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Quantum transducers that can convert quantum signals from the microwave to the optical domain are a crucial optical interface for quantum information technology. Coherent microwave-to-optics conversions have been realized with various physical platforms, but all of them are limited to low efficiencies of less than 50%—the threshold of the no-cloning quantum regime. Here we report coherent microwave-to-optics transduction using Rydberg atoms and off-resonant scattering technique with an efficiency of 82 ± 2% and a bandwidth of about 1 MHz. The high conversion efficiency is maintained for microwave photons ranging from thousands to about 50, suggesting that our transduction is readily applicable to the single-photon level. Without requiring cavities or aggressive cooling for the quantum ground states, our results would push atomic transducers closer to practical applications in quantum technologies.

Polymer nanocomposite coatings have attracted great interest in the anticorrosion fields due to their excellent properties. Nanofillers are necessary to achieve high anticorrosion performance of the polymer coating. Herein, we report a wet-chemical template strategy to prepare large-size ZrO2nanosheets, in which the Zr4+ions are anchored on the surface of a graphene oxide template via electrostatic adsorption, followed by a thermal treatment process to remove graphene. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that the size and thickness of as-prepared ZrO2nanosheets are more than 2 μm and ~ 4.5 nm, respectively. The micron-scale ultrathin two-dimension (2D) ZrO2nanosheets, for the first time, are utilized as the anticorrosive fillers in the epoxy coating to reduce the porosity, consequently promoting the gas and water barrier properties of the composite coating. The polymer coating containing 1.0 wt% ZrO2nanosheets shows a high initial impedance (89.1 GΩ·cm2) that can protect the metal substrate from being corroded during long-term immersion (60 days), which is better than that of the reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-incorporated coating and the ZrO2nanoparticles-incorporated coating. This work offers valuable insights into the design and preparation of novel and efficient 2D electric-inert nanofillers for anticorrosion coatings.

Curing conditions have great influence on electrical properties of screen-printed ultrahigh frequency (UHF) radio-frequency identification (RFID) fabric tags. In this study, the surface morphology, resistance, and impedance of screen-printed antennas under various curing conditions were observed and measured. The results show that the antenna resistance first decreased and then increased from 20 °C to 145 °C. The least resistance per unit length was 0.38 ± 0.02 Ω/cm, and impedance matching was optimal at 120 °C and 0.5 h. These results provide guidance for the screen-printing of conductive inks on fabric.

C12H12ZnN3O6, monoclinic, I2/a(no. 15), a= 17.6153(6) Å, b= 6.6922(2) Å, c= 24.1330(9) Å, β= 107.899(4)°, V= 2707.22(17) Å3, Z= 8, Rgt(F) = 0.0262, wRref(F2) = 0.0691, T= 293(2) K.

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Body motion signals indicate several pathological features of the human body, and a wearable human motion monitoring system can respond to human joint motion signal in real time, thereby enabling the prevention and treatment of some diseases. Because conductive fabrics can be well integrated with the garment, they are ideal as a sensing element of wearable human motion monitoring systems. This study prepared polypyrrole conductive fabric by in situ polymerization, and the anisotropic property of the conductive fabric resistance, resistance–strain relationship, and the relationship between resistance and the human knee and elbow movements are discussed preliminarily.

The peripheral morphologic characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) reflect tumor growth patterns. Computed tomography (CT) perfusion is a new method to analyze hemodynamic changes in tissues. We assessed the relationship between CT perfusion and histopathologic findings in the periphery of HCC lesions.

Emulsion electrospinning is a novel and straightforward tequnique to fabricate core-shell structured nanofibers on the basis of conventional electrospinning method. In this paper, the emulsion electrospunnanofibers were electrospun, and further characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Laser confocal scanning microscopy (LCSM) and water contact angle. The drug release property of emulsion electrospunnaofibers up to 28 days were recorded and analyzed. The biocompatibility of the emulsion electrospunnanofibers were evaluated and confirmed by MTS assay.

N-[(4-bromo-3,5-difluorine) phenyacrylamide was synthesized first time by the interaction of 4-Bromo-3,5-difluoroaniline with acryloyl chloride in presence of triethylamine. The compound behavior was investigated using TG and DSC techniques under non-isothermal linear regime. The non-isothermal kinetic data were analyzed with the Achar equation, Coats-Redfern equation,Kissinger equation, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa equation and Starink equation. The mechanism function and kinetic parameters of the thermal decomposition were obtained. The chemical reaction mechanism (F3) controlled the decomposition process. The apparent activation energy and the pre-exponential factor were E=240.01 KJmol-1 and A=2.341023 s-1 respectively.

