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A generation method of new metric in the case of static spherically symmetric space-time is derived. Using this approach, we construct a metric which describes Euler–Heisenberg black hole surrounded by perfect fluid dark matter and investigate its optical and thermodynamic properties. We found that radius of shadow will increase with the increase of dark matter effect, and more strong dark matter will diminish the light intensity of accretion disk generally. Moreover, in thermodynamics, when quantum electrodynamic parameter is positive, there will be a critical value of dark matter parameter, which determine the number of black hole’s critical points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Franson interference can be used to test the nonlocal features of energy-time entanglement and has become a standard in quantum physics. However, most of the previous Franson interference experiments were demonstrated in the time domain, and the spectral properties of Franson interference have not been fully explored. Here, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate spectrally resolved Franson interference using biphotons with different correlations, including positive correlation, negative correlation, and non-correlation. It is found that the joint spectral intensities of the biphotons can be modulated along both the signal and idler directions, which has potential applications in generating high-dimensional frequency entanglement and time-frequency grid states. This work may provide a new perspective for understanding the spectral-temporal properties of the Franson interferometer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to increasing morbidity worldwide, fractures are becoming an emerging public health concern. This study aimed to investigate the effect of metformin on the healing of osteoporotic as well as normal fractures. Type H vessels have recently been identified as a bone-specific vascular subtype that supports osteogenesis. Here, we show that metformin accelerated fracture healing in both osteoporotic and normal mice. Moreover, metformin promoted angiogenesis in vitro under hypoxia as well as type H vessel formation throughout fracture healing. Mechanistically, metformin increased the expression of HIF-1α, an important positive regulator of type H vessel formation, by inhibiting the expression of YAP1/TAZ in calluses and hypoxia-cultured human microvascular endothelial cells (HMECs). The results of HIF-1α or YAP1/TAZ interference in hypoxia-cultured HMECs using siRNA further suggested that the enhancement of HIF-1α and its target genes by metformin is primarily through YAP1/TAZ inhibition. Finally, overexpression of YAP1/TAZ partially counteracted the effect of metformin in promoting type H vessel-induced angiogenesis-osteogenesis coupling during fracture repair. In summary, our findings suggest that metformin has the potential to be a therapeutic agent for fractures by promoting type H vessel formation through YAP1/TAZ inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we study systematically the double-channel four-wave mixing (FWM) processing in an atomic medium by adjusting azimuthal and radial indices (i.e., l and p) of the Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) beams in the presence and absence of an elliptically polarized beam. It is found that there are ∣ l 1 - l 2 ∣ periods of phase jumps from - π to π as well as ∣ p 1 - p 2 ∣ raised phase surface and p min (p min = min { p 1 , p 2 }) convex rings in the phase profile of the FWM-generated field under the combined action of two LG beams and two circularly polarized components of the elliptically polarized light. In such a case, there are p max + 1 (p max = max { p 1 , p 2 }) concentric bright rings with a dark hollow center in the intensity distribution. However, the phase profile of the FWM field becomes twisted and displays petal-like structures under the action of four LG vortex beams. Compared with the situation of vortex and elliptically polarized beams illumination, the intensity pattern of the FWM field is distorted and multiple singularities occur at the transverse plane accompanied by zero-intensity regions. Our investigation shows the possibility of manipulating the intensity and phase profiles of the FWM-generated field, by purposely choosing appropriate azimuthal and radial mode indices of LG beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interfacial debonding between the active layer and the current collector has been recognized as a critical mechanism for battery fading, and thus has attracted great efforts focused on the related analyses. However, much still remains to be studied regarding practical methods for suppressing electrode debonding, especially from the perspective of mechanics. In this paper, a pre-strain strategy of current collectors to alleviate electrode debonding is proposed. An analytical model for a symmetric electrode with a deformable and limited-thickness current collector is developed to analyze the debonding behavior involving both a pre-strain of the current collector and an eigen-strain of the active layers. The results reveal that the well-designed pre-strain can significantly delay the debonding onset (by up to 100%) and