BINA

Photon-number splitting (PNS) attack poses a significant threat to the security of quantum key-distribution (QKD) systems that utilize weak coherent states (WCS). While this attack has been extensively explored in theory, its experimental realization remains elusive, raising questions about its practical implementation and impact. This study introduces a novel framework to experimentally demonstrate the PNS attack by leveraging single-photon Raman interaction (SPRINT), a well-developed technological capability. We analytically assess the feasibility and practical implications of this attack. Complementing our recently published analysis of the attack, in this work we calculate the detection statistics for phase-randomized WCS and analyze the purity of the quantum state post-attack. Our analysis reveals that indeed current technologies are sufficient to implement the PNS attack, but the eavesdropper’s information …

Many biological surfaces display complex micro- and nano-scale structures that serve diverse purposes, such as anti-reflective effects, structural coloration, resistance to fouling, and either promoting or preventing adhesion. These unique properties have spurred the development of numerous industrial applications. In recent years, interest in this field has grown significantly, driven by the increasingly interdisciplinary methods used to study these structured biological surfaces. The integration of zoology and botany with breakthroughs in genetics and molecular biology is remarkable, as biologists increasingly work alongside nanotechnologists, materials scientists, and engineers. This interdisciplinary collaboration plays a crucial role in advancing research on micro- and nano-structured biological surfaces, paving the way for biomimetic and bioengineering innovations across multiple industries.

Viewing frames of reference as physical systems, subject to the same laws as the systems they describe, is central to the relational approach in physics. Under the assumption that quantum mechanics universally governs all physical entities, this perspective naturally leads to the concept of quantum reference frames (QRFs). We investigate the perspective-dependence of position and momentum uncertainties, correlations, covariance matrices, and entanglement within the QRF formalism. We show that the Robertson-Schr\"odinger uncertainty relations are frame-dependent, and so are correlations and variances, which satisfy various constraints described as inequalities. However, the determinant of the total covariance matrix, linked to the uncertainty volume in phase space, as well as variance-based entanglement criteria, remains invariant under changes of reference frame. Under specific conditions, the purities of subsystems are also invariant for different QRFs, but in general, they are perspective-dependent. These invariants suggest fundamental, robust measures of uncertainty and entanglement that persist despite changes in observational perspective, potentially inspiring dedicated quantum information protocols as well as further foundational studies.

Using pluripotent stem cells from patients, it is now possible to create three-dimensional (3D) brain organoids that can be used in the study of neurological disorders. However, measuring the molecular content of 3D organoids is still a challenge, limiting the usability of organoids. Here we demonstrate the first multiplexed super-resolved characterization of intact brain organoids, using a combination of expansion microscopy, serial protein staining, expansion sequencing and enhanced super-resolution radial fluctuations. Overall, without special hardware or dyes, we obtain resolution improvement of ~10x, and perform highly multiplexed and super-resolved RNA and protein interrogation of intact brain organoids.

Aqueous colloids with a high concentration of nanoparticles and free of steric stabilizers are prospective soft materials, the engineering of which is still challenging. Herein, we prepared superparamagnetic colloids with very large, up to 1350 g/L concentration of 11 nm nanoparticles via Fe2+ and Fe3+ coprecipitation, water washing, purification using cation-exchange resin, and stabilization with a monolayer of citrate anions (ζ potential of diluted dispersions about −35 mV). XRD, XPS, Mössbauer, and FTIR spectra elucidated the defective reverse spinel structure of magnetite/maghemite (Fe3O4/γ-Fe2O3) with a reduced content of Fe2+ cations. The viscosity increases with nanoparticle concentration and depends also on the nature of citrate salt, being one order of magnitude lower for lithium than sodium and potassium as counter-cation. SAXS/USAXS curves show power-law behavior in the scattering vector …

Accurate and continuous monitoring of blood pressure (BP) is essential for cardiovascular health assessment and early detection of potential health issues. Traditional BP measurement methods, such as the inflatable arm cuff, are often inconvenient and do not allow continuous tracking. This study introduces a new optical biosensor for non-invasive BP measurement based on the Iso-Pathlength (IPL) phenomenon, which isolates the scattering effects of light intensity to focus on absorption coefficients, providing a more accurate representation of blood volume changes. The biosensor consists of a single light source and five photodetectors, with one positioned at the IPL point. The sensor was tested on 44 subjects, with measurements taken on the upper arm and compared to reference BP readings from a traditional inflatable cuff monitor. The obtained light intensity was converted into absorption coefficients, from …

