Minimal State Research Articles

Constraining the state space in any physical theory with the principle of information symmetry

Symmetry shares an entwined history with the structure of physical theory. We propose a consequence of symmetry towards the axiomatic derivation of Hilbert space quantum theory. We introduce the notion of information symmetry (IS) and show that it constraints the state-space structure in any physical theory. To this end, we study the minimal error binary state discrimination problem in the framework of generalized probabilistic theories. A theory is said to satisfy IS if the probability of incorrectly identifying each of two randomly prepared states is same for both the states. It is found that this simple principle rules out several classes of theories while being perfectly compatible with quantum theory.

Adapted or Adaptable: How to Manage Entropy Production?

Adaptable or adapted? Whether it is a question of physical, biological, or even economic systems, this problem arises when all these systems are the location of matter and energy conversion. To this interdisciplinary question, we propose a theoretical framework based on the two principles of thermodynamics. Considering a finite time linear thermodynamic approach, we show that non-equilibrium systems operating in a quasi-static regime are quite deterministic as long as boundary conditions are correctly defined. The Novikov–Curzon–Ahlborn derivation applied to non-endoreversible systems then makes it possible to precisely determine the conditions for obtaining characteristic operating points. As a result, power maximization principle (MPP), entropy minimization principle (mEP), efficiency maximization, or waste minimization states are only specific modalities of system operation. We show that boundary conditions play a major role in defining operating points because they define the intensity of the feedback that ultimately characterizes the operation. Armed with these thermodynamic foundations, we show that the intrinsically most efficient systems are also the most constrained in terms of controlling the entropy and dissipation production. In particular, we show that the best figure of merit necessarily leads to a vanishing production of power. On the other hand, a class of systems emerges, which, although they do not offer extreme efficiency or power, have a wide range of use and therefore marked robustness. It therefore appears that the number of degrees of freedom of the system leads to an optimization of the allocation of entropy production.

Semantically Secure Lattice Codes for Compound MIMO Channels

We consider compound multi-input multi-output (MIMO) wiretap channels where minimal channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) is assumed. Code construction is given for the special case of isotropic mutual information, which serves as a conservative strategy for general cases. Using the flatness factor for MIMO channels, we propose lattice codes universally achieving the secrecy capacity of compound MIMO wiretap channels up to a constant gap (measured in nats) that is equal to the number of transmit antennas. The proposed approach improves upon existing works on secrecy coding for MIMO wiretap channels from an error probability perspective, and establishes information theoretic security (in fact semantic security). We also give an algebraic construction to reduce the code design complexity, as well as the decoding complexity of the legitimate receiver. Thanks to the algebraic structures of number fields and division algebras, our code construction for compound MIMO wiretap channels can be reduced to that for Gaussian wiretap channels, up to some additional gap to secrecy capacity.

Long time oscillation of solutions of nonlinear Schrödinger equations near minimal mass ground state

In this paper, we consider the long time dynamics of radially symmetric solutions of nonlinear Schrödinger equations (NLS) having a minimal mass ground state. In particular, we show that there exist solutions with initial data near the minimal mass ground state that oscillate for long time. More precisely, we introduce a coordinate defined near the minimal mass ground state which consists of finite and infinite dimensional part associated to the discrete and continuous part of the linearized operator. Then, we show that the finite dimensional (2–D) part approximately obeys Newton's equation of motion for a particle in an anharmonic potential well. Showing that the infinite dimensional part is well separated from the finite dimensional part, we will have long time oscillation.

Hafnia and alumina stacks as UTBOXs in silicon-on insulator

PEALD-grown hafnia and alumina buried oxide (BOX) stacks in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structures were produced and characterized by XTEM and pseudo-MOSFET techniques. The ferroelectric phases of hafnia were observed by XTEM and SAED. It was shown that the minimal interface states density (IFS) < 1012 cm−2 and the maximal one with a memory window MW ~1 V could be obtained by the right choice of high-k dielectric layer sequence in BOX stack and thermal processing.

