Flow Dynamics of a Dodecane Jet in Oxygen Crossflow at Supercritical Pressures

In advanced aero-propulsion engines, kerosene is often injected into the combustor at supercritical pressures, where flow dynamics is distinct from the subcritical counterpart. Large-eddy simulation combined with real-fluid thermodynamics and transport theories of a N-dodecane jet in oxygen crossflow at supercritical pressures is presented. Liquid dodecane at 600 K is injected into a supercritical oxygen environment at 700 K at different supercritical pressures and jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratios (J). Various vortical structures are discussed in detail. The results shown that, with the same jet-to-crossflow velocity ratio of 0.75, the upstream shear layer (USL) is absolutely unstable at 6.0 MPa (J = 7.1) and convectively unstable at 3.0 MPa (J = 13.2). This trend is consistent with the empirical criterion for the stability characteristics of a jet in crossflow at subcritical pressures (Jcr = 10). While decreasing J to 7.1 at 3.0 MPa, however, the dominant Strouhal number of the USL varies along the upstream jet trajectory, and the USL becomes convectively unstable. Such abnormal change in stability behavior can be attributed to the real-fluid effect induced by strong density stratification at pressure of 3.0 MPa, under which a point of inflection in the upstream mixing layer renders large density gradient and tends to stabilize the USL. The stability behavior with varying pressure and J is further corroborated by linear stability analysis. The analysis of spatial mixing deficiencies reveals that the mixing efficiency is enhanced at a higher jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratio

Quantum Memory: A Missing Piece in Quantum Computing Units

Memory is an indispensable component in classical computing systems. While the development of quantum computing is still in its early stages, current quantum processing units mainly function as quantum registers. Consequently, the actual role of quantum memory in future advanced quantum computing architectures remains unclear. With the rapid scaling of qubits, it is opportune to explore the potential and feasibility of quantum memory across different substrate device technologies and application scenarios. In this paper, we provide a full design stack view of quantum memory. We start from the elementary component of a quantum memory device, quantum memory cells. We provide an abstraction to a quantum memory cell and define metrics to measure the performance of physical platforms. Combined with addressing functionality, we then review two types of quantum memory devices: random access quantum memory (RAQM) and quantum random access memory (QRAM). Building on top of these devices, quantum memory units in the computing architecture, including building a quantum memory unit, quantum cache, quantum buffer, and using QRAM for the quantum input-output module, are discussed. We further propose the programming model for the quantum memory units and discuss their possible applications. By presenting this work, we aim to attract more researchers from both the Quantum Information Science (QIS) and classical memory communities to enter this emerging and exciting area.Comment: 41 pages, 11 figures, 7 table

Multi-mode Cavity Centric Architectures for Quantum Simulation

Near-term quantum computing technologies grapple with huge complexity overheads, hindering their ability to induce algorithms, necessitating engineering and scientific innovations. One class of problems of interest is Quantum Simulation, whereby quantum systems are simulated using a quantum computer. However, current devices are yet to surpass classical tensor network techniques. For problems of interest, where classical simulation techniques fail, large degrees of entanglement are required. Another challenge of implementing quantum simulation problems is that qubits sit idle whilst alternating simulation terms are implemented, exposing the system to decoherence. In the near term, 2D planar superconducting lattices of circuit-QED elements such as the transmon continue to draw substantial attention, but they are hindered by their nearest neighbor topology and relatively short lifespan, two problems that are problematic for quantum simulation. One technology of particular interest is the multi-mode superconducting resonator capable of storing multiple qubits in one device. We observe that these cavities have a natural virtual topology that aligns particularly well with quantum simulation problems, and exhibit much longer lifespans in comparison to other planar superconducting hardware. In this paper we present MUCIC, we discuss the simple integration of these devices into the current landscape and their implications to quantum simulation, motivated by their alignment to the quantum simulation problem, and potential as a quantum memory candidate. We report the development of MUCICs transpiler, leading to reductions of up to 82% in quantum simulation circuit depths. Additionally, our investigation demonstrates improvements of up to 19.4% in converged results from Variational Quantum Algorithms

The gene regulatory molecule GLIS3 in gastric cancer as a prognostic marker and be involved in the immune infiltration mechanism

BackgroundGastric cancer is the most prevalent solid tumor form. Even after standard treatment, recurrence and malignant progression are nearly unavoidable in some cases of stomach cancer. GLIS Family Zinc Finger 3 (GLIS3) has received scant attention in gastric cancer research. Therefore, we sought to examine the prognostic significance of GLIS3 and its association with immune infiltration in gastric cancer.MethodUsing public data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we investigated whether GLIS3 gene expression was linked with prognosis in patients with stomach cancer (STAD). The following analyses were performed: functional enrichment analysis (GSEA), quantitative real-time PCR, immune infiltration analysis, immunological checkpoint analysis, and clinicopathological analysis. We performed functional validation of GLIS3 in vitro by plate cloning and CCK8 assay. Using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, independent prognostic variables were identified. Additionally, a nomogram model was built. The link between OS and subgroup with GLIS3 expression was estimated using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Gene set enrichment analysis utilized the TCGA dataset.ResultGLIS3 was significantly upregulated in STAD. An examination of functional enrichment revealed that GLIS3 is related to immunological responses. The majority of immune cells and immunological checkpoints had a positive correlation with GLIS3 expression. According to a Kaplan-Meier analysis, greater GLIS3 expression was related to adverse outcomes in STAD. GLIS3 was an independent predictive factor in STAD patients, as determined by Cox regression (HR = 1.478, 95%CI = 1.478 (1.062-2.055), P=0.02)ConclusionGLIS3 is considered a novel STAD patient predictive biomarker. In addition, our research identifies possible genetic regulatory loci in the therapy of STAD

