Quantum networks play an extremely important role in quantum information science, with application to quantum communication, computation, metrology, and fundamental tests. One of the key challenges ...for implementing a quantum network is to distribute entangled flying qubits to spatially separated nodes, at which quantum interfaces or transducers map the entanglement onto stationary qubits. The stationary qubits at the separated nodes constitute quantum memories realized in matter while the flying qubits constitute quantum channels realized in photons. Dedicated efforts around the world for more than 20 years have resulted in both major theoretical and experimental progress toward entangling quantum nodes and ultimately building a global quantum network. Here, the development of quantum networks and the experimental progress over the past two decades leading to the current state of the art for generating entanglement of quantum nodes based on various physical systems such as single atoms, cold atomic ensembles, trapped ions, diamonds with nitrogen‐vacancy centers, and solid‐state host doped with rare‐earth ions are reviewed. Along the way, the merits are discussed and the potential of each of these systems toward realizing a quantum network is compared.
Quantum networks linking multiple remote quantum nodes consist of quantum memories served as stationary quantum nodes and flying photonic qubits served as quantum channels. This review summarizes and discusses the state of the art and future challenges for constructing quantum networks in various physical systems like single neutral atoms, cold atomic ensembles, trapped ions, NV centers, and rare‐earth‐ion doped solids.
We describe pLink 2, a search engine with higher speed and reliability for proteome-scale identification of cross-linked peptides. With a two-stage open search strategy facilitated by fragment ...indexing, pLink 2 is ~40 times faster than pLink 1 and 3~10 times faster than Kojak. Furthermore, using simulated datasets, synthetic datasets,
N metabolically labeled datasets, and entrapment databases, four analysis methods were designed to evaluate the credibility of ten state-of-the-art search engines. This systematic evaluation shows that pLink 2 outperforms these methods in precision and sensitivity, especially at proteome scales. Lastly, re-analysis of four published proteome-scale cross-linking datasets with pLink 2 required only a fraction of the time used by pLink 1, with up to 27% more cross-linked residue pairs identified. pLink 2 is therefore an efficient and reliable tool for cross-linking mass spectrometry analysis, and the systematic evaluation methods described here will be useful for future software development.
This paper investigates the influence of voltage stabilizer and nanofiller addition on the insulation performance of the cross‐linked polyethylene (XLPE). The test samples of XLPE/stabilizer blends ...consisting of 1 wt% m‐aminobenzoic acid, XLPE nanocomposites consisting of 0.5 wt% nano MgO and XLPE hybrid composite consisting of both voltage stabilizer and nanofillers were prepared. Various physicochemical and electrical properties were measured to analyze the performance of prepared samples. The obtained results show that the addition of nanofillers deteriorates the electrical insulation performance of the XLPE. On the other hand, the voltage stabilizer addition proves to be suitable for enhancing the electrical insulation performance of the XLPE. Meanwhile, the hybrid XLPE composites have shown medium behavior. The voltage stabilizer addition reduces, but the nanofillers increase the space charge density inside the XLPE compared to pure XLPE. It is also found that the dispersion of the voltage stabilizer in the material is uniform, whereas the nanofillers are aggregated. Furthermore, both additives slightly improve the thermal stability of the XLPE. The trap level theory based on quantum chemical calculation is proposed to explain the influence mechanism of the additives on the XLPE.
This paper investigated the influence of three aromatic voltage stabilizers (4‐n‐propylbenzoic acid, 2‐methoxyphenylboronic acid, and 3‐aminobenzoylmethylamide) on insulating properties of ...cross‐linked polyethylene (XLPE) at high temperatures for high voltage direct current (HVDC) applications. The XLPE blends containing 1 wt% voltage stabilizers were prepared through a solution‐blending method. The addition of voltage stabilizers suppressed the space charge inside the XLPE at high temperatures. The DC conductivity of XLPE and its blends increased with temperature. The DC conductivity of the XLPE blended with the 4‐n‐propylbenzoic acid was lowest at the different temperatures and electric fields. The DC breakdown strength of the tested materials continually decreased as the temperature increased. Notably, the DC breakdown strength of XLPE with the addition of 4‐n‐propylbenzoic acid and 3‐aminobenzoylmethylamide was higher than the reference XLPE at high temperatures. Moreover, the thermal stability of the XLPE remained unaffected after the voltage stabilizer's addition, whereas the thermal conductivity was improved. Quantum chemical calculations showed that the addition of voltage stabilizers with lower LUMO could effectively buffer the high‐energy electrons and improve the DC breakdown strength of the XLPE. A buffering mechanism of high‐energy electrons demonstrated the effect of the voltage stabilizers on the DC breakdown strength in the XLPE.
Polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) combines polymerization and self-assembly in a single step with distinct efficiency that has set it apart from the conventional solution self-assembly ...processes. PISA holds great promise for large-scale production, not only because of its efficient process for producing nano/micro-particles with high solid content, but also thanks to the facile control over the particle size and morphology. Since its invention, many research groups around the world have developed new and creative approaches to broaden the scope of PISA initiations, morphologies and applications,
etc.
The growing interest in PISA is certainly reflected in the increasing number of publications over the past few years, and in this review, we aim to summarize these recent advances in the emerging aspects of RAFT-mediated PISA. These include (1) non-thermal initiation processes, such as photo-, enzyme-, redox- and ultrasound-initiation; the achievements of (2) high-order structures, (3) hybrid materials and (4) stimuli-responsive nano-objects by design and adopting new monomers and new processes; (5) the efforts in the realization of upscale production by utilization of high throughput technologies, and finally the (6) applications of current PISA nano-objects in different fields and (7) its future directions.
A review that summarizes recent advances in the emerging field of polymerization-induced self-assembly. Topics ranging from initiation processes, morphologies and complex functional materials to applications and future directions are covered.
Electrochemical water splitting is a clean technology for H2 fuels, but greatly hindered by the slow kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, a series of spinel‐structured nanosheets ...with oxygen deficiencies and ultrathin thicknesses were designed to increase the reactivity and the number of active sites of the catalysts, which were then taken as an excellent platform for promoting the water oxidation process. Theoretical investigations showed that the oxygen vacancies confined in the ultrathin nanosheet could lower the adsorption energy of H2O, leading to increased OER efficiency. As expected, the NiCo2O4 ultrathin nanosheets rich in oxygen vacancies exhibited a large current density of 285 mA cm−2 at 0.8 V and a small overpotential of 0.32 V, both of which are superior to the corresponding values of bulk samples or samples with few oxygen deficiencies and even higher than those of most reported non‐precious‐metal catalysts. This work should provide a new pathway for the design of advanced OER catalysts.
Beneficial deficiencies: A series of spinel‐structured nanosheets with oxygen deficiencies (Ovac) and ultrathin thicknesses were synthesized for the first time. These features lead to an increase in the number of active sites and in the activity of the catalyst in water oxidation, which was confirmed by experimental and theoretical studies.
Epoxy resin (EPR) insulations play a vital role in the insulation of modern power electronic equipment owing to their excellent dielectric properties. However, due to the high‐power density and ...miniaturization of power equipment which causes high heat fluxes under high voltage and high‐frequency stresses, EPR with good thermal and insulation properties is urgently needed. In this study, the polydopamine functionalized micro‐BN and core‐shell nano TiO2–SiO2 particles are dispersed in EPR to simultaneously improve thermal and dielectric insulation properties. It is revealed that the addition of micro‐nano particles significantly improves the thermal and dielectric performance. Particularly, the high thermal conductivity of micro‐BN and the dielectric barrier effect due to the core‐shell structure of nano TiO2–SiO2 are the main reasons for improved thermal and dielectric insulation performance, respectively. The EPR composite containing 3 wt% of micro‐BN and 1 wt% of nano TiO2–SiO2 exhibits the optimal performance with 0.49 W/mK thermal conductivity and the highest dielectric strength among all the samples, that is, 60.61 kV/mm even at 10 kHz and 90°C. This study found that the crucial factors are the surface encapsulation, weight percent, and homogeneous dispersion of particles in EPR, the dielectric barrier effect, thermal conductivity, and the mismatch between the dielectric constant of EPR and particles. This study proposes the optimal weight percent of suitable micro‐nano particles for EPR to produce suitable composites for high‐frequency and high‐temperature applications.