Treatment Outcomes with Purine Nucleoside Analog Alone or with Rituximab for Hairy Cell Leukemia Patients at First Relapse: A Multi-Center Outcomes Analysis

Treatment Outcomes with Purine Nucleoside Analog Alone or with Rituximab for Hairy Cell Leukemia Patients at First Relapse: A Multi-Center Outcomes Analysis

Phase 2 Trial of LDE225 and Lenalidomide Maintenance Post Autologous Stem Cell Transplant for Multiple Myeloma

Background: Lenalidomide maintenance therapy post-autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is associated with improved progression-free survival (PFS) and possibly overall survival in multiple myeloma (MM). However, almost all patients do relapse as a result of residual multiple myeloma cells that remain after the high-dose chemotherapy. In the myeloma setting it has been found that the hedgehog (Hh) pathway is essential for maintaining a subset of tumor causing stem cells. LDE 225 (Sonidegib) is a potent selective oral bioavailable antagonist of Smoothened (SMO), a component of the Hh signaling pathway. In in vitro experiments, LDE225 treatment of myeloma cell lines resulted in a modest inhibition of cell proliferation at increasing doses. When LDE225 was combined with lenalidomide, a more than additive effect was observed in terms of cell proliferation, an effect that was more pronounced in the context of myeloma cell lines growing in co-culture with marrow derived stromal cells. These findings form the basis of evaluation of LDE 225 as a strategy to enhance the activity of lenalidomide in the post-transplant maintenance setting. The minimal residual state post SCT provides the most optimal situation for evaluation of a drug that is likely to work by inhibiting the tumor cells that escaped high dose therapy. Methods: Multiple myeloma patients without evidence of progression, who were 60 - 120 days after a single autologous stem cell transplant (SCT), performed within 1 year of diagnosis were eligible for the study. Maintenance therapy was started approximately 3 months after SCT. Treatment consisted of lenalidomide 10 mg days 1-21 and LDE225 400 mg days 1-28 in 28-day cycles for a total of 18 cycles. The goal of the study was to assess toxicity of this combination, complete response rate (CR) progression free survival (PFS) at 1 and 2 year and overall survival (OS). CR and PFS were estimated using an exact binomial distribution and Kaplan Meier curves respectively. Results: A total of 28 patients were accrued from Jan 2014 to Aug 2016, 1 patient canceled prior to treatment and 1 patient was deemed ineligible resulting in 26 evaluable pts for CR and PFS. The median age of all pts (n=26) was 60 years (range 43-69) and 50% were males. Seventy-three percent of patients reported one treatment regimen prior to SCT, while 27% reported 2 or more prior regimens. The other characteristics of the patient are summarized in Table 1. Twenty seven pts received at least one cycle of treatment and are evaluable for toxicities (AE). Patients were treated for a median of 12.5 (range 1-18) cycles. While 10 pts (38.5%) completed protocol treatment (18 cycles), the remaining 16 pts went off treatment due to AEs (6, 23%), disease progression (3, 11.5%), refusal of further treatment (3, 11.5%) and other reasons (4, 15.4%). A grade 3 or higher AE at least possibly attributed to either drug was seen in 63%. Grade 3+ hematologic toxicities were noted in 30%, with 7% neutropenia and 4% thrombocytopenia. Notable grade 2+ non-hematologic toxicities with more than 5% incidence were dysgeusia 22%, alopecia 11%, and anorexia 7%. Grade 3+ non-hematologic toxicities were fatigue, myalgia and arthralgia each at 7%. The CR rate in evaluable patients was 46% (5 CRs and 7 sCRs) with a 95% CI of 27% - 66%. CR rate improved from 31% to 46%. VGPR or better improved from 42% to 85%. The 24-month PFS (time from SCT to progression or death due to any cause) was 73% (95% CI: 57.9 - 92.3%) with a median time to censoring of 38 months. Conclusion: Lenalidomide in combination with LDE225 as posttransplant maintenance therapy was associated with some toxicity but manageable. The combination improved the depth of response after autologous stem cell transplant. Long-term follow-up is needed to determine overall survival. Disclosures Lacy: Celgene: Research Funding. Dispenzieri:Celgene: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy; Intellia: Consultancy; Akcea: Consultancy; Alnylam: Research Funding. Gertz:Ionis: Honoraria; Alnylam: Honoraria; Prothena: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Spectrum: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria. Kapoor:Glaxo Smith Kline: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Cellectar: Consultancy; Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria; Sanofi: Consultancy, Research Funding. Dingli:alexion: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Millenium: Consultancy; Rigel: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Research Funding. Russell:Imanis: Equity Ownership. Kumar:Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding. OffLabel Disclosure: Sonidegib (LDE 225) is a selective oral bioavailable antagonist of Smoothened (SMO), a component of the hedgehog signaling pathway.

