Specification of Morbidity Rates among the Population of the Tula Region as Regards Natural-Focal Infectious Diseases

Objective of the study was to analyze morbidity rates, structure, and spatial distribution of natural-focal infections in the Tula Region. Based on statistical reports of the Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Tula Region over a period of 1993-2013, it is demonstrated that zoonotic infections that occur in the Tula Region, are hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), leptospirosis, Ixodidae tick-borne borreliosis, and tularemia in the ratio of 60.2:33.6:5.5:0.7, respectively. An average case rate for HFRS and leptospirosis is 1.3 and 4.9 times higher than the corresponding rates throughout Russia, respectively, while Ixodidae tick-borne borreliosis, and tularemia incidence is, by contrast, 9.2 and 2.1 times lower, than the national average. Dynamics of HFRS morbidity rates and Ixodidae tick-borne borreliosis is marked by a moderate upward trend, while leptospirosis and tularemia incidence levels have an apparent downward trend. The highest HFRS, leptospirosis, and Ixodidae tick-borne borreliosis morbidity is in the northern, north-western and western parts of the Region, situated in broadleaved woodland; and the highest numbers of tularemia cases are registered in two eastern zones

Ciphertext Expansion in Limited-Leakage Order-Preserving Encryption: A Tight Computational Lower Bound

Order-preserving encryption emerged as a key ingredient underlying the security of practical database management systems. Boldyreva et al. (EUROCRYPT \u2709) initiated the study of its security by introducing two natural notions of security. They proved that their first notion, a ``best-possible\u27\u27 relaxation of semantic security allowing ciphertexts to reveal the ordering of their corresponding plaintexts, is not realizable. Later on Boldyreva et al. (CRYPTO \u2711) proved that any scheme satisfying their second notion, indistinguishability from a random order-preserving function, leaks about half of the bits of a random plaintext. This unsettling state of affairs was recently changed by Chenette et al. (FSE \u2716), who relaxed the above ``best-possible\u27\u27 notion and constructed a scheme satisfying it based on any pseudorandom function. In addition to revealing the ordering of any two encrypted plaintexts, ciphertexts in their scheme reveal only the position of the most significant bit on which the plaintexts differ. A significant drawback of their scheme, however, is its substantial ciphertext expansion: Encrypting plaintexts of length $m$ bits results in ciphertexts of length $m \cdot \ell$ bits, where $\ell$ determines the level of security (e.g., $\ell = 80$ in practice). In this work we prove a lower bound on the ciphertext expansion of any order-preserving encryption scheme satisfying the ``limited-leakage\u27\u27 notion of Chenette et al. with respect to non-uniform polynomial-time adversaries, matching the ciphertext expansion of their scheme up to lower-order terms. This improves a recent result of Cash and Zhang (ePrint \u2717), who proved such a lower bound for schemes satisfying this notion with respect to computationally-unbounded adversaries (capturing, for example, schemes whose security can be proved in the random-oracle model without relying on cryptographic assumptions). Our lower bound applies, in particular, to schemes whose security is proved in the standard model

Masking Fuzzy-Searchable Public Databases

We introduce and study the notion of keyless fuzzy search (KlFS) which allows to mask a publicly available database in such a way that any third party can retrieve content if and only if it possesses some data that is “close to” the encrypted data – no cryptographic keys are involved. We devise a formal security model that asks a scheme not to leak any information about the data and the queries except for some well-defined leakage function if attackers cannot guess the right query to make. In particular, our definition implies that recovering high entropy data protected with a KlFS scheme is costly. We propose two KlFS schemes: both use locality-sensitive hashes (LSH), cryptographic hashes and symmetric encryption as building blocks. The first scheme is generic and works for abstract plaintext domains. The second scheme is specifically suited for databases of images. To demonstrate the feasibility of our KlFS for images, we implemented and evaluated a prototype system that supports image search by object similarity on a masked database

The role of fluids in high-pressure polymorphism of drugs: Different behaviour of β-chlorpropamide in different inert gas and liquid media

Compression of β-chlorpropamide gives different phases depending on the choice of non-dissolving pressure-transmitting fluid (paraffin, neon and helium).</p

