Carrier trapping and luminescence polarization in quantum dashes

We study experimentally and theoretically polarization-dependent luminescence from an ensemble of quantum-dot-like nanostructures with a very large in-plane shape anisotropy (quantum dashes). We show that the measured degree of linear polarization of the emitted light increases with the excitation power and changes with temperature in a non-trivial way, depending on the excitation conditions. Using an approximate model based on the k.p theory, we are able to relate this degree of polarization to the amount of light hole admixture in the exciton states which, in turn, depends on the symmetry of the envelope wave function. Agreement between the measured properties and theory is reached under assumption that the ground exciton state in a quantum dash is trapped in a confinement fluctuation within the structure and thus localized in a much smaller volume of much lower asymmetry than the entire nanostructure.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures; considerably extended, additional discussion and new figures include

Semiquantitative interpretation of anticardiolipin and antiβ2glycoprotein I antibodies measured with various analytical platforms: communication from the ISTH SSC subcommittee on Lupus Anticoagulant/Antiphospholipid antibodies

Background Antiβ2glycoprotein I (aβ2GPI) and anticardiolipin (aCL) IgG/IgM show differences in positive/negative agreement and titers between solid phase platforms. Method specific semiquantitative categorization of titers could improve and harmonize the interpretation across platforms. Aim To evaluate the traditionally 40/80 units thresholds used for aCL and aβ2GPI for categorization into moderate/high positivity with different analytical systems, and to compare with alternative thresholds. Material and methods aCL and aβ2GPI thresholds were calculated for two automated systems (chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) and multiplex flow immunoassay (MFI)) by ROC-curve analysis on 1108 patient samples, including patients with and without APS, and confirmed on a second population (n=279). Alternatively, regression analysis on diluted standard material was applied to identify thresholds. Thresholds were compared to 40/80 threshold measured by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Additionally, likelihood ratios (LR) were calculated. Results Threshold levels of 40/80 units show poor agreement between ELISA and automated platforms for classification into low/moderate/high positivity, especially for aCL/aβ2GPI IgG. Agreement for semiquantitative interpretation of aPL IgG between ELISA and CLIA/MFI improves with alternative thresholds. LR for aPL IgG increase for thrombotic and obstetric APS based on 40/80 thresholds for ELISA and adapted thresholds for the other systems, but not for IgM. Conclusion Use of 40/80 units as medium/high thresholds is acceptable for aCL/aβ2GPI IgG ELISA, but not for CLIA and MFI. Alternative semiquantitative thresholds for non-ELISA platforms can be determined by a clinical approach or by using monoclonal antibodies. Semiquantitative reporting of aPL IgM has less impact on increasing probability for APS

Solving scheduling problems with integrated online sustainability observation using heuristic optimization

The paper deals with the issue of production scheduling for various types of employees in a large manufacturing company where the decision-making process was based on a human factor and the foreman’s know-how, which was error-prone. Modern production processes are getting more and more complex. A company that wants to be competitive on the market must consider many factors. Relying only on human factors is not efficient at all. The presented work has the objective of developing a new employee scheduling system that might be considered a particular case of the job shop problem from the set of the employee scheduling problems. The Neuro-Tabu Search algorithm and the data gathered by manufacturing sensors and process controls are used to remotely inspect machine condition and sustainability as well as for preventive maintenance. They were used to build production schedules. The construction of the Neuro-Tabu Search algorithm combines the Tabu Search algorithm, one of the most effective methods of constructing heuristic algorithms for scheduling problems, and a self-organizing neural network that further improves the prohibition mechanism of the Tabu Search algorithm. Additionally, in the paper, sustainability with the use of Industry 4.0 is considered. That would make it possible to minimize the costs of employees’ work and the cost of the overall production process. Solving the optimization problem offered by Neuro-Tabu Search algorithm and real-time data shows a new way of production management

Compensation of phonon-induced renormalization of vacuum Rabi splitting in large quantum dots : towards temperature-stable strong coupling in the solid state with quantum dot-micropillars

