Distillation of Gaussian Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering with noiseless linear amplification

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering is one of the most intriguing features of quantum mechanics and an important resource for quantum communication. The inevitable loss and noise in the quantum channel will lead to decrease of the steerability and turn it from two-way to one-way. Despite an extensive research on protecting entanglement from decoherence, it remains a challenge to protect EPR steering due to its intrinsic difference from entanglement. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the distillation of Gaussian EPR steering in lossy and noisy environment using measurement-based noiseless linear amplification. Our scheme recovers the two-way steerability from one-way in certain region of loss and enhances EPR steering for both directions. We also show that the distilled EPR steering allows to extract secret key in one-sided device-independent quantum key distribution. Our work paves the way for quantum communication exploiting EPR steering in practical quantum channels

Influence of Defects on In-Plane Dynamic Properties of Hexagonal Ligament Chiral Structures

Although the six-ligament chiral structure has many unique properties, due to its special structure, the stress concentration is prone to defects. In addition, additive manufacturing is also prone to defects. This paper studies the effect of defects, which is helpful for the better application of the six-ligament chiral structure. Several new six-ligament chiral structures with random and concentrated defects were designed to explore the effects of the defects on the in-plane dynamic properties. The structures were studied with the finite element ANSYS/LSDYNA numerical simulation and experimental methods. According to the defect-free six-ligament chiral structures exhibiting different deformation modes at different impact velocities, the effects of the defect rate and type (concentrated and random defects) on the six-ligament chiral structure, the in-plane impact deformation mode and energy absorption characteristics are discussed. The research results show that the defect rate and type reduce the energy absorption characteristics of the chiral structure to varying degrees, and the impact deformation mode also changes under medium- and low-speed impact. With the increase in speed, the influence of the defects on the deformation mode weakens. Moreover, the effects of the concentrated and random defects on the platform stress are different. When the defect rate is low, the effect of the random defects is more significant, and as the defect rate increases, the effect of the concentrated defects is more obvious. The study can provide guidance for structural design, predict the failure form of structures containing defects when they are impacted, and realize material recycling

Remote preparation and manipulation of squeezed light

Remote state preparation enables one to create and manipulate a quantum state based on the shared entanglement between distant nodes. Here, we experimentally demonstrate remote preparation and manipulation of squeezed light. By performing homodyne projective measurement on one mode of the continuous variable entangled state at Alice's station, a squeezed state is created at Bob's station. Moreover, rotation and displacement operations are applied on the prepared squeezed state by changing the projective parameters on Alice's state. We also show that the remotely prepared squeezed state is robust against loss and N-1 squeezed states can be remotely prepared based on a N-mode continuous variable Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-like state. Our results verify the entanglement-based model used in security analysis of quantum key distribution with continuous variables and have potential application in remote quantum information processing

A novel ZRS variant causes preaxial polydactyly type I by increased sonic hedgehog expression in the developing limb bud.

PurposePreaxial polydactyly (PPD) is a common congenital hand malformation classified into four subtypes (PPD I-IV). Variants in the zone of polarizing activity regulatory sequence (ZRS) within intron 5 of the LMBR1 gene are linked to most PPD types. However, the genes responsible for PPD I and the underlying mechanisms are unknown.MethodsA rare large four-generation family with isolated PPD I was subjected to genome-wide genotyping and sequence analysis. In vitro and in vivo functional studies were performed in Caco-2 cells, 293T cells, and a knockin transgenic mouse model.ResultsA novel g.101779T>A (reference sequence: NG_009240.2; position 446 of the ZRS) variant segregates with all PPD I-affected individuals. The knockin mouse with this ZRS variant exhibited PPD I phenotype accompanying ectopic and excess expression of Shh. We confirmed that HnRNP K can bind the ZRS and SHH promoters. The ZRS mutant enhanced the binding affinity for HnRNP K and upregulated SHH expression.ConclusionOur results identify the first PPD I disease-causing variant. The variant leading to PPD I may be associated with enhancing SHH expression mediated by HnRNP K. This study adds to the ZRS-associated syndromes classification system for PPD and clarifies the underlying molecular mechanisms

MicroRNA-96 Promotes Schistosomiasis Hepatic Fibrosis in Mice by Suppressing Smad7

Infection with Schistosoma causes aberrant expression of host microRNAs (miRNAs), and normalizing the levels of dysregulated miRNAs can attenuate pathology. Here, we show that the host miRNA, miR-96, is markedly upregulated during the progression of hepatic schistosomiasis. We demonstrate that elevation of miR-96 induces hepatic fibrosis in infected mice by suppressing the expression of its target gene, Smad7. We show that infection with Schistosoma induces the expression of transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1), which in turn upregulates the expression of miR-96 through SMAD2/3-DROSHA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation. Furthermore, inhibition of miR-96 with recombinant adeno-associated virus 8 (rAAV8)-mediated delivery of Tough Decoy RNAs in mice attenuated hepatic fibrosis and prevented lethality following schistosome infection. Taken together, our data highlight the potential for rAAV8-mediated inhibition of miR-96 as a therapeutic strategy to treat hepatic schistosomiasis

Remote preparation of optical cat states based on Gaussian entanglement

Remote state preparation enables one to prepare and manipulate quantum state non-locally. As an essential quantum resource, optical cat state is usually prepared locally by subtracting photons from a squeezed vacuum state. For remote quantum information processing, it is essential to prepare and manipulate optical cat states remotely based on Gaussian entanglement, which remains a challenge. Here, we present experimental preparation of optical cat states based on a remotely distributed two-mode Gaussian entangled state in a lossy channel. By performing photon subtraction and homodyne projective measurement at Alice's station, an optical cat state is prepared remotely at Bob's station. Furthermore, the prepared cat state is rotated by changing Alice's measurement basis of homodyne detection, which demonstrates the remote manipulation of it. By distributing two modes of the two-mode Gaussian entangled state in lossy channels, we demonstrate that the remotely prepared cat state can tolerate much more loss in Alice's channel than that in Bob's channel. We also show that cat states with amplitudes larger than 2 can be prepared by increasing the squeezing level and subtracting photon numbers. Our results make a crucial step toward remote hybrid quantum information processing involving discrete- and continuous-variable techniques

Ginsenoside Rh2 inhibiting HCT116 colon cancer cell proliferation through blocking PDZ-binding kinase/T-LAK cell-originated protein kinase

AbstractBackgroundGinsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) is the main bioactive component in American ginseng, a commonly used herb, and its antitumor activity had been studied in previous studies. PDZ-binding kinase/T-LAK cell-originated protein kinase (PBK/TOPK), a serine/threonine protein kinase, is highly expressed in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells.MethodsWe examined the effect of GRh2 on HCT116 cells ex vivo. Next, we performed in vitro binding assay and in vitro kinase assay to search for the target of GRh2. Furthermore, we elucidated the underlying molecular mechanisms for the antitumor effect of GRh2 ex vivo and in vivo.ResultsThe results of our in vitro studies indicated that GRh2 can directly bind with PBK/TOPK and GRh2 also can directly inhibit PBK/TOPK activity. Ex vivo studies showed that GRh2 significantly induced cell death in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells. Further mechanistic study demonstrated that these compounds inhibited the phosphorylation levels of the extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) and (H3) in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells. In vivo studies showed GRh2 inhibited the growth of xenograft tumors of HCT116 cells and inhibited the phosphorylation levels of the extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2 and histone H3.ConclusionThe results indicate that GRh2 exerts promising antitumor effect that is specific to human HCT116 colorectal cancer cells through inhibiting the activity of PBK/TOPK