Quantum randomness introduced through squeezing operations and random number generation.

Quantum random numbers play a crucial role in diverse applications, including cryptography, simulation, and artificial intelligence. In contrast to predictable algorithm-based pseudo-random numbers, quantum physics provides new avenues for generating theoretically true random numbers by exploiting the inherent uncertainty contained in quantum phenomena. Here, we propose and demonstrate a quantum random number generator (QRNG) using a prepared broadband squeezed state of light, where the randomness of the generated numbers entirely originates from the quantum noise introduced by squeezing operation rather than vacuum noise. The relationship between entropy rate and squeezing level is analyzed. Furthermore, we employ a source-independent quantum random number protocol to enhance the security of the random number generator.

High-Speed Quantum Radio-Frequency-Over-Light Communication.

Quantum dense coding (QDC) means to transmit two classical bits by only transferring one quantum bit, which has enabled high-capacity information transmission and strengthened system security. Continuous-variable QDC offers a promising solution to increase communication rates while achieving seamless integration with classical communication systems. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a high-speed quantum radio-frequency-over-light (RFOL) communication scheme based on QDC with an entangled state, and achieve a practical rate of 20 Mbps through digital modulation and RFOL communication. This scheme bridges the gap between quantum technology and real-world communication systems, which bring QDC closer to practical applications and offer prospects for further enhancement of metropolitan communication networks.

Deterministic manipulation of steering between distant quantum network nodes.

Multipartite Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering is a key resource in a quantum network. Although EPR steering between spatially separated regions of ultracold atomic systems has been observed, deterministic manipulation of steering between distant quantum network nodes is required for a secure quantum communication network. Here, we propose a feasible scheme to deterministically generate, store, and manipulate one-way EPR steering between distant atomic cells by a cavity-enhanced quantum memory approach. While optical cavities effectively suppress the unavoidable noises in electromagnetically induced transparency, three atomic cells are in a strong Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state by faithfully storing three spatially separated entangled optical modes. In this way, the strong quantum correlation of atomic cells guarantees one-to-two node EPR steering is achieved, and can perserve the stored EPR steering in these quantum nodes. Furthermore, the steerability can be actively manipulated by the temperature of the atomic cell. This scheme provides the direct reference for experimental implementation for one-way multipartite steerable states, which enables an asymmetric quantum network protocol.

Stabilization improvement of the squeezed optical fields using a high signal-to-noise ratio bootstrap photodetector.

High-precision cavity locking is crucial for squeezing optical fields. Here, a bootstrapped low-noise photodetector is utilized in the generation process of the squeezed state of light. This process is based on a combination of a modified trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) circuit and a two-stage bootstrap amplifier circuit. This not only achieves high-precision and long-term stable locking of the optical cavity, but it also improves the degree to which the light field is squeezed. The experiment results show that the detector has a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 26.7 dB at the analysis frequency of 3 MHz when measuring the shot noise with an injection optical power of 800 µW, and the equivalent optical power noise level is lower than 2.4 pW/Hz in the frequency range of 1-30 MHz. Moreover, the squeezing degree of the quadrature amplitude squeezed state light field can be improved by more than 34.9% when the detector is used for optical cavity locking. The photodetector is useful in continuous variable (CV) quantum information research.

Surgical method choice and coincidence rate of pathological diagnoses in transduodenal ampullectomy: A retrospective case series study and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Transduodenal ampullectomy (TDA) is not in wide clinical use due to its low radical effect and a high recurrence rate of tumors. However, TDA is still an effective treatment method; it has great clinical value in cases of duodenal benign tumors, precancerous lesions, and benign and malignant borderline tumors, and can avoid the risks associated with pancreaticoduodenectomy with larger resection range and greater thoroughness than endoscopic papillectomy. AIM: To investigate the surgical method choice and the coincidence rate of pathological diagnoses in TDA for ampullary neoplasms. METHODS: Ten patients with ampullary neoplasms underwent TDA based on the fact that their endoscopic biopsy results suggested benign lesions, and the endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-assessed tumors were resectable. All cases underwent duodenal ampullary lesion endoscopic biopsy, intraoperative frozen-section pathological examination, and postoperative pathological examination. RESULTS: This study included seven patients with benign tumors and three with malignant tumors (1 pTis, 2 pT1), according to the postoperative pathology results. The coincidence rate of the postoperative pathology results with the intraoperative frozen-section biopsy results was 100% (10/10), and the coincidence rate with the endoscopic biopsy results was 70% (7/10) based on pathological characteristics. The endoscopic biopsy false-negative rate was 30% (3/10). All patients were followed for 6 to 70 mo without tumor recurrence or metastasis. CONCLUSION: The coincidence rate of postoperative pathology results, intraoperative frozen-section pathology results, and endoscopic biopsy results is the restraining factor of TDA clinical application. Endoscopic biopsy results and EUS have importance relevance to surgical planning. Intraoperative frozen-section pathology results have a significant influence on the choice of surgical procedure.

