Abstract. In this paper we prove that the sponge construction introduced in [4] is indifferentiable from a random oracle when being used with a random transformation or a random permutation and discuss its implications. To our knowledge, this is the first time indifferentiability has been shown for a construction calling a random permutation (instead of an ideal compression function or ideal block cipher) and for a construction generating outputs of any length (instead of a fixed length).

Abstract. This paper proposes a novel construction, called duplex, closely related to the sponge construction, that accepts message blocks to be hashed and-at no extra cost-provides digests on the input blocks received so far. It can be proven equivalent to a cascade of sponge functions and hence inherits its security against single-stage generic a acks. The main application proposed here is an authenticated encryption mode based on the duplex construction. This mode is efficient, namely, enciphering and authenticating together require only a single call to the underlying permutation per block, and is readily usable in, e.g., key wrapping. Furthermore, it is the first mode of this kind to be directly based on a permutation instead of a block cipher and to natively support intermediate tags. The duplex construction can be used to efficiently realize other modes, such as a reseedable pseudo-random bit sequence generators and a sponge variant that overwrites part of the state with the input block rather than to XOR it in.

Active learning is an important component of pharmacy education. By engaging students in the learning process, they are better able to apply the knowledge they gain. This paper describes evidence supporting the use of active-learning strategies in pharmacy education and also offers strategies for implementing active learning in pharmacy curricula in the classroom and during pharmacy practice experiences.

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Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas,and 6 Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, TX, USA Background Atazanavir (ATV), an HIV protease inhibitor (PI) that may be preferred for the treatment of HIV-infected patients with cardiovascular comorbidities because of its favourable effects on plasma lipids, has been associated with cardiac rhythm disturbances. ObjectiveTo quantify the effect of ATV on corrected QT (QTc) and QTc dispersion (QTd), markers of the potential for cardiac dysrhythmia, in patients switching from other PIs to ATV. MethodsIn this prospective, single-centre, open-label study, 12-lead electrocardiograms were performed for subjects at baseline, 2 h after the first dose of ATV, and 1 month after initiation of ATV. ResultsTwenty-one patients (19 received ritonavir-boosted ATV) completed the study. There was a trend towards an increase in the QTc at 2 h after the first dose [mean AE standard deviation 3.19 AE 8.0 ms; 95% confidence interval (CI) À 0.47 to 6.85 ms; P 5 0.084]. There was no difference between QTc values at baseline and at 1 month ( À 1.5 AE 8.75 ms; 95% CI À 5.50 to 2.46; P 5 0.43). There was a nonsignificant decrease in the QTd between baseline and 2 h ( À 5.1 AE 15.19 ms; 95% CI À 13.22 to 2.96; P 5 0.197) and between baseline and 1 month ( À 0.61 AE 15.04 ms; 95% CI À 8.1 to 6.87; P 5 0.865). A significant increase in the PR interval (7.4 AE 10.7 ms; 95% CI 2.5 to 12.25 ms; P 5 0.005) was observed at 1 month. ConclusionsThe use of ATV did not result in increases in the QTc interval or QTd. However, PR interval monitoring may be warranted in patients with underlying heart block or those treated with atrioventricular nodal blocking agents. IntroductionAtazanavir (ATV) is the newest protease inhibitor (PI) approved for use in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Recent studies suggest that this PI may not be associated with the dyslipidaemia commonly seen with other PIs, and thus ATV may be an alternative for HIVpositive patients experiencing this adverse drug effect [1,2]. However, ATV has been associated with atrioventricular (AV) block, bradycardia and prolongation of the corrected QT (QTc) interval in some patients [3,4]. Acquired long-QT syndrome, drug-induced QT prolongation, and torsades de pointes (TdP) have also been previously reported in HIV-infected patients [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Methods PatientsThis was a prospective, single-centre, open-label study.Patients were enrolled in the study from November 2003 to December 2004. Patients were included in the study if they were being treated with HAART at the HIV Clinic at the Dallas Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, were418 years of age, had a documented diagnosis of HIV, were able to give informed consent, were capable of attending ambulatory care services, and were deemed appropriate candidates for the addition of ATV to their HAART regimen. Patients were excluded if they were hospitalized, required to take oral antacids within 2 h of ATV administration, histamine receptor antagonists an...

No difference was seen in baseline QTc (P = 0.48) or QTd (P = 0.92). Following 7 days of moxifloxacin, the QTc was prolonged by 6 ms relative to baseline (408 ms, P = 0.022), and 11 ms from the 2-hour measurement (403 ms, P = 0.003). Ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin had no effect on QTc, and no FQ changed the QTd. Within our study population, ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin did not display an increased risk for Tdp. Moxifloxacin, while showing QTc prolongation, did not affect QTd, and an increased Tdp risk is questionable.

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This paper proposes a new construction for the generation of pseudo-random numbers. The construction is based on sponge functions and is suitable for embedded security devices as it requires few resources. We propose a model for such generators and explain how to define one on top of a sponge function. The construction is a novel way to use a sponge function, and inputs and outputs blocks in a continuous fashion, allowing to interleave the feed of seeding material with the fetch of pseudo-random numbers without latency. We describe the consequences of the sponge indifferentiability results to this construction and study the resistance of the construction against generic state recovery attacks. Finally, we propose a concrete example based on a member of the Keccak family with small width.