Salicornia herbacea L. (SAL). The antioxidant activity of SAL was investigated by in vitro studies. The physicochemical and nutritional characteristics of fresh mullet (FM), salted control (SSDM-CON), and SAL-treated (SSDM-SAL) mullet groups were analyzed. The moisture, ash, and crude protein contents were significantly increased in the SSDM-SAL group, whereas the salinity was decreased when compared with the SSDM-CON group. Lipid oxidation occurred in the FM and SSDM groups, as indicated by the increase in peroxide (PV), acid (AV), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) values during the storage period. The protein pattern on the sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis showed similarities between the groups, while the amino acid and fatty acid contents also varied in the FM and SSDM groups depending on their processing methods. Initially, the total bacterial count was significantly higher in the SSDM groups than in the FM group. However, the SSDM-SAL group had a markedly lower total bacteria count than the FM and SSDM-CON groups during 21 days of refrigerated storage. This result indicates that SAL treatment can improve mullet’s safety from microorganisms, includes beneficial biochemical parameters, and can extend their shelf-life through refrigerated storage.Mullet, a coastal fish species, is commonly used as a salted dried fish in many countries, including Korea, Japan, and the southeastern United States. The purpose of this investigation was to develop high-quality products of salted semi-dried mullet (SSDM) using natural salt and  Mugil japonicus) and red mullet (Mullus) [Mullet is a species of fish that is found all over the world. It can be categorized into gray mullet ((Mullus) ,2. Mulle(Mullus) . Gray mu(Mullus) ,5. Fish (Mullus) . Fatty a(Mullus) . Increas(Mullus) . This eaFood materials containing fats and oils are acidified via auto-oxidation in the presence of oxygen and heat, thus affecting food quality . AcidifiFreezing and drying are the most widely used fish processing methods for preservation due to their advantage of providing microbiological safety. However, in the freezing process, products easily crumble. Excessive drying has a disadvantage in that the texture is degraded and the quality deteriorates due to the oxidation of fatty acids and browning . SeveralSalicornia herbacea L. (SAL) is known to grow in wetlands or mud on the coast of Korea. It is rich in potassium and calcium, possesses antioxidant activity and has triglyceride and cholesterol reducing effects. It may help to prevent or preserve the lipid oxidation of aquatic foods. In addition, it is effective as a folk remedy for various diseases, such as asthma, high blood pressure, cancer and diabetes [diabetes . SAL is diabetes ,16,17. TS. herbacea L. (without water content) was obtained from the Shinanharmcho company (Shinanharmcho.com) in Gwangju, South Korea. Gray mullets with an average weight of 1.14 ± 0.09 kg and a length of 56.05 ± 2.62 cm were used in this study. They were supplied in September, 2020 by the Fishery Union Shinan Geonjeong company in Sinan, South Korea. The blood and other mullet wastes were removed via abdominal incision. The mullets were then washed with tap water for 30 min and soaked for 2 h in a 3% sea salt solution for the SSDM-CON group or soaked in a glasswort solution  for the SSDM-SAL group. Subsequently, the samples were air-dried in a chamber for 36 h at 20 °C, packed individually in a sterile sampling bag (Labplas Twirl EMTM), then refrigerated in storage at 4 °C for 21 days. Each treatment was applied to one fish, which was used for five replicate analyses in each experimental group.The natural liquid extract from To evaluate antioxidant activity by DPPH and ABTS radicals’ scavenging ability, liquid extractions of SAL samples were diluted in concentrations of 0.015, 0.03, 0.06, 0.125, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4; then, 0.2 mM DPPH  was added 1:1, followed by the reaction at room temperature for 30 min. The absorbance was measured at 517 nm . For the2SO4) containing two copper catalyst tablets in a heat block  at 420 °C for 2 h. After cooling, H2O was added to the hydrolysates before neutralization and titration. The amount of total nitrogen in the raw materials was multiplied with both the traditional conversion factor of 6.25 and species–specific conversion factors to determine the total protein content [Proximate compositions, including the salinity and water activity of the mullets, were analyzed using authorized protocols from the Association of Official Analytical Chemists . Minced  content .2 (g) (inert atmosphere) to avoid any oxidative damage to the lipids caused by exposure to air. The residue remaining as deposits on the flask wall was collected with a spatula. The residue yields were calculated and expressed based on the initial mass of the sample. A muffle furnace was used to measure the ash content after the sample incineration at 550 °C. For the salinity measurement, deionized water (five times the volume of the sample) was added to each sample. After stirring and centrifugation, each sample was filtered to obtain a filtrate and analyzed using a salinity meter . Water activity was measured at 27 °C using an electric hygrometer .The total lipids were analyzed using the Soxhlet method described by AOAC . In totaThe chromaticity of the lateral-side white muscular parts of the FM and SSDM samples were measured with a color meter  using the CIE L*a*b* system . During v/v) containing acetic acid, then 1 mL of saturated potassium iodide was added before being kept in a dark place for 10 min. Next, 30 mL distilled water and 1 mL of starch solution (1% w/v) were added, and the total mixture solution was titrated against sodium thiosulfate (0.01 N) until the blue color disappeared. PV values are expressed as milliequivalents of peroxide oxygen per kg of sample (mEq/kg). AV was calculated using the titration method described by Pearson [g for 5 min. The supernatant part was then collected after filtering with Whatman No. 1 filter paper. Next, 8 mL of the supernatant part was added with 2 mL of thiobarbituric acid (0.06 M); the mixture was vortexed for 15 s, heated at 95 °C for 1 h, and cooled on an ice tray. The sample absorbance value was measured at 523 nm using a UV–vis spectrophotometer and the results were expressed as mg MDA/kg of the sample.The lipid oxidation of the FM and SSDM groups were evaluated according to peroxide (PV), acid (AV), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) levels. PV was analyzed following the procedure described by Egan et al. . In this Pearson . In this Pearson . In thisv:v). The obtained lipid contents were dried using a vacuum rotary evaporator . These lipids are transformed into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) via base-catalyzed trans-esterification in the presence of sodium methoxide at 30 °C for 2 h [TM-2560, 100 m × 0.25 mm i.d, 0.25-μm film thickness, Supelco, Bellefonte, PA, USA). To perform the fatty acid analysis, 1 μL of the FAMEs n-hexane sample was injected into the column. The initial isothermic period was maintained for 10 min at 140 °C. This temperature was increased by 4 °C/min up to 240 °C and the isothermic period was maintained for 30 min. The injection and detector ports were maintained at a 260 °C temperature using helium gas. The FAME peaks’ retention time was compared with standards used for identifying fatty acid compositions . The results of the fatty acid compositions in each experimental group were expressed as g/100 g total fatty acids.The total lipid content was extracted from the FM and SSDM samples by adding a chloroform and methanol mixture containing 0.01% of butylated hydroxytoluene at a 2:1 ratio ( for 2 h . These F2) gas. The product was then hydrolyzed at 110 °C for 24 h in a dry oven and added to a sodium-distilled buffer (pH 2.2) [For measuring the amino acids, 80 mg of sample was dissolved with 10 mL of 6 N HCl solution in a test tube and purged with nitrogen (N(pH 2.2) . The mixg for 30 min, the supernatant part was collected. For the protein quantification, the sample buffer was added into the supernatant and heated at 100 °C for 5 min. Next, 10–15 μL sample was subjected to SDS-PAGE analysis using a Mini PROTEAN Tetra cell  for 90 min according to Laemmli [The protein profile was analyzed for each SSDM sample using SDS-PAGE. Briefly, 0.1 g of the sample was homogenized with 500 μL of lysis buffer. After centrifugation at 12,000×  Laemmli .TM Sample Bag). Next, 1 mL of the homogenized sample suspension was cultured using 3M™ Petrifilm™ plates at 35 ± 1 °C for a 24 to 48 h incubation period [Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus followed by the 3M™ Petrifilm™ plate counting method, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The visible, red-colored colonies surrounded by trapped gas indicated Coliform bacteria, while E. coli appeared as blue-colored colonies with trapped gas on the 3M™ Petrifilm™. However, red-violet colonies appeared on the Staphylococcus analysis, and, depending on the test sample, black and green colonies also appeared, in addition to reddish-purple colonies. If black colonies appeared, definite Staphylococcus was considered, so the presence of a pink zone was confirmed by inserting a staph express disk (STX) for 1 to 3 h.Commercially available 3M™ Petrifilm™ plates  were used to conduct the total microbiological analysis, following the manufacturer’s instructions. In this process, 10 g of FM and SSDM samples were homogenized with 100 mL of 0.85% physiological saline for 2 min in a sterilized sample bag  containing thiosulfate citrate bile salts sucrose (TCBS) agar medium, followed by incubation at 35 ± 1 °C for 24 h. Next, the number of visible cyan non-degradable colonies was counted for Vibrio parahaemolyticus analysis. The colony-forming unit (CFU) per gram of the sample was calculated and expressed as log cfu/g for the minimum limit for detection.For the p < 0.05, using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Duncan’s multiple range test and two-way for quantitative variable changes, which were being processed using the IBM SPSS statistic version 20 .All experiments were performed at least in duplicate and expressed by means ± standard deviations (SD). The statistically significant differences were considered at 50) of the DPPH radical value was 0.44, while the ABTS radical IC50 value was 1.83, indicating that the SAL treatment inhibited the 0.44 to 1.83 mg/mL concentration more strongly for both DPPH and ABTS radicals. However, the antioxidant activity of SAL in the DPPH and ABTS radical assay indicates that the 2 mg/mL concentration had stronger free radical inhibition, of up to 60–75%, through donating electrons. Thus, a 2 mg/mL SAL concentration is able to reduce lipid peroxidation and extend mullet shelf-life during refrigerator storage due to scavenging ability. In addition, concentrations of more than 2 mg/mL of SAL also enhance the shelf-life by preventing the mullets from becoming rancid. However, concentrations of more than 2 mg/mL may influence the meat color, which is not suitable for consumer acceptance. In accordance with these results, we used the 0.2% SAL extraction for further treatment, along with salt, for mullet processing.The effects of the SAL extract’s antioxidant activity on DPPH and ABTS radical results are presented in p < 0.05) lower than in the SSDM-SAL group (68%). Decreasing moisture content occurred during the dehydration of the sample. This can disrupt the muscle’s structure by denaturing sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins. Similar observations have been reported when drying catfish and shrimps [p < 0.05) different as shown in The results of the proximate composition, salinity, and water activity in the FM and SSDM groups are shown in  shrimps . The SSDThe SSDM-SAL group showed a significantly higher crude protein content (25.68%) than the FM and SSDM-CON groups, indicating that the