A Privacy-Preserving Framework for Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) System

The electronic health record (eHR) system has recently been considered one of the biggest advancements in healthcare services. A personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) system is proposed by the Australian government to make the health system more agile, secure, and sustainable. Although the PCEHR system claims the electronic health records can be controlled by the patients, healthcare professionals and database/system operators may assist in disclosing the patients’ eHRs for retaliation or other ill purposes. As the conventional methods for preserving the privacy of eHRs solely trust the system operators, these data are vulnerable to be exploited by the authorised personnel in an immoral/unethical way. Furthermore, issues such as the sheer number of eHRs, their sensitive nature, flexible access, and efficient user revocation have remained the most important challenges towards fine-grained, cryptographically enforced data access control. In this paper we propose a patient centric cloud-based PCEHR framework, which employs a homomorphic encryption technique in storing the eHRs. The proposed system ensures the control of both access and privacy of eHRs stored in the cloud database

Reconstruction of Mandibular Defect by Free Re-Vascularized Fibula Graft: A Case Report

Background: In maxillofacial surgery tumor ablation often causes continuity defect of mandible which results anatomical and functional morbidity of the patient. The reconstruction of the mandibular defect is mandatory to restore the oral function and speech. Various methods of immediate reconstruction are implemented by different authors time to time including autogenous non vascularized bone graft, allogenic bone graft , auto frozen mandible or reconstruction plates and others. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages including donor site morbidity, failure and others. The purpose of the present case report is to establish micorvascular free fiblula is as a better option to other methods in immediate reconstruction of mandibular continuity defect. Objective: Anatomical, functional and esthetic rehabilitation of patients after mandibular resection Method: Revascularization of free fibula graft by microvascular anastomosis of paroneal artery with facial artery at the segmental defect site of mandible. Result: Remarkable contour, cosmesis and early functional rehabilatation of the patient. Conclusion: Microvascular reconstruction with fibula is the better option for defect correction and early rehabilitation in patients with mandibular continuity defect. Key words: Mandible, defect; reconstruction; microvascular technique; fibula graftDOI: 10.3329/bsmmuj.v1i1.3698 BSMMU J 2008; 1(1): 35-3

A Chain Oriented Data Collection Protocol for Energy-Aware and Delay-Constrained WSN

Energy awareness plays an important role in developing routing protocol for the battery powered wireless sensor networks. As the replacement of the battery is often unfeasible in practical situations, we present here an optimal solution for the maximum utilization of precious available energy at the same time trying to minimize the latency in data delivery. We propose to form hierarchical chains with deployed sensors to collect information from a target field where data get fused at every node level before transmitted finally. Our protocol utilizes the higher energy nodes for more frequent long distance transmissions so that the energy expenditure become even between all nodes in the network irrespective of their physical locations. It has been found in our simulation that this protocol outperforms other hierarchical protocols like LEACH and PEGASIS in both the cases of energy consumption and time requirements respectively. It has been also found that the overall lifetime of the sensor network also increases in our protocol

DeepMem: ML Models as storage channels and their (mis-)applications

Machine learning (ML) models are overparameterized to support generality and avoid overfitting. Prior works have shown that these additional parameters can be used for both malicious (e.g., hiding a model covertly within a trained model) and beneficial purposes (e.g., watermarking a model). In this paper, we propose a novel information theoretic perspective of the problem; we consider the ML model as a storage channel with a capacity that increases with overparameterization. Specifically, we consider a sender that embeds arbitrary information in the model at training time, which can be extracted by a receiver with a black-box access to the deployed model. We derive an upper bound on the capacity of the channel based on the number of available parameters. We then explore black-box write and read primitives that allow the attacker to: (i) store data in an optimized way within the model by augmenting the training data at the transmitter side, and (ii) to read it by querying the model after it is deployed. We also analyze the detectability of the writing primitive and consider a new version of the problem which takes information storage covertness into account. Specifically, to obtain storage covertness, we introduce a new constraint such that the data augmentation used for the write primitives minimizes the distribution shift with the initial (baseline task) distribution. This constraint introduces a level of "interference" with the initial task, thereby limiting the channel's effective capacity. Therefore, we develop optimizations to improve the capacity in this case, including a novel ML-specific substitution based error correction protocol. We believe that the proposed modeling of the problem offers new tools to better understand and mitigate potential vulnerabilities of ML, especially in the context of increasingly large models

Abugida Normalizer and Parser for Unicode texts

This paper proposes two libraries to address common and uncommon issues with Unicode-based writing schemes for Indic languages. The first is a normalizer that corrects inconsistencies caused by the encoding scheme https://pypi.org/project/bnunicodenormalizer/ . The second is a grapheme parser for Abugida text https://pypi.org/project/indicparser/ . Both tools are more efficient and effective than previously used tools. We report 400% increase in speed and ensure significantly better performance for different language model based downstream tasks.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figur

Application of Stabilized Cefixime-AgNPs-GO Thin Films as Corrosion Inhibitors for Mild Steel Alloy

In this work, the corrosion inhibition of mild steel at ambient conditions by an antibiotic in a solution that contains silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and graphene oxide (GO) was studied. GO and AGNPs were prepared by one-step simple and ecofriendly method and characterized by different techniques. Different concentrations of the inhibitor were prepared and their inhibition efficiency in acidic media was investigated. The adsorption characteristics of the inhibitor were studied and it was found that the antibiotic (Cefixime) alone and with GO combined with AgNPs inhibit the corrosion of mild steel by being adsorbed on the surface of mild steel by a physical adsorption mechanism. The adsorption of Cefixime and GO with AgNPs on the mild steel surface was found to be spontaneous. Incorporating AgNPs and GO with Cefixime showed an additional inhibition efficiency when compared with using only Cefixime. This indicates the strong inhibition efficiency offered by incorporating the antibiotic with AgNPs and GO

