China food safety: Meeting the challenges of clenbuterol

Food poisoning cases, due to consumption of food from animal sources that contains clenbuterol, have occurred frequently in China over the recent years, causing a certain degree of social panic. Several relevant ministries issued related documentation and took appropriate measures to crack down on the behaviour of illegal manufacture, sale, and use of clenbuterol. However, this behaviour continued due to great economic benefits and ethical problems. This paper investigates the industrial chain of production and sale of clenbuterol in China. Moreover, we discuss the impediments of and the governmental countermeasures being implemented in supervising the use of clenbuterol in China. The positive example in monitoring the use of clenbuterol in China may help to improve food safety management throughout China and other developing countries

Quantum secure communication scheme with W state

Recently, Cao et al. proposed a new quantum secure direct communication scheme using W state. In their scheme, the error rate introduced by an eavesdropper who takes intercept-resend attack, is only 8.3%. Actually, their scheme is just a quantum key distribution scheme because the communication parties first create a shared key and then encrypt the secret message using one-time pad. We then present a quantum secure communication scheme using three-qubit W state. In our scheme, the error rate is raised to 25% and it is not necessary for the present scheme to use alternative measurement or Bell basis measurement. We also show our scheme is unconditionally secure.Comment: Comments are welcom

The Case for Quantum Key Distribution

Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises secure key agreement by using quantum mechanical systems. We argue that QKD will be an important part of future cryptographic infrastructures. It can provide long-term confidentiality for encrypted information without reliance on computational assumptions. Although QKD still requires authentication to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, it can make use of either information-theoretically secure symmetric key authentication or computationally secure public key authentication: even when using public key authentication, we argue that QKD still offers stronger security than classical key agreement.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure; to appear in proceedings of QuantumComm 2009 Workshop on Quantum and Classical Information Security; version 2 minor content revision

Two-Component Fluid Membranes Near Repulsive Walls: Linearized Hydrodynamics of Equilibrium and Non-equilibrium States

We study the linearized hydrodynamics of a two-component fluid membrane near a repulsive wall, via a model which incorporates curvature- concentration coupling as well as hydrodynamic interactions. This model is a simplified version of a recently proposed one [J.-B. Manneville et al. Phys. Rev. E, 64, 021908 (2001)] for non-equilibrium force-centres embedded in fluid membranes, such as light-activated bacteriorhodopsin pumps incorporated in phospholipid (EPC) bilayers. The pump/membrane system is modeled as an impermeable, two-component bilayer fluid membrane in the presence of an ambient solvent, in which one component, representing active pumps, is described in terms of force dipoles displaced with respect to the bilayer midpoint. We first discuss the case in which such pumps are rendered inactive, computing the mode structure in the bulk as well as the modification of hydrodynamic properties by the presence of a nearby wall. We then discuss the fluctuations and mode structure in steady state of active two-component membranes near a repulsive wall. We find that proximity to the wall smoothens membrane height fluctuations in the stable regime, resulting in a logarithmic scaling of the roughness even for initially tensionless membranes. This explicitly non-equilibrium result, a consequence of the incorporation of curvature-concentration coupling in our treatment, also indicates that earlier scaling arguments which obtained an increase in the roughness of active membranes near repulsive walls may need to be reevaluated.Comment: 39 page Latex file, 3 encapsulated Postscript figure

dS-Holographic C-Functions with a Topological, Dilatonic Twist

Recently, the holographic aspects of asymptotically de Sitter spacetimes have generated substantial literary interest. The plot continues in this paper, as we investigate a certain class of dilatonically deformed ``topological'' de Sitter solutions (which were introduced in hep-th/0110234). Although such solutions possess a detrimental cosmological singularity, their interpretation from a holographic perspective remains somewhat unclear. The current focus is on the associated generalized $C$-functions, which are shown to maintain their usual monotonicity properties in spite of this exotic framework. These findings suggest that such topological solutions may still play a role in our understanding of quantum gravity with a positive cosmological constant.Comment: Latex, 30 pages; reference added and minor changes to tex

The Seiberg-Witten Map for a Time-dependent Background

In this paper the Seiberg-Witten map for a time-dependent background related to a null-brane orbifold is studied. The commutation relations of the coordinates are linear, i.e. it is an example of the Lie algebra type. The equivalence map between the Kontsevich star product for this background and the Weyl-Moyal star product for a background with constant noncommutativity parameter is also studied.Comment: latex, 13 pages, references added and some misprints correcte