nitrogen of the proteins during the drying period might have remained. The dry based (d.b) protein content results also indicated that the SSDM-SAL (80.32% d.b) group had higher amounts of protein than the FM (78% d.b) and SSDM-CON (75.22% d.b) groups. This demonstrates that the reduction in protein content in the SSDM-CON group might have been due to some nitrogen compound denaturation without 0.2% glasswort (SAL) treatment, thus decreasing the protein content and, consequently, the nutritional value of the meat. The SSDM-CON group had a higher crude fat content (3.24%) than the SSDM-SAL group (3.18%) and the FM group (2.83%). The dry base analysis results indicate that, higher amounts of crude fat were present in both the SSDM-CON (9.91%) and SSDM-SAL (9.94% d.b.) groups, compared to the FM (9.63% d.b.) group. With the salted semi-drying method, fish muscle and fat can take up salt and lose water . Howeverp < 0.05) higher than that of the FM (0.84%) or SSDM-SAL (1.19%) groups. The dry base salt content results also indicated that the SSDM-CON group had 5.44% dry base salt, which was significantly higher than the FM (2.85% d.b.) and SSDM-SAL (3.7% d.b.) groups, while the water activity (aw) of the SSDM-SAL group (0.925) was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that of the FM group (0.931) or the SSDM-CON (0.93) group due to the general reduction in aw in all of the treated samples. These results indicate that proximate compositions, including the salinity and aw of the SSDM-SAL group, could extend the shelf-life of fish without peroxidation or quality changes at high moisture levels, more than the SSDM-CON group. Moreover, glasswort (SAL) powder, as a natural ingredient, could be used as a salt replacement for improving shelf-life stability and producing healthier semi-dried mullets with lower sodium contents. Similar results were obtained by preparing healthier dry-cured ham using 20 g/Kg Salicornia herbacea L. product as a salt replacement and this also extended their shelf-life [Salt-treated fish have higher salinity due to the penetration of salt into fat, and salt penetration increases with increasing preservation periods . In thiself-life .Color is one of the important parameters affecting consumer acceptance . InternaThe PV, AV, and TBARS values indicated the inception of lipid oxidation during the ripening of the SSDMs. Changes in the PV, AV, and TBARS values of the FM and SSDM groups during 21 days storage in the refrigerator at 4 °C are shown in In addition to the PV, the AV was measured to determine the degree of lipid hydrolysis in the FMs and SSDMs. Samples with increases in peroxide and acid values are liable to rapid oxidation during salting, drying, and storage under abused impelling conditions. The results in Fish products containing lipids and unsaturated fatty acids are decomposed via lipolytic and lipoxidative enzyme reactions in the presence of oxygen during the storage period. Peroxides are produced as primary products of fat oxidation and aldehydes, ketones, including short-chain fatty acids, are produced as secondary products of the fat oxidation. Thus, fish products might become rancid due to the oxidation of fats, which generates unwanted odor . Oxidatip < 0.05), AV , and TBARS levels , which varied between the FM, SSDM-CON, and SSDM-SAL groups. These analyses results suggested that SAL treatment prevented PV, AV and TBARS levels and extended their shelf-life.However, in the current study, the results in Fatty acids undergo important changes during semi-dried processing. These changes can significantly influence the nutritional properties of the final products. In this study, we observed the saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). FMs and SSDMs have abundant fatty acids such as myristic acid (C14:0), palmitoleic acid (C16:1n-7), palmitic acid (C16:0), heptadecanoic acid (C17:0), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (C18:1n-9), eicosapentaenoic acid , and docosahexaenoic acid  .The results are shown in The PUFA to SFA ratio can be used for analyzing the nutritional quality of fatty food materials. Health guidelines recommend that the PUFA to SFA ratio should be above 0.4 for a healthy diet . This stAmino acid analysis is a key factor for measuring the nutritional value of processed food, which is also an important taste component of fish . The totLarimichthys polyactis) [The total amount of free amino acids was 0.47 g/100 g in the fresh mullets. However, the liberation of peptides and free amino acids in the FM group was significantly lower than in the SSDM-CON group 0.56 g/100 g) or the SSDM-SAL group (0.55 g/100 g), as shown in  g/100 g lyactis) . These rProtein levels of around 60–70% are present in the muscle fibers of fish meat . The proPrevious studies have reported that the number of protein bands in Surimi-Crab meat samples is decreased during the salting and drying process. Moreover, the number of high-molecular-weight proteins is drastically decreased compared with that of medium-molecular-weight protein . Such chThe total number of bacteria can be used as an indication of quality and appropriation during fish storage; it can also be used to estimate the degree of bacterial damage . Fish dap < 0.05), which varied between the FM, SSDM-CON and SSDM-SAL groups during storage. These results suggested that the SAL treatment prevented bacterial growth in the SSDM-SAL group compared with the FM and SSDM-CON groups.As shown in E-coli measurement is a good indicator of the hygienic condition of a product during fish processing. In general, food is susceptible to microorganisms; thus, care must be taken in the distribution, processing, and storage (including storage areas) stages to prevent microbial contamination [E-coli bacteria were not detected in the FM or SSDM groups.Coliform and mination . As showmination . HoweverVibrio spp. is a pathogenic microorganism that causes major food poisoning, which can infect both fish and shellfish. It is necessary to analyze Vibrio spp. before the consumption of food for safety reasons [Vibrio spp. In the present study, enteritis vibrio was not detected in any of the samples, as shown in  reasons . The IntStaphylococcus aureus, a well-known foodborne pathogen, can be found even under adverse environmental conditions. Foods that are rich in protein and carbohydrates are highly likely to be contaminated by S. aureus, which causes food poisoning [Staphylococcus aureus, as shown in oisoning . The resS. herbacea L. treatment strongly inhibited DPPH and ABTS radicals at 2 mg/mL concentrations, which reduced fatty acid oxidation and rancidity by suppressing the PV, AV and TBARS levels as well as by protecting against microorganisms during refrigerated storage. It was found that SAL treatment significantly inhibited the PV and TBARS levels after 21 days storage time, when compared with the FM and SSDM-CON groups. In addition, SAL treatment maintained the nutritional values of the mullets by decreasing the denaturation of crude proteins and fats, including essential PUFAs and omega-3 fatty acids, during refrigerated storage. This indicates that, when compared with the fresh and salted control groups, SAL treatment prevented lipid peroxidation and rancidity to extend the mullets’ shelf-life. However, the total microbial count significantly increased during storage time in the FM group; these levels were higher than in the SSDM groups during 21 days refrigerated storage. Additionally, SAL treatment inhibited the microorganism count after 21 days when compared with the FM and SSDM-CON groups. This may have been because the fresh mullets were spoiled by microbial effects over a short time period. However, treatment with 0.2% of S. herbacea L. extended their shelf-life by preventing microorganism growth in the SSDM-SAL group compared with the FM and SSDM-CON groups. Moreover, increased concentrations of SAL treatment may provide a salt replacement according to previous studies, irrespective of meat color. This is an important limitation of this study; using a lower amount (0.2%) of SAL treatment may improve the antioxidant properties as well as the meat color, which is important for consumer acceptance.This study investigated the effects of processing methods on the quality and nutritional characteristics of salted semi-dried mullets treated with SAL after long-term refrigerated storage. The antioxidant activity of


Lightweight cryptography has recently gained importance as the number of Internet of things (IoT) devices connected to Internet grows. Its main goal is to provide cryptographic algorithms that can be run efficiently in resource-limited environments such as IoT. To meet the challenge, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the Lightweight Cryptography (LWC) project. One of the finalists of the project is the TinyJAMBU cipher. This work evaluates the security of the cipher. The tool used for the evaluation is the cube attack. We present five distinguishing attacks DA1–DA5 and two key recovery attacks KRA1–KRA2. The first two distinguishing attacks (DA1 and DA2) are launched against the initialisation phase of the cipher. The best result achieved for the attacks is a distinguisher for an 18-bit cube, where the cipher variant consists of the full initialisation phase together with 438 rounds of the encryption phase. The key recovery attacks (KRA1 and KRA2) are also launched against the initialisation phase of the cipher. The best key recovery attack can be applied for a cipher variant that consists of the full initialisation phase together with 428 rounds of the encryption phase. The attacks DA3–DA5 present a collection of distinguishers up to 437 encryption rounds, whose 32-bit cubes are chosen from the plaintext, nonce, or associated data bits. The results are confirmed experimentally. A conclusion from the work is that TinyJAMBU has a better security margin against cube attacks than claimed by the designers. To mitigate the mismatch, a new branch of cryptography has emerged in recent years. It is called lightweight cryptography (LWC). Its main goal is to design cryptographic algorithms that can be run efficiently in IoT (resource-constrained) environments.In recent years there has been an upwards trend for the usage of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, especially in the healthcare and manufacturing industries. The trend has led to IoT devices being virtually omnipresent and more interconnected than ever before. Consequently, there is a need to tighten the security of IoT devices. Unfortunately, traditional cryptographic algorithms are designed for resource-rich environments. In contrast, IoT devices are usually lightweight and they operate in resource-constrained environments. Thus using traditional cryptographic algorithms for IoT devices causes a significant performance degradation2 is an initiative of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It was launched in 2013 and aims to evaluate and select standards for LWC. The project is currently in its final round3. Ten finalists were announced in March 2021. They are: ASCON, Elephant, GIFT-COFB, Grain-128AEAD, ISAP, PHOTON-Beetle, Romulus, Sparkle, TinyJAMBU and Xoodyak. There is a need for a third-party analysis of the LWC finalists. The analysis provides a crucial service to the community at large as it helps to determine secure and efficient LWC standards. This work contributes to the analysis and evaluates security of the TinyJAMBU cipher. In particular, it assesses the strength of TinyJAMBU against cube attacks.The LWC Standardisation Project4 is a sponge-based stream cipher that provides authenticated encryption with associated data (AEAD). There are two versions of the cipher. The first is the original submission to the LWC Project. The second was released in May 2021 and is called TinyJAMBUv25. The cube attacks presented in the paper are applied against the first version of TinyJAMBU. However, some attacks  are still applicable to TinyJAMBUv2 as the tweaks in the second version