nos permitan repensar las recetas que habitualmente se formulan en torno al desarrollo en nuestra región. En particular, nos centraremos en la descripción del ciclo de la dependencia de Marini. De este modo, apuntamos a contribuir en la comprensión del fenómeno de la dependencia en sus diversas expresiones, entender su relevancia histórica a la luz de su evolución en el tiempo en los países de América Latina, y, como objetivo de largo plazo, dilucidar en qué sentido esta teoría nos permite o no explicar las condiciones en que se desarrollan las economías latinoamericanas hoy –en particular, la economía argentina-, y sus límites y alcances

Échos-monde: Towards a hybrid repertoire of contemporary and experimental acoustic, electroacoustic and electronic Arabic music

The pluriversal richness of Arabic musical culture provides a fertile ground for artistic experimentation. Whilst the 20th century witnessed many developments of its theory and practice, innovative exploration of its core principles and logics has been conspicuously rare. This doctoral research considers how to achieve experimental composition whilst maintaining both one's culture and individuality. Through this, it aims to create a repertoire of musical works based on, and inspired by, the cross- pollination of Arabic music fundamentals with experimental compositional techniques, instrumentation and technologies. Music-making today has become inextricably reliant on sonic technologies, and whereas research about this is detailed and varied, the impact of these technologies on transcultural musical practice has been little discussed. Drawing on Édouard Glissant’s theories of Relation for navigation, this research interweaves the practice of composition with critical study, identifying and addressing the scholarly, technological and creative challenges encountered. By using tuning as a prism, it highlights the repressed possibilities of transcultural music-making as a result of the inherited biases embedded within sonic technologies and the music theory underpinning them, positing them as dominant remnants of Anglo- European colonial logics. In response, it offers solutions through a body of creative work and open access technological tools, that could be used to inspire a transcultural sonic imaginary

Profils de joueurs à problèmes : un test empirique du modèle des parcours multiples

