64 picosecond time resolved time-correlated single photon counting imaging.

High-speed imaging of dynamic scenes is a challenging and important task in many applications. However, conventional imaging methods based on charge coupled devices or complementary metal oxide semiconductors have limitations in temporal resolution and photon sensitivity. To address this problem, we propose a novel high-speed imaging scheme that combines single-pixel imaging with single photon detection and time-correlated single photon counting. Our scheme can achieve high-speed imaging with 64 ps resolution by repeating the motion scenes and using binary outputs from single photon detectors. We demonstrate our scheme by reconstructing the switching process of a digital micro-mirror device and a liquid crystal spatial light modulator. Our scheme can be further improved to 1 ps resolution by using a more accurate time-correlated single photon counting system. Moreover, our scheme can adapt to different speed scenes by adjusting the temporal resolution and reducing the sampling time. Our high temporal resolution imaging scheme further expands the application areas of single-pixel imaging and provides solutions for scenes requiring single photon detection and higher temporal resolution, such as reproducible chemical reaction processes imaging, cellular or sub-cellular bio imaging, single-molecule imaging of rotary motors, high-speed equipment inspection, and other periodic high-speed scenes imaging.

Double-slit interference experimental platform based on a Sagnac interferometer.

In this paper, we build a Young's double-slit experimental platform with adjustable multiparameters by inserting a single slit in a Sagnac interferometer. Our experiment proves that this platform can easily control the parameters related to double slits. In addition, a new, to the best of our knowledge, type of double-slit experiment is performed on the platform. Our approach provides a detailed conceptual and experimental analysis for wave-particle duality and will be useful for research on quantum optics.

Observation of positive-negative sub-wavelength interference without intensity correlation calculation.

We report an experimental demonstration of positive-negative sub-wavelength interference without correlation. Typically, people can achieve sub-wavelength effects with correlation measurement no matter by using bi-photon or thermal light sources. In this paper, we adopt a thermal light source, and we count the realizations in which the intensities of the definite symmetric points are above or below a certain threshold. The distribution of numbers of these realizations which meet the restriction will show a sub-wavelength effect. With proper constrictions, positive and negative interference patterns are demonstrated.

[Responses of ground-active arthropod community in Caragana shrub plantations to grazing management in desertified region.] / 干旱风沙区灌丛林地地面节肢动物群落对放牧管理的响应.

We investigated the community structure of ground-active arthropods as well as vegetation and soil properties in Caragana shrub plantations under grazing and exclosure management across spring, summer and autumn in Yanchi County of Ningxia in northern China. The aim of this study was to uncover the responses of ground-active arthropods in shrub plantations to grazing management in desertified regions. The results showed that: 1) plant height, soil fine sand content, and soil electrical conductivity were significantly lower, whereas soil bulk density and coarse sand were significantly higher in shrub plantations under grazing than exclosure. 2) There were 40 families from 13 orders captured. The dominant groups included Formicidae and Tenebrionidae families, which comprised 68.75% of the total individuals. There were four common groups occupying 20.82% of the total individuals. The remaining 34 groups were relatively rare, only accounting for 10.44% of the total. Across the three seasons, the composition of ground-active arthropod community was significantly different between grazing and exclosure, which indicates the sensitivity and adaptability of ground-active arthropods to environmental changes including grazing management and seasonal changes. 3) There was a significant effect of grazing on total abundance of ground-active arthropods in shrub plantations, with significantly higher values under grazing than under exclosure. There was no significant effect of grazing management on group richness and diversity of ground-active arthropods in shrub plantations. 4) There was a correlation of total abundance, evenness index and the Simpson index with plant abundance, vegetation height, soil moisture, soil pH and electrical conductivity. There was a significant correlation of the Shannon index with vegetation height, soil moisture and soil fine sand. Plant density, and soil pH, soil moisture and soil temperature were the key factors driving the structure of ground-active arthropod communities in shrub plantations under gra-zing management across seasons based on the partial RDA results. It was concluded that the variations of plant height, soil pH, soil moisture and soil temperature under grazing management could result in different ground-active arthropod taxon to changing habitats. The conservation effect of shrub on ground-active arthropod could reduce the negative impacts of grazing. Spring grazing could enhance ground-active arthropod abundances in shrub plantations. It was necessary to pay attention to prevention of insects which are caused by spring grazing in shrub plantations.

