Cross-Domain Identity-based Matchmaking Encryption

Recently, Ateniese et al. (CRYPTO 2019) proposed a new cryptographic primitive called matchmaking encryption (ME), which provides fine-grained access control over encrypted data by allowing both the sender and receiver to specify access control policies. The encrypted message can be decrypted correctly if and only if the attributes of the sender and receiver simultaneously meet each other\u27s specified policies. In current ME, when users from different organizations need secret communication, they need to be managed by a single-authority center. However, it is more reasonable if users from different domains obtain secret keys from their own authority centers, respectively. Inspired by this, we extend ME to cross-domain scenarios. Specifically, we introduce the concept of the cross-domain ME and instantiate it in the identity-based setting (i.e., cross-domain identity-based ME). Then, we first formulate and design a cross-domain identity-based ME (IB-ME) scheme and prove its privacy and authenticity in the random oracle model. Further, we extend the cross-domain IB-ME to the multi-receiver setting and give the formal definition, concrete scheme and security proof. Finally, we analyze and implement the schemes, which confirms the efficiency feasibility

Attribute-Based Conditional Proxy Re-Encryption in the Standard Model under LWE

Attribute-based conditional proxy re-encryption (AB-CPRE) allows delegators to carry out attribute-based control on the delegation of decryption by setting policies and attribute vectors. The fine-grained control of AB-CPRE makes it suitable for a variety of applications, such as cloud storage and distributed file systems. However, all existing AB-CPRE schemes are constructed under classical number-theoretic assumptions, which are vulnerable to quantum cryptoanalysis. Therefore, we propose the first AB-CPRE scheme based on the learning with errors (LWE) assumption. Constructed from fully key-homomorphic encryption (FKHE) and key-switching techniques, our scheme is unidirectional, single-hop, and enables a polynomial-deep boolean circuit as its policy. Furthermore, we split the ciphertext into two independent parts to avoid two-level or multi-level encryption/decryption mechanisms. Taking advantage of it, we then extend our single-hop AB-CPRE into an efficient and concise multi-hop one. No matter how many transformations are performed, the re-encrypted ciphertext is in constant size, and only one encryption/decryption algorithm is needed. Both of our schemes are proved to be selective secure against chosen-plaintext attacks (CPA) in the standard model

Decreased expression of dual-specificity phosphatase 9 is associated with poor prognosis in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Background: The molecular mechanisms involved in the development and progression of clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs) are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to analyze the expression of dual-specificity phosphatase 9 (DUSP-9) and determine its clinical significance in human ccRCCs. Methods: The expression of DUSP-9 mRNA was determined in 46 paired samples of ccRCCs and adjacent normal tissues by using real-time qPCR. The expression of the DUSP-9 was determined in 211 samples of ccRCCs and 107 paired samples of adjacent normal tissues by immunohistochemical analysis. Statistical analysis was performed to define the relationship between the expression of DUSP-9 and the clinical features of ccRCC. Results: The mRNA level of DUSP-9, which was determined by real-time RT-PCR, was found to be significantly lower in tumorous tissues than in the adjacent non-tumorous tissues (p < 0.001). An immunohistochemical analysis of 107 paired tissue specimens showed that the DUSP-9 expression was lower in tumorous tissues than in the adjacent non-tumorous tissues (p < 0.001). Moreover, there was a significant correlation between the DUSP-9 expression in ccRCCs and gender (p = 0.031), tumor size (p = 0.001), pathologic stage (p = 0.001), Fuhrman grade (p = 0.002), T stage (p = 0.001), N classification (p = 0.012), metastasis (p = 0.005), and recurrence (p < 0.001). Patients with lower DUSP-9 expression had shorter overall survival time than those with higher DUSP-9 expression (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that low expression of the DUSP-9 was an independent predictor for poor survival of ccRCC patients. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study that determines the relationship between DUSP-9 expression and prognosis in ccRCC. We found that decreased expression of DUSP-9 is associated with poor prognosis in ccRCC. DUSP-9 may represent a novel and useful prognostic marker for ccRCC

