New Impossible Differential Attacks on Camellia

Camellia is one of the most worldwide used block ciphers, which has been selected as a standard by ISO/IEC. In this paper, we propose several new 7-round impossible differentials of Camellia with 2 $FL/FL^{-1}$ layers, which turn out to be the first 7-round impossible differentials with 2 $FL/FL^{-1}$ layers. Combined with some basic techniques including the early abort approach and the key schedule consideration, we achieve the impossible differential attacks on 11-round Camellia-128, 11-round Camellia-192, 12-round Camellia-192, and 14-round Camellia-256, and the time complexity are $2^{123.6}$, $2^{121.7}$, $2^{171.4}$ and $2^{238.2}$ respectively. As far as we know, these are the best results against the reduced-round variants of Camellia. Especially, we give the first attack on 11-round Camellia-128 reduced version with $FL/FL^{-1}$ layers

A Meet-in-the-Middle Attack on Round-Reduced mCrypton Using the Differential Enumeration Technique

This paper describes a meet-in-the-middle (MITM) attack against the round reduced versions of the block cipher mCrypton-64/96/128. We construct a 4-round distinguisher and lower the memory requirement from $2^{100}$ to $2^{44}$ using the differential enumeration technique. Based on the distinguisher, we launch a MITM attack on 7-round mCrypton-64/96/128 with complexities of $2^{44}$ 64-bit blocks and $2^{57}$ encryptions. Then we extend the basic attack to 8 rounds for mCrypton-128 by adding some key-bridging techniques. The 8-round attack on mCrypton-128 requires a time complexity $2^{100}$ and a memory complexity $2^{44}$. Furthermore, we construct a 5-round distinguisher and propose a MITM attack on 9-round mCrypton-128 with a time complexity of $2^{115}$ encryptions and a memory complexity of $2^{113}$ 64-bit blocks

Cryptotanshinone Reverses Reproductive and Metabolic Disturbances in PCOS Model Rats via Regulating the Expression of CYP17 and AR

Objective. To explore the effect of Cryptotanshinone on reversing the reproductive and metabolic disturbances in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) model rats and the possible regulatory mechanisms. Methods. PCOS model rats were induced by subcutaneous injection of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and verified by histological screening of vaginal exfoliated cells. After Cryptotanshinone intervention, the rats’ body weight and ovary morphological were observed; the serum biochemical assessments were analyzed by radioimmunoassay (RIA) and key genes and proteins related with anabolism of androgen and insulin were detected by Real-Time PCR and Immunohistochemical (IHC). Results. The estrous cyclicity of PCOS model rats was significantly recovered by Cryptotanshinone. The body weight, ovarian coefficient, and ovarian morphology had been improved and the serum biochemical indicators including testosterone (T), androstenedione (A2), luteinizing hormone (LH), LH/follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), sexual binding globulin (SHBG), low density cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting insulin (FINS) were reversed after Cryptotanshinone intervention. Specifically, the levels of Cytochrome P450, 17-a hydroxylase/17,20 lyase (CYP17), and androgen receptor (AR) were downregulated significantly. Conclusions. Our data suggest that Cryptotanshinone could rebalance reproductive and metabolic disturbances in PCOS model rats and could be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of PCOS

Role of JNK Activation and Mitochondrial Bax Translocation in Allicin-Induced Apoptosis in Human Ovarian Cancer SKOV3 Cells

Background. Allicin, the major component of freshly crushed garlic, is one of the most biologically active compounds of garlic; it has been reported to induce apoptosis in cancer cells; however, the mechanism by which allicin exerts its apoptotic effects is not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to further elucidate the apoptotic pathways induced by allicin in the human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3. Methods. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were measured by cell-counting assay and flow cytometry analysis. Activation of the signaling pathway was screened by human phospho-kinase array analysis, and the activated pathway and its related proteins were further confirmed by western blot analysis. Results. Allicin induced SKOV3 cell apoptosis and JNK phosphorylation in a time- and dose-dependent manner, but these were significantly blocked by SP600125 (an inhibitor of JNK). The findings suggest that JNK phosphorylation is related to the action of allicin on SKOV3 cells. Furthermore, JNK activation induced Bcl-2 family activation, triggered mitochondria-mediated signaling pathways, and led to the translocation of a considerable amount of Bax and cytochrome c release. Conclusions. JNK activation and mitochondrial Bax translocation are involved in allicin-induced apoptosis in SKOV3 cells. Our data input new insights to the literature of allicin-induced apoptosis

