Making the Impossible Possible

This paper introduces new techniques and correct complexity analyses for impossible differential cryptanalysis, a powerful block cipher attack. We show how the key schedule of a cipher impacts an impossible differential attack, and we provide a new formula for the time complexity analysis that takes this parameter into account. Further, we show, for the first time, that the technique of multiple differentials can be applied to impossible differential attacks. Then, we demonstrate how this technique can be combined in practice with multiple impossible differentials or with the so-called state-test technique. To support our proposal, we implemented the above techniques on small-scale ciphers and verified their efficiency and accuracy in practice. We apply our techniques to the cryptanalysis of ciphers including AES-128, CRYPTON-128, ARIA-128, CLEFIA-128, Camellia-256 and LBlock. All of our attacks significantly improve previous impossible differential attacks and generally achieve the best memory complexity among all previous attacks against these ciphers.     

Evaluation of the astringency of commercial tannins by means of the SDS–PAGE-based method

The astringency of wines enriched with commercial tannins (CTs) was evaluated by a method based on the SDS–PAGE electrophoresis of salivary proteins after the reaction of saliva with wine. Nineteen CTs tested in synthetic wine at the same pH (3.6) and concentration (1 g/l) gave different values of saliva precipitation index (SPI). The effect of CTs addition was investigated in four wines. Results showed that the wine matrix influenced the astringent capacity of CTs and that became less pronounced as wine polyphenolic complexity increased. For some types of wine, astringency was not affected, indicating that the effect of CTs utilisation is not easily predictable by classical methods. The ability to objectively evaluate the astringency provided by CTs with the SDS–PAGE-based method would supply producers and winemakers with a useful tool to manage the processing conditions and thus to improve the quality of wine.     

Experimental study of laminar flames obtained by the homogenization of three forest fuels

This work aims to improve the understanding of the parameters involved in the burning of vegetative fuels. As the role of the surface-to-volume ratio is already known, we focused on the influence of other parameters. Three Mediterranean species (Pinus pinaster, Erica arborea and Cistus monspeliensis) were crushed in order to decrease the surface-to-volume ratio effects. The burning of these fuel samples produces unsteady, axisymmetric, non-premixed, laminar flames. The thermal properties and the mass loss of the crushed fuels, the distribution of temperature inside the sample and in the flame, the gases released by the fuels and the flame geometry were investigated. Thanks to these experimental data, the influence of the different fuel properties was underlined. We observed that the mass burning rate of the samples mainly controls the flame dynamics. However, the combustion kinetics in the flame depends on the degradation gases released by the fuels: the reaction zone is shifted and the flame height is changed. It appears that the composition of the degradation gases has to be taken into account to improve forest fire modeling.     

The Stone Age Revisited: Building a Monolithic Inorganic Lithium‐Ion Battery

A new path for the design of safe and efficient, all‐solid‐state Li‐ion batteries by spark plasma sintering (SPS) is considered. To reach a good electrochemical performance from such batteries, several parameters are investigated, such as the composite‐electrode formulation (active material/electrolyte/carbon ratio) and the influence of the sintering parameters on their compactness. The formulation is optimized to ensure good ionic and electronic percolation through the composite electrode's volume. The compactness has to be sufficient to guarantee a good mechanical aspect, while the residual porosity in the composite electrode allows electrode‐volume changes upon insertion and deinsertion, preserving the electrode/electrolyte interfaces, which are crucial in such technology. Based on these investigations, an all‐solid‐state battery with a surface capacity of 2.2 mA h cm^?2 is assembled by SPS, displaying a promising electrochemical performance at 80 °C.     

Combinational Therapy of Cardiac Atrial Appendage Stem Cells and Pyridoxamine: The Road to Cardiac Repair?

Myocardial infarction (MI) occurs when the coronary blood supply is interrupted. As a consequence, cardiomyocytes are irreversibly damaged and lost. Unfortunately, current therapies for MI are unable to prevent progression towards heart failure. As the renewal rate of cardiomyocytes is minimal, the optimal treatment should achieve effective cardiac regeneration, possibly with stem cells transplantation. In that context, our research group identified the cardiac atrial appendage stem cells (CASCs) as a new cellular therapy. However, CASCs are transplanted into a hostile environment, with elevated levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which may affect their regenerative potential. In this study, we hypothesize that pyridoxamine (PM), a vitamin B6 derivative, could further enhance the regenerative capacities of CASCs transplanted after MI by reducing AGEs’ formation. Methods and Results: MI was induced in rats by ligation of the left anterior descending artery. Animals were assigned to either no therapy (MI), CASCs transplantation (MI + CASCs), or CASCs transplantation supplemented with PM treatment (MI + CASCs + PM). Four weeks post-surgery, global cardiac function and infarct size were improved upon CASCs transplantation. Interstitial collagen deposition, evaluated on cryosections, was decreased in the MI animals transplanted with CASCs. Contractile properties of resident left ventricular cardiomyocytes were assessed by unloaded cell shortening. CASCs transplantation prevented cardiomyocyte shortening deterioration. Even if PM significantly reduced cardiac levels of AGEs, cardiac outcome was not further improved. Conclusion: Limiting AGEs’ formation with PM during an ischemic injury in vivo did not further enhance the improved cardiac phenotype obtained with CASCs transplantation. Whether AGEs play an important deleterious role in the setting of stem cell therapy after MI warrants further examination.     

