Quantum sealed-bid auction using a modified scheme for multiparty circular quantum key agreement

A feasible, secure and collusion-attack-free quantum sealed-bid auction protocol is proposed using a modified scheme for multi-party circular quantum key agreement. In the proposed protocol, the set of all ($n$) bidders is grouped in to $l$ subsets (sub-circles) in such a way that only the initiator (who prepares the quantum state to be distributed for a particular round of communication and acts as the receiver in that round) is a member of all the subsets (sub-circles) prepared for a particular round, while any other bidder is part of only a single subset. All $n$ bidders and auctioneer initiate one round of communication, and each of them prepares $l$ copies of a $\left(r-1\right)$-partite entangled state (one for each sub-circle), where $r=\frac{n}{l}+1$. The efficiency and security\textcolor{blue}{{} }of the proposed protocol are critically analyzed. It is shown that the proposed protocol is free from the collusion attacks that are possible on the existing schemes of quantum sealed-bid auction. Further, it is observed that the security against collusion attack increases with the increase in $l$, but that reduces the complexity (number of entangled qubits in each entangled state) of the entangled states to be used and that makes the scheme scalable and implementable with the available technologies. The additional security and scalability is shown to arise due to the use of a circular structure in place of a complete-graph or tree-type structure used earlier.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

A comparative study of protocols for secure quantum communication under noisy environment: single-qubit-based protocols versus entangled-state-based protocols

The effect of noise on various protocols of secure quantum communication has been studied. Specifically, we have investigated the effect of amplitude damping, phase damping, squeezed generalized amplitude damping, Pauli type as well as various collective noise models on the protocols of quantum key distribution, quantum key agreement,quantum secure direct quantum communication and quantum dialogue. From each type of protocol of secure quantum communication, we have chosen two protocols for our comparative study; one based on single qubit states and the other one on entangled states. The comparative study reported here has revealed that single-qubit-based schemes are generally found to perform better in the presence of amplitude damping, phase damping, squeezed generalized amplitude damping noises, while entanglement-based protocols turn out to be preferable in the presence of collective noises. It is also observed that the effect of noise entirely depends upon the number of rounds of quantum communication involved in a scheme of quantum communication. Further, it is observed that squeezing, a completely quantum mechanical resource present in the squeezed generalized amplitude channel, can be used in a beneficial way as it may yield higher fidelity compared to the corresponding zero squeezing case.Comment: 23 pages 7 figure

Energy-irrigation nexus in South Asia: Improving groundwater conservation and power sector viability

Tube wells / Energy consumption / Costs / Electricity supplies / Groundwater irrigation / Water policy / Pumps / Water rates

Priority Issues in Adolescent Health

The adolescents and youths experience various monumental changes in their lives as they gradually enter into adulthood from childhood. Today’s lifestyle and lackadaisical attitude of youths towards health contributes to a deadly mix, thereby changing the picture of healthy adolescents and youth of our country. Ironically, most of the problems faced by adolescents and youth are preventable. Many severe future adulthood problems could potentially be diminished by educating & promoting health services though technological interventions of today’s adolescents. The priority issues under adolescent health that need to be addressed broadly include nutrition, sexual, reproductive and mental health, gender- based violence, non- communicable diseases and substance use. The future still holds a lot of promise in terms of strategies and interventions planning to deal with the problems and sustainable prosperity

Remote preconditioning by aortic constriction: affords cardioprotection as classical or other remote ischemic preconditioning? Role of iNOS

Dose remote preconditioning by aortic constriction (RPAC) affords cardioprotection similar to classical or other remote ischemic preconditioning stimulus? Moreover study was also designed to investigate role of inducible nitric oxide synthase in remote preconditioning by aortic constriction. There are sufficient evidences that "ischemic preconditioning" has surgical applications and afford clinically relevant cardioprotection. Transient occlusion of circumflex artery, renal artery, limb artery or mesenteric artery preconditions the myocardium against ischemia reperfusion injury in case of ischemic heart disease leading to myocardial infraction. Here abdominal aorta was selected to produce RPAC. Four episodes of Ischemia-reperfusion of 5 min each to abdominal aorta produced RPAC by assessment of infract size, LDH and CK. These studies suggest RPAC produced acute (FWOP) and delayed (SWOP) cardioprotective effect. RPAC demonstrated a significant decrease in Ischemia-reperfusion induced release of LDH, CK and extent of myocardial infract size. L-NAME (10 mg/Kg i.v.), Aminoguanidine (150 mg/Kg s.c.), Aminoguanidine (300 mg/Kg s.c.), S-methyl isothiourea (3 mg/Kg i.v.), 1400W (1 mg/Kg i.v.) administered 10 min. before global ischemia reperfusion produced no marked effect. Aminoguanidine (150 mg/Kg s.c.), Aminoguanidine (300 mg/Kg s.c.), S-methyl isothiourea (3 mg/Kg i.v.), 1400W (1 mg/Kg i.v.) pretreatment after RPAC produced no significant effect on acute RPAC induced decrease in LDH, CK and infract size, whereas L-NAME (10 mg/Kg i.v.) increased RPAC induced decrease in LDH, CK and infract size. Most interesting observation is in delayed RPAC, where all NOS inhibitors pretreatment attenuate RPAC induced decrease in LDH, CK and infract size. In conclusions, "Remote preconditioning by aortic constriction" (RPAC) affords cardioprotection similar to classical or other remote ischemic preconditioning stimulus. Moreover, late or delayed phase of RPAC has been mediated by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) whereas it has not involved in acute RPAC

Which verification qubits perform best for secure communication in noisy channel?

