Polar Coding for the Cognitive Interference Channel with Confidential Messages

In this paper, we propose a low-complexity, secrecy capacity achieving polar coding scheme for the cognitive interference channel with confidential messages (CICC) under the strong secrecy criterion. Existing polar coding schemes for interference channels rely on the use of polar codes for the multiple access channel, the code construction problem of which can be complicated. We show that the whole secrecy capacity region of the CICC can be achieved by simple point-to-point polar codes due to the cognitivity, and our proposed scheme requires the minimum rate of randomness at the encoder

Multiqubit entanglement due to quantum gravity

Quantum gravity between masses can produce entangled states in thought experiments. We extend the experiments to tripartite case and construct states equivalent to Greenberger- Horne-Zeilinger states and W states under stochastic local operations and classical communication. The entanglement relates to the evolution phases induced by gravitational interaction. When we involve more masses in the experiments, multipartite entangled states can be constructed in a similar way. We measure the degree of multipartite entanglement by calculating the geometric measure. We describe the relationship between geometric measure and the evolution phases. It helps in searching out the states with robust entanglement.Comment: 17 pages,9 figure

Selectively fluorinated citronellol analogues support a hydrogen bonding donor interaction with the human OR1A1 olfactory receptor

Authors thank the Chinese Scholarship Council for funding a Studentship (No. 202008060063) at the University of St. Andrews, U.K.C-2 fluorinated and methylated stereoisomers of the fragrance citronellol 1 and its oxalate esters were prepared from (R)-pulegone 11 and explored as agonists of the human olfactory receptor OR1A1 and assayed also against site-specific mutants. There were clear isomer preferences and C-2 difluorination as in 18 led to the most active compound suggesting an important hydrogen bond donor role for citronellol 1. C-2 methylation and the corresponding oxalate ester analogues were less active.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Rapid and Precise Molecular Nanofiltration Using Ultra-Thin-Film Membranes Derived from 6,6′-Dihydroxy-2,2′-biphenyldiamine

A key challenge in efficient molecular separation is fabricating large-scale, highly selective polymeric membranes with precise pore control at the molecular scale. Herein, a new contorted monomer 6,6′-dihydroxy-2,2′-biphenyldiamine (DHBIPDA) is introduced as a building block to generate cross-linked, ultra-thin microporous nanofilms (sub-10 nm) via interfacial polymerization, enabling rapid, and precise molecular nanofiltration. Using diacyl chloride (TPC) as the cross-linker instead of trimesoyl chloride (TMC) significantly reduces the pore sizes within the membranes and achieves a narrower pore distribution due to a semi-crystalline structure. The film structures are confirmed using comprehensive characterization techniques including wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS), CO2 adsorption analysis, and molecular-scale simulation. The DHBIPDA/TPC and DHBIPDA/TMC membranes achieve methanol permeance values of up to 16.4 and 15.1 LMH bar−1 coupled with molecular weight cutoffs (MWCOs) as low as 283 and 306 Da, respectively. The DHBIPDA/TPC membrane demonstrates both higher permeance and higher selectivity compared to its relatively disordered counterpart DHBIPDA/TMC, consistent with characterization data. The DHBIPDA-derived membrane efficiently separates dye mixtures with similar molecular weights and enables effective recycling of organometallic homogeneous catalysts, suggesting its potential for industrial applications.</p

Shared and non-shared sIgA-coated and uncoated bacteria in intestine of mother-infant pairs

preprintBackground The infant gut microbiota is critical for promoting and maintaining early life health. Bacteria coated by secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) may help commensal bacteria colonize the gastrointestinal tract. The study aimed to analyze the composition of sIgA-coated and sIgA-uncoated bacterial communities at genus level, and lactobacilli and bifidobacterial communities at species level in human breast milk (HBM), infant, and maternal feces. Results Eleven pregnant women were recruited successfully. HBM, infant feces during colostrum, transition, and mature stages, and maternal feces within the mature stage were collected. sIgA-coated and sIgAuncoated bacteria were separated with magnetic-activated cell sorting. Then 16S rRNA sequencing, bifidobacterial groEL gene sequencing, and lactobacilli groEL gene sequencing were performed to analyze the bacterial community. The richness of sIgA-coated bacteria was significantly higher than that of sIgA-uncoated bacteria in HBM. PCoA revealed that the compositions of sIgA-coated and sIgAuncoated bacteria were different among HBM, infant and maternal feces. The dominant sIgA-coated bacteria in those samples were Escherichia/shigella and the dominant sIgA-uncoated bacteria was Pseudomonas. Higher relative abundance of sIgA-uncoated Bifidobacterium was found in the three lactation stages in infant feces compared to the corresponding HBM, and a higher relative abundance of sIgA-uncoated Faecalibacterium was found in maternal feces compared to HBM and infant feces. For the bifidobacterial community, PCoA analysis revealed a significantly different Bifidobacterium composition only in the sIgA-uncoated segments of infant feces and maternal feces. sIgA-coated and sIgA-uncoated B. longum subsp. infantis and B. pseudocatenulatum was dominant in infant feces and maternal feces, respectively. Additionally, the relative abundance of sIgA-uncoated B. longum subsp. infantis was significantly higher in infant feces compared to that in maternal feces. For the Lactobacillus community, the composition was significantly different in infant and maternal feces, while at species level, L. paragasseri and L. mucosae were dominant in infant and maternal feces, respectively. Conclusion HBM, infant, and maternal feces showed distinct diversity and composition of both sIgA-coated and sIgAuncoated bacteria at genus level. Infant and maternal feces showed similar diversity and similar composition of Bifidobacterium at species level. The same Bifidobacterium species could be detected both in sIgA-coated and sIgA-uncoated for

Efficacy evaluation of surgery combined with chemotherapy for stage IIIA small cell lung cancer patients: a retrospective analysis

Background: The efficacy of surgery in combination of chemotherapy for stage IIIA small cell lung cancer (IIIA-SCLC) is controversial. The aim of the present study was to analyze the efficacy of surgery combined with chemotherapy, especially in the setting of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by surgery for IIIA-SCLC.Methods: Between 2004 and 2015, we reviewed 2,199 chemotherapy-treated stage IIIA (N1/2) SCLC cases in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and 32 NAC + intentional radical resection treated, centrally-located IIIA-SCLC cases at Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital (SPH). Outcomes were compared between surgically and non-surgically treated patients from the SEER database after propensity score matching (PSM), and comparing lobectomy/bi-lobectomy and pneumonectomy patients from SPH. Prognostic factors were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazards regression model.Results: There was significantly higher overall survival (OS) in surgically treated IIIA-SCLC patients (OS, 44.8 vs. 21.2 months, P=0.048), and similar efficacy was observed between sub-lobectomy and lobectomy/ bi-lobectomy patients (OS: 55.6 vs. 30.3 months, P=0.167) in SEER database. At SPH, significantly higher OS was associated with T1 stage (before NAC: T1 vs. T2-4, 48.7 vs. 32.2 months, P=0.025; after NAC: T1 vs. T2-4, 42.7 vs. 21.3 months, P=0.048). Female sex [hazard ratio (HR): 0.078, P=0.009], T1 stage (HR: 13.048, P=0.026), and pneumonectomy (HR: 0.095, P=0.009) were independent prognostic factors for IIIASCLC patients who received NAC + intentional radical resection.Conclusions: For stage IIIA SCLC patients, complete resection combined with chemotherapy might improve the prognosis than patients without surgery. Post-NAC lobectomy was not found to be superior to sub-lobectomy, while pneumonectomy was considered suitable for central-type IIIA-SCLC patients after NAC treatment