Electro‐optic switching with liquid crystal graphene

Graphene oxide (GO) particles in aqueous dispersions can form liquid crystal (LC) phases at extremely low concentrations due to the extremely high aspect ratio of the flakes and noticeably, they possess an extremely large Kerr coefficient attractive for low power consumption electro‐optic devices. Reduced graphene does not easily form LC phases in water due to its hydrophobic nature but here we show that stable dispersions of reduced graphene oxide can be realized with surfactants and that they exhibit birefringence upon shearing as well as under application of electric fields. The performance of the system is largely superior to GO LC possessing longer time stability and drastically improved electro‐optic properties with an induced birefringence twice as large at the same field strength thanks to the almost recovery of graphene properties upon reduction. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid features in ballistic single-walled carbon nanotubes: conductance and shot noise

We study the electrical transport properties of well-contacted ballistic single-walled carbon nanotubes in a three-terminal configuration at low temperatures. We observe signatures of strong electron-electron interactions: the conductance exhibits bias-voltage-dependent amplitudes of quantum interference oscillation, and both the current noise and Fano factor manifest bias-voltage-dependent power-law scalings. We analyze our data within the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid model using the nonequilibrium Keldysh formalism and find qualitative and quantitative agreement between experiment and theory.     

Observation of two resonant structures in e+ e- -->pi+ pi- psi(2S) via initial-state radiation at Belle

The cross section for e+ e- --> pi+ pi- psi(2S) between threshold and sqrt[s]=5.5 GeV is measured using 673 fb(-1) of data on and off the Upsilon(4S) resonance collected with the Belle detector at KEKB. Two resonant structures are observed in the pi+ pi- psi(2S) invariant-mass distribution, one at 4361 +/- 9 +/- 9 MeV/c2 with a width of 74 +/- 15 +/- 10 MeV/c2, and another at 4664 +/- 11 +/- 5 MeV/c2 with a width of 48 +/- 15 +/- 3 MeV/c2, if the mass spectrum is parametrized with the coherent sum of two Breit-Wigner functions. These values do not match those of any of the known charmonium states.     

Electric field effect tuning of electron-phonon coupling in graphene

Gate-modulated low-temperature Raman spectra reveal that the electric field effect (EFE), pervasive in contemporary electronics, has marked impacts on long-wavelength optical phonons of graphene. The EFE in this two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of carbon atoms creates large density modulations of carriers with linear dispersion (known as Dirac fermions). Our EFE Raman spectra display the interactions of lattice vibrations with these unusual carriers. The changes of phonon frequency and linewidth demonstrate optically the particle-hole symmetry about the charge-neutral Dirac point. The linear dependence of the phonon frequency on the EFE-modulated Fermi energy is explained as the electron-phonon coupling of massless Dirac fermions.     

Finite-stretching corrections to the Milner-Witten-Cates theory for polymer brushes

This paper investigates finite-stretching corrections to the classical Milner-Witten-Cates theory for semi-dilute polymer brushes in a good solvent. The dominant correction to the free energy originates from an entropic repulsion caused by the impenetrability of the grafting surface, which produces a depletion of segments extending a distance μ∝L^-1 from the substrate, where L is the classical brush height. The next most important correction is associated with the translational entropy of the chain ends, which creates the well-known tail where a small population of chains extend beyond the classical brush height by a distance ξ∝L^-1/3. The validity of these corrections is confirmed by quantitative comparison with numerical self-consistent field theory.     

Thin-film-based sensitivity enhancement for total internal reflection fluorescence live-cell imaging

We investigated experimentally the evanescent field enhancement based on dielectric thin films in total internal reflection microscopy. The sample employed two layers of Al2O3 and SiO2 deposited on an SF10 glass substrate. Field intensity enhancement measured by fluorescent excitation of microbeads relative to that of a control sample without dielectric films was polarization dependent, determined as 4.2 and 2.4 for TE and TM polarizations, respectively, and was in good agreement with numerical results. The thin-film-based field enhancement was also applied to live-cell imaging of quantum dots, which confirmed the sensitivity enhancement qualitatively.     

Fabrication of a solution-processed thin-film transistor using zinc oxide nanoparticles and zinc acetate

We have fabricated a solution-processed ZnO thin-film transistor without vacuum deposition. ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by the polyol method from zinc acetate, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, and diethyleneglycol. The solution-processable semiconductor ink was prepared by dispersing the synthesized ZnO in a solvent. Inverted stagger type thin-film transistors were fabricated by spin casting the ZnO ink on the heavily doped Si wafer with 200 nm thick SiO₂, followed by evaporation of Cr/Au source and drain electrodes. After the drying and heat treatment at 600 C, a relatively dense ZnO film was obtained. The film characteristics were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In order to obtain the electrical properties of the solution-derived transistor, the on–off ratio, threshold voltage, and mobility were measured.     

