Quantitatively measuring privacy in interactive query settings within RDBMS framework

Little attention has been paid to the measurement of risk to privacy in Database Management Systems, despite their prevalence as a modality of data access. This paper proposes PriDe, a quantitative privacy metric that provides a measure (privacy score) of privacy risk when executing queries in relational database management systems. PriDe measures the degree to which attribute values, retrieved by a principal (user) engaging in an interactive query session, represent a reduction of privacy with respect to the attribute values previously retrieved by the principal. It can be deployed in interactive query settings where the user sends SQL queries to the database and gets results at run-time and provides privacy-conscious organizations with a way to monitor the usage of the application data made available to third parties in terms of privacy. The proposed approach, without loss of generality, is applicable to BigSQL-style technologies. Additionally, the paper proposes a privacy equivalence relation that facilitates the computation of the privacy score

mTORC2 signaling drives the development and progression of pancreatic cancer

mTOR signaling controls several critical cellular functions and is deregulated in many cancers, including pancreatic cancer. To date, most efforts have focused on inhibiting the mTORC1 complex. However, clinical trials of mTORC1 inhibitors in pancreatic cancer have failed, raising questions about this therapeutic approach. We employed a genetic approach to delete the obligate mTORC2 subunit Rictor and identified the critical times during which tumorigenesis requires mTORC2 signaling. Rictor deletion resulted in profoundly delayed tumorigenesis. Whereas previous studies showed most pancreatic tumors were insensitive to rapamycin, treatment with a dual mTORC1/2 inhibitor strongly suppressed tumorigenesis. In late-stage tumor-bearing mice, combined mTORC1/2 and PI3K inhibition significantly increased survival. Thus, targeting mTOR may be a potential therapeutic strategy in pancreatic cancer

A general algorithm for manipulating non-linear and linear entanglement witnesses by using exact convex optimization

A generic algorithm is developed to reduce the problem of obtaining linear and nonlinear entanglement witnesses of a given quantum system, to convex optimization problem. This approach is completely general and can be applied for the entanglement detection of any N-partite quantum system. For this purpose, a map from convex space of separable density matrices to a convex region called feasible region is defined, where by using exact convex optimization method, the linear entanglement witnesses can be obtained from polygonal shape feasible regions, while for curved shape feasible regions, envelope of the family of linear entanglement witnesses can be considered as nonlinear entanglement witnesses. This method proposes a new methodological framework within which most of previous EWs can be studied. To conclude and in order to demonstrate the capability of the proposed approach, besides providing some nonlinear witnesses for entanglement detection of density matrices in unextendible product bases, W-states, and GHZ with W-states, some further examples of three qubits systems and their classification and entanglement detection are included. Also it is explained how one can manipulate most of the non-decomposable linear and nonlinear three qubits entanglement witnesses appearing in some of the papers published by us and other authors, by the method proposed in this paper. Keywords: non-linear and linear entanglement witnesses, convex optimization. PACS number(s): 03.67.Mn, 03.65.UdComment: 37 page

Using effective medium theories to design tailored nanocomposite materials for optical systems

Modern optical systems are subject to very restrictive performance, size and cost requirements. Especially in portable systems size often is the most important factor, which necessitates elaborate designs to achieve the desired specifications. However, current designs already operate very close to the physical limits and further progress is difficult to achieve by changing only the complexity of the design. Another way of improving the performance is to tailor the optical properties of materials specifically to the application at hand. A class of novel, customizable materials that enables the tailoring of the optical properties, and promises to overcome many of the intrinsic disadvantages of polymers, are nanocomposites. However, despite considerable past research efforts, these types of materials are largely underutilized in optical systems. To shed light into this issue we, in this paper, discuss how nanocomposites can be modeled using effective medium theories. In the second part, we then investigate the fundamental requirements that have to be fulfilled to make nanocomposites suitable for optical applications, and show that it is indeed possible to fabricate such a material using existing methods. Furthermore, we show how nanocomposites can be used to tailor the refractive index and dispersion properties towards specific applications

Attitudes and Performance: An Analysis of Russian Workers

This paper investigates the relationship between locus of control and performance among Russian employees, using survey data collected at 28 workplaces in 2002 in Taganrog and at 47 workplaces in 2003 in Ekaterinburg. We develop a measure that allows us to categorize the Russian employees participating in our survey as exhibiting an internal or external locus of control. We then assess the extent to which there are significant differences between “internals” and “externals” in work-related attitudes that may affect performance. In particular, we focus on (1) attitudes about outcomes associated with hard work, (2) level of job satisfaction, (3) expectation of receiving a desired reward, and (4) loyalty to and involvement with one’s organization. In each case we identify where gender and generational differences emerge. Our main objective is to determine whether Russian employees who exhibit an internal locus of control perform better than employees with an external locus of control. Our performance measures include earnings, expected promotions, and assessments of the quantity and quality of work in comparison to others at the same organization doing a similar job. Controlling for a variety of worker characteristics, we find that (1) individuals who exhibit an internal locus of control perform better, but this result is not always statistically significant; (2) even among “internals,” women earn significantly less than men and have a much lower expectation of promotion; (3) even among “internals,” experience with unemployment has a negative influence on performance.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40144/3/wp758.pd

Low Self-Esteem and Impairments in Emotion Recognition Predict Behavioural Problems in Children

Research indicates that low self-esteem and impaired emotion recognition are risk factors for antisocial behaviour (ASB). Self-esteem and emotion recognition are essential for successful social interaction and previous research suggests that self-esteem and emotional intelligence are positively related. However, to our knowledge the relationship between these two risk factors for ASB has not been explored in children with behavioural problems. Thus, this study investigated self-esteem and emotion recognition, their relationship with one another and with behavioural problem severity. Participants were 8–11 year olds with behavioural problems (BP; n = 78) who were taking part in an early intervention program, and typically developing controls (TD; n = 54). Participants completed a self-esteem questionnaire and a computerised emotion recognition task. Teachers and parents rated children’s emotional and behavioural problems. BP participants had significantly lower self-esteem and exhibited an impairment in emotion recognition. Self-esteem and emotion recognition were positively related and inversely associated with behavioural problem severity and they predicted behaviour problems independently of one another. This is the first study to show that self-esteem and emotion recognition are related processes in children with behavioural problems and that both predict behavioural problems. This has important implications for the development of intervention strategies