bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Energy Consumption of Rail Baltica Project: Regional Aspects of Environmental Impact
Authors: Piterina Olga , Masharsky Alexander
Published: July 2019

Research purpose. The high-speed railway (HSR) construction project in the Baltic States is the largest joint infrastructure project since the restoration of independence of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Rail Baltica (RB) is considered as the most energy-efficient project having the lowest environmental impact. However, the issue of energy consumption of the project was not sufficiently addressed either in the investment justification of the RB construction or in the relevant research works regarding the project. The aim of the current research is to determine the indicators of energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions intensity of the Latvian section of RB, since they are the key factors of the quantitative assessment of sustainability.

Design/Methodology/Approach. Critical analysis of the academic research works and reports of the official international organizations dedicated to the topic of energy consumption and CO2 emissions of HSR was conducted prior to the calculation of the above-mentioned indicators. The method of calculation based on International Union of Railways (UIC) was used in order to conduct the cluster analysis within the framework of current work. The main points considered are electricity consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and level of passenger and freight demand. Statistical databases of UIC and International Energy Agency were used.

Findings. The calculations carried out by the authors of the given article demonstrate substantial figures of CO2 emissions intensity for Latvian section of the project related to the train load rate and traffic intensity which is evened out only by the CO2 emissions factor in Latvia.

Originality/Value/Practical implications. On this basis the authors present the directions for future research required for the development of the effective strategy for the Latvian Republic with the aim of achieving the increase in the RB project’s ecological efficiency.
Wind speed prediction research with EMD-BP based on Lorenz disturbance
Authors: Zhang Yagang , Pan Guifang , Zhang Chenhong , Zhao Yuan
Published: July 2019

Wind power, as a new energy generation technology, has been applying widely and growing rapidly, which make it become the main force of renewable energy. However, wind speed sequence has its own character of the intermittent and uncertainty, which brings a great challenge to the safety and stability of the power grid, one of the valid ways solving the problem is improving the wind speed predicting accuracy. Therefore, given atmospheric disturbances, we firstly used empirical mode decomposition (EMD) to deal with the non-linear wind speed sequence, and combined with strong adaptive and self-learning ability of BP neural network, then, a wind speed prediction model, EMD-BP neural network based on Lorenz disturbance, was proposed. Finally, it was to made use of actual wind speed data to take a simulation experiment and explored the improvement effect of the preliminary forecasting sequence of wind speed influenced by Lorenz equation in the transient chaos and chaos. The results show that, the improved model weakened the random fluctuation of wind speed sequence, effectively corrected the wind speed sequences initial prediction values, and made a great improvement for the short-term wind speed prediction precision. This research work will help the power system dispatching department adjust the dispatching plan in time, formulate the wind farm control strategy reasonably, reduce the impact brought by wind power grid connection, increase the wind power penetration rate, and then promote the global energy power market innovation.
Performance optimization of permanent magnet synchronous motor by cogging torque reduction
Authors: Sarac Vasilija
Published: July 2019

The development of the robotics and the automation and the need for the motors that can work in the applications that require high speed, precision and increased efficiency have led to the increased use of permanent magnet synchronous motors and their continuous development in terms of improving their performance. Cogging torque is one of the features of these types of the motors that deteriorate motor performance especially at low speeds. Therefore, in this paper the method of genetic algorithms (GA) is applied as an optimization tool, for minimizing the cogging torque without changing the other important operating parameters like output power, torque or current. Even more, the optimized motor model has improved efficiency compared to the starting model and has the decreased weight of the permanent magnets. The optimization is done by changing the rotor design in terms of the magnet thickness, pole span and shape of the magnets. Finite elements (FE) models of the optimized and the basic motor were derived and from them the flux density distribution in the motor cross section and in the air gap was calculated. In addition, the improvement of the motor operation is observed from the torque characteristics calculated by the FE models.
Numerical simulation study on bowtie antenna-based time reversal mirror for super-resolution target detection
Authors: Twumasi Baidenger Agyekum , Li Jia-Lin
Published: July 2019

Bowtie antenna-based time reversal mirror (TRM), incorporating with randomly distributed and arbitrarily shaped wire metamaterials medium, is proposed to realize super-resolution target detection. The achieved performance for standard and scatterer bowtie antenna TRM is compared and discussed. The dual-band bowtie antennas resonate at 2.45 GHz and 5.2 GHz and a super-resolution of 0.0817 of the free-space wavelength at 2.45 GHz has been achieved. For the first time, studies show that the TRM with microstructure perturbations (namely scatterers) can enhance the resolution in some cases. Proposing a method of super-resolving transmission of electromagnetic waves is very important to realize multi-independent channels in a compact space for the related applications.
On interactions of static magnetic fields
Authors: Zor Ömer
Published: July 2019