Immunohistochemical biomarkers and distribution of telocytes in ApoE-/- mice.

Telocytes had been identified as a peculiar stromal cell type implicated in tissue homeostasis and the development and pathophysiology of diseases. Telocyte existed in most organs and tissues in humans and animals. However, few studies have examined telocytes in ApoE gene deficient mice. In our studies, we verified the existence, the morphology and immunohistochemical characteristics of telocytes in critical organs of the ApoE-/- mice. Male adult ApoE-/- mice were selected as an experimental model. Immunohistochemical bio-markers, such as CD34, CD117, CD28, Vimentin and PDGFR-α were utilized to determine the distribution and morphology of telocytes in the heart, liver and kidney. Telocyte expressed positively for CD34 and CD117, and partial telocyte and telopode expressed positively for PDGFR-α in heart and liver, but negatively in kidney. Double immunofluorescence assays for CD28/Vimentin, CD34/CD117 and CD34/PDGFR-α were used to demonstrate the biochemistry speciality of telocytes, respectively. The evidence of telocytes in the ApoE-/- mice is the first step of our sturdy, which aims to demonstrate changes in telocytes in atherosclerosis in this animal model.

Preparation of a nanoporous Cu-Ag solid solution with enhanced sono-Fenton-like catalytic activity.

Uniform 3D bi-continuous nanoporous Cu-Ag solid solution (NPCS) and nanoporous copper (NPC) were successfully synthesized by dealloying Cu70Y28Ag2 and Cu72Y28 metallic glasses, respectively, which was confirmed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The SEM and TEM images show that the ligament size of NPCS (d SEM = 65 nm, d TEM = 45 nm) is much smaller than that of NPC (d SEM = 402 nm, d TEM = 370 nm), which reveals that the ligaments of NPC can be significantly refined by the substitution of 2 at% Ag for Cu in the amorphous precursor. The obtained NPCS exhibits much larger specific surface area and higher total pore volume (S BET = 8.34 m2 g-1, V p = 0.093 cm3 g-1) compared to NPC (S BET = 1.77 m2 g-1, V p = 0.050 cm3 g-1). Furthermore, the catalytic activities of the samples were evaluated by decomposing methyl orange (MO) dye under the irradiation of ultrasound. The results show that NPCS with an extreme fine microstructure displayed superior sono-Fenton-like catalytic activity compared to NPC and commercial copper foil.

Deterministic quantum teleportation through fiber channels.

Quantum teleportation, which is the transfer of an unknown quantum state from one station to another over a certain distance with the help of nonlocal entanglement shared by a sender and a receiver, has been widely used as a fundamental element in quantum communication and quantum computation. Optical fibers are crucial information channels, but teleportation of continuous variable optical modes through fibers has not been realized so far. Here, we experimentally demonstrate deterministic quantum teleportation of an optical coherent state through fiber channels. Two sub-modes of an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entangled state are distributed to a sender and a receiver through a 3.0-km fiber, which acts as a quantum resource. The deterministic teleportation of optical modes over a fiber channel of 6.0 km is realized. A fidelity of 0.62 ± 0.03 is achieved for the retrieved quantum state, which breaks through the classical limit of 1/2. Our work provides a feasible scheme to implement deterministic quantum teleportation in communication networks.

Unicentric Castleman disease presenting as a retroperitoneal peripancreatic mass: A report of two cases and review of literature.

Castleman disease (CD) is a rare disorder of lymph nodes and related tissues. CD generally occurs in the mediastinum, as well as in cervical, retroperitoneal and axillary regions. The disease is classified into two major types: unicentric CD (UCD) and multicentric CD. The occurrence of UCD in the retroperitoneal peripancreatic region is quite rare. We encountered two cases of retroperitoneal peripancreatic UCD in our hospital during the past three years. Following a series of medical examinations, including magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, ultrasonography and postoperative histopathological examination, these two patients were diagnosed with UCD, which presented as a retroperitoneal peripancreatic mass. The mass in each patient was completely excised, and no postoperative radiochemotherapy was administered. Both patients recovered well without recurrence during a follow-up period of 30 mo and 8 mo.

