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Opposition control of artificially initiated turbulent spots in a laminar boundary layer was carried out in a low-turbulence wind tunnel with the aim to delay transition to turbulence by modifying the turbulent structure within the turbulent spots. The timing and duration of control, which was carried out using wall-normal jets from a spanwise slot, were pre-determined based on the baseline measurements of the transitional boundary layer. The results indicated that the high-speed region of the turbulent spots was cancelled by opposition control, which was replaced by a carpet of low-speed fluid. The application of the variable-interval time-averaging technique on the velocity fluctuation signals demonstrated a reduction in both the burst duration and intensity within the turbulent spots, but the burst frequency was increased.

A protocol where entanglement between two atomic ensembles is created by coherent mapping of an entangled state of light, effectively separating the generation of entanglement and its storage, is reported. Developments in quantum information science 1 rely critically on entanglement—a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics that causes parts of a composite system to show correlations stronger than can be explained classically 2 . In particular, scalable quantum networks require the capability to create, store and distribute entanglement among distant matter nodes by means of photonic channels 3 . Atomic ensembles can play the role of such nodes 4 . So far, in the photon-counting regime, heralded entanglement between atomic ensembles has been successfully demonstrated through probabilistic protocols 5 , 6 . But an inherent drawback of this approach is the compromise between the amount of entanglement and its preparation probability, leading to intrinsically low count rates for high entanglement. Here we report a protocol where entanglement between two atomic ensembles is created by coherent mapping of an entangled state of light. By splitting a single photon 7 , 8 , 9 and performing subsequent state transfer, we separate the generation of entanglement and its storage 10 . After a programmable delay, the stored entanglement is mapped back into photonic modes with overall efficiency of 17%. Together with improvements in single-photon sources 11 , our protocol will allow ‘on-demand’ entanglement of atomic ensembles, a powerful resource for quantum information science.

Pathologic alterations in podocytes lead to failure of an essential component of the glomerular filtration barrier and proteinuria in chronic kidney diseases. Elevated levels of saturated free fatty acid (FFA) are harmful to various tissues, implemented in the progression of diabetes and its complications such as proteinuria in diabetic nephropathy. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanism of palmitate cytotoxicity in cultured mouse podocytes. Incubation with palmitate dose-dependently increased cytosolic and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, depolarized the mitochondrial membrane potential, impaired ATP synthesis and elicited apoptotic cell death. Palmitate not only evoked mitochondrial fragmentation but also caused marked dilation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Consistently, palmitate upregulated ER stress proteins, oligomerized stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) in the subplasmalemmal ER membrane, abolished the cyclopiazonic acid-induced cytosolic Ca 2+ increase due to depletion of luminal ER Ca 2+ . Palmitate-induced ER Ca 2+ depletion and cytotoxicity were blocked by a selective inhibitor of the fatty-acid transporter FAT/CD36. Loss of the ER Ca 2+ pool induced by palmitate was reverted by the phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor edelfosine. Palmitate-dependent activation of PLC was further demonstrated by following cytosolic translocation of the pleckstrin homology domain of PLC in palmitate-treated podocytes. An inhibitor of diacylglycerol (DAG) kinase, which elevates cytosolic DAG, strongly promoted ER Ca 2+ depletion by low-dose palmitate. GF109203X, a PKC inhibitor, partially prevented palmitate-induced ER Ca 2+ loss. Remarkably, the mitochondrial antioxidant mitoTEMPO inhibited palmitate-induced PLC activation, ER Ca 2+ depletion and cytotoxicity. Palmitate elicited cytoskeletal changes in podocytes and increased albumin permeability, which was also blocked by mitoTEMPO. These data suggest that oxidative stress caused by saturated FFA leads to mitochondrial dysfunction and ER Ca 2+ depletion through FAT/CD36 and PLC signaling, possibly contributing to podocyte injury.

An experimental investigation was carried out in a low-turbulence wind tunnel to study the early development of artificially initiated turbulent spots in a laminar boundary layer over a flat plate. The reproducibility of the experiments allowed us to observe fine structural details that have not been observed previously. Initial velocity disturbances quickly developed into hairpin-like structures that multiplied downstream, which increased the width, length and height of the incipient turbulent spots. Only those disturbances that were greater than a threshold value developed into turbulent spots while the others decayed. The rate of development was also affected by the duration of the initial disturbances. We found that the behaviour of turbulence generation within a turbulent spot is similar to the burst events in the turbulent boundary layer, where ejection events are followed by sweep events.