On plane wave and vortex-like solutions of noncommutative Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory

We investigate the spectrum of the gauge theory with Chern-Simons term on the noncommutative plane, a modification of the description of the Quantum Hall fluid recently proposed by Susskind. We find a series of the noncommutative massive ``plane wave'' solutions with polarization dependent on the magnitude of the wave-vector. The mass of each branch is fixed by the quantization condition imposed on the coefficient of the noncommutative Chern-Simons term. For the radially symmetric ansatz a vortex-like solution is found and investigated. We derive a nonlinear difference equation describing these solutions and we find their asymptotic form. These excitations should be relevant in describing the Quantum Hall transitions between plateaus and the end transition to the Hall Insulator.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX (JHEP), 1 figure, added references, version accepted to JHE

Towards a Resolution of the Cosmological Singularity in Non-local Higher Derivative Theories of Gravity

One of the greatest problems of standard cosmology is the Big Bang singularity. Previously it has been shown that non-local ghostfree higher-derivative modifications of Einstein gravity in the ultra-violet regime can admit non-singular bouncing solutions. In this paper we study in more details the dynamical properties of the equations of motion for these theories of gravity in presence of positive and negative cosmological constants and radiation. We find stable inflationary attractor solutions in the presence of a positive cosmological constant which renders inflation {\it geodesically complete}, while in the presence of a negative cosmological constant a cyclic universe emerges. We also provide an algorithm for tracking the super-Hubble perturbations during the bounce and show that the bouncing solutions are free from any perturbative instability.Comment: 38 pages, 6 figures. V2: Added: a word to the title, clarifications, an appendix, many references. To appear in JCA

General Brane Geometries from Scalar Potentials: Gauged Supergravities and Accelerating Universes

We find broad classes of solutions to the field equations for d-dimensional gravity coupled to an antisymmetric tensor of arbitrary rank and a scalar field with non-vanishing potential. Our construction generates these configurations from the solution of a single nonlinear ordinary differential equation, whose form depends on the scalar potential. For an exponential potential we find solutions corresponding to brane geometries, generalizing the black p-branes and S-branes known for the case of vanishing potential. These geometries are singular at the origin with up to two (regular) horizons. Their asymptotic behaviour depends on the parameters of the model. When the singularity has negative tension or the cosmological constant is positive we find time-dependent configurations describing accelerating universes. Special cases give explicit brane geometries for (compact and non-compact) gauged supergravities in various dimensions, as well as for massive 10D supergravity, and we discuss their interrelation. Some examples lift to give new solutions to 10D supergravity. Limiting cases with a domain wall structure preserve part of the supersymmetries of the vacuum. We also consider more general potentials, including sums of exponentials. Exact solutions are found for these with up to three horizons, having potentially interesting cosmological interpretation. We give several additional examples which illustrate the power of our techniques.Comment: 54 pages, 6 figures. Uses JHEP3. Published versio

Genome-Wide Association of Kidney Traits in Hispanics/Latinos Using Dense Imputed Whole-Genome Sequencing Data: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Background: Genetic factors that influence kidney traits have been understudied for low-frequency and ancestry-specific variants. Methods: This study used imputed whole-genome sequencing from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine project to identify novel loci for estimated glomerular filtration rate and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio in up to 12 207 Hispanics/Latinos. Replication was performed in the Women's Health Initiative and the UK Biobank when variants were available. Results: Two low-frequency intronic variants were associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (rs58720902 at AQR, minor allele frequency=0.01, P=1.6×10-8) or urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (rs527493184 at ZBTB16, minor allele frequency=0.002, P=1.1×10-8). An additional variant at PRNT (rs2422935, minor allele frequency=0.54, P=2.89×10-8) was significantly associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate in meta-analysis with replication samples. We also identified 2 known loci for urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (BCL2L11 rs116907128, P=5.6×10-8and HBB rs344, P=9.3×10-11) and validated 8 loci for urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio previously identified in the UK Biobank. Conclusions: Our study shows gains in gene discovery when using dense imputation from multi-ethnic whole-genome sequencing data in admixed Hispanics/Latinos. It also highlights limitations in genetic research of kidney traits, including the lack of suitable replication samples for variants that are more common in non-European ancestry and those at low frequency in populations