Microencapsulated fragrances in melamine formaldehyde resins

The process for making melamine formaldehyde microcapsules containing fragrant oil is well-known. Recently, this technology has been used to enhance the olfactory performance on fabrics. However keeping the fragrance in the capsule during storage, improving the olfactory benefit and releasing a low amount of formaldehyde is highly challenging. To answer these challenges, Givaudan has developed its own melamine formaldehyde microcapsule, called Mechacaps, which is described in this article.     

Genome-wide association mapping for type and mammary health traits in French dairy goats identifies a pleiotropic region on chromosome 19 in the Saanen breed

Type traits and mammary health traits are important to dairy ruminant breeding because they influence animal health, milking ability, and longevity, as well as the economic sustainability of farms. The availability of the genomic sequence and a single nucleotide polymorphism chip in goats has opened up new fields of investigation to better understand the genes and mechanisms that underlie such complex traits and to be able to select them. Our objective was to perform a genome-wide association study in dairy goats for 11 type traits and somatic cell count (SCC) as proxies for mastitis resistance. A genome-wide association study was implemented using a daughter design composed of 1,941 Alpine and Saanen goats sired by 20 artificial insemination bucks, genotyped with the Illumina GoatSNP50 BeadChip (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA). This association study was based on both linkage analyses and linkage disequilibrium using QTLmap software (http://dga7.jouy.inra.fr/qtlmap/) interval mapping was performed with the likelihood ratio test using linear regressions. Breeds were analyzed together and separately. The study highlighted 37 chromosome-wide significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) with linkage analyses and 222 genome-wide significant QTL for linkage disequilibrium, for type and SCC traits in dairy goats. Genomic control of those traits was mostly polygenic and breed-specific, suggesting that within-breed selection would be favored for those traits. Of note, Capra hircus autosome (CHI) 19 appeared to be highly enriched in single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with type and SCC, with 2 highly significant regions in the Saanen breed. One region (33–42 Mb) was significantly associated with SCC and includes candidate genes associated with response to intramammary infections (RARA, STAT3, STAT5A, and STAT5B). Another region of the CHI 19 (24.5–27 Mb) exhibited an adverse pleiotropic effect on milk production (milk, fat yield, and protein yield) and udder traits (udder floor position and rear udder attachment) that agreed with the negative genetic correlations that exist between those 2 groups of traits. These QTL were not found in the Alpine breed. In Alpine, the 2 most significant regions were associated with chest depth on CHI 6 (45.8–46.0 Mb) and CHI 8 (80.7–81.1 Mb). These results will be helpful for goat selection in the future and could lead to identification of causal mutations.     

Characterization of the "viable but nonculturable" (VBNC) state in the wine spoilage yeast Brettanomyces

Although the viable but not culturable (VBNC) state has been studied in detail in bacteria, it has been suggested that maintenance of viability with loss of culturability also exists in eukaryotic cells, such as in the wine spoilage yeast Brettanomyces. To provide conclusive evidence for the existence of a VBNC state in this yeast, we investigated its capacity to become viable and nonculturable after sulfite stress, and its ability to recover culturability after stressor removal. Sulfite addition induced loss of culturability but maintenance of viability. Increasing the medium pH to decrease the concentration of toxic SO(2) allowed yeast cells to become culturable again, thus demonstrating the occurrence of a VBNC state in Brettanomyces upon SO(2) exposure. Relative to culturable Brettanomyces, VBNC yeast cells were found to display a 22% decrease in size on the basis of laser granulometry. Assays for 4-ethylguaiacol and 4-ethylphenol, volatile phenols produced by Brettanomyces, indicated that spoilage compound production could persist in VBNC cells. These morphological and physiological changes in VBNC Brettanomyces were coupled to extensive protein pattern modifications, as inferred by comparative two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometric analyses. Upon identification of 53 proteins out of the 168 spots whose abundance was significantly modified in treated cells relative to control, we propose that the SO(2)-induced VBNC state in Brettanomyces is characterized by a reduced glycolytic flux coupled to changes in redox homeostatis/protein turnover-related processes. This study points out the existence of common mechanisms between yeast and bacteria upon entry to the VBNC state.