Potential role and prognostic importance of dishevelled-2 in epithelial ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role and prognostic importance of Dvl2 in human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: A multimethod study was undertaken including patients with pathologically confirmed non-metastatic EOC who underwent surgery for maximum tumor resection at a center in China. Dvl2 expression was assessed by western blot using fresh EOC tissues and normal ovarian tissues obtained between June 2014 and January 2015. Additionally, retrospective data were obtained for patients treated between April 2004 and September 2009. Their tumor specimens were used in immunohistochemistry analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival plots were constructed to estimate the overall survival by Dvl2 expression, and a Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze prognostic factors. Alterations in Dvl2 expression during the cell cycle were assessed by a starvation and refeeding assay. RESULTS: Dvl2 expression was higher in EOC samples than in normal tissues on western blot. Overall, 124 patients were included in immunohistochemistry analysis, and Dvl2 expression level was significantly associated with the tumor grade and Ki-67 expression. Overexpression of Dvl2 was correlated with poor prognosis. The pattern of Dvl2 expression throughout the cell cycle matched that of the cell proliferation marker cyclin D1. CONCLUSION: Dvl2 could play a part in EOC progression and might be an independent prognostic factor. Additionally, it might be a prospective therapeutic target in the treatment of EOC.

Upregulation of SENP3/SMT3IP1 promotes epithelial ovarian cancer progression and forecasts poor prognosis.

As a crucial member of the small ubiquitin-like modifier system, SUMO-specific protease 3, was identified to be essential for cell proliferation and ribosomal RNA processing. Recent studies showed that SUMO-specific protease 3 was elevated in ovarian cancer compared to normal tissue samples. However, the connection between SUMO-specific protease 3-specific expression and clinicopathological parameters of epithelial ovarian cancer, as well as the physiologically potential role of SUMO-specific protease 3 in epithelial ovarian cancer remained unclear. In this study, an analysis of 124 paraffin-embedded slices by immunohistochemistry indicated that SUMO-specific protease 3 expression was positively correlated with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stages (p = 0.025), tumor grade (p = 0.004), and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.001) and was also a critical prognostic factor for the overall survival of epithelial ovarian cancer patients, as revealed by Kaplan-Meier curve analysis. Knockdown of SUMO-specific protease 3 weakened the proliferation, migration, and invasion capability of ovarian cancer cells, down-regulated the expression of Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen, Forkhead Box C2, and N-cadherin, and resulted in upregulation of p21 and E-cadherin. Consistent with our results, SUMO-specific protease 3 had been verified to promote cell proliferation, metastasis, and tumorigenesis in multiple malignant cancers, which was a redox-sensitive molecule mediating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Collectively, our findings for the first time specifically supported that SUMO-specific protease 3 might play an important role in the regulation of epithelial ovarian cancer progression and could serve as a potential biomarker for prognosis as well as provide a promising therapeutic target against epithelial ovarian cancer.

Overexpression of ARF1 is associated with cell proliferation and migration through PI3K signal pathway in ovarian cancer.

ADP-ribosylation factor 1 (ARF1) is a small G protein that regulates many cellular processes such as reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and is highly expressed in various tumor cells and tissues. However, the role of ARF1 in ovarian cancer progression remains unknown. In the present study, we explored the expression patterns of ARF1 in clinical ovarian cancer samples and adjacent noncancerous tissues. The results revealed that ARF1 overexpressed in EOC tissues and cell lines, compared with the adjacent non-tumorous tissues and normal ovarian cells. In addition, the immunoreactivity of ARF1 was positively correlated with EOC grade and Ki-67 expression. Knockdown of ARF1 expression notably inhibited cell proliferation and migration rate of EOC cells by the auxiliary of PI3K. Taken together, our findings provide new insights into the functional role of ARF1 on EOC cell growth and migration and it may serve as a diagnostic and therapeutic target.

Loss of TAB3 expression by shRNA exhibits suppressive bioactivity and increased chemical sensitivity of ovarian cancer cell lines via the NF-κB pathway.

Ovarian cancer is a leading cause of death among gynaecologic malignancies. Despite many years of research, it still remains sparing in reliable diagnostic markers and methods for early detection and screening. Transforming growth factor ß-activated protein kinase 1 (TAK1)-binding protein 3 (TAB3) was initially characterized as an adapter protein essential for TAK1 activation in response to IL-1ß or TNFα, however, the physiological role of TAB3 in ovarian cancer tumorigenesis is still not fully understood. In this study, we evaluated the effects of TAB3 on ovarian cancer cell lines. Expressions of TAB3 and PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) were found to be gradually increased in EOC tissues and cell lines, by western blot analysis and qRT-PCR. Distribution of TAB3 was further analysed by immunohistochemistry. In vitro, knockdown of TAB3 expression in HO8910 or SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells significantly inhibited bioactivity of ovarian cancer cells, including proliferation and cell-cycle distribution, and promoted chemical sensitivity to cisplatin and paclitaxel treatment via inhibiting NF-κB pathways. In conclusion, our study strongly suggests a novel function of TAB3 as an oncogene that could be used as a biomarker for ovarian cancer. It provides a new insight into the potential mechanism for therapeutic targeting, in chemotherapy resistance, common in ovarian cancer.