The formation of Li6PS5Cl argyrodite solid electrolyte pellets typically involves compaction at ∼20 °C and hundreds of megapascal of pressure, and the resulting pellets usually need >10 MPa operating pressure to achieve ionic conductivities >1 mS cm–1 at 25 °C and/or sputtered metal electrodes. This work demonstrates a key advance achieved with pellet fabrication at 150 °C and 300 MPa with foil electrodes: >2 mS cm–1 ionic conductivity at 20 °C with <1 MPa operating pressure. Scanning electron microscopy reveals fused grains present in samples pressed at 150 °C but not in those at 20 °C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and diffraction analysis show no significant difference in crystal structure or surface composition between 150 and 20 °C pressed samples, and the pellet densities are nearly identical. The ionic conductivity of 150 °C pressed samples is nearly invariant with operating pressure, while that …

Accumulated evidence of transgenerational inheritance of epigenetic and symbiotic changes raises fundamental questions about the possible types, significance and duration of impacts on the population, as well as whether, and under which conditions, the inheritance of non‐genetic changes confers long‐term advantage to the population. To address these questions, a population epigenetics model of individuals undergoing stochastic changes and/or induced responses that are transmitted to the offspringis introduced. Potentially adaptive and maladaptive responses are represented, respectively, by environmentally driven changes that reduce and increase the selective pressure. Analytic solutions in a simplified case of populations that are exposed to either periodic or progressively deteriorating environments shows that acquisition and transmission of non‐genetic changes that alleviate the selective pressure …

Accumulated evidence of transgenerational inheritance of epigenetic and symbiotic changes raises fundamental questions about the possible types, significance and duration of impacts on the population, as well as whether, and under which conditions, the inheritance of non-genetic changes confers long-term advantage to the population. To address these questions, a population epigenetics model of individuals undergoing stochastic changes and/or induced responses that are transmitted to the offspringis introduced. Potentially adaptive and maladaptive responses are represented, respectively, by environmentally driven changes that reduce and increase the selective pressure. Analytic solutions in a simplified case of populations that are exposed to either periodic or progressively deteriorating environments shows that acquisition and transmission of non-genetic changes that alleviate the selective pressure confer long-term advantage and may facilitate escape from extinction. Systematic analysis of outcomes as a function of population properties further identifies a non-traditional regime of adaptation mediated by stochastic changes that are rapidly acquired within a lifetime. Contrasting model predictions with experimental findings shows that inheritance of dynamically acquired changes enables rapid adaptation to unforeseen challenges and can account for population dynamics that is either unexpected or beyond the scope of traditional models.

Objectives This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of gold nanoparticles conjugated with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies (GNPs-EGFR) in distinguishing between benign and malignant salivary gland tumors. Methods A total of 49 oral salivary gland tissue samples were analyzed, including 22 malignant salivary gland tumors (MSGTs), 15 benign salivary gland tumors (BSGTs), and 12 control samples. For each sample, three 5 μm consecutive tissue sections were prepared. The first section was stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) to confirm the diagnosis, the second was immunohistochemically stained for anti-EGFR, and the third was treated with GNPs-EGFR followed by hyperspectral microscopy to analyze the reflectance spectrum. Results Reflectance intensity was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in MSGTs compared to BSGTs and controls, with intensity levels increasing alongside tumor grade. The average hyperspectral reflectance values were strongly correlated with the GNPs-EGFR immunohistochemical score and varied significantly between subgroups (p < 0.001). Conclusions GNPs-EGFR reflection measurements effectively differentiate MSGTs from BSGTs with high sensitivity. This diffusion–reflection technique holds potential as a valuable tool for tumor detection, surgical margin assessment, and intraoperative identification of residual disease in salivary gland tumors. Objectives Methods Results Conclusions

In this proceeding, we expand upon our recent work on the temporal Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect, focusing on the joint temporal function (JSF) analysis to enhance the sensitivity and understanding of the system’s performance. Our original paper demonstrated the existence of a temporal analog of the Aharonov-Bohm effect using entangled photons and a temporal SU(1,1) interferometer. Here, we provide a more detailed exploration of the JSF, highlighting its role in improving signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and its impact on measuring fast phase changes with enhanced temporal resolution. By leveraging the quantum properties of the system and utilizing the JSF between the signal and idler beams, we show that this approach allows for unprecedented sensitivity in detecting temporal phase shifts. This proceeding will also discuss how the JSF contributes to the interferometer’s ability to resolve femto-second dynamics …

