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Currently, quantum computing is developing at a high speed because its high parallelism and high computing power bring new solutions to many fields. However, due to chip process technology, it is difficult to achieve full coupling of all qubits on a quantum chip, so when compiling a quantum circuit onto a physical chip, it is necessary to ensure that the two-qubit gate acts on a pair of coupled qubits by inserting swap gates. It will cause great additional cost when a large number of swap gates are inserted, leading to the execution time of quantum circuits longer. In this paper, we designed a way based on the business to insert swap gates BQA(Busy Qubits Avoid). We exploit the imbalance of the number of gates on qubits, trying to hide the overhead of swap gates. At the same time, we also expect swap gates to make as little negative impact on subsequent two-qubit gates as possible. We have designed a heuristic function that can take into account both of these points. Compared with qiskit, the execution time of the circuit optimized by our proposed method is only 0.5 times that of the qiskit compiled circuit. And when the number of two-qubit gates is large, it will achieve higher level than general conditions. This implies higher execution efficiency and lower decoherence error rate., 9 pages, 8 figures

Developing highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction is of significant importance for applications in energy conversion and storage. Modulation of electronic structure of catalysts is critical for improving the performance of the resulting electrodes. Here, we report a facile way to engineer the electronic structure of Ni

There is a considerable body of evidence supporting the role of secretory type II-A phospholipase A2 (sPLA2-IIA) as an effector of the innate immune response. This enzyme also exhibits bactericidal activity especially toward Gram-positive bacteria. In this study we examined the ability of sPLA2-IIA to kill Bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax. Our results show that both germinated B. anthracis spores and encapsulated bacilli were sensitive to the bactericidal activity of recombinant sPLA2-IIA in vitro. In contrast, nongerminated spores were resistant. This bactericidal effect was correlated to the ability of sPLA2-IIA to hydrolyze bacterial membrane phospholipids. Guinea pig alveolar macrophages, the major source of sPLA2-IIA in an experimental model of acute lung injury, released enough sPLA2-IIA to kill extracellular B. anthracis. The production of sPLA2-IIA was significantly inhibited by B. anthracis lethal toxin. Human bronchoalveolar lavage fluids from acute respiratory distress syndrome patients are known to contain sPLA2-IIA; bactericidal activity against B. anthracis was detected in a high percentage of these samples. This anthracidal activity was correlated to the levels of sPLA2-IIA and was abolished by an sPLA2-IIA inhibitor. These results suggest that sPLA2-IIA may play a role in innate host defense against B. anthracis infection and that lethal toxin may help the bacteria to escape from the bactericidal action of sPLA2-IIA by inhibiting the production of this enzyme.

We previously showed that the seminatural surfactant Curosurf inhibits the in vitro synthesis of secretory type IIA phospholipase A2 (sPLA2-IIA) in alveolar macrophages (AM). These cells are the main source of sPLA2-IIA in a guinea pig model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI). Here, we investigate the effect of Curosurf on the pulmonary synthesis of sPLA2-IIA in this ALI model. Our results showed that intratracheal administration of LPS (330 μg/kg) induced an increase in pulmonary expression of sPLA2-IIA, which was inhibited when animals received Curosurf (16 mg/guinea pig) 30 min or 8 h after LPS instillation. When AM were isolated from LPS-treated animals and cultured in conditioned medium, they expressed higher levels of sPLA2-IIA than AM from saline-treated animals. This ex vivo sPLA2-IIA expression was significantly reduced when guinea pigs received Curosurf 30 min after LPS instillation. Finally, we examined the effect of Curosurf on pulmonary inflammation measured 8 or 24 h after LPS administration. Curosurf instillation 30 min or 8 h after LPS reversed the increase in tumor necrosis factor-α expression, polymorphonuclear cell extravasation, and protein concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids. Curosurf also decreased the bronchial reactivity induced by LPS. We conclude that Curosurf inhibits the pulmonary expression of sPLA2-IIA and exhibits palliative anti-inflammatory effects in an animal model of ALI.