Le modèle des parcours multiples, proposé par Blaszczynski et Nower (2002), suppose l’existence de trois cheminements distincts menant à un trouble du jeu excessif et résultant en trois profils distincts de joueurs: les conditionnés, les émotionnellement vulnérables, et les biologiquement vulnérables. Dans la description de ces trois profils de joueurs, les auteurs stipulent que certaines composantes affectives et/ou comportementales surviennent avant l’apparition du jeu problématique, alors que d’autres en découlent. Il est donc important d’avoir des données longitudinales afin de pouvoir valider le modèle des parcours multiples. Ce dernier a été validé à quelques reprises auprès d’adultes et à une seule reprise auprès d’adolescents. Aucune de ces études n’a utilisé une perspective longitudinale. À travers cette thèse, nous présenterons trois articles (dont deux de nature empirique) ayant pour objectif principal la validation du modèle des parcours multiples auprès d’une population d’adolescents suivis jusqu’au début de l’âge adulte. Les deux articles empiriques reposent sur des données recueillies de manière prospective auprès de deux échantillons populationnels. De façon plus précise, le premier article empirique vise à identifier la présence des profils proposés par le modèle des parcours multiples parmi l’ensemble des joueurs problématiques répertoriés au sein des deux échantillons populationnels. Pour ce faire, des indicateurs d’ordre personnel mesurés en début d’adolescence ont été soumis à une analyse de profils latents afin de vérifier si les profils qui en résulteraient sont conformes à ceux proposés par le modèle des parcours multiples. Les indicateurs d’ordre personnel sont la dépression, l’anxiété, l’impulsivité, l’hyperactivité, l’antisocialité, l’agressivité, ainsi que la consommation d’alcool ou de drogues. Les profils ainsi dérivés ont ensuite été comparés au niveau de leur répartition homme/femme, et de leurs comportements de jeu en fin d’adolescence et au début de l’âge adulte. Le deuxième article empirique utilise les mêmes indicateurs d’ordre personnel et applique la même méthodologie que le premier article, mais auprès de l’ensemble de l’échantillon (c.-à-d., en incluant les non-joueurs), afin d’identifier dès le début de l’adolescence des profils à risque de développer des problèmes de jeu et vérifier si ces profils sont à nouveau conformes à ceux proposés par le modèle des parcours multiples. En outre, divers facteurs de compensation ou de protection mesurés à 14 ans (supervision parentale, attachement à la famille, aux pairs, et la conformité des pairs), et susceptibles de minimiser l’occurrence de problèmes de jeu à la fin de l’adolescence ou au début de l’âge adulte ont été mis en scène. Finalement, le troisième article tente de dégager des pistes pour la prévention et l’intervention qui seraient compatibles avec nos résultats de recherche et le modèle des parcours multiples. Les résultats du premier article empirique suggèrent l’existence de quatre profils distincts; dont trois ressemblent à ceux décrits par le modèle des parcours multiples. Le quatrième profil présente des caractéristiques similaires à la fois aux joueurs émotionnellement vulnérables et aux joueurs biologiquement vulnérables. Ces résultats sont confortés par ceux du second article empirique qui identifie des profils similaires auprès de tous l’échantillon, même les non-joueurs. Divers facteurs de protection et de compensation ont été également identifiés en fonction du profil des participants, et du temps de mesure des problèmes de jeu (c.-à-d., fin d’adolescence versus début de l’âge adulte). Ensemble, ces résultats militent en faveur d’une approche de prévention et d’intervention différenciée en fonction du profil des participants.The Pathways Model, theorized by Blaszczynski and Nower (2002), suggests the existence of at least three distinct pathways leading to problem-gambling, resulting in three unique profiles of gamblers: behaviorally conditioned, emotionally vulnerable, and biologically vulnerable gamblers. The authors suggest that each one these profiles is characterized by a set of biopsychosocial characteristics that precede or follow the beginning of problem-gambling. In order to distinguish what precedes from what may follow, it is important to use longitudinal data to effectively validate the Pathways Model. Several attempts have been made to verify the theoretical model’s accuracy, only one of which targeted adolescents. However, none of these studies implemented a longitudinal perspective. Throughout this thesis, three articles will be presented (two of which are empirical studies) with the main goal of validating the Pathways Model among a population of adolescents followed into early adulthood. Both empirical studies have collected data using a prospective approach in two population samples. More precisely, the first empirical study aims to identify the presence of the profiles described by the Pathways Model specifically among problem-gamblers from both samples. To achieve this goal, indicators of personal risk assessed in early adolescence were used for latent profile analyses, in order to explore whether the resulting best-fitting model would bring out profiles consistent with the Pathways Model. These indicators consisted of depression, anxiety, impulsivity, hyperactivity, antisociality, aggressiveness, and drug/alcohol use. The resulting profiles were then compared in terms of their gender distribution, as well as their number of gambling problems in late adolescence and early adulthood. The second empirical article used these same risk indicators and the same statistical techniques among the whole samples (i.e., including non-gamblers), in order to identify as early as the beginning of adolescence profiles that could be at risk for developing gambling problems, and to check once again whether these profiles resembled those described by the Pathways Model. Moreover, various compensatory and protective factors assessed when participants were 14 years old (parental involvement, parent-child connectedness, peer conformity, and peer connectedness), and likely to minimize the occurrence of gambling problems, were put into play. Finally, the third article aims to offer various suggestions for prevention and intervention efforts, which are in line with our study results and the Pathways Model. Results from the first empirical study point toward the existence of four unique profiles of problem-gamblers; three of which closely resemble those described by the Pathways Model. The fourth profile likely represents an overlap of Emotionally and Biologically Vulnerable pathways. These results are comforted by the second empirical study, which identifies four similar profiles, but among the full population sample. Various compensatory and protective factors were also identified, as a function of participants’ at-risk profiles, and the time-point when gambling problems were assessed (i.e., late adolescence and early adulthood). Taken together, these results advocate a targeted prevention and intervention approach, tailored to participants’ profiles

Integrative AI-Driven Strategies for Advancing Precision Medicine in Infectious Diseases and Beyond: A Novel Multidisciplinary Approach

Precision medicine, tailored to individual patients based on their genetics, environment, and lifestyle, shows promise in managing complex diseases like infections. Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into precision medicine can revolutionize disease management. This paper introduces a novel approach using AI to advance precision medicine in infectious diseases and beyond. It integrates diverse fields, analyzing patients' profiles using genomics, proteomics, microbiomics, and clinical data. AI algorithms process vast data, providing insights for precise diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. AI-driven predictive modeling empowers healthcare providers to make personalized and effective interventions. Collaboration among experts from different domains refines AI models and ensures ethical and robust applications. Beyond infections, this AI-driven approach can benefit other complex diseases. Precision medicine powered by AI has the potential to transform healthcare into a proactive, patient-centric model. Research is needed to address privacy, regulations, and AI integration into clinical workflows. Collaboration among researchers, healthcare institutions, and policymakers is crucial in harnessing AI-driven strategies for advancing precision medicine and improving patient outcomes