Anilines Formation via Molybdenum-Catalyzed Intermolecular Reaction of Ynones with Allylic Amines.

The multi-substituted anilines are widely found in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry and material science. The quest for robust and efficient methods to construct a diverse array of these compounds using readily accessible starting materials under simple reaction conditions is of utmost importance. Here, we report an unprecedented and efficient approach for the synthesis of 2,4-di and 2,4,6-trisubstituted anilines.

Experimental test of generalized Hardy's paradox.

Since the pillars of quantum theory were established, it was already noted that quantum physics may allow certain correlations defying any local realistic picture of nature, as first recognized by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen. These quantum correlations, now termed quantum nonlocality and tested by violation of Bell's inequality that consists of statistical correlations fulfilling local realism, have found loophole-free experimental confirmation. A more striking way to demonstrate the conflict exists, and can be extended to the multipartite scenario.

Generalized Hardy's Paradox.

Here, we present the most general framework for n-particle Hardy's paradoxes, which include Hardy's original one and Cereceda's extension as special cases. Remarkably, for any n≥3, we demonstrate that there always exist generalized paradoxes (with the success probability as high as 1/2^{n-1}) that are stronger than the previous ones in showing the conflict of quantum mechanics with local realism. An experimental proposal to observe the stronger paradox is also presented for the case of three qubits.

Experimental observation of quantum state-independent contextuality under no-signaling conditions.

Contextuality, the impossibility of assigning context-independent measurement outcomes, is a critical resource for quantum computation and communication. No-signaling between successive measurements is an essential requirement that should be accomplished in any test of quantum contextuality and that is difficult to achieve in practice. Here, we introduce an optimal quantum state-independent contextuality inequality in which the deviation from the classical bound is maximal.

Sharp Contradiction for Local-Hidden-State Model in Quantum Steering.

In quantum theory, no-go theorems are important as they rule out the existence of a particular physical model under consideration. For instance, the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) theorem serves as a no-go theorem for the nonexistence of local hidden variable models by presenting a full contradiction for the multipartite GHZ states. However, the elegant GHZ argument for Bell's nonlocality does not go through for bipartite Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) state.

N-dimensional measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with N + 1 un-characterized sources: zero quantum-bit-error-rate case.

We study N-dimensional measurement-device-independent quantum-key-distribution protocol where one checking state is used. Only assuming that the checking state is a superposition of other N sources, we show that the protocol is secure in zero quantum-bit-error-rate case, suggesting possibility of the protocol. The method may be applied in other quantum information processing.

Optimal GHZ Paradox for Three Qubits.

Quatum nonlocality as a valuable resource is of vital importance in quantum information processing. The characterization of the resource has been extensively investigated mainly for pure states, while relatively less is know for mixed states. Here we prove the existence of the optimal GHZ paradox by using a novel and simple method to extract an optimal state that can saturate the tradeoff relation between quantum nonlocality and the state purity.

Demonstrating quantum contextuality of indistinguishable particles by a single family of noncontextuality inequalities.

Quantum theory has the intriguing feature that is inconsistent with noncontextual hidden variable models, for which the outcome of a measurement does not depend on which other compatible measurements are being performed concurrently. While various proofs of such contextual behavior of quantum systems have been established, relatively little is known concerning the possibility to demonstrate this intriguing feature for indistinguishable particles. Here, we show in a simple and systematic manner that with projective measurements alone, it is possible to demonstrate quantum contextuality for such systems of arbitrary Hilbert space dimensions, including those corresponding to a qubit.

Beyond Gisin's Theorem and its Applications: Violation of Local Realism by Two-Party Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Steering.

We demonstrate here that for a given mixed multi-qubit state if there are at least two observers for whom mutual Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering is possible, i.e. each observer is able to steer the other qubits into two different pure states by spontaneous collapses due to von Neumann type measurements on his/her qubit, then nonexistence of local realistic models is fully equivalent to quantum entanglement (this is not so without this condition).

Mechanical force and tensile strain activated hepatic stellate cells and inhibited retinol metabolism.

Objectives: Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), the principal producers of extracellular matrix proteins, play a major role in the development of liver fibrosis which is accompanied with elevated sinusoidal pressure and portal hypertension. We have isolated primary rat HSCs and investigated the effect of mechanical pressure and tensile strain on retinol metabolism in the cells.

Results: Mechanical force and tensile strain significantly increased the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and collagen I, and notably inhibited the expression of cellular retinol-binding protein I (CRBP-I), lecithin-retinol acyltransferase (LRAT), retinyl ester hydrolase (REH), retinoic acid receptor-β (RAR-β) and retinoid X receptor-α (RXR-α).

Test of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering based on the all-versus-nothing proof.

In comparison with entanglement and Bell nonlocality, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering is a newly emerged research topic and in its incipient stage. Although Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering has been explored via violations of steering inequalities both theoretically and experimentally, the known inequalities in the literatures are far from well-developed. As a result, it is not yet possible to observe Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering for some steerable mixed states.

Testing Leggett's inequality using Aharonov-Casher effect.

Bell's inequality is established based on local realism. The violation of Bell's inequality by quantum mechanics implies either locality or realism or both are untenable. Leggett's inequality is derived based on nonlocal realism.

All-versus-nothing proof of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering.

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering is a form of quantum nonlocality intermediate between entanglement and Bell nonlocality. Although Schrödinger already mooted the idea in 1935, steering still defies a complete understanding. In analogy to "all-versus-nothing" proofs of Bell nonlocality, here we present a proof of steering without inequalities rendering the detection of correlations leading to a violation of steering inequalities unnecessary.