[Effect of electroacupuncture combined with Schwann cell transplantation on limb locomotor ability, regional remyelination and expression of spinal CD4 and CD8 proteins in compressive spinal injury rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) combined with transplantation of Schwann cells (SCs) on limb locomotor, myelin sheath repair and expression of CD4 and CD8 in compressed spinal cord injury (CSCI) rats, so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of CSCI. METHODS: A total of 45 female SD rats were randomly divided into normal control, model, EA, Schwann cell (SC) transplantation, and EA＋SC transplantation groups (n＝9 rats in each group). The CSCI model was established by laminectomy at T12-L2 and clip compression. Rats of the SC transplantation group accepted injection of the cultured SC suspension (2×106/6 µL) into the central, upper and lower sites of the injured spinal cord (5 mm in depth) 7-8 days after CSCI modeling. EA (2 Hz) was applied to bilateral "Zusanli" (ST36) and "Sanyinjiao" (SP6) for 10 min, once daily and 6 days a week for 3 weeks. The Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan locomotor rating scale (BBB scale) was used to evaluate the function state of CSCI. Morphological changes of the regional injured tissue were observed under light microscope after H．E. staining. The myelin sheath repair state and survival of SCs were detected by Luxol fast blue (LFB) staining and immunofluorescence histochemistry, and the expression of CD4, CD8 and P0 of the injured spinal cord was detected by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with the normal control group, the BBB scores at the time-points of 0 d, and 1, 2, and 3 weeks were significantly decreased in the model group (P<0.001), and those of the EA＋SC transplantation group at the 2nd and 3rd week were significantly higher than those of the model group (P<0.05). No significant changes of BBB scores were found after EA and SC transplantation relevant to the model group (P>0.05). LFB staining showed a disordered arrangement of the nerve fibers in the white matter, myelinociasis and obvious decrease of the medullated fibers in the model group, and these situations were relatively milder in both EA and SC transplantation groups and obviously milder in the EA＋SC transplantation group. H．E. staining displayed that the structure of the injured region of the spinal cord was incomplete, accompanied with a large number of defect cavities and neuronal karyopyknosis in the model group, while the structure was relatively clear, with an increase of the normal neurons and fewer neuronal karyopyknosis in the EA＋SC transplantation group. Compared with the normal control group, MBP in the model group was significantly decreased (P<0.001)，and P0 was significantly increased (P<0.001). Compared with the model group, the expressions of MBP and P0 were significantly increased in the EA, SC transplantation, and EA＋SC transplantation groups (P<0.01, P<0.001), and was significantly higher in the EA＋SC transplantation group than in both EA and SC transplantation groups (P<0.001). The average immunofluorescence intensity of Hoechst33342-labeled SCs was significantly higher in the EA＋SC transplantation group than in the SC transplantation group (P<0.05). After CSCI, the expression levels of spinal CD4, CD8 and P0 proteins had no significant changes in comparison with the normal control group (P>0.05), while after the intervention and in comparison with the model group, the expression levels of P0 protein were significantly increased in the EA, SC transplantation and EA＋SC transplantation groups (P<0.05), and was significantly higher in the EA＋SC transplantation group than in both EA and SC transplantation groups (P<0.05). The expression levels of CD4 and CD8 proteins were significantly lower in the EA＋SC transplantation group than in the SC transplantation group (P<0.05)．. CONCLUSION: EA＋SCs transplantation can improve the locomotor function in CSCI rats, which may be related to its effects in increasing the survival of transplanted SCs to promote the remyelination and in reducing the immune rejecting reaction.

