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The concept of Maxwell demon plays an essential role in connecting thermodynamics and information theory, while entanglement and nonlocality are fundamental features of quantum theory. Given the rapid advancements in the field of quantum information science, there is a growing interest and significance in investigating the connection between Maxwell demon and quantum correlation. The majority of research endeavors thus far have been directed toward the extraction of work from quantum correlation through the utilization of Maxwell demon. Recently, a novel concept called Maxwell demon-assisted Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering has been proposed, which suggests that it is possible to simulate quantum correlation by doing work. This seemingly counterintuitive conclusion is attributed to the fact that Alice and Bob need classical communication during EPR steering task, a requirement that does not apply in the Bell test. In this study, we demonstrate Maxwell demon-assisted EPR steering with superconducting quantum circuits. By compiling and optimizing a quantum circuit to be implemented on a 2D superconducting chip, we were able to achieve a steering parameter of S_{2}=0.770±0.005 in the case of two measurement settings, which surpasses the classical bound of 1/sqrt[2] by 12.6 standard deviations. In addition, experimental observations have revealed a linear correlation between the nonlocality demonstrated in EPR steering and the work done by the demon. Considering the errors in practical operation, the experimental results are highly consistent with theoretical predictions. Our findings not only suggest the presence of a Maxwell demon loophole in the EPR steering, but also contribute to a deeper comprehension of the interplay between quantum correlation, information theory, and thermodynamics.

Understanding the differences in ubiquitination-modified proteins between Duroc pigs and Tibetan fragrant pigs is crucial for comprehending the growth and development of their skeletal muscles. In this study, skeletal muscle samples from 30-day-old Duroc pigs and Tibetan fragrant pigs were collected. Using ubiquitination 4D-Label free quantitative proteomics, we analyzed and identified ubiquitination-modified peptides, screening out 109 differentially expressed ubiquitination-modified peptides. Further enrichment analysis was conducted on the proteins associated with these differential peptides. GO analysis results indicated that the differential genes were primarily enriched in processes such as regulation of protein transport, motor activity, myosin complex, and actin cytoskeleton. KEGG pathway analysis revealed significant enrichment in pathways such as Glycolysis/Gluconeogenesis and Hippo signaling pathway. The differentially expressed key ubiquitinated proteins, including MYL1, MYH3, TNNC2, TNNI1, MYLPF, MYH1, MYH7, TNNT2, TTN, and TNNC1, were further identified. Our analysis demonstrates that these genes play significant roles in skeletal muscle protein synthesis and degradation, providing new insights into the molecular mechanisms of muscle development in Duroc pigs and Tibetan fragrant pigs, and offering theoretical support for breeding improvements in the swine industry.

With the continuous improvement of single carrier transmission rate, it is great challenging to increase the transmission distance in unrepeatered link. This paper demonstrates a unrepeatered transmission of single-carrier 400 Gbit/s over 501.18 km with 78.68 dB span loss using single fiber for the first time. The technology of high-order pumps, forward and backward remote optically pumped amplifier, sub-carrier frequency-division multiplexing and ultra-low & large effective area fiber are used in this experiment. The transmission wavelength, the power of the high-order pump and the location of the remote gain unit are also optimized in this work.

Abstract A new type of polyhalite potassium ore (NTPPO) was found in the Lower Triassic Jialingjiang Formation, NE Sichuan Basin, SW China. It is water soluble, therefore can be exploited using the water-solution method, and is of great potential of economic value and research significance. Based on cores, thin sections, energy spectrum and SEM analyses, its microfeatures, macrofeatures and origin are discussed, and a genetic model is established to provide a scientific basis for future evaluation, prediction and exploration of potassium ore in the Sichuan Basin. It is proposed that the NTPPO was caused by storm activities: (1) the storm broke the original sedimentary polyhalite–gypsum beds, whose fragments were transported into the salt basin with high content of K+ and Mg2+; (2) in the basin, the polyhalite continued to be formed from gypsum by metasomatism with K- and Mg-rich brine; (3) during diagenesis, under high temperature and high pressure, K–Mg-rich brine from halite continued to replace anhydrite (or gypsum) to form polyhalite.

