Demonstration of an optical quantum controlled-NOT gate without path interference

We report the first experimental demonstration of an optical quantum controlled-NOT gate without any path interference, where the two interacting path interferometers of the original proposals (Phys. Rev. A {\bf 66}, 024308 (2001), Phys. Rev. A {\bf 65}, 012314 (2002)) have been replaced by three partially polarizing beam splitters with suitable polarization dependent transmittances and reflectances. The performance of the device is evaluated using a recently proposed method (Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 94}, 160504 (2005)), by which the quantum process fidelity and the entanglement capability can be estimated from the 32 measurement results of two classical truth tables, significantly less than the 256 measurement results required for full quantum tomography.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Beating the Standard Quantum Limit with Four Entangled Photons

Precision measurements are important across all fields of science. In particular, optical phase measurements can be used to measure distance, position, displacement, acceleration and optical path length. Quantum entanglement enables higher precision than would otherwise be possible. We demonstrate an optical phase measurement with an entangled four photon interference visibility greater than the threshold to beat the standard quantum limit--the limit attainable without entanglement. These results open the way for new high-precision measurement applications.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures Author name was slightly modifie

Studies on Vitis Coignetiae Grapes― Vine Physiology and Fruit Constituents ―

Vitis coignetiae Pulliat is one of the naturally growing grape vines in the Japanese Islands, of which the fruit has been utilized as a healthy juice and wine. In Hiruzen Highlands, the vines have been cultivated for wine making since the 1980's. We have studied the physiology of berry set and berry maturation of the vines to improve the fruit production and fruit quality for last 14 seasons. V. coignetiae vines are dioecious and need insect pollination, mainly by two species of Diptera, Eristalis tenax and Eristalis cerealis, and one species of Hymenoptera, Ceratina japonica, indicating that mix planting with male vines and reservation of such insects are recommended. Once pollen grains have pollinated onto the stigma, most of them grow a pollen tube to penetrate into ovule tissue and finally reach the embryo sac to complete ovule fertilization. There are several types of coignetiae vines in Hiruzen vineyards that have different genetic backgrounds. RAPD analysis of 15 vines revealed that they can be divided into three groups and two individuals. Coignetiae vines have been found to have a lower tolerance for water logging than other cultivars, whereas they have moderate drought tolerance. Furthermore, coignetiae vines are not very disease tolerant, especially toward downy mildew, indicating that growers must take sufficient care over drainage and fungus control. V. coignetiae vines accumulate high levels of sugar and acid into the flesh and anthocyanins in the berry skin when they reach the full ripe stage, which is mid and late October in Hiruzen. Tartaric acid, the main acid constituent in coignetiae berries, is contained at levels as high as 1.0%. Amino acid concentration in the juice is much lower in most coignetiae vines than other wine grapes, although a special coignetiae vine with berries with high amino acid content has been found. V. coignetiae berries have been proved to have several functional properties such as high free radical scavenging activity and anti-photodecomposition of anthocyanin pigments. As commercial products of coignetiae berries, beautiful wines, pure juice, and wine vinegar with a rich and fruity taste are produced.岡山県真庭市蒜山で，地域特産物として1980年代から栽培が始められたヤマブドウ（Vitis coignetiae Pulliat）について，1993年から現在で，系統の識別，結実と果実発育の特性，果実成分の分析を行った．その結果，雌雄異株であるヤマブドウの結実安定のためには，受粉昆虫の活動が必要で，有用な数種の訪花昆虫が同定された．ヤマブドウの雌ずいは形態的に発育がよく，確実に受粉されれば，結実安定は達成される．しかし，ヤマブドウ樹は乾燥には強いが，耐湿性は低く，また，ベト病抵抗性も高くないので，ブドウ園の立地条件が重要である．成熟果実には糖，酸が高濃度で含まれるが，アミノ酸濃度は低い．しかし，探索の結果，一般の赤ワイン用品種 と同程度のアミノ酸含量を持つ樹が発見された．また，ヤマブドウ果実には高濃度の色素が含まれるが，同時にこの色素の光分解を抑制する成分が含まれていることが明らかになった．今後，この成分の同定と食品添加物としての利用が期待される．蒜山地区内のひるぜんワイン㈲ではヤマブドウワイン製造の技術改善が続けられ，赤およびロゼワインとして高い評価を得るようになった．また，「おかやまバイオアクティブ」の開発プロジェクトとしてワインビネガーの試作も行われた．現在，発ガン抑制などの機能性研究も進められており，健康食品としての生産拡大が期待される