[Effect of electroacupuncture of acupoints on the healthy limb (opposing needling) on acute skeletal muscle contusion in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture (EA) of "Zusanli" (ST36) and "Ashi"-point on the healthy side (opposing needling) on muscular injury and expression of myogenin (myoG) and fast myosin skeletal heavy chain (Fast MyHC) proteins in the gastrocnemius muscle (GM) tissues in skeletal muscle contusion rats，so as to explore its mechanism underlying improvement of skeletal muscle injury. METHODS: A total of 54 male SD rats were divided into normal control (n ＝ 6)，model (n＝24) and opposing needling (EA, n＝24) groups. The latter two groups were further randomized into 3, 5, 7 and 14 d subgroups (n＝6 per subgroup). The skeletal muscle contusion model of the hind-limb was established by using a self-made striking device. EA (1 Hz/3 Hz，1－2 mA) was applied to ST36 and "Ashi"-point on the uninjured side of the hind-limb for 15 min every time, once a day for 3, 5, 7 and 14 days, respectively. The injured GM was harvested on the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 14th day after muscular contusion. The morphological changes of the injured GM and the mean cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of the neonatal muscle cells were observed by microscope after H．E. staining. The immunoactivity of desmin protein (myogenic marker protein of myoblast cell) of GM was detected by immunofluorescence stain on the 7th day after injury, and the expression levels of myoG (on the 3rd and 5th day after injury) and fast MyHC protein of GM tissues (on the 7thand 14th day after injury) were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: H．E. staining of GS tissue showed fewer neuronal myocytes with disordered arrangement at different sizes, and appearance of some collagenous fibers among the mesenchyme on day 7 and 14 after muscular contusion, which was relatively milder in the EA group. In the EA group, the CSA values of the neonatal muscle cells were significantly larger than those in the model group on the day 7th (P<0.05), 14th (P<0.001) after injury. On day 7 after muscular contusion, the desmin was found to express on the cellular membrane of GM in the normal control group, while in the model group, the desmin expressed mainly in the cellular plasma in the model group, and on the cellular membrane of neonatal myocytes in the EA group, respectively. The desmin positive myocytes showed disordered arrangement and different sizes after muscular contusion, whereas the situations of the EA group were close to those of the normal control group. Desmin expression was up-regulated in the EA group compared with the model group which was not significant difference (P>0.05). On the 3rd and 5th day after muscular contusion, the expression level of myoG protein was significantly up-regulated in the model group compared with the normal control group (P<0.001), and significantly up-regulated in the EA group than that in the model group (P<0.001). On the 7th and14th day after contusion, the expression level of fast MyHC protein was significantly down-regulated in the model group relevant to the normal control group (P<0.001), and markedly up-regulated in the EA group relevant to the model group (P<0.01)．. CONCLUSION: EA of ST36 and "Ashi"-point on the contralateral limb can up-regulate the expression of myoG and fast MyHC proteins of GM in acute skeletal muscle contusion rats, which may contribute to its effect in promoting the repair of skeletal muscle injury.

[Electroacupuncture improves denervated gastrocnemius atrophy by regulating expression of fork-head protein 3A，muscle atrophy F-box and myogenic differentiation antigen proteins in sciatic nerve injury rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on morphological changes of denervated gastrocnemius(GS) and the expression of fork-head protein(FOXO3A), muscle atrophy F-box(MAFbx)and myogenic differentiation antigen (Myod1) in sciatic nerve injury rats, so as to reveal its mechanism underlying improvement of myoatrophy. METHODS: Eighteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham operation, model and EA groups (n＝6 per group). The model of gastrocnemius atrophy was established by crushing the right sciatic nerve. Then, EA (2 Hz) was applied to the right "Zusanli" (ST36) and "Huantiao" (GB30) for 10 min, once a day for 14 successive days. The wet weight of the GS on both sides was weighted to calculate the wet weight ratio (the injured side /the healthy side), and the cross-sectional area (CSA) and diameter of GS fibers were measured after H．E. staining. The expressions of FOXO3A, MAFbx and Myod1 protein and mRNA in the GS tissue were tested using Western blot and fluorescence quantitative PCR, separately. RESULTS: Following modeling, the GS wet weight ratio, CSA and fiber diameter were smaller in the model group than those in the sham group (P<0.01), and were significantly higher in the EA group than in the model group (P<0.01). H．E. staining showed that the GS fibers became smaller and the myocyte got round in the model group, while the GS fibers were bigger and the myocyte was relatively regular in morphology in the EA group. After modeling, the expression levels of FOXO3A, MAFbx and Myod1 mRNA and protein were evidently higher in the model group (P<0.01); Moreover, after EA treatment, modeling-induced increasing of expression levels of FOXO3A and MAFbx mRNA and protein were revised (P<0.01), while the increased expression level of Myod1 was further up-regulated relavant to that in the model group (P<0.01)．. CONCLUSION: EA of ST36 and GB30 can suppress the up-regulated expression of FOXO3A and MAFbx mRNA and protein and further promote the expression of Myod1 mRNA and protein in the GS tissue in rats with denervated GS atrophy, which may contribute to its function in relieving the myoatrophy, promoting the skeletal muscle protein hydrolysis and differentiation of satellite cells.

