134 research outputs found
CryptoMask : Privacy-preserving Face Recognition
Face recognition is a widely-used technique for identification or
verification, where a verifier checks whether a face image matches anyone
stored in a database. However, in scenarios where the database is held by a
third party, such as a cloud server, both parties are concerned about data
privacy. To address this concern, we propose CryptoMask, a privacy-preserving
face recognition system that employs homomorphic encryption (HE) and secure
multi-party computation (MPC). We design a new encoding strategy that leverages
HE properties to reduce communication costs and enable efficient similarity
checks between face images, without expensive homomorphic rotation.
Additionally, CryptoMask leaks less information than existing state-of-the-art
approaches. CryptoMask only reveals whether there is an image matching the
query or not, whereas existing approaches additionally leak sensitive
intermediate distance information. We conduct extensive experiments that
demonstrate CryptoMask's superior performance in terms of computation and
communication. For a database with 100 million 512-dimensional face vectors,
CryptoMask offers and speed-ups
in terms of computation and communication, respectively.Comment: 18 pages,3 figures, accepted by ICICS202
A whole-cell bioreporter assay for quantitative genotoxicity evaluation of environmental samples
Whole-cell bioreporters have emerged as promising tools for genotoxicity evaluation, due to their rapidity, cost-effectiveness, sensitivity and selectivity. In this study, a method for detecting genotoxicity in environmental samples was developed using the bioluminescent whole-cell bioreporter Escherichia coli recA::luxCDABE. To further test its performance in a real world scenario, the E. coli bioreporter was applied in two cases: i) soil samples collected from chromium(VI) contaminated sites; ii) crude oil contaminated seawater collected after the Jiaozhou Bay oil spill which occurred in 2013. The chromium(VI) contaminated soils were pretreated by water extraction, and directly exposed to the bioreporter in two phases: aqueous soil extraction (water phase) and soil supernatant (solid phase). The results indicated that both extractable and soil particle fixed chromium(VI) were bioavailable to the bioreporter, and the solid-phase contact bioreporter assay provided a more precise evaluation of soil genotoxicity. For crude oil contaminated seawater, the response of the bioreporter clearly illustrated the spatial and time change in genotoxicity surrounding the spill site, suggesting that the crude oil degradation process decreased the genotoxic risk to ecosystem. In addition, the performance of the bioreporter was simulated by a modified cross-regulation gene expression model, which quantitatively described the DNA damage response of the E. coli bioreporter. Accordingly, the bioluminescent response of the bioreporter was calculated as the mitomycin C equivalent, enabling quantitative comparison of genotoxicities between different environmental samples. This bioreporter assay provides a rapid and sensitive screening tool for direct genotoxicity assessment of environmental samples
Restoration of NBD1 Thermal Stability Is Necessary and Sufficient to Correct ∆F508 CFTR Folding and Assembly
CFTR (ABCC7), unique among ABC exporters as an ion channel, regulates ion and fluid transport in epithelial tissues. Loss of function due to mutations in the cftr gene causes cystic fibrosis (CF). The most common CF-causing mutation, the deletion of F508 (ΔF508) from the first nucleotide binding domain (NBD1) of CFTR, results in misfolding of the protein and clearance by cellular quality control systems. The ΔF508 mutation has two major impacts on CFTR: reduced thermal stability of NBD1 and disruption of its interface with membrane-spanning domains (MSDs). It is unknown if these two defects are independent and need to be targeted separately. To address this question we varied the extent of stabilization of NBD1 using different second site mutations and NBD1 binding small molecules with or without NBD1/MSD interface mutation. Combinations of different NBD1 changes had additive corrective effects on ΔF508 maturation that correlated with their ability to increase NBD1 thermostability. These effects were much larger than those caused by interface modification alone and accounted for most of the correction achieved by modifying both the domain and the interface. Thus, NBD1 stabilization plays a dominant role in overcoming the ΔF508 defect. Furthermore, the dual target approach resulted in a locked-open ion channel that was constitutively active in the absence of the normally obligatory dependence on phosphorylation by protein kinase A. Thus, simultaneous targeting of both the domain and the interface, as well as being non-essential for correction of biogenesis, may disrupt normal regulation of channel function
Long-term monitoring of the TeV emission from Mrk 421 with the ARGO-YBJ experiment
ARGO-YBJ is an air shower detector array with a fully covered layer of
resistive plate chambers. It is operated with a high duty cycle and a large
field of view. It continuously monitors the northern sky at energies above 0.3
TeV. In this paper, we report a long-term monitoring of Mrk 421 over the period
from 2007 November to 2010 February. This source was observed by the
satellite-borne experiments Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and Swift in the X-ray
band. Mrk 421 was especially active in the first half of 2008. Many flares are
observed in both X-ray and gamma-ray bands simultaneously. The gamma-ray flux
observed by ARGO-YBJ has a clear correlation with the X-ray flux. No lag
between the X-ray and gamma-ray photons longer than 1 day is found. The
