Optimally Efficient Multi-party Fair Exchange and Fair Secure Multi-party Computation

Multi-party fair exchange (MFE) and fair secure multi-party computation (fair SMPC) are under-studied fields of research, with practical importance. In particular, we consider MFE scenarios where at the end of the protocol, either every participant receives every other participant’s item, or no participant receives anything. We analyze the case where a trusted third party (TTP) is optimistically available, although we emphasize that the trust put on the TTP is only regarding the fairness , and our protocols preserve the privacy of the exchanged items against the TTP. In the fair SMPC case, we prove that a malicious TTP can only harm fairness, but not security . We construct an asymptotically optimal multi-party fair exchange protocol that requires a constant number of rounds (in comparison to linear) and O(n 2 ) messages (in comparison to cubic), where n is the number of participating parties. In our protocol, we enable the parties to efficiently exchange any item that can be efficiently put into a verifiable encryption (e.g., signatures on a contract). We show how to apply this protocol on top of any SMPC protocol to achieve fairness with very little overhead (independent of the circuit size). We then generalize our protocol to efficiently handle any exchange topology (participants exchange items with arbitrary other participants). Our protocol guarantees fairness in its strongest sense: even if all n-1 other participants are malicious and colluding with each other, the fairness is still guaranteed.

Conjugated Molecules and Polymers in Secondary Batteries: A Perspective

Intrinsically conducting polymers constituting a subclass of macromolecules, as well as a still growing family of large, conjugated molecules, oligomers, and polymers, have attracted research interest for the recent decades. Closely corresponding to the fascination of these materials, combining typical properties of organic polymers and metallic materials, numerous applications have been suggested, explored, and sometimes transferred into products. In electrochemistry, they have been used in various functions beyond the initially proposed and obvious application as active masses in devices for electrochemical energy conversion and storage. This perspective contribution wraps up basic facts that are necessary to understand the behavior and properties of the oligo and polymers and their behavior in electrochemical cells for energy conversion by electrode reactions and associated energy storage. Representative examples are presented and discussed, and an overview of the state of research and development is provided. Particular attention is paid to stability and related aspects of practical importance. Future trends and perspectives are indicated.

A Systematic Literature Review about the Speed of Internationalization

The speed of internationalization or rapid internationalization is one of the most fascinating and researched topics in international business due to its practical importance for the international competitiveness of international firms. This paper aims to identify the determiners of internationalization speed using a systematic literature review of more than 50 current, peer-reviewed articles as research method. Based on an analysis of the topical evolution of the main internationalization theories, the main determiners of internationalization speed are categorized in environmental framing conditions, business resources, and business activities. To advance research about the determiners of internationalization speed, this paper suggests a conceptual framework of three research propositions about the impact of internationalization speed and its variations over time and in different industries and markets using sophisticated research methods to establish causal relationships.

Strategies Shaping the Transcription of Carbohydrate-Active Enzyme Genes in Aspergillus nidulans

Understanding the coordinated regulation of the hundreds of carbohydrate-active enzyme (CAZyme) genes occurring in the genomes of fungi has great practical importance. We recorded genome-wide transcriptional changes of Aspergillus nidulans cultivated on glucose, lactose, or arabinogalactan, as well as under carbon-starved conditions. We determined both carbon-stress-specific changes (weak or no carbon source vs. glucose) and carbon-source-specific changes (one type of culture vs. all other cultures). Many CAZyme genes showed carbon-stress-specific and/or carbon-source-specific upregulation on arabinogalactan (138 and 62 genes, respectively). Besides galactosidase and arabinan-degrading enzyme genes, enrichment of cellulolytic, pectinolytic, mannan, and xylan-degrading enzyme genes was observed. Fewer upregulated genes, 81 and 107 carbon stress specific, and 6 and 16 carbon source specific, were found on lactose and in carbon-starved cultures, respectively. They were enriched only in galactosidase and xylosidase genes on lactose and rhamnogalacturonanase genes in both cultures. Some CAZyme genes (29 genes) showed carbon-source-specific upregulation on glucose, and they were enriched in β-1,4-glucanase genes. The behavioral ecological background of these characteristics was evaluated to comprehensively organize our knowledge on CAZyme production, which can lead to developing new strategies to produce enzymes for plant cell wall saccharification.