Design and Fabrication of a Ratiometric Planar Optode for Simultaneous Imaging of pH and Oxygen

This paper presents a simple, high resolution imaging approach utilizing ratiometric planar optode for simultaneous measurement of dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH. The planar optode comprises a plastic optical film coated with oxygen indicator Platinum(II) octaethylporphyrin (PtOEP) and reference quantum dots (QDs) embedded in polystyrene (PS), pH indicator 5-Hexadecanoylamino-fluorescein (5-Fluorescein) embedded in Hydromed D4 matrix. The indicator and reference dyes are excited by utilizing an LED (Light Emitting Diode) source with a central wavelength of 405 nm, the emission respectively matches the different channels (red, green, and blue) of a 3CCD camera after eliminating the excitation source by utilizing the color filter. The result shows that there is low cross-sensitivity between the two analytes dissolved oxygen and pH, and it shows good performance in the dynamic response ranges of 0–12 mg/L and a dynamic range of pH 6−8. The optode has been tested with regard to the response times, accuracy, photostability and stability. The applied experiment for detecting pH/Oxygen of sea-water under the influence of the rain drops is demonstrated. It is shown that the planar optode measuring system provides a simple method with low cross-talk for pH/Oxygen imaging in aqueous applications

Ratiometric Dissolved Oxygen Sensors Based on Ruthenium Complex Doped with Silver Nanoparticles

A ratiometric optical sensor has been developed with electrospinning processing method for dissolved oxygen measurement. The sensing film is fabricated by using silver nano-particles (Ag NPs) doped with tris(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline) ruthenium(II) dichloride complex (Ru(DPP)3Cl2) encapsulated in plasticized polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). An insensitive 3-(2-benzothiazolyl)-7-(diethy lamino)-(6CI,7CI) (Coumarin6) is adopted as reference. The ratio of oxygenation is calculated at each image pixel of a 3CCD camera to quantify the oxygen concentration in aqueous environment. Compared to Ag-free film, the response time of Ag-containing films were improved from 1.5 s to 1.0 s upon switching from deoxygenated to air saturation and from 65 s to 45 s from air saturation to fully deoxygenated. The response times of the Ag-free film obtained by knifing was 2.0 s upon switching from deoxygenated to air saturation and 104 s from air saturation to fully deoxygenated. Results of the evaluation of accuracy, limit of detection, stability, and photostability are presented. An experiment measuring the spatiotemporal variation of oxygen distribution within the photosynthesis and respiration of Chlorella vulgaris is demonstrated. It is shown that the nanofiber-based optical sensor film could serve as a promising method for rapid oxygen monitoring in aqueous applications

Large-area tungsten disulfide for ultrafast photonics

Two-dimensional (2D) layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted significant interest in various optoelectronic applications due to their excellent nonlinear optical properties. One of the most important applications of TMDs is to be employed as an extraordinary optical modulation material (e.g., the saturable absorber (SA)) in ultrafast photonics. The main challenge arises while embedding TMDs into fiber laser systems to generate ultrafast pulse trains and thus constraints their practical applications. Herein, few-layered WS2 with a large-area was directly transferred on the facet of the pigtail and acted as a SA for erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) systems. In our study, WS2 SA exhibited remarkable nonlinear optical properties (e.g., modulation depth of 15.1% and saturable intensity of 157.6 MW cm(-2)) and was used for ultrafast pulse generation. The soliton pulses with remarkable performances (e.g., ultrashort pulse duration of 1.49 ps, high stability of 71.8 dB, and large pulse average output power of 62.5 mW) could be obtained in a telecommunication band. To the best of our knowledge, the average output power of the mode-locked pulse trains is the highest by employing TMD materials in fiber laser systems. These results indicate that atomically large-area WS2 could be used as excellent optical modulation materials in ultrafast photonics.Peer reviewe