Control of asynchronous sequential machine with adversarial input based on the semi-tensor product of matrices

In this study, we investigate the control problem of asynchronous sequential machine with adversarial input by using the semi-tensor product (STP) of matrices. First, by applying the STP of matrices, a new algebraic expression of asynchronous sequential machines with an adversarial input is deduced. Next, by investigating the control process, the controller with the minimal state set is designed, and two algorithms for assigning the values to the state transition structure matrix and the output structure matrix of the controller are proposed. Then, in the framework of the algebraic expression of the asynchronous sequential machines with adversarial input and two proposed algorithms, an algebra expression of the closed-loop system dynamic is established; the theoretical results are verified by using this algebra expression. Finally, an example is presented to illustrate the validity and application of the proposed approach.

The stability of spherocyte membranes: Theoretical study

Human red blood cell (RBC) membranes are typically biconcave-shaped under physiological conditions, and membranes of other shapes, such as spherical, are also observed in pathological RBCs. It has been suggested that there is a relationship between the RBC membrane's material properties, morphologies and physiological functions. The present work studies how various factors affect the morphologies of the RBC membrane based on a free energy functional in continuum elasticity descriptions. In particular, the instability conditions of a diseased spherocyte's spherical shape is obtained explicitly, which determines the region in the phase diagram constructed by two dimensionless state variables defined by elastic moduli, osmotic pressure, etc., in which the spherocyte's membrane can exist in a stable form. In this phase diagram, each point represents the statistical results for a large number of samples observed in recent experiments. Within this stable region of spherocyte's membrane, the spherical RBC membrane is in the global minimal state whereas in the adjacent region on the other side of the boundary, the echinocyte's membrane corresponds to the global minimal state. Our results could be used as a theoretical guide for clinical applications in related diseases, such as malaria, and are in quantitative agreement with recent dynamic optical measurements on the morphological transition of the RBC membrane (see Park Y. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 107 (2010) 6731).

Current management and emerging treatment strategies for multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma is a malignant plasma cell neoplasm that is incurable despite significant progress in treatment over the past several decades. The incorporation of novel agents and combinations into the MM treatment paradigm has resulted in improved survival and tolerability, as well as deeper responses including achieving a minimal residual disease negative state. The addition of new treatment options and combinations has added complexity in treatment selection for myeloma patients. The current strategy for newly diagnosed myeloma involves induction, consolidation, and maintenance therapy. However, nearly all myeloma patients will develop refractory disease. This highlights the need for more effective therapies targeting the myeloma cells and their microenvironment. In this article, we summarize current management of transplant eligible and ineligible newly diagnosed patients in both the upfront and relapsed refractory setting, highlighting risk adapted strategies. We also summarize emerging therapies, such as immune and targeted approaches, as well as drugs with novel mechanisms of action. Emerging strategies offer individualized treatment options and may ultimately offer the possibility of a cure for myeloma patients.

