Solar thermoelectric devices play a significant role in addressing the problem of global warming, owing to their unique features of converting both waste heat and solar energy directly into ...electricity. Herein, a flexible 3D Janus helical ribbon architecture is designed, starting from well‐aligned tellurium (Te) nanowire film, using an in situ redox process reacting with Ag+ and Cu2+ resulting in n‐type, p‐type, and photothermal sides in one film. Remarkably, the device shows all‐day electricity generation and large temperature gradient by coupling the cold side with a passive radiative cooling technique and the hot side with a selective solar absorption technique, showing a temperature gradient of 29.5 K, which is much higher than previously reported devices under a low solar radiation of only 614 W m−2. Especially, the device can still generate electricity even at night. The present strategy offers a new way for heat management by efficiently utilizing solar energy and the cold of the universe.
A solar thermoelectric generator is fabricated with outstanding temperature difference and the property of synergistic utilization of solar energy and waste heat by in situ redox reaction to construct n‐type, p‐type, and photothermal sides in one nanowire film that is the reverse side of passive radiative cooling film. The ordered nanowire film also imparts the solar thermoelectric generator with better thermoelectrical performance.
We perform decoy-state quantum key distribution between a low-Earth-orbit satellite and multiple ground stations located in Xinglong, Nanshan, and Graz, which establish satellite-to-ground secure ...keys with ∼kHz rate per passage of the satellite Micius over a ground station. The satellite thus establishes a secure key between itself and, say, Xinglong, and another key between itself and, say, Graz. Then, upon request from the ground command, Micius acts as a trusted relay. It performs bitwise exclusive or operations between the two keys and relays the result to one of the ground stations. That way, a secret key is created between China and Europe at locations separated by 7600 km on Earth. These keys are then used for intercontinental quantum-secured communication. This was, on the one hand, the transmission of images in a one-time pad configuration from China to Austria as well as from Austria to China. Also, a video conference was performed between the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which also included a 280 km optical ground connection between Xinglong and Beijing. Our work clearly confirms the Micius satellite as a robust platform for quantum key distribution with different ground stations on Earth, and points towards an efficient solution for an ultralong-distance global quantum network.
Numerous studies have highlighted that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) can bind to microRNA (miRNA) sites as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs), thereby affecting and regulating the expression of ...mRNAs and target genes. These lncRNA-associated ceRNAs have been theorized to play a significant role in cancer initiation and progression. However, the roles and functions of the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (SCCT) are still unclear.
The miRNA, mRNA and lncRNA expression profiles from 138 patients with SCCT were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. We identified the differential expression of miRNAs, mRNAs, and lncRNAs using the limma package of R software. We used the clusterProfiler package for GO and KEGG pathway annotations. The survival package was used to estimate survival analysis according to the Kaplan-Meier curve. Finally, the GDCRNATools package was used to construct the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network.
In total, 1943 SCCT-specific mRNAs, 107 lncRNAs and 100 miRNAs were explored. Ten mRNAs (CSRP2, CKS2, ADGRG6, MB21D1, GMNN, RIPOR3, RAD51, PCLAF, ORC1, NAGS), 9 lncRNAs (LINC02560, HOXC13 - AS, FOXD2 - AS1, AC105277.1, AC099850.3, STARD4 - AS1, SLC16A1 - AS1, MIR503HG, MIR100HG) and 8 miRNAs (miR - 654, miR - 503, miR - 450a, miR - 379, miR - 369, miR - 190a, miR - 101, and let-7c) were found to be significantly associated with overall survival (log-rank p < 0.05). Based on the analysis of the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network, one differentially expressed (DE) lncRNA, five DEmiRNAs, and three DEmRNAs were demonstrated to be related to the pathogenesis of SCCT.
In this study, we described the gene regulation by the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network in the progression of SCCT. We propose a new lncRNA-associated ceRNA that could help in the diagnosis and treatment of SCCT.
Quantum cryptography holds the promise to establish an information-theoretically secure global network. All field tests of metropolitan-scale quantum networks to date are based on trusted relays. The ...security critically relies on the accountability of the trusted relays, which will break down if the relay is dishonest or compromised. Here, we construct a measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDIQKD) network in a star topology over a 200-square-kilometer metropolitan area, which is secure against untrustful relays and against all detection attacks. In the field test, our system continuously runs through one week with a secure key rate 10 times larger than previous results. Our results demonstrate that the MDIQKD network, combining the best of both worlds—security and practicality, constitutes an appealing solution to secure metropolitan communications.
Ordered W18O49 nanowire thin films were fabricated by Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique in the presence of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) coating. The well-organized monolayer of W18O49 nanowires with ...periodic structures can be readily used as electrochromic sensors, showing reversibly switched electrochromic properties between the negative and positive voltage. Moreover, the electrochromism properties of the W18O49 nanowire films exhibit significant relationship with their thickness. The coloration/bleaching time was around 2 s for the W18O49 nanowire monolayer, which is much faster than the traditional tungsten oxide nanostructures. Moreover, the nanowire devices display excellent stability when color switching continues, which may provide a versatile and promising platform for electrochromism device, smart windows, and other applications.
