A unification of the coding theory and OAQEC perspective on hybrid codes

It has been shown that there is an advantage in transmitting both quantum and classical information simultaneously over a quantum channel, compared to independent transmissions. The characterization and construction of such codes, which we refer to as hybrid codes, has been done from a coding theory and an operator algebra quantum error correction (OAQEC) perspective. In this work we unify these two perspectives, and show that the coding theory formulation is a specific case of the OAQEC perspective. We also generalize the quantum hamming bound to the hybrid case. To date no such hybrid codes have been physically implemented. In this work we develop a hybrid code and provide the encoding and decoding circuit.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

On single server private information retrieval in a coding theory perspective

In this paper, we present a new perspective of single server private information retrieval (PIR) schemes by using the notion of linear error-correcting codes. Many of the known single server schemes are based on taking linear combinations between database elements and the query elements. Using the theory of linear codes, we develop a generic framework that formalizes all such PIR schemes. Further, we describe some known PIR schemes with respect to this code-based framework, and present the weaknesses of the broken PIR schemes in a generic point of view

The Journey through Perspective Transformation: Learning Nursing Theory

Through the use of grounded theory, educational methods most useful for nurses to achieve a perspective transformation, as exemplified by learning nursing theory were examined. Perspective transformation is a theory originally developed by Mezirow (1978) in a study of older women returning to college for additional education. Mezirow defined perspective transformation as the alteration or change of meaning perspectives. Perspective transformation in an individual can be compared to a paradigm change within a scientific community. Within the nursing literature on perspective transformation, most articles related to the perspective transformation needed for nurses to learn to use nursing theory as the framework for patient care. Little has been written on how nurses learn nursing theory, none found from the perspective of the learner. The experiences of 21 working nurses who had made a perspective transformation by learning nursing theory and practicing within a nursing theoretical framework were examined. One hour interviews were taped and transcribed. Data were coded using Level 1 open coding, Level 2 axial coding, and Level 3 selective coding. Study findings indicated that nurses achieving perspective transformation go through three nonlinear stages: (a) becoming aware, (b) developing meaning, and (c) perspective transformation. Those evolving beyond perspective transformation to self-actualization go through a fourth stage. During this stage, they combined theoretical models to create a personal nursing model for patient care. Nursing needs to operate within its own theoretical base. Nursing theory helps describe, explain, predict, or prescribe the phenomenon that are the reality of nursing. This study is important because it examined the most useful methods to help nurses learn nursing theory, incorporate theory into practice, and achieve perspective transformation. Future research studies should continue to pursue: (a) how to help nurses learn to incorporate nursing theoretical models into practice, (b) how to encourage organizational support of nursing theoretical frameworks, (c) satisfaction of patients cared for within the framework of nursing theoretical models, (d) the improvement of patient care through the use of nursing theory in practice, and (e) the professional growth of nurses practicing through the use of nursing theoretical frameworks

A survey on single server private information retrieval in a coding theory perspective

In this paper, we present a new perspective of single server private information retrieval (PIR) schemes by using the notion of linear error-correcting codes. Many of the known single server schemes are based on taking linear combinations between database elements and the query elements. Using the theory of linear codes, we develop a generic framework that formalizes all such PIR schemes. This generic framework provides an appropriate setup to analyze the security of such PIR schemes. In fact, we describe some known PIR schemes with respect to this code-based framework, and present the weaknesses of the broken PIR schemes in a unified point of view

Cores of Cooperative Games in Information Theory

Cores of cooperative games are ubiquitous in information theory, and arise most frequently in the characterization of fundamental limits in various scenarios involving multiple users. Examples include classical settings in network information theory such as Slepian-Wolf source coding and multiple access channels, classical settings in statistics such as robust hypothesis testing, and new settings at the intersection of networking and statistics such as distributed estimation problems for sensor networks. Cooperative game theory allows one to understand aspects of all of these problems from a fresh and unifying perspective that treats users as players in a game, sometimes leading to new insights. At the heart of these analyses are fundamental dualities that have been long studied in the context of cooperative games; for information theoretic purposes, these are dualities between information inequalities on the one hand and properties of rate, capacity or other resource allocation regions on the other.Comment: 12 pages, published at http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/318704 in EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, Special Issue on "Theory and Applications in Multiuser/Multiterminal Communications", April 200

On the origin of the mitochondrial genetic code: Towards a unified mathematical framework for the management of genetic information

The origin of the genetic code represents one of the most challenging problems in molecular evolution. The genetic code is an important universal feature of extant organisms and indicates a common ancestry of different forms of life on earth. Known variants of the genetic code can be mainly divided in mitochondrial and nuclear classes. Here we provide a new insight on the origin of the mitochondrial genetic code: we found that its degeneracy distribution can be explained by using a mathematical approach recently developed for the description of the Euplotes nuclear variant of the genetic code. The results point to a primeval mitochondrial genetic code composed of four base codons, which we call tesserae, that, among other features, exhibit outstanding error detection capabilities. The theoretical description suggests also a formulation of a plausible biological theory about the origin of protein coding. Such theory is based on the symmetry properties of hypothetical primeval chemical adaptors between nucleic acids and amino acids (ancient tRNA’s). Our paper provides a unified mathematical framework for different hypotheses on the origin of genetic coding. Also, it contributes to revisit our present view about the evolutionary steps that led to extant genetic codes by giving a new first-principles perspective on the difficult problem of the origin of the genetic code, and consequently, on the origin of life on earth