Dynamics of dissipative topological defects in coupled phase oscillators

The dynamics of topological defects in a system of coupled phase oscillators, arranged in one and two-dimensional arrays, was numerically investigated using the Kuramoto model. After a rapid decay of the number of topological defects, a long-time quasi steady state with few topological defects was detected. Two competing time scales governed the dynamics corresponding to the dissipation rate and the coupling quench rate. The density of topological defects scales as a power law function of the coupling quench rate ρ ∼ Cν with ν = 0.25. Reducing the number of topological defects improves the long time coherence and order parameter of the system, enhancing the probability to reach a global minimal loss state that can be mapped to the ground state of a classical XY spin Hamiltonian.

Realization of 2D (2,2)–Periodic Encoders by Means of 2D Periodic Separable Roesser Models

Abstract It is well known that convolutional codes are linear systems when they are defined over a finite field. A fundamental issue in the implementation of convolutional codes is to obtain a minimal state representation of the code. Compared with the literature on one-dimensional (1D) time-invariant convolutional codes, there exist relatively few results on the realization problem for time-varying 1D convolutional codes and even fewer if the convolutional codes are two-dimensional (2D). In this paper we consider 2D periodic convolutional codes and address the minimal state space realization problem for this class of codes. This is, in general, a highly nontrivial problem. Here, we focus on separable Roesser models and show that in this case it is possible to derive, under weak conditions, concrete formulas for obtaining a 2D Roesser state space representation. Moreover, we study minimality and present necessary conditions for these representations to be minimal. Our results immediately lead to constructive algorithms to build these representations.

186. Cost-effectiveness of the Coflex interlaminar stabilization device: evidence for increasing physician reimbursement

BACKGROUND CONTEXT The growing prominence of motion preserving spine surgery necessitates the need for quality economic evaluations. Economic studies on the Coflex Interlaminar Stabilization (ILS) device that simultaneously compare decompression alone (DA) and decompression with pedicle screw fusion (D+PS) are lacking. Data are also limited when assessing surgeon reimbursement and its value proposition. PURPOSE To critically assess the cost-effectiveness and reimbursement for the Coflex ILS device compared to both DA and decompression with D+PS. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING A parameterized Markov model was designed to capture health outcomes and health care resource utilization following the initial surgery using either the Coflex ILS device, DA, or D+PS. PATIENT SAMPLE The study population consisted of patients from two randomized controlled trials (one European, n=230 and one US-based, n=322), all with moderate to severe lumbar stenosis. OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome measure is health-related utility expressed in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Secondary outcomes included complication rates and the percentage of time spent within health states. Cost-effectiveness was expressed as an Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). METHODS The analysis was conducted in accord with the Second Panel on Cost-Effectiveness Health and Medicine. A 2-year follow-up period was used for the base case. Medicare and private payers were assumed to each comprise 50% of the patient population. A health system perspective evaluated direct medical resources while a societal perspective accounted for indirect costs. The ICER was benchmarked against the recommended US-based willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of $100,000 per QALY. All costs were inflation-adjusted to 2016 dollars. Both costs and QALYs were discounted at a yearly rate of 3% to reflect their present value. RESULTS At 2 years, Coflex ILS patients spent approximately 35% of the time in the minimal disability health state compared to 28% and 24% for the D+PS and DA cohorts, respectively (p $290,000 per QALY gain). From a payer perspective, total reimbursement for Coflex ILS can theoretically be increased 59% and remain cost-effective compared to DA. This equates to a potential increase in physician reimbursement of up to 3800%. CONCLUSIONS Coflex ILS is cost-effective compared to DA and economically dominant compared to D+PS at 2 years. Despite slightly higher revision rates with most ILS devices, cost-effectiveness actually improved in our analysis from 2-5 years suggesting that this technology warrants careful reconsideration. FDA DEVICE/DRUG STATUS Coflex (Approved for this indication).

Clinical thresholds of symptoms for deciding on surgery for trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis.