Copolymers of N-[(4-bromo-3,5-difluorine) phenyacrylamide (BDPA), with methyl methacrylate (MMA) were synthesized in N,N-Dimethylformamide at 75±1°C using 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator with different monomer-to-monomer ratios in the feed. The copolymers were characterized by FTIR and 1H NMR spectra. The glass transition temperature of the copolymers decreases with increase in BDPA content. The thermogravimetric analysis of the polymers showed that the thermal stability of the copolymer decreases with BDPA content.

After the 4-bromo-3,5-difluorophenyl acrylamide (BDPA) and acrylic acid were introduced into the epoxy acrylate (EA), the photosensitive epoxy acrylate (EFBDPA) with good performance was prepared through chemical graft modification. The structure of EFBDPA was confirmed by FTIR and 1H-NMR. When the content of BDPA in EFBDPA was 20%, the cured coating of EFBDPA had better performance than the unmodified EA cured coating, its tensile strength, 80 % decomposition temperatures and the residual carbon ratio were improved 86%, 5.7 oC and 4.2 %, respectively.

Based on independent research and development of a CFRP tendons wedge-type anchorage, the shear tests of six CFRP external prestressing concrete beams were done. Among them, CFRP external tendons of three pieces were installed in straight line while other pieces were installed in curved line. The results of experimental research show that shear behaviour of concrete beams prestressed with CFRP external tendons are the similar process to the traditional prestressed reinforced concrete beams. They go through the elastic stage, the stage of crack extension, the yield stage of internal hoop reinforcements at the intersection of inclined cracks and the failure stage. When external CFRP tendons are arranged in the same situation, the cracking load and the shear capacity of concrete beams prestressed with CFRP external tendons reduce gradually along with the increase of shear-span ratio,.When shear-span ratio is equal, the cracking load and the shear capacity of concrete beams prestressed with curved arrangement of CFRP external tendons are larger than those of concrete beams prestressed with straight arrangement of CFRP external tendons. Compared with traditional concrete beams prestressed with external steel bars, due to elasticity modulus and shear modulus of CFRP tendons are both smaller than those of steel bars, the mid-span deflection of concrete beams prestressed with CFRP external tendons at the time of shear failure is bigger than that of traditional concrete beams prestressed with external steel bars under the same circumstance.

Early detection and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma is crucial to improving the patients' survival. The hemodynamic changes caused by tumors can be serially measured using CT perfusion. In this study, we used a CT perfusion technique to demonstrate the changes of hepatic hemodynamics in early tumor growth, as a proof-of-concept study for human early hepatocellular carcinoma.

The article makes a simulation on the external CFRP prestressed reinforced concrete continuous beams with ANSYS, the beams which had made analysis by Kiang Hwee Tan and Robert A. Tjandra. There is a little difference between the results of simulation and experimental results. It shows the reliability of simulation on concrete continuous beams with ANSYS. Then it makes a finite element analysis about parameters of the bending properties of continuous beams. It could provide relevant information about bending performance of concrete continuous beams with external CFRP prestressed tendons.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor in China, and early diagnosis is critical for patient outcome. In patients with HCC, it is mostly based on liver cirrhosis, developing from benign regenerative nodules and dysplastic nodules to HCC lesions, and a better understanding of its vascular supply and the hemodynamic changes may lead to early tumor detection. Angiogenesis is essential for the growth of primary and metastatic tumors due to changes in vascular perfusion, blood volume and permeability. These hemodynamic and physiological properties can be measured serially using functional computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging and can be used to assess the growth of HCC. This study aimed to clarify the physiological characteristics of tumor angiogenesis in cirrhotic liver disease by this fast imaging method.

Epidemiological and experimental evidence from Western countries now consistently support an etiological role for human papillomavirus (HPV) in a subset of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), especially those originating in the tonsil. The role of HPV in the etiology of tonsil cancer in developing countries such as China has not been investigated. In this study, none of 16 tonsil cancer specimens from Chinese patients were positive for HPV DNA, whereas those from Australian patients using the same methodology gave a positivity rate of 46%. The tumors from Chinese patients, like the Australian HPV-negative subset, significantly overexpressed pRb and cyclin D1 and underexpressed p16INK4A(p16). In contrast, the Australian HPV-positive cancers overexpressed p16 and had reduced expression of pRb and cyclin D1. These findings may help explain why China has a relatively low rate of oropharyngeal cancer compared with Australia. They also support the hypothesis that molecular pathways to tonsil cancer mediated by HPV are distinct from those induced by mutagens present in cigarette smoke or alcohol.