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) acts as a tumor promoter in advanced prostate cancer (PCa). We speculated that microRNAs (miRNAs) that are inhibited by TGF-β1 might exert anti-tumor effects. To assess this, we identified several miRNAs downregulated by TGF-β1 in PCa cell lines and selected miR-3691-3p for detailed analysis as a candidate anti-oncogene miRNA. miR-3691-3p was expressed at significantly lower levels in human PCa tissue compared with paired benign prostatic hyperplasia tissue, and its expression level correlated inversely with aggressive clinical pathological features. Overexpression of miR-3691-3p in PCa cell lines inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion, and promoted apoptosis. The miR-3691-3p target genes E2F transcription factor 3 (E2F3) and PR domain containing 1, with ZNF domain (PRDM1) were upregulated in miR-3691-3p-overexpressing PCa cells, and silencing of E2F3 or PRDM1 suppressed PCa cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Treatment of mice bearing PCa xenografts with a miR-3691-3p agomir inhibited tumor growth and promoted tumor cell apoptosis. Consistent with the negative regulation of E2F3 and PRDM1 by miR-3691-3p, both proteins were overexpressed in clinical PCa specimens compared with noncancerous prostate tissue. Our results indicate that TGF-β1-regulated miR-3691-3p acts as an anti-oncogene in PCa by downregulating E2F3 and PRDM1. These results provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which TGF-β1 contributes to the progression of PCa.

Currently, enhancers have key transcriptional regulatory roles in muscle development. Skeletal muscle formation involves various molecules, and in animals, enhancers are one of the main types of transcriptional regulatory regions that are of great importance to regulate myogenic gene expression. In muscle development, enhancers can generate enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) that are involved in the regulation of gene transcription. The regulation of gene expression by eRNAs offers great potential in improving animal production traits. Herein we comprehensively review the roles of enhancers in muscle formation and its potential function in skeletal muscle development. This review will describe the future application of enhancers in skeletal muscle development and discuss the prospects that enhancer studies offer for agriculture, biotechnology, and animal breeding.

Insufficient skid resistance of pavement is one of the main causes of traffic accidents. In this study, the influence of the friction coefficient on the internal effect of the pavement structure is studied deeply by establishing the asymmetric finite element numerical model. The model analyzes the inner stress, strain, and displacement variations of the pavement, with friction coefficients under the conditions of 0.3, 0.5, 0.8, and 1.0 and the action of the nonlinear superposition between the single-point static vertical load and horizontal load. In addition, against the limitations of the scatter calculation results, this paper analyzes the distribution of the internal stress field and displacement field. The results show that, with the attenuation of the friction coefficient, the distribution law of stress, strain, and displacement on the road surface (Z = 0) remains unchanged, and the maximum principal strain and the third principal strain on the Z-axis decrease monotonically with increasing depth. With the attenuation of the friction coefficient, the horizontal displacement inside the pavement structure gradually decreases, the vertical displacement changes insignificantly, and the principal stress gradually decreases. The principal strain and maximum shear stress inside the pavement structure show different changing rules.

To study the variation in the high-temperature stability of asphalt mixtures under extreme high temperature and heavy load, rut tests and analyses were carried out with both the APA (asphalt pavement analyzer) test and CLWT (Chinese wheel load test). In this paper, the relationship model between the dynamic stability of asphalt mixtures and the temperature, load, and binder viscosity is established; this model provides a method for evaluating the temperature stability of asphalt mixtures under nonstandard temperature conditions. The results revealed that the dynamic viscosity of an SBS-modified asphalt binder showed an exponential relationship with temperatures varying from 55°C to 70°C. Under a temperature condition from 55°C to 70°C and a pressure of 0.7 MPa, the dynamic stability of the asphalt mixture increased linearly with increasing temperature. The dynamic stability of the asphalt mixture exhibited a temperature inflection point at 65°C, and the decay rate was increased. The APA test results, which were used to evaluate the anti-rutting performance of the asphalt mixture on the basis of the ratio of the rutting depth difference to action times from 6000 to 8000, showed a good correlation with the CLWT test results. With a high temperature of 65°C and the pressure increasing from 0.7 MPa to 1.3 MPa, the dynamic stability of the asphalt mixture exhibited exponential decay. The variation laws of dynamic stability with temperature, load, and asphalt binder viscosity were revealed by complex logarithmic variation.