The severity of preoperative symptoms at which patients are likely to achieve a minimal important change and patient acceptable symptom state after surgery may help the decision to perform surgery for trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis. The study objective was to define these thresholds for pain at rest and during activities as well as for the brief Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire. One hundred and fifty-one patients were examined before surgery and 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery. The minimal important change after surgery was 1.9, 3.9 and 16 scores for pain at rest, pain during activities and the brief Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire, respectively. The respective patient acceptable symptom state values were 1.5, 2.5 and 70 after surgery. Our results show that patients with baseline pain values between 3.5 and 5.5 at rest, between 6.5 and 7.5 during activities and a presurgery brief Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire score of about 47, have the greatest chance of achieving a relevant symptom change and an acceptable symptom state. The information from this study may help surgeons in deciding the surgical indications and help patients in their expectation in symptom relief after surgery. Level of evidence: IV.

Implementation via Rights Structures with Minimal State Spaces

Implementation via Rights Structures with Minimal State Spaces

The Welfare State and Liberal Democracy: A Political Economy Approach

This article attempts to shed some light on the developments of welfare states in highly developed nations since World War Two (WW2) within the context of a narrative which seeks to combine institutional distinctions, termed “varieties of capitalism,” with the historical regimes of regulation theory in a political economy perspective which puts interested political actors at center stage. It will be argued that in a liberal democracy, the elite has the framing and agenda-setting power to “manufacture a political will” according to its interests. The welfare state is not the result of a long social struggle on the part of the needy; rather, it results in its general features from the minimal state of meritocratic exigencies. Under the very peculiar circumstances of the post-WW2 era, this even translated into a rise in social welfare spending to more than a third of national income. The particular design of welfare state organization was the subject-matter of political conflict, and a clear distinction between liberal and coordinated market economies can be attributed to cultural differences and institutional settings. Yet the core of the welfare state conception serves the interest of the meritocracy as much as those who benefit from social programs and redistribution. And the neoliberal attack on the welfare state since the 1980s is not a necessary re-calibration due to changing economic conditions or a growing lack of solidarity among the people but an expression of a modified cost–benefit analysis from the elite's perspective.

Transition pathways between defect patterns in confined nematic liquid crystals

Confined nematic liquid crystals can admit multiple stable equilibria. These equilibrium states usually exhibit peculiar defect patterns in order to satisfy the topological constraints imposed by the boundary conditions. In this work, we systematically investigate transition pathways between different stable equilibria of nematic liquid crystals confined in a cylinder with homeotropic boundary condition. To do so, we implement spectral method to minimize the Landau-de Gennes free energy and develop a multiscale string method to accurately compute both minimal energy path and transition state. We first compute the transition pathways under the assumption that system state is invariant along the axial direction of the cylinder. This axial invariant assumption allows us to reduce the simulation domain to a two-dimensional disk. We subsequently remove the axial invariant assumption to search the transition pathways in the three-dimensional cylinder. Numerical simulations demonstrate that there exists a threshold for the cylinder height above which a domino-like transition pathway is more energetically favored than the axial invariant transition pathway. Moreover, we show that the transition pathway from escape radial with ring defects (ERRD) to escape radial has a lower energy barrier than the one from ERRD to planar polar, even though the free energy of the planar polar state is lower than that of the escape radial state. Our approach provides an accurate and efficient method to compute minimal energy path and transition state of confined nematic liquid crystals.

