Cryptographic applications of sparse polynomials over finite rings

This is a preprint of a book chapter published in Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2015, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (2001). The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.This paper gives new examples that exploit the idea of using sparse polynomials with restricted coefficients over a finite ring for designing fast, reliable cryptosystems and identification schemes

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions

An Outbreak of Severe Infections with Community-Acquired MRSA Carrying the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Following Vaccination

Background: Infections with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) are emerging worldwide. We investigated an outbreak of severe CA-MRSA infections in children following out-patient vaccination. Methods and Findings: We carried out a field investigation after adverse events following immunization (AEFI) were reported. We reviewed the clinical data from all cases. S. aureus recovered from skin infections and from nasal and throat swabs were analyzed by pulse-field gel electrophoresis, multi locus sequence typing, PCR and microarray. In May 2006, nine children presented with AEFI, ranging from fatal toxic shock syndrome, necrotizing soft tissue infection, purulent abscesses, to fever with rash. All had received a vaccination injection in different health centres in one District of Ho Chi Minh City. Eight children had been vaccinated by the same health care worker (HCW). Deficiencies in vaccine quality, storage practices, or preparation and delivery were not found. Infection control practices were insufficient. CA-MRSA was cultured in four children and from nasal and throat swabs from the HCW. Strains from children and HCW were indistinguishable. All carried the Panton-Valentine leukocidine (PVL), the staphylococcal enterotoxin B gene, the gene complex for staphylococcal-cassette-chromosome mec type V, and were sequence type 59. Strain HCM3A is epidemiologically unrelated to a strain of ST59 prevalent in the USA, althoughthey belong to the same lineage. Conclusions. We describe an outbreak of infections with CA-MRSA in children, transmitted by an asymptomatic colonized HCW during immunization injection. Consistent adherence to injection practice guidelines is needed to prevent CA-MRSA transmission in both in- and outpatient settings

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

An Application-Oriented Routing Protocol for Multi-hop Cognitive Radio Networks

International audienceA challenge for routing in cognitive radio networks is the intermittent connection due to the occupying and releasing licensed channels of primary users. To solve this problem, the routing protocol will choose the most stable channel (the channel with the longest average length of idle period) to build up the stable path. This approach, however, can lead to the increase of channel competition between cognitive users since the most stable channels are preferred to be utilized by all cognitive users. In this paper, an application-oriented routing protocol is proposed. The main motivation is to reduce the channel competition between cognitive users by finding the appropriate path according to the application of cognitive users. Simulation results show that our proposed routing protocol reduces the loss ratio and increases the throughput significantly

Clinical characteristics and laboratory values of children on admission, and outcome

†<p>Date of vaccination unless otherwise stated.</p>‡<p>HBV: Hepatitis B virus. Both received Euvax B™; MMR: Measles, Mumps, Rubella. All received Priorix™; varicella: Varilrix^R.</p>§<p>swelling at injection site beyond the expected after routine vaccination.</p>∥<p>Inotropes used were dopamine, dobutamine, noradrenaline.</p>**<p>MRSA: methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>. NA denotes not available, a plus sign positive or present, and a minus sign negative or absent.</p>*<p>Normal ranges are as follows: hemoglobin concentration, 105–135 g/L; leukocyte count, 6 to 17.5·10⁹/L; platelet count, 150 to 400·10⁹/L; alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level, below 37 U/L; aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level, below 40 U/L; creatine phosphokinase (CK) below 200 U/L; serum creatinine concentration, 18–80 µmol/L;</p

Rapidly progressive soft tissue infection after vaccination.

<p>Severe tissue necrosis around vaccination site in Child 4, two days following vaccination with MMR. MRSA was cultured from wound fluid.</p

Key virulence and resistance genes in isolates HCM3A, HT2001 751, and MW2 as detected by microarray.