We investigated the interaction energy of a Gilbertian magnetic charge with each of the “point” magnetic field sources. Finally we extrapolated a Dirac string can only be defined if there is at most one Dirac monopole in the medium. If there is only one Dirac monopole/string in the universe, the probability of detecting it is essential zero, such that Dirac’s monopole would remain just a “theorist’s particle”.
Erasure decoding of five times extended Reed-Solomon codes
Authors: Rakús Martin , Farkaš Peter , Páleník Tomáš
Published: July 2019

Recently a new family of error control codes was proposed which are equivalent to five times extended Reed-Solomon codes. In this paper an erasure decoding algorithm for these codes is proposed.
Congenital Malalignment of the Nails
Authors: Chiriac Anca , Năznean Adrian , Podoleanu Cristian , Molnar Claudiu , Stolnicu Simona
Published: July 2019

Congenital malalignment of the toenail is characterized by the lateral (rarely medial) deviation of nail plates that affects mostly the great toes from one foot or both, but has also been described on other toes, even on the hands. This nail disease is still considered a rare entity, although it is not a rare clinical observation in daily practice. We present a few cases in children and adults, highlighting the diagnosis made by clinical observation, regardless of the different grades of severity of the nail disease. Conclusion: It is of great importance to clinically recognize this entity in young children and to make the correct recommendations.
Skin Lesions in a Daclizumab-treated Patient with Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Chiriac Anca , Năznean Adrian , Podoleanu Cristian , Molnar Claudiu , Stolnicu Simona
Published: July 2019

Background: Daclizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody against the D-subunit (CD25) of the high-affinity interleukin (IL)–2 receptor, used for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis with a large spectrum of cutaneous adverse reactions. Case presentation: We present the case of a middle-aged man treated with daclizumab for multiple sclerosis, who developed skin reactions difficult to evaluate. A 4 mm punch-biopsy was taken from the plantar area. Histological examination of the biopsy revealed hyperkeratosis and acanthosis but no parakeratosis, while a discrete inflammatory infiltrate was noticed around vessels in the dermis. Treatment with fluconazole 50 mg/day for 10 days, moisturizers, and grade I topical steroids was followed by slight improvement of the clinical picture. Treatment with daclizumab was not discontinued. Conclusion: The clinical efficacy and side effects of daclizumab have to be reported and confirmed in clinical practice in the following years. Any clinical report can contribute to validate the efficacy and risk of the drug’s administration. Any type of adverse skin reaction must be reported for clarifying the diagnosis.
Uncommon Differential Diagnosis of Acute Right-sided Abdominal Pain – Case Report
Authors: Kwizera Cédric , Wagner Benedikt , Wagner Johannes B. , Molnar Călin
Published: July 2019

The appendix is a worm-like, blind-ending tube, with its base on the caecum and its tip in multiple locations. Against all odds, it plays a key role in the digestive immune system and appendectomy should therefore be cautiously considered and indicated. We report the case of a 45-year-old male with a known history of Fragile-X syndrome who presented to the emergency department with intense abdominal pain and was suspected of acute appendicitis, after a positive Dieulafoy’s triad was confirmed. The laparoscopic exploration showed no signs of inflammation of the appendix; nonetheless, its removal was carried out. Rising inflammatory laboratory parameters led to a focused identification of a pleural empyema due to a tooth inlay aspiration. Our objective is to emphasize the importance of a thorough anamnesis, even in cases of mentally impaired patients, as well as to highlight a rare differential diagnosis for appendicitis. Acute appendicitis is an emergency condition that requires a thorough assessment and appropriate therapy. Clinical examinations are important, but in this particular case, imaging methods had a much more important role in establishing the right treatment approach. Furthermore, the signs of acute appendicitis are mimicked by several medical conditions including respiratory tract infections.
Avoiding Double Taxation Through The Assessment of International Tax Treties. Case: ESP’s versus Anaf Braşov
Authors: Dumiter Florin , Jimon Ștefania Amalia , Bene Florin Gheorghe
Published: July 2019

International double taxation represents one of the main problems’ for which taxpayers have to deal within a world fulfilled with globalization, uncertainty, risk, asymmetrical information and moral hazard. In this sense, in this article it is provided a qualitative overview regarding the appearance and evolution of the main double taxation conventions and their legal framework. In this article it is tackled some important issues, namely: the rationale behind the construction and engaging in double taxation conventions; the need for a coherent and just application of those conventions; the historical appearance and evolution of the double taxation conventions, as well as the quid pro quo OECD Model Convention and UN Model Convention. The conclusions of this article highlight the importance and ultimately need for construction of best practices new and complex multilateral tax convention at the UE level in order to diminish the contagious effects of the treaty shopping practices. The case study presented in this article from the Romanian jurisprudence highlights the multi-faced concept of double taxation and the comprehension approach which must be undertaken in order to solve the complex issues of the international taxation via double taxation treaties.
Criminal Responsibility for Concealing Truth in Finance
Authors: Khalili Seyyed Ahmad Mir , Kalantari Abbas , Zarchi Fatemeh Rezaei
Published: July 2019