Parameter-Hiding Order Revealing Encryption

Order-revealing encryption (ORE) is a popular primitive for outsourcing encrypted databases, as it allows for efficiently performing range queries over encrypted data. Unfortunately, a series of works, starting with Naveed et al. (CCS 2015), have shown that when the adversary has a good estimate of the distribution of the data, ORE provides little protection. In this work, we consider the case that the database entries are drawn identically and independently from a distribution of known shape, but for which the mean and variance are not (and thus the attacks of Naveed et al. do not apply). We define a new notion of security for ORE, called parameter-hiding ORE, which maintains the secrecy of these parameters. We give a construction of ORE satisfying our new definition from bilinear maps

Crystallographic Education in the 21st Century

There are many methods that can be used to incorporate concepts of crystallography into the learning experiences of students, whether they are in elementary school, at university or part of the public at large. It is not always critical that those who teach crystallography have immediate access to diffraction equipment to be able to introduce the concepts of symmetry, packing or molecular structure in an age- and audience-appropriate manner. Crystallography can be used as a tool for teaching general chemistry concepts as well as general research techniques without ever having a student determine a crystal structure. Thus, methods for younger students to perform crystal growth experiments of simple inorganic salts, organic compounds and even metals are presented. For settings where crystallographic instrumentation is accessible (proximally or remotely), students can be involved in all steps of the process, from crystal growth, to data collection, through structure solution and refinement, to final publication. Several approaches based on the presentations in the MS92 Microsymposium at the IUCr 23rd Congress and General Assembly are reported. The topics cover methods for introducing crystallography to undergraduate students as part of a core chemistry curriculum; a successful short-course workshop intended to bootstrap researchers who rely on crystallography for their work; and efforts to bring crystallography to secondary school children and non-science majors. In addition to these workshops, demonstrations and long-format courses, open-format crystallographic databases and three-dimensional printed models as tools that can be used to excite target audiences and inspire them to pursue a deeper understanding of crystallography are described

«Functional» HLA-DRB1 genotyping - the way of the prediction of risk of dm1 development

The new way of prediction of high and low risk of development DM1 which allows to estimate genetic risk of development DM1 without dependence from an ethnic origin by the use of "functional" HLA-DRB1 -genotype, that consist of 2 variants of DRB1 -gene, associated with development DM1. This method can serve as additional laboratory sign for autoimmune’s diabetes diagnosis establishment and also can be used for prediction of development DM1 among relatives of patients DM1 for the purpose of revealing of persons with high and low genetic predisposition to development DM1.Описан новый способ прогнозирования высокого и низкого риска развития СД1, который позволяет оценивать генетический риск развития СД1 вне зависимости от этнической принадлежности обследуемого на основе установления «функционального» HLA-DRB1-генотипа, состоящего из 2 вариантов гена DRB1, ассоциированных с развитием СД1. Метод может служить дополнительным лабораторным симптомом СД1 для дифференциальной диагностики аутоиммунного сахарного диабета, а также может быть использован для прогнозирования развития СД1 у родственников больных СД1 с целью выявления лиц с высокой и низкой генетической предрасположенностью к развитию СД1

Spectacular enhancement of the thermal and photochemical stability of mapbi3 perovskite films using functionalized tetraazaadamantane as a molecular modifier

Perovskite solar cells represent a highly promising third-generation photovoltaic tech-nology. However, their practical implementation is hindered by low device operational stability, mostly related to facile degradation of the absorber materials under exposure to light and elevated temperatures. Improving the intrinsic stability of complex lead halides is a big scientific challenge, which might be addressed using various “molecular modifiers”. These modifiers are usually rep-resented by some additives undergoing strong interactions with the perovskite absorber material, resulting in enhanced solar cell efficiency and/or operational stability. Herein, we present a deriva-tive of 1,4,6,10-tetraazaadamantane, NAdCl, as a promising molecular modifier for lead halide perovskites. NAdCl spectacularly improved both the thermal and photochemical stability of methy-lammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3 ) films and, most importantly, prevented the formation of metallic lead Pb0 as a photolysis product. NAdCl improves the electronic quality of perovskite films by healing the traps for charge carriers. Furthermore, it strongly interacts with the perovskite framework and most likely stabilizes undercoordinated Pb2+ ions, which are responsible for Pb0 formation under light exposure. The obtained results feature 1,4,6,10-tetraazaadamantane derivatives as highly promising molecular modifiers that might help to improve the operational lifetime of perovskite solar cells and facilitate the practical implementation of this photovoltaic technology. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This work was supported by Russian Science Foundation (project No. 19-73-30020). The XPS measurements were supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (project FEUZ-2020-0060), Theme ‘Electron’, no. AAAA-A18-118020190098-5 and Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No. 21-52-52002)