do not affect our attacks. For the rest of the paper, unless explicitly specified, TinyJAMBU refers to the first version of the cipher.TinyJAMBU6 and the algebraic IV differential attack (AIDA)7. It was proposed by Dinur and Shamir at EUROCRYPT 20098. The attack sums output values of a black box polynomial I of input variable indices. A polynomial 8. Since then, the attack has been used to analyse many other stream ciphers, see references18, for example.The cube attack is a generalisation of the higher-order differential attackKey recovery attacks (KRA)—they aim to retrieve the superpolies of cubes, which include variables of a secret key. The attack is typically applied against the initialisation phase, where the key is input into the internal states with some public variables. In the case of TinyJAMBU, key recovery cube attacks can be launched against any phase. This is due to the fact that the key bits are input to the internal state of the cipher during all phases.State recovery attacks (SRA)—they target superpolies that include internal state variables. They are applicable when the superpoly depends on both few internal states and some public variables at a particular time instance (clock).9.Distinguishing attacks (DA)—they allow to differentiate a stream cipher from a truly random one. They work if there is a superpoly, which becomes a constant (zero or one) after summing over all cube values. Such cubes are also called cube testersKnown plaintext attacks (KPA)—it is assumed that an adversary is able to read plaintexts and associated data but is not able to change them. Consequently, cubes chosen by the adversary can include neither plaintext nor associated data bits. They, however, can include initialisation vector/nonce bits. In this case, we deal with a chosen initialisation vector attack. For TinyJAMBU, its nonces contain 96 bits. Thus, an adversary may select cubes from the nonce bits.Chosen plaintext attacks (CPA)—it is assumed that an adversary can not only read plaintext and associated data but also it is able to modify them at will. This means that the adversary can choose cubes that include both plaintext and associated data bits .TinyJAMBU is a sponge-based AEAD stream cipher. When considering an AEAD stream cipher, the cube attack may be applicable to different cipher phases. A typical stream cipher has the following phases: initialisation, associated data processing, encryption, finalisation, decryption and verification. Application of cube attacks against different cipher phases requires specific security assumptions. In general, each attack aims to recover some secret information about the cipher. The following list identifies typical attacks against AEAD stream ciphers.Note that attacks presented in the work are against round-reduced versions of TinyJAMBU. We apply five distinct strategies for cube selection that allow us to construct appropriate distinguishers. Our five distinguishing attacks DA1–DA5) can be launched against both initialisation and encryption phases of the cipher. DA1 and DA2 are applied against the cipher initialisation phase. The other attacks (DA3–DA5) are implemented against the encryption phase. Table –DA5 can For the DA1 attack, it is possible to design distinguishers for cubes, whose sizes range from 3 to 20 bits. They work if an adversary is able to observe the keystream after the full initialisation phase (with 2176 rounds). Note that after initialisation, TinyJAMBU employs a set of permutation rounds before producing the keystream. We extend DA1 by including additional permutation rounds (reduced) in the encryption phase of TinyJAMBU. The attack extension is referred to as DA2. For the DA2 attack, we find random distinguishers from a cube space of The DA3–DA5 attacks need 32-bit deterministic cubes. Our experimental results indicate that after 437 rounds, every output bit is affected by the 32-bit cube tester. In other words, all the output keystream bits are expected to depend on the 32-bit cube variables after 437 permutation rounds. Therefore, 437 encryption rounds can be considered as the upper bound for the 32-bit cube tester.We have also applied two key recovery attacks KRA1 and KRA2. These two attacks are implemented against the initialisation phase of the cipher. For the KRA1, it is possible to recover eight bits of the secret key if an adversary is able to observe the keystream after the full initialisation phase (2176 rounds). The KRA2 identified several linear superpolies for 2592–2604 rounds. Our results show that KRA2 works up to 2604 rounds when the target is recovering at least one bit of the secret key. To the best of our knowledge, our results obtained for TinyJAMBU are the first third-party analysis that produces experimentally verifiable outcomes.8. The idea behind the attack is to represent a keystream output by a polynomial over secret and public variables. In the cube attack, we assume that an adversary can evaluate the polynomial for public variables. The evaluation allows the adversary to reduce the degree of the polynomial. For AEAD stream ciphers, public variables include bits of the initialisation vector, associated data, and plaintext. It is assumed that the public variables can be chosen by the adversary in an arbitrary way. Unlike algebraic attacks, cube attacks treat the keystream polynomial as a black box.A cube attack is a relatively recent cryptanalytic technique. To describe it, we follow the presentation given by Dinur and Shamir at EUROCRYPT 2009GF(2). It depends on both secret-key variables deg over i secret and j public variables. Define a maxterm I are called a cube I if it does not contain any constant or any term that has a common factor with the maxterm I by |I| and the size of a cube by Suppose that an adversary is able to access a keystream polynomial of a cipher. The polynomial is defined over the binary field I . If the cube is big enough, i.e., Cube attacks work by summing the values of a polynomial vlen denotes the length of the initialisation vector V and klen is the length of the secret key K. To identify the right cube, we need a linearity test for This stage is executed under an assumption that a description of a stream cipher is public. Consequently, our adversary has access to both public and secret variables and can manipulate them. Our goal is to identify cubes that generate linear superpolies for secret key variables. Since a keystream polynomial 19 to check if a polynomial n times, then we can conclude that n  of the associated data. Algorithm 3 details steps of the associated data processing. The NFSR state is first updated by running the permutation adlen of associated data is not a multiple of 32, then additional steps are required to process the last partial block of associated data . FrameBits in this phase are set to “3”. Similarly to the nonce setup, the second version of TinyJAMBU-128 applies After the NFSR state is initialised, the associated data FrameBits are set to “5” during the encryption. Plaintext bits are processed block by block. Let mlen. Given a plaintext block mlen is not a multiple of 32, then the remaining bits of plaintext require further processing . Algorithm 4 illustrates the encryption phase. Encryption directly follows the associated data processing phase. K is always used for each state update. Consequently, each output bit of the permutation Observe that nonce, associated data and plaintext bits are used to constantly update the NFSR state. Clearly, the authors have intended to increase dependencies among all bits involved in the initialisation, associated data processing and encryption phases. Besides, the cryptographic key As a significant part of the bits are public, there are many options for selecting cubes at the pre-processing stage. We implement five distinguishing attacks DA1–DA5 and two key recovery attacks KRA1–KRA2. They cover the three cipher phases: initialisation, the associated data processing and encryption. We need to pay attention to the third block rand is used to generate the arbitrary selection of cubes. Note that the pre-processing stage is needed to perform only once. The pre-processing stage is already completed for the cubes identified for TinyJAMBU in this paper. Hence, an adversary does not require to compute it again and can proceed directly to the online stage without performing this stage. Algorithm 5 also shows the pseudocode for steps performed at the online stage. The online stage is needed to perform every time the cipher is re-keyed (for a key recovery attack). The adversary needs to use a known plaintext attack or a chosen plaintext attack model depending on the operation phases of TinyJAMBU to which the attack is applied. These are common assumptions within security models for performing the analysis of ciphers including the cube attack. Our implementations of cube attacks are applied to round-reduced variants of TinyJAMBU. All results have been experimentally verified .Algorithm 5 details steps in the pre-processing phase of our generic cube attack against the cipher. Its goal is to identify cube testers or cubes with linear superpolies. As we do not have any information about appropriate cube sizes, we test different cube sizes Out of five distinguishing attacks investigated and implemented in the work, our two attacks, DA1 and DA2 are in the initialisation phase of TinyJAMBU-128. The key recovery attacks KRA1 and KRA2 are also against the initialisation phase of TinyJAMBU-128. The details of the attacks are shown in Table Consider DA1 and KRA1 from Table Note that according to the specification of TinyJAMBU-128, the cipher goes through 1024 rounds of permutation before keystream bits can be observed. Thus, DA1 and KRA1 are extended to DA2 and KRA2, respectively . For these experiments, we select the cube bits from a reduced set of nonce bits (last block of the nonce). Other nonce blocks are only included in the cube space when the cube size is larger then 32 bits. In other words,We conducted experiments by gradually reducing the size of the 32-bit cube. The degree of a superpoly is expected to increase (roughly by 1) when the size of the corresponding cube is reduced by 1. For each cube size, depending on the cube space, we tested  A sample of the cube testers and non-constant superpolies that are obtained using the above two techniques are listed in Tables Cubes obtained using Technique 1 above are of relatively smaller sizes  leaves a relatively small security margin, which is It is worth noticing that the original TinyJAMBU-128 takes 3200 rounds of the permutation P. The increment of the number P rounds from 384 (for TinyJAMBUv1) to 640 (for TinyJAMBUv2) strengthens the cipher as it increases both diffusion of bits and algebraic degree of keystream functions. The margin for DA2 with random cubes from full cube space The computational complexity of the DA2 attack varies from P4. For the second version of the cipher (TinyJAMBUv2), the claim has been updated and it says that the full dependence is achieved after 512 rounds5.The remaining three attacks DA3–DA5 are applied against a round-reduced cipher. Table mlen of plaintext is set to 64 bits. A cube is chosen to include the first 32 bits of the plaintext, i.e., For the DA3 attack, we assume that the cipher runs through the full initialisation phase and the permutation V. In the encryption phase, the FrameBits are XOR-ed into the state and the state is updated by running For the DA4 attack, the cipher executes the initialisation phase, where the NFSR state goes through the full FrameBits are XOR-ed and the state is updated by the permutation The DA5 attack is similar to DA4. We assume that the cipher executes the initialisation phase (with 2176 permutation rounds) and processes the first 32 bits of associated data (with 384 permutation rounds). Thus, the attack starting state becomes The DA3 and DA4 are similar to the case of DA2, except that in these two cases, the cubes are chosen from the first block of the plaintext or the last block of the