The disguise of truth as one of the main sources of blameworthy in the Qur’an and the customs has been extremely condemned and has cautioned the concealer. In light of the Quranic documentation and the legitimacy of the disguise of reality, it has been acknowledged and acknowledged that instances of household and outside business sectors that reason doubt of merchants and uncertainty in the monetary space have been a wellspring of perplexity by the gatherings to the agreement. In Iran’s law, regardless of the expectation of common risk, including pay and end for hiding reality, no assurance of criminal requirement has been predicted. In this article, alluding to the refrains and portrayals, the standard of wellbeing and the guideline of the supply of products reality in contracts where the purposeful camouflage causes unsalvageable harm, by adjusting the components of wrongdoing, notwithstanding thoughtful risk, for hiding criminal obligation.
Illegal Access to a Computer System from the Standpoint of the Current Criminal Code
Authors: Drăgan Alin Teodorus
Published: July 2019

One of the forms that cybercrime can take at present is illegal access to a computer system. From the very beginning, the world of computers and of the Internet was based on imperfections, defects, and sometimes on poorly understood processes. We might even call this fact “the original sin” of the Internet. In the end, it is not only computer scientists who have come to exploit such defects, but also criminals. In the real world, there are people who break into homes and take away everything they find valuable. In the virtual world, there are individuals who penetrate into computer systems and steal all valuable data.
Decision-Making in the International Monetary Fund: Implications for Sovereign Equality of States
Authors: Ansong Alex
Published: July 2019

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is one of the post-Second World War international organizations set up to promote good international economic cooperation among states. Unlike international organizations like the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization (which succeeded the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade 1947), decision-making in the IMF is quite peculiar in that it is based on the joint stock company model where the value of shares determine the value of a member’s vote. Thus the principle of sovereign equality of states that underpins the one-member-one-vote system in the UN and WTO is absent in the IMF. This paper discusses the various decisionmaking organs in the IMF and concludes with a discussion on the sovereignty implications of the use of IMF conditionalities in the giving of loans, especially to developing countries.
The Defence of Necessity in International Law and Investor Versus State Dispute Settlement
Authors: AlModarra Bader Bakhit M
Published: July 2019

The ability of foreign investors to sue host states without reliance on diplomatic protection is one of the most important developments in international investment law in the post-World War II era. The rise of investor-state dispute settlement under international regimes like the Convention Establishing the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID Convention) raises some concerns from states regarding loss of sovereignty. However, there are defences available to states when they intervene in their economies for purposes like public utility or the need to safeguard an essential interest. Thus in spite of treaty commitments that bind states to protect the investments of foreign investors within their domains, there are available defences for their intervention in their economies even if such interventions become inimical to the interests of foreign investors and could, prima facie, raise the possibility of infringements of the rights of foreign investors. One of such defences available to states is the principle of necessity. This article explores the principle of necessity in international law and how it operates as a defence for states in investor-state dispute settlement. It also conducts analysis of the Annulment Decision in the CMS v Argentina case to shed light on the principle of necessity.
Saliva diagnostic utility in patients with type 2 diabetes: Future standard method
Authors: Mrag Marwa , Kassab Asma , Omezzine Asma , Chebil Raoua Belkacem , Ismail Fatma Ben Fredj , Douki Nabiha , Kechrid Chedia Laouani , Bouslema Ali , Amor Faten Ben
Published: July 2019

Background

The purpose of the present study was to assess saliva reliability in diagnosis and monitoring type 2 diabetes instead of blood.

Methods

Blood and unstimulated whole saliva were collected from 300 type 2 diabetic subjects and 300 healthy controls in fasting. Then, the salivary flow rate was calculated. All parameters including glucose, urea, amylase, total protein, albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), immunoglobulin A (IgA), potassium, calcium and chloride were assessed in the supernatant, using an autoanalyzer. Oral exam was conducted by a single examiner on full mouth excluding third molars. Statistical analysis was performed by the SPSS 20.0 version.

Results

Saliva screening showed that glucose, urea, amylase, total protein, potassium, calcium and chloride were significantly higher in patients compared to controls (p < 0.05). Whereas, the IgA level and salivary flow rate were significantly reduced in patients (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found in albumin and CRP levels (p = 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between salivary and plasma glucose levels (r = 0.887, and r = 0.900, p < 0.001), as well as, salivary and blood urea (r = 0.586, and r = 0.688, p < 0.001) in patients and controls, respectively.

Conclusions

From this study, saliva could be suggested as a useful diagnostic tool for type 2 diabetes.
Changes in the proteomic profile of blood serum in coronary atherosclerosis
Authors: Stakhneva Ekaterina M. , Meshcheryakova Irina A. , Demidov Evgeny A. , Starostin Konstantin V. , Peltek Sergey E. , Voevoda Michael I. , Ragino Yuliya I.
Published: July 2019

Background

Our aim was to study changes in the serum proteomic profile in coronary atherosclerosis.

