A study on the relations between the topological parameter and entanglement

In this paper, some relations between the topological parameter $d$ and concurrences of the projective entangled states have been presented. It is shown that for the case with $d=n$, all the projective entangled states of two $n$-dimensional quantum systems are the maximally entangled states (i.e. $C=1$). And for another case with $d\neq n$, $C$ both approach $0$ when $d\rightarrow +\infty$ for $n=2$ and $3$. Then we study the thermal entanglement and the entanglement sudden death (ESD) for a kind of Yang-Baxter Hamiltonian. It is found that the parameter $d$ not only influences the critical temperature $T_{c}$, but also can influence the maximum entanglement value at which the system can arrive at. And we also find that the parameter $d$ has a great influence on the ESD.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Non-adiabatic holonomic quantum computation in linear system-bath coupling

Non-adiabatic holonomic quantum computation in decoherence-free subspaces protects quantum information from control imprecisions and decoherence. For the non-collective decoherence that each qubit has its own bath, we show the implementations of two non-commutable holonomic single-qubit gates and one holonomic nontrivial two-qubit gate that compose a universal set of non-adiabatic holonomic quantum gates in decoherence-free-subspaces of the decoupling group, with an encoding rate of $\frac{N-2}{N}$. The proposed scheme is robust against control imprecisions and the non-collective decoherence, and its non-adiabatic property ensures less operation time. We demonstrate that our proposed scheme can be realized by utilizing only two-qubit interactions rather than many-qubit interactions. Our results reduce the complexity of practical implementation of holonomic quantum computation in experiments. We also discuss the physical implementation of our scheme in coupled microcavities.Comment: 2 figures; accepted by Sci. Re

Naringenin Modifies the Development of Lineage-Specific Effector CD4+ T Cells

Disrupted balance in the lineages of CD4+ T cell subsets, including pro-inflammatory T helper (Th) cells and anti-inflammatory regulatory T cells (Treg), is a primary pathogenic factor for developing autoimmunity. We have found that this immunomodulatory effect of naringenin on effector T cells and T-cell mediated experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). We therefore explored the effects of naringenin on the development of different effector CD4+ T cells. Naïve CD4+ T cells were differentiated under respective Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg polarizing conditions with naringenin. Percent populations of each differentiated CD4+ T cell subsets were determined and the corresponding regulating pathways were investigated as underlying mechanisms. Naringenin mainly inhibited CD4+ T cell proliferation and differentiation to Th1 and Th17, but did not affect Th2 cells. Impeded Th1 polarization was associated with inhibition of its specific regulator proteins T-bet, p-STAT1, and p-STAT4 by naringenin. Likewise, Th17 regulator proteins RORγt, p-STAT3, and Ac-STAT3 were also inhibited by naringenin. In addition, naringenin promoted Treg polarization and also prevented IL-6-induced suppression of Treg development via down-regulation of p-Smad2/3 as well as inhibition of IL-6 signaling, and the latter was further supported by the in vivo results showing lower soluble IL-6R but higher soluble gp130 levels in plasma of naringenin-fed compared to the control EAE mice. Naringenin impacts CD4+ T cell differentiation in a manner that would explain its beneficial effect in preventing/mitigating T cell-mediated autoimmunity

A New Anelasticity Model for Wave Propagation in Partially Saturated Rocks

Elastic wave propagation in partially saturated reservoir rocks induces fluid flow in multi-scale pore spaces, leading to wave anelasticity (velocity dispersion and attenuation). The propagation characteristics cannot be described by a single-scale flow-induced dissipation mechanism. To overcome this problem, we combine the White patchy-saturation theory and the squirt flow model to obtain a new anelasticity theory for wave propagation. We consider a tight sandstone Qingyang area, Ordos Basin, and perform ultrasonic measurements at partial saturation and different confining pressures, where the rock properties are obtained at full-gas saturation. The comparison between the experimental data and the theoretical results yields a fairly good agreement, indicating the efficacy of the new theory

An electromagnetic wearable 3-DoF resonance human body motion energy harvester using ferrofluid as a lubricant

