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Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) steering is a quantum effect based on quantum entanglement and it is the key resource for building quantum networks because of its useful properties. Based on the criterion for genuine multipartite EPR steering, the genuine quadripartite EPR steering is confirmed and it can be generated by a spontaneous parametric down-conversion cascaded process with two sum-frequency generations in an optical superlattice. This occurs either below the oscillation threshold and without oscillation threshold. The influence of the parameters of cascaded nonlinear process on the quadripartite EPR steering among signal, idler, and two sum-frequency beams are also discussed. Choosing appropriate nonlinear parameters can achieve good quadripartite quantum steering. This scheme of the generation of genuine quadripartite EPR steering has potential applications in quantum communication and computing.

Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) steering is different from quantum entanglement because of its unique asymmetry. Multipartite asymmetric EPR steering can break through one-to-one monogamy steering and achieve one to many one-way steering. That is to say, the state of one part can steer the other rest parts simultaneously, while the other parts cannot steer this part. Here, a scheme is proposed to generate one to many one-way steering by optical parametric amplification cascaded with a sum-frequency generation process. One to many non-monogamy EPR steering, such as one to two and one to three one-way steering are demonstrated based on the criterion for asymmetric EPR steering. It is also find that different kinds of asymmetric EPR steering can be obtained by choosing different nonlinear parameters. This non-monogamous one to many quantum control has potential application in constructing quantum networks and realizing one-way quantum computing.

Pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) is an invasive species that causes a destructive forest disease--pine wilt disease. This disease has been prevalent in some countries in Asia since the 1970s. An amplified fragment length polymorphism survey was used to compare the genetic variation of native and invasive nematode populations in China and to examine the changes in genetic diversity during the invasion process. The genetic diversity of Chinese populations was slightly higher than that of American populations. Analysis of groups sampled from different invasive stages in China, showed that no obvious change in genetic diversity. Hence, genetic drift and founder effects are not obvious in the invasion process. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Chinese pinewood nematode populations were closer to Japanese populations than to American populations. On the basis of the genetic relationships among samples, two major invasion pathways in China are suggested. One is from Guangdong to Anhui and Zhejiang, and the other is from Guangdong to Jiangsu and then from Jiangsu to Hubei, Guizhong and Congqing. The results imply that it is important to reinforce both domestic and international quarantine to control the spread of pinewood nematode.

The puroindoline genes ( Pina and Pinb ) are the functional components of the common or bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) grain hardness locus that are responsible for kernel texture. In this study, four puroindoline b - 2 variants were physically mapped using nulli-tetrosomic lines of bread wheat cultivar Chinese Spring and substitution lines of durum wheat ( Triticum turgidum L.) cultivar Langdon. Results indicated that Pinb - 2v1 was on 7D of Chinese Spring, Pinb - 2v2 on 7B of Chinese Spring, Pinb - 2v3 on 7B of Chinese Spring and Langdon, and Pinb - 2v4 on 7A of Chinese Spring and Langdon. A new puroindoline b - 2 variant, designated Pinb - 2v5 , was identified at the puroindoline b - 2 locus of durum wheat cultivar Langdon, with a difference of only five single nucelotide polymorphisms compared with Pinb - 2v4 . Sequencing results indicated that, in comparison with the Pinb - 2v3 sequence (AM99733 and GQ496618 with one base-pair modification of G to T at 6th position, designated Pinb - 2v3a ) in bread wheat cultivar Witchta, the coding region of Pinb - 2v3 in 12 durum wheat cultivars had a single nucleotide change from T to C at the 311th position, resulting in a corresponding amino acid change from valine to alanine at the 104th position. This new allele was designated Pinb - 2v3b . The study of puroindoline b - 2 gene polymorphism in CIMMYT and Italian durum wheat germplasm and discovery of a novel puroindoline b - 2 variant could provide useful information for further understanding the molecular and genetic basis of kernel hardness and illustrating gene duplication events in wheat.

Multipartite quantum steering correlation among Raman scattering beams generated by the enhanced Raman scattering process is investigated. In this single-pass nonlinear process, without an optical resonant cavity, Raman scattering beams of the same order can be significantly enhanced through differential amplification of pump, resulting in enhanced Raman scattering beams. Based on the multipartite quantum steering correlation criterion, tripartite quantum steering and five-partite quantum steering can be obtained by the first-order Raman scattering and the second-order Raman scattering, respectively. This scheme of the generation of multipartite quantum steering enriches the types of quantum manipulation and can be applied to quantum information work such as quantum networks.

Polypyrrole (PPy) is one of the most common conducting polymers in research and investigation due to its good stability, high conductivity, ease of preparation, and non-toxicity. It has wide applications in the field of chemical sensors, electromagnetic interference shielding devices, electrochromic devices and batteries. Furthermore, it was found that when PPy coating was deposited on some commercial fabrics, the conductivity changes to a large extent, PPy can detect large strain deformation, however only few investigations on the strain sensitivity of PPy-based composites can be found. In this paper, the fabrication of PPy-coated conductive fabric by the method of vapor phase polymerization, and the investigation on its strain sensing properties are reported.

