BSDEs with weak terminal condition

We introduce a new class of Backward Stochastic Differential Equations in which the $T$-terminal value $Y_{T}$ of the solution $(Y,Z)$ is not fixed as a random variable, but only satisfies a weak constraint of the form $E[\Psi(Y_{T})]\ge m$, for some (possibly random) non-decreasing map $\Psi$ and some threshold $m$. We name them \textit{BSDEs with weak terminal condition} and obtain a representation of the minimal time $t$-values $Y_{t}$ such that $(Y,Z)$ is a supersolution of the BSDE with weak terminal condition. It provides a non-Markovian BSDE formulation of the PDE characterization obtained for Markovian stochastic target problems under controlled loss in Bouchard, Elie and Touzi \cite{BoElTo09}. We then study the main properties of this minimal value. In particular, we analyze its continuity and convexity with respect to the $m$-parameter appearing in the weak terminal condition, and show how it can be related to a dual optimal control problem in Meyer form. These last properties generalize to a non Markovian framework previous results on quantile hedging and hedging under loss constraints obtained in F\"{o}llmer and Leukert \cite{FoLe99,FoLe00}, and in Bouchard, Elie and Touzi \cite{BoElTo09}

Pulsed source of spectrally uncorrelated and indistinguishable photons at telecom wavelengths

We report on the generation of indistinguishable photon pairs at telecom wavelengths based on a type-II parametric down conversion process in a periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate (PPKTP) crystal. The phase matching, pump laser characteristics and coupling geometry are optimised to obtain spectrally uncorrelated photons with high coupling efficiencies. Four photons are generated by a counter- propagating pump in the same crystal and anlysed via two photon interference experiments between photons from each pair source as well as joint spectral and g^(2) measurements. We obtain a spectral purity of 0.91 and coupling efficiencies around 90% for all four photons without any filtering. These pure indistinguishable photon sources at telecom wavelengths are perfectly adapted for quantum network demonstrations and other multi-photon protocols

Quantum random number generation on a mobile phone

Quantum random number generators (QRNGs) can significantly improve the security of cryptographic protocols, by ensuring that generated keys cannot be predicted. However, the cost, size, and power requirements of current QRNGs has prevented them from becoming widespread. In the meantime, the quality of the cameras integrated in mobile telephones has improved significantly, so that now they are sensitive to light at the few-photon level. We demonstrate how these can be used to generate random numbers of a quantum origin

Gaussian Processes with Context-Supported Priors for Active Object Localization

We devise an algorithm using a Bayesian optimization framework in conjunction with contextual visual data for the efficient localization of objects in still images. Recent research has demonstrated substantial progress in object localization and related tasks for computer vision. However, many current state-of-the-art object localization procedures still suffer from inaccuracy and inefficiency, in addition to failing to provide a principled and interpretable system amenable to high-level vision tasks. We address these issues with the current research. Our method encompasses an active search procedure that uses contextual data to generate initial bounding-box proposals for a target object. We train a convolutional neural network to approximate an offset distance from the target object. Next, we use a Gaussian Process to model this offset response signal over the search space of the target. We then employ a Bayesian active search for accurate localization of the target. In experiments, we compare our approach to a state-of-theart bounding-box regression method for a challenging pedestrian localization task. Our method exhibits a substantial improvement over this baseline regression method.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Perfectly secure steganography: hiding information in the quantum noise of a photograph

We show that the quantum nature of light can be used to hide a secret message within a photograph. Using this physical principle we achieve information-theoretic secure steganography, which had remained elusive until now. The protocol is such that the digital picture in which the secret message is embedded is perfectly undistinguishable from an ordinary photograph. This implies that, on a fundamental level, it is impossible to discriminate a private communication from an exchange of photographs.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures + appendix : 5 pages, 6 figure

Developing Proteomimetic Inhibitors of Large Surface Area, Low Affinity Protein-Protein Interaction

The majority of cellular processes are governed by the activity of multimeric protein complexes assembled through specific protein-protein interactions (PPIs). With more than 650,000 estimated PPIs, less than 0.01% of these interactions have been successfully targeted with small molecules. One processes, transcription, allows for the regulation and expression of relevant genes in both a cell specific and tissue specific manner. Dysregulation of the transcription process is implicated in the vast majority of human diseases, either as a cause or consequence of this dysregulation. Given the significant role that transcriptional dysregulation plays in human disease, it is evident that there is immense therapeutic potential for finding strategies to restore proper transcriptional regulation. There are three general strategies for targeting transcriptional activation pathways in order to restore normal function: regulatory/masking proteins, transcriptional activator dimerization, and specific contacts made with coactivators to recruit the transcriptional machinery. PPIs have traditionally been defined as “undruggable” due to the fact that many protein-protein interactions lack surface topology and occur over large surface areas. These characterizations make PPIs difficult to target with small molecules, particularly large surface area, low affinity PPIs, a subclass of PPI often used by transcriptional activator pathways. Herein, we discuss strategies for targeting this subclass of PPIs by using small molecule combination strategies, high-throughput screening of natural products, and peptide stabilization methods to target this difficult class of PPIs. In one example, we demonstrated how i1, an inhibitor of the ESX transcriptional activator, could be used in combination with other ESX signaling pathway inhibitors to obtain synergistic inhibition against ESX-driven Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC). We also demonstrated the utility of natural products belonging to the depsidone and depside molecule subclass as inhibitors of the VP16-ACID interaction. Specifically, we demonstrated the utility of norstictic acid and psoromic acid as the first inhibitors of the VP16-ACID interaction and inhibitors of ACID-mediated transcriptional processes. Lastly, we demonstrate the use of constrained peptides to mimic a non-regular structural motif utilized in the NF-κB signaling pathway, resulting in the development of an inhibitor with 10-fold greater potency than an unmodified peptide inhibitor.PHDChemistryUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113445/1/brunopa_1.pd

Fiscal Impact of EU Migrants in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK

This study was undertaken to estimate some aspects of the net fiscal impact of EU migrants in four EU countries Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The report outlines the role of Fiscal Impact of EU Migrants in Selected Countries migrants from EU countries as participants in the labour market, as taxpayers and as benefit recipients also. The fiscal contribution of EU foreigners has increased substantially in the past several years. Compared to 2009, inn 2013 EU migrants paid 31% more in direct taxes as their wages increased and more EU workers found employment opportunities in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. As migration accelerated, EU foreigners also paid 44% more on indirect taxes, as they spent more onconsumer purchases. EU foreigners in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK received 35% more benefits than they did in 2009, due to the overall expansion of the welfare state in addition to the inflow of EU migrants