Public Evidence from Secret Ballots

Elections seem simple---aren't they just counting? But they have a unique, challenging combination of security and privacy requirements. The stakes are high; the context is adversarial; the electorate needs to be convinced that the results are correct; and the secrecy of the ballot must be ensured. And they have practical constraints: time is of the essence, and voting systems need to be affordable and maintainable, and usable by voters, election officials, and pollworkers. It is thus not surprising that voting is a rich research area spanning theory, applied cryptography, practical systems analysis, usable security, and statistics. Election integrity involves two key concepts: convincing evidence that outcomes are correct and privacy, which amounts to convincing assurance that there is no evidence about how any given person voted. These are obviously in tension. We examine how current systems walk this tightrope.Comment: To appear in E-Vote-Id '1

How to find an attractive solution to the liar paradox

The general thesis of this paper is that metasemantic theories can play a central role in determining the correct solution to the liar paradox. I argue for the thesis by providing a specific example. I show how Lewis’s reference-magnetic metasemantic theory may decide between two of the most influential solutions to the liar paradox: Kripke’s minimal fixed point theory of truth and Gupta and Belnap’s revision theory of truth. In particular, I suggest that Lewis’s metasemantic theory favours Kripke’s solution to the paradox over Gupta and Belnap’s. I then sketch how other standard criteria for assessing solutions to the liar paradox, such as whether a solution faces a so-called revenge paradox, fit into this picture. While the discussion of the specific example is itself important, the underlying lesson is that we have an unused strategy for resolving one of the hardest problems in philosophy

Clinical and genetic analysis of 29 Brazilian patients with Huntington’s disease-like phenotype

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by chorea, behavioral disturbances and dementia, caused by a pathological expansion of the CAG trinucleotide in the HTT gene. Several patients have been recognized with the typical HD phenotype without the expected mutation. The objective of this study was to assess the occurrence of diseases such as Huntington’s disease-like 2 (HDL2), spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) 1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA7, dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) and choreaacanthocytosis (ChAc) among 29 Brazilian patients with a HD-like phenotype. In the group analyzed, we found 3 patients with HDL2 and 2 patients with ChAc. The diagnosis was not reached in 79.3% of the patients. HDL2 was the main cause of the HD-like phenotype in the group analyzed, and is attributable to the African ancestry of this population. However, the etiology of the disease remains undetermined in the majority of the HD negative patients with HD-like phenotype. Key words: Huntington’s disease, Huntington’s disease-like, chorea-acanthocytosis, Huntington’s disease-like 2

Observation of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering

The coherent elastic scattering of neutrinos off nuclei has eluded detection for four decades, even though its predicted cross-section is the largest by far of all low-energy neutrino couplings. This mode of interaction provides new opportunities to study neutrino properties, and leads to a miniaturization of detector size, with potential technological applications. We observe this process at a 6.7-sigma confidence level, using a low-background, 14.6-kg CsI[Na] scintillator exposed to the neutrino emissions from the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Characteristic signatures in energy and time, predicted by the Standard Model for this process, are observed in high signal-to-background conditions. Improved constraints on non-standard neutrino interactions with quarks are derived from this initial dataset

The implication of identifying JAK2V617F in myeloproliferative neoplasms and myelodysplastic syndromes with bone marrow fibrosis

The myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) occasionally demonstrate overlapping morphological features including hypercellularity, mild/nonspecific dysplastic changes and variable bone marrow fibrosis. Thus, when the associated bone marrow fibrosis results in a suboptimal specimen for morphological evaluation, the descriptive diagnosis “fibrotic marrow with features indeterminate for MDS versus MPN” is often applied. The JAK2V617F mutation was recently shown to be frequently identified in MPN, but it is rarely present in other myeloid disorders. However, the diagnostic utility of JAK2V617F screening in hypercellular bone marrow specimens with fibrosis has not been previously investigated. Using a real-time polymerase chain reaction melting-curve assay capable of detecting JAK2V617F in archived fixed materials, we retrospectively studied JAK2V617F in 45 cases with fibrotic hypercellular bone marrow at initial presentation, including 19 cases initially described as “with features indeterminate for MDS versus MPN”. These 19 cases were reclassified into more specific categories of MDS (n = 14) or MPN (n = 5) based on the availability of subsequent clinical data and/or bone marrow examinations. The JAK2V617F allele was identified in 17 out of 18 BCR/ABL gene-negative MPN cases with marrow fibrosis, whereas only wild-type alleles were identified in the remaining non-MPN cases. Importantly, JAK2V617F alleles were seen in all five cases of “with features indeterminate for MDS versus MPN” at initial presentation that were later determined to be MPN, but they were absent in the 14 cases later determined to be MDS. Our results suggest that JAK2V617F allele evaluation can be a useful ancillary test for discriminating MDS from MPN in specimens with bone marrow fibrosis