Methods

The study involved two groups of patients: 1) men with coronary heart disease and coronary atherosclerosis (n = 15); 2) control (n = 15): men without coronary heart disease. The object of this study was blood serum. Separation of proteins for the investigation of differences in serum protein components was performed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Identification of protein fractions was carried out using peptide mass maps by the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization method.

Results

In blood serum samples from patients with coronary atherosclerosis, protein separation in two-dimensional gels with mass-spectrometric identification revealed an increase of some proteins: hemopexin, transthyretin (monomeric form), retinol-binding protein 4, and components of the complement system: C3 (chain B) and C9. There was a decrease of some proteins: kininogen, zinc finger protein 133, and B-cell CLL/lymphoma 6 member B protein. Comparisons between the experimental and control group were carried out in protein fractions where the protein amount differed more than 1.5-fold (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Proteome profiling of serum revealed a change in the content of kininogen, hemopexin, transthyretin, retinol-binding protein, and proteins of the complement system (C9, and C3) in coronary atherosclerosis. The contribution to the differential expression of a protein was often made by isoforms of the protein, particularly transthyretin. The change in the concentrations of functionally interacting proteins, such as transthyretin and retinol-binding protein, were noted.
Rs1799817 in INSR associates with susceptibility to polycystic ovary syndrome
Authors: Daghestani Maha H.
Published: July 2019

Background

Insulin and its receptor (INSR) have been implicated in the etiology of the polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Here, we investigate the association between INSR rs1799817 polymorphism and PCOS in Saudi Arabian women.

Methods

study group included 126 PCOS women and 118 normo-ovulatory matched controls. The demographic data was recorded, and the plasma levels of glucose, lipids, leptin, E2, LH, FSH, T, SHBG, and insulin were determined. The genotypic and allele frequencies of rs1799817 were evaluated in both PCOS and control group. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify Exon 17 of the INSR gene, and the amplified products were analyzed by direct sequencing. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (C to T) was found at locus 10923 (His1058) of rs1799817.

Results

In the PCOS group, the mutant allele T occurs at a significantly higher frequency (0.306) compared to the control group (0.174) (p<0.001). It shows a dominant effect and elevates the relative risk of PCOS even in the heterozygotes (RR=2.82). After stratification of the participants by body mass index, the frequency of T allele was significantly higher in the lean patients with PCOS compared to the lean control. The obese PCOS also had a higher frequency than the obese control, but the difference was not statistically significant. Several parameter values were affected by the INSR genotype, particularly W/H ratio, lipid, insulin and glucose levels and insulin resistance in PCOS patients.

Conclusion

The INSR gene polymorphism rs1799817 is a susceptibility locus associated with PCOS in Saudis and associated metabolic and hormonal changes, particularly, in the lean PCOS females.
Serum klotho as a marker for early diagnosis of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery
Authors: Jerin Aleš , Mosa Osama F , Kališnik Jurij M , Žibert Janez , Skitek Milan
Published: July 2019

Background

Early diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery is based on serum creatinine which is neither a specific nor a sensitive biomarker. In our study, we investigated the role of serum Klotho in early prediction of AKI after cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Methods

The included patients were classified into three groups according to AKI stages using KDIGO criteria. The measurements of creatinine and Klotho levels in serum were performed before surgery, at the end of CPB, 2 hours after the end of CPB, 24 hours and 48 hours postoperatively.

Results

Seventy-eight patients were included in the study. A significant increase of creatinine levels (p<0.001) was measured on the first day after the surgery in both AKI groups compared to the non-AKI group. However, a significant difference between AKI-2 and AKI-1 groups (p=0.006) was not measured until the second day after the operation. Using decision trees for classification of patients with a higher or lower risk of AKI we found out that Klotho discriminated between the patients at low risk of developing more severe kidney injury in the first hours after surgery and the patients at high risk better than creatinine. Adding also the early measurements of creatinine in the decision tree model further improved the prediction of AKI.

Conclusion

Serum Klotho may be useful to discriminate between the patients at lower and the patients at higher risk of developing severe kidney injury after cardiac surgery using CPB already in the first hours after surgery.
Combined presence of coagulation factor XIII V34L and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 4G/5G gene polymorphisms significantly contribute to recurrent pregnancy loss in serbian population
Authors: Joksic Ivana , Mikovic Zeljko , Filimonovic Dejan , Munjas Jelena , Orlic Natasa Karadzov , Egic Amira , Joksic Gordana
Published: July 2019

Background

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a heterogeneous condition affecting up to 5% of women of reproductive age. Inherited thrombophilia have been postulated as one of the causes of RPL. Here we examined the prevalence of nine thrombophilic gene polymorphisms among women with history of recurrent miscarriages and fertile controls.

