ASB-CS: Adaptive sparse basis compressive sensing model and its application to medical image encryption

Recent advances in intelligent wearable devices have brought tremendous chances for the development of healthcare monitoring system. However, the data collected by various sensors in it are user-privacy-related information. Once the individuals’ privacy is subjected to attacks, it can potentially cause serious hazards. For this reason, a feasible solution built upon the compression-encryption architecture is proposed. In this scheme, we design an Adaptive Sparse Basis Compressive Sensing (ASB-CS) model by leveraging Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) manipulation, while performing a rigorous proof of its effectiveness. Additionally, incorporating the Parametric Deformed Exponential Rectified Linear Unit (PDE-ReLU) memristor, a new fractional-order Hopfield neural network model is introduced as a pseudo-random number generator for the proposed cryptosystem, which has demonstrated superior properties in many aspects, such as hyperchaotic dynamics and multistability. To be specific, a plain medical image is subjected to the ASB-CS model and bidirectional diffusion manipulation under the guidance of the key-controlled cipher flows to yield the corresponding cipher image without visual semantic features. Ultimately, the simulation results and analysis demonstrate that the proposed scheme is capable of withstanding multiple security attacks and possesses balanced performance in terms of compressibility and robustness

Reproducibility in the absence of selective reporting : An illustration from large-scale brain asymmetry research

Altres ajuts: Max Planck Society (Germany).The problem of poor reproducibility of scientific findings has received much attention over recent years, in a variety of fields including psychology and neuroscience. The problem has been partly attributed to publication bias and unwanted practices such as p-hacking. Low statistical power in individual studies is also understood to be an important factor. In a recent multisite collaborative study, we mapped brain anatomical left-right asymmetries for regional measures of surface area and cortical thickness, in 99 MRI datasets from around the world, for a total of over 17,000 participants. In the present study, we revisited these hemispheric effects from the perspective of reproducibility. Within each dataset, we considered that an effect had been reproduced when it matched the meta-analytic effect from the 98 other datasets, in terms of effect direction and significance threshold. In this sense, the results within each dataset were viewed as coming from separate studies in an "ideal publishing environment," that is, free from selective reporting and p hacking. We found an average reproducibility rate of 63.2% (SD = 22.9%, min = 22.2%, max = 97.0%). As expected, reproducibility was higher for larger effects and in larger datasets. Reproducibility was not obviously related to the age of participants, scanner field strength, FreeSurfer software version, cortical regional measurement reliability, or regional size. These findings constitute an empirical illustration of reproducibility in the absence of publication bias or p hacking, when assessing realistic biological effects in heterogeneous neuroscience data, and given typically-used sample sizes

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Studies of the biological activity of LHRH analogs in the rainbow trout, landlocked salmon, and the winter flounder

Also published in General and comparative endocrinology, v. 71, 1988, p. 372-38

Evaluation of hydrocyclone as pre-filter in irrigation system

The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of a hydrocyclone to separate sand in irrigation water. To do this, it an experiment was conducted where the hydrocyclone was operated with pressures and discharge that varied from 10 to 60 kPa and from 1,159.90 L h-1 to 2,603.60 L h-1, respectively. During the tests, the sand concentration in suspension varied from 2.81 g L-1 to 7.01 g L-1. The results showed that the best efficiency was obtained with pressure differentials of 10 and 30 kPa, with cut size (d70) of 50 µm.<br>Neste trabalho, o principal objetivo foi avaliar a capacidade de um hidrociclone em reter areia suspensa na água de irrigação. O hidrociclone operou com diferenciais de pressão que variaram de 10 a 60 kPa e vazões entre 1.159,90 a 2.603,60 L h-1. A concentração de areia na suspensão variou de 2,81 a 7,01 g L-1. Os resultados mostraram que as melhores eficiências de remoção foram obtidas para os diferenciais de pressão de 10 e 30 kPa, e diâmetros de corte (d70) de 50 µm

Valores bioquímicos sanguíneos en hembras brahman bajo condiciones de pastoreo Clinical biochemistry values in serum from grazing brahman cows

Con el objeto de establecer un rango de referencia para diferentes metabolitos en hembras bovinas B. indicus, se tomaron 5-10 mL de suero sanguíneo a 21 hembras bovinas Brahman registradas en el departamento de Caldas, Colombia. Se determinó la concentración de los diferentes metabolitos que forman parte de un perfil metabólico estándar, como beta-hidroxibutirato, proteína total, albúmina, globulinas, urea, aspartato aminotransferasa (AST), calcio y magnesio. Los resultados fueron analizados mediante la obtención del rango, promedio y desviación estándar (DE). El intervalo de referencia se estableció en el 95% (x±2DE). El promedio y la DE obtenidos para cada metabolito fueron: beta-hidroxibutirato 0,34±0,15 mmol/L; proteína total 81±9 g/L; albúmina 41±3 g/L; globulinas 40±10 g/L; urea 3,31±1,43 mmol/L; AST 158±34 U/L; Ca 2,50±0,21 mmol/L y Mg 1,40±0,44 mmol/L. Se observó que las alteraciones más frecuentes fueron aumento en la concentración de butiratos y globulinas y aumento en la actividad de AST. Según los resultados obtenidos, se puede señalar que los valores encontrados para la concentración de diferentes metabolitos séricos en hembras Brahman mantenidas en pastoreo, son similares a los valores descritos para bovinos B. taurus.<br>This study was designed in order to get the reference values for the concentration of different metabolites included in a standard metabolic profile for grazing Brahman cattle (B. indicus) from Caldas, Colombia. Serum samples (5-10 mL) were taken from 21 healthy grazing Brahman cows to analyse beta-hydroxybutyrate, total protein, albumin, globulines, urea, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), calcium and magnesium. The results were analyzed by calculating range, mean and standard deviation (SD). The reference interval was set at 95% (x±2SD). The mean and SD obtained for the concentration of the different metabolites were: beta-hydroxybutyrate 0.34±0.15 mmol/L; total protein 81±9 g/L; albumin 41±3 g/L; globulines 40±10 g/L; urea 3.31±1.43 mmol/L; AST 158±34 U/L; Ca 2.50±0.21 mmol/L, and Mg 1.40±0.44 mmol/L. The increasing of beta-hydroxybutyrates and globulines, and a high activity of AST were the most frequent alterations. The serum biochemistry values for grazing B. indicus cattle are similar to the described values for B. taurus