HLS-based acceleration of the BIKE post-quantum KEM on embedded-class heterogeneous SoCs

An effective transition to post-quantum cryptography mandates its deployment on embedded-class devices, guaranteeing adequate performance while satisfying their strict area constraints. This work accelerates BIKE, a QC-MDPC code-based post-quantum KEM, through HLS on embedded-class heterogeneous SoCs that couple a CPU with FPGA programmable logic. The proposed methodology implements HLS-generated accelerators to compute the most time-consuming operations of BIKE, identified by analyzing the software-only execution. The mix of accelerators instantiated in hardware and operations executed in software, as well as the configurable architectural parameters of the former, are then determined, depending on the resources available on the target SoC, to minimize BIKE’s execution time. Experiments on AMD Zynq-7000 SoCs highlight a speedup of up to 3.34 times compared to the reference software execution and up to 1.98 times over state-of-the-art HW/SW implementations targeting the same chips

A survey on run-time power monitors at the edge

Effectively managing energy and power consumption is crucial to the success of the design of any computing system, helping mitigate the efficiency obstacles given by the downsizing of the systems while also being a valuable step towards achieving green and sustainable computing. The quality of energy and power management is strongly affected by the prompt availability of reliable and accurate information regarding the power consumption for the different parts composing the target monitored system. At the same time, effective energy and power management are even more critical within the field of devices at the edge, which exponentially proliferated within the past decade with the digital revolution brought by the Internet of things. This manuscript aims to provide a comprehensive conceptual framework to classify the different approaches to implementing run-time power monitors for edge devices that appeared in literature, leading the reader toward the solutions that best fit their application needs and the requirements and constraints of their target computing platforms. Run-time power monitors at the edge are analyzed according to both the power modeling and monitoring implementation aspects, identifying specific quality metrics for both in order to create a consistent and detailed taxonomy that encompasses the vast existing literature and provides a sound reference to the interested reader

An Evaluation of the State-of-the-Art Software and Hardware Implementations of BIKE

NIST is conducting a process for the standardization of post-quantum cryptosystems, i.e., cryptosystems that are resistant to attacks by both traditional and quantum computers and that can thus substitute the traditional public-key cryptography solutions which are expected to be broken by quantum computers in the next decades. This manuscript provides an overview and a comparison of the existing state-of-the-art implementations of the BIKE QC-MDPC code-based post-quantum KEM, a candidate in NIST's PQC standardization process. We consider both software, hardware, and mixed hardware-software implementations and evaluate their performance and, for hardware ones, their resource utilization.Comment: Accepted for presentation at PARMA-DITAM 2023: 14th Workshop on Parallel Programming and Run-Time Management Techniques for Many-core Architectures / 12th Workshop on Design Tools and Architectures for Multicore Embedded Computing Platforms, January 17, 202

FACILE FUNCTIONALIZATION OF sp2 CARBON ALLOTROPES WITH A BIOBASED JANUS MOLECULE

A simple, versatile, sustainable, not expensive method for the functionalization of sp2 carbon allotropes, both nanosized and nano-structured, without altering their bulk crystalline organization, is presented. Carbon materials available at the commercial scale were used: furnace carbon black (CB), nano-sized graphite with high surface area, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes. A bio-sourced molecule, 2-(2,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)-1,3-propanediol (serinol pyrrole), was used for the functionalization. Serinol pyrrole (SP) was obtained from serinol through a reaction with atomic efficiency of about 82%, performed in the absence of solvents or catalysts. Synthesis of serinol pyrrole was performed as well on carbon allotropes as the solid support. Adducts of serinol pyrrole with a carbon allotrope were prepared with the help of either thermal or mechanical energy. Functionalization yield was in all cases larger than 90%. With such adducts, stable dispersions in water and inNRlatex were prepared.Afew layers of graphene were isolated from the water dispersions, and NR-based composites precipitated from the latex revealed very even distribution of fine graphitic particles. Composites were prepared, based on NR, IR, andBRas the rubbers andCBand silica as the fillers, with different amounts of CB–SPadduct, and were cross-linked with a sulfur-based system without observing appreciable effect of functionalization on vulcanization kinetics. The CB–SP adduct led to appreciable reduction of the Payne effect

Tutelarsi dall’emergenza: ripensare le pratiche educative nella tutela dei minorenni attraverso l’esperienza della pandemia