We previously reported the cloning and tissue-specific expression of a gene encoding a sucrose/proton symporter in rice (Oryza sativa L.), OsSUT1 (Hirose et al. 1997, Plant Cell Physiology38, 1389–1396). This gene is expressed at high levels in the filling grain, leaf sheath and stem. Expression in these tissues occurred only after heading i.e. during the development of the reproductive structure as a major sink. In this paper, we report localisation of the transcript and protein to specific cells in the filling rice grain by in situ hybridisation with a probe from theOsSUT1 cDNA, and immunolocalisation of OsSUT1 and proton-pumping ATPase (H+-ATPase). An OsSUT1 cDNA probe recognises a transcript of approximately 2.4 kb, and the SUT1 antibody recognises a protein of approximately 55 kDa in total membrane protein extracts from the filling grain, leaf sheath and stem. In the developing grain, OsSUT1 is expressed at low levels before heading, with expression reaching a peak approximately ten days after emergence of the panicle from the sheath. Transcript is then present throughout seed development, with expression falling substantially after about 25 days post-heading. Both transcript and protein are localised to the aleurone cells of the developing grain, and are also detected in the maternal tissue, particularly the nucellus, vascular parenchyma tissue and the nucellar projection. Tissue slices from filling rice grain showed high rates of sucrose uptake that were inhibited by pCMBS. The role of OsSUT1 in sucrose transport to the filling grain endosperm is discussed. Keywords: developing grain, H+-ATPase, rice, sucrose/proton symport, sucrose transport.

In developing wheat grains (Triticum turgidum var. durum cv. Fransawi), post-sieve element transport of phloem-imported photoassimilates (sucrose) includes membrane transport, to and from the grain apoplasm, between symplasmically-isolated maternal and filial tissues. The cellular location and mechanism of these membrane transport steps were explored during rapid grain fill. Genomic Southern analysis indicated the presence of a multigene family of sucrose/H + symporters (SUTs). One or more SUTs were highly expressed in developing grains, as were P-type H + /ATPase(s) and a sucrose binding protein (SBP). Transcripts of these genes were detected in vascular parenchyma, nucellar projection and aleurone cells. Antibodies, raised against a SUT, an H + /ATPase and a SBP, were selectively bound to plasma membranes of vascular parenchyma cells, nucellar projection transfer cells and modified aleurone/sub-aleurone transfer cells. The nucellar projection transfer cells and modified aleurone/sub-aleurone transfer cells exhibited strong proton pumping activity. In contrast, SUT transport function was restricted to filial tissues containing modified aleurone/sub-aleurone transfer cells. Based on these findings, we conclude that SUTs expressed in maternal tissues do not function as sucrose/H + symporters. Membrane exchange from nucellar projection transfer cells to the endosperm cavity occurs by an as yet unresolved mechanism. Sucrose uptake from the endosperm cavity into filial tissues is mediated by a SUT localised to plasma membranes of the modified aleurone/sub-aleurone transfer cells. Keywords: developing grain, gene expression, H + -ATPase, sucrose/H + symport, sucrose transport, wheat.

TWO kinds of rat cDNA clones encoding class I β-tubdin were isolated from the neonatal rat brain, and sequenced. They corresponded to mRNA species formed by the alternative usage of polyadenylation signals. The determitied nucleotide sequence showed high (84.6%) identity to rat class II β-tubu-lin, the only tat β-tubuIin sequence reported in the nucleotide database, in the coding region, but relatively low (47.3-50.7%) in the aoncoding region. The Northern blot analysis using the 3'-noncoding fragment as a probe showed that both mRNA species of the class I β-tubulin were down-regulated during brain development.

The article offers the authors insights regarding the best practices adopted by faculties in doing collaborative projects. The authors note that one should know and find potential collaborators as well as their interests in order for the group to work properly. The authors say that collaborators should look for interest areas and scholarly activities such as researches to establish an continuing collaboration. It adds that creative thinking and research are also needed to keep the project alive.