QASMTrans: A QASM based Quantum Transpiler Framework for NISQ Devices

The success of a quantum algorithm hinges on the ability to orchestrate a successful application induction. Detrimental overheads in mapping general quantum circuits to physically implementable routines can be the deciding factor between a successful and erroneous circuit induction. In QASMTrans, we focus on the problem of rapid circuit transpilation. Transpilation plays a crucial role in converting high-level, machine-agnostic circuits into machine-specific circuits constrained by physical topology and supported gate sets. The efficiency of transpilation continues to be a substantial bottleneck, especially when dealing with larger circuits requiring high degrees of inter-qubit interaction. QASMTrans is a high-performance C++ quantum transpiler framework that demonstrates up to 369X speedups compared to the commonly used Qiskit transpiler. We observe speedups on large dense circuits such as uccsd_n24 and qft_n320 which require O(10^6) gates. QASMTrans successfully transpiles the aforementioned circuits in 69s and 31s, whilst Qiskit exceeded an hour of transpilation time. With QASMTrans providing transpiled circuits in a fraction of the time of prior transpilers, potential design space exploration, and heuristic-based transpiler design becomes substantially more tractable. QASMTrans is released at http://github.com/pnnl/qasmtrans

Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE), Life and Health

Light has profoundly impacted modern medicine and healthcare, with numerous luminescent agents and imaging techniques currently being used to assess health and treat diseases. As an emerging concept in luminescence, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) has shown great potential in biological applications due to its advantages in terms of brightness, biocompatibility, photostability, and positive correlation with concentration. This review provides a comprehensive summary of AIE luminogens applied in imaging of biological structure and dynamic physiological processes, disease diagnosis and treatment, and detection and monitoring of specific analytes, followed by representative works. Discussions on critical issues and perspectives on future directions are also included. This review aims to stimulate the interest of researchers from different fields, including chemistry, biology, materials science, medicine, etc., thus promoting the development of AIE in the fields of life and health

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Progress of Study on Interception of Soil Mulching with an Insight into Karst Soil Leakage Control: A Review

Soil erosion is a global issue of great concern, especially in karst areas with special environments, where subsurface soil leakage is closely related to soil erosion, which has become a key factor limiting agricultural development. To explore how to improve soil erosion in karst areas to enhance soil quality and maintain the sustainable use of the land in the long term, a total of 176 studies on the interception characteristics of soil mulching and erosion management were reviewed using a systematic review approach, through the WoS and CNKI databases. Firstly, quantitative analysis was conducted in terms of the annual volume, content and countries of the published literature. Secondly, from four aspects (theoretical research, mechanism research, technology research and technical demonstration), the main progress and landmark achievements of soil mulching interception and erosion management were classified. It is shown that the interception characteristics of soil mulching can produce an effective blockage for soil leakage in karst areas. Based on the global classification, compared to synthetic materials, natural materials have received more attention. We propose five key scientific questions that still need to be addressed. This review explores the insightful role of soil mulching for karst soil leakage management and aims to provide theoretical support for future research on sustainable land development in karst areas

Soil Moisture and Nutrient Changes of Agroforestry in Karst Plateau Mountain: A Monitoring Example

To explore soil nutrients and moisture changes in different karst mountain agroforestry, in the plateau mountains of Southern China Karst, we used secondary tree and irrigation forest (C) as a reference for our study and selected four mixed agroforestry species (walnut + maize + potato (HYM), walnut + maize (HTY), poplar + ryegrass (YSH), and maize + ryegrass (YMH)) for comparison. First, soil moisture change characteristics were monitored in situ in the field. Second, for soil samples, soil bulk density, porosity, and permeability were analyzed, soil nutrient (K, Na, Ca, and Mg) characteristics were tested and analyzed. Then, we explored the relationship between agroforestry and soil moisture, soil moisture and soil nutrients, soil moisture and precipitation, and agroforestry and soil nutrients. It is shown (1) during the monitored period, variation trends in soil nutrients in four types of agroforestry was small, but it increased/decreased significantly compared with the secondary forest, which the variation range was more than 5%; (2) the changes of soil water content were significantly affected by precipitation, soil porosity and permeability, the moisture content changes of HYM, HTY, YSH, and YMH agroforestry were significantly correlated with precipitation, soil porosity, and permeability; (3) under the same precipitation conditions, different types had different lags on soil water regulation, with the average HYM 0.8 h, HTY 0.6 h, YSH 0.3 h, and YMH 0.4 h, each type soil responded at 2–3 h after rain, and the soil moisture content returned to the normal level; and (4) the variation of soil moisture content fluctuated seasonally, and the most obvious was HYM and HTY agroforestry, their Cv value between winter and summer exceeded 21%. The results provide basic theoretical support for further exploring the relationship among agroforestry, soil, moisture, and nutrients and enrich the content of the development of agroforestry in karst areas. They are of importance to promote ecological restoration and agroforestry development in karst areas