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The mode pairing quantum key distribution (MP-QKD) protocol has attracted considerable attention for its capability to ensure high secure key rates over long distances without requiring global phase locking. However, ensuring symmetric channels for the MP-QKD protocol is challenging in practical quantum communication networks. Previous studies on the asymmetric MP-QKD protocol have relied on ideal decoy state assumptions and infinite-key analysis, which are unattainable for real-world deployment. In this paper, we conduct a security analysis of the asymmetric MP-QKD protocol with the finite-key analysis, where we discard the previously impractical assumptions made in the decoy state method. Combined with statistical fluctuation analysis, we globally optimized the 10 independent parameters in the asymmetric MP-QKD protocol by employing our modified particle swarm optimization. Through further analysis, the simulation results demonstrate that our work achieves improved secure key rates and transmission distances compared to the strategy with additional attenuation. We further investigate the relationship between the intensities and probabilities of signal, decoy, and vacuum states with transmission distance, facilitating their more efficient deployment in future quantum networks.

Traumatic osteomyelitis (TO) treatment remains challenging due to biofilm formation and poor antibiotic penetration. We developed poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres co-loaded with moxifloxacin/rifampicin (M/R-P) to address these limitations. Key findings: In vitro: The microspheres showed (1) no cytotoxicity (CCK-8 assay; live/dead staining; cytoskeletal staining; SEM visualization), and (2) no inhibition of osteogenic potential (ALP activity).In vivo: M/R-P microspheres significantly reduced MRSA burden ( 8 ± 3 × 10³ CFU/g) compared to debridement-only controls (3143 ± 727 × 10³ CFU/g; p  < 0.0001), and near-complete infection resolution (histopathology). Conclusion: These results demonstrate that the M/R-P microspheres possess excellent safety profiles, favorable cytocompatibility, and remarkable antibacterial efficacy. The findings confirm the feasibility of our innovative approach using PLGA as a drug delivery carrier for localized antibiotic therapy in chronic osteomyelitis treatment, achieved through technological optimization for combined antibiotic administration. This provides a novel strategic direction for ultimately overcoming the clinical challenge of traumatic osteomyelitis.

Three- and four-part proximal humeral fractures are common in young and elderly populations. Open reduction and fixation with a locking plate is a commonly used surgical technique; however, it is associated with a high incidence of complications. This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the clinical effectiveness of open reduction and fixation with a locking plate for treating three- and four-part proximal humeral fractures and to analyze potential risk factors for complications. The clinical data of 126 patients with three-part (57 cases) or four-part (69 cases) fractures of the proximal humerus who presented to our center between January 2014 and January 2024 were selected. At the final follow-up (i.e., 12 months post-operation), the postoperative clinical efficacy was evaluated by comparing the Constant-Murley score, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, and range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder joint between the affected side and the unaffected side. Additionally, the relationships between the clinical efficacy and the loss angle of the humeral neck-shaft angle (NSA) as well as the loss humeral head height (HHH) were analyzed. In addition, we also analyzed the most common complications among the patients and the associated risk factors. In the evaluation of clinical efficacy, there were no significant differences in the ROM of the shoulder joint and clinical scores between the unaffected side and the affected side of the patients at 12 months postoperatively ( P  > 0.05). The analysis of the relationship between the clinical efficacy, the loss angle of the NSA, and the loss of HHH showed that for patients with proximal humerus fractures (PHF), there was a significant negative correlation between the postoperative flexion, abduction, external rotation, and internal rotation of the shoulder joint on the affected side, the Constant score, and both the loss angle of the postoperative neck-shaft angle and the height of the humeral head, while there was a positive correlation with the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score. In the analysis of complications, it was found that the incidence rates of shoulder joint stiffness and internal fixation failure were significantly higher than that of humeral head necrosis. Their occurrences were highly correlated with factors such as age, diabetes, osteoporosis, fracture healing time, rotator cuff repair, rehabilitation methods, medial cortical bone defect, calcar screw, calcar distance, calcar ratio, reduction quality, and so on. In conclusion, in clinical practice, surgical strategies should be tailored to individual patient profiles, incorporating comprehensive preoperative assessments of age, comorbidities (e.g., osteoporosis, diabetes), and fracture morphology. Optimization of surgical precision (e.g., anatomical reduction, calcar screw placement) and adherence to evidence-based postoperative rehabilitation protocols are critical to mitigate risks of complications and maximize therapeutic efficacy.

Nowadays, the O?-sialon ceramics are synthesized by the reaction of Si3N4, SiO2 and Al2O3. However, it is difficult to achieve the single phase materials. Here, we have successfully developed porous single phase O?-sialon ceramics by pre-oxidation combined with gas-pressure sintering method. The effects of ?-Si3N4 powder on the microstructure, phase evolution, mechanical property were investigated. The result illustrated that the main crystal phase of the porous ceramics was composed of the single O?-sialon phase. The pores were well distributed and generated from the decomposition of Si2N2O. The elongated O?-sialon grains were found and formed around pore walls. Additionally, the addition of ?-Si3N4 powder was beneficial for improving the bending strength because of the reduction of porosity and pore size. The porous O?-sialon ceramics with uniform pores obtained the excellent bending strength when the ?-Si3N4 powder was 6 wt%.