nonce, respectively. Hence, similar to DA2, these two attacks also assume to skip the associated data processing phase. However, we note that for DA3, the attack can be performed even if the associated data processing phase is included. The DA3 selects the cube from the plaintext, which occurs after the associated data processing phase. Hence, the additional rounds of the associated data processing phase will not impact the plaintext cubes. The DA5 is performed to identify the dependency of the output function with the associated data bits; hence, the associated data processing phase is included for this attack.We have implemented the three attacks. Cubes are chosen according to the attack specification  of the cipher. For DA1, we have been able to find cube testers (distinguishers) with cube sizes ranging from 3 to 20. For KRA1, we have identified non-constant superpolies that can be used to recover eight bits of the secret key. The attack DA2 is an extension of DA1. It is applied against a cipher variant that includes the initialisation phase and 438 encryption rounds. We have found 18-bit cube testers. The KRA2 is applied against a cipher variant that includes the initialisation phase and 428 encryption rounds. Note that the results of DA1 and some results in DA2 (for random cubes from full cube space) are only applicable to TinyJAMBUv1. However, the results from the DA2 with reduced cube space and KRA2 are applicable to both TinyJAMBUv1 and TinyJAMBUv2.The other three attacks (DA3–DA5) are against cipher variants with the encryption phase. Bits of cubes are chosen from either plaintext, nonce or associated data. We note that for DA3 to DA5, there are some smaller cubes of sizes less than 32 that work up to 438 rounds; however, the superpoly of the 32-bit cube tester do not pass beyond 437 rounds. As a result, we have identified 437 rounds as the upper bound on the number of rounds, for which the attacks work and allow to find 32-bit cube testers. Note that the designers of TinyJAMBUv2 claim that after 512 rounds, all output bits in keystream are affected by all input bits. Based on our results, we expect that the full dependency is achieved after 437 rounds. The conclusion on the full dependency achievement of a 32-bit cube tester after 437 rounds are based on the fact that the deterministic 32-bit cube tester does not pass beyond 437 rounds. That means all these 32 cube variables are present in the output equation obtained after 437 rounds. As the degree of the output function increases significantly after each round, it is expected that the 32-bit cube variables will be present in all the output equations obtained after 437 rounds. Hence, the cube is unlikely to pass beyond 437 rounds.We emphasize that the results reported in this paper do not threaten the security of TinyJAMBU. We hope that the cubes identified in the work contribute to a better understanding of security strengths and limitations of the cipher.


Polymeric material can be thermoformed if it can be stretched without breaking in the positive temperature range, have functional properties required by the application, and keep its shape and properties after stretching for more than six months. The properties of the selected quaternary starch-based compound, fulfil the requirements for a thermoformable polymeric material due to the chemical compatibility between the components and the compounding in a selected procedure and optimal conditions wich ensure a comfortable miscibility. Most likely, the obtained miscibility can be explained only by the arrangement of the wood flour at the interface, where it acts as compatibilizer with a main role in structuring the new starch-based materials. The compatibilizer role of the wood flour was proved for the quaternary selected blend by the changing of the thermal degradation mechanism, from one with two stages for binary and tertiary blends, to one consisting of a single stage: decreasing till elimination of morphological defects, the reproducibility of the mechanical properties, stretching without breaking, and dimensional stability after stretching. Future studies will aim to achieve rethinked packaging for applications that require higher strength properties.A structuring solution converting starch into a multiphase polymeric material was obtained through a melt compounding sequence, which can be irreversibly shaped by thermoforming into rethinked, sustainable packaging, based on the physical modification of starch with polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), target fillers, (CaCO In a changing world, plastic production is projected to increase four-fold in tonnage by 2050. As a result, plastic packaging waste alone is expected to double within the next fifteen years and quadruple by 2050 ,2,3,4. FStarch-based materials are considered to be the future of sustainable and rethinked packaging . Starch 3) is the most inexpensive, inorganic natural mineral filler [Fillers are inorganic additives, less frequently organic, used in plastic formulation for controlling ,33,34,35l filler ,33,34,35l filler ,32,33,34l filler ,31. Natul filler . Cellulol filler . Hemicell filler , and ligl filler .The shaping process of the polymeric materials by thermoforming into goods generates notable morphological changes into the plate’s structure as a function of material characteristics, the temperature at which the plate was heated in view of thermoforming and the applied force . The obtThe purpose of this work was to design and identify a structuring solution, using the compound technique, to convert starch into a multiphase polymeric material, so that it can be irreversibly shaped by thermoforming for rethinked, sustainable packaging.3) and organic (wood fibre) fillers and a good plasticizer compatible with the polar components, glycerol. PVOH was selected for its very good processability and capability to ensure the needed extensibility for feasible thermoformability. The two target fillers were preferred for their effect on controlling thermal behaviour and due to the convenient ratio between the elastic and plastic deformation [To find a structuring solution for converting starch into a multiphase polymeric material, which can be irreversibly shaped by thermoforming into rethinked sustainable packaging, starch was physical modified with polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), target inorganic  new compounds were obtained through a classical Brabender —roller  method, (b) preliminary characterization , (c) preliminary compounds selection (following the breaking strength and the surface appearance), (d) extrusion compounding and granulating of the selected compounds, (e) pressing plates with different thickness , f) thermoforming (variation of the pressing pressure between 50 kN and 200 kN with the thermoforming time between 5 min. and 10 min), (g) time following the thermoformed items. The extrusion compounding was made using a Gotffert laboratory extruder (43 mm diameter and L/D of 37) by working in the following conditions: T = 120–150 °C, extrusion speed of 45 rot/min, 270 bar of pressure, 320 bar back pressure.To improve the miscibility of the components, a procedure in two stages was tested: one for pre-gelling using the conveying screw and the next one for intensive melt homogenization with the compression screw . The difThe improvement of the plate morphologies isotropy was attempted in a pressing experiment at four different pressures  and identical to all the other conditions , which finally showed the optimal pressure to eliminate the results dispersion.The thermoforming behaviour was tested according to 3 from Nuwen , with particle sizes ranging between 535.7 nm and 3.01 µm, compostable soft wood flour from LA. SO. LE. , “150” grade with average particle diameter 150/200, average L/D = 4.8, vacuum dried, at 73 °C overnight).In the experiment which was carried out, the following materials were used: corn starch powder from Sigma Aldrich  with 70 °C glass transition, 167 °C melting temperature, 30% amylose−70% amylopectine, partially hydrolysed PVOH provided by Du Pont  with 88% hydrolysis degree, 12% residual polyvinyl acetate,1200 polymerization degree, 68 °C glass transition, glycerol from Brenntag , 290 °C boiling point, 160–170 °C flash points, natural micrometric CaCO3) and quaternary (PVOH-starch- CaCO3- soft short wood fibre) compounds were achieved in the following combinations of components: (10–40%) starch, (40–60%) PVOH, (2–15%) glycerol, (0–67%) CaCO3, and (12–30%) soft wood flour.Binary (PVOH-starch), ternary  was operated on TGA Q500 system (TA Instruments) under nitrogen atmosphere. The samples were heated from room temperature to 600 °C at a heating rate of 10 °C/min and a nitrogen gas flow rate of 90 mL/min in the furnace. The derivative of TGA curves was obtained using TA analysis software.Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) curves were recorded on a Netzsch DSC 204 F1 Phoenix equipment. The samples were subjected to analysis from 0 to 200 °C using a heating rate of 10 °C/min, then cooled to 0 °C with a cooling rate of 10 °C/min and finally heated to 300 °C using a rate of 5°/min under nitrogen atmosphere (20 mL/min flow rate).Dimensional stability—exposure in an oven with air circulation, for 10 min, at temperatures between 80–120 °C of specimens with width of 20 mm and a length of 50 mm and the calculation of the percentage variation of the width after the expiration of the test period by reporting the difference between the width after temperature keeping and the initial one at the initial value.bDynamic-mechanical and mechanical behaviour:3 and of those with CaCO3 and wood flour was made starting from −25 °C to 160 °C. The DMA curves describe the elastic (storage modulus) and plastic deformations (loss modulus) of the studied material and also their glass transition represented by the temperature of intersection of the curves representing the temperature variation of loss modulus and tan (Δ).Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was carried out on a TRITEC 2000 B (Triton Technologies) in a single cantilever mode from 60 to 100 °C with a frequency of 1 Hz and a heating rate of 5 °C/min. During testing, the dynamic mechanical property parameters of storage modulus, loss modulus and loss factor were recorded from negative to positive temperatures, in ranges of interest for thermoforming. Because the range of very low negative temperatures is not of interest for thermoformed packages, the dynamic-mechanical analysis of the PVOH-starch compounds with CaCOMechanical properties—ASTM D 638 considering mainly the stress—extensibility registration as expression of the materials thermoformability .cPhysical properties:Density—ISO 1183 by using an analytical balance ;Hardness—ASTM D2240 by using a durometer Shore A/D device to measure the material’s resistance to indentation .dRheological properties of meltsThe melt rheological properties were measured according to ,35,54,55str) was calculated as the ratio between the final wall thickness of the thermoformed plate and the initial thickness of the plate that was subjected to thermoforming. The ratio 1/Rstr, which highlights the average reduction in the wall thickness of the thermoformed items, was also calculated.The plates at two values of thickness were heated at different temperatures (80 °C and 100 °C) for 5–10 min, in an air-circulating oven, stretching at different pressures for different times, cooling for 30 min by using two positive moulds, one with a diameter of 31.5 mm and another of 60 mm. The stretching pressure was varied between 20 kN and 250 kN. The stretching ratio  between 40 °C up to 120 °C, demonstrates the ability of the new materials to absorb, in the solid state, mechanical energy without plastic deformation. In other words, it seems that if the PVOH–starch blends cannot be thermoformed, the same blends with CaCO3, could be turned into finished goods by such a procedure, as indicated also by the storage and loss moduli and the high values