On Emergence of Institute of Commissioners of Council for Religious Cults under the Council of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR in 1944–1945

The article deals with Muslim religious fi gures (imams, seyids, abyzs, muezzins, mullahs) of the Tatar Sloboda of Moscow, located in the Zamoskvorechye district, of the 17th-18th centuries. Many names and details of the life of religious fi gures are for the fi rst time described by means of use of documents of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts and the Central Historical Archive of Moscow. The Council for Religious Aff airs under the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR, created in May and June 1944, faced a number of problems from the very beginning of its work. One of them was the creation of new posts in the regions those authorized by this Council. Some of the leaders of the regions of the USSR believed that such positions were not necessary. In many respects, this attitude resulted in diffi culties in the work of the authorized representatives of this Council: delays in the allocation of specially equipped offi ces, sending on long business trips not related to the performance of duties, failure to comply with the decisions of the state leadership on the payment of salaries to the authorized representatives, which should have corresponded to their position. Despite the measures taken from the fi rst days by the leadership of the Council, relying on the leadership of the USSR, many of the problems associated with the commissioners, primarily with the staffi ng of their staff , both in quality and quantity, in the 1940s became chronic and did not were resolved during these years. In many ways, a signifi cant part of the diffi culties in the work of the commissioners arose from ignorance and failure to comply with a set of offi cial documents, including service letters and instructions. Analysis of various aspects of the activities of the authorized representatives of the Council for Religious Aff airs is not only purely theoretical, but also of great practical importance for the authorities at all levels, which interact with religious organizations in their daily work.

Order beyond a monolayer: the story of two 4,4’-bipyridine layers on the Sb(111) | ionic liquid interface

The interface between semi-metallic Sb(111) electrode and ionic liquid with 4,4’-bipyridine addition has been studied. Using in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, the desorption of 4,4’-bipyridine was demonstrated and a dense underlying structure, formed below a sparse self-assembled monolayer, was visualized. The first SAM layer in contact with the electrode consisted of tightly packed ordered rows, which fine structure has been identified with density functional theory calculations supported by machine learning. The second SAM layer, on top of the first, is characterised by low surface concentration and its unit cell was obtained experimentally. The detection of two separate adsorbed layers indicates that the ordering of organic molecules could extend well beyond the monolayer on the electrode’s surface. These insights are of fundamental and practical importance in the development of nanoelectronic devices.

Predicting Physical Appearance from DNA Data—Towards Genomic Solutions

The idea of forensic DNA intelligence is to extract from genomic data any information that can help guide the investigation. The clues to the externally visible phenotype are of particular practical importance. The high heritability of the physical phenotype suggests that genetic data can be easily predicted, but this has only become possible with less polygenic traits. The forensic community has developed DNA-based predictive tools by employing a limited number of the most important markers analysed with targeted massive parallel sequencing. The complexity of the genetics of many other appearance phenotypes requires big data coupled with sophisticated machine learning methods to develop accurate genomic predictors. A significant challenge in developing universal genomic predictive methods will be the collection of sufficiently large data sets. These should be created using whole-genome sequencing technology to enable the identification of rare DNA variants implicated in phenotype determination. It is worth noting that the correctness of the forensic sketch generated from the DNA data depends on the inclusion of an age factor. This, however, can be predicted by analysing epigenetic data. An important limitation preventing whole-genome approaches from being commonly used in forensics is the slow progress in the development and implementation of high-throughput, low DNA input sequencing technologies. The example of palaeoanthropology suggests that such methods may possibly be developed in forensics.