CCAT-prime is a new 6 m crossed Dragone telescope designed to characterize the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization and foregrounds, measure the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich effects of galaxy clusters, map the [CII] emission intensity from the epoch of reionization (EoR), and monitor accretion luminosity over multiyear timescales of hundreds of protostars in the Milky Way. CCAT-prime will make observations from a 5600-m-altitude site on Cerro Chajnantor in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The novel optical design of the telescope combined with high-surface-accuracy ( < 10 μ m) mirrors and the exceptional atmospheric conditions of the site will enable sensitive broadband, polarimetric, and spectroscopic surveys at sub-millimeter to millimeter wavelengths. Prime-Cam, the first light instrument for CCAT-prime, consists of a 1.8-m-diameter cryostat that can house seven individual instrument modules. Each instrument module, optimized for a specific science goal, will use state-of-the-art kinetic inductance detector (KID) arrays operated at ∼ 100 mK and Fabry–Perot interferometers (FPI) for the EoR science. Prime-Cam will be commissioned with staged deployments to populate the seven instrument modules. The full instrument will consist of 60,000 polarimetric KIDs at a combination of 220/280/350/410 GHz, 31,000 KIDS at 250/360 GHz coupled with FPIs, and 21,000 polarimetric KIDs at 850 GHz. Prime-Cam is currently being built, and the CCAT-prime telescope is designed and under construction by Vertex Antennentechnik GmbH to achieve first light in 2021. CCAT-prime is also a potential telescope platform for the future CMB Stage IV observations.

Uncovering the mechanisms that govern the maintenance of stem-like cancer cells is critical for developing therapeutic strategies for targeting these cells. Constitutive activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) has been reported in gliomas and correlates with histological grade. Here, we found that JNK signaling is crucial for the maintenance of ‘stemness’ in glioma cells. Sphere-cultured glioma cells showed more phosphorylation of JNK compared with serum-containing monolayer cultures. Importantly, blockade of JNK signaling with SP600125 or small interfering RNAs targeting JNK1 or JNK2 significantly reduced the CD133 + /Nestin + population and suppressed sphere formation, colony formation in soft agar, and expression of stem cell markers in sphere-cultured glioma cells. Intriguingly, sphere-cultured glioma cells exhibited enhanced expression of Notch-2, but not Notch-1, -3 or -4, and JNK inhibition almost completely abrogated this increase. Blocking the phosphoinoside 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway with LY294002 or si-Akt also suppressed the self-renewal of sphere-cultured glioma cells. PI3K, but not Akt, had a role as an upstream kinase in JNK1/2 activation. In addition, treatment with si-JNK greatly increased etoposide- and ionizing radiation (IR)-induced cell death in glioma spheres. Consistent with glioma cell lines, glioma stem-like cells isolated from primary patient glioma cells also had a higher activity of JNK and Notch-2 expression. Importantly, inhibition of JNK2 led to a decrease of Notch-2 expression and suppressed the CD133 + /Nestin + cell population in patient-derived primary glioma cells. Finally, downregulation of JNK2 almost completely suppressed intracranial tumor formation by glioma cells in nude mice. Taken together, these data demonstrate that JNK signaling is crucial for the maintenance of self-renewal and tumorigenicity of glioma stem-like cells and drug/IR resistance, and can be considered a promising target for eliminating stem-like cancer cells in gliomas.

