On converse bounds for classical communication over quantum channels

We explore several new converse bounds for classical communication over quantum channels in both the one-shot and asymptotic regimes. First, we show that the Matthews-Wehner meta-converse bound for entanglement-assisted classical communication can be achieved by activated, no-signalling assisted codes, suitably generalizing a result for classical channels. Second, we derive a new efficiently computable meta-converse on the amount of classical information unassisted codes can transmit over a single use of a quantum channel. As applications, we provide a finite resource analysis of classical communication over quantum erasure channels, including the second-order and moderate deviation asymptotics. Third, we explore the asymptotic analogue of our new meta-converse, the $\Upsilon$-information of the channel. We show that its regularization is an upper bound on the classical capacity, which is generally tighter than the entanglement-assisted capacity and other known efficiently computable strong converse bounds. For covariant channels we show that the $\Upsilon$-information is a strong converse bound.Comment: v3: published version; v2: 18 pages, presentation and results improve

Metabolomics Reveals Effect of Zishen Jiangtang Pill, a Chinese Herbal Product on High-Fat Diet-Induced Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Mice

A Chinese herbal decoction, Zishen Jiangtang Pill (ZJP), has been clinically prescribed to diabetic patients to prevent excessive blood sugar levels for decades. However, the potential mechanisms of this action have not been well investigated. The purpose of this study was to explore the metabolic variations in response to ZJP treatment for an animal model of obese type 2 diabetes. An UHPLC-Orbitrap/MS-based metabolomics tool was conducted to reveal the potential mechanisms of ZJP on diabetic mice. The treatment with ZJP significantly restored the increased levels of insulin, glucose and total cholesterol in high-fat diet mice. A total of 26 potential biomarkers were found and identified in serum samples, amongst which 24 metabolites were robustly affected and driven back to the control-like levels after ZJP treatment. By analyzing the metabolic pathways, glutathione metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis and glycerophospholipid metabolism were suggested to be closely involved in diabetes disease. From the above outcomes, it can be concluded that ZJP exhibits a promising anti-diabetic activity, largely due to the regulation of phospholipid metabolism, including phosphatidylcholines, lysophosphatidylcholines, and phosphatidylinositol

A Two-Year Surveillance of 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) in Guangzhou, China: From Pandemic to Seasonal Influenza?

In this two-years surveillance of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) (pH1N1) in Guangzhou, China, we reported here that the scale and duration of pH1N1 outbreaks, severe disease and fatality rates of pH1N1 patients were significantly lower or shorter in the second epidemic year (May 2010-April 2011) than those in the first epidemic year (May 2009-April 2010) (P<0.05), but similar to those of seasonal influenza (P>0.05). Similar to seasonal influenza, pre-existing chronic pulmonary diseases was a risk factor associated with fatal cases of pH1N1 influenza. Different from seasonal influenza, which occurred in spring/summer seasons annually, pH1N1 influenza mainly occurred in autumn/winter seasons in the first epidemic year, but prolonged to winter/spring season in the second epidemic year. The information suggests a tendency that the epidemics of pH1N1 influenza may probably further shift to spring/summer seasons and become a predominant subtype of seasonal influenza in coming years in Guangzhou, China

Paleoproductivity variations in the southern Okinawa Trough since the middle Holocene: Calcareous nannofossil records

Based on 17 AMS(14)C age data, we reconstructed high-resolution records of sea surface primary productivity (PP) in the southern Okinawa Trough (MD05-2908) over the last 6.8 ka BP using the calcareous nannofossil carbon isotope and the relative percentage contents of Florisphaera profunda indexes. The underlying mechanism controlling the sea surface PP was then discussed. The sea surface PP, indicated by the coccolith delta C-13 and %Fp conversional equations, decreased with some fluctuations since 6.8 ka BP. This decrease may be connected to the decreased terrigenous input resulting from the reduced East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) precipitation. Both the periods of 4-2 ka BP (PME) and 6.8-4.8 ka BP were characterized by relatively higher PP. The former was mainly controlled by the weakening of the Kuroshio Current, whereas the latter mainly resulted from the greater terrigenous input associated with the stronger EASM

