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We show that the protocol recently proposed by Hosten et al. does not allow all possible results of a computation to be obtained counterfactually, as was claimed. It only gives a counterfactual outcome for one of the computer outputs. However, we confirm the observation that the protocol gives some protection against decoherence. In some situations, though, it may be more effective simply to run the computer several times.

Based on a new theory, two computer codes were developed specifically to calculate the exact statistical tolerance limits for normal distributions within unknown means and variances for the one-sided and two-sided cases for the tolerance factor, k. The quantity k is defined equivalently in terms of the noncentral t-distribution by the probability equation. Two of the four mathematical methods employ the theory developed for the numerical simulation. Several algorithms for numerically integrating and iteratively root-solving the working equations are written to augment the program simulation. The program codes generate some tables of k's associated with the varying values of the proportion and sample size for each given probability to show accuracy obtained for small sample sizes.

A significant amount of recent research work has addressed the problem of solving various data management problems in the cloud. The major algorithmic challenges in map-reduce computations involve balancing a multitude of factors such as the number of machines available for mappers/reducers, their memory requirements, and communication cost (total amount of data sent from mappers to reducers). Most past work provides custom solutions to specific problems, e.g., performing fuzzy joins in map-reduce, clustering, graph analyses, and so on. While some problems are amenable to very efficient map-reduce algorithms, some other problems do not lend themselves to a natural distribution, and have provable lower bounds. Clearly, the ease of "map-reducability" is closely related to whether the problem can be partitioned into independent pieces, which are distributed across mappers/reducers. What makes a problem distributable? Can we characterize general properties of problems that determine how easy or hard it is to find efficient map-reduce algorithms? This is a vision paper that attempts to answer the questions described above.

Conventional classical confidence intervals in specific cases are unphysical. A solution to this problem has recently been published by Feldman and Cousins. We show that there are cases where the new approach is not applicable and that it does not remove the basic deficiencies of classical confidence limits.

This article is from Scientific Reports , volume 4 . Abstract Transfer entropy is a recently introduced information-theoretic measure quantifying directed statistical coherence between spatiotemporal processes, and is widely used in diverse fields ranging from finance to neuroscience. However, its relationships to fundamental limits of computation, such as Landauer's limit, remain unknown. Here we show that in order to increase transfer entropy (predictability) by one bit, heat flow must match or exceed Landauer's limit. Importantly, we generalise Landauer's limit to bi-directional information dynamics for non-equilibrium processes, revealing that the limit applies to prediction, in addition to retrodiction (information erasure). Furthermore, the results are related to negentropy, and to Bremermann's limit and the Bekenstein bound, producing, perhaps surprisingly, lower bounds on the computational deceleration and information loss incurred during an increase in predictability about the process. The identified relationships set new computational limits in terms of fundamental physical quantities, and establish transfer entropy as a central measure connecting information theory, thermodynamics and theory of computation.

Assemblies of allosteric proteins, nano-scale Brownian computers, are the principle information processing devices in biology. The troponin C-troponin I (TnC-TnI) complex, the Ca$^{2+}$-sensitive regulatory switch of the heart, is a paradigm for Brownian computation. TnC and TnI specialize in sensing (reading) and reporting (writing) tasks of computation. We have examined this complex using a newly developed phenomenological model of allostery. Nearest-neighbor-limited interactions among members of the assembly place previously unrecognized constrains the topology of the system's free energy landscape and generate degenerate transition probabilities. As a result, signaling fidelity and deactivation kinetics can not be simultaneously optimized. This trade-off places an upper limit on the rate of information processing by assemblies of allosteric proteins that couple to a single ligand chemical bath.

Assemblies of allosteric proteins, nano-scale Brownian computers, are the principle information processing devices in biology. The troponin C-troponin I (TnC-TnI) complex, the Ca$^{2+}$-sensitive regulatory switch of the heart, is a paradigm for Brownian computation. TnC and TnI specialize in sensing (reading) and reporting (writing) tasks of computation. We have examined this complex using a newly developed phenomenological model of allostery. Nearest-neighbor-limited interactions among members of the assembly place previously unrecognized constrains the topology of the system's free energy landscape and generate degenerate transition probabilities. As a result, signaling fidelity and deactivation kinetics can not be simultaneously optimized. This trade-off places an upper limit on the rate of information processing by assemblies of allosteric proteins that couple to a single ligand chemical bath.

Grade-equivalent scores are widely used in the school system in reporting students' performance on standardized achievement tests. This paper explores how grade equivalent scores are calculated and interpreted. In addition, the paper examines the limitations of grade-equivalent scores through the use of small heuristic data sets. A grade-equivalent score is a score indicating the grade level at which this score is the mean performance level. They are created by administering a test to students in various grades. Typically, a test being normed is administered to large groups of students in each of several successive grade levels at different times of the year. Grade norms have several limitations and are often misinterpreted. It must be noted that when grade-equivalent scores are derived, it does not mean that the test was given to all grades or to children at all different points on a grade's continuum. Grade-equivalent scores reported beyond tested grade limits can be misleading. In addition, grade-equivalent scores obtained from tests produced by different publishers often give conflicting results. A further limitation is that grade-equivalent scores should not be used to make comparisons of the grade-equivalent performances of an individual across different subjects. Other incorrect interpretations are reviewed. (Contains one table, three figures, and nine references.) (SLD)

An interdisciplinary physical theory of emergent consciousness has previously been proposed, stemming from quantum computation-like behavior between 10^9 or more entangled molecular qubit states (microtubulin). This model relies on the Penrose-Diosi gravity-driven wavefunction collapse framework, and thus is subject to any secondary classical and quantum gravity effects. Specifically, if large extra spatial dimensions exist in the Universe, then the resulting corrections to Newtonian gravity cause this model to suffer serious difficulties. It is shown that if the extra dimensions are larger than 100 fm in size, then this model of consciousness is unphysical. If the dimensions are on the order of 10 fm in size, then a significantly smaller number of microtubulin than originally predicted are required to satisfy experimental constraints. Some speculation on evolution of consciousness is also offered, based on the possibility that the size of these extra dimensions may have been changing over the history of the Universe.

An interdisciplinary physical theory of emergent consciousness has previously been proposed, stemming from quantum computation-like behavior between 10^9 or more entangled molecular qubit states (microtubulin). This model relies on the Penrose-Diosi gravity-driven wavefunction collapse framework, and thus is subject to any secondary classical and quantum gravity effects. Specifically, if large extra spatial dimensions exist in the Universe, then the resulting corrections to Newtonian gravity cause this model to suffer serious difficulties. It is shown that if the extra dimensions are larger than 100 fm in size, then this model of consciousness is unphysical. If the dimensions are on the order of 10 fm in size, then a significantly smaller number of microtubulin than originally predicted are required to satisfy experimental constraints. Some speculation on evolution of consciousness is also offered, based on the possibility that the size of these extra dimensions may have been changing over the history of the Universe.

The seminal result of Impagliazzo and Rudich (STOC 1989) gave a black-box separation between one-way functions and public-key encryption: informally, a public-key encryption scheme cannot be constructed using one-way functions as the sole source of computational hardness. In addition, this implied a black-box separation between one-way functions and protocols for certain Secure Function Evaluation (SFE) functionalities (in particular, Oblivious Transfer). Surprisingly, however, {\em since then there has been no further progress in separating one-way functions and SFE functionalities} (though several other black-box separation results were shown). In this work, we present the complete picture for deterministic 2-party SFE functionalities. We show that one-way functions are black-box separated from {\em all such SFE functionalities}, except the ones which have unconditionally secure protocols (and hence do not rely on any computational hardness), when secure computation against semi-honest adversaries is considered. In the case of security against active adversaries, a black-box one-way function is indeed useful for SFE, but we show that it is useful only as much as access to an ideal commitment functionality is useful. Technically, our main result establishes the limitations of random oracles for secure computation.

Based on a new theory, two computer codes were developed specifically to calculate the exact statistical tolerance limits for normal distributions within unknown means and variances for the one-sided and two-sided cases for the tolerance factor, k. The quantity k is defined equivalently in terms of the noncentral t-distribution by the probability equation. Two of the four mathematical methods employ the theory developed for the numerical simulation. Several algorithms for numerically integrating and iteratively root-solving the working equations are written to augment the program simulation. The program codes generate some tables of k's associated with the varying values of the proportion and sample size for each given probability to show accuracy obtained for small sample sizes.