耐乾・耐湿性に関するヤマブドウ（Vitis colignetiae Pilliat）と生食用ブドウ品種の比較

Excess-water and drought tolerance of Vitis coignetiae grapevines were compared against 2 V. vinifera cultivars, Muscat of Alexandria and Rizamat; and 2 hydrids (V. vinifera × V. labrusca), Delaware and Kyoho. Three-year-old cutting vines of each, planted in root zone restricted beds in a plastic house, were tested under water logged and irrigation-withheld conditions starting from early and mid July, respectively. Control vines were irrigated at pF 2.2 of soil water tension. Effects of water logging were firstly observed in V. coignetiae vines where the basal leaves turned dark red after 12 days, and then abscised after 3 weeks. Under 2 weeks of water logged conditions, net assimilation rate (NAR) of the primary leaves decreased signficantly in V. coignetiae and the hybrid cultivars, Kyoho leaves turned yellow 3 weeks after the onset of the treatment and then dried out 4 weeks later. Leaves of Rizamat, Delaware, and Muscut of Alexandria vines exhibited a slight color fading or leaf curling after 4 weeks of irrigation withholding, but these symptoms did not extend thereafter. Leaf NAR and transpiration rate decreased significantly in all tested vines after 10 days of irrigation withholding, though the decrease was rapid in Kyoho vines. These results indicate that V. coignetiae vines have a lower tolerance for water logging than other ciltivars, whereas they have moderate drought tolerance

Nucleophilic Addition to Nitrones Using a Flow Microreactor

Nucleophilic addition reactions of soft carbon nucleophiles to nitrones in a flow microreactor are reported for the first time. Under microflow conditions at 30 °C to 0 °C, a range of nitrones can be efficiently transformed into the corresponding oxyiminium ions by reacting with either acyl halides or trialkylsilyl triflates, which can subsequently undergo the addition of nucleophiles including allyltributylstannane, ketene methyl tert-butyldimethylsilyl acetal, and N-silyl ketene imines to afford the corresponding adducts in high yields, while such reactions at a similar temperature under batch conditions have resulted in lowering the yields due to undesired side reactions

36M-pixel synchrotron radiation micro-CT for whole secondary pulmonary lobule visualization from a large human lung specimen

A micro-CT system was developed using a 36M-pixel digital single-lens reflex camera as a cost-effective mode for large human lung specimen imaging. Scientific grade cameras used for biomedical x-ray imaging are much more expensive than consumer-grade cameras. During the past decade, advances in image sensor technology for consumer appliances have spurred the development of biomedical x-ray imaging systems using commercial digital single-lens reflex cameras fitted with high megapixel CMOS image sensors. This micro-CT system is highly specialized for visualizing whole secondary pulmonary lobules in a large human lung specimen. The secondary pulmonary lobule, a fundamental unit of the lung structure, reproduces the lung in miniature. The lung specimen is set in an acrylic cylindrical case of 36 mm diameter and 40 mm height. A field of view (FOV) of the micro-CT is 40.6 mm wide × 15.1 mm high with 3.07 μm pixel size using offset CT scanning for enlargement of the FOV. We constructed a 13,220 × 13,220 × 4912 voxel image with 3.07 μm isotropic voxel size for three-dimensional visualization of the whole secondary pulmonary lobule. Furthermore, synchrotron radiation has proved to be a powerful high-resolution imaging tool. This micro-CT system using a single-lens reflex camera and synchrotron radiation provides practical benefits of high-resolution and wide-field performance, but at low cost

Ability of Three Temperate Grasses to Compete with \u3cem\u3ePhalaris arundinacea\u3c/em\u3e L.