Methods

The study included 70 women with history of at least three early pregnancy losses and 31 fertile controls with no miscarriages. We investigated mutations in genes responsible for clotting and fibrinolysis, including factor V (FV) Leiden, FV H1299R, factor II (FII) G20210A, methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C, factor XIII (FXIII) V34L, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) 4G/5G and endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) H1 and H3 haplotypes using reverse polymerase chain reaction ViennaLab cardiovascular disease StrippAssays.

Results

Our results showed no significant increase in prevalence of tested polymorphisms in women with RPL. However, relative risk for PRL among women heterozygous for FXIII V34L was 2.81 times increased (OR 2.81, 95% CI 1.15–6.87, P=0.023). Haplotype analysis showed that combined presence of high-risk genotypes for FXIII and PAI-1 significantly increases risk for RPL (OR 13.98, CI 95% 1.11–17.46, P=0.044).

Conclusions

This is the first study in Serbian population that investigated prevalence of FVR2, A1298C, FXIII V34L and EPCR gene variants. Compound heterozygosity for FXIII V34L and PAI-1 4G is significant risk factor for recurrent miscarriage. Our results should be viewed in context of small case-control study, so further large prospective studies are need for confirmation of our findings.
Interaction of apelin, elabela and nitric oxide in schizophrenia patients
Authors: Catak Zekiye , Kaya Hilal , Kocdemir Esra , Ugur Kader , Guzel Saadet Pilten , Yardim Meltem , Sahin Ibrahim , Agirbas Esra Piril , Aydin Suleyman
Published: July 2019

Background

Apelin (APLN), elabela (ELA), and nitric oxide (NO) have effects on physiological and behavioural properties in biological systems. This study was designed to determine APLN, ELA and NO levels in schizophrenia patients and assess whether these molecules are of diagnostic value.

Methods

A total of 33 schizophrenic patients and 32 age- and sex-adjusted healthy participants were included in the study. ELA, APLN and NO levels were measured using ELISA methods.

Results

Although the ELA and NO levels of the patients were lower than the control group, APLN levels were higher (p = 0.039, p = 0.019, p = 0.048, respectively). There was a significant negative correlation between APLN levels and triglyceride (TG) and body mass index (BMI) levels (r = -0.426, p = < 0.001 and r = -0.330, p = 0.007, respectively). Respectively, the areas under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the ELA/APLN, ELA/NO and APLN/NO ratios were 0.628, 0.590 and 0.709, 95% confident intervals (CI): 0.491–0.764, 0.450–0.730 and 0.579–0.840.

Conclusions

Decreased levels of ELA and NO and increased APLN levels in schizophrenia suggest that these molecules may be involved in its etiopathology. The APLN/NO ratio also seems to show promise in the diagnosis of the disease and may be used in future.
Newborns bilirubin concentration determined by different methods in relation to hematocrit and albumin level
Authors: Berska Joanna , Bugajska Jolanta , Sztefko Krystyna
Published: July 2019

Background

Monitoring of bilirubin is essential during early neonatal life. Bilirubin in high concentration is toxic to the brain and might cause irreversible neurological damage. Several different methods for bilirubin determination are available nowadays, but inconsistent results may be obtained. The study aimed to compare dry chemistry methods with vanadate oxidation method for bilirubin determination in relation to hematocrit and albumin level in neonates and infants.

Methods

The study included 98 consecutive serum samples from newborns and infants (47 boys and 51 girls, mean age 19 ± 15 days) treated in the University Children’s Hospital in Krakow. Total bilirubin (TBil) and neonatal bilirubin (NBil) concentration were measured by dry chemistry analyser (Vitros 4600, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Inc.). Total bilirubin (TBilV) was also measured using vanadate oxidation method (Cormay, Poland). Albumin concentration and blood morphology have been routinely determined in all children.

Results

No significant differences between the mean value of NBil (69.00 ± 67.76 μmol/L), TBil (81.26 ± 70.13 μmol/L) and TBilV (75.90 ± 60.62 μmol/L) were noticed. High coefficient correlation between NBil and TBil as well as between NBil and TBilV were noticed (Pearson’s analysis, r = 0.99, r = 0.97, respectively; p < 0.0001 in both cases). There was a positive correlation between the difference (TBilV – NBil) and hematocrit (p < 0.009, r = 0.2664).

Conclusions

In newborns and infants the same method for bilirubin determination should be used when the concentration of bilirubin is monitored. When using vanadate oxidation method for bilirubin determination, hematocrit value should be taken into account when results are interpreted.
Nitric oxide, lipid peroxidation products, and antioxidants in primary fibromyalgia and correlation with disease severity
Authors: Shukla Varsha , Das Siddharth Kumar , Mahdi Abbas Ali , Agarwal Shweta , Khandpur Sukhanshi
Published: July 2019

Background

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by altered pain perception with chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain. The relationship between nitric oxide, oxidative stress and the severity of FMS has not been studied. This study evaluated NO levels in plasma, LPO products and antioxidants in Red Cell lysate in patients of FMS and correlated it with disease severity.

