Quantum hair and quantum gravity

A black hole may carry quantum numbers that arenot associated with massless gauge fields, contrary to the spirit of the no-hair theorems. The quantum hair is invisible in the classical limit, but measurable via quantum interference experiments. Quantum hair alters the temperature of the radiation emitted by a black hole. It also induces non-zero expectation values for fields outside the event horizon; these expectation values are non-perturbative in , and decay exponentially far from the hole. The existence of quantum hair demonstrates that a black hole can have an intricate quantum-mechanical structure that is completely missed by standard semiclassical theory.Based on an essay which received second award from the Gravity Research Foundation, 1991     

Mass emissions and carbon trading: a critical review of available reference methods for industrial stack flow measurement

Accreditation and Quality Assurance - Flow measurements in industrial ducts and stacks are combined with pollutant or greenhouse gas concentrations to deduce mass emissions. These are then used to...     

Tuning the Photo-electrochemical Performance of RuII-Sensitized Two-Dimensional MoS2

Covalently tethering photosensitizers to catalytically active 1T-MoS₂ surfaces holds great promise for the solar-driven hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we report the preparation of two new Ru^II-complex-functionalized MoS₂ hybrids [Ru^II(bpy)₂(phen)]-MoS₂ and [Ru^II(bpy)₂(py)Cl]-MoS₂. The influence of covalent functionalization of chemically exfoliated 1T-MoS₂ with coordinating ligands and Ru^II complexes on the HER activity and photo-electrochemical performance of this dye-sensitized system was studied systematically. We find that the photo-electrochemical performance of this Ru^II-complex-sensitized MoS₂ system is highly dependent on the surface extent of photosensitizers and the catalytic activity of functionalized MoS₂. The latter was strongly affected by the number and the kind of functional groups. Our results underline the tunability of the photovoltage generation in this dye-sensitized MoS₂ system by manipulation of the surface functionalities, which provides a practical guidance for smart design of future dye-sensitized MoS₂ hydrogen production devices towards improved the photofuel conversion efficiency.     

Thirty years of gaseous positronics

The valence electronic structure of materials with crystalline order is described by the energy—momentum dispersion laws and densities of electron bands. These quantities are directly observed for the surfaces of thin (about 100 Å) solid films by electron momentum spectroscopy, based on kinematically complete observations of ionization events. The principles of the experiment and the imperfections of the probe are described and illustrated by examples. Comparison is made with other electron spectroscopies that measure subsets of the complete energy-momentum density information.     

Dynamic control of volume phase transitions of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) based microgels in water using hydrazide‐aldehyde chemistry

We demonstrate that the volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) of copolymer microgel particles made from N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and methacryloyl hydrazide (MH) can be tailored in a reversible manner upon the reaction of the hydrazide functional groups with aldehydes. The microgels were synthesized by precipitation polymerization in water. Due to the water‐soluble nature of the MH monomer, the VPTT at which the microgel particles contract shifts to higher values by increasing the incorporated amounts of methacryloyl hydrazide from 0 to 5.0 mol %. The VPTT of the copolymer microgel dispersions in water can be fine‐tuned upon addition of hydrophobic/hydrophilic aldehydes, which react with the hydrazide moiety to produce the hydrazone analogue. This hydrazone formation is reversible, which allows for flexible, dynamic control of the thermo‐responsive behavior of the microgels. The ability to “switch” the VPTT was demonstrated by exposing hydrophilic streptomycin sulfate salt incubated microgel particles to an excess of a hydrophobic aldehyde, that is benzaldehyde. The temperature at which these microgels contracted in size upon heating was markedly lowered in these aldehyde exchange experiments. Transformation into benzaldehyde hydrazone derivatives led to assembly of the microgel particles into small colloidal clusters at elevated temperatures. This control of supracolloidal cluster formation was also demonstrated with polystyrene particles which had a hydrazide functionalised microgel shell. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 1745–1754     

Electrostatics and the electro-optic behaviour of chiral smectics C: 'block' polarization screening of applied voltage and 'V-shaped' switching

We present a new model for the physics of thresholdless switching in chiral smectics. In the limit of high polarization, the electro-optics of chiral smectic C liquid crystals are dominated by two distinct electrostatic effects. Complete (surface to surface) 'stiffening' of the polarization field by its charge self-interaction causes the polarization to orient as a uniform block. Complete screening of applied electric field by polarization charge leads to voltage-induced orientation where the electric field in the liquid crystal is exactly zero, These effects, both operative during the 'V-shaped' portion of thresholdless transmission vs. voltage curves, combine to produce 'V-shaped' switching.     

Combined OX40 Agonist and PD-1 Inhibitor Immunotherapy Improves the Efficacy of Vascular Targeted Photodynamic Therapy in a Urothelial Tumor Model

Purpose: Vascular targeted photodynamic therapy (VTP) is a nonsurgical tumor ablation approach used to treat early-stage prostate cancer and may also be effective for upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) based on preclinical data. Toward increasing response rates to VTP, we evaluated its efficacy in combination with concurrent PD-1 inhibitor/OX40 agonist immunotherapy in a urothelial tumor-bearing model. Experimental design: In mice allografted with MB-49 UTUC cells, we compared the effects of combined VTP with PD-1 inhibitor/OX40 agonist with those of the component treatments on tumor growth, survival, lung metastasis, and antitumor immune responses. Results: The combination of VTP with both PD-1 inhibitor and OX40 agonist inhibited tumor growth and prolonged survival to a greater degree than VTP with either immunotherapeutic individually. These effects result from increased tumor infiltration and intratumoral proliferation of cytotoxic and helper T cells, depletion of Treg cells, and suppression of myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that VTP synergizes with PD-1 blockade and OX40 agonist to promote strong antitumor immune responses, yielding therapeutic efficacy in an animal model of urothelial cancer.