Trapdoor Functions from the Computational Diffie-Hellman Assumption

Trapdoor functions (TDFs) are a fundamental primitive in cryptography. Yet, the current set of assumptions known to imply TDFs is surprisingly limited, when compared to public-key encryption. We present a new general approach for constructing TDFs. Specifically, we give a generic construction of TDFs from any Hash Encryption (Döttling and Garg [CRYPTO \u2717]) satisfying a novel property which we call recyclability. By showing how to adapt current Computational Diffie-Hellman (CDH) based constructions of hash encryption to yield recyclability, we obtain the first construction of TDFs with security proved under the CDH assumption. While TDFs from the Decisional Diffie-Hellman (DDH) assumption were previously known, the possibility of basing them on CDH had remained open for more than 30 years

Распределение генов HLA II у больных раком носоглотки, ассоциированным с вирусом Эпштейна–Барр, и другими опухолями ротовой полости в России

Background. It has been proved that for the nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) the etiological agent is the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Being an ubiquitous infection, EBV, under certain conditions, is able to display its oncogenic potential. Among a wide range of tumors associated with EBV, the NPC occupies a special place because it is characterized by a geographically and ethnically heterogeneous distribution, suggesting that in the pathogenesis of NPC, in addition to EBV, an important role is played by other factors, such as genetic predisposition to this neoplasm. Among known genetic factors influencing the frequency of NPC development, the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex occupies an important place, as it plays a central role in the presentation of viral antigens to the immune system. In Russia, the association of HLA alleles with the risk of EBV associated forms of NPC development and with development of other oral cavity tumors (OOCT), not associated with the virus, has not been studied. In the literature there are contradictory information about HLA genes, which determine the predisposition to the emergence of these tumors, and their role in the initiation and formation an immune response to EBV proteins.Objective: to study the distribution of the of DQA1-, DQB1-, DRB1-HLA class II gene variants associated with respectively the risk or resistance to the development of NPC and OOCT and with a high and low level of antibody response to EBV main proteins. A group of healthy persons served as a control.Materials and methods. Blood samples from 62 patients with NPC, 44 patients with OOCT, and as control, 300 healthy individuals, were used in the study. The blood serum samples of NPC and OOCT patients were tested for the presence of immunoglobulin classes G and A antibodies to capsid and early EBV antigens by indirect immunofluorescence. All serum samples of patients and healthy individuals were genotyped on HLA-DQA1, -DQB1 and -DRB1 by the method of multi-primer amplification by sequence-specific primers by real-time polymerase chain reaction.Results. In NPC patients, an increase in the frequency of HLA-DRB1*08 was found when compared with the frequency of a similar allele in healthy individuals (5.6 % vs 1.8 %; odds ratio (OR) 3.2; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.1–9.1; p = 0.02), and, on the contrary, a lower HLA-DQB1*0301 frequency was detected (16.1 % vs 25.3 %; p &lt;0.05) than in healthy individuals. The data obtained suggest that the HLA-DRB1*08 gene is associated with an increased sensitivity to NPC.In OOCT patients, HLA-DQB1*0502–4 and HLA-DRB1*16 variants were less common than in healthy individuals (1.1 % vs 6.8 %; p &lt;0.05 and 1.1 % vs 6.7 %; OR 0.16; 95 % CI 0.01–1.08; p &lt;0.05, respectively), suggesting that the HLA-DQB1*0301 gene is associated with resistance to NPC, and HLA-DQB1*0502–4 and HLA-DRB1*16 variants – with resistance to OOCT. It is interesting to note the difference in the frequency of HLA-DRB1*13 between NPC and OOCT patients (17.7 % vs 6.8 %; OR 2.9; 95 %CI 1.1–8.6; p &lt;0.05). One can suggest that this difference is related to the proven involvement of EBV in the NPC development. There were no other differences in the frequencies of class II HLA genes between the groups of NPC and OOCT patients. For the first time in Russia the importance of