Creation of Two-Mode Squeezed States in Atomic Mechanical Oscillators.

Two-mode squeezed states, which are entangled states with bipartite quantum correlations in continuous-variable systems, are crucial in quantum information processing and metrology. Recently, continuous-variable quantum computing with the vibrational modes of trapped atoms has emerged with significant progress, featuring a high degree of control in hybridizing with spin qubits. Creating two-mode squeezed states in such a platform could enable applications that are only viable with photons. Here, we experimentally demonstrate two-mode squeezed states by employing atoms in a two-dimensional optical lattice as quantum registers. The states are generated by a controlled projection conditioned on the relative phase of two independent squeezed states. The individual squeezing is created by sudden jumps of the oscillators' frequencies, allowing generating of the two-mode squeezed states at a rate within a fraction of the oscillation frequency. We validate the states by entanglement steering criteria and Fock state analysis. Our results can be applied in other mechanical oscillators for quantum sensing and continuous-variable quantum information.

Discovery and Validation of Potential Serum Biomarkers with Pro-Inflammatory and DNA Damage Activities in Ulcerative Colitis: A Comprehensive Untargeted Metabolomic Study.

Ulcerative colitis is a type of non-specific inflammatory bowel disease with unclear etiology. It is considered a progressive disease with risks of bowel motility disorders, anorectal dysfunction, and even colorectal cancer. Commonly used diagnostic markers have poor specificity and cannot predict the development of ulcerative colitis. In this study, 77 serum samples (31 patients, 46 healthy controls) were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and 31 metabolites with significant level changes were found, revealing the relationship of ulcerative colitis to disturbed glutathione metabolism and caffeine metabolism. In addition, pyroglutamic acid, a biomarker of cervical cancer and gastric cancer, was identified with elevated levels in the serum of ulcerative colitis patients. The role of pyroglutamic acid was further analyzed, and the results indicated its positive correlation with the upregulation of inflammatory factors and increased levels of phosphorylated histone H2AX (γH2AX) in IEC-6 cells, which are related to DNA damage. All these results suggest that pyroglutamic acid is not only a biomarker for distinguishing ulcerative colitis status, but that it is also a potential effective metabolite that promotes the transformation of ulcerative colitis to colorectal cancer.

Mast cell modulates tumorigenesis caused by repeated bowel inflammation condition in azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate-induced colon cancer mouse model.

Mast cells infiltrate the inflammatory microenvironment and regulate the production of many pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators of inflammatory cell production to promote tumor development and growth in intestinal lesions. Currently, there are insufficient studies of the mediators and signaling pathways regulated by mast cells that influence the pathogenesis of colon cancer in inflamed colon tissue. This study aimed to confirm the role of mast cells in the incidence and growth of colitis-associated colon cancer (CAC) and to identify inflammation-mediated factors and signaling pathways related to tumor development. CAC was induced by the administration of azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in mast cell-deficient (WBB6F1/J-W/WV) and mast cell-sufficient control (WBB6F1_+/+) mice. The results confirmed that mast cell-deficient mice exhibited less tumor formation than normal mice under the same conditions, and down-regulated expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators. Mast cells play an important role in tumor formation by regulating pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators in CAC, indicating that they can act as new targets for the prevention and treatment of CAC.

Rapid Quantum Squeezing by Jumping the Harmonic Oscillator Frequency.

Quantum sensing and quantum information processing use quantum advantages such as squeezed states that encode a quantity of interest with higher precision and generate quantum correlations to outperform classical methods. In harmonic oscillators, the rate of generating squeezing is set by a quantum speed limit. Therefore, the degree to which a quantum advantage can be used in practice is limited by the time needed to create the state relative to the rate of unavoidable decoherence. Alternatively, a sudden change of harmonic oscillator's frequency projects a ground state into a squeezed state which can circumvent the time constraint. Here, we create squeezed states of atomic motion by sudden changes of the harmonic oscillation frequency of atoms in an optical lattice. Building on this protocol, we demonstrate rapid quantum amplification of a displacement operator that could be used for detecting motion. Our results can speed up quantum gates and enable quantum sensing and quantum information processing in noisy environments.

