3,198 research outputs found
Efficient and Privacy Preserving Group Signature for Federated Learning
Federated Learning (FL) is a Machine Learning (ML) technique that aims to
reduce the threats to user data privacy. Training is done using the raw data on
the users' device, called clients, and only the training results, called
gradients, are sent to the server to be aggregated and generate an updated
model. However, we cannot assume that the server can be trusted with private
information, such as metadata related to the owner or source of the data. So,
hiding the client information from the server helps reduce privacy-related
attacks. Therefore, the privacy of the client's identity, along with the
privacy of the client's data, is necessary to make such attacks more difficult.
This paper proposes an efficient and privacy-preserving protocol for FL based
on group signature. A new group signature for federated learning, called GSFL,
is designed to not only protect the privacy of the client's data and identity
but also significantly reduce the computation and communication costs
considering the iterative process of federated learning. We show that GSFL
outperforms existing approaches in terms of computation, communication, and
signaling costs. Also, we show that the proposed protocol can handle various
security attacks in the federated learning environment
Changes in bone mineral density and trabecular bone score in Graves' disease patients after anti-thyroid therapy
AbstractObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in bone quantity based on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone quality based on trabecular bone score (TBS) in Graves' disease patients after anti-thyroid therapy.Research design and methodThis retrospective study included premenopausal female and male patients with Graves' disease who received BMD measurement more than two times during treatment. BMD and thyroid function tests with free thyroxine (FT4), total triiodothyronine (T3), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and TSH receptor antibody (TRAb) levels were collected two times during follow-up. TBS was calculated using TBS insight® software (version 2.1) from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry images.ResultsThirty Graves' disease patients (17 males, 56%; 13 premenopausal females, 44%) with a mean age of 35.3 ± 9.9 years were included. The mean follow-up period was 20.7 ± 8.5 months. The median levels of FT4, TSH and TRAb improved at follow-up [2.55 ng/dL (Interquartile range (IQR) 2.07–3.78) to 1.28 ng/dL (IQR 1.23–1.39), 0.015 mIU/L (IQR 0.01–0.04) to 0.89 mIU/L (IQR 0.35–1.55), 17.0 IU/L (IQR 5.0–40.3) to 5.0 IU/L (5.0–6.0), respectively; p < 0.001]. Median BMD (lumbar spine) values also improved from 1.118 g/cm2 (IQR 1.000–1.119) to 1.167 g/cm2 (IQR 1.050–1.219) (p = 0.001) at follow-up. TBS increased from 1.377 (IQR 1.299–1.422) to 1.390 (IQR 1.327–1.430) after treatment (p = 0.038).ConclusionBoth bone quality and density improved after anti-thyroid treatment in premenopausal female and male Graves' disease patients
Acupuncture for the treatment of tinnitus: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials
BACKGROUND: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has frequently been used to treat tinnitus, and acupuncture is a particularly popular option. The objective of this review was to assess the evidence concerning the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for tinnitus. METHODS: Fourteen databases were searched from the dates of their creation to July 4th, 2012. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were included if acupuncture was used as the sole treatment. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias. RESULTS: A total of 9 RCTs met all the inclusion criteria. Their methodological quality was mostly poor. Five RCTs compared the effectiveness of acupuncture or electroacupuncture with sham acupuncture for treating tinnitus. The results failed to show statistically significant improvements. Two RCTs compared a short one-time scalp acupuncture treatment with the use of penetrating sham acupuncture at non-acupoints in achieving subjective symptom relief on a visual analog scale; these RCTs demonstrated significant positive effects with scalp acupuncture. Two RCTs compared acupuncture with conventional drug treatments. One of these RCTs demonstrated that acupuncture had statistically significant effects on the response rate in patients with nervous tinnitus, but the other RCT did not demonstrate significant effects in patients with senile tinnitus. CONCLUSIONS: The number, size and quality of the RCTs on the effectiveness of acupuncture for the treatment of tinnitus are not sufficient for drawing definitive conclusions. Further rigorous RCTs that overcome the many limitations of the current evidence are warranted
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