considerably reduce the debonding size. The critical values of the pre-strain are identified, and the pre-strain design principles are also provided. Based on these findings, this work sheds light on the mechanical design to suppress electrode degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A molecular dynamics simulation has been conducted in Ni73Co27 and Ni74Co26 alloys during rapid solidification at the cooling rate of 1 × 1012 K/s. It indicates that two phase transitions occur with twice drops, and the number of FCC increases suddenly in Ni73Co27 alloy. And finally, FCC atoms are dominant with the amount of 92.94% at 300 K, which neatly arranges themselves into the crystalline structure. A lot of topologically close-packed clusters are formed in Ni74Co26 alloy, indicating the formation of metallic glass. The differences between the formations in crystalline hexagon and amorphous pentagon are demonstrated by three-dimensional visualization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure of a pectin network requires both calcium (Ca) and boron (B). Ca is involved in crosslinking pectic polysaccharides and arbitrarily induces the formation of an 'egg-box' structure among pectin molecules, while B crosslinks rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II) side chain A apiosyl residues in primary cell walls to generate a borate-dimeric-rhamnogalacturonan II (dRG-II-B) complex through a boron-bridge bond, leading to the formation of a pectin network. Based on recent studies of dRG-II-B structures, a hypothesis has been proposed suggesting that Cais a common component of the dRG-II-B complex. However, no in vivo evidence has addressed whether B affects the stability of Ca crosslinks. Here, we investigated the L-fucose-deficient dwarf mutant mur1, which was previously shown to require exogenous B treatment for phenotypic reversion. Imbibed Arabidopsis thaliana seeds release hydrated polysaccharides to form a halo of seed mucilage covering the seed surface, which consists of a water-soluble outer layer and an adherent inner layer. Our study of mur1 seed mucilage has revealed that the pectin in the outer layer of mucilage was relocated to the inner layer. Nevertheless, the mur1 inner mucilage was more vulnerable to rough shaking or ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) extraction than that of the wild type. Immunolabeling analysis suggested that dRG-II-B was severely decreased in mur1 inner mucilage. Moreover, non-methylesterified homogalacturonan (HG) exhibited obvious reassembly in the mur1 inner layer compared with the wild type, which may imply a possible connection between dRG-II-B deficiency and pectin network transformation in the seed mucilage. As expected, the concentration of B in the mur1 inner mucilage was reduced, whereas the distribution and concentration of Cain the inner mucilage increased significantly, which could be the reason why pectin relocates from the outer mucilage to the inner mucilage. Consequently, the disruption of B bridges appears to result in the extreme sensitivity of the mur1 mucilage pectin complex to EDTA extraction, despite the reinforcement of the pectin network by excessive Ca. Therefore, we propose a hypothesis that B, in the form of dRG-II-B, works together with Cato maintain pectin network crosslinks and ultimately the mucilage ultrastructure in seed mucilage. This work may serve to complement our current understanding of mucilage configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) assays using species-specific primers were developed for the quantification of the three major fungal species ( Saccharomycopsis fibuligera, Rhizopus oryzae, and Monascus purpureus) during the traditional brewing of Hong Qu glutinous rice wine. Species-specific primers (Sfi-F/Sfi-R, Ro-F/Ro-R, and Mp-F/Mp-R) targeting the ITS-5.8S rRNA gene and the beta-tubulin gene sequences were designed and their specificity was evaluated by RT-qPCR with the total RNA from fungal species closely related to the traditional brewing of Hong Qu glutinous rice wine. Results of RT-qPCR using species-specific primers showed 100 % inclusivity (positive signal in the presence of target complementary DNA (cDNA)) and 100 % exclusivity (negative signals in the presence of non-target template). The specificity of each primer set was also tested when the target cDNA was mixed with non-target cDNA, and results showed that there was no significant difference ( P > 0.05) in threshold cycle (Ct) values obtained from pure target cDNA and target cDNA mixed with non-target cDNA. The detection limits of the established qPCR assays were determined to be 10 gene copies/μL for S. fibuligera and 10 gene copies/μL for R. oryzae and M. purpureus, respectively. Good correlations were obtained for the tested species between 10 and 10 gene copies/μL by qPCR analysis. Finally, the established RT-qPCR assays were applied to quantify viable S. fibuligera, R. oryzae, and M. purpureus during the traditional brewing of Hong Qu glutinous rice wine. This study standardized the RT-qPCR assays for dominant fungi associated with the traditional brewing of Hong Qu glutinous rice wine, and it also proved the usefulness of RT-qPCR assays for the quantification of live cells in multi-species samples. Results would show great