Quantum secure direct communication is an important mode of quantum communication in which secret messages are securely communicated directly over a quantum channel. Quantum secure direct communication is also a basic cryptographic primitive for constructing other quantum communication tasks, such as quantum authentication and quantum dialog. Here, we report the first experimental demonstration of quantum secure direct communication based on the DL04 protocol and equipped with single-photon frequency coding that explicitly demonstrated block transmission. In our experiment, we provided 16 different frequency channels, equivalent to a nibble of four-bit binary numbers for direct information transmission. The experiment firmly demonstrated the feasibility of quantum secure direct communication in the presence of noise and loss.

Bisphenol-A (BPA) and diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) are estrogenic compounds widely used in commercial plastic products. Previous studies have shown that exposure to such compounds have adverse effects on various aspects of mammalian reproduction including folliculogenesis. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of BPA and DEHP exposure on primordial follicle formation. We found that germ cell nest breakdown and primordial follicle assembly were significantly reduced when newborn mouse ovaries were exposed to 10 or 100 μM BPA and DEHP in vitro. Moreover, BPA and DEHP exposure increased the number of TUNEL positive oocytes and the mRNA level of the pro-apoptotic gene Bax in oocytes. These effects were associated with decreased expression of oocyte specific genes such as LIM homeobox 8 (Lhx8), factor in the germline alpha (Figla), spermatogenesis and oogenesis helix-loop-helix (Sohlh2), and newborn ovary homeobox (Nobox). Interestingly, BPA and DEHP exposure also prevented DNA demethylation of CpG sites of the Lhx8 gene in oocytes, a process normally associated with folliculogenesis. Finally, folliculogenesis was severely impaired in BPA and DEHP exposed ovaries after transplantation into the kidney capsules of immunodeficient mice. In conclusion, BPA and DEHP exposures impair mouse primordial follicle assembly in vitro.

Diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) is an estrogen-like compound widely used as a plasticizer in commercial products and is present in medical devices, and common household items. It is considered an endocrine disruptor since studies on experimental animals clearly show that exposure to DEHP can alter epigenetics of germ cells. This study was designed to assess the effects of DEHP on DNA methylation of imprinting genes in germ cells from fetal and adult mouse. Pregnant mice were treated with DEHP at doses of 0 and 40 μg DEHP/kg body weight/day from 0.5 to 18.5 day post coitum. The data revealed DEHP exposure significantly reduced the percentage of methylated CpG sites in Igf2r and Peg3 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in primordial germ cells from female and male fetal mouse, particularly, in the oocytes of 21 dpp mice (F1), which were produced by the pregnant micetreated with DEHP. More surprisingly, the modification of the DNA methylation of imprinted genes in F1 mouse oocytes was heritable to F2 offspring which exhibit lower percentages of methylated CpG sites in imprinted genes DMRs. In conclusion, DEHP exposure can affect the DNA methylation of imprinting genes not only in fetal mouse germ cells and growing oocytes, but also in offspring's oocytes.

The recently theoretical and experimental researches related to PT -symmetric system have attracted unprecedented attention because of various novel features and potentials in extending canonical quantum mechanics. However, as the counterpart of PT -symmetry, there are only a few researches on anti-PT -symmetry. Here, we propose an algorithm for simulating the universal anti-PT -symmetric system with quantum circuit. Utilizing the protocols, an oscillation of information flow is observed for the first time in our Nuclear Magnetic Resonance quantum simulator. We will show that information will recover from the environment completely when the anti-PT -symmetry is broken, whereas no information can be retrieved in the symmetry-unbroken phase. Our work opens the gate for practical quantum simulation and experimental investigation of universal anti-PT -symmetric system in quantum computer. Traditional quantum mechanics requires HermitianHamiltonians to describe closed physical systems, while the dynamic evolution of open systems is typically described by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians [1,2]. The nonhermitian Hamiltonian of open systems has attracted extensive attention and research because of the discovery by Bender and Boettcher in 1998 [3]. It was found that Hamiltonians satisfying parity P (spatial reflection) and T (time reversal) symmetry instead of hermiticity can still have real energy spectra and orthogonal eigenstates in the symmetry-unbroken phase, in which the eigenfunction of system Hamiltonian is at the same time an eigenfunction of the PT operator [4,5]. When the Hamiltonian parameters cross the exceptional point, PT -symmetry will be broken and lead to a symmetrybreaking transition [6][7][8]. This work has inspired numerous theoretical and experimental studies [9-15] of the non-hermitian systems, including demonstrating novel properties of open systems [16,17] and extending fundamental quantum mechanics [20,21]. However, there are limited investigations on another important counterpart anti-PT -symmetry, which means the system Hamiltonian is anti-commutative with the joint PT operator {H, PT } = 0. Some relevant experimental demonstrations have been realized in atoms [29][30][31], optical [32][33][34][35][36][37], electrical circuit resonators [38] and diffusive systems [39]. Quantum processes such as symmetry breaking transition, observation of exceptional point and simulation of anti-PT -symmetric Lorentz dynamics have been presented in these experiments [29,33,37,38], whereas the novel characteristics of entanglement [17][18][19] and information flow [22][23][24] in the anti-PT -symmetric system, which would present various phenomena different from Hermitian quantum mechanics and reveal the relationship between system and environment, have not been fully thorough investigated in the experiment.In this work, we propose an algorithm for the simulation of universal anti-PT -symmetric evolution with quantum circuit model and report the first experimental observation of information flow oscillation in anti-PT...

Oxidative stress (OS), as a signal of aberrant intracellular mechanisms, plays key roles in maintaining homeostasis for organisms. The occurrence of OS due to the disorder of normal cellular redox balance indicates the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and/or deficiency of antioxidants. Once the balance is broken down, repression of oxidative stress is one of the most effective ways to alleviate it. Ongoing studies provide remarkable evidence that oxidative stress is involved in reproductive toxicity induced by various stimuli, such as environmental toxicants and food toxicity. Zearalenone (ZEA), as a toxic compound existing in contaminated food products, is found to induce mycotoxicosis that has a significant impact on the reproduction of domestic animals, especially pigs. However, there is no information about how ROS and oxidative stress is involved in the influence of ZEA on porcine granulosa cells, or whether the stress can be rescued by curcumin. In this study, ZEA-induced effect on porcine granulosa cells was investigated at low concentrations (15 μM, 30 μM and 60 μM). In vitro ROS levels, the mRNA level and activity of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase were obtained. The results showed that in comparison with negative control, ZEA increased oxidative stress with higher ROS levels, reduced the expression and activity of antioxidative enzymes, increased the intensity of fluorogenic probes 2’, 7’-Dichlorodihydrofluorescin diacetate and dihydroethidium in flow cytometry assay and fluorescence microscopy. Meanwhile, the activity of glutathione (GSH) did not change obviously following 60 μM ZEA treatment. Furthermore, the underlying protective mechanisms of curcumin on the ZEA-treated porcine granulosa cells were investigated. The data revealed that curcumin pre-treatment significantly suppressed ZEA-induced oxidative stress. Collectively, porcine granulosa cells were sensitive to ZEA, which may induce oxidative stress. The findings from this study clearly demonstrate that curcumin is effective to reduce the dysregulation of cellular redox balance on porcine granulosa cells in vitro and should be further investigated for its protective role against ZEA in animals.