[Effect of electroacupuncture on amyotrophia and expression of myogenic differentiation-related genes of gastrocnemius in rats with chronic constriction injury of sciatic nerve].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of electroacupuncture(EA) on amyotrophia and expression of paired box7(Pax7), myogenic differentiation antigen-1 (Myod1), myogenin (Myog), myosin heavy chain- Ⅱa (Myh2), myosin heavy chain-Ⅱx (Myh1) and myosin heavy chain-Ⅰ (Myh7) of denervated gastrocnemius in rats with chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the right sciatic nerve, so as to explore its mechanisms underlying postponing development of amyotrophia. METHODS: Sixty-six SD adult male rats were randomly divided into sham operation (sham) group (n＝24), model group (n＝24) and EA group (n＝18). The denervated muscle (gastrocnemius) atrophy model was established by CCI of the right sciatic nerve. EA (2 Hz，1.0 mA) was applied to the right "Zusanli"(ST36) and "Huantiao"(GB30) for 10 min, once a day, six times a week and for 1, 2 and 4 weeks, respectively. After complete dissection of bilateral gastrocnemius muscles, their wet weight levels were measured and the ratio of wet weight (＝that of the operation side/that of the non-operation side) was calculated, and the cross-sectional area (CSA) and diameter of the gastronemius were detected after fixation in 4% paraformaldehyde, sectioning, and H．E. staining. The expression levels of Pax7, Myod1, Myog, Myh2, Myh1 and Myh7 mRNAs in the gastrocnemius tissue after 3 weeks of modeling were detected with quantitative real time-PCR (qPCR). RESULTS: After 1 week of modeling, the ratios of wet weight of gastrocnemius and the CSA and fiber diameter at the 2nd, 3rd and 5th week were significantly smaller in the model group than in the sham group (P<0.05). The expression levels of Myod1 and Myog mRNAs were significantly up-regulated (P<0.01), and those of Myh2, Myh1 and Myh7 considerably down-regulated in the model group compared with the sham group (P<0.05, P<0.01). No significant changes were found in the expression levels of Pax7 mRNA after modeling and EA intervention (P>0.05)．Following EA intervention, the CSA and diameterof the gastronemius were obviously increased (P<0.05), and the expression levels of Myod1, Myog and Myh7 further markedly or remarkably up-regulated in comparison with the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01). No significant changes were found in the ratio of wet weight of gastrocnemius at the 3 time-points, and the expression levels of Myh2 mRNA and Myh1 mRNA in the EA group relevant to the model group after 3 weeks of modeling (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: EA treatment may delay gastrocnemius atrophy in CCI rats, which is possibly associated with its effects in up-regulating the expression of Myod1, Myog and Myh7 mRNAs to control the differentiation of the satellite cells and the muscle fiber type transformation.

[Changes in expression of autophagy-related factors during acute contusion repair of skeletal muscle].