Mode pairing quantum key distribution (MP-QKD) overcomes the repeaterless bound without requiring phase locking and phase tracking. However, MP-QKD still assumes that the light source is trusted, which can present challenges in practical deployments and potentially introduce security vulnerabilities. In this paper, we propose a light source monitoring (LSM) scheme that guarantees the security of MP-QKD with the untrusted light sources. The simulation results demonstrate that, when considering untrusted light sources, the performance of MP-QKD with the LSM scheme remains nearly identical to that of ideal MP-QKD, even in the presence of the source fluctuations. Furthermore, we simplify some of the complex integration calculations involved in simulating the observed quantities of MP-QKD, which reduces the running time of the parameter optimization procedure.

Spinal cord injury (SCI), characterized by the disruption of neural pathways and an increase in inflammatory cell infiltration, leads to profound and lasting neurological deficits, with a high risk of resulting in permanent disability. Currently, the therapeutic landscape for SCI is notably sparse, with limited effective treatment options available. Methylprednisolone (MP), a widely used clinical anti-inflammatory agent for SCI, requires administration in high doses that are associated with significant adverse effects. In this study, we introduce an innovative approach by substituting cholesterol with MP to engineer a novel Lipid Nanoparticle (MP-LNP). This strategy aims to enhance the localization and concentration of MP at the injury site, thereby amplifying its therapeutic efficacy while mitigating systemic side effects. Furthermore, we explore the integration of C3 transferase mRNA into MP-LNPs. C3 transferase, a potent inhibitor of the RhoA pathway, has shown promise in facilitating neurological recovery in animal models of SCI and is currently being evaluated in clinical trials. The novel formulation, MP-LNP-C3, is designed for direct administration to the injury site during decompression surgery, offering a targeted therapeutic modality for SCI. Our findings reveal several significant advantages of this approach: Firstly, the incorporation of C3 transferase mRNA into MP-LNPs does not compromise the structural integrity of the nanoparticles, ensuring efficient mRNA expression within the spinal cord. Secondly, the MP-LNP formulation effectively attenuates inflammation and reduces the adverse effects associated with high-dose MP treatment in the acute phase of SCI. Lastly, MP-LNP-C3 demonstrates notable neuroprotective properties and promotes enhanced recovery of motor function in SCI mouse models. Together, these results underscore the potential of this innovative LNP-based therapy as a promising avenue for advancing the treatment of clinical SCI. Graphical Abstract

Recently, to bridge the gap between security of Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) and a high key rate, a novel protocol, the so-called detector-device-independent QKD (DDI-QKD), has been independently proposed by several groups and has attracted great interest. A higher key rate is obtained, since a single photon bell state measurement (BSM) setup is applied to DDI-QKD. Subsequently, Qi has proposed two attacks for this protocol. However, the first attack, in which Bob’s BSM setup is assumed to be completely a “black box”, is easily prevented by using some additional monitoring devices or by specifically characterizing the BSM. The second attack, which combines the blinding attack and the detector wavelength-dependent efficiency, is not explicitly discussed, and its feasibility is not experimentally confirmed. Here, we show that the second attack is not technically viable because of an intrinsically wavelength-dependent property of a realistic beam splitter, which is an essential component in DDI-QKD. Moreover, we propose a feasible attack that combines a well-known attack—detector blinding attack with intrinsic imperfections of single-photon detectors. The experimental measurement and proof-of-principle test results confirm that our attack can allow Eve to get a copy of quantum keys without being detected and that it is feasible with current technology.

Measurement-device-independent entanglement witness (MDI-EW) plays an important role for detecting entanglement with untrusted measurement device. We present a double blinding-attack on a quantum secret sharing (QSS) protocol based on GHZ state. Using the MDI-EW method, we propose a QSS protocol against all detector side-channels. We allow source flaws in practical QSS system, so that Charlie can securely distribute a key between the two agents Alice and Bob over long distances. Our protocol provides condition on the extracted key rate for the secret against both external eavesdropper and arbitrary dishonest participants. A tight bound for collective attacks can provide good bounds on the practical QSS with source flaws. Then we show through numerical simulations that using single-photon source a secure QSS over 136 km can be achieved.

We present an entanglement analysis protocol on entangled electron spins using quantum dot（QD） and microcavity coupled system.Each quantum dot is placed in the microcavity and ancilla photon input-output process could be used to check the parity of the quantum dots. After the parity check process, the user only needs to measure the spin direction of the QD spin, and the state information can be readout completely. The feasibility of our scheme and the experimental challenge are discussed by considering currently available techniques.

Nowadays, porous Si 3 N 4 ceramics are fabricated by high purity α-Si 3 N 4 powders, resulting in a higher cost of production. To reduce cost and save energy, in this research, high levels of β-Si 3 N 4 powders were effectively utilized to produce excellent and low-cost porous Si 3 N 4 ceramics. The effects of high levels of β-Si 3 N 4 powders on the microstructural evolution and properties were investigated in detail. The results suggested that, with the increase in β-Si 3 N 4 powders from 0 wt.% to 80 wt.%, the aspect ratio of β-Si 3 N 4 grains gradually decreased because of the anisotropic growth of grains significantly impinged by adjacent other β-Si 3 N 4 grains. Additionally, the bending strength and dielectric constant of porous silicon nitride ceramics declined and their values were 685 MPa - 220 MPa, and 7.58–5.57, respectively, while the porosity increased from 5.9% to 28.5%. Similarly, the residual bending strength of Si 3 N 4 ceramics degraded from 615 MPa to 172 MPa at 1000 °C for 20 h owing to the formation of SiO 2 on the surface of silicon nitride ceramics after oxidizing.