We report the first experimental demonstration of quantum entanglement among ten spatially separated single photons. A near-optimal entangled photon-pair source was developed with simultaneously a ...source brightness of ∼12 MHz/W, a collection efficiency of ∼70%, and an indistinguishability of ∼91% between independent photons, which was used for a step-by-step engineering of multiphoton entanglement. Under a pump power of 0.57 W, the ten-photon count rate was increased by about 2 orders of magnitude compared to previous experiments, while maintaining a state fidelity sufficiently high for proving the genuine ten-particle entanglement. Our work created a state-of-the-art platform for multiphoton experiments, and enabled technologies for challenging optical quantum information tasks, such as the realization of Shor's error correction code and high-efficiency scattershot boson sampling.
With the aim of gathering temporal trends on bacterial epidemiology and resistance from multiple laboratories in China, the CHINET surveillance system was organized in 2005. Antimicrobial ...susceptibility testing was carried out according to a unified protocol using the Kirby-Bauer method or automated systems. Results were analyzed according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) 2014 definitions. Between 2005 and 2014, the number of bacterial isolates ranged between 22 774 and 84 572 annually. Rates of extended-spectrum β-lactamase production among Escherichia coli isolates were stable, between 51.7 and 55.8%. Resistance of E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae to amikacin, ciprofloxacin, piperacillin/tazobactam and cefoperazone/sulbactam decreased with time. Carbapenem resistance among K. pneumoniae isolates increased from 2.4 to 13.4%. Resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains against all of antimicrobial agents tested including imipenem and meropenem decreased with time. On the contrary, resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii strains to carbapenems increased from 31 to 66.7%. A marked decrease of methicillin resistance from 69% in 2005 to 44.6% in 2014 was observed for Staphylococcus aureus. Carbapenem resistance rates in K. pneumoniae and A. baumannii in China are high. Our results indicate the importance of bacterial surveillance studies.
The TET (ten-eleven translocation) family of α-ketoglutarate (α-KG)-dependent dioxygenases catalyzes the sequential oxidation of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), ...5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine, leading to eventual DNA demethylation. The TET2 gene is a bona fide tumor suppressor frequently mutated in leukemia, and TET enzyme activity is inhibited in IDH1/2-mutated tumors by the oncometabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate, an antagonist of α-KG, linking 5mC oxidation to cancer development. We report here that the levels of 5hmC are dramatically reduced in human breast, liver, lung, pancreatic and prostate cancers when compared with the matched surrounding normal tissues. Associated with the 5hmC decrease is the substantial reduction of the expression of all three TET genes, revealing a possible mechanism for the reduced 5hmC in cancer cells. The decrease of 5hmC was also observed during tumor development in different genetically engineered mouse models. Together, our results identify 5hmC as a biomarker whose decrease is broadly and tightly associated with tumor development.
An ideal semiconducting material should simultaneously hold a considerable direct band gap and a high carrier mobility. A 2D planar compound consisting of zigzag chains of C–C and B–N atoms, denoted ...as BC2N, would be a good candidate. It has a direct band gap of 2 eV, which can be further tuned by changing the layer number. At the same time, our first-principles calculations show that few-layer BC2N possesses a high carrier mobility. The carrier mobility of around one million sqaure centimeters per volt-second is obtained at its three-layer. As our study demonstrated, few-layer BC2N has potential applications in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics.
Many of the recent advances in enhancing the thermoelectric figure of merit are linked to nanoscale phenomena found both in bulk samples containing nanoscale constituents and in nanoscale samples ...themselves. Prior theoretical and experimental proof‐of‐principle studies on quantum‐well superlattice and quantum‐wire samples have now evolved into studies on bulk samples containing nanostructured constituents prepared by chemical or physical approaches. In this Review, nanostructural composites are shown to exhibit nanostructures and properties that show promise for thermoelectric applications, thus bringing together low‐dimensional and bulk materials for thermoelectric applications. Particular emphasis is given in this Review to the ability to achieve 1) a simultaneous increase in the power factor and a decrease in the thermal conductivity in the same nanocomposite sample and for transport in the same direction and 2) lower values of the thermal conductivity in these nanocomposites as compared to alloy samples of the same chemical composition. The outlook for future research directions for nanocomposite thermoelectric materials is also discussed.
Nanostructural composites (shown schematically in the figure) are shown to exhibit nanostructures and promising properties for thermoelectric applications, thus bringing together low‐dimensional and bulk materials. The ability to achieve a simultaneous increase in the power factor and a decrease in the thermal conductivity in the same nanocomposite, and lower values of thermal conductivity compared to alloy samples of the same chemical composition is discussed.
•The coatings showed a low roughness and a large thickness without defects when the overlap ratio was 70%.•Formation mechanism of the adhered powders during the EHLA cladding was proposed.•The ...response surface analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of parameters on the width of the single-track to keep the overlap ratio constant.•High-temperature wear properties of the H13 coatings and the 5CrNiMo substrate were compared.
Extreme high-speed laser (EHLA) cladding, which refers to metal deposition at speeds > 20 m/min, is the optimization for conventional laser cladding. Improving the surface properties of 5CrNiMo die steel has always been a research hotspot during engineering application. However, few research reported the enhancement of 5CrNiMo properties by EHLA cladding. The present study aims to optimize the surface roughness and analyze the high-temperature wear performance of the coatings produced by EHLA cladding. Results indicated that a laser power (4000 W), a reasonable scanning speed (376.8 mm/s) and a proper powder feeding rate (20.64 g/min) were essential for achieving the coatings with a low roughness and a large thickness without defects when the overlap ratio is 70%. In addition, the formation mechanism of the adhered powders during the EHLA cladding was discussed. The increase of the velocity and radius of the powders could reduce the adhered powders. Furthermore, the response surface analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of parameters on the width of the single-track to keep the overlap ratio constant. Additionally, friction and wear tests were carried out to discuss the tribological properties of the coatings and the 5CrNiMo substrate. The oxide film on the surface of the H13 coating enhanced the tribological property.
We present a three-dimensional (3D) extinction map of the southern sky. The map covers the SkyMapper Southern Survey (SMSS) area of ∼14,000 deg2 and has spatial resolutions between 6 9 and 27′. Based ...on the multi-band photometry of SMSS, the Two Micron All Sky Survey, the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Survey, and the Gaia mission, we have estimated values of the r-band extinction for ∼19 million stars with the spectral energy distribution analysis. Together with the distances calculated from the Gaia data release 2 (DR2) parallaxes, we have constructed a 3D extinction map of the southern sky. By combining our 3D extinction map with those from the literature, we present an all-sky 3D extinction map, and use it to explore the 3D distribution of the Galactic dust grains. We use two different models, one consisting of a single disk and another of two disks, to fit the 3D distribution of the Galactic dust grains. The data is better fitted by a two-disk model, yielding smaller values of the Bayesian Information Criterion. The best-fit model has scale heights of 73 and 225 pc for the "thin" and "thick" dust disks, respectively.