Distribution of cultural content through exploitation of cryptographic algorithms and hardware identification

An influential effect of IT to museums and other Cultural Content owners organizations is the digitization of collections and in general their content. In this paper, a framework for distribution and commercialization of cultural content is proposed extending an earlier work of the authors. In this work, the framework has been upgraded to include features that protect the cultural content purchased online, to be freely distributed among users through p2p networks or file transfer or copy/paste, etc. The framework utilizes cryptographic algorithms, hash functions, block ciphers and computer’s static and unique parameters/properties. The first are used for continuous hashing and digest matching of the database’s contents for quality assurance. The block ciphers are used to enable on-line selling, through encryption of digital objects. The computer’s static and unique parameters are used to ensure the customer identity and content-distribution legibility. The system’s architecture that implements the above framework is presented and explained. This work illustrates a novel approach that utilize cryptographic and security techniques for secure distribution of Cultural Content

Association of the SHBG gene promoter polymorphism with early markers of atherosclerosis in apparently healthy women

Objective: Androgen may be detrimental in the development of cardiovascular disease in women. We investigated possible associations between the (TAAAA)n polymorphism of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) gene promoter, which influences transcriptional efficiency of the SHBG gene - and thus the tissue androgen availability - and early markers of atherosclerosis in apparently healthy women. Design and methods: In this prospective clinical study, 153 consecutive women (mean age 43.9 +/- 9 years, 66 of whom postmenopausal, without known diabetes, cardiovascular disease), visiting our internal medicine outpatients were examined for unrecognised features of the metabolic syndrome. Endothelium dependent vasodilatation (FMD) and intima media thickness of the common carotid artery (IMT) were recorded. According to the number of SHBG gene promoter repeats patients were classified as short (<= 7), medium (=8) and long repeat (>= 9) allele groups. Results: The (TAAAA) n repeat length was an independent predictor of FMD in multivariate analysis (p < 0.03). FMD was positively correlated with SHBG levels (p = 0.004). Women carriers of two long alleles had increased IMT (p = 0.031) although this was not independent in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Longer (TAAAA)n repeats in the SHBG gene promoter are associated with impaired FMD, which is an early marker of atherosclerosis. As this polymorphism has been associated with a more androgenic phenotype in women, this association may reflect the life-long tissue exposure to higher free androgens and indirectly supports the view that androgenic exposure may have adverse cardiovascular effects in women. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

The Association of Physical Activity with Arterial Stiffness and Inflammation: Insight from the “Corinthia” Study

Diminished physical activity is a frequent phenomenon leading to a higher incidence of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Our study aimed to assess the impact of physical activity on arterial stiffness and inflammation. Classification of physical activity was performed in 1945 individuals of the cross-sectional “Corinthia” study using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained via a standardized questionnaire. Arterial stiffness was estimated via carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity evaluation, and the inflammatory burden was assessed via high sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP) measurement. Participants with low physical activity had the most impaired carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity values while abnormally increased measurements-adjusted for age and blood pressure-were more frequently encountered in individuals with low physical activity. Participants characterized as having vigorous physical activity had the lowest inflammatory burden, as estimated by hsCRP levels. The results remained unaffected even after adjustment for confounders. In a subgroup analysis according to sex, increased arterial stiffness and inflammatory burden were noted similarly in female and male subjects within the lowest percentile of physical activity. In conclusion, a significant association between physical activity, arterial stiffness, and inflammation was observed, even after adjusting for known cardiovascular risk factors

The impact of sleeping duration on atherosclerosis in the community: insights from the Corinthia study

Purpose: Sleep is an essential physiologic process whose disturbances have been regarded as a risk factor in various pathophysiologic processes, including atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Although the negative influence of short sleep duration has been well-established, recent data suggest a possible harmful effect of prolonged sleeping pattern. Methods: In the setting of the Corinthia cross-sectional study, self-reported night sleep duration was recorded in 1752 apparently healthy individuals and was classified as normal sleep duration (NSD, 7–8 h), short sleep duration (SSD, 6–7 h), very short sleep duration (VSSD, < 6 h), and long sleep duration (LSD, > 8 h). Carotid duplex ultrasonography was performed in order to measure the mean and maximum carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) as a non-invasive marker of atherosclerosis. Results: Subjects with LSD and VSSD had significantly higher mean cIMT (VSSD: 1.02 ± 0.45 mm, SSD: 0.95 ± 0.35, NSD: 0.96 ± 0.38 mm, LSD: 1.07 ± 0.52 mm; p < 0.001) and maximum cIMT (VSSD: 1.39 ± 0.9 mm, SSD: 1.25 ± 0.71 mm, NSD: 1.23 ± 0.76 mm, LSD: 1.41 ± 0.93 mm). Following a regression analysis adjusting for known cardiovascular risk factors, individuals with LSD and VSSD had higher mean cIMT by 0.054 mm and 0.067 mm respectively compared to those with NSD. Conclusion: A balanced sleeping duration of 6–8 h is associated with decreased mean and maximum IMT while both very short sleep duration and long sleep duration are associated with increased carotid intima-media thickness, a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Diagnostic performance of electrocardiographic criteria in echocardiographic diagnosis of different patterns of left ventricular hypertrophy