ABSTRACT: Through the study of the geological conditions of potash deposits in China from recent years, a new understanding of potash theories has arisen that appropriate Chinese geological features. Important progress and substantial breakthroughs have been gained in the direction and management of potash prospecting: (1) Important breakthroughs in continental potassium prospecting: The “Quaternary gravel type deep potassium rich brine metallogenic model in western Qaidam” ensures Quaternary deep potassium rich brine prospecting will grow new KCl resources by 350 Mt, providing a resource guarantee for meeting the Chinese demand for sylvite. (2) The Marine facies potash prospecting shows good prospects: the determination of the new type of Triassic polyhalite potash ore deposits in Sichuan provide an important scientific basis for the establishment of exploration planning and the selection of exploration target areas for polyhalite minerals in the Sichuan Basin; The “two-storey potash deposits model” in southwestern Yunnan has been confirmed, which indicates prospects for the exploration of potash in the deeper Marine facies in southwestern Yunnan are likely to be successful. The discovery of a high concentration of rich bromite salt and potash salt in the Paleogene of the Kuqa depression and the southwestern Tarim region provides strong support for the likelihood large-scale potash deposits exist in these regions.

The Green’s function has been an indispensable tool to study many-body systems that remain one of the biggest challenges in modern quantum physics for decades. The complicated calculation of the Green’s function impedes the research of many-body systems. The appearance of the noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices and quantum–classical hybrid algorithm inspire a new method to calculate the Green’s function. Here we design a programmable quantum circuit for photons with utilizing the polarization and the path degrees of freedom to construct a highly-precise variational quantum state of a photon, and first report the experimental realization for calculating the Green’s function of the two-site fermionic Hubbard model, a prototypical model for strongly-correlated materials, in photonic systems. We run the variational quantum eigensolver to obtain the ground state and excited states of the model, and then evaluate the transition amplitudes among the eigenstates. The experimental results present the spectral function of the Green’s function, which agrees well with exact results. Our demonstration provides the further possibility of the photonic system in quantum simulation and applications in solving complicated problems in many-body systems, biological science and so on.

Quantum information: Quantum gambling based on Nash-equilibrium Gambling or betting on an event with an uncertain outcome, is one of the most widely practiced activities in human society. Despite its widespread usage and applications, fair gambling between two spatially separated parties cannot be made without the assistance of a trusted third party. A group of international scientists led by Prof. Pei Zhang from Xi'an Jiaotong University, China, has experimentally demonstrated a novel gambling protocol, which enables fair gambling between two distant parties without the help of a third party. By incorporating the key concepts and methods of game theory, their protocol will “force” the two parties to move their strategies to a Nash-equilibrium point which guarantees the fairness through the physical laws of Quantum Mechanics. Furthermore, the authors show that the protocol can be easily adapted to a biased version, which would find applications in lottery, casino, etc.

We study the quench dynamics of non-Hermitian topological models with non-Hermitian skin effects. Adopting the non-Bloch band theory and projecting quench dynamics onto the generalized Brillouin zone, we find that emergent topological structures, in the form of dynamic skyrmions, exist in the generalized momentum-time domain, and are correlated with the non-Bloch topological invariants of the static Hamiltonians. The skyrmion structures anchor on the fixed points of dynamics whose existence is conditional on the coincidence of generalized Brillouin zones of the pre- and post-quench Hamiltonians. Global features of dynamic skyrmions, however, persist well beyond such a condition, constituting signatures for a general dynamic detection scheme of non-Bloch topology in the presence of non-Hermitian skin effects. Applying our theory to an experimentally relevant, nonunitary quantum walk, we explicitly demonstrate how the non-Bloch topological invariants can be revealed through the non-Bloch quench dynamics.

The Fe thin films with different initial thickness were prepared on MgO(001) substrate. Ar+ ion beam having energy of 3 keV was used to sputter the film at incident angle of 80° with respect to the film normal. Low energy electron diffraction (LEED) was employed to study the morphology and crystal quality of the film. Moreover surface magneto-optical Kerr effect (SMOKE) and anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) setups were used to investigate the magnetic properties of the Fe film. The values of magnetocrystalline anisotropy K1 and induced in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (UMA) Ku were derived from torque curves on the base of AMR results and found that the value of Ku was increasing with increasing the sputtering time while the intrinsic magnetocrystalline anisotropy K1 was not affected by sputtering. Similarly it is observed that the value of K1 increases with the thickness. We noted that ion beam sputtering can be used as an effective technique of manipulating the magnetic anisotropy of ultrathin magnetic films.