of the damping factor (tan Δ). Considering the variation of the loss modulus with the filer’s concentration, it seems also that the blends with CaCO3 show much higher viscous deformations  is greatly diminished by the presence of CaCOntration a,b. Howe−120 °C, b. The inrmations b than thrmations a. Howeve3 concentration between 2% and 23%, the mechanical behaviour keeps the same mixed character behaviour between rigid and flexible types with the following small changes: the slight increase in the yield strength, up to 2–3 MPa, the decrease in the tensile breaking resistance near 5–7 MPa and of the tensile strain up to values between 300% and 550%  has a density of 1.231 g/cmThe optimal thermoforming parameters that lead to unbroken, complete shapes with smooth surfaces, appropriate appearance and meet all the required quality conditions were identified. These conditions have been met at values of 1.76–2.14 for the drawing/stretching ratio, for the positive moulder with 31.5 mm diameter and 1.67–2 for those with 60 mm diameter. Thinning the thickness of the plate by thermoforming was of 35–43% from the initial thickness. The optimum thickness of the needed plates for thermoforming was found to be 0.6 cm. A good reproducibility of the thermoforming behaviour of the selected quaternary compound was proved .The observation of the time behaviour showed that, during a year, the thermoformed items do not change their shape, do not crack and do not break. These results can be explained only as a consequence of a very good miscibility between the components of the selected compounds, which was reached.The selected structuring solution for converting starch into a multiphase polymeric material, using a melt compounding sequence, which can be irreversibly shaped by thermoforming for rethinked, sustainable packaging proved to ensure the materials needed and the specific properties required for such an application.The properties of the selected quaternary compound and its thermoforming performance attest that due to the chemical compatibility between the main components, it was possible to destroy the hydrogen bonds established between the starch and PVOH macromolecules, overcome the inconveniences induced by the high content of amylopectin and the relative wide distribution of particle sizes of the mineral filler, and to establish new secondary bonds among the polar groups, mainly hydroxyl in nature, of the components from the selected quaternary compound. The resulted, comfortable, good miscibility between the compound components was also the consequence both of selecting the optimal embedding procedure and finding the appropriate range of compounding conditions. It has been found that low and medium speeds favour both the pre-gelling process as well as the melt homogenization. The content of branched polymers and fillers with relative variable size distribution affected the melt fluidity, its flow resistance and therefore the stationary flow, the required energy to flow and by default, the quality of the obtained thermoformed items. By adjusting the formulation, the selected compounding procedure and the pressing conditions, the unstable flow has been avoided, which was reflected by the smooth surface both of the extrudates and the pressed plates. As the plates obtained from the selected quaternary compound had reproducible mechanical properties, the chosen starch structuring solution covered the requirements of a thermoformable polymeric material, including the diminishing of the high degradability of the starch–PVOH compounds ,43,48,59Due to the two fillers, it was possible to increase the glass transition from −6.4 °C, for the plasticized binary blends, to over 100 °C for the tertiary and quaternary compounds, , fulfilling, in this way, an essential condition for a polymeric material to be thermoformed. Additionally, due to the presence of the two fillers, the ratio between the elastic and the plastic deformation has been adjusted in such a way that thermoforming was possible. If the binary blends cannot be thermoformed because they do not deform elastically on the positive temperature range, the ternary and quaternary compounds can be processed into good items by this technique. For these tertiary and quaternary selected compounds, a good ratio between the elastic and viscous deformations was possible to be ensured so that, on the positive range of temperature these materials could be elastically deformed, without breaking.The good miscibility between the components of the selected compounds is made clear by several strong proofs. Incontestable evidence of the good miscibility is the compact nature of the morphologies of the ternary compounds and of the quaternary selected ones by comparison with the granular morphology of the starch–PVOH binary blend. The SEM micrographs of this selected quaternary compound show very few or no defects as voids, cracks, fractures and the stress–strain curves are no longer dispersed. If the morphologies of quaternary and ternary compounds are compared, the role of wood flour in reducing the defects number is obvious, the ternary compositions having slightly more such deficiencies. If the starch-based binary blends have a clear biphasic morphology with starch granule residues represented by the branched amylopectin spread into the matrix formed by the two linear polymers, amylose and PVOH, in the case of the quaternary starch-based compounds, at the boundary between the phases appeared in an area with modified chemical composition, similar to those of the main matrix. Further undeniable proof of the good component’s miscibility is the thermal degradation behaviour of the selected compound in a mechanism with a single step and 2 small shoulders, in contrast to all the studied binary and ternary blends which degrade after a mechanism in two steps, the reproducibility of the mechanical properties, the stretching without breaking, the dimensional stability after stretching. The shape of the stress–strain curves allowed the identification of the possibilities to control with the help of the formulation the extensibility so that the new starch-based materials to be thermoformed in good conditions. The study of the melt rheological properties showed that the polymeric compounds based on filled starch are characterized by high melt resistance to flow and therefore intensive efforts are needed for homogenization of the melt thus avoiding the flow instability which strongly affects the quality of the obtained items.The positive role of wood flour was distinguished in that it improved the melt flow, generated a strong decrease in the number of morphological defects and changed the mechanism of the thermal degradation from one with two-stage for tertiary blends to one with one stage, which means that it had an obvious compatibilizer role. The only explanation for the degree of miscibility reached is that through the used starch structuring solution, most likely, it was possible to place the fillers at the interface between various phases where they act as compatibilizers, having a main role in structuring the new materials. Otherwise, in the polymer compounds, practice it is accepted that the fillers play the role of a compatibilizer by lowering the interfacial tension, promoting the disintegration of the dispersed phase droplets, while avoiding the restoration of the droplets and stabilizing the system .The effiThe ratio between the elastic and the plastic deformation, the ability to absorb deformation energy which characterize the selected quaternary compound, allowed it to stretch without breaking and perform thermoforming in good condition, so that the obtained items had a good dimensional stability while maintaining its shape for more than 1 year. Near the linear polymers from the selected quaternary blend, which can be easily stretched, it is possible that the short ramifications from the amylopectin clusters are able to stretch as well, thus contributing to maintaining the shape of the obtained thermoformed object.The manufacture of thermoformable packaging from the selected new starch-based material, achievable according to the presented solution, will bring compostable rethinked grades to the market ,57 that Future will aim to obtain rethinked packaging for applications that require higher strength properties achievable, firstly, by including nanometric fillers  in a mor3, a renewable compostable target filler, soft short wood fibre, and a good plasticizer compatible with the other polar components, such as glycerol.The presented structuring solution for starch conversion, through a melt compounding sequence, into a multiphase polymeric material which can be irreversibly shaped by thermoforming for rethinked, sustainable packaging has considered the physical modification of starch with PVOH, an inorganic target filler, CaCOThe proposed structuring solution was studied through analysing the variation of the new compound’s properties with respect to the composition and the obtaining conditions, considering their values both in a solid  and melted state . The optimal compound was those with the composition which makes possible the thermoforming at 80–100 °C, assures a good ratio between the elastic and the plastic deformation and the resulting object does not break, degrade at compounding or at plates obtaining. It also possesses the mechanical properties required by the application and has the dimensional stability essential for the obtained product. The conditions in which the extrudates and the pressed plates had smooth surfaces did not present any other signs of flow instability and were considered as optimal for flowing in the melted state. The melt embedding variants and working conditions that led to reproducible mechanical properties and to the smallest number of morphological defects as voids were selected as optimal for obtaining the new material based on starch.The properties, of the selected quaternary compound, and its thermoforming performance attest that, by using the proposed structuring solution, it was possible to overcome the impediments generated by the branched degree of the amylopectin from starch and the relatively wide range of the particles’ size distribution of the used fillers and to reach a comfortable miscibility as a result of the new settled affinities and, therefore, new secondary bonds among the used modification components.The settling of new secondary bonds among the polar groups, mainly of hydroxyl nature, was possible following chemical compatibility between the used modification components and both the right choice of optimal embedding procedure for the fillers into the main polymeric matrix and of the range of melt compounding conditions.The only explanation for the degree of miscibility reached in the case of the selected quaternary compound is that following the used starch structuring solution, the wood flour was layered at the interface between the phases where it acts as a compatibilizer with a central role in structuring of the new material. The status of wood flour as compatibilizer has been demonstrated by the improvment in the melt flow properties, the strong decrease in the number of morphological defects, changes in the thermal degradation mechanism from one with two stages for binary and tertiary blends, to one with one stage in the case of the selected quaternary compound, the reproducibility of the mechanical properties, stretching without breaking, and dimensional stability after stretching.The thermoformed packaging made according to the presented structuring solution meets the conditions imposed by the imperatives of the present day, as they are compostable, cover certain consumer values without endangering the environment, can be returned into re-usage because they keep their shape and functional properties for at least 1 year after manufacture, and the pre-consumer and post-consumer wastes can be mechanically recycled according to the defects dilution principle in the manufacture of plates for thermoforming.