Understanding the determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention and willingness to pay: findings from a population-based survey in Bangladesh

Background- Several coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines have already been authorized and distributed in different countries all over the world, including Bangladesh. Understanding public acceptance of such a novel vaccine is vital, but little is known about the topic. Objectives- This study aimed to investigate the determinants of intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and willingness to pay (WTP) among people in Bangladesh. Methods- An anonymous and online-based survey of Bangladeshi people (mean age = 29.96 ± 9.15 years; age range = 18–60 years) was conducted using a self-reported questionnaire consisting of socio-demographics, COVID-19 experience, and vaccination-related information as well as the health belief model (HBM). Multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine the factors influencing COVID-19 vaccination intent and WTP. Results- Of the 894 participants, 38.5% reported a definite intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, whereas 27% had a probable intention, and among this intent group, 42.8% wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Older age, feeling optimistic about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination, believing that vaccination decreases worries and risk of COVID-19 infection, and being less concerned about side effects and safety of COVID-19 vaccination under the HBM construct were found to be significant factors in COVID-19 vaccination intention. Most of the participants (72.9%) were willing to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine, with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) amount of BDT 400/US$4.72 (IQR; BDT 200–600/US$ 2.36–7.07) per dose. Factors associated with higher WTP were younger age, being male, having higher education, residing in an urban area, having good self-rated health status, positivity towards COVID-19 vaccination's effectiveness, and being worried about the likelihood of getting infected with COVID-19. Participants who were COVID-19 vaccination intent preferred an imported vaccine over a domestically-made vaccine (22.9% vs. 14.8%), while 28.2% preferred a routine immunization schedule. Conclusion- The findings indicate a considerable proportion of Bangladeshi people intended to get vaccinated and had WTP for the COVID-19 vaccine. However, urgent education and awareness programs are warranted to alleviate public skepticism regarding the COVID-19 vaccination

an individual participant data meta-analysis

Background The impact of neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) on influenza-related pneumonia (IRP) is not established. Our objective was to investigate the association between NAI treatment and IRP incidence and outcomes in patients hospitalised with A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection. Methods A worldwide meta- analysis of individual participant data from 20 634 hospitalised patients with laboratory-confirmed A(H1N1)pdm09 (n = 20 021) or clinically diagnosed (n = 613) ‘pandemic influenza’. The primary outcome was radiologically confirmed IRP. Odds ratios (OR) were estimated using generalised linear mixed modelling, adjusting for NAI treatment propensity, antibiotics and corticosteroids. Results Of 20 634 included participants, 5978 (29·0%) had IRP; conversely, 3349 (16·2%) had confirmed the absence of radiographic pneumonia (the comparator). Early NAI treatment (within 2 days of symptom onset) versus no NAI was not significantly associated with IRP [adj. OR 0·83 (95% CI 0·64–1·06; P = 0·136)]. Among the 5978 patients with IRP, early NAI treatment versus none did not impact on mortality [adj. OR = 0·72 (0·44–1·17; P = 0·180)] or likelihood of requiring ventilatory support [adj. OR = 1·17 (0·71–1·92; P = 0·537)], but early treatment versus later significantly reduced mortality [adj. OR = 0·70 (0·55–0·88; P = 0·003)] and likelihood of requiring ventilatory support [adj. OR = 0·68 (0·54–0·85; P = 0·001)]. Conclusions Early NAI treatment of patients hospitalised with A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection versus no treatment did not reduce the likelihood of IRP. However, in patients who developed IRP, early NAI treatment versus later reduced the likelihood of mortality and needing ventilatory support

Impact of neuraminidase inhibitors on influenza A(H1N1)pdm09‐related pneumonia: an individual participant data meta‐analysis

BACKGROUND: The impact of neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) on influenza‐related pneumonia (IRP) is not established. Our objective was to investigate the association between NAI treatment and IRP incidence and outcomes in patients hospitalised with A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection. METHODS: A worldwide meta‐analysis of individual participant data from 20 634 hospitalised patients with laboratory‐confirmed A(H1N1)pdm09 (n = 20 021) or clinically diagnosed (n = 613) ‘pandemic influenza’. The primary outcome was radiologically confirmed IRP. Odds ratios (OR) were estimated using generalised linear mixed modelling, adjusting for NAI treatment propensity, antibiotics and corticosteroids. RESULTS: Of 20 634 included participants, 5978 (29·0%) had IRP; conversely, 3349 (16·2%) had confirmed the absence of radiographic pneumonia (the comparator). Early NAI treatment (within 2 days of symptom onset) versus no NAI was not significantly associated with IRP [adj. OR 0·83 (95% CI 0·64–1·06; P = 0·136)]. Among the 5978 patients with IRP, early NAI treatment versus none did not impact on mortality [adj. OR = 0·72 (0·44–1·17; P = 0·180)] or likelihood of requiring ventilatory support [adj. OR = 1·17 (0·71–1·92; P = 0·537)], but early treatment versus later significantly reduced mortality [adj. OR = 0·70 (0·55–0·88; P = 0·003)] and likelihood of requiring ventilatory support [adj. OR = 0·68 (0·54–0·85; P = 0·001)]. CONCLUSIONS: Early NAI treatment of patients hospitalised with A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection versus no treatment did not reduce the likelihood of IRP. However, in patients who developed IRP, early NAI treatment versus later reduced the likelihood of mortality and needing ventilatory support