PKC iota promotes cellular proliferation by accelerated G1/S transition via interaction with CDK7 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Protein kinase C iota (PKCι) has been shown to play an important role in tumorigenesis of many cancers. It was reported that frequent amplification and overexpression of PKCi were correlated with resistance to anoikis in primary esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCC). In this study, we clarified a novel role of PKCι on the cell cycle progression and proliferation in ESCC. Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis showed that the expression of PKCι was higher in ESCC tumor tissues and cell lines. Meanwhile, IHC stain revealed that PKCι was positively correlated with clinical pathologic variables such as tumor size, tumor grade, and tumor invasion, as well as ki67. Immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence assay revealed that PKCι/CDK7 has the physical interaction and were co-located in the cell nucleus. And this direct interaction could increase the phosphorylation level of CDK7. In vitro studies such as starvation and refeeding assay along with PKCι-shRNA transfection assay demonstrated that PKCι expression promoted proliferation of ESCC cells. And knocking PKCi down by silencing RNA (siRNA) significantly caused cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, decreased rate of colony formation, and alleviated cellular apoptosis. This research provide new insights into PKCi signaling to more deeply understand its cancer-promoting function in ESCC.

Overexpression of ADAMTS5 can regulate the migration and invasion of non-small cell lung cancer.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the major cause of cancer-related lethality among human cancer patients globally, and the poor prognosis of this cancer is mainly explained by metastasis, so it is essential to find out the molecule mechanisms and a novel therapeutic for NSCLC. A disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin motif 5 (ADAMTS5) belongs to the protease family. It has been reported to participate in tumor migration and invasion. In this study, we showed that the expression of ADAMTS5 was higher in lung cancer tissues by Western blot. The immunohistochemistry analysis was performed in 140 NSCLC cases, and the result indicated that ADAMTS5 was significantly associated with clinical pathologic variables. The Kaplan-Meier curve showed that the high expression of ADAMTS5 was related to poor prognosis of lung cancer patients. Wound healing assays and transwell migration assays revealed that the high expression of ADAMTS5 promoted the migration and invasion of NSCLC. In a word, our findings suggest that ADAMTS5 can regulate the migration and invasion of NSCLC and it may be a useful target of therapy in NSCLC.

PFTK1 regulates cell proliferation, migration and invasion in epithelial ovarian cancer.

PFTK1, also named Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 14 (CDK14), is a member of the cell division cycle 2 (CDC2)-related protein kinase family. It is a serine/threonine-protein kinase involved in the regulation of cell cycle progression and cell proliferation. In this study, we investigated the role of PFTK1 in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) development. The expression of PFTK1 was detected by Western blot and immunohistochemistry staining, both of which demonstrated that PFTK1 was overexpressed in EOC tissues and cells. Statistical analysis showed the expression of PFTK1 was associated with multiple clinicopathological factors, including tumor grade, FIGO stage, lymph node metastatis, Ki-67 expression and predicted a poor prognosis of EOC patients. With in vitro studies we found that PFTK1 expression was decreased in serum-starved ovarian cancer cells, and progressively increased after serum-re-feeding. Knocking PFTK1 down by small interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly inhibited ovarian cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Taken together, our study suggested that PFTK1 played an important role in ovarian cancer development.

Innovative approach to the design of low-cost Zr-based BMG composites with good glass formation.

The high manufacturing cost for metallic glasses hampers actual commercial applications of this class of fascinating materials. In this letter, the effect of oxygen impurity on the glass forming ability and tensile properties of Zr-BMG composites were studied. Our results have demonstrated that oxygen was absorbed and concentrated only in the precipitated ß-Zr phase, leading that the remainder molten metal retains good glass forming ability. The high oxygen concentration in the ß-Zr phase induces a significant solid-solution strengthening effect, this resulting in an enhanced strength of the BMG composites without sacrificing their overall ductility. Based on this alloying strategy, we have successfully developed the low-cost Zr-based BMG composites with excellent tensile properties and good glass forming ability, using the low grade industrial raw materials processed under industrial vacuum systems. This finding is expected to greatly cut down the manufacturing cost and greatly promote the commercial applications of the BMG composites.