The Future of Surgical Research

Surgeons seem to love publishing case series, which are of limited usefulness. How can we encourage them to do randomized clinical trials

The Evolution of a Spatial Stochastic Network

The asymptotic behavior of a stochastic network represented by a birth and death processes of particles on a compact state space is analyzed. Births: Particles are created at rate $\lambda_+$ and their location is independent of the current configuration. Deaths are due to negative particles arriving at rate $\lambda_-$. The death of a particle occurs when a negative particle arrives in its neighborhood and kills it. Several killing schemes are considered. The arriving locations of positive and negative particles are assumed to have the same distribution. By using a combination of monotonicity properties and invariance relations it is shown that the configurations of particles converge in distribution for several models. The problems of uniqueness of invariant measures and of the existence of accumulation points for the limiting configurations are also investigated. It is shown for several natural models that if $\lambda_+<\lambda_-$ then the asymptotic configuration has a finite number of points with probability 1. Examples with $\lambda_+<\lambda_-$ and an infinite number of particles in the limit are also presented

Development and integration of a e-invoicing solution into a complex software system

Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, ein für mittelständische und kleine Unternehmen geeignetes Format für die Versendung elektronischer Rechnungen zu finden, hierfür eine Softwarelösung zu entwickeln und diese in ein bestehendes Produkt zu integrieren. Nach gründlicher Analyse fiel die Entscheidung auf das ZUGFeRD-Format, für welches eine nun kommerziell vertriebene Komponente entwickelt wurde, die zusammen mit einem, im Rahmen der Arbeit entwickelten E-Mail-Client, in die Software HSC-AuftragPlus integriert wurde. Damit lassen sich ZUGFeRDRechnungen ohne Umwege oder externe Programme sowohl empfangen und importieren, als auch exportieren und versenden. Bei diesen Schritten erfolgt auch immer eine mehrstufige Validierung und entsprechendes Feedback an den Benutzer. Da die Bachelorarbeit auf betriebswirtschaftliche, juristische und informatische Aspekte eingeht, sollte sie insbesondere für Studierende der Informatik und Wirtschaftswissenschaften viele interessante Informationen enthalte

Preservation of DNA Privacy During the Large Scale Detection of COVID-19

As humanity struggles to contain the global COVID-19 pandemic, privacy concerns are emerging regarding confinement, tracing and testing. The scientific debate concerning privacy of the COVID-19 tracing efforts has been intense, especially focusing on the choice between centralised and decentralised tracing apps. The privacy concerns regarding COVID-19 testing, however, have not received as much attention even though the privacy at stake is arguably even higher. COVID-19 tests require the collection of samples. Those samples possibly contain viral material but inevitably also human DNA. Patient DNA is not necessary for the test but it is technically impossible to avoid collecting it. The unlawful preservation, or misuse, of such samples at a massive scale may hence disclose patient DNA information with far-reaching privacy consequences. Inspired by the cryptographic concept of "Indistinguishability under Chosen Plaintext Attack", this paper poses the blueprint of novel types of tests allowing to detect viral presence without leaving persisting traces of the patient's DNA. Authors are listed in alphabetical order.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur

Liver Transplantation for Advanced Liver Disease with Alpha-1antitrypsin Deficiency

ALPHA-1-antitrypsin deficiency associated with chronic obstructive airway disease was recognized in 1963 by Laurell and Ericksson.1 In 1969, Sharp2 described the first cases of alpha-1-antitrypsin-deficiency disease in children with cirrhosis. Since then, this inborn error has been recognized as one of the more common factors in cirrhosis of infancy and childhood,3 including “neonatal hepatitis.”4 Alpha-1-antitrypsin is a glycoprotein that accounts for a major portion of the alpha-1 globulin fraction of the serum.5 It is responsible for approximately 90 per cent of the antitrypsin activity6 of the serum, and it also inhibits several other plasma enzymes, including plasmin,7 elastase,8 collagenase,9 and. © 1980, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved