Experimental Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Steering and Randomness Generation Beyond Qubits

In a measurement-device-independent or quantum-refereed protocol, a referee can verify whether two parties share entanglement or Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering without the need to trust either of the parties or their devices. The need for trusting a party is substituted by a quantum channel between the referee and that party, through which the referee encodes the measurements to be performed on that party's subsystem in a set of nonorthogonal quantum states. In this Letter, an EPR-steering inequality is adapted as a quantum-refereed EPR-steering witness, and the trust-free experimental verification of higher dimensional quantum steering is reported via preparing a class of entangled photonic qutrits. Further, with two measurement settings, we extract $1.106\pm0.023$ bits of private randomness per every photon pair from our observed data, which surpasses the one-bit limit for projective measurements performed on qubit systems. Our results advance research on quantum information processing tasks beyond qubits.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

Observation of stronger-than-binary correlations with entangled photonic qutrits

We present the first experimental confirmation of the quantum-mechanical prediction of stronger-than-binary correlations. These are correlations that cannot be explained under the assumption that the occurrence of a particular outcome of an $n \ge 3$-outcome measurement is due to a two-step process in which, in the first step, some classical mechanism precludes $n-2$ of the outcomes and, in the second step, a binary measurement generates the outcome. Our experiment uses pairs of photonic qutrits distributed between two laboratories, where randomly chosen three-outcome measurements are performed. We report a violation by {9.3} standard deviations of the optimal inequality for nonsignaling binary correlations.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

The CDEX-1 1 kg Point-Contact Germanium Detector for Low Mass Dark Matter Searches

The CDEX Collaboration has been established for direct detection of light dark matter particles, using ultra-low energy threshold p-type point-contact germanium detectors, in China JinPing underground Laboratory (CJPL). The first 1 kg point-contact germanium detector with a sub-keV energy threshold has been tested in a passive shielding system located in CJPL. The outputs from both the point-contact p+ electrode and the outside n+ electrode make it possible to scan the lower energy range of less than 1 keV and at the same time to detect the higher energy range up to 3 MeV. The outputs from both p+ and n+ electrode may also provide a more powerful method for signal discrimination for dark matter experiment. Some key parameters, including energy resolution, dead time, decay times of internal X-rays, and system stability, have been tested and measured. The results show that the 1 kg point-contact germanium detector, together with its shielding system and electronics, can run smoothly with good performances. This detector system will be deployed for dark matter search experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure

Distinct roles of clustered MicroRNAs miR-286 and miR-6 in JNK activation critical to apoptosis-induced proliferation in <i>Drosophila</i>

Apoptosis-induced proliferation (AiP) is an evolutionarily conserved process implicated in tissue regeneration and tumorigenesis. Studies in Drosophila have identified activation of the stress response molecule c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) as a critical step in mediating AiP. Interestingly, JNK activation can be further amplified to drive tissue overgrowth during this process. However, the mechanisms that coordinate the initial activation of JNK and its subsequent amplification remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified distinct functions for two members of the microRNA cluster miR-309/3/286/4/5/6 − 1/6 − 2/6 − 3, specifically miR-286 and miR-6, in regulating JNK signaling during AiP. We found that miR-6 promoted the initial activation of JNK, whereas miR-286 inhibited its amplification. During AiP, the expression of miR-286 was reduced, and we identified Calx, a gene encoding a sodium/calcium exchanger involved in intracellular calcium homeostasis, as a direct target of miR-286. Loss of miR-286 led to increased Calx expression and enhanced JNK amplification. Genetically, these promoted AiP through calcium signaling. Together, our findings revealed a microRNA-based regulatory mechanism that coordinates different stages of JNK activation during AiP

B5, a thioredoxin reductase inhibitor, induces apoptosis in human cervical cancer cells by suppressing the thioredoxin system, disrupting mitochondrion-dependent pathways and triggering autophagy

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Association of Polymorphisms in STRA6 and RARRES2 Genes with Type 2 Diabetes in Southern Han Chinese

Stimulated by retinoic acid gene homolog 6 (STRA6) and retinoic acid receptor responder 2 (RARRES2) are candidate genes involved in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Three tag-SNPs in STRA6 and one in RARRES2 gene were selected and genotyped with TaqMan or PCR-RFLP method in 603 populations (571 patients with T2D versus 632 control subjects) in Southern Han Chinese. We estimated the interactions between T2DM risk and genetic variants in the STRA6 and RARRES2 genes using polymerase chain reaction. Rs736118 in STRA6 gene were significantly associated with T2DM occurrence in the recessive genetic model. The genotype of rs974456 was significantly associated with T2DM in the dominant genetic model correlated to sex, MBI, and triglyceride. However, the association of other SNPs with T2DM was not found. Furthermore, smoking history and other factors may be independent risk factors for the incidence of T2DM. This study suggested that a role of STRA6 polymorphism could also be of value in predicting the risk of T2DM while RARRES2 polymorphism could not predict the risk of T2DM

The effect of personalized intervention on the cognitive function of elderly inpatients

目的  对住院老年患者进行早期认知功能护理干预，评价其效果。方法  2013年1月—2015年1月入院老年科病房的120名患者，运用MMSE量表对其认知功能进行评价，观察干预效果。结果  MMSE总分及MMSE量表中时间定向、短期记忆及插画条目干预后有改善（P＜0.05），地点定向、语言记忆、注意力、物品命名、语言复述、阅读能力、语言能力及语言表达条目改善不明显（P＞0.05）。 结论  个性化的认知干预能够延缓和改善患者认知功能障碍，提高老年患者的生活质量。Objectives: To assess the effect of the early cognitive function nursing intervention on the cognitive function of elderly inpatients. Methods: A total of 120 elderly inpatients in geriatrics ward were rolled from January 2013 to January 2015, and we evaluate the cognitive function of them and gave personalized intervention to them by MMSE scale. Results: The total score of MMSE was increased (P＜0.05); The entries of time orientation, short-term memory and illustration were improved significantly after three-month intervention (P＜0.05); The entries of place orientation, language, memory, attention, article name, repeat language, reading skills, language skills and language were not improved significantly. Conclusions:  Personalized cognitive intervention could improve the cognitive dysfunction and the quality of life of elderly patients