*<p>Confirmed with PCR and/or sequencing</p>**<p>Microarray data cannot conclusively prove the location of a gene. Assignation to a MGE is based on known location of that gene in other sequenced strains.</p><p><i>hla</i>, α-haemolysin; <i>hlgACB</i>, γ-haemolysin; <i>hld</i>, δ-haemolysin; <i>clf</i>, clumping factors; ST, sequence type using MLST; <i>cap8</i>, capsule type 8; <i>sasG</i>, accumulation associated protein SA2285; <i>coa</i> M0206v, coagulase with four types described; <i>sasA</i>, haemagglutinin like gene which can contain an insert; <i>cna</i>, collagen binding protein; <i>sdr</i>, serine aspartate repeat proteins; <i>fnbpA</i>, fibronectin binding protein with three types described; <i>lytN</i>, cell wall hydrolase; <i>agr</i>, accessory gene regulator with 4 classes described; <i>trap</i>, target of RNAIII activating protein with 2 types described; <i>sarT</i>, staphylococcal accessory regulator T; MGE, mobile genetic element; SCC, staphylococcal cassette chromosome; <i>mec</i>, methicillin resistance; <i>ccr</i>, cassette chromosome recombinase with 3 types described; <i>far1</i>, putative fusidic acid resistance; <i>PV-luk</i>, Panton Valentine leukocidin; <i>seg</i>, enterotoxin G; <i>sak</i>, staphylokinase; <i>sea</i>, enterotoxin A; <i>sek</i>, enterotoxin K; <i>seb</i>, enterotoxin B; <i>sec</i>, enterotoxin C; <i>bla</i>, β-lactamase; <i>cad</i>, cadmium resistance; <i>ars</i>, arsenic resistance; <i>bacteriocin</i>, putative bacteriocin gene SAR0694-5; - denotes gene not detected; #, phage unrelated to PV-<i>luk</i> phage in MW2.</p

Twelve-Month Outcomes of the AFFINITY Trial of Fluoxetine for Functional Recovery After Acute Stroke: AFFINITY Trial Steering Committee on Behalf of the AFFINITY Trial Collaboration

Background and Purpose: The AFFINITY trial (Assessment of Fluoxetine in Stroke Recovery) reported that oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and seizures. After trial medication was ceased at 6 months, survivors were followed to 12 months post-randomization. This preplanned secondary analysis aimed to determine any sustained or delayed effects of fluoxetine at 12 months post-randomization. Methods: AFFINITY was a randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in adults (n=1280) with a clinical diagnosis of stroke in the previous 2 to 15 days and persisting neurological deficit who were recruited at 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (4), and Vietnam (10) between 2013 and 2019. Participants were randomized to oral fluoxetine 20 mg once daily (n=642) or matching placebo (n=638) for 6 months and followed until 12 months after randomization. The primary outcome was function, measured by the modified Rankin Scale, at 6 months. Secondary outcomes for these analyses included measures of the modified Rankin Scale, mood, cognition, overall health status, fatigue, health-related quality of life, and safety at 12 months. Results: Adherence to trial medication was for a mean 167 (SD 48) days and similar between randomized groups. At 12 months, the distribution of modified Rankin Scale categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.76–1.14]; P =0.46). Compared with placebo, patients allocated fluoxetine had fewer recurrent ischemic strokes (14 [2.18%] versus 29 [4.55%]; P =0.02), and no longer had significantly more falls (27 [4.21%] versus 15 [2.35%]; P =0.08), bone fractures (23 [3.58%] versus 11 [1.72%]; P =0.05), or seizures (11 [1.71%] versus 8 [1.25%]; P =0.64) at 12 months. Conclusions: Fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke had no delayed or sustained effect on functional outcome, falls, bone fractures, or seizures at 12 months poststroke. The lower rate of recurrent ischemic stroke in the fluoxetine group is most likely a chance finding. REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.anzctr.org.au/ ; Unique identifier: ACTRN12611000774921