DPA Leakage Evaluation and Countermeasure Plug-in

There exist 3 different types of research about SCAs, such as SCA analysis, SCA evaluation and SCA countermeasures. All of these studies try to establish more security in cryptographic software, hardware and system. Evaluation of SCA tries to find factors of different SCAs, moreover, the purpose of SCA Evaluation could be regarded as the first step of building countermeasures against SCAs. We choose DPA, which is one of the most popular and realistic SCAs at present, as our research target to build practical evaluation scheme and countermeasure which can be regarded as plug-in of EDA toolkits and could help designers of circuits to judge the power leakage and improve the resistance against DPAs automatically. Our contribution concludes: more accurate evaluation scheme; more efficient balanced scheme; be portable to build countermeasures based on evaluation scheme, furthermore, our countermeasures could be plug in EDA toolkits which is automatic and transparent to designers of circuits

Phosphate-functionalized ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene fiber: preparation and uranium adsorption performance

Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was grafted onto an ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber through pre-irradiation grafting, and further modified with diethyl (2-aminoethyl) phosphonate. A novel type of phosphate-functionalized fiber (UHMWPE-g-DEPP) was successfully prepared for the separation and recovery of trace uranium in radioactive wastewater. The chemical structure, surface functional groups, stability, micro morphology, and other physical and chemical properties of the fiber materials were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The principal factors affecting the U(VI) adsorption performance of the UHMWPE-g-DEPP fiber were investigated, including pH of the aqueous solution, contact time, temperature, and coexisting ions. The experimental results showed that UHMWPE-g-DEPP can achieve an adsorption equilibrium at room temperature within 8 h and the maximum adsorption capacity (113.2 mg/g) at 25 °C, pH = 5.0, and m/V = 0.2 g/‍L. The adsorption kinetic pattern was in good agreement with the pseudo-second-order model, and the adsorption equilibrium follows the Langmuir isotherm model well. The phosphate-functionalized fiber showed good recycling and adsorption selectivity

Advancements in LAM-based diagnostic kit for tuberculosis detection: enhancing TB diagnosis in HIV-negative individuals

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) detection based on chemiluminescence assay for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in HIV-negative individuals.MethodsA total of 215 patients and 37 healthy individuals were included according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, including 173 cases of PTB and 42 cases of EPTB. Sputum smears, sputum culture, TB-RNA, GeneXpert, and urine LAM results were obtained from all patients before treatment. Using the composite reference standard as the reference, the diagnostic performance of these methods for PTB and EPTB was evaluated, and the diagnostic performance and cost-effectiveness of different combinations were analyzed.ResultsIn PTB, LAM exhibited the highest sensitivity (55.49%), followed by GeneXpert (44.51%). In EPTB, LAM also had the highest sensitivity (40.48%), followed by GeneXpert (33.33%). When combined with one method, LAM combined with GeneXpert showed the highest sensitivity for both PTB (68.79%) and EPTB (61.9%). When combined with two methods, culture, GeneXpert, and LAM showed the highest sensitivity for both PTB (73.99%) and EPTB (69.05%). In terms of cost-effectiveness analysis, the price of LAM was significantly lower than that of GeneXpert ($129.82 vs.$275.79 in PTB and 275.79 vs. 502.33 in EPTB). Among all combinations, the combination of LAM and sputum smear had the lowest cost, with prices of $124.94 for PTB and$263.72 for EPTB.ConclusionUrine LAM detection based on chemiluminescence assay can be used as an adjunct diagnostic tool for PTB and EPTB in HIV-negative individuals. This facilitates expanding the current application of urine LAM from solely HIV-positive populations to the general population. LAM detection can overcome the limitations of obtaining clinical samples, and its ease of sample acquisition will be beneficial for its broader application in a larger scope. For economically better-off areas, we recommend using a combination of LAM + GeneXpert+culture for higher sensitivity; for economically disadvantaged areas, LAM + smear microscopy combination can provide a quick and accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis at a lower cost

Long-term effects of temperature and nutrient concentrations on the phytoplankton biomass in three lakes with differing trophic statuses on the Yungui Plateau, China

Long-term annual (1990-2010) monitoring data were analyzed to test the responses of phytoplankton biomass in three lakes in the Yungui Plateau, China, to increasing temperature and increasing nutrient concentrations. The three studied lakes (Lake Fuxian, Lake Erhai and Lake Dianchi) all exhibited significant increases in algal biomass from 1990 to 2010, with increases of 0.111mg/L, 0.662 mg/L and 3.07mg/L per year, respectively. The study also indicated that the relative influences of warming and nutrient concentrations on chlorophyll a concentration varied among the lakes and was dependent on trophic level and phytoplankton composition. In Lake Fuxian, the increase in algal biomass was correlated with the rapid growth of Mougeotia spp., and the total phosphorous concentration was the key factor driving this increase in algal biomass. In Lake Erhai, the dominant species shifted from Dolichospermum spp. to Microcystis spp. Additionally, the increase in algal biomass in Lake Erhai (involving mainly an increase in Microcystis spp.) was significantly associated with an increase in total nitrogen (TN) concentration. In Lake Dianchi, warming and increases in TN concentration were the strongest predictors of biomass change

Secret Multiple Leaders & Committee Election with Application to Sharding Blockchain

Secret leader election in consensus could protect leaders from Denial of Service (DoS) or bribery attacks, enhancing the blockchain system security. Single Secret Leader Election (SSLE), proposed by Boneh et al., supports electing a single random leader from a group of nodes while the leader’s identity remains secret until he reveals himself. Subsequent research endeavors have introduced distinct approaches to realize SSLE, yet most of these solutions consume relatively high communication complexity. In this paper, we propose an extended SSLE scheme, Secret Multiple Leaders Election (SMLE), based on linkable membership proof. A general SMLE scheme supports the one-time election of multiple consecutive secret leaders while reducing the average communication cost of a single leader election to constant complexity. In particular, SMLE is proven to satisfy a newly proposed consistent unpredictability property for each leader. Specifically, two concrete SMLE constructions are constructed. The first construction is designed for non-interactive scenarios where pre-configured system nodes are not required. The second one is designed for interactive scenarios where nodes operate within a committee. Furthermore, we extend SMLE to Secret Committee Election (SCE) and realize the anonymous node allocation in sharding blockchains utilizing SCE, thereby significantly enhancing the security of the sharding system. Finally, the experimental results indicate that our constructions exhibit minimal communication and computational overhead. When integrated into sharding systems, our protocol could increase an adversary’s attack difficulty, with the enhancement proportion approximately equal to the shard number