Semi-device-independent randomness from d -outcome continuous-variable detection

Recently, semi-device-independent protocols have attracted increasing attention, guaranteeing security with few hypotheses and experimental simplicity. In this paper, we demonstrate a many-outcome scheme with binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) for a semi-device-independent protocol based on the energy assumption. We show in theory that the number of certified random bits of the d-outcome system outperforms the standard scheme (binary outcomes). Furthermore, we compare the results of two well-known measurement schemes, homodyne detection and heterodyne detection. Taking into account the experimental imperfections, we discuss the experimental feasibility of the d-outcome design, and finally, we experimentally validate this approach with an experiment based on BPSK modulation and heterodyne detection

Co-administration of CpG oligonucleotides and Chenopodium album extract reverse IgG2a/IgG1 ratios and increase IFN-gamma and IL-10 productions in a murine model of asthma

Asthma is a disorder of increasing severity and prevalence. Recent knowledge about the pathogenesis of asthma emphasizes its inflammatory nature. CpG oligonucleotides are a class of compounds containing motifs based on the cytosine-guanine dinucleotides (CpG-ODNs). These motifs are suppressed in mammalian DNA. They induce inflammation in mammals characterized by the induction of T helper type 1 and regulatory responses. In this paper, the effect of CpG DNA co-administration with a homemade Chenopodium album (Ch.a) extract in a murine model of asthma is reported for the first time. Balb/C mice were sensitized using Ch.a. pollen allergenic extract plus CpG-ODNs intraperitoneally and were challenged with aerosolized allergen. Results measured included IL-10 and IFN-gamma cytokines as well as IgG subclasses. For this, splenocytes from mice treated with CpG/Ag or Ag alone, were cultured in the presence of antigen. The results showed that CpG ODN administered at the time of Ch.a sensitization, effectively increased cytokines and IgG2a/IgG1 ratios compared with those in mice treated with antigen or with PBS alone(P� 0.001). Our experiments revealed that Ch.a. sensitization decreased IgG2a/IgG1 compared with non-sensitized mice (P� 0.001), while CpG ODN/Ch.a reversed this ratio, indicating CpG potentials towards IgG2a subclass switching. We conclude that Co- administration of Ch.a. allergen and CpG ODN prevents the development of TH2-mediated response probably through the IL-10 regulatory effects. Thus, these components could be used with the other allergens in order to induce the prevention of inflammatory conditions. We suggest further studies are necessary to identify the potential effects of CpG-ODNs administration in conjunction with other antigens prepared from the regional allergens in Iran. Taken together, we suppose that the results obtained in this study in animal models may be useful in human trials conducted by other investigators. Copyright© 2008, Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. All rights reserved

Unbounded randomness from uncharacterized sources

Randomness is a central feature of quantum mechanics and an invaluable resource for both classical and quantum technologies. Commonly, in Device-Independent and Semi-Device-Independent scenarios, randomness is certified using projective measurements, and its amount is bounded by the quantum system's dimension. Here, we propose a Source-Device-Independent protocol, based on Positive Operator Valued Measurement (POVM), which can arbitrarily increase the number of certified bits for any fixed dimension. Additionally, the proposed protocol doesn't require an initial seed and active basis switching, simplifying its experimental implementation and increasing the generation rates. A tight lower-bound on the quantum conditional min-entropy is derived using only the POVM structure and the experimental expectation values, taking into account the quantum side-information. For symmetric POVM on the Bloch sphere, we derive closed-form analytical bounds. Finally, we experimentally demonstrate our method with a compact and simple photonic setup that employs polarization-encoded qubits and POVM up to 6 outcomes.The laws of quantum mechanics allow for the generation of genuine random numbers, but quantum random number generation schemes need additional assumptions on the sources and detection to ensure the security and their generation is limited by the system's dimension. The authors propose and experimentally demonstrate a quantum random number generation scheme based on positive operator valued measurements, lifting the requirement of a trusted source which can arbitrarily increase the number of certified bits for any dimension

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy screening and the related risk factors to its prevalence in people with type 2 diabetes

Background: Diabetes peripheral neuropathy commonly occurs among people with diabetes, accounting for a large portion of diabetes care cost. Early recognition and appropriate management of neuropathy in patients can help to improve symptoms, reduce sequelae, and increase the quality of life and preventive foot care. Due to the importance of timely detection of complications of diabetes, the present study was performed to screen patients and to identify neuropathy and factors affecting its development. Methods: The current study is a cross-sectional study conducted on 453 type 2 diabetes patients. To select participants, we used a multistage random sampling method. The participants were examined by physician in terms of signs of DPN and other complications. Results: The prevalence rate of DPN was 26.2%, of which 41.3% was in the high-risk group in terms of diabetic foot ulcer. Also, diabetic foot ulcers were diagnosed in 9.2% of them. On the other hand, in patients without DPN, 3.5% had diabetic foot ulcers. Of note, 79.8% of the patients with DPN were previously undiagnosed. In addition, age, duration of diabetes, HbA1c, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension were associated with prevalence of DPN. Conclusion: Despite the relatively low prevalence of neuropathy in this study, more than 79% of them were previously undiagnosed, indicating the importance of annual screening. On the other hand, delay in diagnosis of DPN can cause further harm to patients. Also, we can use changeable risk factors as treatment strategies for DPN

Semi-device independent randomness generation based on quantum state's indistinguishability

Semi-device independent (Semi-DI) quantum random number generators (QRNGs) gained attention for security applications, offering an excellent trade-off between security and generation rate. This paper presents a proof-of-principle time-bin encoding semi-DI QRNG experiments based on a prepare-and-measure scheme. The protocol requires two simple assumptions and a measurable condition: an upper-bound on the prepared pulses' energy. We lower-bound the conditional min-entropy from the energy-bound and the input-output correlation, determining the amount of genuine randomness that can be certified. Moreover, we present a generalized optimization problem for bounding the min-entropy in the case of multiple input and outcomes, in the form of a semidefinite program. The protocol is tested with a simple experimental setup, capable of realizing two configurations for the ternary time-bin encoding scheme. The experimental setup is easy-to-implement and comprises commercially available off-the-shelf components at the telecom wavelength, granting a secure and certifiable entropy source. The combination of ease-of-implementation, scalability, high security level and output-entropy, make our system a promising candidate for commercial QRNGs

Practical Semi-Device-Independent Quantum Random Number Generators

We describe a series of works where different Semi-DI protocols for Quantum Random Number generation are proposed and experimentally realized using photonic systems. These protocols exploit both discrete and continuous variables to generate private randomness