Experimental measurement-device-independent quantum digital signatures over a metropolitan network

Quantum digital signatures (QDS) provide a means for signing electronic communications with informationtheoretic security. However, all previous demonstrations of quantum digital signatures assume trusted measurement devices. This renders them vulnerable against detector side-channel attacks, just like quantum key distribution. Here, we exploit a measurement-device-independent (MDI) quantum network, over a 200-square-kilometer metropolitan area, to perform a field test of a three-party measurement-device-independent quantum digital signature (MDI-QDS) scheme that is secure against any detector side-channel attack. In so doing, we are able to successfully sign a binary message with a security level of about 1E-7. Remarkably, our work demonstrates the feasibility of MDI-QDS for practical applications.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, supplemental materials included as ancillary fil

Protein-ligand binding region prediction (PLB-SAVE) based on geometric features and CUDA acceleration

[[abstract]]Background Protein-ligand interactions are key processes in triggering and controlling biological functions within cells. Prediction of protein binding regions on the protein surface assists in understanding the mechanisms and principles of molecular recognition. In silico geometrical shape analysis plays a primary step in analyzing the spatial characteristics of protein binding regions and facilitates applications of bioinformatics in drug discovery and design. Here, we describe the novel software, PLB-SAVE, which uses parallel processing technology and is ideally suited to extract the geometrical construct of solid angles from surface atoms. Representative clusters and corresponding anchors were identified from all surface elements and were assigned according to the ranking of their solid angles. In addition, cavity depth indicators were obtained by proportional transformation of solid angles and cavity volumes were calculated by scanning multiple directional vectors within each selected cavity. Both depth and volume characteristics were combined with various weighting coefficients to rank predicted potential binding regions. Results Two test datasets from LigASite, each containing 388 bound and unbound structures, were used to predict binding regions using PLB-SAVE and two well-known prediction systems, SiteHound and MetaPocket2.0 (MPK2). PLB-SAVE outperformed the other programs with accuracy rates of 94.3% for unbound proteins and 95.5% for bound proteins via a tenfold cross-validation process. Additionally, because the parallel processing architecture was designed to enhance the computational efficiency, we obtained an average of 160-fold increase in computational time. Conclusions In silico binding region prediction is considered the initial stage in structure-based drug design. To improve the efficacy of biological experiments for drug development, we developed PLB-SAVE, which uses only geometrical features of proteins and achieves a good overall performance for protein-ligand binding region prediction. Based on the same approach and rationale, this method can also be applied to predict carbohydrate-antibody interactions for further design and development of carbohydrate-based vaccines. PLB-SAVE is available at http://save.cs.ntou.edu.tw.[[booktype]]電子

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution over untrustful metropolitan network

Quantum cryptography holds the promise to establish an information-theoretically secure global network. All field tests of metropolitan-scale quantum networks to date are based on trusted relays. The security critically relies on the accountability of the trusted relays, which will break down if the relay is dishonest or compromised. Here, we construct a measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDIQKD) network in a star topology over a 200 square kilometers metropolitan area, which is secure against untrustful relays and against all detection attacks. In the field test, our system continuously runs through one week with a secure key rate ten times larger than previous result. Our results demonstrate that the MDIQKD network, combining the best of both worlds --- security and practicality, constitutes an appealing solution to secure metropolitan communications.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure

High-speed intravascular photoacoustic imaging of lipid-laden atherosclerotic plaque enabled by a 2-kHz barium nitrite raman laser

Lipid deposition inside the arterial wall is a key indicator of plaque vulnerability. An intravascular photoacoustic (IVPA) catheter is considered a promising device for quantifying the amount of lipid inside the arterial wall. Thus far, IVPA systems suffered from slow imaging speed (~50 s per frame) due to the lack of a suitable laser source for high-speed excitation of molecular overtone vibrations. Here, we report an improvement in IVPA imaging speed by two orders of magnitude, to 1.0 s per frame, enabled by a custom-built, 2-kHz master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA)-pumped, barium nitrite [Ba(NO3)2] Raman laser. This advancement narrows the gap in translating the IVPA technology to the clinical setting

IMPLEMENT AN EXTENSION CORD POWER SOCKET WITH EMERGENCY LIGHTING AND VOICE CONTROL LIGHTING FUNCTIONS

Conventional power sockets are equipped with an extension cord. Even with anti-overload devices, incidents of accidental discharge or damage to electrical appliances may still incur due to external factors. To address this problem, this study integrated the voice control and lighting functions to the design of the power socket with an extension cord. The proposed design is space-efficient and versatile, and can be used in living rooms, bedrooms, and other places having electrical appliances. The proposed design also integrated emergency lighting and flashlight functions, so as to expand the practicality and safety of the power socket

The CDEX-1 1 kg Point-Contact Germanium Detector for Low Mass Dark Matter Searches

The CDEX Collaboration has been established for direct detection of light dark matter particles, using ultra-low energy threshold p-type point-contact germanium detectors, in China JinPing underground Laboratory (CJPL). The first 1 kg point-contact germanium detector with a sub-keV energy threshold has been tested in a passive shielding system located in CJPL. The outputs from both the point-contact p+ electrode and the outside n+ electrode make it possible to scan the lower energy range of less than 1 keV and at the same time to detect the higher energy range up to 3 MeV. The outputs from both p+ and n+ electrode may also provide a more powerful method for signal discrimination for dark matter experiment. Some key parameters, including energy resolution, dead time, decay times of internal X-rays, and system stability, have been tested and measured. The results show that the 1 kg point-contact germanium detector, together with its shielding system and electronics, can run smoothly with good performances. This detector system will be deployed for dark matter search experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure