springhill group seoul: Springhill Medical Group -- Researchers build software to map criminal - cafemom

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ItNews | Phone calls, social networks on the radar - Sydney researchers are developing an open source tool that could allow security professionals to detect and visualise unusual behaviours in two dimensions.

Called GEOMI (Geometry for Maximum Insight), the Java-based tool has been under development at the faculty since 2005, with version 2 released last year.

Sydney University professor Seok-Hee Hong said the tool could be used to analyse complex relationships in social networks, email and phone records.

By presenting information as two-dimensional visuals, she said the tool could allow police and security specialists to look for various relationships and abnormal behaviour, such as 'short cycles'.

The term 'short cycle' refers to chains of connections that loop back to the original source in only three or four steps.

Hong described GEOMI as a research prototype and generic visual analytics tool that had yet to be commercialised for specific domains.

Besides law enforcement, the tool could also be used to map biological networks -- including protein-protein interaction, gene regulatory networks and biochemical pathways.

Hong said GEOMI algorithms were "superfast", capable of running in "O(n log n) time [compared to] existing ones [in] O(n2) time, where n represents the size of the graph".

Earlier this month, the New Zealand Police agreed to commercialise its Environment for Virtualised Evidence (EVE) technology, used to mine seized electronic devices like mobile phones and PCs for clues.

springhill group: Major crackdown in fake medicine scam - cafemom/livejournal

http://angelikiah.livejournal.com/1568.html

Police have arrested more than 1,900 people suspected of making and selling fake medicine ina series of raids on underground production bases, the Ministry of Public Security said onSunday.

The nationwide operation, which started on July 25 and involved 18,000 police officers in 31provincial-level regions, has crushed 24 networks manufacturing counterfeit medical productsworth 1.16 billion yuan ($182 million).

Police seized 205 million tablets designed to look like brand-name products for treatinghypertension, diabetes, skin diseases and cancer, the ministry said.

Some medicines contained sibutramine, a chemical used to treat obesity that was banned bythe State Food and Drug Administration in 2010 due to fears that it increases the risk ofcardiovascular problems.

The suspects also put sedative and hallucinogenic chemicals into the tablets to deceiveconsumers into believing that the fake drugs had an effect.

Police also found bottles of normal saline solution labeled as a rabies vaccine.

The ministry said it has destroyed a large number of production sites and trade channels in thepast two years.

However, the crime is "far from being rooted out, as such criminals have come up with newmethods", the ministry said in its online statement.

The ministry also said it had found sham promotions of fake products on the Internet, televisionand magazines during the crackdown.

A ministry spokesperson warned that people should purchase medicines in hospitals andpharmacies who are trusted vendors of genuine products, and advised against buyingmedicines that do not have approved names and numbers distributed by the SFDA.

"The ministry welcomes reports on the manufacture and sale of fake drugs," read the ministrystatement. "We will reward informers 500 to 50,000 yuan if the report is found to be true. Weoffer ample rewards to those who play an important role in cracking large gangs committingsuch crimes."

Li Zhongdong, a pharmacist at the Air Force General Hospital in Beijing, said the crime is likelyto continue because of "the huge profits" it brings.

"Fake medicines are usually sold to small clinics and small pharmacies," Li said. "There arepeople who choose to seek medical help from these places, possibly because of lower prices orprivacy concerns, which may increase their chances of getting such counterfeit products andtheir sales."

Li suggested buyers check with the online inquiry system at the SFDA to ensure the medicinesthey bought are genuine.

The system provides information such as the name and approval number of medicines whoseproduction has been approved by the SFDA.

springhill group: Chhattisgarh docs protest govt action over uterus scam - cafemom/livejournal

http://angelikiah.livejournal.com/1870.html

Accusing the state government of taking arbitrary action against doctors in a uterus removal scam and considering passage of a draconian Nursing Home Act which will ‘ruin private healthcare facilities’, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday warned of a state-wide agitation if the government failed to address the issue in time. State president of IMA Dr A Hamdani said: “Doctors will take to the streets if the government does not make public the report of the probe against doctors in the controversial uterus removal scam within two days, besides amending the norms of the proposed Private Nursing Homes Act, which is intended to ruin the private health facilities in Chhattisgarh. “IMA president of the Raipur chapter Dr Ajay Sahay said: “Only the Medical Council of India has the power to suspend the licence of a medical practitioner. The state government does not have that power, but it deliberately acted against private doctors before probing the case.” He added: “Now the final decision in the case is being delayed, which will take away the doctors’ legal right to challenge the decision in court.” An unfazed health minister Amar Agrawal said: “The government will not succumb to pressure. The probe will take its time. The guilty will not be spared.”

Private doctors reportedly removed the uterus of hundreds of women, mostly in rural areas, telling the victims that if their uterus was not removed, it could cause cancer.  The IMA Chhattisgarh state unit has warned of a stir if the government doesn’t declare the report of the probe and revokes the suspension of licences of doctors by August 8. Hamdani and Sahay said they will meet chief minister Raman Singh, health minister Amar Agrawal and officials of the health department to resolve the issue.