Methods

105 FMS patients who fulfilled 1990 ACR Criteria and 105 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited over two years from 2013 to 2015. Antioxidative enzyme activity was assessed by the estimation of catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Nitric oxide in plasma, MDA marker of lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the lysate was donen for estimating oxidative stress. FIQR was used to assess the severity of fibromyalgia.

Results

The catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase levels were significantly low in patients than controls (p<0.001). Plasma NO levels and LPO were also significantly high (p<0.05). NO and LPO levels showed a significant positive correlation with FIQR (r: 0.57, 0.8 and p: <0.001) whereas a negative correlation was observed between antioxidants (Cat, GR and GPx, but not SOD) and FIQR.

Conclusions

Low antioxidants and raised LPO in RBC lysate in patients with FM together with high plasma NO correlated with the severity of FMS.
Carl F. H. Henry’s Regenerational Model of Evangelism and Social Concern and the Promise of an Evangelical Consensus
Authors: Ireland Jerry M.
Published: July 2019

Carl F. H. Henry has widely been acknowledged for his contributions to evangelical social concern. What has not been fully appreciated though is theological foundations that undergirded Henry’s priority model as it relates to the relationship between the church social and evangelistic mandates. For Henry, the key to both was the doctrine of revelation, and this foundation enabled Henry to uniquely argue for both integration and prioritization. As such, Henry presents a challenge to many contemporary models of evangelism and social concern that set the two on an even plane by locating them within a kingdom rubric. Despite accusations that his theological method fosters information over transformation, Henry hold forth a revelation centered approach with Augustinian roots capable of guiding the contemporary church on the elusive issue of finding a biblical approach to its mission.
Historical or Presuppositional Apologetics: A Henrecian Response to Michael Licona’s New Historiographical Approach
Authors: Roach William C.
Published: July 2019

Two cross-currents from the twentieth century have affected evangelical apologetics: apologetic methodology and Carl F. H. Henry. Henry was considered the dean of American evangelicalism, who shaped the movement by providing a rational and propositional apologetic. Henry also engaged the issues in the midst of a larger question of apologetic methodology, primarily, between presuppositionalists and evidentialists. This article continues to address the two cross-currents by offering a Henrecian evaluation of Michael Licona’s new historiographical approach to defending the resurrection. In particular, the article attempts to evaluate Licona’s evidentialist approach through the lens of Henry’s presuppositional approach.
Orbit and Axis: Carl F. H. Henry on Revelation and Education
Authors: Wood Jonathan
Published: July 2019

Carl F. H. Henry serves as a fruitful resource for the integration of faith and learning. The central issue in Christian scholarship is to properly associate the revelation of God with the knowledge of God’s world across all academic disciplines. The particular effort of this article is to demonstrate the clarity Henry provides as it relates to general revelation, special revelation, and knowledge explored in a comprehensive university setting. Building on Henry’s clarity, an orientation of knowledge to Jesus Christ, a proposal for the resulting vision for Christian scholarship, and habits of Christian educational institutions follows.
Carl Henry Evaluates the Reformation
Authors: Talley Robert W.
Published: July 2019

When Carl Henry presented an evaluation of the Reformation and its impact on the worldview of that period, he often put forth the Reformation as an example, which needed emulation by the modern evangelical church. His focus in his evaluation were on actions related to an orthodox view of God’s self-revelation in the areas of epistemology, authority, and life application. Henry’s conviction was that these actions, undertaken particularly by the Reformers Luther and Calvin, were necessary for a redemptive impact on the world through the modern evangelical church.
New thiopyridine complexes: design, electrochemical preparation and biological assessment
Authors: El-Sabbagh Osama I. , Yamany Yamany B. , Eldeab Hany A.
Published: July 2019

Novel complexes of Ru (III), Cu (II) and Au (III) (2–4) were prepared using 6-phenyl-2-thioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2-dihydropyridine-3-carbonitrile (HL, 1) adopting either electrochemical or traditional chemical methods. The electrochemical method is preferred in the synthesis of the complexes than the chemical one because it affords pure products with higher yields in shorter reaction time. The novel thiopyridine complexes were characterized by elemental analyses, IR, 1H, 19F-NMR, TGA and DTA measurements. The antimicrobial activity evaluation revealed that the complex bearing copper metal 3 has nearly the same activity as the reference drug ciprofloxacin. Anti-inflammatory activity evaluation showed that complex 4 containing gold displayed anti-inflammatory activity higher than the reference drug celecoxib upon using carrageenan rat hind paw edema method.
Parents’ Impact Belief in Raising Bilingual and Biliterate Children in Japan
Authors: Nakamura Janice
Published: July 2019