value in scientifically understanding of the brewing mechanism of Hong Qu glutinous rice wine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether bone marrow changes occur and potentially contribute to the hematological abnormalities in liver cirrhosis remain unclear. In this study, we established a rat model of liver cirrhosis induced by carbon tetrachloride. Electron microscopy examination showed focal lesions in bone marrow sinusoidal endothelium and hematopoietic cells in animals with cirrhosis. With the persistence of liver cirrhosis, injuries of bone marrow sinusoidal endothelium progressed from mild mitochondrial changes to nuclear pycnosis and cell disruption, and the trilineage hematopoietic cells showed apoptosis and necrosis. Immunohistochemistry revealed increased expression of E-selectin, P-selectin and vWF in bone marrow sinusoidal endothelium of the cirrhotic rats, which was consistent with the data from semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis. Autopsy specimens from patients with liver cirrhosis (in the absence of other disease) showed the same findings as detected by immunohistochemistry in animal models. The results provide evidence of the association between liver cirrhosis and bone marrow alterations by demonstrating the bone marrow sinusoidal endothelium lesions in both a rat model and patients. It also indicates that activation or injury of bone marrow sinusoidal endothelium mediated by E-selectin, P-selectin, and vWF might have a role in pathogenesis of bone marrow changes during liver cirrhosis. The lesions of bone marrow sinusoidal endothelium might contribute to the hematological abnormalities in the end stage of liver disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed a 202-year tree-ring width chronology of Shensi fir ( Abies chensiensis) growing in an open canopy forest at the treeline of the eastern Qinling Mountains. Climate response analyses revealed that the ring width of Shensi fir trees is primarily controlled by the range of temperature from February-June. The regression model that we used for statistical temperature reconstruction passed the leave-one-out cross-validation used in dendroclimatology, resulting in a quality-controlled February-June reconstruction for the eastern Qinling Mountains. The model accounts for 36.7% of the instrumental temperature variance during the period of 1960-2012. Warm springs and early summers occurred during AD 1870-1873, 1909-1914, 1927-1958 and 1997-2012, while the periods of AD 1874-1908, 1915-1926 and 1959-1996 were relatively cold. Spatial climate correlation analyses with gridded land surface data revealed that our temperature reconstruction contains a strong regional temperature signal for central China. The linkages of our temperature reconstruction with sea surface temperature in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans suggest the connection of regional temperature variations to large-scale ocean-atmosphere-land circulation. Preliminary analysis of links between large-scale climatic variation and the temperature reconstruction also shows that there is a relationship between extremes in spring and early summer temperature and anomalous atmospheric circulation in the Qinling Mountains. Overall, our study provides reliable information for the research of past temperature variability in the Qinling Mountains, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient generation and detection of indistinguishable twin photons are at the core of quantum information and communications technology (Q-ICT). These photons are conventionally generated by spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC), which is a probabilistic process, and hence occurs at a limited rate, which restricts wider applications of Q-ICT. To increase the rate, one had to excite SPDC by higher pump power, while it inevitably produced more unwanted multi-photon components, harmfully degrading quantum interference visibility. Here we solve this problem by using recently developed 10 GHz repetition-rate-tunable comb laser, combined with a group-velocity-matched nonlinear crystal, and superconducting nanowire single photon detectors. They operate at telecom wavelengths more efficiently with less noises than conventional schemes, those typically operate at visible and near infrared wavelengths generated by a 76 MHz Ti Sapphire laser and detected by Si detectors. We could show high interference visibilities, which are free from the pump-power induced degradation. Our laser, nonlinear crystal, and detectors constitute a powerful tool box, which will pave a way to implementing quantum photonics circuits with variety of good and low-cost telecom components, and will eventually realize scalable Q-ICT in optical infra-structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relationship between medial meniscus tear and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury has not been exactly explained. We studied to investigate the biomechanical effect of partial and complete PCL transection on different parts of medial meniscus at different flexion angles under static loading conditions. Materials and Methods: Twelve fresh human cadaveric knee specimens were divided into four groups: PCL intact (PCL-I), anterolateral bundle transection (ALB-T), posteromedial bundle transection (PMB-T) and PCL complete transection (PCL-T) group. Strain on the anterior horn, body part and posterior horn of medial meniscus were measured under different axial compressive tibial loads (200-800 N) at 0°, 30°, 60° and 90° knee flexion in each groups respectively. Results: Compared with the PCL.I group, the PCL-T group had a higher strain on whole medial meniscus at 30°, 60° and 90° flexion in all loading conditions and at 0° flexion with 400, 600 and 800 N loads. In ALB-T group, strain on whole meniscus increased at 30°, 60° and 90° flexion under all loading conditions and at 0° flexion with 800 N only. PMB.T exihibited higher strain at 0° flexion with 400 N, 600 N and 800 N, while at 30° and 60° flexion with 800 N and at 90° flexion under all loading conditions. Conclusions: Partial PCL transection triggers strain concentration on medial meniscus and the effect is more pronounced with higher loading conditions at higher flexion angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, silk sericin was employed to regulate the mineralization of calcium carbonate (CaCO). CaCO composite particles were prepared by the precipitation reaction of sodium carbonate with calcium chloride solution in the presence of silk sericin. The as-prepared samples were collected at different reaction time to study the crystallization process of CaCO by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that silk sericin significantly affected the morphology and crystallographic polymorph of CaCO. With increasing the reaction time, the crystal phase of CaCO transferred from calcite dominated to vaterite dominated mixtures, while the morphology of CaCO changed from disk-like calcite crystal to spherical vaterite crystal. These studies showed the potential of silk sericin used as a template molecule to control the growth of inorganic crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel coordination polymer, [Cd(PMP)Cl] (PMP = 1-phenyl-3-methyl-2-pyrazoline-5-one), was prepared by the reaction of cadmium chloride hemidihydrate and PMP, and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectrum, TGA/DTA and electrochemical analysis. Single crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that the title complex is orthorhombic, space group Pna2(1), with a = 16.5398(14), b = 18.238(2), c = 3.8367(7) Å, V = 1157.4(3) Å, Z = 2. Each cadmium atom is hexa-coordinate and surrounded by an OCl environment, adopting a distorted octahedral geometry, in which three Cl ions act as μ-linker and two as μ-linker. The Cd(II), Cl and PMP form an infinite 1D chain with complicated chair-like features through μ- and μ-Cl bridges. The electrochemical behavior of the complex was investigated in DMF by cyclic voltammetry. The antibacterial activity of the complex, PMP and cadmium chloride hemidihydrate was tested against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis by the agar diffusion method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most transactional memory (TM) research focused on multi-core processors, and others investigated at the clusters, leaving the area of non-uniform memory access (NUMA) system unexplored. The existing TM implementations made significant performance degradation on NUMA system because they ignored the slower remote memory access. To solve this problem, a latency-based conflict detection and a forecasting-based conflict prevention method were proposed. Using these techniques, the NUMA aware TM system was presented. By reducing the remote memory access and the abort rate of transaction, the experiment results show that the NUMA aware strategies present good practical TM performance on NUMA system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven different tree-ring parameters (tree-ring width, earlywood width, latewood width, maximum density, minimum density, mean earlywood density, and mean latewood density) were obtained from Qinghai spruce ( Picea crassifolia) at one chronology site in the Hexi Corridor, China. The chronologies were analyzed individually and then compared with each other. Growth-climate response analyses showed that the tree-ring width and maximum latewood density (MXD) are mainly influenced by warm season temperature variability. Based on the relationships derived from the climate response analysis, the MXD chronology was used to reconstruct the May-August maximum temperature for the period 1775-2008 A.D., and it explained the 38.1% of the total temperature variance. It shows cooling in the late 1700s to early 1800s and warming in the twentieth century. Spatial climate correlation analyses with gridded land surface data revealed that our warm season temperature reconstruction contains a strong large-scale temperature signal for north China. Comparison with regional and Northern Hemisphere reconstructions revealed similar low-frequency change to longer-term variability. Several cold years coincide with major volcanic eruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new polynitrile, N,N,N′,N′-tetra(2-cyanoethyl)-1,4-bis(3-aminopropyl)piperazine, was synthesized by the nucleophilic addition reaction of 1,4-bis(3-aminopropyl)piperazine and acrylonitrile for the first time. The title compound was characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectrum, and its crystal structure determined by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic system with space group P2/ c and a = 8.6195(12), b = 9.300(14), c = 16.221(2) Å, β = 97.824(2)°, V = 1288.2(3) Å, D = 1.064 g cm, M = 412.59, Z = 2, F(000) = 448, μ = 0.067 mm. The TG-DTA analysis revealed that the title compound possesses relatively good thermal stability under 220 °C. Graphical Abstract: A new polynitrile, N,N,N′,N′-tetra(2-cyanoethyl)-1,4-bis(3-aminopropyl)piperazine, was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectrum, TG-DTA, and X-ray single-crystal diffraction.[Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