The epoch of reionization spectrometer (EoR-Spec) is an instrument module for the Prime-Cam receiver of the 6-m aperture CCAT-prime Telescope at 5600 m in Chile. EoR-Spec will perform 158 μ m [CII] line intensity mapping of star-forming regions at redshifts between 3.5 and 8 (420–210 GHz), tracing the evolution of structure during early galaxy formation. At lower redshifts, EoR-Spec will observe galaxies near the period of peak star formation—when most stars in today’s universe were formed. At higher redshifts, EoR-Spec will trace the late stages of reionization, the early stages of galaxy assembly, and the formation of large-scale, three-dimensional clustering of star-forming galaxies. To achieve its science goals, EoR-Spec will utilize CCAT-prime’s exceptionally low water vapor site, large field of view ( ∼ 5 ∘ at 210 GHz), and narrow beam widths ( ∼ 1 arcminute at 210 GHz). EoR-Spec will be outfitted with a cryogenic, metamaterial, silicon substrate-based Fabry–Perot interferometer operating at a resolving power ( λ / Δ λ ) of 100. Monolithic dichroic arrays of cryogenic, feedhorn-coupled transition edge sensor bolometers provide approximately 6000 detectors, which are read out using a frequency division multiplexing system based on microwave SQUIDs. The novel design allows the measurement of the [CII] line at two redshifts simultaneously using dichroic pixels and two orders of the Fabry–Perot. Here we present the design and science goals of EoR-Spec, with emphasis on the spectrometer, detector array, and readout designs.

The Advanced ACTPol upgrade on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope aims to improve the measurement of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies and polarization, using four new dichroic detector arrays fabricated on 150-mm silicon wafers. These bolometric cameras use AlMn transition-edge sensors, coupled to feedhorns with orthomode transducers for polarization sensitivity. The first deployed camera is sensitive to both 150 and 230 GHz. Here, we present the laboratory characterization of the thermal parameters and optical efficiencies for the two newest fielded arrays, each sensitive to both 90 and 150 GHz. We provide assessments of the parameter uniformity across each array with evaluation of systematic uncertainties. Lastly, we show the arrays’ initial performance in the field.

Multi-networking Quantum networks are being developed for computation, communication and simulation. This paper reveals an important advance in quantum information science — the first demonstration of a quantum memory capable of storing and reading out entanglement among multiple parties. It comprises four atomic memories connected by photonic channels, representing a significant step up in complexity compared with previous two-party networks. Quantum networks are being developed for computation, communication and simulation. These authors demonstrate a quantum network capable of storing and reading out entanglement among multiple parties. It comprises four atomic memories connected by photonic channels, representing a significant increase in complexity in comparison with previous two-party networks. Quantum networks are composed of quantum nodes that interact coherently through quantum channels, and open a broad frontier of scientific opportunities 1 . For example, a quantum network can serve as a ‘web’ for connecting quantum processors for computation 2 , 3 and communication 4 , or as a ‘simulator’ allowing investigations of quantum critical phenomena arising from interactions among the nodes mediated by the channels 5 , 6 . The physical realization of quantum networks generically requires dynamical systems capable of generating and storing entangled states among multiple quantum memories, and efficiently transferring stored entanglement into quantum channels for distribution across the network. Although such capabilities have been demonstrated for diverse bipartite systems 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , entangled states have not been achieved for interconnects capable of ‘mapping’ multipartite entanglement stored in quantum memories to quantum channels. Here we demonstrate measurement-induced entanglement stored in four atomic memories; user-controlled, coherent transfer of the atomic entanglement to four photonic channels; and characterization of the full quadripartite entanglement using quantum uncertainty relations 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 . Our work therefore constitutes an advance in the distribution of multipartite entanglement across quantum networks. We also show that our entanglement verification method is suitable for studying the entanglement order of condensed-matter systems in thermal equilibrium 17 , 18 .

The effect of specimen size on the measured unconfined compressive strength and other mechanical properties has been studied by numerous researchers in the past, although much of this work has been based on specimens of non-standard dimensions and shapes, and over a limited size range. A review of the published literature was completed concentrating on the presentation of research pertaining to right cylindrical specimens with height:diameter ratios of 2:1. Additionally, new data has been presented considering high strength (70 MPa) cement mortar specimens of various diameters ranging from 63 to 300 mm which were tested to failure. Currently, several models exist in the published literature that seek to predict the strength–size relationship in rock or cementitious materials. Modelling the reviewed datasets, statistical analysis was used to help establish which of these models best represents the empirical evidence. The findings presented here suggest that over the range of specimen sizes explored, the MFSL (Carpinteri et al. in Mater Struct 28:311–317, 1995 ) model most closely predicts the strength–size relationship in rock and cementitious materials, and that a majority of the empirical evidence supports an asymptotic value in strength at large specimen diameters. Furthermore, the MFSL relationship is not only able to model monotonically decreasing strength–size relationships but is also equally applicable to monotonically increasing relationships, which although shown to be rare do for example exist in rocks with fractal distributions of hard particles.