Wearable energy harvester offers clean and continuous power for wearable sensors or devices, and plays an important role in a wide range of applications such as the health monitoring and motion track. In this study, we investigate a small electromagnetic resonance wearable kinetic energy harvester. It consists of a permanent magnet (PM) supported by two elastic strings within a rectangular box form a 3-degree-of-freedom (3-DoF) vibrator. Copper windings are attached to the outer surface of the box to generate electrical energy when the PM is forced to vibrate. To minimize any frictional losses, ferrofluid is used such that the poles of PM are cushioned by the ferrofluid, to the effect that the PM will not touch the inner of the box. Simulation results show that the ferrofluid can keep the PM ‘contactless’ from the box even subject to 10 times gravity acceleration. A prototype is built and tested under different loading conditions. Resistance load experimental results indicate the proposed harvester can generate 1.11.1 mW in walking condition and 2.282.28 mW in running condition. An energy storage circuit is employed and the energy storage experimental results show that the average storage power during walking and running conditions are 0.0140.014 mW and 0.1490.149 mW respectively. It is shown that the developed harvester can be readily attached on a shoe to offer continuous power supply for wearable sensors and devices

Estimating the Cooling Effect of Pocket Green Space in High Density Urban Areas in Shanghai, China

Recently, pocket green spaces (PGS), i.e., small green spaces, have attracted growing attention for their various ecological and social services. As a crucial part of urban green spaces in high-density urban areas, PGS facilitates recreation and relaxation for neighborhoods and thus improves the livability of cities at the local scale. However, whether and how the PGS cools the urban heat island effect is still unclear. This research was performed in the highly developed areas of the city of Shanghai during hot summer daytime. We applied a set of cooling effect indicators to estimate the cooling extent, cooling intensity, and cooling efficiency of PGS. We further examined whether and how landscape features within and surrounding the PGS influence its cooling effects. The results showed that 90% of PGS are cooler than their surroundings. Among the landscape features, the land surface temperature of PGS logarithmically decreased with its area, and the maximum local cool island intensity and maximum cooling area logarithmically increased with the area of PGS. The vegetation types and their composition within the PGS also influenced their surface temperature and the cooling effect. The PGS dominated by tree-shrub-grass showed the highest cooling efficiency. The surrounding landscape patterns, especially the patch density and the landscape shape index, influence the cooling effect of PGS at both class and landscape levels. These findings add new knowledge on factors influencing the cooling effect of PGS, and provide the biophysical theoretical basis for developing nature-based cooling strategies for urban landscape designers and planners.Peer Reviewe

Cytokine-induced changes in the gene expression profile of a human cerebral microvascular endothelial cell-line, hCMEC/D3.

Background: The human cerebral microvascular endothelial cell line, hCMEC/D3, has been used extensively to model the blood–brain barrier (BBB) in vitro. Recently, we reported that cytokine-treatment induced loss of brain endothelial barrier properties. In this study, we further determined the gene expression pattern of hCMEC/D3 cells in response to activation with TNFα and IFNγ. Findings: Using a microarray approach, we observed that expression of genes involved in the control of barrier permeability, including inter-brain endothelial junctions (e.g. claudin-5, MARVELD-2), integrin-focal adhesions complexes (e.g. integrin β1, ELMO-1) and transporter systems (e.g. ABCB1, SLC2A1), are altered by pro-inflammatory cytokines. Conclusions: Our study shows that previously-described cytokine-induced changes in the pattern of gene expression of endothelium are reproduced in hCMEC/D3 cells, suggesting that this model is suitable to study inflammation at the BBB, while at the same time it has provided insights into novel key molecular processes that are altered in brain endothelium during neuroinflammation, such as modulation of cell-to-matrix contacts

Modulation of interparticle gap for enhanced SERS sensitivity in chemically stable Ag@Au hetero-architectures

Despite the excellent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity, the poor chemical stability of Ag nanoparticles severely hinders their application as SERS substrates. In this paper, a two-step process was used to prepare highly sensitive and chemically stable Ag@Au hetero-architectures, in situ growth of Ag nanoparticles on a Si wafer followed by Au coating through ion sputtering. Owing to the chemical inertness of Au, the Ag@Au hetero-architecture substrates exhibited enhanced chemical stability compared to pure Ag nanoparticle substrates. In particular, the deposition of Au coatings could efficiently modulate the gap between the neighboring Ag nanoparticles and strengthen the surface plasmon coupling effect. As a consequence, the Ag@Au hetero-architecture substrates exhibited a higher SERS sensitivity than pure Ag nanoparticle substrates. Furthermore, a possible mechanism for the enhanced SERS sensitivity of the Ag@Au hetero-architecture substrates was proposed and discussed. The present work came up with an effective and facile way to tune SERS sensitivity and chemical stability of Ag nanoparticle substrate, and in the meantime, implied a promising SERS application in oxidative environments or biological systems. This journal i