The unfolded protein response (UPR) plays an important role in carcinogenesis, but the functional role and mechanism of UPR‐associated bladder carcinogenesis remain to be characterized. Upon UPR ...activation, ATF6α is activated to upregulate the transcription of UPR target genes. Although the mechanism of ATF6 activation has been studied extensively, the negative regulation of ATF6 stabilization is not well understood. Here, we report that the deubiquitinase otubain 1 (OTUB1) facilitates bladder cancer progression by stabilizing ATF6 in response to endoplasmic reticulum stress. OTUB1 expression is raised in bladder cancer patients. Genetic ablation of OTUB1 markedly inhibited bladder cancer cell proliferation, viability, and migration both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, luciferase pathway screening showed that ATF6 signaling was clearly activated compared with other pathways. OTUB1 was found to activate ATF6 signaling by inhibiting its ubiquitylation, thereby remodeling the stressed cells through transcriptional regulation. Our results show that high OTUB1 expression promotes bladder cancer progression by stabilizing ATF6 and that OTUB1 is a potential therapeutic target in bladder cancer.
Our results show that high OTUB1 expression promotes bladder cancer progression by stabilizing ATF6 and that OTUB1 is a potential therapeutic target in bladder cancer.
An arbitrary unknown quantum state cannot be measured precisely or replicated perfectly. However, quantum teleportation enables unknown quantum states to be transferred reliably from one object to ...another over long distances, without physical travelling of the object itself. Long-distance teleportation is a fundamental element of protocols such as large-scale quantum networks and distributed quantum computation. But the distances over which transmission was achieved in previous teleportation experiments, which used optical fibres and terrestrial free-space channels, were limited to about 100 kilometres, owing to the photon loss of these channels. To realize a global-scale 'quantum internet' the range of quantum teleportation needs to be greatly extended. A promising way of doing so involves using satellite platforms and space-based links, which can connect two remote points on Earth with greatly reduced channel loss because most of the propagation path of the photons is in empty space. Here we report quantum teleportation of independent single-photon qubits from a ground observatory to a low-Earth-orbit satellite, through an uplink channel, over distances of up to 1,400 kilometres. To optimize the efficiency of the link and to counter the atmospheric turbulence in the uplink, we use a compact ultra-bright source of entangled photons, a narrow beam divergence and high-bandwidth and high-accuracy acquiring, pointing and tracking. We demonstrate successful quantum teleportation of six input states in mutually unbiased bases with an average fidelity of 0.80 ± 0.01, well above the optimal state-estimation fidelity on a single copy of a qubit (the classical limit). Our demonstration of a ground-to-satellite uplink for reliable and ultra-long-distance quantum teleportation is an essential step towards a global-scale quantum internet.
Quantum key distribution (QKD)
has the potential to enable secure communication and information transfer
. In the laboratory, the feasibility of point-to-point QKD is evident from the early ...proof-of-concept demonstration in the laboratory over 32 centimetres
; this distance was later extended to the 100-kilometre scale
with decoy-state QKD and more recently to the 500-kilometre scale
with measurement-device-independent QKD. Several small-scale QKD networks have also been tested outside the laboratory
. However, a global QKD network requires a practically (not just theoretically) secure and reliable QKD network that can be used by a large number of users distributed over a wide area
. Quantum repeaters
could in principle provide a viable option for such a global network, but they cannot be deployed using current technology
. Here we demonstrate an integrated space-to-ground quantum communication network that combines a large-scale fibre network of more than 700 fibre QKD links and two high-speed satellite-to-ground free-space QKD links. Using a trusted relay structure, the fibre network on the ground covers more than 2,000 kilometres, provides practical security against the imperfections of realistic devices, and maintains long-term reliability and stability. The satellite-to-ground QKD achieves an average secret-key rate of 47.8 kilobits per second for a typical satellite pass-more than 40 times higher than achieved previously. Moreover, its channel loss is comparable to that between a geostationary satellite and the ground, making the construction of more versatile and ultralong quantum links via geosynchronous satellites feasible. Finally, by integrating the fibre and free-space QKD links, the QKD network is extended to a remote node more than 2,600 kilometres away, enabling any user in the network to communicate with any other, up to a total distance of 4,600 kilometres.
Manipulating nanowire assembly could help the design of hierarchical structures with unique functionalities. Herein, we first report a facile solution‐based process under ambient conditions for ...co‐assembling two kinds of nanowires which have suitable composition and functionalities, such as Ag and Te nanowires, for the fabrication of flexible transparent electrodes. Then Te nanowires can be etched away easily, leaving Ag nanowire networks with controllable pitch. By manipulating the assembly of Ag and Te nanowires, we can precisely tailor and balance the optical transmittance and the conductivity of the resulting flexible transparent electrodes. The network of Ag nanowires which have tunable pitch forms a flexible transparent conducting electrode with an averaged transmission of up to 97.3 % and sheet resistances as low as 2.7 Ω/sq under optimized conditions. The work provides a new way for tailoring the properties of nanowire‐based devices.
Nano networking: Silver nanowires and Te nanowires are co‐assembled by the Langmuir–Blodgett technique. Etching away the Te nanowires leaves Ag nanowire networks in which the spacing between the Ag wires is controlled by the Te nanowires. By manipulating the spacing between nanowires the optical transparency and electrical conductivity of flexible Ag nanowire electrodes can be precisely tailored.
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