Secure Multiparty Computation of a Social Network

The society today is better connected as a result of advancement in technology. The study of these social interactions and its resulting structure, is an integral component in the field of network science. However, the study of these social networks is limited to the availability of data. Privacy concerns restrict the access to network data with sensitive information. Networks that capture the relations such as trust, enmity, sexual contact, are a few examples of sensitive networks. A study of these sensitive networks is important in unraveling the behavioral aspects of the concerned individuals. The current paper proposes a multiparty computation algorithm that allows the construction of the unlabeled isomorphic version of the underlying network. The algorithm is information theoretic secure and works under the malicious adversarial model with the threshold of one third total corrupt parties

Privacy Preserving Network Analysis of Distributed Social Networks

Social network analysis as a technique has been applied to a diverse set of fields, including, organizational behavior, sociology, economics and biology. However, for sensitive networks such as hate networks, trust networks and sexual networks, these techniques have been sparsely used. This is majorly attributed to the unavailability of network data. Anonymization is the most commonly used technique for performing privacy preserving network analysis. The process involves the presence of a trusted third party, who is aware of the complete network, and releases a sanitized version of it. In this paper, we propose an alternative, in which, the desired analysis can be performed by the parties who distributedly hold the network, such that : (a) no central third party is required; (b) the topology of the underlying network is kept hidden. We design multiparty protocols for securely performing few of the commonly studied social network analysis algorithms. The current paper addresses a secure implementation of the most commonly used network analysis measures, which include degree distribution, closeness centrality, PageRank algorithm and K-shell decomposition algorithm. The designed protocols are proven to be secure in the presence of an arithmetic black-box extended with operations like comparison and modulo

Reversible atrial fibrillation secondary to a mega-oesophagus

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, and it increases in prevalence with advancing age to about 5% in people older than 65 years. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a rare case of atrial fibrillation secondary to a mega-oesophagus occurring in an 84-years-old Caucasian woman. The patient had a history of progressive dysphagia and the accumulation of food debris lead to mega-oesophagus. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis was made by barium swallow and electrocardiogram; evacuations of 300 ml of the food debris lead to complete resolution of the arrhythmia. The possible aetiology leading to this AF is discussed

MRI-targeted or standard biopsy for prostate-cancer diagnosis

Background Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with or without targeted biopsy, is an alternative to standard transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy for prostate-cancer detection in men with a raised prostate-specific antigen level who have not undergone biopsy. However, comparative evidence is limited. Methods In a multicenter, randomized, noninferiority trial, we assigned men with a clinical suspicion of prostate cancer who had not undergone biopsy previously to undergo MRI, with or without targeted biopsy, or standard transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy. Men in the MRI-targeted biopsy group underwent a targeted biopsy (without standard biopsy cores) if the MRI was suggestive of prostate cancer; men whose MRI results were not suggestive of prostate cancer were not offered biopsy. Standard biopsy was a 10-to-12-core, transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy. The primary outcome was the proportion of men who received a diagnosis of clinically significant cancer. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of men who received a diagnosis of clinically insignificant cancer. Results A total of 500 men underwent randomization. In the MRI-targeted biopsy group, 71 of 252 men (28%) had MRI results that were not suggestive of prostate cancer, so they did not undergo biopsy. Clinically significant cancer was detected in 95 men (38%) in the MRI-targeted biopsy group, as compared with 64 of 248 (26%) in the standard-biopsy group (adjusted difference, 12 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4 to 20; P=0.005). MRI, with or without targeted biopsy, was noninferior to standard biopsy, and the 95% confidence interval indicated the superiority of this strategy over standard biopsy. Fewer men in the MRI-targeted biopsy group than in the standard-biopsy group received a diagnosis of clinically insignificant cancer (adjusted difference, -13 percentage points; 95% CI, -19 to -7; P<0.001). Conclusions The use of risk assessment with MRI before biopsy and MRI-targeted biopsy was superior to standard transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy in men at clinical risk for prostate cancer who had not undergone biopsy previously. (Funded by the National Institute for Health Research and the European Association of Urology Research Foundation; PRECISION ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02380027 .)

Firm insoles effectively reduce hemolysis in runners during long distance running - a comparative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Shock absorbing insoles are effective in reducing the magnitude and rate of loading of peak impact forces generated at foot strike during running, whereas the foot impact force during running has been considered to be an important cause of intravascular hemolysis in long distance runners. Objective of this study was to evaluate the intravascular hemolysis during running and compare the effect of two different types of insoles (Soft and Firm) on hemolysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty male long and middle distance runners volunteered to participate in this study. We selected two insoles (Soft and Firm) according to their hardness level (SHORE 'A' scale). Participants were randomly assigned to the soft insole (group 1) and firm insole (group 2) group with ten athletes in each group. Each athlete completed one hour of running at the calculated target heart rate (60-70%). Venous blood samples were collected before and immediately after running. We measured unconjucated bilirubin (mg/dl), lactate dehydrogenase (μ/ml), hemoglobin (g/l) and serum ferritin (ng/ml) as indicators of hemolysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our study revealed a significant increase in the mean values of unconjucated bilirubin (P < 0.05) while running with soft insoles indicating the occurrence of hemolysis in this group of athletes. Graphical analysis revealed an inverse relationship between hardness of insoles and hemolysis for the observed values.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that intravascular hemolysis occurs in athletes during long distance running and we conclude that addition of firm insoles effectively reduces the amount of hemolysis in runners compared to soft insoles.</p

"Arabic is the language of the Muslims–that's how it was supposed to be": exploring language and religious identity through reflective accounts from young British-born South Asians

This study explores how a group of young British-born South Asians understood and defined their religious and linguistic identities, focusing upon the role played by heritage languages and liturgical languages and by religious socialisation. Twelve British-born South Asians were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interview transcripts were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four superordinate themes are reported. These addressed participants' meaning-making regarding "the sanctification of language" and the consequential suitability of "the liturgical language as a symbol of religious community"; the themes of "ethnic pride versus religious identity" and "linguistic Otherness and religious alienation" concerned potential ethno-linguistic barriers to a positive religious identity. Findings are interpreted in terms of concepts drawn from relevant identity theories and tentative recommendations are offered concerning the facilitation of positive religious and ethnic identities