evolution of the spectral energy distribution is investigated by measuring
spectral indices at four different flux levels. Hardening of the spectra is
observed in both X-ray and gamma-ray bands. The gamma-ray flux increases
quadratically with the simultaneously measured X-ray flux. All these
observational results strongly favor the synchrotron self-Compton process as
the underlying radiative mechanism.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figure
Observation of TeV gamma rays from the Cygnus region with the ARGO-YBJ experiment
We report the observation of TeV gamma-rays from the Cygnus region using the
ARGO-YBJ data collected from 2007 November to 2011 August. Several TeV sources
are located in this region including the two bright extended MGRO J2019+37 and
MGRO J2031+41. According to the Milagro data set, at 20 TeV MGRO J2019+37 is
the most significant source apart from the Crab Nebula. No signal from MGRO
J2019+37 is detected by the ARGO-YBJ experiment, and the derived flux upper
limits at 90% confidence level for all the events above 600 GeV with medium
energy of 3 TeV are lower than the Milagro flux, implying that the source might
be variable and hard to be identified as a pulsar wind nebula. The only
statistically significant (6.4 standard deviations) gamma-ray signal is found
from MGRO J2031+41, with a flux consistent with the measurement by Milagro.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
Observation of TeV gamma-rays from the unidentified source HESS J1841-055 with the ARGO-YBJ experiment
We report the observation of a very high energy \gamma-ray source, whose
position is coincident with HESS J1841-055. This source has been observed for
4.5 years by the ARGO-YBJ experiment from November 2007 to July 2012. Its
emission is detected with a statistical significance of 5.3 standard
deviations. Parameterizing the source shape with a two-dimensional Gaussian
function we estimate an extension \sigma=(0.40(+0.32,-0.22}) degree, consistent
with the HESS measurement. The observed energy spectrum is dN/dE =(9.0-+1.6) x
10^{-13}(E/5 TeV)^{-2.32-+0.23} photons cm^{-2} s^{-1} TeV^{-1}, in the energy
range 0.9-50 TeV. The integral \gamma-ray flux above 1 TeV is 1.3-+0.4 Crab
units, which is 3.2-+1.0 times the flux derived by HESS. The differences in the
flux determination between HESS and ARGO-YBJ, and possible counterparts at
other wavelengths are discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, have been accepted for publication in Ap
Mean Interplanetary Magnetic Field Measurement Using the ARGO-YBJ Experiment
The sun blocks cosmic ray particles from outside the solar system, forming a
detectable shadow in the sky map of cosmic rays detected by the ARGO-YBJ
experiment in Tibet. Because the cosmic ray particles are positive charged, the
magnetic field between the sun and the earth deflects them from straight
trajectories and results in a shift of the shadow from the true location of the
sun. Here we show that the shift measures the intensity of the field which is
transported by the solar wind from the sun to the earth.Comment: 6 papges,3 figure
Measurement of the cosmic ray antiproton/proton flux ratio at TeV energies with the ARGO-YBJ detector
Cosmic ray antiprotons provide an important probe to study the cosmic ray
propagation in the interstellar space and to investigate the existence of dark
matter. Acting the Earth-Moon system as a magnetic spectrometer, paths of
primary antiprotons are deflected in the opposite sense with respect to those
of the protons in their way to the Earth. This effect allows, in principle, the
search for antiparticles in the direction opposite to the observed deficit of
cosmic rays due to the Moon (the so-called `Moon shadow').
The ARGO-YBJ experiment, located at the Yangbajing Cosmic Ray Laboratory
(Tibet, P.R. China, 4300 m a.s.l., 606 g/cm), is particularly effective in
measuring the cosmic ray antimatter content via the observation of the cosmic
rays shadowing effect due to: (1) good angular resolution, pointing accuracy
and long-term stability; (2) low energy threshold; (3) real sensitivity to the
geomagnetic field.
Based on all the data recorded during the period from July 2006 through
November 2009 and on a full Monte Carlo simulation, we searched for the
existence of the shadow cast by antiprotons in the TeV energy region. No
evidence of the existence of antiprotons is found in this energy region. Upper
limits to the flux ratio are set to 5 % at a median energy of 1.4
TeV and 6 % at 5 TeV with a confidence level of 90%. In the TeV energy range
these limits are the lowest available.Comment: Contact authors: G. Di Sciascio ([email protected]) and R.
Iuppa ([email protected]), INFN Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma, Ital
Proton-air cross section measurement with the ARGO-YBJ cosmic ray experiment
The proton-air cross section in the energy range 1-100 TeV has been measured
by the ARGO-YBJ cosmic ray experiment. The analysis is based on the flux
attenuation for different atmospheric depths (i.e. zenith angles) and exploits
the detector capabilities of selecting the shower development stage by means of
hit multiplicity, density and lateral profile measurements at ground. The
effects of shower fluctuations, the contribution of heavier primaries and the
uncertainties of the hadronic interaction models, have been taken into account.
The results have been used to estimate the total proton-proton cross section at
center of mass energies between 70 and 500 GeV, where no accelerator data are
currently available.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
Enterovirus genomic load and disease severity among children hospitalised with hand, foot and mouth disease
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