Observation of photonic antichiral edge states

Chiral edge states are a hallmark feature of two-dimensional topological materials. Such states must propagate along the edges of the bulk either clockwise or counterclockwise, and thus produce oppositely propagating edge states along the two parallel edges of a strip sample. However, recent theories have predicted a counterintuitive picture, where the two edge states at the two parallel strip edges can propagate in the same direction; these anomalous topological edge states are named as antichiral edge states. Here we report the experimental observation of antichiral edge states in a gyromagnetic photonic crystal. The crystal consists of gyromagnetic cylinders in a honeycomb lattice, with the two triangular sublattices magnetically biased in opposite directions. With microwave measurement, unique properties of antichiral edge states have been observed directly, which include the titled dispersion, the chiral-like robust propagation in samples with certain shapes, and the scattering into backward bulk states at certain terminations. These results extend and supplement the current understanding of chiral edge states

Surface ligand controls silver ion release of nanosilver and its antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli

Understanding the mechanism of nanosilver-dependent antibacterial activity against microorganisms helps optimize the design and usage of the related nanomaterials. In this study, we prepared four kinds of 10 nm-sized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with dictated surface chemistry by capping different ligands, including citrate, mercaptopropionic acid, mercaptohexanoic acid, and mercaptopropionic sulfonic acid. Their surface-dependent chemistry and antibacterial activities were investigated. Owing to the weak bond to surface Ag, short carbon chain, and low silver ion attraction, citrate-coated AgNPs caused the highest silver ion release and the strongest antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, when compared to the other tested AgNPs. The study on the underlying antibacterial mechanisms indicated that cellular membrane uptake of Ag, NAD+/NADH ratio increase, and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation were significantly induced in both AgNP and silver ion exposure groups. The released silver ions from AgNPs inside cells through a Trojan-horse-type mechanism were suggested to interact with respiratory chain proteins on the membrane, interrupt intracellular O2 reduction, and induce ROS production. The further oxidative damages of lipid peroxidation and membrane breakdown caused the lethal effect on E. coli. Altogether, this study demonstrated that AgNPs exerted antibacterial activity through the release of silver ions and the subsequent induction of intracellular ROS generation by interacting with the cell membrane. The findings are helpful in guiding the controllable synthesis through the regulation of surface coating for medical care purpose

Isolation and identification of a canine coronavirus strain from giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Two giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) died of unknown causes in a Chinese zoo. The clinical disease profile suggested that the pandas may have suffered a viral infection. Therefore, a series of detection including virus isolation, electron microscopy, cytobiological assay, serum neutralization and RT-PCR were used to identify the virus. It was determined that the isolated virus was a canine coronavirus (CCV), on the basis of coronavirus, neutralization by canine anti-CCV serum, and 84.3% to 100% amino acid sequence similarity with CCV. The results suggest that the affected pandas had been infected with CCV

A SWAP Gate for Spin Qubits in Silicon

With one- and two-qubit gate fidelities approaching the fault-tolerance threshold for spin qubits in silicon, how to scale up the architecture and make large arrays of spin qubits become the more pressing challenges. In a scaled-up structure, qubit-to-qubit connectivity has crucial impact on gate counts of quantum error correction and general quantum algorithms. In our toolbox of quantum gates for spin qubits, SWAP gate is quite versatile: it can help solve the connectivity problem by realizing both short- and long-range spin state transfer, and act as a basic two-qubit gate, which can reduce quantum circuit depth when combined with other two-qubit gates. However, for spin qubits in silicon quantum dots, high fidelity SWAP gates have not been demonstrated due to the requirements of large circuit bandwidth and a highly adjustable ratio between the strength of the exchange coupling J and the Zeeman energy difference Delta E_z. Here we demonstrate a fast SWAP gate with a duration of ~25 ns based on quantum dots in isotopically enriched silicon, with a highly adjustable ratio between J and Delta E_z, for over two orders of magnitude in our device. We are also able to calibrate the single-qubit local phases during the SWAP gate by incorporating single-qubit gates in our circuit. By independently reading out the qubits, we probe the anti-correlations between the two spins, estimate the operation fidelity and analyze the dominant error sources for our SWAP gate. These results pave the way for high fidelity SWAP gates, and processes based on them, such as quantum communication on chip and quantum simulation by engineering the Heisenberg Hamiltonian in silicon.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures

An Updated Search of Steady TeV γ−\gamma-Ray Point Sources in Northern Hemisphere Using the Tibet Air Shower Array

Using the data taken from Tibet II High Density (HD) Array (1997 February-1999 September) and Tibet-III array (1999 November-2005 November), our previous northern sky survey for TeV $\gamma-$ray point sources has now been updated by a factor of 2.8 improved statistics. From $0.0^{\circ}$ to $60.0^{\circ}$ in declination (Dec) range, no new TeV $\gamma-$ray point sources with sufficiently high significance were identified while the well-known Crab Nebula and Mrk421 remain to be the brightest TeV $\gamma-$ray sources within the field of view of the Tibet air shower array. Based on the currently available data and at the 90% confidence level (C.L.), the flux upper limits for different power law index assumption are re-derived, which are approximately improved by 1.7 times as compared with our previous reported limits.Comment: This paper has been accepted by hepn

Profiling of the perturbed metabolomic state of mouse spleen during acute and chronic toxoplasmosis

Background Toxoplasma gondii, a common opportunistic protozoan, is a leading cause of illness and mortality among immunosuppressed individuals and during congenital infections. Current therapeutic strategies for toxoplasmosis are not fully effective at curtailing disease progression in these cases. Given the parasite ability to influence host immunity and metabolism, understanding of the metabolic alterations in the host’s immune organs during T. gondii infection may enhance the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that define the pathophysiology of T. gondii infection. Methods We investigated the global metabolic changes in the spleen of BALB/c mice at early and late stage of infection with T. gondii using LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics. Multivariate data analysis methods, principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), were used to identify metabolites that are influenced by T. gondii infection. Results Multivariate analyses clearly separated the metabolites of spleen of infected and control mice. A total of 132 differential metabolites were identified, 23 metabolites from acutely infected versus control mice and 109 metabolites from chronically infected versus control mice. Lipids, hormones, lactones, acids, peptides, antibiotics, alkaloids and natural toxins were the most influenced chemical groups. There were 12 shared differential metabolites between acutely infected versus control mice and chronically infected versus control mice, of which 4,4-Dimethyl-5alpha-cholesta-8,14,24-trien-3beta-ol was significantly upregulated and ubiquinone-8 was significantly downregulated. Major perturbed metabolic pathways included primary bile acid biosynthesis, steroid hormone biosynthesis, biotin metabolism, and steroid biosynthesis, with arachidonic acid metabolism being the most significantly impacted pathway. These metabolic changes suggest a multifactorial nature of the immunometabolic responses of mouse spleen to T. gondii infection. Conclusions This study demonstrated that T. gondii infection can cause significant metabolomic alterations in the spleen of infected mice. These findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms that underpin the pathogenesis of T. gondii infection