Impact belief is the conviction that parents have that they can affect their children’s language development (De Houwer, 1999). This paper investigates how parents’ impact belief is shaped and how it transpires into language management which supports the bilingual and biliterate development of children in exogamous families. Interviews with eight English-speaking parents raising English-Japanese bilingual children in Tokyo, Japan were analyzed using the constructive grounded approach (Charmaz, 2014). The results revealed that the parents’ impact belief was influenced by their individual experiences, the support of their Japanese spouses, and peer influence. Specifically, it was positively affected by other parents with older bilingual children. The parents’ impact belief was also strengthened by their involvement in ‘communities of practice,’ i.e., English playgroup and weekend school. Their strong impact belief led to language management efforts which included their insistence on their children speaking English and the regular practice of home literacy activities.
Cheaper Private Set Intersection via Differentially Private Leakage
Authors: Groce Adam , Rindal Peter , Rosulek Mike
Published: July 2019

In this work we demonstrate that allowing differentially private leakage can significantly improve the concrete performance of secure 2-party computation (2PC) protocols. Specifically, we focus on the private set intersection (PSI) protocol of Rindal and Rosulek (CCS 2017), which is the fastest PSI protocol with security against malicious participants. We show that if differentially private leakage is allowed, the cost of the protocol can be reduced by up to 63%, depending on the desired level of differential privacy. On the technical side, we introduce a security model for differentially-private leakage in malicious-secure 2PC. We also introduce two new and improved mechanisms for “differentially private histogram overestimates,” the main technical challenge for differentially-private PSI.
SecureNN: 3-Party Secure Computation for Neural Network Training
Authors: Wagh Sameer , Gupta Divya , Chandran Nishanth
Published: July 2019

Neural Networks (NN) provide a powerful method for machine learning training and inference. To effectively train, it is desirable for multiple parties to combine their data – however, doing so conflicts with data privacy. In this work, we provide novel three-party secure computation protocols for various NN building blocks such as matrix multiplication, convolutions, Rectified Linear Units, Maxpool, normalization and so on. This enables us to construct three-party secure protocols for training and inference of several NN architectures such that no single party learns any information about the data. Experimentally, we implement our system over Amazon EC2 servers in different settings. Our work advances the state-of-the-art of secure computation for neural networks in three ways:

1. Scalability: We are the first work to provide neural network training on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) that have an accuracy of > 99% on the MNIST dataset;

2. Performance: For secure inference, our system outperforms prior 2 and 3-server works (SecureML, MiniONN, Chameleon, Gazelle) by 6×-113× (with larger gains obtained in more complex networks). Our total execution times are 2 − 4× faster than even just the online times of these works. For secure training, compared to the only prior work (SecureML) that considered a much smaller fully connected network, our protocols are 79× and 7× faster than their 2 and 3-server protocols. In the WAN setting, these improvements are more dramatic and we obtain an improvement of 553×!

3. Security: Our protocols provide two kinds of security: full security (privacy and correctness) against one semi-honest corruption and the notion of privacy against one malicious corruption [Araki et al. CCS’16]. All prior works only provide semi-honest security and ours is the first system to provide any security against malicious adversaries for the secure computation of complex algorithms such as neural network inference and training.

Our gains come from a significant improvement in communication through the elimination of expensive garbled circuits and oblivious transfer protocols.
Setup-Free Secure Search on Encrypted Data: Faster and Post-Processing Free
Authors: Akavia Adi , Gentry Craig , Halevi Shai , Leibovich Max
Published: July 2019

We present a novel secure search protocol on data and queries encrypted with Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE). Our protocol enables organizations (client) to (1) securely upload an unsorted data array x = (x[1], . . . , x[n]) to an untrusted honest-but-curious sever, where data may be uploaded over time and from multiple data-sources; and (2) securely issue repeated search queries q for retrieving the first element (i*, x[i*]) satisfying an agreed matching criterion i* = min { i ∈ [n] | IsMatch(x[i], q) = 1 }, as well as fetching the next matching elements with further interaction. For security, the client encrypts the data and queries with FHE prior to uploading, and the server processes the ciphertexts to produce the result ciphertext for the client to decrypt. Our secure search protocol improves over the prior state-of-the-art for secure search on FHE encrypted data (Akavia, Feldman, Shaul (AFS), CCS’2018) in achieving:

– Post-processing free protocol where the server produces a ciphertext for the correct search outcome with overwhelming success probability. This is in contrast to returning a list of candidates for the client to postprocess, or suffering from a noticeable error probability, in AFS. Our post-processing freeness enables the server to use secure search as a sub-component in a larger computation without interaction with the client.

– Faster protocol: (a) Client time and communication bandwidth are improved by a log2
n/ log log n factor. (b) Server evaluates a polynomial of degree linear in log n (compare to cubic in AFS), and overall number of multiplications improved by up to log n factor. (c) Employing only GF(2) computations (compare to GF(p) for p ≫ in AFS) to gain both further speedup and compatibility to all current FHE candidates.

