6,260 research outputs found
Keyword-Based Delegable Proofs of Storage
Cloud users (clients) with limited storage capacity at their end can
outsource bulk data to the cloud storage server. A client can later access her
data by downloading the required data files. However, a large fraction of the
data files the client outsources to the server is often archival in nature that
the client uses for backup purposes and accesses less frequently. An untrusted
server can thus delete some of these archival data files in order to save some
space (and allocate the same to other clients) without being detected by the
client (data owner). Proofs of storage enable the client to audit her data
files uploaded to the server in order to ensure the integrity of those files.
In this work, we introduce one type of (selective) proofs of storage that we
call keyword-based delegable proofs of storage, where the client wants to audit
all her data files containing a specific keyword (e.g., "important"). Moreover,
it satisfies the notion of public verifiability where the client can delegate
the auditing task to a third-party auditor who audits the set of files
corresponding to the keyword on behalf of the client. We formally define the
security of a keyword-based delegable proof-of-storage protocol. We construct
such a protocol based on an existing proof-of-storage scheme and analyze the
security of our protocol. We argue that the techniques we use can be applied
atop any existing publicly verifiable proof-of-storage scheme for static data.
Finally, we discuss the efficiency of our construction.Comment: A preliminary version of this work has been published in
International Conference on Information Security Practice and Experience
(ISPEC 2018
Entecavir versus lamivudine for patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B
BACKGROUND: Entecavir is a potent and selective antiviral agent that has demonstrated efficacy in phase 2 studies in patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: In this phase 3, double-blind trial, we randomly assigned 648 patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B who had not previously been treated with a nucleoside analogue to receive 0.5 mg of entecavir or 100 mg of lamivudine once daily for a minimum of 52 weeks. The primary efficacy end point was histologic improvement (a decrease by at least two points in the Knodell necroinflammatory score, without worsening of fibrosis). RESULTS: Histologic improvement after 48 weeks of treatment occurred in 208 of 296 patients in the entecavir group who had adequate baseline liver-biopsy specimens that could be evaluated (70 percent), as compared with 174 of 287 such patients in the lamivudine group (61 percent, P=0.01). More patients in the entecavir group than in the lamivudine group had undetectable serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels according to a polymerase-chain- reaction assay (90 percent vs. 72 percent, P<0.001) and normalization of alanine aminotransferase levels (78 percent vs. 71 percent, P = 0.045). The mean reduction in serum HBV DNA levels from baseline to week 48 was greater with entecavir than with lamivudine (5.0 vs. 4.5 log [on a base-10 scale] copies per milliliter, P<0.001). There was no evidence of resistance to entecavir. Safety and adverse-event profiles were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B who had not previously been treated with a nucleoside analogue, the rates of histologic improvement, virologic response, and normalization of alanine aminotransferase levels were significantly higher at 48 weeks with entecavir than with lamivudine. The safety profile of the two agents was similar, and there was no evidence of viral resistance to entecavir. Copyright © 2006 Massachusetts Medical Society.published_or_final_versio
Measuring vertebrate telomeres: applications and limitations
Telomeres are short tandem repeated sequences of DNA found at the ends of eukaryotic
chromosomes that function in stabilizing chromosomal end integrity.
In vivo
studies of
somatic tissue of mammals and birds have shown a correlation between telomere length and
organismal age within species, and correlations between telomere shortening rate and
lifespan among species. This result presents the tantalizing possibility that telomere length
could be used to provide much needed information on age, ageing and survival in natural
populations where longitudinal studies are lacking. Here we review methods available for
measuring telomere length and discuss the potential uses and limitations of telomeres as
age and ageing estimators in the fields of vertebrate ecology, evolution and conservation
Sensory Measurements: Coordination and Standardization
Do sensory measurements deserve the label of “measurement”? We argue that they do. They fit with an epistemological view of measurement held in current philosophy of science, and they face the same kinds of epistemological challenges as physical measurements do: the problem of coordination and the problem of standardization. These problems are addressed through the process of “epistemic iteration,” for all measurements. We also argue for distinguishing the problem of standardization from the problem of coordination. To exemplify our claims, we draw on olfactory performance tests, especially studies linking olfactory decline to neurodegenerative disorders
Entanglement Entropy of 3-d Conformal Gauge Theories with Many Flavors
Three-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) of deconfined gauge fields
coupled to gapless flavors of fermionic and bosonic matter describe quantum
critical points of condensed matter systems in two spatial dimensions. An
important characteristic of these CFTs is the finite part of the entanglement
entropy across a circle. The negative of this quantity is equal to the finite
part of the free energy of the Euclidean CFT on the three-sphere, and it has
been proposed to satisfy the so called F-theorem, which states that it
decreases under RG flow and is stationary at RG fixed points. We calculate the
three-sphere free energy of non-supersymmetric gauge theory with a large number
N_F of bosonic and/or fermionic flavors to the first subleading order in 1/N_F.
