New fabrication approach to develop a high birefringence photo-crosslinked film based on a sulfur-containing liquid crystalline molecule with large temperature dependence of birefringence

ABSTRACT

We present a new fabrication approach to achieve a high birefringence film by means of photopolymerization based on an alkylthio-containing rod-like liquid crystalline molecule exhibiting large temperature dependence of birefringence. We designed a new reactive mesogen having alkylthio linkages (BPM–S). It was found that BPM–S had a larger increment of birefringence with decreasing temperature, relative to commercially available alkoxy analog LC242. This result could be thought to be due to enhanced intermolecular attractive interaction for an alkylthio mesogen implied by the proximity of laterally neighboring molecules and cybotactic nematic tendency based on wide-angle X-ray measurement. The uniaxially-aligned photo-polymerized film for BPM–S showed higher birefringence than that for LC 242.     

MR imaging of liver abscesses; application of Gd-DTPA

The potential utility of Gd-DTPA contrast enhancement of MR images in the evaluation of liver abscesses was assessed in rodents. Twelve rats with surgically implanted sterile liver abscesses were imaged at various stages of focal hepatic inflammation, 48 hours, 4 days, 7 days, 14 days and 21 days after lesion induction. Spin echo images, acquired before and repeatedly after intravenous injection of 0.2 mmol/kg Gd-DTPA, demonstrated improvement of the lesion-to-background contrast ranging from 2% to 40% depending on the stage of the disease. The enhancement pattern also varied with abscess evolution. Two, four and seven-day-old abscesses typically showed a ring enhancement, whereas two- and three-week-old abscesses presented largely homogeneously enhancing lesions. In the earlier lesions, contrast enhanced rim surrounding the low intensity center corresponded histologically to the formation of a capsule consisting of fibrous tissue and inflammatory cells. The center was necrotic. Data show that abscesses can be detected on images acquired with long repetition and echo times without injection of Gd-DTPA. The administration of Gd-DTPA, however, improved the lesion-to-background contrast and helped to define the abscess capsule evolution.     

Membrane properties of archaeal macrocyclic diether phospholipids

Several biophysical properties of four synthetic archaeal phospholipids [one polyprenyl macrocyclic lipid A and three polyprenyl double-chain lipids (B, C, D) bearing zero, one or four double bonds in each chain] were studied using differential scanning calorimetry, electron and optical microscopies, stopped-flow/light scattering and solid-state 2H-NMR techniques. These phospholipids gave a variety of self-organized structures in water, in particular vesicles and tubules. These assemblies change in response to simple thermal convection. Some specific membrane properties of these archaeal phospholipids were observed: They are in a liquid-crystalline state over a wide temperature range; the dynamics of their polyprenyl chains is higher than that of n-acyl chains; the water permeability of the membranes is lower than that of n-acyl phospholipid membranes. It was also found that macrocyclization remarkably improves the barrier properties to water and the membrane stability. This may be related to the adaptation of Methanococcus jannaschii to the extreme conditions of the deep-sea hydrothermal vents.     

High-energy collision-induced dissociation of small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

High-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) having 2-6 rings, naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene and coronene, were performed, and the relative abundances of their fragment ions were investigated as a function of collision energy. The results revealed that the PAHs except naphthalene showed a bimodal-type distribution of positive fragmentation ions, which is closely similar to the fragment-ion distribution reported for the CID of three-dimensional fullerene, C(60)(+) and C(70)(+). The three-ring isomers of anthracene and phenanthrene and the four-ring isomers of fluoranthene and pyrene can be distinguishable in their spectra under an electron ionization energy of 70 eV, but the high-energy CID spectra of the three- and four-ring isomers were almost identical. The fragmentation corresponding to fragment ions in the low-mass region of the bimodal CID spectra could be interpreted by the simple statistical model that fragment ions are formed by random evaporation from the molecular ions after a considerable structural rearrangement, 'phase transition', occurring at some high-energy state.     

Coherent and incoherent dynamics of excitons in semiconductor microcavities

Il Nuovo Cimento D - We have investigated the dynamics of impulsively excited planar microcavities in the strongly couple regime. With resonant, coherent excitation, the emitted light shows...     

Artificial polarization anomalies from holographic gratings

An aluminum reflection grating made holographically was found to display polarization anomalies when illuminated with p-polarized light. Additional anomalies were detected for both p- and s-polarizations after the grating was coated with a layer of dielectric (410 nm of photoresist). These new anomalies have been interpreted in terms of the optical guided modes of a thin film dielectric waveguide bounded on one side by metal and on the other by vacuum.     

Photoelectrochemical decomposition of water on nanocrystalline BiVO4 film electrodes under visible light

The nanocrystalline BiVO4 film electrode on conducting glass showed an excellent efficiency (IPCE = 29% at 420 nm) for the decomposition of water under visible light.