A smooth entropy approach to quantum hypothesis testing and the classical capacity of quantum channels

We use the smooth entropy approach to treat the problems of binary quantum hypothesis testing and the transmission of classical information through a quantum channel. We provide lower and upper bounds on the optimal type II error of quantum hypothesis testing in terms of the smooth max-relative entropy of the two states representing the two hypotheses. Using then a relative entropy version of the Quantum Asymptotic Equipartition Property (QAEP), we can recover the strong converse rate of the i.i.d. hypothesis testing problem in the asymptotics. On the other hand, combining Stein's lemma with our bounds, we obtain a stronger (\ep-independent) version of the relative entropy-QAEP. Similarly, we provide bounds on the one-shot \ep-error classical capacity of a quantum channel in terms of a smooth max-relative entropy variant of its Holevo capacity. Using these bounds and the \ep-independent version of the relative entropy-QAEP, we can recover both the Holevo-Schumacher-Westmoreland theorem about the optimal direct rate of a memoryless quantum channel with product state encoding, as well as its strong converse counterpart.Comment: v4: Title changed, improved bounds, both direct and strong converse rates are covered, a new Discussion section added. 20 page

Concurrent Magnetic and Metal-Insulator Transitions in (Eu,Sm)B_6 Single Crystals

The effects of magnetic doping on a EuB_6 single crystal were investigated based on magnetic and transport measurements. A modest 5% Sm substitution for Eu changes the magnetic and transport properties dramatically and gives rise to concurrent antiferromagnetic and metal-insulator transitions (MIT) from ferromagnetic MIT for EuB6. Magnetic doping simultaneously changes the itinerant carrier density and the magnetic interactions. We discuss the origin of the concurrent magnetic MIT in (Eu,Sm)B_6.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, final version to appear in Appl. Phys. Lett

Activation of the HTLV-I Long Terminal Repeat by the Hepatitis B Virus X Protein

AbstractThe human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) Tax protein and the hepatitis B virus (HBV) X protein have each been shown to activate transcription of their respective viral promoters as well as a subset of cellular gene promoters. Here we show that the HTLV-I long terminal repeat (LTR) is responsive to HBV X transactivation. Maximum levels of X-mediated transactivation of the LTR were 8-fold. An X-responsive-region (XRR) of the LTR is located between nucleotides −355 and −276 and contains an AP-2 binding site, a previously recognized X-responsive element. We demonstrated that Tax and X synergize to activate transcription from the HTLV-I LTR, although the AP-2 binding site was not required for this synergy. These results raise the possibility that the HBV X protein may affect the level of HTLV-I gene expression in co-infected individuals

Incidence and Outcomes Associated With Clostridium difficile Infections: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Importance: An understanding of the incidence and outcomes of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in the United States can inform investments in prevention and treatment interventions. Objective: To quantify the incidence of CDI and its associated hospital length of stay (LOS) in the United States using a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Data Sources: MEDLINE via Ovid, Cochrane Library Databases via Wiley, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Complete via EBSCO Information Services, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for studies published in the United States between 2000 and 2019 that evaluated CDI and its associated LOS. Study Selection: Incidence data were collected only from multicenter studies that had at least 5 sites. The LOS studies were included only if they assessed postinfection LOS or used methods accounting for time to infection using a multistate model or compared propensity score-matched patients with CDI with control patients without CDI. Long-term-care facility studies were excluded. Of the 119 full-text articles, 86 studies (72.3%) met the selection criteria. Data Extraction and Synthesis: Two independent reviewers performed the data abstraction and quality assessment. Incidence data were pooled only when the denominators used the same units (eg, patient-days). These data were pooled by summing the number of hospital-onset CDI incident cases and the denominators across studies. Random-effects models were used to obtain pooled mean differences. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 value. Data analysis was performed in February 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures: Incidence of CDI and CDI-associated hospital LOS in the United States. Results: When the 13 studies that evaluated incidence data in patient-days due to hospital-onset CDI were pooled, the CDI incidence rate was 8.3 cases per 10 000 patient-days. Among propensity score-matched studies (16 of 20 studies), the CDI-associated mean difference in LOS (in days) between patients with and without CDI varied from 3.0 days (95% CI, 1.44-4.63 days) to 21.6 days (95% CI, 19.29-23.90 days). Conclusions and Relevance: Pooled estimates from currently available literature suggest that CDI is associated with a large burden on the health care system. However, these estimates should be interpreted with caution because higher-quality studies should be completed to guide future evaluations of CDI prevention and treatment interventions

B -> Xs l_i^+ l_j^+ Decays with R-parity Violation

We derive the upper bounds on certain products of R-parity- and lepton-flavor-violating couplings from B \ra X_s {l_i}^+ {l_j}^- decays. These modes of B-meson decays can constrain the product combinations of the couplings with one or more heavy generation indices which are comparable with or stronger than the present bounds. From the studies of the invariant dilepton mass spectrum and the forward backward asymmetry of the emitted leptons we note the possibility of detecting R-parity-violating signals even when the total decay rate due to R-parity violating couplings is comparable with that in the standard model and discriminating two types of R-parity-violating signals. The general expectation of the enhancement of the forward backward asymmetry of the emitted leptons in the minimal supersymmetric standard model with R-parity may be corrupted by R-parity violation.Comment: 10 pages, Revtex, 1 table and 2 figure