OBJECTIVES: To explore the possible biological mechanism of skeletal muscle contusion repair through researching the changes in expression of autophagy-related genes and proteins in SD rats with acute skeletal muscle contusion. METHODS: Six rats were randomly selected as the control group from 30 male SD rats, acute skeletal muscle contusion model were established in the remaining 24 rats with self-made hitter, then the model rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (3 d, 5 d, 7 d, 14 d groups, n=6). On the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 14th day after injury, injured gastrocnemius of each group was harvested. The morphological and the ultra-microstructure changes of gastrocnemius after injury were observed by HE staining and transmission electron microscope (TEM) respectively. The relative protein levels of (LC3-Ⅱ) and P62 of each group were observed by Western blot. The relative mRNA levels of atg7, atg10, atg12, atg16L1 of each group were observed by RTPCR. RESULTS: The results of HE staining showed that compared with the control group, the inflammation reached its peak on the 5th day after injury, new muscle fibers were clearly observed in 7 d group. The results of TEM showed that, compared with the control group, oncotic mitochondria could be clearly seen in the 3 d, 5 d, 7 d groups. Also, the Z line changed from disappearing to drift thickening, sarcoplasmic reticulum dilatation gradually improved, there was no evident difference between the 14 d group and the control group, suggesting that the damage has preliminarily healed. The results of Western blot showed that the expressions of LC3-Ⅱand P62 were increased at first and then decreased. The expression of LC3-Ⅱwas markedly up-regulated in the 3 d, 5 d, 7 d groups compared with the control group and the 14 d group (P<0.01). Similarly, compared with the control group, the expression of P62 reached its peak on the 3rd day after injury (P<0. 01), and returned to normal level on the 14th day. The results of RT-PCR showed that the expression of atg10 mRNA in the natural recovery group of 3 d, 5 d, 7 d, 14 d was firstly decreased and then increased, the atg10 mRNA was markedly down-regulated in the 3 d, 5 d, 7 d groups compared with the control group and the 14 d group (P<0. 01). The expression of atg7, atg12, atg16L1 mRNA was generally increased at first and then decreased, it was markedly up-regulated in the 3 d, 5 d, 7 d groups compared with the control group and the 14 d group (P<0.01, P<0.05, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The above results indicate that the autophagy is involved in repair of skeletal muscle injury by its autophagyrelated factors,regularly changes after contusion, and the rate of damage repair may be related to the level of autophagy.

[The Effect of Electroacupuncture Combined with Treadmill Training on Skeletal Muscle Contusion in Rats].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect and mechanism of electroacupuncture(EA)combined with treadmill training in rats with skeletal muscle contusion. METHODS: A total of sixty Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal,model, EA, treadmill, and combination groups (n=12/group). The self-made striking device was used to establish skeletal muscle contusion model. EA was applied at "Zusanli" (ST 36) and Ashi point in the EA group. Treadmill was applied to train rats in the treadmill group. Rats in the combination group were received the above two methods. All the treatment was given once a day until the 3rd and 14th days after injury. The cross-sectional area and diameter of neonatal gastrocnemius muscle cells 14 days after injury were observed by HE staining. The expression levels of mammalian target of rapamycil (mTOR), myogenin (myoG) in gastrocnemius 3 days after injury and gastrocnemius mTOR, Fast myosin skeletal heavy chain (Fast MyHC) 14 days after injury were observed by Western blot. RESULTS: The cross-sectional area and diameter of neonatal muscle gastrocnemius cells in the model group were significantly lower than those in the normal group (P<0.01), and those in all the intervention groups were significantly higher than those of the model group (P<0.05), with better results in the combination group compared with those in the EA and treadmill groups (P<0.05). On the 3rd day after injury, the expressions of mTOR and myoG proteins in the model group were significantly higher compared with those in the normal group (P<0.01), and those in all the intervention groups were up-regulated in comparison with the model group (all P<0.01). The mTOR and myoG proteins in the treadmill group were lower than those in the EA group (P<0.01). The above two indexes in the combination group were higher than those in the EA and treadmill groups (P<0.05, P<0.01). On the 14th day after injury, the expression of mTOR was up-regulated in the model group compared with that in the normal group, but without significant difference (P<0.05), while the expression of Fast MyHC decreased (P<0.01). The expressions of mTOR and Fast MyHC in all the intervention groups increased compared with those in the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01). The expressions of mTOR and Fast MyHC proteins in the treadmill group were significantly down-regulated compared with those in the EA group (P<0.05, P<0.01). The two indexes in the combination group were higher than those in the other two intervention groups (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: EA combined with treadmill training can improve the myogenic differentiation and maturation, alleviate the injury of skeletal muscle, which may be related to its effect of increasing the expression of mTOR protein and positively regulating myoG and Fast MyHC proteins.