Specific features of the pathology of the respiratory system in SARS-CoV-2 (Coronaviridae: Coronavirinae: Betacoronavirus: Sarbecovirus) infected Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus)

Introduction. Verification of histological changes in respiratory system using Syrian (golden) hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) as experimental model is an important task for preclinical studies of drugs intended for prevention and treatment of the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19.The aim of this work was to study pathological changes of pulmonary tissue in SARS-CoV-2 (Coronaviridae: Coronavirinae: Betacoronavirus; Sarbecovirus) experimental infection in Syrian hamsters. Material and methods. Male Syrian hamsters weighting 80–100 g were infected by intranasal administration of culture SARS-CoV-2 at dose 4 × 104 TCID50/ml (TCID is tissue culture infectious dose). Animals were euthanatized on 3, 7 and 14 days after infection, with gravimetric registration. The viral load in lungs was measured using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Right lung and trachea tissues were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and according to Mallory.Results and discussion. The highest viral replicative activity in lungs was determined 3 days after the infection. After 7 days, on a background of the decrease of the viral load in lungs, a pathologically significant increase of the organ’s gravimetric parameters was observed. Within 3 to 14 days post-infection, the lung histologic pattern had been showing the development of inflammation with a succession of infiltrative-proliferative, edematousmacrophagal and fibroblastic changes. It was found that initial changes in respiratory epithelium can proceed without paranecrotic interstitial inflammation, while in the formation of multiple lung parenchyma lesions, damage to the epithelium of bronchioles and acinar ducts can be secondary. The appearance of epithelioid large-cell metaplastic epithelium, forming pseudoacinar structures, was noted as a pathomorphological feature specific to SARS-CoV-2 infection in Syrian hamsters.Conclusion. As a result of the study, the specific features of the pathology of the respiratory system in SARSCoV-2 infected Syrian hamsters were described. These findings are of practical importance as reference data that can be used for preclinical studies to assess the effectiveness of vaccines and potential drugs.

The role of “latent autoimmune diabetes in adults” in the structure of diabetes mellitus in young people

In the clinical practice of an endocrinologist, verification of the type of diabetes mellitus (DM) in young people is of high clinical significance, since the prescription of treatment depends on this: from the correction of carbohydrate metabolism by a balanced diet to the prescription of oral hypoglycemic drugs and insulin therapy. In rare forms of diabetes mellitus, which include «latent autoimmune diabetes in adults» (LADA), it is not always possible to make a correct diagnosis. This form of diabetes mellitus occupies an intermediate position between type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM 1 and DM 2) and is often not detected. In this regard, the study of the LADA flow is of great practical importance. Verification of the LADA diagnosis is based on three clinical criteria: adult onset of diabetes; the presence of circulating islet autoantibodies, which distinguishes LADA from T2DM; the absence of an absolute need for insulin when making a diagnosis, which distinguishes LADA from the classic type 1 diabetes mellitus. The main treatment tactics for patients with LADA should be aimed at preserving their own insulin secretion. This requires the timely appointment of insulin therapy. The question of the possibility of using drugs of peripheral action – biguanides and glitazones, which do not cause depletion of β-cells, is discussed, but their effectiveness has not yet been established. The appointment of any secretogens, including sulfonylurea preparations, is contraindicated Quite often, LADA is difficult to diagnose, and the wrong treatment tactics are prescribed. At the moment, there is little data on the effectiveness of different classes of drugs, which leads to further detailed study of this type of diabetes. Currently, there are no special algorithms for LADA treatment

Assessing the Impact of the Oil Price Shocks on Economic Growth in Oil-Exporting Arab Countries

The role of oil and gas in the modern economy is undeniable. That is why oil-exported countries have a good chance to wealth. But if the economy doesn't have diversification or there is no political stability this revenue cannot become welfare for the long run. As well as the changing of oil prices doe in the world market can impact the revenues of oil-exported countries. The purpose of the research – to assess the impact of the oil price shocks on economic growth in oil-exporting Arab countries. As a methodology, there were chosen VAR models and Granger causality tests. The practical importance of the research is to predict economic growth in other oil-exporting countries. The authors came to the conclusion that oil-price change has positive impacts on GDP growth in oil-rich Arab countries and there is the strong dependency from oil prices. The originality and scientific novelty of the research connected with this argue that oil revenues have impacts on economic growth only in economic and political stability.