Online Social Networks (OSNs) enjoy high popularity, but their centralized architectures lead to intransparency and mistrust in the providers who can be the single point of failure. A solution is to adapt the OSN functionality to an underlying and fully distributed peer-to-peer (P2P) substrate. Several approaches in the field of OSNs based on P2P architectures have been proposed, but they share substantial P2P weaknesses and they suffer from low availability and privacy problems. In this work, we propose a distributed OSN which combines an underlying P2P architecture with friend-based data propagation and a Proof-of-Work (PoW) concept. ProofBook provides availability of user data, stability of the underlying network architecture and privacy improvements while it does not limit simple data sharing based on social relations.

Widespread use and low prices of genomic sequencing bring us into the area of personalized medicine and biostatistics of large cohorts. As the processed genomic data is highly sensitive, Privacy-Enhancing Technologies for genomic data need to be developed. In this work, we present a novel and flexible mechanism for the private processing of whole genomic sequences which is flexible enough to support any query. The basic underlying idea is to store DNA in several small encrypted blocks, use ORAM mechanisms to access the desired blocks in an oblivious manner, and finally run secure two-party protocols to privately compute the desired functionality on the retrieved encrypted blocks. Our construction keeps all sensitive information hidden and reveals only the end result to the legitimate party. Our main technical contribution is the design of a new ORAM that allows for access rights delegation while not requiring the data owner to be online to reshuffle the database. We validate the practicability of our approach through experimental studies.

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Purpose of review The risks of cerebrovascular manifestations due to SARS-CoV-2 infection are significantly increased within the first 6 months of the infection. Our work aims to give an update on current clinical aspects of diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular manifestations during acute and long-term SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recent findings The incidence of acute ischemic stroke and haemorrhagic stroke during acute SARS-CoV-2 patients is estimated at 0.9 to 4.6% and 0.5–0.9%, respectively, and were associated with increased mortality. The majority presented with hemiparesis, dysarthria, sensory deficits, and a NIHSS score within 5–15. In addition, beyond the first 30 days of infection people with COVID-19 exhibited increased risk of stroke. During acute phase, age, hypertension, diabetes, and medical history of vascular disease were increased in patients with COVID-19 with new onset of cerebrovascular manifestations, while during long-COVID-19, the risk of cerebrovascular manifestations were found increased regardless of these factors. The management of patients with large-vessel ischemic stroke fulfilling the intravenous thrombolysis criteria are successfully treated according to the guidelines, while hyperosmolar therapy is typically administered in 4- to 6-h intervals. In addition, prophylaxis of anticoagulation therapy is associated with a better prognosis and low mortality during acute and post hospital discharge of patients with COVID-19. Summary In this work, we provide a comprehensive review of the current literature on acute and post-acute COVID-19 cerebrovascular sequelae, symptomatology, and its pathophysiology mechanisms. Moreover, we discuss therapeutic strategies for these patients during acute and long-term care and point populations at risk. Our findings suggest that older patients with risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and medical history of vascular disease are more likely to develop cerebrovascular complications.

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