Cast-as-Intended Mechanism with Return Codes Based on PETs

We propose a method providing cast-as-intended verifiability for remote electronic voting. The method is based on plaintext equivalence tests (PETs), used to match the cast ballots against the pre-generated encrypted code tables. Our solution provides an attractive balance of security and functional properties. It is based on well-known cryptographic building blocks and relies on standard cryptographic assumptions, which allows for relatively simple security analysis. Our scheme is designed with a built-in fine-grained distributed trust mechanism based on threshold decryption. It, finally, imposes only very little additional computational burden on the voting platform, which is especially important when voters use devices of restricted computational power such as mobile phones. At the same time, the computational cost on the server side is very reasonable and scales well with the increasing ballot size

Glycosidase activity in the excretory-secretory products of the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica

Fasciola hepatica secretes proteolytic enzymes and other molecules that are essential for host penetration and migration. This mixture may include enzymes required for the degradation of supramucosal gels, which defend epithelial surfaces against pathogen entry. These contain hydrated mucins that are heavily glycosylated. Excretory-secretory products (ES) from F. hepatica were examined for a range of glycosidase activities, using synthetic 4-methylumbelliferyl glycosides as substrates. The ES product contained at least 8 different glycosidase activities, the most abundant of which were β-N- acetylhexosaminidase, β-galactosidase and β-glucosidase. Alpha-fucosidase, β-glucuronidase, α-galactosidase, α-mannosidase and neuraminidase were also present. β-N- acetylhexosaminidase and β-galactosidase were present in multiple isoforms (at least 4), whereas β-glucosidase appeared to exist as one isoenzyme with a pI <3.8. All three enzymes had acidic pH optima (4.5-5.0). Ovine small intestinal mucin was degraded by ES at pH 4.5 or 7.0, with or without active cathepsin L, the major protease found in F. hepatica ES. The ability of F. hepatica ES to degrade mucin in the presence or absence of active cathepsin L suggests that cathepsin L is not essential for mucin degradation. The abundance of β-galactosidase and β-hexosaminidase in ES supports a role for these enzymes in mucin degradation

Ecology of the Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola, in the southern California Current System

The common ocean sunfish, Mola mola, occupies a unique position in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) as the world\u27s heaviest, most fecund bony fish, and one of the most abundant gelativores. M. mola frequently occur as bycatch in fisheries worldwide and comprise the greatest portion of the bycatch in California\u27s large-mesh drift gillnet fishery. In this first long-term tagging study of any ocean sunfish species in the eastern Pacific, 15 M. mola (99 cm to 200 cm total length) were tagged in the southern California Bight (SCB) between 2003 and 2010 using 14 satellite pop-off archival tags (PATs) and one Fastloc Mk10 GPS tag. Ten tags provided positional data for a cumulative dataset of 349 tracking days during the months of july through March. Thirteen tags provided temperature and depth data. All M. mola remained within similar to 300 km of the coast, and nearly all exhibited seasonal movement between the SCB and adjacent waters off northern and central Baja California, Mexico. No tagged individuals were tracked north of the SCB. Tag depth data showed diel vertical migration and occasional deep (\u3e500 m) dives. Data from the Fastloc GPS tag allowed close examination of the relationship between the movements of the largest tagged ocean sunfish (2 m TL) and fine-scale oceanographic features. Near-instantaneous satellite sea surface temperature images showed this individual associated with upwelling fronts along its migration path, which exceeded 800 km and ranged from 6 to 128 km from the coast. Tag depth data showed active use of the water column within the frontal zones. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images demonstrated that surface slicks, which often indicate convergent circulation, coincided with this type of front. Zooplankton tows in the southern region of tracking off central Baja California, Mexico revealed dense populations of salps toward the warm side of these fronts. Satellite tag and ecosystem data suggest that bio-physical interactions in coastal upwelling fronts create favorable foraging habitat. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

Associations of sedentary behaviour, physical activity, blood pressure and anthropometric measures with cardiorespiratory fitness in children with cerebral palsy

