3,128 research outputs found

    Bit-flipping Decoder Failure Rate Estimation for (v,w)-regular Codes

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    Providing closed form estimates of the Decoding Failure Rates (DFR) of iterative decoder for low- and moderate-density parity check codes has attracted significant interest in the research community over the years. This interest has raised due to the use of iterative decoders in post-quantum cryptosystems, where the desired DFRs are impossible to estimate via Monte Carlo simulations. In this work, we propose a new technique to provide accurate estimates of the DFR of a two-iterations (parallel) bit-flipping decoder, which is also employable for cryptographic purposes. In doing so, we successfully tackle the estimation of the bit-flipping probabilities at the first and second decoder iteration, and provide a fitting estimate for the syndrome weight distribution. We numerically validate our results, providing comparisons of the modeled and simulated weight of the syndrome, incorrectly-guessed error bit distribution at the end of the first iteration, and two-iteration DFR, both in the floor and waterfall regime. Finally, we apply our method to estimate the DFR of LEDAcrypt, a post-quantum cryptosystem, improving by factors larger than 2^{70}, with respect to the previous estimation techniques

    Threshold Selection for Iterative Decoding of (v,w)-regular Binary Codes

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    Iterative bit flipping decoders are an efficient and effective choice for decoding codes which admit a sparse parity-check matrix. Among these, sparse (v,w)-regular codes, which include LDPC and MDPC codes, are of particular interest both for efficient data correction and the design of cryptographic primitives. Throughout the iterative decoding process, the bit flipping thresholds can be determined either statically or during the decoder execution, by using information coming from the initial syndrome value and its updates. In this work, we analyze a two-iterations parallel hard decision bit flipping decoder and propose concrete criteria for threshold determination, backed by a closed form model. In doing so, we introduce a new tightly fitting model for the distribution of the Hamming weight of the syndrome after the first decoder iteration and substantial improvements on the decoding failure rate (DFR) estimation with respect to existing approaches

    Infectious aetiology of marginal zone lymphoma and role of anti-infective therapy

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    Marginal zone lymphomas have been associated with several infectious agents covering both viral and bacterial pathogens and in some cases a clear aetiological role has been established. Pathogenetic mechanisms are currently not completely understood. However, the role of chronic stimulation of the host immune response with persistent lymphocyte activation represents the most convincing explanation for lymphoproliferation. Gastric MALT lymphoma is strictly associated with Helicobacter pylori infection and various eradicating protocols, developed due to increasing antibiotic resistance, represent the first line therapy for gastric MALT. The response rate to eradication is good with 80% of response at 1 year; this finding is also noteworthy because it recapitulates cancer cured only by the antibacterial approach and it satisfies the Koch postulates of causation, establishing a causative relationship between Hp and gastric MALT lymphoma. Patients with chronic HCV infection have 5 times higher risk to develop MZL, in particular, an association with splenic and nodal MZL has been shown in several studies. Moreover, there is evidence of lymphoma regression after antiviral therapy with interferon+ribavirin, thus raising hope that newly available drugs, extremely efficient against HCV replication, could improve outcome also in HCV-driven lymphomas. Another case-study are represented by those rare cases of MZL localized to orbital fat and eye conjunctivas that have been associated with Chlamydophila psittaci infection carried by birds. Efficacy of antibacterial therapy against C. psittaci are conflicting and generally poorer than gastric MALT. Finally, some case reports will cover the relationship between primary cutaneous B-cell Lymphomas and Borrelia Burgdorferi

