Theory of the optical properties of non-absorbing compensated cholesteric liquid crystals

A theory is developed of the optical properties of a non-absorbing compensated cholesteric liquid crystal. It is shown that the Mauguin-de Vries equation fails when the pitch becomes very large. Theoretical curves are presented of the dependence of the rotatory power on pitch for different values of the sample thickness. The results are in agreement with the observed variation of the rotatory power of a compensated cholesteric mixture with temperature

Thermomechanical effect in cholesteric liquid crystals

We discuss some possible experimental geometries for studying Leslie's thermomechanical effect in cholesteric liquid crystals. The discussion includes the effect of a temperature gradient (i) along and (ii) perpendicular to the helical axis. The feasibility of observing the effect and of extracting the thermomechanical coefficients is examined

Flow of cholesteric liquid crystals-I: Flow along the helical axis

It is shown that the essential features of Helfrich's penneation model for flow along the helical axis of a cholesteric liquid crystal can be derived approximately on the basis of the Ericksen-Leslie theory

Isotope effect in BEDT-TTF based organic superconductors

The results of the comprehensive isotope effect studies, in which seven different isotopically labeled (involving {sup 13}C, {sup 34}S and {sup 2}H labeling) BEDT-TTF derivatives and isotopically labeled anion [Cu({sup 15}N{sup 13}CS){sub 2}]{sup {minus}} were utilized, are summarized. For the first time, convincing evidence for a genuine BCS-like mass isotope effect in an organic superconductor is revealed in these studies

A Retrospective Look at the Monitoring and Checking (MaC) Framework

The Monitoring and Checking (MaC) project gave rise to a framework for runtime monitoring with respect to formally specified properties, which later came to be known as runtime verification. The project also built a pioneering runtime verification tool, Java-MaC, that was an instantiation of the approach to check properties of Java programs. In this retrospective, we discuss decisions made in the design of the framework and summarize lessons learned in the course of the project

Causes, Timing, and Impact of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Interruption for Surgery (from the Patterns of Non-adherence to Anti-platelet Regimens In Stented Patients Registry).

Temporary interruption of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is not infrequently required in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We sought to describe the procedures and outcomes associated with DAPT interruption in patients treated with DAPT following successful PCI from the Patterns of non-adherence to anti-platelet regimens in stented patients registry (n = 5018). DAPT interruption was prespecified as physician recommended cessation for <14 days. Of the study cohort, 490 patients (9.8%) experienced 594 DAPT interruptions over 2 years following PCI. Only 1 antiplatelet agent was interrupted in 57.2% cases and interruption was frequently recommended by noncardiologists (51.3%). Where type of surgery was reported, majority of DAPT interruptions occurred for minor surgery (68.4% vs 31.6%) and a similar cessation pattern of single versus dual antiplatelet cessation was observed regardless of minor or major surgery. Subsequent to DAPT interruption, 12 patients (2.4%) experienced 1 thrombotic event each, of which 5 (1.0%) occurred during the interruption period. All events occurred in patients who either stopped both agents (8 of 12) or clopidogrel-only (4 of 12), with no events occurring due to aspirin cessation alone. In conclusion, in the Patterns of Non-adherence to Anti-platelet Regiments in Stented Patients registry, 1 in 10 patients were recommended DAPT interruption for surgery within 2 years of PCI. Interruption was more common for a single agent rather than both antiplatelet agents regardless of severity of surgery, and was frequently recommended by noncardiologists. Only 1% of patients with DAPT interruption experienced a subsequent thrombotic event during the interruption period, which mainly occurred in patients stopping both antiplatelet agents

Low Temperature Penetration depth of \kappa-(ET)_2Cu[N(CN)_2]Br and \kappa-(ET)_2Cu(NCS)_2

We present high precision measurements of the penetration depth \lambda of single crystals of \kappa-(ET)_2Cu[N(CN)2]Br and \kappa-(ET)_2Cu(NCS)_2 at temperature down to 0.4 K. We find that, at low temperatures, the in-plane penetration depth varies as a fractional power law, \lambda\sim T^1.5. W hilst this may be taken as evidence for novel bose excitation processes, we show that the data are also consistent with a quasi-linear variation of the superfluid density, as is expected for a d-wave superconductor with impurities. Our data for the interplane penetration depth show similar features and give a direct measurement of the absolute value, \lambda(0)=100\pm 20 \mu m.Comment: 4 pages, 4 postscript figure

Delineation of dominant and recessive forms of LZTR1-associated Noonan syndrome.

Noonan syndrome (NS) is characterised by distinctive facial features, heart defects, variable degrees of intellectual disability and other phenotypic manifestations. Although the mode of inheritance is typically dominant, recent studies indicate LZTR1 may be associated with both dominant and recessive forms. Seeking to describe the phenotypic characteristics of LZTR1-associated NS, we searched for likely pathogenic variants using two approaches. First, scrutiny of exomes from 9624 patients recruited by the Deciphering Developmental Disorders (DDDs) study uncovered six dominantly-acting mutations (p.R97L; p.Y136C; p.Y136H, p.N145I, p.S244C; p.G248R) of which five arose de novo, and three patients with compound-heterozygous variants (p.R210*/p.V579M; p.R210*/p.D531N; c.1149+1G>T/p.R688C). One patient also had biallelic loss-of-function mutations in NEB, consistent with a composite phenotype. After removing this complex case, analysis of human phenotype ontology terms indicated significant phenotypic similarities (P = 0.0005), supporting a causal role for LZTR1. Second, targeted sequencing of eight unsolved NS-like cases identified biallelic LZTR1 variants in three further subjects (p.W469*/p.Y749C, p.W437*/c.-38T>A and p.A461D/p.I462T). Our study strengthens the association of LZTR1 with NS, with de novo mutations clustering around the KT1-4 domains. Although LZTR1 variants explain ~0.1% of cases across the DDD cohort, the gene is a relatively common cause of unsolved NS cases where recessive inheritance is suspected

Electronic Structure Calculation by First Principles for Strongly Correlated Electron Systems

Recent trends of ab initio studies and progress in methodologies for electronic structure calculations of strongly correlated electron systems are discussed. The interest for developing efficient methods is motivated by recent discoveries and characterizations of strongly correlated electron materials and by requirements for understanding mechanisms of intriguing phenomena beyond a single-particle picture. A three-stage scheme is developed as renormalized multi-scale solvers (RMS) utilizing the hierarchical electronic structure in the energy space. It provides us with an ab initio downfolding of the global band structure into low-energy effective models followed by low-energy solvers for the models. The RMS method is illustrated with examples of several materials. In particular, we overview cases such as dynamics of semiconductors, transition metals and its compounds including iron-based superconductors and perovskite oxides, as well as organic conductors of kappa-ET type.Comment: 44 pages including 38 figures, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. as an invited review pape