– Order of magnitude speedup exhibited by extensive benchmarks we executed on identical hardware for implementations of ours versus AFS’s protocols. Additionally, like other FHE based solutions, our solution is setup-free: to outsource elements from the client to the server, no additional actions are performed on x except for encrypting it element by element (each element bit by bit) and uploading the resulted ciphertexts to the server.
New Privacy Threat on 3G, 4G, and Upcoming 5G AKA Protocols
Authors: Borgaonkar Ravishankar , Hirschi Lucca , Park Shinjo , Shaik Altaf
Published: July 2019

Mobile communications are used by more than two-thirds of the world population who expect security and privacy guarantees. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) responsible for the worldwide standardization of mobile communication has designed and mandated the use of the AKA protocol to protect the subscribers’ mobile services. Even though privacy was a requirement, numerous subscriber location attacks have been demonstrated against AKA, some of which have been fixed or mitigated in the enhanced AKA protocol designed for 5G.

In this paper, we reveal a new privacy attack against all variants of the AKA protocol, including 5G AKA, that breaches subscriber privacy more severely than known location privacy attacks do. Our attack exploits a new logical vulnerability we uncovered that would require dedicated fixes. We demonstrate the practical feasibility of our attack using low cost and widely available setups. Finally we conduct a security analysis of the vulnerability and discuss countermeasures to remedy our attack.
ScrambleDB: Oblivious (Chameleon) Pseudonymization-as-a-Service
Authors: Lehmann Anja
Published: July 2019

Pseudonymization is a widely deployed technique to de-sensitize data sets by consistently replacing identifying attributes with non-sensitive surrogates. However, all existing solutions are impractical to deploy in settings where data is accumulated from distributed sources: they either require sharing the same secret key with all sources, or rely on a fully trusted service to consistently compute these pseudonyms. Further, the consistency of pseudonyms, which is required to maintain the data’s utility, comes with inherent and severe privacy limitations. This paper solves the key management and privacy challenges by introducing oblivious pseudonymization-as-a-service. Therein, the pseudonymization is outsourced to a central, yet fully oblivious entity, i.e., the service neither learns the sensitive information nor the pseudonyms it produces. Further, to obtain better privacy we no longer require pseudonyms to be computed consistently and instead introduce a dedicated join procedure. When data is stored at rest, all data is pseudonymized in a fully unlinkable manner. Only when certain subsets of the data are needed, the linkage is established through a controlled and nontransitive join operation. We formally define the desired security properties in the UC framework and propose a generic protocol that provably satisfies them. The core of our scheme is a 3-party oblivious and convertible PRF, which we believe to be of independent interest.
StealthDB: a Scalable Encrypted Database with Full SQL Query Support
Authors: Vinayagamurthy Dhinakaran , Gribov Alexey , Gorbunov Sergey
Published: July 2019

Encrypted database systems provide a great method for protecting sensitive data in untrusted infrastructures. These systems are built using either special-purpose cryptographic algorithms that support operations over encrypted data, or by leveraging trusted computing co-processors. Strong cryptographic algorithms (e.g., public-key encryptions, garbled circuits) usually result in high performance overheads, while weaker algorithms (e.g., order-preserving encryption) result in large leakage profiles. On the other hand, some encrypted database systems (e.g., Cipherbase, TrustedDB) leverage non-standard trusted computing devices, and are designed to work around the architectural limitations of the specific devices used.

In this work we build StealthDB – an encrypted database system from Intel SGX. Our system can run on any newer generation Intel CPU. StealthDB has a very small trusted computing base, scales to large transactional workloads, requires minor DBMS changes, and provides a relatively strong security guarantees at steady state and during query execution. Our prototype on top of Postgres supports the full TPC-C benchmark with a 30% decrease in the average throughput over an unmodified version of Postgres operating on a 2GB unencrypted dataset.
Cryptography for #MeToo
Authors: Kuykendall Benjamin , Krawczyk Hugo , Rabin Tal
Published: July 2019

Reporting sexual assault and harassment is an important and difficult problem. Since late 2017, it has received increased attention as the viral #MeToo movement has brought about accusations against high-profile individuals and a wider discussion around the prevalence of sexual violence. Addressing occurrences of sexual assault requires a system to record and process accusations. It is natural to ask what security guarantees are necessary and achievable in such a system. In particular, we focus on detecting repeat offenders: only when a set number of accusations are lodged against the same party will the accusations be revealed to a legal counselor. Previous solutions to this privacy-preserving reporting problem, such as the Callisto Protocol of Rajan et al., have focused on the confidentiality of accusers. This paper proposes a stronger security model that ensures the confidentiality of the accuser and the accused as well as the traceability of false accusations. We propose the WhoToo protocol to achieve this notion of security using suitable cryptographic techniques. The protocol design emphasizes practicality, preferring fast operations that are implemented in existing software libraries. We estimate that an implementation would be suitably performant for real-world deployment.