A Privacy-Preserving Intelligent Medical Diagnosis System Based on Oblivious Keyword Search

One of the concerns people have is how to get the diagnosis online without privacy being jeopardized. In this paper, we propose a privacy-preserving intelligent medical diagnosis system (IMDS), which can efficiently solve the problem. In IMDS, users submit their health examination parameters to the server in a protected form; this submitting process is based on Paillier cryptosystem and will not reveal any information about their data. And then the server retrieves the most likely disease (or multiple diseases) from the database and returns it to the users. In the above search process, we use the oblivious keyword search (OKS) as a basic framework, which makes the server maintain the computational ability but cannot learn any personal information over the data of users. Besides, this paper also provides a preprocessing method for data stored in the server, to make our protocol more efficient

Spectral Techniques Applied to Evaluate Pavement Friction and Surface Texture

To study texture of pavement surfaces and its effect on pavement friction, this article features a field experiment conducted on in-service pavements to characterize surface texture by spectral analysis to substantiate links to friction values. Pavement friction was measured using a Mu-meter and British pendulum tester whereas texture data was collected using a stationary laser profilometer. Texture spectra were analyzed and expressed in third octave bands. The correlation between texture spectral levels and friction values at different speeds are discussed in the paper. Results show that the texture level, including spectral band levels, can well represent texture characteristics, as texture spectral levels have a good correlation with friction coefficient, especially the texture level of texture wavelengths at 1.25-12.5 mm versus SFCsl (representing the slope of the side force coefficient (SFC) versus speed), i.e., the slope of friction versus speed. This friction parameter gives better correlations with texture parameters than friction values at different speeds, which is believed to be an effect of the drainage caused by texture in that wavelength range

Time-Variant Reliability Optimization for Stress Balance in Press-Pack Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors

Stress imbalance significantly affects the performance of a press-pack insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). Time-variant loads and conditions lead to the stress fluctuations, exacerbating the impacts. The conventional reliability optimization faces efficiency barriers due to the nested time-variant reliability analysis and design optimization. In this paper, a time-variant reliability optimization approach for press-pack IGBTs is proposed to address the efficiency issue of the IGBT reliability optimization. The performance functions of the maximum and typical stresses are formulated as the optimization objective and constraint. A time-variant reliability optimization model is formulated considering the stress balance reliability degradation within the service cycle. A decoupling algorithm is proposed to transform the nested optimization into a sequential iteration of static reliability optimization and time-variant reliability analysis. The reliability analysis utilizes the performance function continuity in the time domain to reduce the evaluations for the most likelihood points, thereby enhancing efficiency. Numerical and experimental results on an actual IGBT demonstrate the accuracy of the stress balance performance analysis. The time-variant reliability optimization based on the performance functions improves the stress balance performance by 16.3% and meets the reliability requirements within the service cycle. Compared with the conventional double-loop approach, the difference between the solution of the proposed approach with the reference solution is 0.4%, and the efficiency is 334 times that of the double-loop approach. The performance advantages in accuracy and efficiency exhibit the application potential of this approach

Influence of Prolonged Visual Display Terminal Use and Exercise on Physical and Mental Conditions of Internet Staff in Hangzhou, China

To examine the effects of prolonged visual display terminal (VDT) working hours and exercise frequency on VDT-related symptoms, we recruited 944 Chinese internet staff for the study. A self-administered questionnaire survey was used to obtain the hours of daily VDT work, exercise frequency, and the physical and mental health of the participants. The daily VDT working time of participants was 8.7 hours. Musculoskeletal pain and eye complaints were prevalent, and the participants had poor mental health status. When daily VDT operation time was more than 11 hours, VDT-related symptoms, including backache (odds ratios (OR) = 3.59), wrist pain (OR = 1.88), hip pain (OR = 2.42), dry eyes (OR = 2.22), and ocular soreness (OR = 2.16) were more likely to occur, and an increased risk of serious occupational stress (OR = 6.75) and job burnout (OR = 2.66) was found in internet workers. Compared with those who never exercised, appropriate exercise frequency (three times per week) was helpful to relieve pain in the shoulders (OR = 0.28), neck (OR = 0.45), back (OR = 0.30), lower back (OR = 0.25), and wrists (OR = 0.38), as well as to prevent vision loss (OR = 0.33) and job burnout (OR = 0.42). Therefore, avoiding excessive VDT exposure and performing moderate exercise could protect the physical and mental health of internet staff from the adverse effects of VDT

A Privacy-Preserving Intelligent Medical Diagnosis System Based on Oblivious Keyword Search

