Differentially Private Exponential Random Graphs

We propose methods to release and analyze synthetic graphs in order to protect privacy of individual relationships captured by the social network. Proposed techniques aim at fitting and estimating a wide class of exponential random graph models (ERGMs) in a differentially private manner, and thus offer rigorous privacy guarantees. More specifically, we use the randomized response mechanism to release networks under $\epsilon$-edge differential privacy. To maintain utility for statistical inference, treating the original graph as missing, we propose a way to use likelihood based inference and Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques to fit ERGMs to the produced synthetic networks. We demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed techniques on a real data example.Comment: minor edit

Current reversal with type-I intermittency in deterministic inertia ratchets

The intermittency is investigated when the current reversal occurs in a deterministic inertia ratchet system. To determine which type the intermittency belongs to, we obtain the return map of velocities of particle using stroboscopic recording, and numerically calculate the distribution of average laminar length ${}$. The distribution follows the scaling law of ${} \propto {\epsilon}^{-1/2}$, the characteristic relation of type-I intermittency.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure

Resveratrol Targeting of Carcinogen-Induced Brain Endothelial Cell Inflammation Biomarkers MMP-9 and COX-2 is Sirt1-Independent

The occurrence of a functional relationship between the release of metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, two inducible pro-inflammatory biomarkers with important pro-angiogenic effects, has recently been inferred. While brain endothelial cells play an essential role as structural and functional components of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), increased BBB breakdown is thought to be linked to neuroinflammation. Chemopreventive mechanisms targeting both MMPs and COX-2 however remain poorly investigated. In this study, we evaluated the pharmacological targeting of Sirt1 by the diet-derived and antiinflammatory polyphenol resveratrol. Total RNA, cell lysates, and conditioned culture media from human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) were analyzed using qRT-PCR, immunoblotting, and zymography respectively. Tissue scan microarray analysis of grade I–IV brain tumours cDNA revealed increased gene expression of Sirt-1 from grade I–III but surprisingly not in grade IV brain tumours. HBMEC were treated with a combination of resveratrol and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), a carcinogen known to increase MMP-9 and COX-2 through NF-κB. We found that resveratrol efficiently reversed the PMA-induced MMP-9 secretion and COX-2 expression. Gene silencing of Sirt1, a critical modulator of angiogenesis and putative target of resveratrol, did not lead to significant reversal of MMP-9 and COX-2 inhibition. Decreased resveratrol inhibitory potential of carcinogen-induced IκB phosphorylation in siSirt1-transfected HBMEC was however observed. Our results suggest that resveratrol may prevent BBB disruption during neuroinflammation by inhibiting MMP-9 and COX-2 and act as a pharmacological NF-κB signal transduction inhibitor independent of Sirt1

Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. VII. Understanding the Ultraviolet Anomaly in NGC 5548 with X-Ray Spectroscopy

During the Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project observations of NGC 5548, the continuum and emission-line variability became decorrelated during the second half of the six-month-long observing campaign. Here we present Swift and Chandra X-ray spectra of NGC 5548 obtained as part of the campaign. The Swift spectra show that excess flux (relative to a power-law continuum) in the soft X-ray band appears before the start of the anomalous emission-line behavior, peaks during the period of the anomaly, and then declines. This is a model-independent result suggesting that the soft excess is related to the anomaly. We divide the Swift data into on- and off-anomaly spectra to characterize the soft excess via spectral fitting. The cause of the spectral differences is likely due to a change in the intrinsic spectrum rather than to variable obscuration or partial covering. The Chandra spectra have lower signal-to-noise ratios, but are consistent with the Swift data. Our preferred model of the soft excess is emission from an optically thick, warm Comptonizing corona, the effective optical depth of which increases during the anomaly. This model simultaneously explains all three observations: the UV emission-line flux decrease, the soft-excess increase, and the emission-line anomaly

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

A review of symptomatic leg length inequality following total hip arthroplasty

Leg length inequality (LLI) following total hip replacement is a complication which features increasingly in the recent literature. The definition of LLI is complicated by lack of consensus regarding radiological measurement, clinical measurement and the incomplete relationship between LLI and associated symptoms. This paper reviews 79 reports relating to LLI post hip replacement, detailing definitions and classification and highlighting patient populations prone to symptomatic LLI. While there is no universal definition of LLI, there is a broad consensus that less than 10 mm of difference on AP view plain radiographs is clinically acceptable. There are few techniques described that consistently produce a postoperative LLI of less than this magnitude. Where postoperative LLI exists, lengthening appears to cause more problems than shortening. In cases of mild LLI, non-surgical management produces adequate outcomes in the majority of cases, with functional LLI cases doing better than those with true LLI. Operative correction is effective in half of cases, even where nerve palsy is present, and remains an important option of last resort. Poor outcomes in patients with LLI may be minimised if individuals at risk are identified and counselled appropriately

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries1,2. However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world3 and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health4,5. However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol—which is a marker of cardiovascular risk—changed from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million–4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.</p