Enhancement mechanism of thermal conductivity and dielectric breakdown strength.
γδT cells have been reported to exert immunosuppressive functions in multiple solid malignant diseases, but their immunosuppressive functional subpopulation in breast cancer (BC) is still ...undetermined. Here, we collected 40 paired BC and normal tissue samples from Chinese patients for analysis. First, we showed that γδT1 cells comprise the majority of CD3+ T cells in BC; next, we found that CD73+γδT1 cells were the predominant regulatory T-cell (Treg) population in BC, and that their prevalence in peripheral blood was also related to tumour burden. In addition, CD73+γδT1 cells exert an immunosuppressive effect via adenosine generation. We also found that BC could modulate CD73 expression on γδT cells in a non-contact manner. The microarray analysis and functional experiments indicated that breast tumour cell-derived exosomes (TDEs) could transmit lncRNA SNHG16, which upregulates CD73 expression, to Vδ1 T cells. Regarding the mechanism, SNHG16 served as a ceRNA by sponging miR-16-5p, which led to the derepression of its target gene SMAD5 and resulted in potentiation of the TGF-β1/SMAD5 pathway to upregulate CD73 expression in Vδ1 T cells. Our results showed that the BC-derived exosomal SNHG16/miR-16-5p/SMAD5-regulatory axis potentiates TGF-β1/SMAD5 pathway activation, thus inducing CD73 expression in Vδ1 T cells. Our results first identify the significance of CD73+Vδ1 Tregs in BC, and therapy targeting this subpopulation or blocking TDEs might have potential for BC treatment in the future.
Robust and accurate human stride length estimation (SLE) using smartphone integrated inertial measurement units (IMU) is essential in pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) and mobile health applications. ...However, the change of smartphone carrying mode (i.e. sensor location) in daily usage often leads to significant estimation errors. To address this problem, we propose a novel SLE framework called Mode-Independent Neural Network (MINN) using multi-source unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA) methods. First, we present a hierarchical neural network to extract spatio-temporal features based on multi-level ResNet and GRU. Then, we use adversarial training and a subclass classifier to build a UDA network that can extract mode-invariant features shared by the data from different modes. Finally, we integrate these architectures into an end-to-end learning framework. Through a systematic evaluation under the leave-one-out setting on two public SLE datasets, the MINN outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms by achieving stride length error rates of 2.5% and 5.1% in supervised settings. We also evaluated the mode-independent adaptability of this model by performing single and multiple UDA tasks. The results demonstrate that the proposed MINN significantly improves the generalization of SLE model under new subjects or modes.
Background/Aims: This study was developed to investigate a potential therapeutic method for myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury involving the promotion of miR-24-3p expression. Methods: Microarray ...analysis was used to screen differentially expressed genes in a myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury mouse model. Gene set enrichment analysis was utilized to determine vital signaling pathways. Targeting verification was conducted with a luciferase reporter assay. Myocardial I/R injury was developed in mice, and the expression levels of RIPK1 and miR-24-3p were investigated by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Hemodynamic parameters and the activity of serum myocardial enzymes were measured to evaluate cardiac function. Infarct area was observed through HE and TTC staining. Myocardial cell apoptosis was examined by TUNEL staining and caspase-3 activity analysis. Results: RIPK1 was an upregulated mRNA found by microarray analysis and a verified target of the downregulated miRNA miR-24-3p. The upregulation of RIPK1 (1.8-fold) and the downregulation of miR-24-3p (0.3-fold) were confirmed in I/R mice. RIPK1 led to impaired cardiac function indexes, increased infarct area and cell apoptosis, while miR-24-3p could reverse the injury by regulating RIPK1. The TNF signaling pathway was proven to be involved in myocardial I/R injury through the detection of the dysregulation of related proteins. Conclusion: In conclusion, RIPK1 was upregulated and miR-24-3p was downregulated in a myocardial I/R injury mouse model. RIPK1 could aggravate myocardial I/R injury via the TNF signaling pathway, while miR-24-3p could suppress RIPK1 and therefore exert cardioprotective effects in myocardial I/R injury.
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