We also calculate the exact free energies of the analogous chiral and
non-chiral {\cal N} = 2 supersymmetric theories using localization, and find
agreement with the 1/N_F expansion. We analyze some RG flows of supersymmetric
theories, providing further evidence for the F-theorem.Comment: 31 pages, 2 figures; v2 refs added, minor change
Rectification of electronic heat current by a hybrid thermal diode
We report the realization of an ultra-efficient low-temperature hybrid heat
current rectifier, thermal counterpart of the well-known electric diode. Our
design is based on a tunnel junction between two different elements: a normal
metal and a superconducting island. Electronic heat current asymmetry in the
structure arises from large mismatch between the thermal properties of these
two. We demonstrate experimentally temperature differences exceeding mK
between the forward and reverse thermal bias configurations. Our device offers
a remarkably large heat rectification ratio up to and allows its
prompt implementation in true solid-state thermal nanocircuits and
general-purpose electronic applications requiring energy harvesting or thermal
management and isolation at the nanoscale.Comment: 8 pages, 6 color figure
Voxel-wise comparisons of cellular microstructure and diffusion-MRI in mouse hippocampus using 3D Bridging of Optically-clear histology with Neuroimaging Data (3D-BOND)
A key challenge in medical imaging is determining a precise correspondence between image properties and tissue microstructure. This comparison is hindered by disparate scales and resolutions between medical imaging and histology. We present a new technique, 3D Bridging of Optically-clear histology with Neuroimaging Data (3D-BOND), for registering medical images with 3D histology to overcome these limitations. Ex vivo 120 × 120 × 200 μm resolution diffusion-MRI (dMRI) data was acquired at 7 T from adult C57Bl/6 mouse hippocampus. Tissue was then optically cleared using CLARITY and stained with cellular markers and confocal microscopy used to produce high-resolution images of the 3D-tissue microstructure. For each sample, a dense array of hippocampal landmarks was used to drive registration between upsampled dMRI data and the corresponding confocal images. The cell population in each MRI voxel was determined within hippocampal subregions and compared to MRI-derived metrics. 3D-BOND provided robust voxel-wise, cellular correlates of dMRI data. CA1 pyramidal and dentate gyrus granular layers had significantly different mean diffusivity (p > 0.001), which was related to microstructural features. Overall, mean and radial diffusivity correlated with cell and axon density and fractional anisotropy with astrocyte density, while apparent fibre density correlated negatively with axon density. Astrocytes, axons and blood vessels correlated to tensor orientation
The Regge Limit for Green Functions in Conformal Field Theory
We define a Regge limit for off-shell Green functions in quantum field
theory, and study it in the particular case of conformal field theories (CFT).
Our limit differs from that defined in arXiv:0801.3002, the latter being only a
particular corner of the Regge regime. By studying the limit for free CFTs, we
are able to reproduce the Low-Nussinov, BFKL approach to the pomeron at weak
coupling. The dominance of Feynman graphs where only two high momentum lines
are exchanged in the t-channel, follows simply from the free field analysis. We
can then define the BFKL kernel in terms of the two point function of a simple
light-like bilocal operator. We also include a brief discussion of the gravity
dual predictions for the Regge limit at strong coupling.Comment: 23 pages 2 figures, v2: Clarification of relation of the Regge limit
defined here and previous work in CFT. Clarification of causal orderings in
the limit. References adde
Light States in Chern-Simons Theory Coupled to Fundamental Matter
Motivated by developments in vectorlike holography, we study SU(N)
Chern-Simons theory coupled to matter fields in the fundamental representation
on various spatial manifolds. On the spatial torus T^2, we find light states at
small `t Hooft coupling \lambda=N/k, where k is the Chern-Simons level, taken
to be large. In the free scalar theory the gaps are of order \sqrt {\lambda}/N
and in the critical scalar theory and the free fermion theory they are of order
\lambda/N. The entropy of these states grows like N Log(k). We briefly consider
spatial surfaces of higher genus. Based on results from pure Chern-Simons
theory, it appears that there are light states with entropy that grows even
faster, like N^2 Log(k). This is consistent with the log of the partition
function on the three sphere S^3, which also behaves like N^2 Log(k). These
light states require bulk dynamics beyond standard Vasiliev higher spin gravity
to explain them.Comment: 58 pages, LaTeX, no figures, Minor error corrected, references added,
The main results of the paper have not change
On the coset duals of extended higher spin theories
We study the holographic duality between the M x M matrix extension of
Vasiliev higher spin theories on AdS3 and the large N limit of SU(N+M)/SU(N) x
U(1) type cosets. We present a simplified proof for the agreement of the
spectra and clarify the relation between this duality and the version in which
the cosets are replaced by Kazama-Suzuki models of Grassmannian type.Comment: 27 pages, 1 tabl
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