Child protection services represent a professional context in which emergency is a frequent dimension, being embedded in the need to prevent and address threats to personal integrity and freedom. This feature makes it a particularly interesting milieu for interrogating the effects of the pandemic crisis on educational practices that take place in specific institutional settings, thereby fostering a wider pedagogical reflection on the meaning and nature of educational interventions in critical situations. This article will present some considerations based on qualitative research – part of the project Education for Social Justice, Disuf, UNIMIB – realized through inter- views with professionals during the lockdown. The emerging themes offer interesting cues to re-think some fundamental dimensions of educational work, such as the challenges that flourish on the borderline between the personal and professional spheres, the relevance of networking and the need for a better awareness of those professional assumptions shaped – often unconsciously – by institutional frames of reference.La tutela dei minorenni è un contesto professionale in cui l’emergenza è orizzonte usuale, connaturato alla necessità di prevenire e affrontare tempestivamente minacce all’integrità personale e alla libertà di agire. Questo lo rende particolarmente interessante per interrogare gli effetti dell’emergenza pandemica sulle pratiche educative all’interno di precise cornici istituzionali, sostenendo una riflessione pedagogica sulla natura dell’intervento educativo all’in- terno delle situazioni di crisi. L’articolo proporrà alcune riflessioni basate su di una ricerca qualitativa – parte del progetto Education for Social Justice, UNIMIB – condotta tramite interviste a professionisti durante la fase di lockdown. I temi emergenti offrono spunti utili a ripensare alcune dimensioni costitutive del lavoro educativo, quali le criticità attinenti al confine tra sfera personale e professionale, all’importanza della rete e la necessità di maggiore consapevolezza circa le proprie premesse di fondo, orientate – anche inconsapevolmente – dalla cornice istituzionale

Italian Wikipedia and epilepsy: an infodemiological study of online information-seeking behavior

Wikipedia is the most commonly accessed source of health information by both healthcare professionals and the lay public worldwide. We aimed to evaluate information-seeking behavior of Internet users searching the Italian Wikipedia for articles related to epilepsy and its treatment. Using Pageviews Analysis, we assessed the total and mean monthly views of articles from the Italian Wikipedia devoted to epilepsy, epileptic syndromes, seizure type, and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) from January 1, 2015 to October 31, 2017. We compared the views of the article on epilepsy with those of articles focusing on Alzheimer's disease, migraine, multiple sclerosis, syncope, and stroke and adjusted all results for crude disease prevalence. With the only exception of the article on multiple sclerosis, the adjusted views for the Italian Wikipedia article on epilepsy were higher than those for the other neurological disorders. The most viewed articles on seizure type were devoted to tonic-clonic seizure, typical absence seizure, tonic convulsive seizures, and clonic convulsive seizures. The most frequently accessed articles on epilepsy syndromes were about temporal lobe epilepsy and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The most frequently viewed articles on AEDs were devoted to valproic acid, carbamazepine, and levetiracetam. Wikipedia searches seem to mirror patients' fears and worries about epilepsy more than its actual epidemiology. The ultimate reasons for searching online remain unknown. Epileptologists and epilepsy scientific societies should make greater efforts to work jointly with Wikipedia to convey more accurate and up-to-date information about epilepsy

Molecular Identification of Italian Mouse-eared Bats (genus Myotis)

Despite the fact that the genus Myotis (Mouse-Eared bats) is one of the most investigated microchiropteran groups, recent molecular studies highlighted the presence of several cryptic species with substantial implications for ecological and conservation issues. Our dataset includes 55 coxI sequences from 11 morphologically-identified Italian Mouse-Eared bats species. We applied an integrated approach comparing data from a traditional morphological identification and molecular variability in a fragment of the mitochondrial coxI gene (DNA barcoding). Our results clearly show a strong coherence between the two identification approaches for almost all of the examined species, and revealed interesting patterns of intraspecific variability within the species M. nattereri. Finally, we successfully tested the efficacy of our identification method on undetermined individuals sampled in the field

Controlled functionalization of sp2 carbon allotropes for the reinforcement of diene elastomers

To achieve important mechanical properties, natural and synthetic rubbers need reinforcing fillers. sp2 carbon allotropes are indeed relevant reinforcing fillers for rubber compounds. Carbon black has been used for over a century and nanofillers such as graphene, graphene related materials and carbon nanotubes are dramatically increasing their importance. Ultimate distribution and dispersion of the carbon fillers in the rubber compounds has to be obtained. To achieve this goal, carbon allotropes should be used as such or should they be functionalized? In this work, controlled functionalization of sp2 carbon allotropes was performed. In particular, the aim was to introduce, on carbon allotropes, oxygenated functional groups, without altering the graphitic structure of the substrate. Methods developed are presented. They were based on reaction of carbon materials with hydrogen peroxide, potassium hydroxide and a derivative of 2-amino-1,3- propandiol, better known as serinol. All the reactions were inspired to the basic principle of sustainable chemistry, with the aim to avoid the use of solvents and catalysts. Research performed with the serinol derivative is in particular discussed. The Paal-Knorr reaction of serinol with 2,5-hexanedione was performed, obtaining 2- (2,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)-1,3-propanediol, named as serinolpyrrole (SP). The aromatic ring in SP was exploited to form stable adducts with the carbon allotropes. Hypothesis on the mechanism for the adduct formation is presented. Rubber compounds, based either only on carbon black or on carbon black and silica as the filler systems, were prepared and sulphur-based crosslinking behavior and dynamic-mechanical properties were investigated