One of the concerns people have is how to get the diagnosis online without privacy being jeopardized. In this paper, we propose a privacy-preserving intelligent medical diagnosis system (IMDS), which can efficiently solve the problem. In IMDS, users submit their health examination parameters to the server in a protected form; this submitting process is based on Paillier cryptosystem and will not reveal any information about their data. And then the server retrieves the most likely disease (or multiple diseases) from the database and returns it to the users. In the above search process, we use the oblivious keyword search (OKS) as a basic framework, which makes the server maintain the computational ability but cannot learn any personal information over the data of users. Besides, this paper also provides a preprocessing method for data stored in the server, to make our protocol more efficient

Polyhexamethylene guanidine accelerates the macrophage foamy formation mediated pulmonary fibrosis

Polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) is manufactured and applied extensively due to its superior disinfectant capabilities. However, the inhalatory exposure to PHMG aerosols is increasingly recognized as a potential instigator of pulmonary fibrosis, prompting an urgent call for elucidation of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. Within this context, alveolar macrophages play a pivotal role in the primary immune defense in the respiratory tract. Dysregulated lipid metabolism within alveolar macrophages leads to the accumulation of foam cells, a process that is intimately linked with the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, this study examines PHMG's effects on alveolar macrophage foaminess and its underlying mechanisms. We conducted a 3-week inhalation exposure followed by a 3-week recovery period in C57BL/6 J mice using a whole-body exposure system equipped with a disinfection aerosol generator (WESDAG). The presence of lipid-laden alveolar macrophages and downregulation of pulmonary tissue lipid transport proteins ABCA1 and ABCG1 were observed in mice. In cell culture models involving lipid-loaded macrophages, we demonstrated that PHMG promotes foam cell formation by inhibiting lipid efflux in mouse alveolar macrophages. Furthermore, PHMG-induced foam cells were found to promote an increase in the release of TGF-β1, fibronectin deposition, and collagen remodeling. In vivo interventions were subsequently implemented on mice exposed to PHMG aerosols, aiming to restore macrophage lipid efflux function. Remarkably, this intervention demonstrated the potential to retard the progression of pulmonary fibrosis. In conclusion, this study underscores the pivotal role of macrophage foaming in the pathogenesis of PHMG disinfectants-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Moreover, it provides compelling evidence to suggest that the regulation of macrophage efflux function holds promise for mitigating the progression of pulmonary fibrosis, thereby offering novel insights into the mechanisms underlying inhaled PHMG disinfectants-induced pulmonary fibrosis

Total biflavonoids extraction from Selaginella chaetoloma utilizing ultrasound-assisted deep eutectic solvent: Optimization of conditions, extraction mechanism, and biological activity in vitro

In this study, the deep eutectic solvent based ultrasound-assisted extraction (DES-UAE) was investigated for the efficient and environmentally friendly extraction of Selaginella chaetoloma total biflavonoids (SCTB). As an extractant for optimization, tetrapropylaminium bromide-1,4-butanediol (Tpr-But) was employed for the first time. 36 DESs were created, with Tpr-But producing the most effective results. Based on response surface methodology (RSM), the greatest extraction rate of SCTB was determined to be 21.68 ± 0.78 mg/g, the molar ratio of HBD to HBA was 3.70:1, the extraction temperature was 57 °C, and the water content of DES was 22 %. In accordance with Fick's second rule, a kinetic model for the extraction of SCTB by DES-UAE has been derived. With correlation coefficients 0.91, the kinetic model of the extraction process was significantly correlated with the general and exponential equations of kinetics, and some important kinetic parameters such as rate constants, energy of activation and raffinate rate were determined. In addition, molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the extraction mechanisms generated by different solvents. Comparing the effect of several extraction methods on S.chaetoloma using ultrasound-assisted extraction and conventional methods, together with SEM examination, revealed that DES-UAE not only saved time but also enhanced SCTB extraction rate by 1.5–3 folds. SCTB demonstrated superior antioxidant activity in three studies in vitro. Furthermore, the extract could suppress the growth of A549, HCT-116, HepG2, and HT-29 cancer cells. Alpha-Glucosidase (AG) inhibition experiment and molecular docking studies suggested that SCTB exhibited strong inhibitory activity against AG and potential hypoglycemic effects. The results of this study indicated that a Tpr-But-based UAE method was suitable for the efficient and environmentally friendly extraction of SCTB, and also shed light on the mechanisms responsible for the increased extraction efficiency, which could aid in the application of S.chaetoloma and provide insight into the extraction mechanism of DES