Background - Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have poor cardiorespiratory fitness in comparison to their peers with typical development, which may be due to low levels of physical activity. Poor cardiorespiratory fitness may contribute to increased cardiometabolic risk. Purpose - The aim of this study was to determine the association between sedentary behaviour, physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness in children with CP. An objective was to determine the association between cardiorespiratory fitness, anthropometric measures and blood pressure in children with CP. Methods- This study included 55 ambulatory children with CP [mean (SD) age 11.3 (0.2) yr, range 6-17 yr; Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I and II]. Anthropometric measures (BMI, waist circumference and waist-height ratio) and blood pressure were taken. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured using a 10 m shuttle run test. Children were classified as low, middle and high fitness according to level achieved on the test using reference curves. Physical activity was measured by accelerometry over 7 days. In addition to total activity, time in sedentary behaviour and light, moderate, vigorous, and sustained moderate-to-vigorous activity (≥10 min bouts) were calculated. Results - Multiple regression analyses revealed that vigorous activity (β = 0.339, p<0.01), sustained moderate-to-vigorous activity (β = 0.250, p<0.05) and total activity (β = 0.238, p<0.05) were associated with level achieved on the shuttle run test after adjustment for age, sex and GMFCS level. Children with high fitness spent more time in vigorous activity than children with middle fitness (p<0.05). Shuttle run test level was negatively associated with BMI (r2 = -0.451, p<0.01), waist circumference (r2 = -0.560, p<0.001), waist-height ratio (r2 = -0.560, p<0.001) and systolic blood pressure (r2 = -0.306, p<0.05) after adjustment for age, sex and GMFCS level. Conclusions - Participation in physical activity, particularly at a vigorous intensity, is associated with high cardiorespiratory fitness in children with CP. Low cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk

The feasibility of cycling as a form of active commuting among children from a parental perspective: a qualitative study

Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). The way children commute to and from school has been described in the literature as passive or active commuting. Active commuting among children in England is low, with the most recent evidence available indicating that between 2% and 8% of children cycle to school. Encouraging active commuting by bicycle among children may be a particular way to increase participation in cycling. Evidence reports that parents influence their children’s attitudes and interests both directly and indirectly; levels of physical activity of a child, for instance, can be shaped via socialisation. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the barriers to children cycling as a means of active commuting. The study used qualitative methods for collecting and analysing data with a diagnostic perspective. A total of eighteen parents, ten mothers and eight fathers, participated in the interviews. Children, eleven girls and seven boys, were aged eight to twelve years. Children’s mean age was 10.2 ± 1.6 years. Children’s primary modes of transport to school were by car (55.6%), walking (33.3%) and by bus (5.6%). Overall, a series of factors seem to prevent parents from supporting their children to actively commute to school. Parents fear their children being exposed to crime and bad weather conditions while actively commuting to school. The absence of cycling lanes and long or short distances from school are further issues preventing parents from supporting their children to cycle to school.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior [BEX 13281/13-5]

On the Cause of Recent Variations in Lower Stratospheric Ozone

We use height‐resolved and total column satellite observations and 3‐D chemical transport model simulations to study stratospheric ozone variations during 1998–2017 as ozone‐depleting substances decline. In 2017 extrapolar lower stratospheric ozone displayed a strong positive anomaly following much lower values in 2016. This points to large interannual variability rather than an ongoing downward trend, as reported recently by Ball et al. (2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp‐18‐1379‐2018). The observed ozone variations are well captured by the chemical transport model throughout the stratosphere and are largely driven by meteorology. Model sensitivity experiments show that the contribution of past trends in short‐lived chlorine species to the ozone changes is small. Similarly, the potential impact of modest trends in natural brominated short‐lived species is small. These results confirm the important role that atmospheric dynamics plays in controlling ozone in the extrapolar lower stratosphere on multiannual time scales and the continued importance of monitoring ozone profiles as the stratosphere changes

The Relationship Between HR Practices and Firm Performance: Examining Causal Order

Significant research attention has been devoted to examining the relationship between HR practices and firm performance, and the research support has assumed HR as the causal variable. Using data from 45 business units (with 62 data points), this study examines how measures of HR practices correlate with past, concurrent, and future operational performance measures. The results indicate that correlations with performance measures at all three times are both high and invariant, and that controlling for past or concurrent performance virtually eliminates the correlation of HR with future performance. Implications are discussed