Finite-key analysis of a practical decoy-state high-dimensional quantum key distribution

Compared with two-level quantum key distribution (QKD), highdimensional QKD enable two distant parties to share a secret key at a higher rate. We provide a finite-key security analysis for the recently proposed practical highdimensional decoy-state QKD protocol based on time-energy entanglement. We employ two methods to estimate the statistical fluctuation of the postselection probability and give a tighter bound on the secure-key capacity. By numerical evaluation, we show the finite-key effect on the secure-key capacity in different conditions. Moreover, our approach could be used to optimize parameters in practical implementations of highdimensional QKD

Multimodal Surface Instabilities in Curved Film–Substrate Structures

Structures of thin films bonded on thick substrates are abundant in biological systems and engineering applications. Mismatch strains due to expansion of the films or shrinkage of the substrates can induce various modes of surface instabilities such as wrinkling, creasing, period doubling, folding, ridging, and delamination. In many cases, the film-substrate structures are not flat but curved. While it is known that the surface instabilities can be controlled by film-substrate mechanical properties, adhesion and mismatch strain, effects of the structures' curvature on multiple modes of instabilities have not been well understood. In this paper, we provide a systematic study on the formation of multimodal surface instabilities on film-substrate tubular structures with different curvatures through combined theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. We first introduce a method to quantitatively categorize various instability patterns by analyzing their wave frequencies using fast Fourier transform (FFT). We show that the curved film-substrate structures delay the critical mismatch strain for wrinkling when the system modulus ratio between the film and substrate is relatively large, compared with flat ones with otherwise the same properties. In addition, concave structures promote creasing and folding, and suppress ridging. On the contrary, convex structures promote ridging and suppress creasing and folding. A set of phase diagrams are calculated to guide future design and analysis of multimodal surface instabilities in curved structures. Keywords: instability, curvature, film–substrate structure, morphogenesisUnited States. Office of Naval Research (N00014-14-1-0528)Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier NanotechnologiesNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (CMMI1253495

Optical Diagnostics in Energy Conversion Processes

This thesis presents development in optical diagnostics for studies of energy conversion processes. Work has been done in characterization of electrode wear in spark plugs, multi-species high-speed tomographic laser-induced fluorescence, high-speed diagnostics in lab-scale gas turbine burners, and surface temperature measurements on gas turbine burner injection nozzles.A new method of monitoring erosion of the electrodes in spark plugs made from nickel has been established, based on the emission of Ni atoms in the 339~360 nm spectral range. Spectral study revealed the spectral range in which high intensity of Ni atomic emission can be observed while low intensity of background emission is present. An excitation scan has shown that laser excitation at Ni’s 336.957 nm absorption line can induce the most optimum signal-to-noise ratio in the desired detection window. The fluorescence lifetime of the found excitation scheme has been measured, reporting an effective fluorescence lifetime of approximately 1.1 ns, which was not seen to be changing as the spark discharge plasma decays. It has been further established that the integrated fluorescence intensity of the current excitation scheme is proportional to the Ni atom number density. Such findings have created a solid foundation for further 2D studies on the generation of Ni atoms from the spark discharge and erosion of the electrodes.The construction of an injection seeded OPO producing signal wavelength at 609 nm pumped by a high-speed burst mode laser system has been described. A routine of alignment of the OPO cavity has been established and described in detail in the thesis. Using the same laser system, quasi-simultaneous 10 kHz tomographic LIF measurement of anisole and formaldehyde has been successfully performed, where only two sets of high-speed CMOS and image intensifier were used for acquisition of 8 views from different angles thanks to the application of an improved sensor splitting strategy. The eight acquired views were successfully placed on the same horizontal plane also due to the improved strategy. A novel imaging timing design succeeded in the quasi-simultaneous acquisition of fluorescence signal from two species on the same imaging sensor. High-speed formaldehyde planar laser-induced fluorescence measurements have shown insufficient droplet breakup and evaporation in a Triple Annular Research Swirler burner using ethanol as fuel. High amount of ethanol droplets has been observed in the LIF sequences. In addition, it has been shown that excess formaldehyde was trapped in the outer recirculation zone. The averaged flow structure in the outer recirculation zone has been demonstrated by optical flow estimation performed on the acquired formaldehyde LIF sequence. Finally, a study on the injection nozzle surface temperature of a lab-scaled gas turbine burner has been presented. A galvo system was used for automated temperature measurement on a 2D array of points on the burner surface. It was found that the surface temperature of the injection nozzle was affected by the cooling from the supplied fresh gas and heating from the flame. Specifically, increased heating could be observed when a flame attached to the injection nozzle

Chinese-Iranian Mutual Strategic Perceptions

This article analyzes Sino-Iranian relations and mutual strategic perceptions, highlighting several types of tension in Sino-Iranian ties alongside areas of deeper cooperation. We examine in particular the policy debates about China between conservatives and reformists within Iran, and we compare their views of China to the views of Iran held by Chinese commentators. To that end, we extensively survey both the official media and scholarly literature in Farsi and in Chinese, since each strand reveals different sentiments and is accorded a different degree of openness