new Cd(II) coordination polymer, [Cd(PMP)] (1) [PMP = 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone], has been synthesized by the reaction of Cd(CHCOO)·2HO with PMP and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectrum, fluorescence spectrum, UV-vis spectrum, TG-DTA, and electrochemical analysis. Single crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that the complex has a three-dimensional network. Each PMP acts as bidentate bridging ligand and each Cd(II) center is surrounded by two O atoms and two N atoms from four different PMP ligands to form distorted tetrahedral coordination geometry. The photoluminescence study shows the complex exhibited strong solid state blue fluorescent emission at room temperature, and the TG-DTA analysis demonstrated that it has highly thermal stability. Furthermore, the electrochemical property of the complex has been investigated for the first time in DMF by cyclic voltammetry, and the results showed that it has an irreversible process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Experiments have reported that granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) can mobilize stem cells. However, few studies have examined the effect of G-CSF on bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMC) mobilization, in particular regarding their capability to home to acutely injured liver.Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effort of G-CSF on BMMC homing to the liver following chemically-induced hepatic failure.Methods: BMMC were isolated from mice, pre-labeled with PKH26 and infused into the mice in which hepatic injury had been induced followed by administration of G-CSF or vehicle. Livers were studied by fluorescent microscopy after transplantation of pre-labeled BMMC.Results: PKH26 labeled cells were found in liver tissue at 102 ± 10 cells/high power field in the BMMC+G-CSF group and 30 ± 5 cells/high power field in the BMMC group, but none in the G-CSF group and the control group (P < 0.05). In the former two groups the majority of PKH26 labeled cells colocalized with proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). The number of PCNA positive cells in the BMMC+G-CSF group was 20 ± 4 cells/high power field, while in the BMMC group it was 14 ± 2 cells/high power field, in the G-CSF group 12 ± 2 cells/high power field, and 8 ± 1 cells/high power field in the control group. Moreover, albumin expression was increased in the BMMC+G-CSF treated group (149 ± 7/high power field) relative to the BMMC group (48 ± 6/high power field), the G-CSF group (44 ± 5/high power field) and the vehicle group (30 ± 6/high power field), with the former three groups showing elevated levels as compared to vehicle control (30 ± 6) (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Transplanted BMMC may home to injured liver, which appears to be enhanced by G-CSF administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important to study the pressure distribution on the blade and in the adjacent area while searching the power augmentation theory with adding a tip vane to the wind turbine. This paper shows the CFD simulation relationship of the pressure distribution on the rotor blade and in the adjacent area, after calculating the pressure of the different chordwise and spanwise point on the blade with the tip vane-V(8.8×8) and without the tip vane under tip speed ratio λ 4.5. Combining the isobaric section figure in certain location, it can be seen that the tip vane improve the pressure difference between pressure and suction surface. The most influenced zone is found and these can further display the power augmentation theory of the wind turbine using the tip vane. The simulation calculation was based on N-S equations. 3-D, steady, implicit solver was chosen. Turbulence model was k-ω SST. Discretization scheme is SECOND ORDER UPWIND. Pressure-velocity coupling was a typical SIMPLE scheme. In the whole grid system, two-divided grid formation was adopted, that is, inner region and outer region. Inner region including rectangular solid blade and neighboring, outer region is semi-cylinder. There were together 720,000 nodes with tetra-prism unstructured mesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porcine beta defensin 2 (pBD2) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide with broad spectrum antibacterial activity, which makes it a potential alternative to antibiotics to prevent and cure diseases of pigs. However, development of pBD2 as an effective antibiotic agent requires molecular understanding of its functional mechanism against pathogens. In this study, we investigated