    A imagem de Alessandro Baricco no Brasil

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    Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos da Tradução, Florianópolis, 2013.Com a intenção de delinear o modo pelo qual o escritor italiano Alessandro Baricco se inseriu no sistema literário brasileiro e os caminhos percorridos pelos seus livros traduzidos, esta dissertação dá voz às experiências tradutórias de seus tradutores. A inserção de Bariccono Brasil tem seu início em 1997, através de uma proposição da Profa. Dra. Roberta Barni à editora Iluminuras da tradução de Oceano Mare. A partir daí, outras sete obras foram publicadas no Brasil, sendo três delas traduzidas por Roberta Barni e as outras quatro por quatro tradutores diferentes. De um lado, considera-se o tradutor como figura principal namediação entre culturas, e, de outro, se analisa a realidade desta figuradentro do sistema literário, sua invisibilidade, seus limites e o exercíciode sua profissão. A pesquisa conta, ainda, com críticas e resenhas referentes ao autor italiano publicadas em jornais consagrados no Brasil, considerando estas como parte constituinte da imagem de Baricco refletida em território nacional. Abstract : Intending to delineate the way the Italian writer Alessandro Baricco has been inserted in the Brazilian literary system and the paths his translated books have followed, this thesis gives voice to the translating experiences of his translators. Baricco's insertion in Brazil began in 1997, through a personal project of Dr. Roberta Barni, with her translation of Oceano Mare. Since then, seven other of his works have been published in Brazil, three of which were translated by Roberta Barni and the other four by four different translators. On the one hand,the translator is considered as the main figure in mediation betweencultures and, on the other, this figure's reality is analyzed within theliterary system: its invisibility, its limits and its professional practice. Criticisms and reviews of this Italian author published in well established Brazilian newspapers are also considered, with the understanding that they are part of Baricco's image reflected here

    La maturità di Alessandro Fei del Barbiere, in bilico tra Maniera e Riforma

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    This article studies the mature career of the Florentine painter Alessandro Fei del Barbiere (1537-1592), beginning with the rediscovery of the 'Ascension' altarpiece formerly in the Albizi Chapel in the destroyed church of San Pier Maggiore, Florence. Studying this painting and others recorded in 1584 by the biographer Raffaello Borghini, such as the two altarpieces for Santa Maria delle Grazie and the Madonna dell'Umiltà in Pistoia, the author reconstructs a body of works showing how in the 1580s Fei gradually went beyond the archaic style of his apprenticeship - he had been trained by Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio and Pierfrancesco Foschi, but was also marked by the Maniera of Vasari - evolving towards naturalism in both mimesis and pictorial handling. In Florence, his development partly parallels that of Santi di Tito and his circle, but Fei was also influenced by a probable sojourn during the early part of that decade in Rome, where he could have been inspired by Girolamo Muziano and the painters working for Pope Gregory XIII. Among other proposals, the author suggests that the artist was responsible for decorating the chancel of Fiesole Cathedral (c. 1584-1589), which consisted of an altarpiece, only rarely discussed by scholars, and a cycle of frescoes hitherto attributed to Nicodemo Ferrucci

    Closed form decoding failure rate estimation for code-based post-quantum cryptosystems

