Ensuring message embedding in wet paper steganography

International audienceSyndrome coding has been proposed by Crandall in 1998 as a method to stealthily embed a message in a cover-medium through the use of bounded decoding. In 2005, Fridrich et al. introduced wet paper codes to improve the undetectability of the embedding by nabling the sender to lock some components of the cover-data, according to the nature of the cover-medium and the message. Unfortunately, almost all existing methods solving the bounded decoding syndrome problem with or without locked components have a non-zero probability to fail. In this paper, we introduce a randomized syndrome coding, which guarantees the embedding success with probability one. We analyze the parameters of this new scheme in the case of perfect codes

Minimising treatment-associated risks in systemic cancer therapy

Aim of the review To review the consequences of drug-related problems (DRP) in systemic cancer therapy and identify specific contributions of the pharmacist to minimise treatment-associated risks. Method Searches in PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were conducted. Bibliographies of retrieved articles were examined for additional references. Only papers in English between 1980 and 2007 were included. Results In systemic cancer therapy there is an enormous potential for DRP due to the high toxicity and the complexity of most therapeutic regimens. The most frequently reported DRP can be classified into adverse effects, drug–drug interactions, medication errors, and non-adherence. Pharmacists have enhanced efforts to assure quality and safety in systemic cancer therapy together with other health care providers. In consequence, oncology pharmacy has evolved as a novel specialist discipline. The endeavour to merge and co-ordinate individual activities and services of the pharmacist has led to pharmaceutical care concepts which aim at offering novel solutions to the various DRP. Conclusion Pharmaceutical care for cancer patients should be developed within research projects and integrated into disease management programs in order to ensure broad implementation

Patient preference and ease of use for different coagulation factor VIII reconstitution device scenarios: a cross-sectional survey in five European countries [Corrigendum]

Cimino E, Linari S, Malerba M, Halimeh S, Biondo F, Westfeld M. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2014;8:1713–1720.On page 1716 Figure 2 is not accurate, this has now been corrected.Read the original articl

Patient preference and ease of use for different coagulation factor VIII reconstitution device scenarios: a cross-sectional survey in five European countries

Ernesto Cimino,1 Silvia Linari,2 Mara Malerba,3 Susan Halimeh,4 Francesca Biondo,5 Martina Westfeld5 1Dipartimento Medicina Clinica e Sperimentale, Universita’ degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy; 2Agenzia per l’ Emofilia, AOU Careggi di Firenze, Florence, Italy; 3Fondazione Cà Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Centro Emofilia e Trombosi “A Bianchi Bonomi”, Milan, Italy; 4CRC Coagulation Research Centre GmbH, Duisburg, Germany; 5Pfizer Italia, Rome, Italy Introduction: Hemophilia A treatment involves replacing the deficient coagulation factor VIII. This process may involve multiple steps that might create a barrier to adherence. A new dual-chamber syringe (DCS; FuseNGo®) was recently introduced with the aim of simplifying reconstitution. Aim: This study aimed to identify factors associated with adult patients’ preferences for different coagulation factor VIII reconstitution systems and to test ease of use and patient preference for the DCS. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of adults with hemophilia A in five European countries was conducted; a subset of subjects also participated in a practical testing session of the DCS. Results: Among the 299 survey participants, the device scenario requiring the least equipment and reconstitution steps (the DCS) received a median preference rating of 71 out of 100 (0 being “the least desirable” and 100 “the most desirable” rating). This was significantly higher than the other scenarios (the next highest achieved a median of 50 points; P<0.001). Participants would be more likely to use this device prophylactically (P<0.001). Among the 98 participants who tested the DCS, 57% preferred this device over their current device, 26% preferred their current device, and 17% had no preference. The DCS was rated as easier to use than current treatment devices (median score 9/10 versus 7/10 for current treatment, P=0.001). Conclusion: The survey indicates that the prefilled DCS, FuseNGo®, requiring the least equipment and fewest reconstitution steps, was preferred by patients and was the device most likely to be used prophylactically; the practical device testing supports these results. Keywords: hemophilia, factor VIII, patient preference, reconstitution, dual-chamber syring