Weeds with rhizomes have become an ever-increasing problem in the grasslands of Hokkaido in northern Japan. Many meadows in the Tenpoku region, located in the northernmost part of Hokkaido, have been invaded by Phalaris arundinacea L., a grass with aggressive colonising ability known as the primary and most difficult to control weed in the Tenpoku region. However, dairy farmers in the grasslands of the Tenpoku region most commonly cultivate Phleum pratense L., in spite of its low competitive ability. The Tenpoku region frequently experiences years of low rainfall or drought, but P. pratense has low tolerance to drought (Okamoto et al., 2012; Okamoto and Furudate, 2010). Lolium perenne L. and Dactylis glomerata L. are also cultivated in the Tenpoku region, where they are used as rough forages; however, they are much less commonly cultivated than P. pratense. These species are thought to possess not only higher competitive ability than other grasses, but also higher drought tolerance than P. pratense, and thus may be more suitable for cultivation in some parts of the Tenpoku region. Therefore, we suggest that farmers choose a grass species suitable for their land. To further develop this concept, it is necessary to elucidate the differences among the abilities of these species to compete with invading P. arundinacea. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the competitive ability of these temperate grass species (L. perenne, D. glomerata, and P. pratense) with those of P. arundinacea

High Dietary Kuding Tea Extract Supplementation Induces Hepatic Xenobiotic-Metabolizing Enzymes-A 6-Week Feeding Study in Mice

Kuding tea (KT) is a traditional Chinese beverage rich in plant bioactives that may exhibit various health benefits. However, little is known about the safety of KT extract (KTE) when consumed long term at high doses as a dietary supplement. Therefore, in this study, we investigated aspects of the safety of KTE. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed a high-fat, high-fructose, Western-type diet (control) supplemented with either 12.88% γ-cyclodextrin (γCD), 7.12% KTE (comprising 0.15% ursolic acid, UA) encapsulated in 12.88% γCD (KTE-γCD), or 0.15% UA over a 6-week experimental period. The dietary treatments did not affect food intake, body weight or body composition. However, treatment with KTE-γCD, but not γCD and UA, increased liver weight and hepatic fat accumulation, which was accompanied by increased hepatic PPARγ and CD36 mRNA levels. KTE-γCD treatment elevated plasma cholesterol and CYP7A1 mRNA and protein levels compared to those in control mice. KTE-γCD substantially increased the mRNA and protein levels of hepatic CYP3A and GSTA1, which are central to the detoxification of drugs and xenobiotics. Furthermore, we observed a moderate elevation in hepatic CYP3A (5-fold change) and GSTA1 (1.7-fold change) mRNA levels in UA-fed mice. In vitro data collected in HepG2 cells indicated a dose-dependent increase in hepatic cytotoxicity in response to KTE treatment, which may have been partly mediated by UA. Overall, the present data may contribute to the safety assessment of KTE and suggest that KTE encapsulated in γCD affects liver fat storage and the hepatic phase I and phase II responses in mice

Development of New Functional Feed that Utilizes Yacon (\u3cem\u3eSmallanthus sonchifolius\u3c/em\u3e) and Rush (\u3cem\u3eJuncus effuses\u3c/em\u3e L.) in Japan

Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) is acknowledged as a food as well as a medicinal plant and its cultivation in Ja-pan has recently expanded. Rush (Juncus effuses L.) which is widely distributed in the temperate regions in the north-ern hemisphere, has historically been used as a herbal medicine for nephritis and dermal disorders. However, there is a lot of harvest residue of both plants. This research was conducted to find out the way for the effective use of these residues as functional feed resources

Structure of the inhibitor complex of old yellow enzyme from Trypanosoma cruzi

The structures of old yellow enzyme from Trypanosoma cruzi which produces prostaglandin F2α from PGH2 have been determined in the presence or absence of menadione