33 research outputs found
Causality - Complexity - Consistency: Can Space-Time Be Based on Logic and Computation?
The difficulty of explaining non-local correlations in a fixed causal
structure sheds new light on the old debate on whether space and time are to be
seen as fundamental. Refraining from assuming space-time as given a priori has
a number of consequences. First, the usual definitions of randomness depend on
a causal structure and turn meaningless. So motivated, we propose an intrinsic,
physically motivated measure for the randomness of a string of bits: its length
minus its normalized work value, a quantity we closely relate to its Kolmogorov
complexity (the length of the shortest program making a universal Turing
machine output this string). We test this alternative concept of randomness for
the example of non-local correlations, and we end up with a reasoning that
leads to similar conclusions as in, but is conceptually more direct than, the
probabilistic view since only the outcomes of measurements that can actually
all be carried out together are put into relation to each other. In the same
context-free spirit, we connect the logical reversibility of an evolution to
the second law of thermodynamics and the arrow of time. Refining this, we end
up with a speculation on the emergence of a space-time structure on bit strings
in terms of data-compressibility relations. Finally, we show that logical
consistency, by which we replace the abandoned causality, it strictly weaker a
constraint than the latter in the multi-party case.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures, small correction
On Quantum Advantage in Information Theoretic Single-Server PIR
In (single-server) Private Information Retrieval (PIR), a server holds a
large database of size , and a client holds an index and
wishes to retrieve without revealing to the server. It is well
known that information theoretic privacy even against an `honest but curious'
server requires communication complexity. This is true even if
quantum communication is allowed and is due to the ability of such an
adversarial server to execute the protocol on a superposition of databases
instead of on a specific database (`input purification attack'). Nevertheless,
there have been some proposals of protocols that achieve sub-linear
communication and appear to provide some notion of privacy. Most notably, a
protocol due to Le Gall (ToC 2012) with communication complexity ,
and a protocol by Kerenidis et al. (QIC 2016) with communication complexity
, and shared entanglement.
We show that, in a sense, input purification is the only potent adversarial
strategy, and protocols such as the two protocols above are secure in a
restricted variant of the quantum honest but curious (a.k.a specious) model.
More explicitly, we propose a restricted privacy notion called \emph{anchored
privacy}, where the adversary is forced to execute on a classical database
(i.e. the execution is anchored to a classical database). We show that for
measurement-free protocols, anchored security against honest adversarial
servers implies anchored privacy even against specious adversaries.
Finally, we prove that even with (unlimited) pre-shared entanglement it is
impossible to achieve security in the standard specious model with sub-linear
communication, thus further substantiating the necessity of our relaxation.
This lower bound may be of independent interest (in particular recalling that
PIR is a special case of Fully Homomorphic Encryption)
Interactions of Bacillus Mojavensis and Fusarium Verticillioides With a Benzoxazolinone (Boa) and Its Transformation Product, Apo
En:Journal of Chemical Ecology (2007, vol. 33, n. 10, p. 1885-1897)The benzoxazolinones, specifically benzoxazolin-2(3H)-one (BOA), are important transformation products of the benzoxazinones that can serve as allelochemicals providing resistance to maize from pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and insects. However, maize pathogens such as Fusarium verticillioides are capable of detoxifying the benzoxazolinones to 2-aminophenol (AP), which is converted to the less toxic N-(2-hydroxyphenyl) malonamic acid (HPMA) and 2-acetamidophenol (HPAA). As biocontrol strategies that utilize a species of endophytic bacterium, Bacillus mojavensis, are considered efficacious as a control of this Fusarium species, the in vitro transformation and effects of BOA on growth of this bacterium was examined relative to its interaction with strains of F. verticillioides. The results showed that a red pigment was produced and accumulated only on BOA-amended media when wild type and the progeny of genetic crosses of F. verticillioides are cultured in the presence of the bacterium. The pigment was identified as 2-amino-3H-phenoxazin-3-one (APO), which is a stable product. The results indicate that the bacterium interacts with the fungus preventing the usual transformation of AP to the nontoxic HPMA, resulting in the accumulation of higher amounts of APO than when the fungus is cultured alone. APO is highly toxic to F. verticillioides and other organisms. Thus, an enhanced biocontrol is suggested by this in vitro study.
=580 $aEn:Journal of Chemical Ecolog
DIMBOA levels in hexaploid Brazilian wheat are not associated with antibiosis against the cereal aphids Rhopalosiphum padi and Sitobion avenae.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the natural levels of the plant defence compound DIMBOA in young leaves of eight hexaploid Brazilian wheat genotypes and the impact of the genotypes upon development of cereal aphids, Rhopalosiphum padi and Sitobion avenae. HPLC Analysis revealed that the DIMBOA levels varied from 5.376 (in BRS Guabiju) to 30.651 mmol/kgFW (in BRS Timbaúva) with two genotypes outperforming Solstice, a UK variety used as reference. Bioassays were conducted to evaluate the development and fecundity of both aphids when grown on the wheat genotypes. Although BRS Guabiju and BRS Timbaúva were among the genotypes showing the highest and lowest susceptibility respectively, against both aphids, no correlation could be found between DIMBOA levels and antibiosis effects. The cultivar BRS 327 that was among the genotypes showing lower intrinsic rate of population increase for the two aphid species. Elucidating the role of secondary metabolites in plant resistance to aphids and the characterisation of the genotypes that allowed reduced aphid development are important steps to achieve a better natural resistance in hexaploid Brazilian wheat