Some Directions beyond Traditional Quantum Secret Sharing

We investigate two directions beyond the traditional quantum secret sharing (QSS). First, a restriction on QSS that comes from the no-cloning theorem is that any pair of authorized sets in an access structure should overlap. From the viewpoint of application, this places an unnatural constraint on secret sharing. We present a generalization, called assisted QSS (AQSS), where access structures without pairwise overlap of authorized sets is permissible, provided some shares are withheld by the share dealer. We show that no more than $\lambda-1$ withheld shares are required, where $\lambda$ is the minimum number of {\em partially linked classes} among the authorized sets for the QSS. Our result means that such applications of QSS need not be thwarted by the no-cloning theorem. Secondly, we point out a way of combining the features of QSS and quantum key distribution (QKD) for applications where a classical information is shared by quantum means. We observe that in such case, it is often possible to reduce the security proof of QSS to that of QKD.Comment: To appear in Physica Scripta, 7 pages, 1 figure, subsumes arXiv:quant-ph/040720

R-parity violation in split supersymmetry

In the recently proposed `split supersymmetry' scenario, the squark and slepton masses are allowed to be at a high scale while the gauginos and Higgsinos are within a TeV. We show that in a theory with broken R-parity, the parameter space of such a scenario allows a situation where the lightest neutralino is still stable on the cosmological scale and can be a dark matter candidate. We also separate the cases where (a) it may be invisible but not a dark matter candidate, or (b) it may decay showing a displaced vertex. It is also emphasized how the constraint on the simultaneous violation of baryon and lepton numbers gets relaxed in this scenario.Comment: LaTex 11 pages, 3 figures, uses axodraw. Final version to appear in Phys.Lett.B. Added references and comments. Title changed in journa

Iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphic assessment of the transplanted human heart: Evidence for late reinnervation

Objectives.This study attempted to determine whether cardiac sympathetic reinnervation occurs late after orthotopic heart transplantation.Background.Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) is taken up by myocardial sympathetic nerves. Iodine-123 (I-123) MIBG cardiac uptake reflects intact myocardial sympathetic innervation of the heart. Cardiac transplant recipients do not demonstrate I-123 MIBG cardiac uptake when studied <6 months from transplantation. However, physiologic and biochemical studies suggest that sympathetic reinnervation of the heart can occur >1 year after transplantation.Methods.We performed serial cardiac I-123 MIBG imaging in 23 cardiac transplant recipients early (<-1 year) and late (>1 year) after operation. In 16 subjects transmyocardial norepinephrine release was measured late after transplantation.Results.No subject had visible I-123 MIBG uptake on imaging <1 year after transplantation. However, 11 (48%) of 23 subjects developed visible cardiac I-123 MIBG uptake 1 to 2 years after transplantation. Only 3 (25%) of 12 subjects with a pretransplantation diagnosis of idiopathic cardiomyopathy demonstrated I-123 MIBG uptake compared with 8 (73%) of 11 with a pretransplantation diagnosis of ischemic or rheumatic heart disease (p = 0.04). All 10 subjects with a net myocardial release of norepinephrine had cardiac I-123 MIBG uptake; all 6 subjects without a net release of norepinephrine had no cardiac I-123 MIBG uptake.Conclusions.Sympathetic reinnervation of the transplanted human heart can occur >1 year after operation, as assessed by I-123 MIBG imaging and the transmyocardial release of norepinephrine. Reinnervation is less likely to occur in patients with a pretransplantation diagnosis of idiopathic cardiomyopathy than in those with other etiologies of congestive heart failure

B_s --> mu+ mu- decay in the R-parity violating minimal supergravity

We study B_s --> mu+ mu- in the context of the R-parity violating minimal supergravity in the high tan beta regime. We find that the lowest value of the branching ratio can go well below the present LHCb sensitivity and hence B_s --> mu+ mu- can even be invisible to the LHC. We also find that the present upper bound on Br(B_s --> mu+ mu-) puts strong constraint on the minimal supergravity parameter space. The constraints become more severe if the upper bound is close to its standard model prediction.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures; version to be published in European Physical Journal

