Highly entangled quantum networks cluster states lie at the heart of recent approaches to quantum computing [1,2]. Yet, the current approach for constructing optical quantum networks does so one node at a time [3][4][5], which lacks scalability. Here we demonstrate the singlestep fabrication of a multimode quantum network from the parametric downconversion of femtosecond frequency combs. Ultrafast pulse shaping [6] is employed to characterize the comb's spectral entanglement [7]. Each of the 511 possible bipartitions among ten spectral regions is shown to be entangled; furthermore, an eigenmode decomposition reveals that eight independent quantum channels [8] (qumodes) are subsumed within the comb. This multicolor entanglement imports the classical concept of wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) to the quantum domain by playing upon frequency entanglement as a means to elevate quantum channel capacity. The quantum frequency comb is easily addressable, robust with respect to decoherence, and scalable, which renders it a unique tool for quantum information.Theoretical Description The use of photonic architectures to realize quantum networks is appealing since photons are immune from environmental disturbances, readily manipulated with classical tools, and subject to high efficiency detection [10,11]. We consider here the creation of nonclassical, continuous variable states with an optical parametric oscillator (OPO), in which a pump photon of frequency 2ω 0 splits into a pair of lower energy photons subject to energy conservation and the cavity resonance condition. The generation of a photon pair initiates a nonclassical correlation between the cavity modes ω −p and ω p , where ω p = ω 0 + p · ω FSR and ω FSR is the cavity free spectral range. Given a sufficiently large phase-matching bandwidth, a frequency comb emerges from the cavity with all of the resonant photon pairs independently entangled [12]. The inclusion of additional pump photons of frequencies 2ω 0 + p · ω FSR opens the possibility for richer frequency correlations beyond purely symmetric pair creation. Femtosecond pulse trains contain upwards of ∼ 10 5 individual frequency modes, and the simultaneous injection of all these modes into a nonlinear optical element induces an intricate network of both symmetric and asymmetric frequency correlations [13]. To access such states, a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (SPOPO), which consists of an OPO driven by a femtosecond pulse train with a repetition rate matching the cavity free spectral range, is exploited and creates correlations governed by the Hamil-where g regulates the overall interaction strength and a † m is the photon creation operator associated with a mode of frequency ω m . The coupling strength between modes at frequencies ω m and ω n is dictated by the matrix L m,n = f m,n · p m+n , where f m,n is the phase-matching function [14,15] and p m,n is the pump spectral amplitude at frequency ω m + ω n [16]. Frequency Entanglement We experimentally demonstrate that the photonic s...

BackgroundMicroRNAs (miRNAs) have physiological and pathophysiological functions that are involved in the regulation of cardiac fibrosis. This study aimed to investigate the effects of miR-495 on high glucose-induced cardiac fibrosis in human cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and to establish the mechanism underlying these effects.MethodsHuman CFs were transfected with an miR-495 inhibitor or mimic and incubated with high glucose. The levels of NOD1 and miR-495 were then determined via quantitative RT-PCR. Pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, cell differentiation and extracellular matrix accumulation were respectively detected using ELISA, quantitative RT-PCR and western blot assays. The luciferase reporter assay, quantitative RT-PCR and western blot were used to explore whether NOD1 was a target of miR-495. The effects of miR-495 on the NF-κB and TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathways were also detected via western blot.ResultsOur results show that high glucose can significantly increase the expression of NOD1 in a time-dependent manner. Upregulation of miR-495 significantly alleviated the high glucose-induced increases in cell differentiation and collagen accumulation of CFs. Moreover, the bioinformatics analysis predicted that NOD1 was a potential target gene for miR-495. The luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-495 can directly target NOD1. The introduction of miR-495 could significantly inhibit the high glucose-activated NF-κB and TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathways.ConclusionUpregulation of miR-495 ameliorates the high glucose-induced inflammatory, cell differentiation and extracellular matrix accumulation of human CFs by modulating both the NF-κB and TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathways through downregulation of NOD1 expression. These results provide further evidence for the protective effect of miR-495 overexpression in cases of high glucose-induced cardiac fibrosis.

We present in this paper a general model for determining the quantum properties of the light generated by a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (SPOPO) operating below threshold. This model considers time and frequency on an equal footing, which allows us to find new quantum properties, related for example to the carrier envelope offset (CEO) phase, and to consider situations that are close to real experiments. We show that, in addition to multimode squeezing in the so-called 'supermodes', the system exhibits quadrature entanglement between frequency combs of opposite CEO phases. We have also determined the quantum properties of the individual pulses and their quantum correlations with the neighboring pulses. Finally, we determine the quantum Cramer-Rao limit for an ultra-short time delay measurement using a given number of pulses generated by the SPOPO.