Large array of Schrödinger cat states facilitated by an optical waveguide.

Quantum engineering using photonic structures offer new capabilities for atom-photon interactions for quantum optics and atomic physics, which could eventually lead to integrated quantum devices. Despite the rapid progress in the variety of structures, coherent excitation of the motional states of atoms in a photonic waveguide using guided modes has yet to be demonstrated. Here, we use the waveguide mode of a hollow-core photonic crystal fibre to manipulate the mechanical Fock states of single atoms in a harmonic potential inside the fibre. We create a large array of Schrödinger cat states, a quintessential feature of quantum physics and a key element in quantum information processing and metrology, of approximately 15000 atoms along the fibre by entangling the electronic state with the coherent harmonic oscillator state of each individual atom. Our results provide a useful step for quantum information and simulation with a wide range of photonic waveguide systems.

Transporting Long-Lived Quantum Spin Coherence in a Photonic Crystal Fiber.

Confining particles in hollow-core photonic crystal fibers has opened up new prospects to scale up the distance and time over which particles can be made to interact with light. However, maintaining long-lived quantum spin coherence and/or transporting it over macroscopic distances in a waveguide remain challenging. Here, we demonstrate coherent guiding of ground-state superpositions of ^{85}Rb atoms over a centimeter range and hundreds of milliseconds inside a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. The decoherence is mainly due to dephasing from the residual differential light shift from the optical trap and the inhomogeneity of an ambient magnetic field. Our experiment establishes an important step towards a versatile platform that can lead to applications in quantum information networks and a matter wave circuit for quantum sensing.

An atom interferometer inside a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber.

Coherent interactions between electromagnetic and matter waves lie at the heart of quantum science and technology. However, the diffraction nature of light has limited the scalability of many atom-light-based quantum systems. We use the optical fields in a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber to spatially split, reflect, and recombine a coherent superposition state of free-falling 85Rb atoms to realize an inertia-sensitive atom interferometer. The interferometer operates over a diffraction-free distance, and the contrasts and phase shifts at different distances agree within one standard error. The integration of phase coherent photonic and quantum systems here shows great promise to advance the capability of atom interferometers in the field of precision measurement and quantum sensing with miniature design of apparatus and high efficiency of laser power consumption.

Anti-inflammatory effect of Euphorbia supina extract in dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis mice.

The aim of this study is to examine the anti-inflammatory effect of Euphorbia supina (ES) ethanol extract in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced experimental colitis model. ES was per orally administered at different doses of 4 or 20 mg/kg body weight with 5% DSS in drinking water for 7 days. Twenty mg/kg of ES administration regulated body weight decrease, recovered colon length shortening, and increased disease activity index score and myeloperoxidase level in DSS-induced colitis. Histological features showed that 20 mg/kg of ES administration suppressed edema, mucosal damage, and the loss of crypts induced by DSS. Furthermore, ES suppressed the expressions of COX-2, iNOS, NF-kB, IkBα, pIkBα in colon tissue. These findings demonstrated a possible effect of amelioration of ulcerative colitis and could be clinically applied.

Antithrombotic activity of Vitis labrusca extract on rat platelet aggregation.

Vitis labrusca is a grapevine that has antioxidant, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, and anticarcinogenic activity. However, the antithrombotic effect of Vitis labrusca leaves on platelets is yet to be ascertained. We investigated the inhibitory effect of V. labrusca leaf extract (VLE) on platelet aggregation in vitro and ex vivo. The thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and serotonin concentrations were measured by ELISA. The flavonoids content was measured by ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC). The antithrombotic activity of VLE was evaluated using various agonists in vitro. VLE strongly inhibited adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-induced platelet aggregation. In rats, VLE treatment (100 mg/kg) reduced ADP-stimulated platelet aggregation, without affecting tail bleeding and coagulation time. Moreover, VLE significantly suppressed TXB2 and serotonin secretion. UPLC analysis indicated that VLE contains quercetin, isorhamnetin, and rutin. Our results indicate that VLE possesses antiplatelet activity via the suppression of TXB2 and serotonin, without affecting bleeding. Further, we identified the flavonoids present in VLE. Thus, VLE may be a potential agent for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Anti-obesity effect of Triticum aestivum sprout extract in high-fat-diet-induced obese mice.