Machine perfusion by controlled oxygenated rewarming (COR) is feasible and safe in clinical application and result in a promising outcome. This study utilizes next-generation sequencing (NGS) to investigate the transcriptome of human liver tissue undergoing COR before liver transplantation. Cold-stored livers were subjected to machine-assisted slow COR for ~120 min before transplantation. Biopsies were taken before (preCOR) and after COR (postCOR) and 1 h after reperfusion (postRep). The samples were sequenced, using RNA-seq to analyze differential transcriptional changes between the different stages and treatments of the grafts. Comparison of differential gene expression preCOR and postCOR demonstrated 10 upregulated genes. postRep 97 and 178 genes were upregulated and 7 and 13 downregulated compared to preCOR and postCOR, respectively. A shift of gene expressions by machine perfusion to the TGF-beta pathway was observed. The present study demonstrates distinct transcriptome profiles associated with machine perfusion by COR and transplantation of human livers. Such data provide a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms of machine perfusion technology in human liver transplantation.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10142-021-00781-0. Key elements in liver transplantation are allograft procurement, preservation, and reperfusion in the recipient. Extensive research analyzed mechanisms whereby this cascade of anoxia and reoxygenation leads to injury of the allograft. This so-called ischemia-reperfusion injury results in parenchymal cell death, microcirculatory failure, and inflammatory immune responses. The intensity of this injury is clinically observed by the development of good graft function, early allograft dysfunction, or even primary non-function.Thus, research in the past decades focused on the reduction of ischemia-reperfusion injury. Most relevant progress, with translation from preclinical models into clinical studies, was shown for the application of different perfusion technologies .Detailed descriptions of the applied perfusion technology can be found elsewhere . After performance of the COR machine perfusion protocol, a second core biopsy was taken before removal from the device (postCOR). A third biopsy was taken approximately 1 h after reperfusion of the allograft in the recipient, before the closure of the abdomen (postRep). Biopsies were collected in liquid nitrogen and stored at − 80 °C until further processing.https://www.eurofinsgenomics.eu/).RNA isolation, cDNA library preparation with poly-A selection, and strand-specific paired-end Illumina sequencing (read length 150 bp) of liver biopsy samples were performed by Eurofins GATC Biotech GmbH  release 96.The tool Kallisto  with the plug-in ClueGo   was used for statistical analysis.Data were shown as the mean and standard error of the mean, or the median and range, as appropriate. A Donor and recipient demographics are given in Table Indication for transplantation was alcoholic liver cirrhosis in 2 recipients and hepatitis B, hepatitis C and NASH in one recipient, respectively. Hepatocellular carcinoma was present in 2 recipients.The median Donor Risk Index was 2.03 (1.6-2.5).Posttransplant hepatocellular injury and allograft dysfunction are graphically displayed in Supplement Figure Quality control of the raw reads revealed overall high sequencing quality. In all samples, more than 95% of all reads were eligible for further analysis after read trimming  is a growth factor with multiple biological properties including stimulation and inhibition of cell proliferation and profibrogenic and anti-proliferative pleiotropic functions depending on the cellular context ESM 2(PPTX 221 kb)ESM 3(PPTX 1922 kb)ESM 4(PPTX 1519 kb)ESM 5(CSV 10843 kb)ESM 6(DOCX 13 kb)ESM 7(XLSX 160 kb)


Zea mays) to 50 (Sorghum bicolor). These classes were investigated as repositories of chemical structure retaining source and process-specific character, linked back to botanical provenance. We discussed the Maillard reaction products thus generated, a possible pathway for the preservation of degraded starch, while also assessing diagenetic recalcitrance and adsorption potential to mineral surfaces. In some cases, hydrothermal experimentation on starches without glycine reveals that the chemical complexity of the starch itself is sufficient to produce some Maillard reaction products. The article concludes that FTICR-MS offers a new analytical window to characterize starchy residue and its diagenetic products, and is able to recognize taxonomic signals with the potential to persist in fossil contexts.This work introduces a novel analytical chemistry method potentially applicable to the study of archaeological starch residues. The investigation involved the laboratory synthesis of model Maillard reaction mixtures and their analysis through Fourier-Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FTICR-MS). Thus, starch from sixteen plant species were matured while reacting it with the amino acid glycine. The FTICR-MS analysis revealed > 5,300 molecular compounds, with numerous unique heteroatom rich compound classes, ranging from 20 ( Paleoanthropologists have hypothesized that hominin diet and society underwent major transformations upon reliance on starchy food, with primitive and archaic hominins consuming simple carbohydrates from fruits , rhizomeIn the near absence of macrofossils, archaeologists have come to rely on microscopic starch granules to study ancient starch use e.g. , 17. UnlIn this paper, we focus on diagenetic molecular fingerprints from carbohydrates of interest to archaeology as an independent alternative / complementary pathway to study ancient starch. The structural characterization of heterogeneous, heteroatom-rich compounds, however, would be impossible to accomplish by standard chromatographic and mass spectroscopic techniques because of the wide range of polarity, functional group distributions, molecular weight, and volatility demonstrated by the products from these reactions. In years past, the application of analytical chemistry to study biomolecules has taken on a diversity of perspectives –37, withZea mays, Triticum aestivum) and tubers (Solanum tuberosum) for contrast; in which case starch was industrially isolated by steeping in water and several cycles of sieving and centrifuging [We study modern starch samples from a reference collection to establish a baseline for archaeological chemistry, guiding classification and identification of plant residue from ancient materials by comparison. The focus is on ethnobotanical taxa for food and medicine, encompassing starch granules of diverse crystallinity, morphometry, and for the most part well-understood chemistry . As earlrifuging  that remrifuging . All sam2H5NO2) in subordinate concentration to ensure that the amino acid itself would not substantially complicate reaction products and to help develop a more prominent carbohydrate related signal in the resulting MRP species. For controls, we experimented on some starch species with and without glycine. And while glycine alone did not produce compounds amenable to FTICR-MS, starch only assays revealed that the chemical complexity of the polymer and its impurities are sufficient to generate some MRPs. However, the hydrothermal reaction products observed do include a range of chemical species that go beyond MRPs, although, for simplicity, all of them are referred to as MRPs throughout the text.From a taphonomic / diagenetic point of view, it has been established that biomolecules are not stable on an archaeological time scale, as they transform chemically in short periods . Therefo4OH: 20 μl) as a pH dopant right prior to analysis. The starch polymer is concurrent with small and trace amounts of proteinaceous and fatty compounds, thus, we determined element concentration (%) for C/H/N/S at the Department of Chemistry , using the Elementar UNICUBE analyzer. An aliquot weighing 1g per starch taxon was combusted in a catalyst-loaded tube at 1150⁰ C. Then, the oxidized materials went through a Cu-loaded reduction tube (850⁰ C). The final products  were separated by a thermal conductivity detector . We added reverse osmosis deionized water (RODI: 7 ml) and tested pH (~ 7). This mixture was sealed in a pressure vessel, in triplicate; one vessel kept at room temperature (25°C), one heated at 70°C, and another heated at 150°C for 24 h. Each vessel, post-treatment, was cooled and centrifuged (3000 r.p.m.), collecting an aliquot (300 μl) from the aqueous phase, which received ammonium hydroxide  was used for visualization and interpretation of multidimensional / multi-sample FTICR-MS data. Molecular masses and ring number / unsaturation levels for each chemical species were determined. We assessed double bond equivalents (DBE) as (CcHhNnSsOo = c-h/2+n/2+1). In addition, we derived lumped, summed abundances of whole heteroatom classes, double bond equivalents group distributions within a heteroatom class, carbon number distributions of consolidated samples including all ions, groups of compound classes and individual groups of pseudo-homologous compounds, and plots for related groups. For the visualization of MS data displaying hundreds of organic molecular formulae two-dimensionally, we utilized van Krevelen diagrams [FTICR-MS raw data were processed using the calibration