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    LAUREA MAGISTRALELa ricerca in Crittografia Post-Quantum ha visto un aumento di interesse, dovuto ai progressi nello sviluppo di computer quantistici in grado di rompere i crittosistemi attualmente utilizzati. I crittosistemi basati su codici di correzione errori costituiscono una valida alternativa, in quanto resistono ad attacchi classici e quantistici e offrono primitive di comunicazione efficienti. Alcuni sistemi crittografici basati su codici, come BIKE e LEDAcrypt, utilizzano un particolare gruppo di codici di correzione errori, chiamati QC-MDPC, insieme ad algoritmi iterativi a punto fisso per la loro decodifica. Gli algoritmi di decodifica iterativa utilizzati in questi sistemi hanno una probabilità non nulla di fallire, e stimare il tasso di fallimento in decodifica (Decoding Failure Rate, DFR) risulta essere un problema difficile. I fallimenti in decodifica rivelano informazioni sulla chiave privata dei crittosistemi, rendendo critica una stima accurata del DFR dei codici utilizzati, ma la valutazione del tasso di fallimento con simulazioni Monte Carlo è computazionalmente irrealizzabile per i tassi di errore richiesti (dell'ordine di 2^-128 o inferiori). In questa tesi, presentiamo una nuova tecnica per stimare il tasso di fallimento in decodifica di un decoder parallelo a due e tre iterazioni, offrendo un modello in forma chiusa per quantificare il DFR di codici crittografici. Analizziamo la possibilità di utilizzare soglie dipendenti dal valore della sindrome nell'algoritmo di decodifica, proponendo criteri concreti per la selezione di tali soglie e la valutazione del loro impatto. Presentiamo un'ampia validazione dei risultati dei nostri modelli, e quantifichiamo l'impatto di una stima affidabile del DFR sulle dimensioni dei parametri (chiave pubblica, cifrato) di crittosistemi post-quantum basati su codici.Post-Quantum Cryptography has seen an increase in interest during the last decades, due to the advancements in quantum computing research that threatens the security of current asymmetric encryption methods. Cryptosystems based on Error Correction Codes prove to be a valid solution, being resistant to classical and quantum attackers while providing efficient communication primitives. A particular family of error correction codes, named QC-MDPC codes, have been employed in code-based post-quantum cryptosystems such as BIKE and LEDAcrypt, along with iterative decoders. Iterative bit-flipping decoders lead to a non-zero decoding failure probability, and estimating the Decoding Failure Rate (DFR) is a crucial yet challenging task. Indeed, such decoding failures can leak information about the private key, making accurate DFR estimates critical, and validation via Monte Carlo simulations is computationally unfeasible for the required failure rates. In this thesis, we introduce a novel technique to estimate the decoding failure rate of a two- and three-iterations parallel bit-flipping decoder, offering a closed form solution for quantifying the DFR of cryptographic-grade codes. We analyse the possibility of employing syndrome dependent thresholds in the decoding procedure, proposing concrete criteria for selecting such thresholds and evaluating their impact. We extensively validate the results of our models, and quantify the impact of a reliable DFR estimate on code-based post-quantum cryptosystems

    Tra socialdemocrazie e Perestrojka. Le relazioni internazionali del Pci attraverso le carte di Alessandro Natta

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    This essay reconstructs the foreign policy of the Italian Communist Party during the four years of Alessandro Natta’s secretariat (1984-1988) through largely original archival documentation, from the Alessandro Natta Fonds of the Historical Archive of the Chamber of Deputies. Natta’s papers are also cross-referenced with those kept in the PCI Archive at the Gramsci Foundation. The author analyses the relationship that the PCI establishes with Gorbachev’s Perestroika, Deng’s China, and European social democracies during the last years of the Cold War

    Splenic marginal zone lymphoma: Prognostic factors, role of watch and wait policy, and other therapeutic approaches in the rituximab era

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    Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is an indolent lymphoma in which watch and wait (W&W) approach as well as splenectomy and chemo-immunotherapy are usually recommended. The role of the different approaches in relation to risk factors was evaluated. One hundred patients with SMZL were retrospectively studied. Median age was 65 years. HCV positivity was 3.1%. The 10-year overall-survival was 95.1% (CI: 90-100%). Sixty-two asymptomatic, low tumour burden patients were submitted to W&W. A low-risk group not requiring treatment was identified. Patients requiring treatment received splenectomy (36), chemotherapy-alone (27) and rituximab ± chemotherapy (16). In multivariate analysis, negative predictors for starting treatment were female-sex, splenomegaly, ECOG ≥ 1. Patients with low IIL-Score had a better 5-year TFT (24%). The median TFT of the W&W cohort was 58.5 months; at 10 years, 17% of patients were still on W&W. Splenectomy and rituximab ± chemotherapy showed similar results, while chemotherapy alone proved inferior. This real-life single-centre study of SMZL confirmed its very good prognosis with a survival likelihood overlapping that of general population. The prognostic role of IIL-Score was confirmed. The W&W approach allowed a median PFS longer than in follicular lymphoma. Finally, our data confirm the inferiority of chemotherapy compared to splenectomy and rituximab ± chemotherapy

    Volta Alessandro

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    The New Dictionary of Scientific Biography (extension and updating of the Dictionary of Scientific Biography) is one of the most substantial reference works in the field of the history of science. An up-to-date overview on Alessandro Volta's science with new perspectives offered by the author. Information and critical analysis is also provided on the main secondary literature produced on this main protagonist of enlightenment science after the 1976 entry "Volta Alessandro" in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography
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