Identification and expression of equine MER-derived miRNAs

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded, small RNAs (21-23 nucleotides) that function in gene silencing and translational inhibition via the RNA interference mechanism. Most miRNAs originate from host genomic regions, such as intergenic regions, introns, exons, and transposable elements (TEs). Here, we focused on the palindromic structure of medium reiteration frequencies (MERs), which are similar to precursor miRNAs. Five MER consensus sequences (MER5A1, MER53, MER81, MER91C, and MER117) were matched with paralogous transcripts predicted to be precursor miRNAs in the horse genome (equCab2) and located in either intergenic regions or introns. The MER5A1, MER53, and MER91C sequences obtained from RepeatMasker were matched with the eca-miR-544b, eca-miR-1302, and eca-miR-652 precursor sequences derived from Ensembl transcript database, respectively. Each precursor form was anticipated to yield two mature forms, and we confirmed miRNA expression in six different tissues (cerebrum, cerebellum, lung, spleen, adrenal gland, and duodenum) of one thoroughbred horse. MER5A1-derived miRNAs generally showed significantly higher expression in the lung than in other tissues. MER91C-derived miRNA-5p also showed significantly higher expression in the duodenum than in other tissues (cerebellum, lung, spleen, and adrenal gland). The MER117-overlapped expressed sequence tag generated polycistronic miRNAs, which showed higher expression in the duodenum than other tissues. These data indicate that horse MER transposons encode miRNAs that are expressed in several tissues and are thought to have biological functions

On the Elastic Stability of Folded Rings in Circular and Straight States

Single-loop elastic rings can be folded into multi-loop equilibrium configurations. In this paper, the stability of several such multi-loop states which are either circular or straight are investigated analytically and illustrated by experimental demonstrations. The analysis ascertains stability by exploring variations of the elastic energy of the rings for admissible deformations in the vicinity of the equilibrium state. The approach employed is the conventional stability analysis for elastic conservative systems which differs from most of the analyses that have been published on this class of problems, as will be illustrated by reproducing and elaborating on several problems in the literature. In addition to providing solutions to two basic problems, the paper analyses and demonstrates the stability of six-sided rings that fold into straight configurations

Deciphering the regulatory mechanisms of honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) on lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory responses in loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) through small RNA sequencing

This study investigates the immunomodulatory effects of Lonicera japonica Thunb. extract, a perennial semi-evergreen vine of the Caprifoliaceae family, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced immune responses in loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) through miRNA regulatory mechanisms. Small RNA libraries constructed from hepatic tissues of LPS-challenged (CK) and Lonicera japonica-treated (LJ) groups yielded 139.6 million clean reads with characteristic 21–23 nucleotide length distribution. Abundance analysis revealed significant differential expression patterns within the let-7 family: miR-let-7-9, miR-let-7-6, and miR-let-7–18 exhibited higher abundance in the infection group, whereas miR-let-7-1, miR-let-7-17, and miR-let-7–16 showed elevated abundance in the treatment group. Comparative profiling identified 55 differentially expressed miRNAs (41 upregulated, 14 downregulated), with animal-undef-351, animal-mir-21-6, and animal-undef-603 demonstrating the most significant expression differences (P<0.01). KEGG enrichment analysis highlighted predominant involvement in sphingolipid signaling pathway, glycerophospholipid metabolism, T cell receptor signaling pathway, and TNF signaling pathway. GO analysis revealed significant enrichment in biological processes related to glycosylation, cellular components of transcription regulator complexes, and molecular functions associated with double-stranded DNA binding. These findings demonstrate that L. japonica alleviates LPS-induced inflammation by modulating miRNA expression networks, particularly through sphingolipid metabolism and TNF signaling pathways, providing novel molecular evolutionary insights into the immunoregulatory mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine

Collective-subspace requantization for sub-barrier fusion reactions: Inertial functions for collective motions

The adiabatic self-consistent collective coordinate (ASCC) method is used to determine the optimum reaction path and to calculate the potential and the inertial functions of the reaction model. The properties of the inertial functions are investigated with the ASCC method, in comparison with those of the cranking formulae. In addition, the properties of the pair rotation are investigated in the BCS pair model. The moments of inertia for rotation in both the real and the gauge spaces may decrease as the deformation develops.Comment: 10 pages, Proceedings of FUSION2

Comparing the Anglo-American and Israeli-American special relationships in the Obama era: an alliance persistence perspective

The Anglo-American and Israeli-American security relationships have proved to be unusually close and have confounded expectations that they would wither away with the changing international environment. In order to explain this, the article proposes a theory of ‘alliance persistence’ that is based on reciprocity over shared geostrategic interests, sentimental attachments and institutionalized security relations. The article employs this theoretical framework to explore how Anglo-American and Israeli-American relations have developed during the Obama administration. It argues that the Anglo-American relationship has been closer because of the two countries’ shared strategic interests, whilst the Israeli-American relationship has experienced divergences in how the security interests of the two sides have been pursued. The article concludes by assessing how the two relationships will fair in the post-Obama era and argues that there are numerous areas of tension in the US-Israeli relationship that risk future tensions. Keywords: Alliance, US-UK, US-Israel, Special Relationship, Obam