and peak assignment software CaPA v.2.2 (Aphorist Inc.). Peaks with signal / noise ratio > 5 were assigned on m / z measurements and stable isotopic pattern to the third most intense isotopologue. The elemental composition boundaries were set at diagrams , Kendricdiagrams , as wellIpomoea longituba, we show that temperature governs reactions leading to changes in the number and molecular distribution of heteroatom classes at 25°C, 70°C, and 150°C (24 h)  , Fig 1. Zea mays) to 50 . MRP diversity is manifest in the Van Krevelen diagrams , and more for others . The largest accumulation of reaction products occurred in Dioscorea esculenta, Dioscorea schimperiana, Erythrococca bongensis, Ipomoea longituba, Mucuna pruriens, and Sorghum bicolor.Major differences in the number and distribution of molecular compound classes appeared , rangingdiagrams  that shoyOx classes is always greater than Ox classes in all MRPs, with only three exceptions . When weighted by intensity, oxygen-only heteroatom containing species show higher summed abundances in nine out of sixteen starches.x) are in 2Ox) appear in x species indicating altered starch (carbohydrate) oligomers. Regarding nitrogen atoms (NOx), there is predominance of chemical species with two additional carbon atoms and one nitrogen atom, reflecting a combination of starch related moieties with one glycine backbone component. At higher nitrogen numbers (N2Ox), the inordinate complexity of reactions and the diversity of products makes the linking of precursors and products unreliable.Molecular size and, to some extent, structure are quantified by carbon number distributions in MRPs. 5 / N2O5 / N3O5) provides insights into the reactivity of the different starches  exhibit mid-range reactivity or plot as outliers due to lack of one or more of the studied compound classes .The relative intensity distribution of compound classes ; 18.01057 (H2O); 43.98983 (CO2); 57.02146 (glycine condensation); 75.03203 (glycine addition); 150.05283 (pentose addition).The lower temperatures and heating times utilized by colleagues , compareAnother work  used fou6H6O3). At pH > 7, the degradation of Amadori compounds involves 2, 3- enolization, in which reductones such as 4-hydroxy-5-methyl-3-furanone (C5H6O3), as well as acetol (C3H6O2), pyruvaldehyde (C3H4O2), and diacetyl (CH3CO)2 are created. Later, cyclizations, dehydrations, retroaldolizations, rearrangements, isomerizations, and further condensations occur, leading to complex brown nitrogenous polymers and co-polymers.One pathway to organic matter preservation that has received little attention in archaeological sciences is the formation of humic and kerogeneous materials. These have high molecular weights and are less accessible to microorganisms , 68. TheyOx than Ox classes, whereas nine out of sixteen showed higher overall intensities of oxygen-only species compared to the mixed nitrogen-oxygen species. With great proportions of nitrogen functional groups in the studied Maillard reaction products, we suggest that many of these species will be adsorptive to mineral or artefact surfaces [All the MRPs show the same basic distribution of heteroatom groups and / or double bond equivalent distributions, yet differences among starch taxa and plant parts do emerge. Although Amadori rearrangement products are the main Maillard reaction pathway, recent advances in ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry have allowed for a more comprehensive, non-targeted analysis of reactive intermediates as well. Golon et al.  investigsurfaces , further5, N2O5 and N3O5 in MRP suggests that the starch from different plant parts is variably reactive, with exceptions. Legume starch is very reactive as shown by higher proportions of N3O5 species, with grain starch being intermediate, whereas tuber starch has lower reactivity. In addition, our experiments on starch degradation without glycine demonstrate that the complex chemistry of native starch is, in itself, capable of producing Maillard reaction products. Significantly, the three starches that were industrially isolated or purified  are the ones harboring the lowest relative intensities of nitrogen-containing species  and abiotic (photo-oxidation) reaction processes, transform organic matter from terrestrial and marine environments into a fraction called dissolved organic matter (DOM), that ultimately accumulates in oceans with turnover times in excess of 24,000 years , 73. ThiErythrococca bongensis (Eb) and Sorghum bicolor (Sb). The largest and one of the richest clusters occurs among all the underground storage organs, with the exception of potato. The corm and root starch from Ensete ventricosum (Ev) and Euphorbia quadrangularis (Eq) contain higher relative intensities of recalcitrant species than the two grains mentioned above and all legumes.The analysis of oceanic organic matter from a molecular dataset  shows chWe put forward a novel geochemical method to fingerprint decayed starch microstructurally. The Maillard reaction produces thousands of identifiable compounds in a simple system that has a counterpart in both culinary manipulation and archaeological site formation processes, bringing together starch and amino acids through processing, handling, and sedimentation. Some of the diagenetic products encountered are rich functional groups prone to adsorption, refractory, and could reasonably be expected to occur in archaeological residues and / or mineral substrates associated with artifacts or encasing them. These alteration products are proxies of starch precursors, facilitating an alternative route to study ancient starch that has the potential to overcome the taphonomic, diagenetic, and contamination limitations inherent to conventional archaeological methodologies that rely on native starch granules.High resolution mass spectrometry can characterize starchy residue, with neo-formed compounds including an extensive variety of molecular weights and chemistries. Despite all Maillard reaction products showing the same heteroatom groups and / or double bond equivalent distributions, differences among starches do arise, with starch from underground storage organs standing the best chance for long-term archaeological preservation and taxonomic identification. Thus, FTICR-MS provides a molecular chemotaxonomy. Developing an extraction protocol for these alteration products and identifying starch residues from prehistoric artifacts are the next logical step. While this is a major task yet to be undertaken, our studies suggest that the alteration products will have high molecular weights, will contain many heteroatoms, and will have low solubility in traditional solvents. Fortunately, new solvent classes have appeared in the last few decades, and ionic liquids have a wide range of customizable properties , suggestS1 FigEach dot reflects at least one melanoidin species formed. Green star symbol indicates the elemental composition of glycine, and the red star symbol plots the starch monomer. Relative abundance of species intensity increases towards the end of the red scale.(DOCX)Click here for additional data file.S2 Fig(DOCX)Click here for additional data file.


During the coronavirus disease pandemic, international travel controls have been widely adopted. To determine the effectiveness of these measures, we analyzed data from 165 countries and found that early implementation of international travel controls led to a mean delay of 5 weeks in the first epidemic peak of cases. International travel control  has been a key strategy implemented by many countries to limit importations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, early in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) did not recommend restricting travel (https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.25.20027433v1) for January 1–July 31, 2020. Only 14 (8.5%) of the 165 countries studied enacted international travel controls coincident with the lockdown in Wuhan, China (January 23); all controls involved screening inbound travelers  and needed to comprise y period  Figure 2y period  Figure 4After adjusting for population density and implementing nonpharmaceutical interventions by using the accelerated failure time model , we estiTo confirm that these observations were maintained according to alternative measures of epidemic activity, we used the following as outcomes in the models: the time by which COVID-19 deaths first peaked, and attainment of a cumulative incidence of 0.2, 1.0, or 5.0 cases/10,000 persons (by which time peaks had been reached in ≈10%, 30%, and 60% of the countries; Our work may be influenced by other unmeasured confounders, such as the stringency of international travel controls. We repeated our analyses by removing countries in Asia, in which implementation tended to be more strict, and found that our earlier observations largely held  Table. IOur findings suggest that implementing international travel controls earlier delayed the initial epidemic peak by ≈5 weeks. Although travel restrictions did not prevent the virus from entering most countries, delaying its introduction bought valuable time for local health systems and governments to prepare to respond to local transmission.Supplemental methods and results from study of effectiveness of international travel controls for delaying local outbreaks of coronavirus disease.