The authors acknowledge financial support from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) via projects AX17/7-1 and RE2974/5-1.We study experimentally the influence of temperature on the emission characteristics of quantum dot-micropillars in the strong coupling regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED). In particular, we investigate its impact on the vacuum Rabi splitting (VRS) and we address the important question of the temperature stability of the coherent coupling regime in a semiconductor system, which is relevant in view of both fundamental study and future applications. To study the temperature dependence we investigate an unprecedentedly large number of strong coupling cases (89) in a wide temperature range from 10 up to 50 K, which constitutes a good basis for statistical analysis. The experiment indicates a statistically significant increase of the VRS with temperature in contrast to an expected decrease of the VRS due to the dephasing induced by acoustic phonons. From the theoretical point of view, the phonon-induced renormalization of the VRS is calculated using a real-time path-integral approach for strongly confined quantum dots (QDs), which allows for a numerical exact treatment of the coupling between the QD and a continuum of longitudinal acoustic phonons. The absence of the expected decrease of the VRS with temperature in our experimental data can be attributed to a unique optical property of laterally extended In0.4Ga0.6As QDs used in this study. Their electronic structure facilitates an effective temperature-driven increase of the oscillator strength of the excitonic state by up to 40% in the given temperature range. This leads to enhanced light-matter interaction and overcompensates the phonon-related decrease of the VRS. The observed persistence of strong coupling in the presence of phonon-induced decoherence demonstrates the appealing possibility to counteract detrimental phonon effects in the cQED regime via engineering the electronic structure of QDs.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Heat shock proteins in chronic kidney disease

Heat shock proteins (HSP) form a heterogenous, evolutionarily conserved group of molecules with high sequence homology. They mainly act as intracellular chaperones, protecting the protein structure and folding under stress conditions. The extracellular HSP, released in the course of damage or necrosis, play a pivotal role in the innate and adaptive immune responses. They also take part in many pathological processes. The aim of this review is to update the recent developments in the field of HSP in chronic kidney disease (CKD), in regard to three different aspects. The first is the assessment of the role of HSP, either positive or deleterious, in the pathogenesis of CKD and the possibilities to influence its progression. The second is the impact of dialysis, being a potentially modifiable stressor, on HSP and the attempt to assess the value of these proteins as the biocompatibility markers. The last area is that of kidney transplantation and the potential role of HSP in the induction of the immune tolerance in kidney recipients

Controlling the gain contribution of background emitters in few-quantum-dot microlasers

Funding: European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework ERC Grant Agreement No. 615613; German Research Foundation via Grant-No.: Re2974/10-1, Gi1121/1-1.We provide experimental and theoretical insight into single-emitter lasing effects in a quantum dot (QD)-microlaser under controlled variation of background gain provided by off-resonant discrete gain centers. For that purpose, we apply an advanced two-color excitation concept where the background gain contribution of off-resonant QDs can be continuously tuned by precisely balancing the relative excitation power of two lasers emitting at different wavelengths. In this way, by selectively exciting a singleresonant QD and off-resonant QDs, we identify distinct single-QD signatures in the lasing characteristics and distinguish between gain contributions of a single resonant emitter and a countable number of offresonant background emitters to the optical output of the microlaser. Our work addresses the importantquestion whether single-QD lasing is feasible in experimentally accessible systems and shows that, for the investigated microlaser, the single-QD gain needs to be supported by the background gain contribution ofoff-resonant QDs to reach the transition to lasing. Interestingly, while a single QD cannot drive the investigated micropillar into lasing, its relative contribution to the emission can be as high as 70% and it dominates the statistics of emitted photons in the intermediate excitation regime below threshold.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The dielectric response of phenothiazine‑based glass‑formers with different molecular complexity

We examined a series of structurally related glass-forming liquids in which a phenothiazine-based tricyclic core (PTZ) was modified by attaching n-alkyl chains of different lengths (n = 4, 8, 10). We systematically disentangled the impact of chemical structure modification on the intermolecular organization and molecular dynamics probed by broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS). X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns evidenced that all PTZ-derivatives are not ‘ordinary’ liquids and form nanoscale clusters. The chain length has a decisive impact on properties, exerting a plasticizing effect on the dynamics. Its elongation decreases glass transition temperature with slight impact on fragility. The increase in the medium-range order was manifested as a broadening of the dielectric loss peak reflected in the lower value of stretching parameter βKWW. A disagreement with the behavior observed for non-associating liquids was found as a deviation from the anti-correlation between the value of βKWW and the relaxation strength of the α-process. Besides, to explain the broadening of loss peak in PTZ with the longest (decyl) chain a slow Debye process was postulated. In contrast, the sample with the shortest alkyl chain and a less complex structure with predominant supramolecular assembly through π–π stacking exhibits no clear Debye-mode fingerprints. The possible reasons are also discussed