Obesity is a common disease worldwide that often results in serious conditions including hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Many herbal medicines have been examined with regard to ameliorating obesity. We investigated the anti-obesity effects of 50% EtOH extract of Triticum aestivum sprout (TAEE) in high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. TAEE administration (10, 50, or 200 mg/kg) for 6 weeks significantly decreased the body weights, serum total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in HFD-fed mice. TAEE treatment reduced lipid accumulation in epididymal white adipose tissue (EWAT) and liver. Moreover, TC and lipid levels were decreased by TAEE treatment in liver. Serum leptin and adiponectin concentrations were reduced by TAEE treatment. TAEE-treated mice showed decreases in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and fatty acid synthase expression in EWAT. Furthermore, TAEE administration elevated levels of PPARα protein in the liver of HFD-induced obese mice. These results suggest that TAEE supplementation might be beneficial for the treatment and prevention of obesity and related diseases.

Flavonoids from Triticum aestivum inhibit adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells by upregulating the insig pathway.

The present study aimed to compare the potential anti-adipogenic effects and underlying mechanisms of the luteolin, isoscoparin and isoorientin flavonoids, purified from Triticum aestivum sprout (TA) in 3T3-L1 cells. The cells were treated with different concentrations of flavonoids for 8 days and the lipid accumulation was assessed using Oil-Red-O staining. The expression levels of the transcription factors and the genes involved in adipogenesis in the cells were assessed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. The results demonstrated that 10 µM luteolin, isoscoparin or isoorientin inhibited lipid deposition in the cells by 74, 63 and 65%, respectively. The flavonoids also significantly inhibited the transcriptional regulators of adipogenesis, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ, CAAT/enhancer binding protein-α and sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP)-1c, compared with the control cells. Similarly, there was a significant downregulation of the adipocyte specific markers associated with lipid metabolism, including activating protein-2, fatty acid synthase, hormone-sensitive lipase and lipoprotein lipase, in the flavonoid treated cells. Notably, the cells treated with the flavonoids demonstrated increased expression levels of the insulin-induced genes, insig-1 and insig-2, which may have inhibited the activation of the adipogenic transcription factor, SREBP, eventually leading to the inhibition of adipogenesis. Taken together, these results revealed that the flavonoids from TA possessed an inhibitory effect on adipogenesis through downregulation of adipogenic transcription factors and genes associated with lipid metabolism, and the upregulation of insig 1 and 2, suggesting that the flavonoids from TA may be potential therapeutic agents for the prevention and treatment of obesity.

Chloroform fraction of Euphorbia maculata has antiplatelet activity via suppressing thromboxane B2 formation.

Euphorbia maculata (EM) is a traditionally used antidiarrheal, antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant agent. However, the effects of EM on platelet activity remain to be elucidated. Therefore, the present study investigated the antiplatelet effect of various EM extract fractions on platelet aggregation in rats. The antiplatelet activity of the EM fractions on collagen or adenosine diphosphate (ADP)­induced platelet aggregation was evaluated in vitro and ex vivo. Thromboxane B2 (TXB2) formation, rat­tail bleeding time and coagulation time were also measured. Among the fractions, the chloroform fraction of EM (CFEM) significantly inhibited ADP­induced platelet aggregation in vitro. Furthermore, oral administration of 50 mg/kg CFEM to rats significantly reduced ADP­induced platelet aggregation without increasing the tail bleeding time or coagulation time. In addition, EM significantly inhibited the level of TXB2 formation in a dose­dependent manner. These results suggest that CFEM exhibits antiplatelet activity, without causing bleeding, via the suppression of TXB2 formation. CFEM may be a type of food which has the potential for preventing cardiovascular disease.