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacterium, which grows mainly in epithelial cells of the mucous membranes of the genital tract. Asymptomatic in most cases, infections with this pathogen can lead to pelvic inflammations. The inflammation itself can lead to fibrosis and tubal infertility in women. To better understand the pathological manifestations in the female genital tract (FGT), it is important to study the response of epithelial cells, which constitute the first line of host defense against C. trachomatis infection. To this end, we developed a simplified protocol to isolate a very pure fraction of primary epithelial cells from the FGT of patients undergoing hysterectomy. We observed that these primary epithelial cells were less permissive to C. trachomatis infection than the cell line classically used in laboratories, i.e. HeLa cells. We have shown that the difference in culture medium and the addition of serum in HeLa cell cultures explain a large part of these differences. However, when tested in an identical culture medium, primary ectocervical epithelial cells were found to be less permissive than HeLa cells towards C. trachomatis infection. Finally, primary epithelial cells expressed overall more pro-inflammatory cytokines, both basally and after C. trachomatis infection, than HeLa cells, suggesting a strong capacity of primary epithelial cells to mount an inflammatory response. We then focused on understanding why type I interferon (IFN-I) acts synergistically with C. trachomatis infection towards the pro-inflammatory response of epithelial cells. We demonstrated that IFN-I, but not C. trachomatis, increased the expression of several bacterial pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Expression silencing of TLR3 receptor, or deletion of this gene, prevented synergetic effect between IFN-I and C. trachomatis. We also identified the intermediate signaling pathway between IFN-I receptor activation and TLR3 expression, as well as the signaling downstream of TLR3 activation, which results in the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 and 8. Based on these data, we conclude that IFN-I exacerbates the host inflammatory response triggered by C. trachomatis infection via increased TLR3 expression, and that this synergetic effect between IFN-I and bacteria on pro-inflammatory signaling in epithelial cells may play a role in the tissue damage that results from infection in some of the patients., Chlamydia trachomatis est une bactérie intracellulaire obligatoire, qui se développe principalement dans cellules épithéliales des muqueuses du tractus génital. Asymptomatiques dans la plupart des cas, les infections par ce pathogène peuvent entrainer des inflammations pelviennes. L’inflammation peut elle-même engendrer des fibroses et mener à une infertilité tubaire chez les femmes. Il est important d’étudier la réponse des cellules épithéliales, qui constituent la première ligne de défense contre l’infection par C. trachomatis, pour mieux comprendre ses manifestations pathologiques dans le tractus génital féminin (FGT). À cette fin, nous avons mis au point un protocole simplifié pour isoler une fraction très pure de cellules épithéliales primaires, à partir du FGT de patientes subissant une hystérectomie. Nous avons observé que ces cellules épithéliales primaires étaient moins permissives à l'infection par C. trachomatis que la lignée cellulaire classiquement utilisée en laboratoire, i.e. la lignée HeLa. Nous avons montré que la différence de milieu de culture et l'ajout de sérum dans les cultures de cellules HeLa, expliquent une grande partie de ces différences. Cependant, testées dans des milieux identiques, les cellules épithéliales primaires issues de l’ectocol se sont révélées moins permissives que les cellules HeLa vis-à-vis du développement de C. trachomatis. Enfin, les cellules épithéliales primaires exprimaient globalement davantage de cytokines pro-inflammatoires, au niveau basal et après infection à C. trachomatis, que les cellules HeLa, suggérant une forte capacité des cellules épithéliales primaires à monter une réponse inflammatoire. Nous nous sommes ensuite attachés à comprendre pourquoi l'interféron de type I (IFN-I) agissait-t-il en synergie avec l’infection par C. trachomatis vis-à-vis de la réponse pro-inflammatoire des cellules. Nous avons démontré que l'IFN-I, mais pas C. trachomatis, augmentait l'expression de plusieurs récepteurs de reconnaissance de motifs bactériens. L’extinction de l’expression du récepteur TLR3, ou la délétion de ce gène, empêche la synergie entre l’IFN-I et C. trachomatis. Nous avons identifié la voie de signalisation intermédiaire entre l’activation du récepteur de l’IFN-I et l’expression du TLR3, ainsi que la signalisation en aval de l’activation de TLR3, qui aboutit à l’expression des cytokines pro-inflammatoires interleukines-6 et 8. Ainsi, l'IFN-I exacerbe la réponse inflammatoire de l'hôte déclenchée par l'infection à C. trachomatis via une augmentation de l’expression du TLR3. La synergie entre l’IFN-I et les bactéries à stimuler la signalisation pro-inflammatoire des cellules épithéliales pourrait jouer un rôle dans les lésions tissulaires qui résultent de l’infection chez certaines patientes.