alleles DQA1, DQB1 and DRB1 of the HLA gene for the NPC and OOCT development, malignant tumors, respectively associated and non-associated with EBV, was studied. The results of the investigation completed together with known literature data allow us to conclude that the above alleles of the HLA class II gene can serve as a factor predisposing to the development of NPC in Russia.Conclusion. However, in order to establish a strict association between a specific HLA haplotype and the NPC and OOCT incidence, the information obtained is insufficient due to the complexity and variability of the genetic control of immune responses controlling the tumor process. A comprehensive study of this issue using different immune response genes and populations of different ethnic origins will probably help to elucidate the effect of genetic polymorphism on the risk of NPC and OOCT development in Russia.Введение. Назофарингеальная карцинома (рак носоглотки, РНГ), как известно, строго ассоциирована с вирусом Эпштейна–Барр (ВЭБ). Однако ВЭБ является убиквитарной инфекцией, тогда как РНГ развивается довольно редко и характеризуется географически и этнически неоднородным распространением, что позволяет предположить важную роль других кофакторов в патогенезе РНГ, таких как окружающая среда и генетическая предрасположенность. Среди известных генетических факторов, ассоциированных с РНГ, главный комплекс гистосовместимости (лейкоцитарный антиген человека, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)) занимает важное положение, так как играет ключевую роль в презентации вирусных антигенов иммунной системы. В России изучение ассоциации аллелей HLA с риском развития РНГ, связанного с ВЭБ, не проводилось, а в литературе существуют противоречивые сведения о роли разных HLA-генов как в возникновении и развитии РНГ, так и в инициации и особенностях иммунного ответа к белкам ВЭБ.Цель исследования – изучение распределения вариантов DQA1-, DQB1-, DRB1-генов HLA класса II у больных РНГ и пациентов с другими опухолями полости рта (ДОПР), ассоциированными и не ассоциированными с ВЭБ, в группах с высоким и низким уровнем гуморального иммунного ответа к основным белкам ВЭБ по сравнению с контрольной группой здоровых лиц.Материалы и методы. Всего в исследование вошли 62 больных недифференцированным РНГ и 44 пациента с ДОПР, а также 300 здоровых лиц. Сыворотка крови всех больных была протестирована на наличие антител иммуноглобулинов классов G и А к капсидному и раннему антигенам ВЭБ методом непрямой иммунофлюоресценции. Все образцы генотипированы на HLA-DQA1, -DQB1 и -DRB1 с помощью мультипраймерной амплификации сиквенс-специфическими праймерами методом полимеразной цепной реакции в режиме реального времени.Результаты. Показано увеличение частоты HLA-DRB1*08 у пациентов с РНГ по сравнению с контролем (5,6 % против 1,8 %; отношение шансов (ОШ) 3,2; 95 % доверительный интервал (ДИ) 1,1–9,1; р = 0,02). Возможно, ген HLA-DRB1*08 ассоциирован с повышенной чувствительностью к РНГ. В то же время у пациентов с РНГ была выявлена более низкая, чем в контроле, частота HLA-DQB1*0301 (16,1 % против 25,3 %; р &lt;0,05). Вариант HLA-DQB1*0502–4, наоборот, реже встречался у пациентов с ДОПР, чем в контроле (1,1 % против 6,8 %; р &lt;0,05). Аналогичные наблюдения касаются HLA-DRB1*16, частота которого у пациентов с ДОПР была ниже, чем в контроле (1,1 % против 6,7 %; ОШ 0,16; 95 % ДИ 0,01–1,08; р &lt;0,05), т. е. ген HLA-DQB1*0301 ассоциирован с резистентностью к РНГ, а варианты HLA-DQB1*0502–4 и HLA-DRB1*16 – с резистентностью к ДОПР.Интересен факт обнаружения различий в частоте HLA-DRB1*13 у пациентов с РНГ и ДОПР (17,7 % против 6,8 %; ОШ 2,9; 95 % ДИ 1,1–8,6; р &lt;0,05). Эти различия могут быть связаны с доказанным участием ВЭБ в развитии РНГ. Других различий по частотам генов HLA класса II между группами пациентов с РНГ и ДОПР не выявлено. Впервые в России проведено изучение связи аллелей DQA1, DQB1 и DRB1 гена HLA с развитием назофарингеальной карциномы (РНГ) и ДОПР, ассоциированных и не ассоциированных с ВЭБ.Заключение. Наши исследования в совокупности с уже известными данными позволяют заключить, что имеется определенная связь генов HLA класса II c развитием РНГ, однако для установления строгой ассоциации аллелей HLA класса II с РНГ и другими опухолями области головы и шеи полученных сведений недостаточно из-за сложности и вариабельности генетического контроля иммунных реакций, контролирующих опухолевый процесс