Exploring viable vacua of the Z3Z_3-symmetric NMSSM

We explore the vacua of the $Z_3$-symmetric Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) and their stability by going beyond the simplistic paradigm that works with a tree-level neutral scalar potential and adheres to some specific flat directions in the field space. Key effects are demonstrated by first studying the profiles of this potential under various circumstances of physical interest via a semi-analytical approach. The results thereof are compared to the ones obtained from a dedicated package like \veva ~which further incorporates the thermal effects to the potential. Regions of the phenomenological NMSSM (pNMSSM) parameter space that render the desired symmetry breaking (DSB) vacuum absolutely stable, long- or short-lived (in relation to the age of the Universe) under quantum/thermal tunneling are delineated. Regions that result in color and charge breaking (CCB) minima are also presented. It is demonstrated that light singlet scalars along with a light LSP (lightest supersymmetric particle) having an appreciable singlino admixture are compatible with a viable DSB vacuum and are much relevant for the collider experiments.Comment: 52 pages, 19 figures, 4 tables; matches with published versio

Deploy-As-You-Go Wireless Relay Placement: An Optimal Sequential Decision Approach using the Multi-Relay Channel Model

We use information theoretic achievable rate formulas for the multi-relay channel to study the problem of as-you-go deployment of relay nodes. The achievable rate formulas are for full-duplex radios at the relays and for decode-and-forward relaying. Deployment is done along the straight line joining a source node and a sink node at an unknown distance from the source. The problem is for a deployment agent to walk from the source to the sink, deploying relays as he walks, given that the distance to the sink is exponentially distributed with known mean. As a precursor, we apply the multi-relay channel achievable rate formula to obtain the optimal power allocation to relays placed along a line, at fixed locations. This permits us to obtain the optimal placement of a given number of nodes when the distance between the source and sink is given. Numerical work suggests that, at low attenuation, the relays are mostly clustered near the source in order to be able to cooperate, whereas at high attenuation they are uniformly placed and work as repeaters. We also prove that the effect of path-loss can be entirely mitigated if a large enough number of relays are placed uniformly between the source and the sink. The structure of the optimal power allocation for a given placement of the nodes, then motivates us to formulate the problem of as-you-go placement of relays along a line of exponentially distributed length, and with the exponential path-loss model, so as to minimize a cost function that is additive over hops. The hop cost trades off a capacity limiting term, motivated from the optimal power allocation solution, against the cost of adding a relay node. We formulate the problem as a total cost Markov decision process, establish results for the value function, and provide insights into the placement policy and the performance of the deployed network via numerical exploration.Comment: 21 pages. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1204.432

Molecular marker assisted screening for kernel polyphenol oxidase activity in wheat Triticum aestivum L.

High level of kernel polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity has been found to be the major factor behind time-dependent discolouration of wheat-based products, which ultimately leads to reduced consumers’ preference. Till date, 6 genes belonging in 2 paralogous sets present in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) chromosome 2 homeologues (2A, 2B and 2D) have been reported to govern kernel PPO activity. Among these 6 genes, perfect molecular markers have been developed for 2 genes (PPOA1 and PPOD1) and the major role of PPOA1 gene in governing kernel PPO activity in wheat has been reported. In the present study we have used the molecular markers for the PPOA1 and PPOD1 genes to characterize wheat genotypes for their kernel PPO activity. We have successfully converted the dominant marker assay for the PPOD1 locus into a co-dominant assay using the already reported primers. Our molecular screening strategy could explain the kernel PPO activity of wheat genotypes in rapid, reliable and environment-independent manner. Furthermore, biochemical estimation of kernel PPO activity in wheat genotypes indicated the involvement of other genes in fine-tuning this important trait. Thus, the present study should facilitate the breeders in marker-assisted selection and breeding for developing wheat genotypes with low kernel PPO activity

A prospective study of distal radius fracture management by close reduction, percutaneous Kirschner wire fixation and plaster immobilization