Micromachines has achieved a major milestone this year. We are pleased to announce that we have passed the 5000th publications milestone. This is a remarkable performance for a journal that just celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. With only 9 papers published in 2010, the journal now publishes over 1300 papers per year. One may think that the large number of papers will dilute the quality of the journal. However, annual citation count and full-text view count have grown exponentially. The impact factor of the journal has been steadily growing year by year and is now approaching a score of three.Micromachines is one of the first journals to respond and publish papers related to the efficient management of the disease [In the 11 years of its existence, the journal has evolved from a relative narrow scope to a respected interdisciplinary journal with a broad scope but focused on micro- and nanoscale technologies. Papers published in our journal cover topics ranging from fundamentals and physics to biology and biomedicine, to chemistry, to materials and processing, to engineering and technology. The interdisciplinary nature of the journal is well reflected by its top 10 most cited papers ,7,8,9,10Micromachines. Our editors and reviewers who are the leading experts in their field play a significant role in maintaining the high quality and the fast review process for papers submitted to Micromachines, the multidisciplinary board of our editors and reviewers ensures a fair and balanced review process, which is complemented by the exceptionally hard and efficient work of the MDPI editorial team.I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the authors who have published their works with Micromachines and was my mentor during a research attachment at the University of Twente back in 1996. On behalf of the editorial board, I offer our condolences to his family and friends. This milestone is also dedicated to remembrance of Professor Miko Elwenspoek, who passed away on the 13 April 2021. Professor Elwenspoek was the founding editor of Micromachines by submitting high-quality papers for publication. Increasing institutional support and mandate from funding agencies will make open access model of journal a success in the near future.I look forward to the next milestones for the journal with our impact factor crossing above three, moving more areas covered by the journal into the first quartile. I am confident that the research community will continue to support


The present study was designed to compare the stress distributions in two restoration types of implants and the surrounding bone. The first restoration type was a conventional cement-retained zirconia crown, and the second was a novel cementless screw-retained zirconia crown with a base abutment. A three-dimensional finite element method was used to model the implants, restorations, and supporting bone. A comparative study of the two implants was performed under two masticatory loads: a vertical load of 100 N and a 30-degree oblique load of 100 N. Under both loading conditions, the maximum von Mises stress and strain values in the implant and supporting bone were higher in the conventional cement-retained restoration model than in the cementless screw-retained model. In terms of stress distribution, the cementless screw-retained zirconia crown with base abutment may be considered a superior restoration option compared to the conventional cement-retained zirconia crown. The success of dental implants is based on the maintenance of the surrounding bone against stress . The loaVarious features of screw- and cement-retained restorations have been reported in terms of passive fit, occlusion, retrievability, manufacturing convenience, economics, and maintenance of the supporting tissue ,6. One oThe magnitude and patterns of stress in the restoration-implant–fixture-bone complex may be affected by the retention type of the implant-supported dental prosthesis ,9. Bone Recently, zirconia has become a popular material in the dental field because of its favorable physiochemical, optical, mechanical, and biocompatible characteristics ,15. ZircTraditionally, when zirconia crowns are used for implant restorations, they are fabricated as cement-retained and cemented to a titanium abutment. Currently, a method of using a prefabricated titanium link is being increasingly implemented for fabricating screw-retained ceramic crowns. However, although this method can achieve chairside fabrication and retrievability of zirconia crowns, there are disadvantages, such as the crown falling off due to cement layer breakage and colonization of microorganisms in the cement layer. Recently, a method of fastening a zirconia crown to a titanium link without cement, in a “screw-in-screw” manner, has been developed. In this method, after a screw-type titanium base abutment is fastened to the implant, a titanium link and zirconia crown are fixed using a prosthetic (link) screw . This noA 3D model of the edentulous region of the lower second premolar area was prepared and the mandibular canal was removed to decrease the volume and complexity of the numerical model. The model simulates type II bone quality had a homogeneous cortical bone layer of 2 mm in thickness. The shape of the mandible segment was smoothed and rounded. Two 3D models were designed using solid modeling software : single implants with a conventional cement-retained zirconia crown and a cementless screw-retained zirconia crown.® . The analysis procedure included pre-processing for constructing the finite element model and post-processing for processing and representing the solutions [Solid models of the mandible, implant, and zirconia crown were established from computed tomography data and managed using computer-aided design (CAD) in 3D FEA. Informatics programs were applied to generate a virtual 3D model. The reconstitution of the 3D model was performed using ANSYS Workbencholutions ,19.The models aimed to clinically imitate the characteristics of implant prosthetic materials . All anaThe mesh was created using a digital software program . ® program  featuring a 2-way connected CAD with high productivity and a progressive design vision that combined the entire simulation procedure. A 3D linear model was constructed to represent the relationship (stress and strain) between the bone and implant fixture and between the abutment and abutment screw.After acquiring these models, we performed FEA on the bone–implant–prosthesis using the ANSYS WorkbenchThe implant components were designed as titanium alloys (Ti6Al4V). The characteristics of the materials were determined based on the modulus of elasticity, Poisson’s ratio, and density .The load simulation methods were identical for both models. An occlusal load of 100 N was applied to the crowns vertically and obliquely (30°) to the axis of the implants , based oAfter simulating the models with the ANSYS software , the values and patterns of the maximum von Mises stress and strain at the implant surface and surrounding bones were evaluated. The stress distributions were represented by color-encoded maps, with the highest stress in red and lowest in blue for the quantitative analysis.The maximum stress concentrations in the implant with the cement-retained zirconia crown and cementless screw-retained zirconia crown were detected around the neck and at the apical area of the implant under the 100 N axial load, respectively . The maxThe maximum stress concentration on the peri-implant bone was found around the implant neck in both implant models under vertical loading . The maxThe maximum stress concentration in the implants was detected on the first and second threads of the implant in both models under the 30-degree oblique load condition . The maxIn addition, the maximum stress concentration of the peri-implant bone was observed in the crest around the implants in both models under 30-degree oblique load . The maxThe maximum strain concentrations in the peri-implant bone were detected around the apex area of the implant in both models under oblique loading . The maxThe results of this study reveal that the retaining type of implant prostheses noticeably affects the stress and strain distributions in the implant components and surrounding bone. Thus, the null hypothesis of this study was rejected. The FEA showed that the dental implant model with a novel cementless screw-retained zirconia crown exhibited less strain and stress than the model with a conventional cement-retained zirconia crown.In this study, the cementless screw-retained restoration had many separated components, including a titanium base abutment, titanium link, prosthetic (link) screw, and zirconia crown. Compared to the conventional cement-retained zirconia restoration, the cementless screw-retained type restoration had one more separated component. This difference between the models may explain why the stress and strain values in the surrounding bone and implant were higher in the cement-retained model than in the screw-retained model.These results are consistent with those of previous studies ,22. A phIn this study, the stress on the implant with the conventional cement-retained restoration was concentrated on the first and second threads of the implant. The maximum von Mises stress of the implant was observed in the implant neck for the conventional cement-retained zirconia crown. This result is in accordance with previous studies ,11,24. WIn addition, the present study found greater stress concentration under oblique loading than under vertical loading, regardless of the retaining type of the implant restoration. These results are consistent with those of previous reports ,28. ThusThrough the use of FEA, we were able to numerically determine how much stress and strain was delivered by the cementless screw-retained prosthetic system to the implant and supporting bone. However, owing to the limitations of the finite element methodology, the models used in this study did not accurately represent the actual oral conditions of humans. Cortical and cancellous bones both react differently to load/unload cases with respect to the monotonic load case. There could be damaged zones or load redistributions. Thus, further clinical studies are required to validate the results of the present study.Within the limitations of this FEA, the novel cementless screw-retained zirconia restoration transmitted less stress and strain to the implant and surrounding bone than the conventional cement-retained zirconia restoration. A cementless screw-retained zirconia crown with multi-prosthetic components might be a better choice than a conventional cement-retained zirconia crown in terms of stress distribution.


We report a unique case of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) tube graft rupture that occurred 14 years after abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. Endovascular repair with a thoracic endograft was performed. Postoperatively, an increase in the size of the existing hematoma with active extravasation occurred and was managed with iliolumbar artery embolization. Τo the best of our knowledge, rupture of ePTFE graft used for AAA repair has not been reported in the literature. Among the various prosthetic graft types used for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair, polyethylene terephthalate grafts, marketed as Dacron, are commonly used. During the last three decades, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) grafts have been increasingly used for this purpose. Although cases of ePTFE graft rupture have been reported when used for axillofemoral bypass grafting,A 71-year-old male presented to the emergency department with acute abdominal pain located in the right upper quadrant, nausea, and dizziness. Past medical history included hypertension, dyslipidemia, noninsulin–dependent diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, hyperthyroidism, benign prostatic hyperplasia, left inguinal hernia, and pneumonia. Past surgical history included vocal cord polypectomy and an uneventful elective open repair of an asymptomatic 6.3-cm AAA 14 years ago. On preoperative computed tomography angiography (CTA), the AAA had a 1 cm in length reverse taper infrarenal neck, justifying open repair  in addiOn physical examination, blood pressure was 136/86 mm Hg, pulse rate was 104/min, and temperature was 36°C. A midline incision scar from his previous open AAA repair, as well as obesity, were noted, with no palpable masses. Peripheral pulses were normal.3, C-reactive protein was 0.23 mg/dL, urea was 73 mg/dL, and creatinine was 1.5 mg/dL. On CTA, the tube graft had a diameter of 2.1 cm, and contrast extravasation was demonstrated from the abdominal aorta at the level of the graft. Adjacent to the graft, a large retroperitoneal hematoma was identified , white cell count was 8,590/mmntified .2.An endovascular solution was preferred, because of the multiple medical conditions that would potentially complicate open repair. Through a longitudinal groin incision, access to the femoral artery was achieved, and a PTFE-coated standard J-tip guidewire was advanced under fluoroscopic guidance to the thoracic aorta, followed by insertion of an introducer sheath and a marked pig-tail catheter. An abdominal aortography was performed to locate the renal arteries and confirm the length of the infrarenal aortic graft to be covered. We proceeded with exchange of the pig-tail catheter to a vertebral catheter, over a J-wire that was subsequently exchanged to an extra stiff C-tip steerable guidewire. The introducer sheath was exchanged and a 26 mm × 26 mm × 10 cm stent graft  was advanced and deployed below the renal arteries to the level of the aortic bifurcation . No endPostoperatively, the patient was hemodynamically stable and received thromboprophylaxis with 40-mg enoxaparin twice a day. On the third postoperative day, the patient experienced pain in the right abdomen, with a drop of hematocrit from 29 to 27.2% and hemoglobin levels from 9.5 to 8.6 g/dL within less than 2 hours, without hemodynamic compromise. He was transfused with 2 units of red blood cells (RBCs). A CTA revealed an increase in the size of the existing hematoma and active bleeding supplied by the right iliolumbar artery . This wWe report a unique case of an ePTFE graft rupture, 14 years after AAA repair that was successfully managed with endovascular repair and iliolumbar embolization.Graft rupture after AAA repair occurs with Dacron grafts, such as the case of Dacron aortic bifurcation graft failure, 19 years after the implantation (due to graft degradationGraft dilatation of ePTFE tube grafts can be anticipated up to 20% of their initial diameter, after a mean implantation time of 6 years.Specific surgical maneuvers, such as application of clamps to the graft or the placement of the prosthesis under excessive tension may contribute to its failure.Alternatively, a calcified plaque of the AAA sac that is imbricated over the graft may lead to its erosion. In our case, calcification of the AAA sac was not identified.Our patient underwent a minimally invasive endovascular procedure instead of an open surgery. Therefore, no histologic evaluation could be performed to assess the internal structure of the prosthetic material, as well as the mechanism of the rupture. The diagnosis of the graft rupture was made on CTA with three-dimensional reconstruction, determining the exact level of the graft disruption. We attribute the postoperative bleeding to local tissue avulsion of the right iliolumbar artery branches related to the rapidly expanding retroperitoneal hematoma in conjunction with anticoagulation, although given at intermediate doses. This was managed with coil embolization which has been described also for the treatment of a spontaneous left renal subcapsular hematoma, following complex percutaneous coronary intervention.In conclusion, we present a unique case of ePTFE graft rupture used for open AAA repair, 14 years after its initial implantation, successfully managed with endovascular repair.