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) data acquisition using time-gated single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) cameras with megapixel sizes involves the sequential acquisition of data at a number G of different gate locations to sample the whole fluorescence decay. This requirement of multiple, high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gate images acquisition, which may take several hundred of ms or longer, limits the achievable FLIM frame-rate, but also make them susceptible to artefacts when the signal’s intensity is fluctuating faster than the gate series can be acquired. Here, we implement a data acquisition scheme designed to counteract this effect by rapidly acquiring complete sequences of low SNR gate images at the maximum rate sustainable by the camera (50 kHz per 1-bit gate image), allowing a full 1-bit resolution decay to be acquired in G x 20 μs. By repeating this sequence of gate shifts N times …

Membrane potential (MP) changes can provide a simple readout of bacterial functional and metabolic state or stress levels. While several optical methods exist for measuring fast changes in MP in excitable cells, there is a dearth of such methods for absolute and precise measurements of steady-state MPs in bacterial cells. Conventional electrode-based methods for the measurement of MP are not suitable for calibrating optical methods in small bacterial cells. While optical measurement based on Nernstian indicators have been successfully used, they do not provide absolute or precise quantification of MP or its changes. We present a novel, calibrated MP recording approach to address this gap. In this study, we used a fluorescence lifetime-based approach to obtain a single-cell-resolved distribution of the membrane potential and its changes upon extracellular chemical perturbation in a population of bacterial cells …

Communication of cancer cells with immune cells can inhibit or promote tumor proliferation. However, immune–tumor interactions in cancer tissues remain largely uncharacterized. A direct quantification of cell–cell interactions between individual immune and tumor cells can be obtained via in situ approaches, which use imaging to assess the identity and location of expressed genes. We recently developed a technology, termed expansion sequencing, which allows in situ sequencing of RNA molecules with super-resolution. Here, we show that super-resolved in situ sequencing can be used to quantify immune–tumor cell–cell interactions inside patients' biopsies, which might be utilized to predict response to immunotherapy drugs.

Molecular characterization of brain tissues using optical methods present a problem of scale: brain tissues are intrinsically three-dimensional structures, with thickness of at least hundreds of micrometers; but nanoscale interrogation is needed to characterize molecules within neurites and synapses. Additionally, multiplexed interrogation of molecules is needed to characterize cell types and states inside brain tissues, and to detect deficiencies in neurological conditions. Currently, multiplexed imaging of molecules inside brain tissues is limited to thin sections, and almost impossible with super-resolution. Here we demonstrate multiplexed super-resolved characterization of thick brain tissues: complete fruit fly brain, human brain organoids, and mouse cortex.

Photon-number splitting (PNS) attack poses a significant threat to the security of quantum key-distribution (QKD) systems that utilize weak coherent states (WCS). While this attack has been extensively explored in theory, its experimental realization remains elusive, raising questions about its practical implementation and impact. This study introduces a novel framework to experimentally demonstrate the PNS attack by leveraging single-photon Raman interaction (SPRINT), a well-developed technological capability. We analytically assess the feasibility and practical implications of this attack. Complementing our recently published analysis of the attack, in this work we calculate the detection statistics for phase-randomized WCS and analyze the purity of the quantum state post-attack. Our analysis reveals that indeed current technologies are sufficient to implement the PNS attack, but the eavesdropper’s information …

In this work, we devise an optical interferometry setup to directly measure the in-plane displacement of a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) optical shutter modulator by using the first diffraction order generated by a grating on its surface. We employ optical homodyne detection and a derivation of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a polarization-based quadrature detection architecture to demonstrate nanometric in-plane transient displacement sensitivity at >200kHz. We present a quadrature grating interferometry method to measure in-plane transient displacement of high-frequency

In a recent study, Prof. Rui Min and collaborators published their paper in the journal of Opto-Electronic Science that is entitled" Smart photonic wristband for pulse wave monitoring". The paper introduces novel realization of a sensor that uses a polymer optical multi-mode fiber to sense pulse wave bio-signal from a wrist by analyzing the specklegram measured at the output of the fiber. Applying machine learning techniques over the pulse wave signal allowed medical diagnostics and recognizing different gestures with accuracy rate of 95%.

We developed an optical communication system based on folded mirror for nano-sat. Nano-sat is too small to have big mirrors; therefore, it is challenging to have a wide bandwidth communication system over thousands of km. We overcome this challenge by using a folded mirror and compensating for misalignments with electronic components.