Spectrum conditions for symmetric extendible states

We analyze bipartite quantum states that admit a symmetric extension. Any such state can be decomposed into a convex combination of states that allow a _pure_ symmetric extension. A necessary condition for a state to admit a pure symmetric extension is that the spectra of the local and global density matrices are equal. This condition is also sufficient for two qubits, but not for any larger systems. Using this condition we present a conjectured necessary and sufficient condition for a two qubit state to admit symmetric extension, which we prove in some special cases. The results from symmetric extension carry over to degradable and anti-degradable channels and we use this to prove that all degradable channels with qubit output have a qubit environment.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure

Symmetric extension in two-way quantum key distribution

We introduce symmetric extensions of bipartite quantum states as a tool for analyzing protocols that distill secret key from quantum correlations. Whether the correlations are coming from a prepare-and-measure quantum key distribution scheme or from an entanglement-based scheme, the protocol has to produce effective states without a symmetric extension in order to succeed. By formulating the symmetric extension problem as a semidefinite program, we solve the problem for Bell-diagonal states. Applying this result to the six-state and BB84 schemes, we show that for the entangled states that cannot be distilled by current key distillation procedures, the failure can be understood in terms of a failure to break a symmetric extension.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures; v2: published version, hyperlinked reference

Alien Registration- Myhr, Olaf S. (New Sweden, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/34402/thumbnail.jp

Inflammation markers in multiple sclerosis: CXCL16 reflects and may also predict disease activity

Background: Serum markers of inflammation are candidate biomarkers in multiple sclerosis (MS). ω-3 fatty acids are suggested to have anti-inflammatory properties that might be beneficial in MS. We aimed to explore the relationship between serum levels of inflammation markers and MRI activity in patients with relapsing remitting MS, as well as the effect of ω-3 fatty acids on these markers. Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study in 85 relapsing remitting MS patients who participated in a randomized clinical trial of ω-3 fatty acids versus placebo (the OFAMS study). During a period of 24 months 12 repeated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and nine serum samples were obtained. We measured 10 inflammation markers, including general down-stream markers of inflammation, specific markers of up-stream inflammatory pathways, endothelial action, and matrix regulation. Results: After Bonferroni correction, increasing serum levels of CXCL16 and osteoprotegerin were associated with low odds ratio for simultaneous MRI activity, whereas a positive association was observed for matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9. CXCL16 were also associated with low MRI activity the next month, but this was not significant after Bonferroni correction. In agreement with previously reported MRI and clinical results, ω-3 fatty acid treatment did not induce any change in the inflammation markers. Conclusions: Serum levels of CXCL16, MMP-9, and osteoprotegerin reflect disease activity in MS, but are not affected by ω-3 fatty acid treatment. CXCL16 could be a novel biomarker and potential predictor of disease activity in MS.© 2013 Holmøy et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Casimir Force on a Micrometer Sphere in a Dip: Proposal of an Experiment

The attractive Casimir force acting on a micrometer-sphere suspended in a spherical dip, close to the wall, is discussed. This setup is in principle directly accessible to experiment. The sphere and the substrate are assumed to be made of the same perfectly conducting material.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure; to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Ge

Some hydraulic properties of Sandy-silty Norweigan Tills

Norwegian tills are usually coarse. The saturated water movement is mainly concentrated along fractures, fissures and' sorted sediment zones. The studies indicate that les that 10% of the water drains through the pore system of the tillmatrix. There is no marked correlation between the grain-size composition of the till and the saturated permeability. Homogeneous Norwegian tills may form important conduits of capillary water transport from the groundwater level to the vegetation during dry summers. This is mainly because the tills are dominated by equidimensional minerals which form an open pore system and because the groundwater level in many cases is situated at shallow depths

Public Consultation on Proposed Revisions to Norway’s Gene Technology Act: An Analysis of the Consultation Framing, Stakeholder Concerns, and the Integration of Non-Safety Considerations

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordData Availability Statement: Data is contained within the article. See Table A1 Source data for discourse analysis.In Norway, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are regulated through the Gene Technology Act of 1993, which has received international attention for its inclusion of non-safety considerations. In 2017, the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board triggered a process to revise the Act that included a public consultation and resulted in the “Proposal for relaxation.” Using post-structuralist discourse analysis, we critically analyze the premises and processes through which the proposal for relaxation was developed—including the public consultation—to understand the range of stakeholder concerns and how these concerns shaped the final proposal. We find that the proposal does not include all concerns equally. The Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board’s privileging of technological matters and its preference for tier-based regulation skewed the proposal in a way that reduced broader societal concerns to technological definitions and marginalized discussion of the social, cultural, and ethical issues raised by new gene technologies. To prevent such narrowing of stakeholder concerns in the future, we propose Latour’s model for political economy as a tool to gauge the openness of consultations for biotechnology regulation.Research Council of Norwa