In secure quantum communication protocols, a set of single qubits prepared using 2 or more mutually unbiased bases or a set of $n$-qubit ($n\geq2$) entangled states of a particular form are usually used to form a verification string which is subsequently used to detect traces of eavesdropping. The qubits that form a verification string are referred to as decoy qubits, and there exists a large set of different quantum states that can be used as decoy qubits. In the absence of noise, any choice of decoy qubits provides equivalent security. In this paper, we examine such equivalence for noisy environment (e.g., in amplitude damping, phase damping, collective dephasing and collective rotation noise channels) by comparing the decoy-qubit assisted schemes of secure quantum communication that use single qubit states as decoy qubits with the schemes that use entangled states as decoy qubits. Our study reveals that the single qubit assisted scheme perform better in some noisy environments, while some entangled qubits assisted schemes perform better in other noisy environments. Specifically, single qubits assisted schemes perform better in amplitude damping and phase damping noisy channels, whereas a few Bell-state-based decoy schemes are found to perform better in the presence of the collective noise. Thus, if the kind of noise present in a communication channel (i.e., the characteristics of the channel) is known or measured, then the present study can provide the best choice of decoy qubits required for implementation of schemes of secure quantum communication through that channel.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

ASSESSMENT OF METABOLIC SYNDROME: ROLE OF SERUM FERRITIN

ABSTRACTObjective: The aim of the study is to explore the association between serum ferritin level and metabolic syndrome and its components.Methods: Serum ferritin level and metabolic syndrome and its components were measured among 100 study subjects with respect to 25 healthycontrols at Santosh Medical College and Hospital, Ghaziabad. Fasting and post-prandial blood sugar level was estimated by using glucose oxidaseperoxidase(POD)method.Totalcholesterol,triglycerides,andhigh-densitylipoproteincholesterolwereestimatedbyusing cholesteroloxidase(CHOD)-PODmethod,glycerol-3-phosphateoxidase-phenolaminophenazone method, and Phosphotungustate/CHOD-PODmethod,respectively.Low-densitylipoproteincholesterolwasestimatedbyusing Friedewald'sequation. Serum concentrationof ferritinwasestimatedbyusing MicroELISAtestkit.Cases and controlswerecomparedusing Chi-squaretestand unpairedStudent's t-testand p valueswerecalculated.Results: Significant relationship was observed between serum ferritin level and components of metabolic syndrome. Body mass index, blood sugarlevel, and lipid profile were significantly (<0.05) different between the groups. Serum concentration of creatinine and urea was not significantly(>0.05) different between the groups. Serum ferritin level was elevated in case group with metabolic syndrome and this difference was extremelysignificant (<0.01) between the groups.Conclusion: Serum ferritin, key regulator of iron homeostasis, can be used as indicator of progressing risk of metabolic syndrome.Keywords: Dyslipidemia, Ferritin, Insulin resistance

A STUDY ON THE STANDARDIZATION PARAMETERS OF MADHUCA LONGIFOLIA

Objective: There is an increase demand of herbal remedies due to their effective and safer way of treating various disorders. In today's scenario, the herbal medicines are much efficient for the treatment of various disorders as they have minimal side effects in comparison to the allopathic medicines. Madhuca longifolia, commonly called Mahua/Mahwa, belongs to the family Sapotaceae. It grows up to a height of about 20 m. The objectives of thisstudy are to investigate various pharmacognostic, phytochemical analysis, and pharmacological properties of M. longifolia.Methods: The powdered drug was used for estimating the loss on drying, ash values, fluorescence studies, chemical tests, and extractive values. Macroscopic and microscopic studies were also performed.Results: The leaf microscopy revealed the presence of upper and lower epidermis, palisade tissue, and well-developed vascular bundle. The fluorescence characteristics of leaf powder were studied both in visible light and ultraviolet (UV) light (254 nm and 365 nm) after treatment with various reagents. Mahua is composed of glycosides, sapogenins, steroids, saponins, flavonoids, and triterpenoids. It was reported that the total ash value was 5.56±0.2% w/w. The acid-insoluble and water-insoluble ash values were 0.62±0.025% w/w and 0.47±0.025% w/w, respectively. Water soluble, ethanol, methanol, petroleum ether, and chloroform extractive values were 25.9±0.51% w/w, 28.1±1.38% w/w, 1.73±0.20% w/w,0.83±0.20% w/w, and 25.5±2.29% w/w, respectively.Conclusions: The main pharmacological activities of M. longifolia are anthelmintic, antiulcer, antitumor, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory,antigoitrogenic, and hepatoprotective. The present investigation provides the information on its pharmacognostic, phytochemical analysis, and pharmacological properties