We experimentally realize the internal and external entanglement tradeoff, which is a kind of entanglement monogamy relation different from that usually discussed. Using a source of twin photons, we find that the external entanglement in the twin photons and the path-polarization internal entanglement of one photon limit each other. In the extreme case, when the internal state is maximally entangled, the external entanglement must be vanishing, which illustrates entanglement monogamy. Our results of the experiment coincide with the theoretical predictions and therefore provide a direct experimental observation of the internal and external entanglement monogamy relations.

Identifying the plants aphids have fed on can increase our understanding of their roles in food webs, and help in improving management and implementation control strategies in agricultural systems. Field sampling and laboratory experiments were carried out to determine the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15 N) in three different varieties of cotton and the aphids (Aphis gossypii) that fed on these varieties. The results were used to test the hypothesis that stable isotope signatures of aphids that have fed on different varieties of cotton differ. Two-dimensional plots of stable isotope signatures for aphids and the cotton varieties they fed on displayed a non-overlapping pattern, indicating that stable isotope signatures of the three cotton varieties and the aphids that fed on them differed. The results indicate that stable isotope analysis can potentially be used to identify aphids that have fed on different varieties of cotton. When the stable isotope signatures of diets clearly differ then it is highly likely the consumers will be distinguishable.

Background: Associations between glutamine (Gln) enriched nutrition support and surgical patients with gastrointestinal (GI) tumor remain controversy. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the effect of Gln enriched nutrition support on surgical patients with GI tumor in term of relevant biochemical indices, immune indices, and clinical outcomes. Methods: Six databases were systematically searched to find eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from 1966 to May 2014. When estimated the analysis indexes, the relative risk (RR) was used as the effect size of the categorical variable, while the weighted mean difference (MD) was used as the effect size of a continuous variable. Meta-analysis was conducted with Rev Man 5.2. Results: Thirteen RCTs, involving 1034 patients, were included in the meta-analysis. The analysis showed that Gln enriched nutrition support was more effective in increasing serum albumin (MD: 0.10; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.02-0.18; P < 0.05), serum prealbumin (MD: 1.98; 95% CI: 1.40-2.55; P < 0.05) and serum transferring (MD: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.12-0.57; P < 0.05), concentration of IgG (MD: 1.26; 95% CI: 0.90-1.63; P < 0.05), IgM (MD: 0.18; 95% CI: 0.11-0.25; P < 0.05), IgA (MD: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.10-0.33; P < 0.05), CD3 + (MD: 3.71; 95% CI: 2.57-4.85; P < 0.05) and CD4/CD8 ratio (MD: 0.27; 95% CI: 0.12-0.42; P < 0.05). Meanwhile, it was more significant in decreasing the incidence of infectious complications (RR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.50-0.90; P < 0.05) and shortening the length of hospital stay (MD: −1.72; 95% CI: −3.31-−0.13; P < 0.05). Conclusions: Glutamine enriched nutrition support was superior in improving immune function, reducing the incidence of infectious complications and shortening the length of hospital stay, playing an important role in the rehabilitation of surgical GI cancer patients.

Engineering the surface morphology of magnetic film is one of the important methods to tune the magnetic anisotropy of ultrathin magnetic material. However, the influence of competing shape effects on magnetic anisotropy of ultrathin film is still not clearly demonstrated. Here, we investigated the magnetic anisotropy of obliquely deposited Fe films on vicinal Si(111) substrate by using in-situ and ex-situ surface magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). Thickness-induced in-plane spin-reorientation transition, i.e. magnetization easy axis gradually rotates away from the step direction, was observed. MOKE measurements and micromagnetic simulation demonstrate this spin-reorientation transition process largely originated from the competition between step-induced magnetic shape anisotropy and oblique-deposition-induced magnetic shape anisotropy. Our study indicates the possibility of tuning magnetic spin order orientation by the competing magnetic shape anisotropies.