Near-Infrared Survey and Photometric Redshifts in the Extended GOODS-North field

We present deep $J$ and $H$-band images in the extended Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-North (GOODS-N) field covering an area of 0.22 $\rm{deg}^{2}$. The observations were taken using WIRCam on the 3.6-m Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). Together with the reprocessed $K_{\rm s}$-band image, the $5\sigma$ limiting AB magnitudes (in 2" diameter apertures) are 24.7, 24.2, and 24.4 AB mag in the $J$, $H$, and $K_{\rm s}$ bands, respectively. We also release a multi-band photometry and photometric redshift catalog containing 93598 sources. For non-X-ray sources, we obtained a photometric redshift accuracy $\sigma_{\mathrm{NMAD}}=0.036$ with an outlier fraction $\eta = 7.3\%$. For X-ray sources, which are mainly active galactic nuclei (AGNs), we cross-matched our catalog with the updated 2M-CDFN X-ray catalog from Xue et al. (2016) and found that 658 out of 683 X-ray sources have counterparts. $GALEX$ UV data are included in the photometric redshift computation for the X-ray sources to give $\sigma_{\mathrm{NMAD}} = 0.040$ with $\eta=10.5\%$. Our approach yields more accurate photometric redshift estimates compared to previous works in this field. In particular, by adopting AGN-galaxy hybrid templates, our approach delivers photometric redshifts for the X-ray counterparts with fewer outliers compared to the 3D-HST catalog, which fit these sources with galaxy-only templates

Use of quercetin in animal feed : effects on the P-gp expression and pharmacokinetics of orally administrated enrofloxacin in chicken

Modulation of P-glycoprotein (P-gp, encoded by Mdr1) by xenobiotics plays central role in pharmacokinetics of various drugs. Quercetin has a potential to modulate P-gp in rodents, however, its effects on P-gp modulation in chicken are still unclear. Herein, study reports role of quercetin in modulation of P-gp expression and subsequent effects on the pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin in broilers. Results show that P-gp expression was increased in a dose-dependent manner following exposure to quercetin in Caco-2 cells and tissues of chicken. Absorption rate constant and apparent permeability coefficient of rhodamine 123 were decreased, reflecting efflux function of P-gp in chicken intestine increased by quercetin. Quercetin altered pharmacokinetic of enrofloxacin by decreasing area under curve, peak concentration, and time to reach peak concentration and by increasing clearance rate. Molecular docking shows quercetin can form favorable interactions with binding pocket of chicken xenobiotic receptor (CXR). Results provide convincing evidence that quercetin induced P-gp expression in tissues by possible interaction with CXR, and consequently reducing bioavailability of orally administered enrofloxacin through restricting its intestinal absorption and liver/kidney clearance in broilers. The results can be further extended to guide reasonable use of quercetin to avoid drug-feed interaction occurred with co-administered enrofloxacin or other similar antimicrobials.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Theory of Diluted Magnetic Semiconductor Ferromagnetism

We present a theory of carrier-induced ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors (III_{1-x} Mn_x V) which allows for arbitrary itinerant-carrier spin polarization and dynamic correlations. Both ingredients are essential in identifying the system's elementary excitations and describing their properties. We find a branch of collective modes, in addition to the spin waves and Stoner continuum which occur in metallic ferromagnets, and predict that the low-temperature spin stiffness is independent of the strength of the exchange coupling between magnetic ions and itinerant carriers. We discuss the temperature dependence of the magnetization and the heat capacity

Structure of the first representative of Pfam family PF04016 (DUF364) reveals enolase and Rossmann-like folds that combine to form a unique active site with a possible role in heavy-metal chelation.

The crystal structure of Dhaf4260 from Desulfitobacterium hafniense DCB-2 was determined by single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD) to a resolution of 2.01 Å using the semi-automated high-throughput pipeline of the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG) as part of the NIGMS Protein Structure Initiative (PSI). This protein structure is the first representative of the PF04016 (DUF364) Pfam family and reveals a novel combination of two well known domains (an enolase N-terminal-like fold followed by a Rossmann-like domain). Structural and bioinformatic analyses reveal partial similarities to Rossmann-like methyltransferases, with residues from the enolase-like fold combining to form a unique active site that is likely to be involved in the condensation or hydrolysis of molecules implicated in the synthesis of flavins, pterins or other siderophores. The genome context of Dhaf4260 and homologs additionally supports a role in heavy-metal chelation

Using fuzzy PROMETHEE to select countries for developmental Aid

Wealthy nations continue to demonstrate their unwavering support to improving conditions and the general well-being of poor countries in spite of the recent economic crises. However, as developmental aid relatively shrinks, both Aid donors and recipient countries have shown keen interest in methodologies used in evaluating developmental assistance programs. Evaluation of aid programs is seen as a complex task mainly because of the several non-aid factors that tend to affect overall outcomes. Adding to the complexity are the subjective sets of criteria used in Aid evaluations programs. This paper proposes a two stage framework of fuzzy TOPSIS and sensitivity analysis to demonstrate how aid-recipient countries can be evaluated to deepen transparency, fairness, value for money and sustainability of such aid programs. Using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) set of subjective criteria for evaluating aid programs; a numerical examplepre-defined by linguistic terms parameterized by triangular fuzzy numbers is provided to evaluate aid programs. Fuzzy PROMETHEE is used in the first stage to evaluate and rank aid-recipients followed by a comparative analysis with Fuzzy VIKOR and Fuzzy TOPSIS to ascertain an accurateness of the method used. A sensitivity analysis is further added that anticipates possible influences from lobbyists and examines the effect of that bias in expert ratings on the evaluation process. The result shows a framework that can be employed in evaluating aid effectiveness of recipient-countries