Inhibitory effect on TNF-α-induced IL-8 secretion in HT-29 cell line by glyceroglycolipids from the leaves of Ficus microcarpa.

Bioassay-guided fractionation based on the anti-inflammatory activity of a methanol extract of Ficus microcarpa leaves led to the isolation of seven galactolipids: 2(S)-3-O-octadeca-9Z,12Z,15Z-trienoylglyceryl-O-ß-D-galactopyranoside (1), (2S)-2,3-O-dioctadeca-9Z,12Z,15Z-trienoylglyceryl-O-ß-D-galactopyranoside (2), (2S)-2,3-O-dioctadeca-9Z,12Z-dienoylglyceryl-O-ß-D-galactopyranoside (3), (2S)-3-O-octadeca-9Z,12Z,15Z-trienoylglyceryl-6'-O-(α-D-galactopyranosyl)-ß-D-galactopyranoside (4), (2S)-2,3-O-dioctadeca-9Z,12Z,15Z-trienoylglyceryl-6'-O-(α-D-galactopyranosyl)-ß-D-galactopyranoside (5), gingerglycolipid B (6), and (2S)-2,3-O-dioctadeca-9Z,12Z-dienoylglyceryl-6'-O-(α-D-galactopyranosyl)-ß-D-galactopyranoside (7). Their chemical structures were elucidated by mass, 1D-, and 2D-NMR spectroscopic methods as well as chemical methods. The antiinflammatory effect of these compounds on TNF-α induced IL-8 secretion in the HT-29 cell line was evaluated. All above galactolipids showed significant inhibition ranging 40% at a concentration of 50 µM. The results suggest that galactolipids from the leaves of F. microcarpa may be used as potent anti-inflammatory agents.

Inhibitory effect of kyungohkgo in the development of 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene-induced atopic dermatitis in NC/Nga mice.

Kyungohkgo (KOG) is one of the most important formulas in traditional oriental medicine. We investigated the remedial effect of KOG on the development of atopic dermatitis (AD) in female NC/Nga mice. AD-like lesion was induced by the application of 2,4-Dinitrochlorobenzene on to the back skin repeatedly; KOG was administered orally (12.5 and 25.0 mg/kg) and topically (0.5 and 1.0 mg/mouse) to NC/Nga mice once a day for all through the period of this experiment and every mouse body weight was periodically taken. The effects of KOG on 2,4-Dinitrochlorobenzene-treated NC/Nga mice were determined by measuring AD-like skin lesions, the infiltration of mast cells and serum immunoglobulin E concentration. After the KOG applications are over, the KOG groups had less skin lesions than the atopy one, their immunoglobulin E levels were significantly downregulated and the infiltration of mast cells in the dorsal skin were reduced. Our results suggest that KOG may be effective in alleviating the development of AD. The inhibition of AD in NC/Nga mice may be influenced by the prevention of mast cell activation.

Nafamostat mesilate attenuates colonic inflammation and mast cell infiltration in the experimental colitis.

Serine proteases are important in the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation. Recent studies have shown that nafamostat mesilate (NM) can inhibit the colonic mucosal inflammation induced by TNBS in rats. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of NM on a DSS-induced colitis. Colitis was induced in female BALB/c mice by 5% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for 6 days. NM (2 or 20mg/kg body weight) was orally administered once a day for 6 days during treatment of the mice with DSS. The inflammatory response of the colon was assessed 1 week after DSS treatment. NM at a high dose, but not at a low dose significantly decreased disease activity index (DAI) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) induced by DSS. Furthermore, NM (20mg/kg) inhibited the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the colonic tissues treated with DSS. The increase in chymase activity by DSS treatment was also attenuated by the administration of NM (20mg/kg). NM (20mg/kg) significantly decreased the colonic mucosal injury and the infiltrated mast cell number induced by DSS. These results indicate that NM might inhibit the colonic inflammation through inhibition of both chymase activity and mast cell infiltration in colon tissues of DSS-induced colitis.