Standardized, systemic phenotypic analysis reveals kidney dysfunction as main alteration of Kctd1 I27N mutant mice

Background: Increased levels of blood plasma urea were used as phenotypic parameter for establishing novel mouse models for kidney diseases on the genetic background of C3H inbred mice in the phenotype-driven Munich ENU mouse mutagenesis project. The phenotypically dominant mutant line HST014 was established and further analyzed. Methods: Analysis of the causative mutation as well as the standardized, systemic phenotypic analysis of the mutant line was carried out. Results: The causative mutation was detected in the potassium channel tetramerization domain containing 1 (Kctd1) gene which leads to the amino acid exchange Kctd1 I27N thereby affecting the functional BTB domain of the protein. This line is the first mouse model harboring a Kctd1 mutation. Kctd1 I27N homozygous mutant mice die perinatally. Standardized, systemic phenotypic analysis of Kctd1 I27N heterozygous mutants was carried out in the German Mouse Clinic (GMC). Systematic morphological investigation of the external physical appearance did not detect the specific alterations that are described in KCTD1 mutant human patients affected by the scalp-ear-nipple (SEN) syndrome. The main pathological phenotype of the Kctd1 I27N heterozygous mutant mice consists of kidney dysfunction and secondary effects thereof, without gross additional primary alterations in the other phenotypic parameters analyzed. Genome-wide transcriptome profiling analysis at the age of 4 months revealed about 100 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in kidneys of Kctd1 I27N heterozygous mutants as compared to wild-type controls. Conclusions: In summary, the main alteration of the Kctd1 I27N heterozygous mutants consists in kidney dysfunction. Additional analyses in 9–21 week-old heterozygous mutants revealed only few minor effects

Dynamics of Hot QCD Matter -- Current Status and Developments

The discovery and characterization of hot and dense QCD matter, known as Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), remains the most international collaborative effort and synergy between theorists and experimentalists in modern nuclear physics to date. The experimentalists around the world not only collect an unprecedented amount of data in heavy-ion collisions, at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in New York, USA, and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland but also analyze these data to unravel the mystery of this new phase of matter that filled a few microseconds old universe, just after the Big Bang. In the meantime, advancements in theoretical works and computing capability extend our wisdom about the hot-dense QCD matter and its dynamics through mathematical equations. The exchange of ideas between experimentalists and theoreticians is crucial for the progress of our knowledge. The motivation of this first conference named "HOT QCD Matter 2022" is to bring the community together to have a discourse on this topic. In this article, there are 36 sections discussing various topics in the field of relativistic heavy-ion collisions and related phenomena that cover a snapshot of the current experimental observations and theoretical progress. This article begins with the theoretical overview of relativistic spin-hydrodynamics in the presence of the external magnetic field, followed by the Lattice QCD results on heavy quarks in QGP, and finally, it ends with an overview of experiment results.Comment: Compilation of the contributions (148 pages) as presented in the `Hot QCD Matter 2022 conference', held from May 12 to 14, 2022, jointly organized by IIT Goa & Goa University, Goa, Indi

Molecular Mining of Alleles in Water Buffalo Bubalus bubalis and Characterization of the TSPY1 and COL6A1 Genes

discovered in the process. gene in water buffalo, which localized to the Y chromosome.The MASA approach enabled us to identify several genes, including two of clinical significance, without screening an entire cDNA library. Genes identified with TGG repeats are not part of a specific family of proteins and instead are distributed randomly throughout the genome. Genes showing elevated expression in the testes and spermatozoa may prove to be potential candidates for in-depth characterization. Furthermore, their possible involvement in fertility or lack thereof would augment animal biotechnology

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe