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Stentoft Buch posted an update 1 day, 13 hours ago
In the medical system, the verification, preservation and synchronization of electronic medical records has always been a difficult problem, and the random dissemination of patient records will bring various risks to patient privacy. Therefore, how to achieve secure data sharing on the basis of ensuring users’ personal privacy becomes the key. In recent years, blockchain has been proposed to be a promising solution to achieve data sharing with security and privacy preservation due to its advantages of immutability. So, a distributed electronic medical records searchable scheme was proposed by leveraging blockchain and smart contract technology. Firstly, we perform a hash calculation on the electronic medical data and store the corresponding value on the blockchain to ensure its integrity and authenticity. Then, we encrypt the electronic medical data and store it in the interplanetary file system which is a distributed storage protocol. These operations not only can solve centralized data store of servers of several medical institutions, but also be good at lowering stress from data store and high-frequency access to blockchain. Secondly, the encrypted keyword index information of electronic medical records was stored on the Ethereum blockchain, meanwhile a smart contract deployed in the Ethereum blockchain is used to realize keyword search instead of depending on a centralized third party. Furthermore, we use attribute-based encryption scheme to ensure that only the attributes meeting the access policy can decrypt the encrypted electronic medical records. Finally, our performance analysis and security analysis show that the scheme is secure and efficient.Chronic urticaria causes a significant limitation to quality of life. In the literature, various studies can be found that have reviewed several clinical and laboratory markers, but none of these variables alone is sufficient to predict the patient’s prognosis. In this study, we present a protocol to develop a prognostic model that can predict the clinical response of urticaria patients to antihistamines. This is a protocol for a bidirectional cohort study. Urticaria data will be routinely collected from a population of patients over 18 years old. A full multivariable logistic regression model will be fitted, following five steps 1) Selection of predictive variables for the model; 2) Evaluation of the quality of the collected data and control of lost data; 3) Data statistical management; 4) Strategies to select the variables to include at the end of the model; 5) Evaluation of the performance of the different possible models (predictive accuracy) and selection of the best model. The performance and internal validation of the model will be assessed. Some clinical and paraclinical variables will be measured for further exploration.A two-year field trial was conducted in a vineyard (northern Egypt)cultivated with Thompson seedless grapevines to evaluate the effectiveness of four “alternative” (biological/chemical) treatments, Bacillus megaterium, boric acid, calcium nitrate and chitosan, against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Mi), compared to that of the nematicide oxamyl. The influence of these treatments on plant nutritional status and fruit yield and quality was also assessed. All treatments significantly inhibited Mi reproduction parameters in both seasons, decreasing the numbers of nematode galls and egg masses (roots) and of second-stage juveniles (soil). Oxamyl application resulted in the highest reductions in Mi-reproduction parameters, followed by boric acid, which also showed the highest relative nematicidal efficacy (respect to oxamyl). In the 1st season, the highest fruit yield (10.34 kg/grapevine) was recorded from boric acid-treated plants, followed by that from oxamyl-treated plants (7.50 kg/grapevine); in the subsequent season (2019), oxamyl use led to the highest yield, followed by boric acid + chitosan use (10.04 and 8.62 kg/grapevine, respectively). In both seasons, application of boric acid alone and combined with chitosan enhanced the total soluble solids (TSS)/total acidity ratio in grape juice. All treatments led to higher nutrient contents (leaf petioles) and chlorophyll levels (leaves) as well as enhanced fruit size and weight. We conclude that the tested treatments can be safely applied for nematode management in Thompson seedless grapevines, with positive effects on fruit yield and quality.Detecting the ultrastructure of brain tissue in human archaeological remains is a rare event that can offer unique insights into the structure of the ancient central nervous system (CNS). Yet ancient brains reported in the literature show only poor preservation of neuronal structures. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and advanced image processing tools, we describe the direct visualization of neuronal tissue in vitrified brain and spinal cord remains which we discovered in a male victim of the AD 79 eruption in Herculaneum. DNA Damage chemical We show exceptionally well preserved ancient neurons from different regions of the human CNS at unprecedented resolution. This tissue typically consists of organic matter, as detected using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. By means of a self-developed neural image processing network, we also show specific details of the neuronal nanomorphology, like the typical myelin periodicity evidenced in the brain axons. The perfect state of preservation of these structures is due to the unique process of vitrification which occurred at Herculaneum. The discovery of proteins whose genes are expressed in the different region of the human adult brain further agree with the neuronal origin of the unusual archaeological find. The conversion of human tissue into glass is the result of sudden exposure to scorching volcanic ash and the concomitant rapid drop in temperature. The eruptive-induced process of natural vitrification, locking the cellular structure of the CNS, allowed us to study possibly the best known example in archaeology of extraordinarily well-preserved human neuronal tissue from the brain and spinal cord.
Understanding public perceptions of government responses to COVID-19 may foster improved public cooperation. Trust in government and population risk of exposure may influence public perception of the response. Other population-level characteristics, such as country socio-economic development, COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, and degree of democratic government, may influence perception.
We developed a novel ten-item instrument that asks respondents to rate key aspects of their government’s response to the pandemic (COVID-SCORE). We examined whether the results varied by gender, age group, education level, and monthly income. We also examined the internal and external validity of the index using appropriate predefined variables. To test for dimensionality of the results, we used a principal component analysis (PCA) for the ten survey items. We found that Cronbach’s alpha was 0.92 and that the first component of the PCA explained 60% of variance with the remaining factors having eigenvalues below 1, strongly indicating that the tool is both reliable and unidimensional.