[Effects of Electroacupuncture on Apoptosis-related Protein Expression of Gastrocnemius Muscle Cells in Rats with Denervated Sciatic Nerve].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the anti-apoptosis effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on gastrocnemius muscle cells in rats with denervated sciatic nerve, so as to explore its possible mechanisms underlying delaying atrophy of skeletal muscle. METHODS: Sixty-three male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, model group, and EA group, and then further divided into 3 subgroups in each group(n=7/subgroup). Gastrocnemius muscle atrophy model was established by transecting the sciatic nerve of rat. EA (5 Hz, 1.5 mA) was applied to "Zusanli" (ST 36) and "Chengshan" (BL 57) acupoints at the affected side for 10 min, once a day for 1, 2, 3 weeks, respectively. The gastrocnemius muscles were sampled on the 7th, 14th, 21th d after modeling, separately. The apoptotic cells were detected by TUNEL staining. Bcl-2, Bax, Cyt-C and Caspase-3 protein expressions were determined by Western blot. RT-PCR was used to check Caspase-3 gene expression. RESULTS: Compared with the sham operation group, the cell apoptotic index in gastrocnemius was markedly higher, gastrocnemius Bcl-2 protein expression was markedly down-regulated, and gastrocnemius Bax, Cyt-C and Caspase-3 protein expressions were considerably up-regulated in the model group at all time-points (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the cell apoptotic indexes in gastrocnemius were significantly lower in the three EA subgroups (P<0.05). Bcl-2 protein expressions were markedly up-regulated while Bax, Cyt-C and Caspase-3 protein expressions were significantly down-regulated in the EA group 14, 21 days after modeling compared with the corresponding model subgroups (P<0.05). The changes of Caspase-3 mRNA expression levels of gastrocnemius in all groups were similar to those of Caspase-3 protein expressions. CONCLUSIONS: Electroacupuncture intervention can effectively increase Bcl-2 expression and decrease Bax, Cyt-C and Caspase-3 expression in gastrocnemius muscle, and consequently reduce the apoptosis of muscle cell, which may contribute to its effect in delaying the skeletal muscle atrophy of denervated sciatic nerve.

[Effects of Electroacupuncture on Adaptive Hypertrophy of Gastrocnemius and Proliferation and Differentiation of Muscle Satellite Cells in Rats].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects and mechanism of different duration electroacupuncture (EA) on adaptive hypertrophy of gastrocnemius and the expressions of proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), paired box transcription factor 7 (Pax 7), myogenic differentiation antigen (MyoD 1), myogenin (MyoG), myosin heavy chain-Ⅰ(Myh 7), transforming growth factor-ß 1 (TGF-ß 1), Smad 3 in rats. METHODS: Twenty-four SD adult male rats were randomly divided into normal, two-week EA (A 2), four-week EA (A 4) and eight-week EA (A 8) groups, 6 rats in each group. Except the normal group, EA was applied at right "Zusanli" (ST 36) and "Huantiao" (GB 30) for 10 min in the other three groups, separately for 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 8 weeks, once a day, 6 times a week. The ratio of gastrocnemius wet weight was calculated after EA. The cross-sectional area and diameter of muscle fiber were measured after HE staining. The expression of PCNA protein was detected by immunofluorescence. The relative expressions of Pax 7, MyoD 1, MyoG, Myh 7, TGF-ß 1 and Smad 3 mRNA were tested with real-time PCR. RESULTS: The expressions of PCNA protein were obviously higher in the A 2 and A 4 groups than that in the normal group. The expression of genes in the EA intervention groups showed a trend of increasing first and then decreasing except Smad 3 mRNA. The relative expressions of Pax 7 and TGF-ß 1 mRNAs reached their peaks in the A 2 group compared with those in the normal group (P<0.01). The ratio of gastrocnemius wet weight, cross-sectional area and diameter of muscle fiber, and the relative expressions of MyoD 1, MyoG, Myh 7 mRNAs reached their peaks in the A 4 group (P<0.01), while the relative expression of Smad 3 mRNA showed a trend of decreasing first and then increasing and reached its bottom at the 4th week (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: EA at "Zusanli" (ST 36) and "Huantiao" (GB 30) may induce adaptive hypertrophy of gastrocnemius in rats by up-regulating the expressions of Pax 7, PCNA, TGF-ß 1, MyoD 1, MyoG, Myh 7 and down-regulating the expression of Smad 3, promoting the proliferation of skeletal satellite cells, myogenic differentiation, myotubes terminal differentiation, increasing the wet weight, fiber cross-sectional area and diameter of gastrocnemius.

Experimental violation of Bell's inequality beyond Tsirelson's bound.