Co epitaxial thin films with 2.5nm thickness were prepared on single-crystal MgO(001) substrates and annealed at different temperatures. The contribution of each interface of the MgO/Co/Cu trilayer to the in-plane magnetic anisotropy (IMA) was studied by changing interfacial coupling through annealing. The structure was measured by low energy electron diffraction (LEED), and the magnetic properties were measured using the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) measurements and the longitudinal Magneto-optical Kerr effect magnetometer (MOKE). We found that the magnetic anisotropy of the as-deposited one shows superposition of a two-fold symmetry with a weak four-fold contribution caused by the stress of the interface between Co/Cu, which is along the easy axis [-110]. After annealing at 200°C, the symmetry of magnetic anisotropy was changed from uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (UMA) into four-fold symmetry due to the significant increasing of four-fold magnetocrystalline anisotropy. When the films were annealed above 300°C, the damage of the MgO/Co interface additionally decreased the IMA to isotropy. Meanwhile, the coercivity raised from 45Oe (without annealing) to 1200Oe (annealed at 400°C) along the easy axis direction. Our experimental results prove that the Co/Cu interface and the MgO/Co interface play an essential role in manipulating the four-fold and the UMA in the system.

Cobalt thin films with 5 nm thickness were prepared on single-crystal MgO (001) substrates with different thickness Cu buffer (0 nm, 5 nm, 10 nm, 20 nm). The structure, magnetic properties and transport behaviors were investigated by employing low-energy-electron-diffraction (LEED), magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR). By comparing the magnetic properties of the sample as-deposited (without Cu buffer layer) one with those having the buffer Cu, we found that the magnetic anisotropy was extremely affected by the Cu buffer layer. The magnetic anisotropy of the as-deposited, without buffer layer, sample shows the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (UMA). We found that the symmetry of the magnetic anisotropy is changed from UMA to four-fold when the thickness of the Cu buffer layer reaches to 20 nm. Meanwhile, the coercivity increased from 49 Oe (without buffer layer) to 300 Oe (with 20 nm Cu buffer), in the easy axis direction, as the thickness of the buffer layer increases. Moreover, the magnitudes of various magnetic anisotropy constants were determined from torque curves on the basis of AMR results. These results support the phenomenon shown in the MOKE.

The walking, waiting, transfer, and delayed in-vehicle travel times mainly contribute to route’s travel time reliability in the metro system. The automatic fare collection (AFC) system provides huge amounts of smart card records which can be used to estimate all these times distributions. A new estimation model based on Bayesian inference formulation is proposed in this paper by integrating the probability measurement of the OD pair with only one effective route, in which all kinds of times follow the truncated normal distributions. Then, Markov Chain Monte Carlo method is designed to estimate all parameters endogenously. Finally, based on AFC data in Guangzhou Metro, the estimations show that all parameters can be estimated endogenously and identifiably. Meanwhile, the truncated property of the travel time is significant and the threshold tested by the surveyed data is reliable. Furthermore, the superiority of the proposed model over the existing model in estimation and forecasting accuracy is also demonstrated.

For urban rail transit, the spatial distribution of passenger flow in holiday usually differs from weekdays. Holiday destination choice behavior analysis is the key to analyze passengers’ destination choice preference and then obtain the OD (origin-destination) distribution of passenger flow. This paper aims to propose a holiday destination choice model based on AFC (automatic fare collection) data of urban rail transit system, which is highly expected to provide theoretic support to holiday travel demand analysis for urban rail transit. First, based on Guangzhou Metro AFC data collected on New Year’s day, the characteristics of holiday destination choice behavior for urban rail transit passengers is analyzed. Second, holiday destination choice models based on MNL (Multinomial Logit) structure are established for each New Year’s days respectively, which takes into account some novel explanatory variables (such as attractiveness of destination). Then, the proposed models are calibrated with AFC data from Guangzhou Metro using WESML (weighted exogenous sample maximum likelihood) estimation and compared with the base models in which attractiveness of destination is not considered. The results show that the ρ2 values are improved by 0.060, 0.045, and 0.040 for January 1, January 2, and January 3, respectively, with the consideration of destination attractiveness.