On Match Lengths, Zero Entropy and Large Deviations - with Application to Sliding Window Lempel-Ziv Algorithm

The Sliding Window Lempel-Ziv (SWLZ) algorithm that makes use of recurrence times and match lengths has been studied from various perspectives in information theory literature. In this paper, we undertake a finer study of these quantities under two different scenarios, i) \emph{zero entropy} sources that are characterized by strong long-term memory, and ii) the processes with weak memory as described through various mixing conditions. For zero entropy sources, a general statement on match length is obtained. It is used in the proof of almost sure optimality of Fixed Shift Variant of Lempel-Ziv (FSLZ) and SWLZ algorithms given in literature. Through an example of stationary and ergodic processes generated by an irrational rotation we establish that for a window of size $n_w$, a compression ratio given by $O(\frac{\log n_w}{{n_w}^a})$ where $a$ depends on $n_w$ and approaches 1 as $n_w \rightarrow \infty$, is obtained under the application of FSLZ and SWLZ algorithms. Also, we give a general expression for the compression ratio for a class of stationary and ergodic processes with zero entropy. Next, we extend the study of Ornstein and Weiss on the asymptotic behavior of the \emph{normalized} version of recurrence times and establish the \emph{large deviation property} (LDP) for a class of mixing processes. Also, an estimator of entropy based on recurrence times is proposed for which large deviation principle is proved for sources satisfying similar mixing conditions.Comment: accepted to appear in IEEE Transactions on Information Theor

2N2N qubit "mirror states" for optimal quantum communication

We introduce a new genuinely 2N qubit state, known as the "mirror state" with interesting entanglement properties. The well known Bell and the cluster states form a special case of these "mirror states", for N=1 and N=2 respectively. It can be experimentally realized using $SWAP$ and multiply controlled phase shift operations. After establishing the general conditions for a state to be useful for various communicational protocols involving quantum and classical information, it is shown that the present state can optimally implement algorithms for the quantum teleportation of an arbitrary N qubit state and achieve quantum information splitting in all possible ways. With regard to superdense coding, one can send 2N classical bits by sending only N qubits and consuming N ebits of entanglement. Explicit comparison of the mirror state with the rearranged N Bell pairs and the linear cluster states is considered for these quantum protocols. We also show that mirror states are more robust than the rearranged Bell pairs with respect to a certain class of collisional decoherence.Comment: To be published in EPJ

Prevalence Of Tuberculin Skin Test Positivity In Patients Of Early Rheumatoid Arthritis- Study from a tertiary care centre in North India.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of tuberculin skin test (TST) positivity in early rheumatoid arthritis patients (< 6months disease duration) using Tuberculin sensitivity testing in a TB endemic country. Method: Included in this cross-sectional study were 200 patients of early rheumatoid arthritis divided into three groups- treatment naïve, patients on methotrexate only and methotrexate plus low dose corticosteroids. Results: 200 early RA patients and 60 healthy controls were included in this study. The median age of the study population was 43 years (IQR 33-51) with a mean disease duration of 3.4 ± 2.1 months. 54 patients (27%) with early RA and 22 healthy control (36.7%) had TST positive (p=0.1). Conclusion: Tuberculin positivity is low among patients with early RA as compared to the general population. The use of low dose steroids or methotrexate doesn’t affect the tuberculin anergy

Talk2BEV: Language-enhanced Bird's-eye View Maps for Autonomous Driving

Talk2BEV is a large vision-language model (LVLM) interface for bird's-eye view (BEV) maps in autonomous driving contexts. While existing perception systems for autonomous driving scenarios have largely focused on a pre-defined (closed) set of object categories and driving scenarios, Talk2BEV blends recent advances in general-purpose language and vision models with BEV-structured map representations, eliminating the need for task-specific models. This enables a single system to cater to a variety of autonomous driving tasks encompassing visual and spatial reasoning, predicting the intents of traffic actors, and decision-making based on visual cues. We extensively evaluate Talk2BEV on a large number of scene understanding tasks that rely on both the ability to interpret free-form natural language queries, and in grounding these queries to the visual context embedded into the language-enhanced BEV map. To enable further research in LVLMs for autonomous driving scenarios, we develop and release Talk2BEV-Bench, a benchmark encompassing 1000 human-annotated BEV scenarios, with more than 20,000 questions and ground-truth responses from the NuScenes dataset.Comment: Project page at https://llmbev.github.io/talk2bev

Anterior Segmental Distraction Osteogenesis in the Hypoplastic Cleft Maxilla : Report of five cases

