Effect of Aloe Vera wastes on physico-chemical properties and microbiological activity in soils

The aim of the present study was to explore the potential for using aloe vera wastes as amendment for soil to improve its fertility. Soil was exposed to four concentrations of aloin (rich in HAP) for 0, 7, 14 and 28 days. Physico-chemical parameters were analyzed: soil Ph, organic matter (OM), nitrogen, phosphorus, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). The activity of seven enzymes implicated in the C, N and S cycles were measured. Microbial Biomass was determined by the method of substrate induced respiration. BiologEcoplates (Biolog Inc., Hayward, CA) were used to estimate soil microbial functional diversity. Our findings suggested a decrease on phosphorus and nitrogen content and an increase on CEC after aloin addition. Also, a decrease on microbial biomass and enzymes activities was observed, except for FDA. Ecoplates results demonstrate a decrease on microbial activities depending on the incubation time. Moreover, our results indicated that bacterial communities of the tested soils have more affinity to consume substrates as Amino acids and polymers. Our results should be carefully considered in view of the agriculture waists reuse for a sustainable agricultur

Chiffrement homomorphique : entre développements théoriques et implantations pratiques

National audienc

HLS Design of a Hardware Accelerator for Homomorphic Encryption

International audienceModular polynomial multiplication is the most computationally intensive operation in many homomorphic encryption schemes. In order to accelerate homomorphic computations, we propose a software/hardware (SW/HW) co-designed accelerator integrating fast software algorithms with a configurable hardware polynomial multiplier. The hardware accelerator is implemented through a High-Level Synthesis (HLS) flow. We show that our approach is highly flexible, since the same generic high-level description can be configured and re-used to generate a new design with different parameters and very large sizes in negligible time. We show that flexibility does not preclude efficiency: the proposed solution is competitive in comparison with hand-made designs and can provide good performance at low cost

Co-designed accelerator for homomorphic encryption applications

International audienceFully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) is considered as a key cryptographic tool in building a secure cloud computing environment since it allows computing arbitrary functions directly on encrypted data. However, existing FHE implementations remain impractical due to very high time and resource costs. These costs are essentially due to the computationally intensive modular polynomial multiplication. In this paper, we present a software/hardware co-designed modular polynomial multiplier in order to accelerate homomorphic schemes. The hardware part is implemented through a High-Level Synthesis (HLS) flow. Experimental results show competitive latencies when compared with hand-made designs, while maintaining large advantages on resources. Moreover, we show that our high-level description can be easily configured with different parameters and very large sizes in negligible time, generating new designs for numerous applications

A flexible RNS-based large polynomial multiplier for Fully Homomorphic Encryption

International audienceIn the era of the cloud computing, homomorphic encryption allows remote data processing while preserving confidentiality. Its main drawback, however, is the huge complexity in terms of operand size and computation time, which makes hardware acceleration desirable in order to achieve acceptable performance. In this paper, we present a flexible modular polynomial multiplier implemented through a high-level synthesis flow. We show that flexibility does not come at a price, and the proposed solution is competitive against custom designs

Biomarkers in Earthworms

27 pagesSoil-dwelling naturally occurring earthworms (e.g. Lumbricus terrestris) are valuable sentinels in soil pollution monitoring for their ecological role but also because they have shown to be sensitive to environmental contaminants. However, most laboratory studies have adopted epigeic earthworms as models (Eisenia spp.) in acute toxicity testing. In soil chronic toxicity assessment, it is essential to include sublethal responses that can have direct implications on species performance, reproduction and behaviour and thus be of ecological significance. In this sense, some biochemical biomarkers are regarded as early warning signals of further ecological consequences. Amongst those most frequently considered are specific responses to certain chemicals (e.g. metallothionein induction to metal exposure) but also those related to oxidative homeostasis of the organisms because prolonged stress may lead to adverse effects at the individual level (disruption of immune system, altered growth and reproduction). Biomarker measures can be applied in specific tissues, but, for methodological constraints, the consideration of the whole animal simplifies protocols and, once validated, they are informative and integrative. The use of non-destructive tissues (e.g. coelomocytes) that do not require sacrifice, the incorporation of “omic” disciplines and recent technical advances in metabolite identification are all encouraged to be incorporated into toxicity evaluationTo the EU Water JPI-2015 AWARE project (PCIN-2017-067), D. Nos and D. Romano are thanked for their contribution to the projectPeer reviewe