Adiabatic shearing failure of explosively driven metallic cylinder shell, from experiments to simulation

The adiabatic shear bands (ASB) of the tubular metal specimens expanded explosively have been studied by many researchers in the recent years. The onset and evolutions of the multiple shear failure of metal cylinder under explosive loadings are affected by many factors such as the characteristics of the impulsive loadings, the dynamic behavior of the materials, etc. In this work, we investigate the failure and fragmentation of 45# steel cylinder shell driven by the JOB9003 explosive. Experimental and FEM numerical simulation investigations are made for cylinder modeled shell. The results show that for the perfect homogeneous FEM model, the failure mechanism of cylinder shell is differs from that of the experiments, in which the spalling originates is oriented by high intensity of rarefaction wave. Through numerical experiments, it was found that distributed geometrical defects of cylinder shell affect the fragmentation process and mechanism, in which the strain localization controlled by the defects and shear bands initiate on the inter-surface of the cylinder shell

Evolution, gene expression profiling and 3D modeling of CSLD proteins in cotton

Abstract Background Among CESA-like gene superfamily, the cellulose synthase-like D (CSLD) genes are most similar to cellulose synthase genes and have been reported to be involved in tip-growing cell and stem development. However, there has been no genome-wide characterization of this gene subfamily in cotton. We thus sought to analyze the evolution and functional characterization of CSLD proteins in cotton based on fully sequenced cotton genomes. Results A total of 23 full-length CSLD proteins were identified in Gossypium raimondii, Gossypium arboreum and Gossypium hirsutum. The phylogenetic tree divided the CSLD proteins into five clades with strong support: CSLD1, CSLD2/3, CSLD4, CSLD5 and CSLD6. The total expression of GhCSLD genes was the highest in androecium & gynoecium (mostly contributed by CSLD1 and CSLD4) compared with other CSL genes. CSLD1 and CSLD4 were only highly expressed in androecium & gynoecium (A&G), and showed tissue-specific expression. The total expression of CSLD2/3, 5 and 6 was highest in the specific tissues. These results suggest that CSLD genes showed the different pattern of expression. Cotton CSLD proteins were subjected to different evolutionary pressures, and the CSLD1 and CSLD4 proteins exhibited episodic and long-term shift positive selection. The predicted three-dimensional structure of GrCSLD1 suggested that GrCSLD1 belongs to glycosyltransferase family 2. The amino acid residues under positive selection in the CSLD1 lineage are positioned in a region adjacent to the class-specific region (CSR), β1-strand and transmembrane helices (TMHs) in the GrCSLD1structure. Conclusion Our results characterized the CSLD proteins by an integrated approach containing phylogeny, transcriptional profiling and 3D modeling. The study added to the understanding about the importance of the CSLD family and provide a useful reference for selecting candidate genes and their associations with the biosynthesis of the cell wall in cotton

Adiabatic shearing failure of explosively driven metallic cylinder shell, from experiments to simulation

The adiabatic shear bands (ASB) of the tubular metal specimens expanded explosively have been studied by many researchers in the recent years. The onset and evolutions of the multiple shear failure of metal cylinder under explosive loadings are affected by many factors such as the characteristics of the impulsive loadings, the dynamic behavior of the materials, etc. In this work, we investigate the failure and fragmentation of 45# steel cylinder shell driven by the JOB9003 explosive. Experimental and FEM numerical simulation investigations are made for cylinder modeled shell. The results show that for the perfect homogeneous FEM model, the failure mechanism of cylinder shell is differs from that of the experiments, in which the spalling originates is oriented by high intensity of rarefaction wave. Through numerical experiments, it was found that distributed geometrical defects of cylinder shell affect the fragmentation process and mechanism, in which the strain localization controlled by the defects and shear bands initiate on the inter-surface of the cylinder shell