Background: Electrocardiogram (ECG) is considered the initial screening method for the detection of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) despite its low sensitivity. However, there are no data on how ECG criteria for LVH perform in patients with concentric (cLVH) and eccentric LVH (eLVH). Methods: In the setting of the Corinthia cross-sectional study, ECGs were analyzed in 1,570 participants of the study. Seven ECG LVH criteria were calculated (Sokolow–Lyon voltage, index, and product, sex-specific Cornell voltage and product, Lewis voltage, and the Framingham), whereas LVH was defined, based on echocardiographic data, as left ventricular mass indexed for body surface area (BSA) of at least 125 g/m2 in men and at least 110 g/m2 in women. Results: Regarding the frequency encountered for each ECG LVH criterion, there was no difference between eLVH and cLVH. However, when ECG criteria were compared as continuous variables between LVH groups, Cornell voltage and product were higher in cLVH individuals, with a value of Cornell voltage >13.95 mV having 61% sensitivity and 62% specificity to differentiate cLVH from eLVH (p =.05). Even after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, and hypertension, the occurrence of Cornell voltage or product increased the odds of cLVH by 1.6 times (p =.001). Conclusion: Cornell voltage and product criteria disclosed a superior discriminative ability for the detection of LVH via ECG. When further categorizing LVH as concentric and eccentric, Cornell product depicted the higher discriminative ability for cLVH. © 2019 The Authors. Annals of Noninvasive Electrocardiology published by Wiley Periodicals, LL

The association of diabetes mellitus with carotid atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness in the Corinthia study

Background and aims: Evaluation of arterial stiffness and carotid atherosclerotic burden can provide important prognostic information regarding the risk of future cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to assess these vascular properties in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods and results: In the context of the observational “Corinthia” study, we analyzed 1757 participants with determined DM status. Carotid ultrasonography was performed to evaluate intima-media thickness (cIMT) and carotid plaque burden. Arterial stiffness was estimated via assessment of carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). Individuals with DM had increased mean cIMT, maximum cIMT, carotid plaque burden, and cfPWV compared to those without DM. After multivariable regression analysis, the presence of DM was still associated with significantly increased mean cIMT (by 0.074 mm, p = .004), maximum cIMT (by 0.134 mm, p = .007), cfPWV (by 0.929 m/s, p < .001), and a higher prevalence of carotid plaques (odds ratio 1.52, 95% confidence intervals 1.11, 2.10, p = .01). In a propensity score-matched cohort, mean cIMT, maximum cIMT, and carotid plaque burden were significantly higher in individuals with DM. Analysis according to territory of cIMT measurement displayed substantial differences in left (DM: 1.32 +/- 0.78 mm vs. no DM: 1.20 +/- 0.66 mm, p = .04) and right carotid bulbs (DM: 1.33 +/- 0.82 mm vs. no DM: 1.18 +/- 0.69 mm, p = .02) with respect to DM status while nonsignificant variations were observed in left (DM: 0.98 +/- 0.49 mm vs. no DM: 0.91 +/- 0.35 mm, p = .06) and right common carotid artery (DM: 0.95 +/- 0.50 mm vs. no DM: 0.92 +/- 0.40 mm, p = .36). Conclusions: Diabetes mellitus is associated with increased cfPWV and cIMT, with more pronounced lesions in the carotid bulb. (c) 2021 The Italian Diabetes Society, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Breakfast association with arterial stiffness and carotid atherosclerotic burden. Insights from the ‘Corinthia’ study

Background and aims: The role of dietary patterns, in cardiovascular diseases has been challenged. The role of breakfast as an element of balance energy intake has gained research interest. However, the effects of dietary patterns related to breakfast consumption on vascular function are unknown. We explored the association of breakfast consumption habits with arterial wall elastic properties and carotid atherosclerosis. Methods and results: In this cross-sectional study we enrolled 2043 inhabitants of the Corinthia region in Greece. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) was used to assess arterial stiffness. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) was measured and the mean and the maximum cIMT were calculated. According to food frequency questionnaires, breakfast contribution in total daily energy intake (>20%; 5–20% and <5%) was estimated. Subjects were categorized as high-energy breakfast consumers (HeBC), low-energy breakfast consumers (LeBC) and those skipping breakfast (SBf) respectively. From the study population 240 subjects were categorized as HeBC, 897 as LeBC, and 681 as SBf. The mean cf-PWV was significantly higher in subjects SBf compared to LeBC and HeBC (9.35 ± 2.82 m/s vs. 9.09 ± 2.77 m/s vs. 8.76 ± 2.69 m/s, p = 0.02). The mean cIMT was significantly higher in subjects SBf compared to LeBC and HeBC (1.04 ± 0.46 mm vs. 0.99 ± 0.43 mm vs. 0.92 ± 0.39 mm, p = 0.01). Even after adjustment for potential confounders and cardiovascular risk factors SBf subjects have significantly increased mean cIMT and cf-PWV. Conclusion: Skipping breakfast has an adverse effect on arterial stiffness and carotid atheromatic burden. Increased breakfast total energy intake may act protectively against atherosclerosis, a finding worth of further pathophysiologic exploration with potential clinical implications. © 2019 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II Universit