The effect of increasing levels of dietary phospholipids (PL) on the ovarian development and reproductive performance of Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis were investigated using four semipurified formulated diets supplemented with 0%, 1.2%, 2.4%, and 3.6% PL. Four groups of 40 females, with an average individual body weight of 95-120 g, were fed the experimental diets for a period of 7 months. Male crabs were introduced into the female rearing system in March, and mating, spawning, and egg hatching occurred in the following month. After 10 weeks of feeding, females fed the diet with 2.4% PL had a significantly higher gonadosomatic index (GSI) than females fed the diet with 0% PL, whereas females fed the diet with 1.2% PL had a significantly higher hepatic moisture content and lower hepatic lipid content than the other groups (P < 0.05). After mating, the spawning rate was higher among females fed diets with 3.6% and 2.4% PL (95% and 92%, respectively) compared with females fed diets with 0% and 1.2% PL (both 81%). The results showed that egg production (total number of eggs/female) and fecundity increased with increasing dietary PL level, with females fed diets with 0% and 1.2% PL supplementation having significantly lower values than females fed the diet with 3.6% PL (P < 0.05). In conclusion, our results suggest that dietary PL supplementation has a positive effect on ovarian development and reproductive performance of E. sinensis broodstock. Further study should aim to investigate the optimal PL level in the broodstock diet of E. sinensis in respect to offspring quality.

Phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) plays an important role in energy metabolism, and it is documented that PGI exhibits an extensive polymorphism which can affect insects' fitness and adaptation. In this paper, we studied the structural characteristics and polymorphism of pgi gene in the fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea), an important invasive pest in some European and Asian countries. A 2110-bp pgi full-length cDNA encoding a polypeptide of 556 amino acids was obtained from H. cunea. The pgi full-length in the H. cunea genomic DNA was 14,332 bp with 12 exons and 11 introns, similar to the structures of pgi in other Lepidoptera species. We compared the structures of pgi in different insect species. Moreover, thirteen pgi genotypes comprised of five alleles were identified in the Chinese population. Genotypes pgi-cd, pgi-cc and pgi-ce were the most prevalent with over 70% of individuals allocated to them. Four out of five alleles were sequenced the cDNA full-length. Thirty stably variable sites were found among them with five non-synonymous mutation sites. The frequencies of alleles and genotypes were variable in different Chinese geographic subpopulations. Moreover, comparison of pgi mRNA expression levels in each stage of the moth's lifecycle showed that a high expression level was in the 6th instar larval stage, followed by that in the egg and adult stages. The results will provide a basis for further study of the role of different alleles and genotypes of PGI on fitness and adaptation of the moth H. cunea.

Laparoscopic partial hepatectomy, characterized by significant surgical trauma, profound stress responses, prolonged duration, and high anesthetic requirements, may lead to delayed recovery or emergence agitation. Whether remimazolam and propofol combined with flumazenil reversal can accelerate the recovery and enhance hemodynamic stability remains controversial. Fifty patients aged 18-70 years with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class I-III and Child-Pugh classification A or B undergoing elective laparoscopic partial hepatectomy were enrolled. Participants were randomly assigned to either the remimazolam combined with propofol group (RP group) or the propofol group (P group). Both groups received intravenous sufentanil and cisatracurium for induction, followed by either remimazolam-propofol with flumazenil reversal or propofol alone. Emergence parameters, including time to obey verbal commands, BIS over 80, and tracheal tube removal were recorded. The Sedation-Agitation Scale (SAS) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores at predefined intervals, hemodynamics, and adverse events were recorded. The time to obey verbal commands ( ), BIS over 80 ( ), and tracheal tube removal ( ) were all significantly shorter in the RP group than in the P group. The SAS score after 30 min ( ) in the PACU was significantly higher, but the VAS score after 15 min ( ) and 30 min ( ) in the PACU, were significantly lower in the RP group than in the P group. MAP at T1 ( ) was significantly lower in the P group than in the RP group. In addition, the RP group demonstrated reduced post-induction hypotension, required no postoperative rescue analgesia, and reported no emergence agitation. Compared to propofol alone, remimazolam-propofol with flumazenil reversal provides faster and more complete recovery, superior hemodynamic stability perioperatively, and reduced analgesic requirements in laparoscopic partial hepatectomy patients.

Fracability evaluation of unconventional oil/gas reservoirs has become a general practice during the hydraulic fracturing job design to identify the best candidate pay zone. The brittleness of the reservoir rock was first used to characterize the capability of the reservoir rock to form a complex fracture network. Later, other factors like fracture toughness, in-situ stress, and natural fracture parameters were introduced in combination with brittleness to more comprehensively describe the fracability of the reservoir. However, most of the existing fracability evaluation has been performed for single wells. In contrast, the three-dimensional distribution of fracability within reservoirs was less pursued, though it might be beneficial for guiding the well placement. This study developed an integrated multi-scale fracability evaluation method for tight sandstone reservoirs based on three-dimensional geomechanical analysis. Factors like brittleness, fracture toughness, in-situ stress contrast that influence the hydraulic fracture initiation and propagation at different scales were first identified and analyzed. Then methods of deriving these quantities from well logs and three-dimensional seismic data were summarized. Finally, an integrated index incorporating these quantities was defined to differentiate the so-called engineering sweet-spot zones favorable for stimulation. A typical application of this method is the integrated multi-scale fracability evaluation method applied to a tight sandstone reservoir located in China’s south sea oil field, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the method. In addition, some implications for improving fracturing operations of tight sandstone reservoirs have been provided.