Fourteen sequence variants that associate with multiple sclerosis discovered by meta-analysis informed by genetic correlations

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked FilesA meta-analysis of publicly available summary statistics on multiple sclerosis combined with three Nordic multiple sclerosis cohorts (21,079 cases, 371,198 controls) revealed seven sequence variants associating with multiple sclerosis, not reported previously. Using polygenic risk scores based on public summary statistics of variants outside the major histocompatibility complex region we quantified genetic overlap between common autoimmune diseases in Icelanders and identified disease clusters characterized by autoantibody presence/absence. As multiple sclerosis-polygenic risk scores captures the risk of primary biliary cirrhosis and vice versa (P = 1.6 x 10(-7), 4.3 x 10(-9)) we used primary biliary cirrhosis as a proxy-phenotype for multiple sclerosis, the idea being that variants conferring risk of primary biliary cirrhosis have a prior probability of conferring risk of multiple sclerosis. We tested 255 variants forming the primary biliary cirrhosis-polygenic risk score and found seven multiple sclerosis-associating variants not correlated with any previously established multiple sclerosis variants. Most of the variants discovered are close to or within immune-related genes. One is a low-frequency missense variant in TYK2, another is a missense variant in MTHFR that reduces the function of the encoded enzyme affecting methionine metabolism, reported to be dysregulated in multiple sclerosis brain.Swedish Research Council Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation AFA Foundation Swedish Brain Foundatio

A "Candidate-Interactome" Aggregate Analysis of Genome-Wide Association Data in Multiple Sclerosis

Though difficult, the study of gene-environment interactions in multifactorial diseases is crucial for interpreting the relevance of non-heritable factors and prevents from overlooking genetic associations with small but measurable effects. We propose a “candidate interactome” (i.e. a group of genes whose products are known to physically interact with environmental factors that may be relevant for disease pathogenesis) analysis of genome-wide association data in multiple sclerosis. We looked for statistical enrichment of associations among interactomes that, at the current state of knowledge, may be representative of gene-environment interactions of potential, uncertain or unlikely relevance for multiple sclerosis pathogenesis: Epstein-Barr virus, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, cytomegalovirus, HHV8-Kaposi sarcoma, H1N1-influenza, JC virus, human innate immunity interactome for type I interferon, autoimmune regulator, vitamin D receptor, aryl hydrocarbon receptor and a panel of proteins targeted by 70 innate immune-modulating viral open reading frames from 30 viral species. Interactomes were either obtained from the literature or were manually curated. The P values of all single nucleotide polymorphism mapping to a given interactome were obtained from the last genome-wide association study of the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium & the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, 2. The interaction between genotype and Epstein Barr virus emerges as relevant for multiple sclerosis etiology. However, in line with recent data on the coexistence of common and unique strategies used by viruses to perturb the human molecular system, also other viruses have a similar potential, though probably less relevant in epidemiological terms

Multicentre, randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, phase III study of weekly, low dose, subcutaneous interferon beta-1a in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.

Objective: Interferon (IFN) beta has repeatedly shown benefit in multiple sclerosis (MS) in reducing the rate of relapse, the disease activity as shown with magnetic resonance imaging and, to some degree, the progression of disability; however, it is unknown how much the therapeutic response depends on the dose, the subgroup involved, and the disease stage. This multicentre, double blind, placebo controlled study explored the dose–response curve by examining the clinical benefit of low dose IFN beta-1a (Rebif®), 22 µg subcutaneously once weekly, in patients with secondary progressive MS. Methods: A total of 371 patients with clinically definite SPMS were randomised to receive either placebo or subcutaneous IFN beta-1a, 22 µg once weekly, for 3 years. Clinical assessments were performed every 6 months. The primary outcome was time to sustained disability, as defined by time to first confirmed 1.0 point increase on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Secondary outcomes included a sensitive disability measure and relapse rate. Results: Treatment had no beneficial effect on time to confirmed progression on either the EDSS (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.13; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.82 to 1.57; p = 0.45 for 22 µg v placebo) or the Regional Functional Status Scale (HR = 0.93; 95% CI 0.68 to 1.28; p = 0.67). Other disability measures were also not significantly affected by treatment. Annual relapse rate was 0.27 with placebo and 0.25 with IFN (rate ratio = 0.90; 95% CI 0.64 to 1.27; p = 0.55). The drug was well tolerated with no new safety concerns identified. No significant gender differences were noted. Conclusions: This patient population was less clinically active than SPMS populations studied in other trials. Treatment with low dose, IFN beta-1a (Rebif®) once weekly did not show any benefit in this study for either disability or relapse outcomes, including a subgroup with preceding relapses. These results add a point at one extreme of the dose–response spectrum of IFN beta therapy in MS, indicating that relapses in this phase may need treatment with higher doses than in the initial phases