Orthognathic surgery and distraction osteogenesis play a prime role in the correction of maxillary hypoplasia in patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP). Advancement of the anterior maxilla alone without interfering with the velopharyngeal sphincter may be advantageous in cleft patients, who more commonly have speech deficits and dental crowding. We present a case series of anterior maxillary segmental distraction for maxillary hypoplasia in 5 CLP patients with a one-year follow-up. A custom-made tooth-borne distraction device with a hyrax screw positioned anteroposteriorly was used. The evaluation comprised of hard and soft tissue analysis and speech assessment. A stable occlusion with positive overjet and correction of dental-crowding without extraction was achieved at one year post-distraction. Facial profile and lip support improved. There was no deterioration in speech

Amino Acids Are an Ineffective Fertilizer for Dunaliella spp. Growth

Autotrophic microalgae are a promising bioproducts platform. However, the fundamental requirements these organisms have for nitrogen fertilizer severely limit the impact and scale of their cultivation. As an alternative to inorganic fertilizers, we investigated the possibility of using amino acids from deconstructed biomass as a nitrogen source in the genus Dunaliella. We found that only four amino acids (glutamine, histidine, cysteine, and tryptophan) rescue Dunaliella spp. growth in nitrogen depleted media, and that supplementation of these amino acids altered the metabolic profile of Dunaliella cells. Our investigations revealed that histidine is transported across the cell membrane, and that glutamine and cysteine are not transported. Rather, glutamine, cysteine, and tryptophan are degraded in solution by a set of oxidative chemical reactions, releasing ammonium that in turn supports growth. Utilization of biomass-derived amino acids is therefore not a suitable option unless additional amino acid nitrogen uptake is enabled through genetic modifications of these algae

Research priorities in Maternal, Newborn, & Child Health & Nutrition for India:An Indian Council of Medical Research-INCLEN Initiative

In India, research prioritization in Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN) themes has traditionally involved only a handful of experts mostly from major cities. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-INCLEN collaboration undertook a nationwide exercise engaging faculty from 256 institutions to identify top research priorities in the MNCHN themes for 2016-2025. The Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative method of priority setting was adapted. The context of the exercise was defined by a National Steering Group (NSG) and guided by four Thematic Research Subcommittees. Research ideas were pooled from 498 experts located in different parts of India, iteratively consolidated into research options, scored by 893 experts against five pre-defined criteria (answerability, relevance, equity, investment and innovation) and weighed by a larger reference group. Ranked lists of priorities were generated for each of the four themes at national and three subnational (regional) levels [Empowered Action Group & North-Eastern States, Southern and Western States, & Northern States (including West Bengal)]. Research priorities differed between regions and from overall national priorities. Delivery domain of research which included implementation research constituted about 70 per cent of the top ten research options under all four themes. The results were endorsed in the NSG meeting. There was unanimity that the research priorities should be considered by different governmental and non-governmental agencies for investment with prioritization on implementation research and issues cutting across themes

Measurement of associated Z plus charm production in proton-proton collisions at root s=8TeV

A study of the associated production of a Z boson and a charm quark jet (Z + c), and a comparison to production with a b quark jet (Z + b), in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV are presented. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1), collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The Z boson candidates are identified through their decays into pairs of electrons or muons. Jets originating from heavy flavour quarks are identified using semileptonic decays of c or b flavoured hadrons and hadronic decays of charm hadrons. The measurements are performed in the kinematic region with two leptons with pT(l) > 20 GeV, vertical bar eta(l)vertical bar 25 GeV and vertical bar eta(jet)vertical bar Z + c + X) B(Z -> l(+)l(-)) = 8.8 +/- 0.5 (stat)+/- 0.6 (syst) pb. The ratio of the Z+c and Z+b production cross sections is measured to be sigma(pp -> Z+c+X)/sigma (pp -> Z+b+X) = 2.0 +/- 0.2 (stat)+/- 0.2 (syst). The Z+c production cross section and the cross section ratio are also measured as a function of the transverse momentum of theZ boson and of the heavy flavour jet. The measurements are compared with theoretical predictions.Peer reviewe

Search for a singly produced third-generation scalar leptoquark decaying to a tau lepton and a bottom quark in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for a singly produced third-generation scalar leptoquark decaying to a tau lepton and a bottom quark. Associated production of a leptoquark and a tau lepton is considered, leading to a final state with a bottom quark and two tau leptons. The search uses proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the production cross section of the third-generation scalar leptoquarks as a function of their mass. From a comparison of the results with the theoretical predictions, a third-generation scalar leptoquark decaying to a tau lepton and a bottom quark, assuming unit Yukawa coupling (lambda), is excluded for masses below 740 GeV. Limits are also set on lambda of the hypothesized leptoquark as a function of its mass. Above lambda = 1.4, this result provides the best upper limit on the mass of a third-generation scalar leptoquark decaying to a tau lepton and a bottom quark.Peer reviewe