Effects of gamma irradiation on morphological changes and biological responses in plants

This review discusses the morphological changes and biological responses of plants irradiated with gamma rays. Seedlings exposed to relatively low doses of gamma rays (1-5 Gy) developed normally, while the growth of plants irradiated with a high dose gamma ray (50 Gy) was significantly inhibited. Based on TEM observations, chloroplasts were extremely sensitive to gamma irradiation compared to other cell organelles, particularly thylakoids being heavily swollen. In addition, some portions of the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum were structurally altered, for example, distortion and swelling. The cerium perhydroxide deposition, as a maker for H(2)O(2) deposition, was typically manifest on the plasma membranes and cell walls of the tissues from both the control and irradiated plants. However, the intensities of cerium perhydroxide deposits (CPDs) were remarkably increased in the plasma membranes and cell walls of pumpkin tissues such as petiole, cotyledon, hypocotyl and especially leaf after gamma irradiation. These observations are in good agreement with the results of H(2)O(2) content in all tissues. The immuno-localization analysis for peroxidase (POD) on the tissues from pumpkin plant showed the same pattern between the control and irradiated plants, but the density of gold particles as indication of POD localization was significantly increased on the cell corner middle lamellae of parenchyma cells, especially in the petiole after gamma irradiation. However, accumulation and localization of H(2)O(2) and POD in vessels were not significantly different between both plants. The accumulation and localization of both H(2)O(2) and POD were differentially affected by gamma irradiation depending on the different tissue types. The deposition of both H(2)O(2) and POD in parenchyma cells appeared much higher than in vessels, suggesting that the former is more sensitive than the latter against gamma rays.     

Nonhost-associated proliferation of intrahyphal hyphae of citrus scab fungus Elsinoe fawcettii: refining the perception of cell-within-a-cell organization

Ultrastructural aspects of intrahyphal hyphae formation were investigated in Elsinoe fawcettii by transmission electron microscopy. Desiccated and hydrated cultures of E. fawcettii hyphae in liquid and solid media were prepared to determine the effects of water/nutrient availability and media fluidity on the formation of intrahyphal hyphae of the fungus. In all the culture conditions, intrahyphal hyphae were observed in enclosing hyphae. Electron-transparent hyphal cell walls clearly delimited intrahyphal hyphae from the cytoplasm of enclosing hyphae. Intrahyphal hyphae occupied most of the lumen of the enclosing hyphae, and showed intact hyphal cytoplasm with distinct organelles and inclusions. Intrahyphal hyphae were found to grow out of the degenerated hyphae that were almost devoid of cellular contents (simple intrahyphal hyphae). Some intrahyphal hyphae appeared to push aside a septum and passed into the adjacent hyphal cell. Besides a single intrahyphal hypha, instances were noted where enclosing hyphae contained several individual intrahyphal hyphae (multiple intrahyphal hyphae). Other enclosing hyphae contained intrahyphal hyphae, which also had intrahyphal hyphae (compound intrahyphal hyphae). The cell wall of intrahyphal hyphae showed the continuity with the cell wall of the enclosing hyphae. Concentric bodies typical of ascomycetes occurring in dry habitats were not found in all the types of hyphae. These results suggest that intrahyphal hyphae formation of E. fawcettii does not require plant defense responses. The fungus is thought to form intrahyphal hyphae during the saprophytic phase in ex planta ecological niches as well as the parasitic phase in host parts.     

Development of an apparatus for cooling <Superscript>6</Superscript>Li-<Superscript>87</Superscript>Rb Fermi-Bose mixtures in a light-assisted magnetic trap

We describe an experimental setup designed to produce ultracold trapped gas clouds of fermionic ⁶Li and bosonic ⁸⁷Rb. This combination of alkali metals has the potential to reach deeper Fermi degeneracy with respect to other mixtures since it allows for improved heat capacity matching which optimizes sympathetic cooling efficiency. Atomic beams of the two species are independently produced and then decelerated by Zeeman slowers. The slowed atoms are collected into a magneto-optical trap and then transferred into a quadrupole magnetic trap. An ultracold Fermi gas with temperature in the 10^?3 T _F range should be attainable through selective confinement of the two species via a properly detuned laser beam focused in the center of the magnetic trap.