A Logic Framework for P2P Deductive Databases

AbstractThis paper presents a logic framework for modeling the interaction among deductive databases in a peer-to-peer (P2P) environment. Each peer joining a P2P systemprovides or imports datafrom its neighbors by using a set ofmapping rules, that is, a set of semantic correspondences to a set of peers belonging to the same environment. By using mapping rules, as soon as it enters the system, a peer can participate and access all data available in its neighborhood, and through its neighborhood it becomes accessible to all the other peers in the system. A query can be posed to any peer in the system and the answer is computed by using locally stored data and all the information that can be consistently imported from the neighborhood. Two different types of mapping rules are defined: mapping rules allowing to import a maximal set of atoms not leading to inconsistency (calledmaximal mapping rules) and mapping rules allowing to import a minimal set of atoms needed to restore consistency (calledminimal mapping rules). Implicitly, the use of maximal mapping rules statesit is preferable to import as long as no inconsistencies arise; whereas the use of minimal mapping rules states thatit is preferable not to import unless a inconsistency exists. The paper presents three different declarative semantics of a P2P system: (i) theMax Weak Model Semantics, in which mapping rules are used to importas much knowledge as possiblefrom a peer’s neighborhood without violating local integrity constraints; (ii) theMin Weak Model Semantics, in which the P2P system can be locally inconsistent and the information provided by the neighbors is used to restore consistency, that is, to only integrate the missing portion of a correct, but incomplete database; (iii) theMax-Min Weak Model Semanticsthat unifies the previous two different perspectives captured by the Max Weak Model Semantics and Min Weak Model Semantics. This last semantics allows to characterize each peer in the neighborhood as a resource used either to enrich (integrate) or to fix (repair) the knowledge, so as to define a kind ofintegrate–repairstrategy for each peer. For each semantics, the paper also introduces an equivalent and alternative characterization, obtained by rewriting each mapping rule into prioritized rules so as to model a P2P system as a prioritized logic program. Finally, results about the computational complexity of P2P logic queries are investigated by consideringbraveandcautiousreasoning.

Sistema de proteção social no governo Lula (2003-2010): mudança ou continuidade no padrão de intervenção do estado na sociedade?

Esse artigo insere-se no âmbito do debate sobre Estado e Política Social e analisa o legado do governo Lula (2003-2010) enquanto continuísmo ou mudança relativa ao modelo neoliberal implementado pelo governo de Fernando Henrique Cardoso (modelo regressivo), no que concerne ao sistema de proteção social compreendido como forma de intervenção do Estado na sociedade. Com base em bibliografia especializada, dialogamos com representantes das teses da “continuidade” e da “descontinuidade” da política social e do modelo de Estado no governo em questão. Sustentamos que, no mesmo, no que concerne ao embate entre forças progressistas (defensoras de princípios associados a um regime específico de um Estado de bemestar social) e forças conservadoras (defensoras de princípios associados ao Estado mínimo), foram vitoriosas as últimas na determinação da política social dos governos Lula, consolidando, através dessas, um modelo de intervenção neoliberal do Estado nas suas relações com a sociedade.

Robert Nozick and Axel Honneth: An attempt to shed light on mental health service in Norway through two diametrical philosophers.

This article aims at giving insight into Norwegian mental health service by exploring the ideologies of two diametrical philosophers, the American Robert Nozick (1938-2002) and the German Axel Honneth (1949-). Nozick proposes as an ideal a minimal state in which citizens have a "negative right" to the absence of interference and to follow their own interests without restriction from the state. On the other side, Axel Honneth claims that there is no freedom without state interference. In his view, governmental involvement is understood as a prerequisite for personal freedom. We may call this state an opposite of the minimal state; a maximal state. To get a better understanding of these opposite philosophies, we use texts written from conversations with people suffering from mental health problems, nurses and other caregivers in four Norwegian municipalities. Nozick's notion of the minimal state and Honneth's political philosophy of freedom and recognition were used as analytical tools. Among patients and helpers, there were different opinions about good care and how much caregivers should intervene. Some emphasized autonomy, independency, minimal involvement in human contact by nurses and other caregivers, similar a minimal state. Others perceived good care as bonding between helpers and service-users. They underlined equal and personal relationships, as well as helping with practicalities, similar a maximal state. In the discussion, we focus on how people with chronic illnesses are supposed to transform themselves into self-cared individuals, able to manage their own condition successfully with minimal help from public welfare and at a lower cost. Finally, we express concerns about who will care for disempowered patients without family and other resources in a minimal state.