Real-time PCR detection of Human Herpesvirus 1-5 in patients lacking clinical signs of a viral CNS infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Infections of the central nervous system (CNS) with herpes- or enterovirus can be self-limiting and benign, but occasionally result in severe and fatal disease. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has revolutionized the diagnostics of viral pathogens, and by multiple displacement amplification (MDA) prior to real-time PCR the sensitivity might be further enhanced. The aim of this study was to investigate if herpes- or enterovirus can be detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients without symptoms.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 373 patients lacking typical symptoms of viral CNS infection were analysed by real-time PCR targeting herpesviruses or enteroviruses with or without prior MDA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In total, virus was detected in 17 patients (4%). Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was most commonly detected, in general from patients with other conditions (e.g. infections, cerebral hemorrhage). MDA satisfactorily amplified viral DNA in the absence of human nucleic acids, but showed poor amplification capacity for viral DNA in CSF samples, and did not increase the sensitivity for herpes virus-detection with our methodology.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Viral pathogens are rarely detected in CSF from patients without signs of CNS infection, supporting the view that real-time PCR is a highly specific method to detect symptomatic CNS-infection caused by these viruses. However, EBV may be subclinically reactivated due to other pathological conditions in the CNS.</p

Recommendations for surveillance of pulmonary dysfunction among childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer survivors: a report from the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group

\ua9 2024. Childhood, adolescent, and young adult (CAYA) cancer survivors are at risk of pulmonary dysfunction. Current follow-up care guidelines are discordant. Therefore, the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group established and convened a panel of 33 experts to develop evidence-based surveillance guidelines. We critically reviewed available evidence regarding risk factors for pulmonary dysfunction, types of pulmonary function testing, and timings of surveillance, then we formulated our recommendations. We recommend that CAYA cancer survivors and healthcare providers are aware of reduced pulmonary function risks and pay vigilant attention to potential symptoms of pulmonary dysfunction, especially among survivors treated with allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, thoracic radiotherapy, and thoracic surgery. Based on existing limited evidence and current lack of interventions, our panel recommends pulmonary function testing only for symptomatic survivors. Since scarce existing evidence informs our recommendation, we highlight the need for prospective collaborative studies to address pulmonary function knowledge gaps among CAYA cancer survivors

Analysis of BAC end sequences in oak, a keystone forest tree species, providing insight into the composition of its genome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One of the key goals of oak genomics research is to identify genes of adaptive significance. This information may help to improve the conservation of adaptive genetic variation and the management of forests to increase their health and productivity. Deep-coverage large-insert genomic libraries are a crucial tool for attaining this objective. We report herein the construction of a BAC library for <it>Quercus robur</it>, its characterization and an analysis of BAC end sequences.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The <it>Eco</it>RI library generated consisted of 92,160 clones, 7% of which had no insert. Levels of chloroplast and mitochondrial contamination were below 3% and 1%, respectively. Mean clone insert size was estimated at 135 kb. The library represents 12 haploid genome equivalents and, the likelihood of finding a particular oak sequence of interest is greater than 99%. Genome coverage was confirmed by PCR screening of the library with 60 unique genetic loci sampled from the genetic linkage map. In total, about 20,000 high-quality BAC end sequences (BESs) were generated by sequencing 15,000 clones. Roughly 5.88% of the combined BAC end sequence length corresponded to known retroelements while <it>ab initio </it>repeat detection methods identified 41 additional repeats. Collectively, characterized and novel repeats account for roughly 8.94% of the genome. Further analysis of the BESs revealed 1,823 putative genes suggesting at least 29,340 genes in the oak genome. BESs were aligned with the genome sequences of <it>Arabidopsis thaliana</it>, <it>Vitis vinifera </it>and <it>Populus trichocarpa</it>. One putative collinear microsyntenic region encoding an alcohol acyl transferase protein was observed between oak and chromosome 2 of <it>V. vinifera.</it></p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This BAC library provides a new resource for genomic studies, including SSR marker development, physical mapping, comparative genomics and genome sequencing. BES analysis provided insight into the structure of the oak genome. These sequences will be used in the assembly of a future genome sequence for oak.</p