Entropy and Quantum Kolmogorov Complexity: A Quantum Brudno's Theorem

In classical information theory, entropy rate and Kolmogorov complexity per symbol are related by a theorem of Brudno. In this paper, we prove a quantum version of this theorem, connecting the von Neumann entropy rate and two notions of quantum Kolmogorov complexity, both based on the shortest qubit descriptions of qubit strings that, run by a universal quantum Turing machine, reproduce them as outputs.Comment: 26 pages, no figures. Reference to publication added: published in the Communications in Mathematical Physics (http://www.springerlink.com/content/1432-0916/

Track A Basic Science

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138319/1/jia218438.pd

Association of C-reactive protein with bacterial and respiratory syncytial virus-associated pneumonia among children aged <5 years in the PERCH study

Background. Lack of a gold standard for identifying bacterial and viral etiologies of pneumonia has limited evaluation of C-reactive protein (CRP) for identifying bacterial pneumonia. We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of CRP for identifying bacterial vs respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) pneumonia in the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) multicenter case-control study. Methods. We measured serum CRP levels in cases with World Health Organization-defined severe or very severe pneumonia and a subset of community controls. We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of elevated CRP for "confirmed" bacterial pneumonia (positive blood culture or positive lung aspirate or pleural fluid culture or polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) compared to "RSV pneumonia" (nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal or induced sputum PCR-positive without confirmed/suspected bacterial pneumonia). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to assess the performance of elevated CRP in distinguishing these cases. Results. Among 601 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative tested controls, 3% had CRP ≥40 mg/L. Among 119 HIVnegative cases with confirmed bacterial pneumonia, 77% had CRP ≥40 mg/L compared with 17% of 556 RSV pneumonia cases. The ROC analysis produced an area under the curve of 0.87, indicating very good discrimination; a cut-point of 37.1 mg/L best discriminated confirmed bacterial pneumonia (sensitivity 77%) from RSV pneumonia (specificity 82%). CRP ≥100 mg/L substantially improved specificity over CRP ≥40 mg/L, though at a loss to sensitivity. Conclusions. Elevated CRP was positively associated with confirmed bacterial pneumonia and negatively associated with RSV pneumonia in PERCH. CRP may be useful for distinguishing bacterial from RSV-associated pneumonia, although its role in discriminating against other respiratory viral-associated pneumonia needs further study

Antiplasmodial and haematological effects of Senna occidentalis leaf ethanolic extracts on Swiss albino mice infected with Plasmodium berghei

A research was conducted to investigate the haematological effects of ethanolic leaf extracts of Senna occidentalis on Swiss albino mice infected with 0.2 ml of Plasmodium berghei infected blood. Fifteen (15) mice weighing between 140-260g were assigned into five study groups of three mice each. The first group is treated with 0.2 mL of normal saline (drug free control). Group 2, 3, 4 were treated with 100, 200, and 400mg/kg of theethanolic leaf extract respectively while group 5 received 10mg/kg of chloroquine phosphate. All doses were administered orally. The results obtained were analyzed using Analysis of Variance with Duncan’s Multiple Range Test to separate the means. The result of the preliminary phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, cardiac glycosides, diterpenoids, flavonoids, steroids, tannins, Triterpenoids, carbohydrates and proteins. The level of parasite suppression ranges from 35% to 75% and the activity increased with increase in concentration of the extracts (dose dependent). The extracts were found to increase the level of some haematological parameters such as Red Blood Cells, White Blood Cells and Haemoglobin. The effect is concentration dependent, increases with increase in concentration. Thus, the anti plasmodial efficacy of the leaf extract of S. occidentalis on P. berghei is confirmed. It is recommended that , 400 mg/kg leaf ethanolic extracts of S. occidentalis couldbe use in the treatment of malarial fever

Field-induced meniscus dynamics and its impact on the nanoscale tip-surface interface

10.1063/1.2802188Journal of Applied Physics1028-JAPI

The aetiology of pneumonia from analysis of lung aspirate and pleural fluid samples: Findings from the PERCH study

Background An improved understanding of childhood pneumonia aetiology is required to inform prevention and treatment strategies. Lung aspiration is the gold standard specimen for pneumonia diagnostics. We report findings from analyses of lung and pleural aspirates collected in the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) study. Methods The PERCH study enrolled children aged 1–59 months hospitalized with World Health Organization defined severe or very severe pneumonia in 7 countries in Africa and Asia. Percutaneous trans-thoracic lung (LA) and pleural fluid (PF) aspiration was performed on a sample of pneumonia cases with radiological consolidation and/or pleural fluid in 4 countries. Venous blood and nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs were collected from all cases. Multiplex quantitative PCR and routine microbiologic culture were applied to clinical specimens. Results Of 44 LAs performed within 3 days of admission on 622 eligible cases, 13 (30%) had a pathogen identified by either culture (5/44) or by PCR (11/29). A pathogen was identified in 12/14 (86%) PF specimens tested by either culture (9/14) or PCR (9/11). Bacterial pathogens were identified more frequently than viruses. All but one of the cases with a virus identified were co-infected with bacterial pathogens. Streptococcus pneumoniae (9/44 [20%]) and Staphylococcus aureus (7/14 [50%]) were the predominant pathogen identified in LA and PF, respectively. Conclusions Bacterial pathogens predominated in this selected subgroup of PERCH participants drawn from those with radiological consolidation or pleural fluid, with S. pneumoniae and S. aureus the leading pathogens identified