Background: Distal radius fracture is one of the most common fractures. It may be sustained due to low-energy trauma or high-energy trauma. Objectives: To compare the clinical effectiveness of Kirschner wire fixation with and plaster immobilization for patients with fracture of the distal radius.Methods: Interventions Kirschner wire fixation: wires are passed through the skin over the dorsal aspect of the distal radius and into the bone to hold the fracture in the correct anatomical position. About 79 patients with Distal Radial Fractures presented to MGM Medical College and LSK Hospital, Kishanganj between November 2012 and June 2014 were included in the study.Results: The majority were men (60.4%). Majority of the patients (69.8%) sustained the injury due to fall. The side of involvement was nearly equal and that there was no predominance of the either sides. In our study, according to AO classification, 31 cases were of Type A, 17 were of Type B and 5 were of Type C. The Anatomical evaluation by Sarmiento’s Criteria showed 33 patients with excellent result, 15 patients with good result and 5 with a fair result. At final follow-up by ‘The Gartland and Werley criteria for functional outcome’ 37 patients had excellent result, 13 had good result, 2 had fair result and 1 had a poor result. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that percutaneous Kirschner wire pinning is a minimally invasive technique that provides an effective means of maintaining the anatomical fracture reduction. It does not required highly skilled personnel or sophisticated tools for application. It is a suitable method for fixation of displaced Colles fracture with minimal intra-articular involvement. The technique involves a minimal procedure that provides anatomic reduction, fracture fixation, and maintenance of reduction with an adequate method of immobilization

Optimal Capacity Relay Node Placement in a Multi-hop Wireless Network on a Line

We use information theoretic achievable rate formulas for the multi-relay channel to study the problem of optimal placement of relay nodes along the straight line joining a source node and a sink node. The achievable rate formulas that we use are for full-duplex radios at the relays and decode- and-forward relaying. For the single relay case, and individual power constraints at the source node and the relay node, we provide explicit formulas for the optimal relay location and the optimal power allocation to the source-relay channel, for the exponential and the power-law path-loss channel models. For the multiple relay case, we consider exponential path-loss and a total power constraint over the source and the relays, and derive an optimization problem, the solution of which provides the optimal relay locations. Numerical results suggest that at low attenuation the relays are mostly clustered close to the source in order to be able to cooperate among themselves, whereas at high attenuation they are uniformly placed and work as repeaters. The structure of the optimal power allocation for a given placement of the nodes, then motivates us to formulate the problem of impromptu ("as-you-go") placement of relays along a line of exponentially distributed length, with exponential path- loss, so as to minimize a cost function that is additive over hops. The hop cost trades off a capacity limiting term, motivated from the optimal power allocation solution, against the cost of adding a relay node. We formulate the problem as a total cost Markov decision process, for which we prove results for the value function, and provide insights into the placement policy via numerical exploration.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures; the initial version of this work was accepted in RAWNET 2012 (an workshop of WiOpt 2012); this is a substantial extension of the workshop pape

Evaluating Visual Conversational Agents via Cooperative Human-AI Games

As AI continues to advance, human-AI teams are inevitable. However, progress in AI is routinely measured in isolation, without a human in the loop. It is crucial to benchmark progress in AI, not just in isolation, but also in terms of how it translates to helping humans perform certain tasks, i.e., the performance of human-AI teams. In this work, we design a cooperative game - GuessWhich - to measure human-AI team performance in the specific context of the AI being a visual conversational agent. GuessWhich involves live interaction between the human and the AI. The AI, which we call ALICE, is provided an image which is unseen by the human. Following a brief description of the image, the human questions ALICE about this secret image to identify it from a fixed pool of images. We measure performance of the human-ALICE team by the number of guesses it takes the human to correctly identify the secret image after a fixed number of dialog rounds with ALICE. We compare performance of the human-ALICE teams for two versions of ALICE. Our human studies suggest a counterintuitive trend - that while AI literature shows that one version outperforms the other when paired with an AI questioner bot, we find that this improvement in AI-AI performance does not translate to improved human-AI performance. This suggests a mismatch between benchmarking of AI in isolation and in the context of human-AI teams.Comment: HCOMP 201