the functional mechanism of pBD2 antibacterial activity. Escherichia coli was incubated with different pBD2 concentrations for different times. Electron microscopy was used to analyze the locations of pBD2 and its induced morphological changes in E. coli. Gene expression analysis was also performed to further understand the molecular changes of E. coli in response to pBD2 incubation. The results demonstrated that E. coli membranes were broken, holed, and wrinkled after treatment with pBD2, and pBD2 was located on the cell membranes and manly in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, 38 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected, successfully sequenced and confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Most of the known functional DEGs were associated with DNA transcription and translation and located in the cytoplasm. Collectively, the results suggest that pBD2 could have multiple modes of action and the main mechanism for killing E. coli might be influence on DNA transcription and translation by targeting intracellular molecules after membrane damage, although transport and metabolism proteins were also affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NOON state, and its experimental approximation the Holland-Burnett state, have important applications in phase sensing measurement with enhanced sensitivity. However, most of the previous Holland-Burnett state interference (HBSI) experiments only investigated the area of the interference pattern in the region immediately around zero optical path length difference, while the full HBSI pattern over a wide range of optical path length differences has not yet been well explored. In this work, we experimentally and theoretically demonstrate up to six-photon HBSI and study the properties of the interference patterns over a wide range of optical path length differences. It was found that the shape, the coherence time and the visibility of the interference patterns were strongly dependent on the detection schemes. This work paves the way for applications which are based on the envelope of the HBSI pattern, such as quantum spectroscopy and quantum metrology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entanglement swapping at telecom wavelengths is at the heart of quantum networking in optical fiber infrastructures. Although entanglement swapping has been demonstrated experimentally so far using various types of entangled photon sources both in near-infrared and telecom wavelength regions, the rate of swapping operation has been too low to be applied to practical quantum protocols, due to limited efficiency of entangled photon sources and photon detectors. Here we demonstrate drastic improvement of the efficiency at telecom wavelength by using two ultra-bright entangled photon sources and four highly efficient superconducting nanowire single photon detectors. We have attained a four-fold coincidence count rate of 108 counts per second, which is three orders higher than the previous experiments at telecom wavelengths. A raw (net) visibility in a Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between the two independent entangled sources was 73.3 ± 1.0% (85.1 ± 0.8%). We performed the teleportation and entanglement swapping, and obtained a fidelity of 76.3% in the swapping test. Our results on the coincidence count rates are comparable with the ones ever recorded in teleportation/swapping and multi-photon entanglement generation experiments at around 800 nm wavelengths. Our setup opens the way to practical implementation of device-independent quantum key distribution and its distance extension by the entanglement swapping as well as multi-photon entangled state generation in telecom band infrastructures with both space and fiber links. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relationship between medial meniscus tear and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury has not been exactly explained. We studied to investigate the biomechanical effect of partial and complete PCL transection on different parts of medial meniscus at different flexion angles under static loading conditions., Materials and Methods: TWELVE FRESH HUMAN CADAVERIC KNEE SPECIMENS WERE DIVIDED INTO FOUR GROUPS: PCL intact (PCL-I), anterolateral bundle transection (ALB-T), posteromedial bundle transection (PMB-T) and PCL complete transection (PCL-T) group. Strain on the anterior horn, body part and posterior horn of medial meniscus were measured under different axial compressive tibial loads (200-800 N) at 0°, 30°, 60° and 90° knee flexion in each groups respectively., Results: Compared with the PCL-I group, the PCL-T group had a higher strain on whole medial meniscus at 30°, 60° and 90° flexion in all loading conditions and at 0° flexion with 400, 600 and 800 N loads. In ALB-T group, strain on whole meniscus increased at 30°, 60° and 90° flexion under all loading conditions and at 0° flexion with 800 N only. PMB-T exihibited higher strain at 0° flexion with 400 N, 600 N and 800 N, while at 30° and 60° flexion with 800 N and at 90° flexion under all loading conditions., Conclusions: Partial PCL transection triggers strain concentration on medial meniscus and the effect is more pronounced with higher loading conditions at higher flexion angles.