Layer-by-Layer Epitaxy of Multilayer MoS2 Wafers

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor of MoS2 has great potential for advanced electronics technologies beyond silicon1-9. So far, high-quality monolayer MoS2 wafers10-12 are already available and various demonstrations from individual transistors to integrated circuits have also been shown13-15. In addition to the monolayer, multilayers have narrower band gaps but improved carrier mobilities and current capacities over the monolayer5,16-18. However, achieving high-quality multilayer MoS2 wafers remains a challenge. Here we report the growth of high quality multilayer MoS2 4-inch wafers via the layer-by-layer epitaxy process. The epitaxy leads to well-defined stacking orders between adjacent epitaxial layers and offers a delicate control of layer numbers up to 6. Systematic evaluations on the atomic structures and electronic properties were carried out for achieved wafers with different layer numbers. Significant improvements on device performances were found in thicker-layer field effect transistors (FETs), as expected. For example, the average field-effect mobility ({\mu}FE) at room temperature (RT) can increase from ~80 cm2V-1s-1 for monolayer to ~110/145 cm2V-1s-1 for bilayer/trilayer devices. The highest RT {\mu}FE=234.7 cm2V-1s-1 and a record-high on-current densities of 1.704 mA{\mu}m-1 at Vds=2 V were also achieved in trilayer MoS2 FETs with a high on/off ratio exceeding 107. Our work hence moves a step closer to practical applications of 2D MoS2 in electronics.Comment: 13 pages,4 Figure

Improved Boomerang Attacks on Round-Reduced SM3 and BLAKE-256

In this paper we study the security of hash functions SM3 and BLAKE-256 against boomerang attack. SM3 is designed by X. Wang et al. and published by Chinese Commercial Cryptography Administration Office for the use of electronic certification service system in China. BLAKE is one of the five finalists of the NIST SHA-3 competition submitted by J.-P. Aumasson et al. For SM3, we present boomerang distinguishers for the compression function reduced to 34/35/36/37 steps out of 64 steps, with time complexities $2^{31.4}$, $2^{33.6}$, $2^{73.4}$ and $2^{192}$ respectively. Then we show some incompatible problems existed in the previous boomerang attacks on SM3. Meanwhile, we launch boomerang attacks on up to 7 and 8 rounds keyed permutation of BLAKE-256 which are the first valid $7$-round and $8$-round boomerangs for BLAKE-256. Especially, since our distinguishers on 34/35-step compression function of SM3 and 7-round keyed permutation of BLAKE-256 are practical, we are able to obtain boomerang quartets of these attacks. As far as we know, these are the best results against round-reduced SM3 and BLAKE-256

Improved boomerang attacks on round-reduced SM3 and keyed permutation of BLAKE-256

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Study on separation of low-grade zinc oxide ore with sulfurization-amination flotation

With the continuous depletion of a large number of zinc sulphide ores that are easy to treat, the finely disseminated and refractory low-grade zinc oxide ores has become an important source for the production of zinc minerals. In this paper, a sulfurization-amination flotation process has been proposed for concentrating large amounts of low-grade zinc oxide ore in Lanping, Yunnan Province. Spectrum analysis, chemical analysis and element analysis was performed to provide research basis for process design and operational control. The main influencing factors during the process, including grinding fineness, reagent types and dosage, etc., have been studied through flotation tests. The results showed that the optimum grinding fineness was -0.074 mm accounting for 89.78% for the target run-of mine ore. Moreover, optimum dosages of sodium carbonate, sodium silicate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium sulphide and octadecylamine were determined as 1500 g/t, 500 g/t, 200g/t, 8000 g/t and 500 g/t, respectively. Under these conditions, an open circuit test and a closed circuit test with one stage rougher, two stage scavenger and three stage cleaner flotation were carried out with the run-of-mine ore with a zinc grade of 6.52% and the oxidation ratio of 94.62%. The zinc concentrate can be obtained with zinc grade of 44.09% at a zinc recovery of 66.35% with a 9.70% yield of zinc concentrate yield. The results confirmed the validity and practicability of the proposed process design and experimental operation. This study is of special value as it provides referencing significance for economically exploiting low-grade zinc oxide ore