The correlations between two qubits belonging to a three-qubit system can violate the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt-Bell inequality beyond Tsirelson's bound [A. Cabello, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 060403 (2002)]. We experimentally demonstrate such a violation by 7 standard deviations by using a three-photon polarization-entangled Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state produced by Type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion. In addition, using part of our results, we obtain a violation of the Mermin inequality by 39 standard deviations.

Experimental quantum error rejection for quantum communication.

We report an experimental demonstration of a bit-flip error-rejection protocol for error-reduced transfer of quantum information through a noisy quantum channel. In the experiment, an unknown state to be transmitted is encoded into a two-photon entangled state, which is then sent through an engineered noisy quantum channel. At the final stage, the unknown state is decoded by a parity measurement, successfully rejecting the erroneous transmission over the noisy quantum channel.

Experimental quantum secret sharing and third-man quantum cryptography.

Quantum secret sharing (QSS) and third-man quantum cryptography (TQC) are essential for advanced quantum communication; however, the low intensity and fragility of the multiphoton entanglement source in previous experiments have made their realization an extreme experimental challenge. Here, we develop and exploit an ultrastable high intensity source of four-photon entanglement to report an experimental realization of QSS and TQC. The technology developed in our experiment will be important for future multiparty quantum communication.

Experimental realization of optimal asymmetric cloning and telecloning via partial teleportation.

We report an experimental realization of both optimal asymmetric cloning and telecloning of single photons by making use of partial teleportation of an unknown state. In the experiment, we demonstrate that, conditioned on the success of partial teleportation of single photons, not only the optimal asymmetric cloning can be accomplished, but also one of two outputs can be transferred to a distant location, realizing the telecloning. The experimental results represent a novel way to achieve quantum cloning and may have potential applications in the context of quantum communication.

Experimental demonstration of a nondestructive controlled-NOT quantum gate for two independent photon qubits.

Universal logic gates for two quantum bits (qubits) form an essential ingredient of quantum information processing. However, photons, one of the best candidates for qubits, suffer from a lack of strong nonlinear coupling, which is required for quantum logic operations. Here we show how this drawback can be overcome by reporting a proof-of-principle experimental demonstration of a nondestructive controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate for two independent photons using only linear optical elements in conjunction with single-photon sources and conditional dynamics. Moreover, we exploit the CNOT gate to discriminate all four Bell states in a teleportation experiment.

Experimental demonstration of five-photon entanglement and open-destination teleportation.

Quantum-mechanical entanglement of three or four particles has been achieved experimentally, and has been used to demonstrate the extreme contradiction between quantum mechanics and local realism. However, the realization of five-particle entanglement remains an experimental challenge. The ability to manipulate the entanglement of five or more particles is required for universal quantum error correction. Another key process in distributed quantum information processing, similar to encoding and decoding, is a teleportation protocol that we term 'open-destination' teleportation. An unknown quantum state of a single particle is teleported onto a superposition of N particles; at a later stage, this teleported state can be read out (for further applications) at any of the N particles, by a projection measurement on the remaining particles. Here we report a proof-of-principle demonstration of five-photon entanglement and open-destination teleportation (for N = 3). In the experiment, we use two entangled photon pairs to generate a four-photon entangled state, which is then combined with a single-photon state. Our experimental methods can be used for investigations of measurement-based quantum computation and multi-party quantum communication.

Experimental violation of local realism by four-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger entanglement.

We report the first experimental violation of local realism by four-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) entanglement. In the experiment, the nonstatistical GHZ conflicts between quantum mechanics and local realism are confirmed, within the experimental accuracy, by four specific measurements of polarization correlations between four photons. In addition, our experimental results also demonstrate a strong violation of Mermin-Ardehali-Belinskii-Klyshko inequality by 76 standard deviations. Such a violation can only be attributed to genuine four-photon entanglement.

Experimental realization of entanglement concentration and a quantum repeater.

We report an experimental realization of entanglement concentration using two polarization-entangled photon pairs produced by pulsed parametric down-conversion. In the meantime, our setup also provides a proof-in-principle demonstration of a quantum repeater. The quality of our procedure is verified by observing a violation of Bell's inequality by more than 5 standard deviations. The high experimental accuracy achieved in the experiment implies that the requirement of tolerable error rate in multistage realization of quantum repeaters can be fulfilled, hence providing a useful toolbox for quantum communication over large distances.