86 research outputs found
Heavy-Mass Behavior of Ordered Perovskites ACu3Ru4O12 (A = Na, Ca, La)
We synthesized ACu3Ru4O12 (A = Na, Na0.5Ca0.5, Ca, Ca0.5La0.5, La) and
measured their DC magnetization, AC susceptibility, specific heat, and
resistivity, in order to investigate the effects of the hetero-valent
substitution. A broad peak in the DC magnetization around 200 K was observed
only in CaCu3Ru4O12, suggesting the Kondo effect due to localized Cu2+ ions.
However, the electronic specific heat coefficients exhibit large values not
only for CaCu3Ru4O12 but also for all the other samples. Moreover, the Wilson
ratio and the Kadowaki-Woods ratio of our samples are all similar to the values
of other heavy-fermion compounds. These results question the Kondo effect as
the dominant origin of the mass enhancement, and rather indicate the importance
of correlations among itinerant Ru electrons.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Nano-engineered electronâhole exchange interaction controls exciton dynamics in coreâshell semiconductor nanocrystals
A strong electronâhole exchange interaction (EI) in semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) gives rise to a large (up to tens of meV) splitting between optically active ('bright') and optically passive ('dark') excitons. This darkâbright splitting has a significant effect on the optical properties of band-edge excitons and leads to a pronounced temperature and magnetic field dependence of radiative decay. Here we demonstrate a nanoengineering-based approach that provides control over EI while maintaining nearly constant emission energy. We show that the darkâbright splitting can be widely tuned by controlling the electronâhole spatial overlap in coreâshell CdSe/CdS NCs with a variable shell width. In thick-shell samples, the EI energy reduces to <250 ÎŒeV, which yields a material that emits with a nearly constant rate over temperatures from 1.5 to 300 K and magnetic fields up to 7 T. The EI-manipulation strategies demonstrated here are general and can be applied to other nanostructures with variable electronâhole overlap
Probing and controlling fluorescence blinking of single semiconductor nanoparticles
In this review we present an overview of the experimental and theoretical development on fluorescence intermittency (blinking) and the roles of electron transfer in semiconductor crystalline nanoparticles. Blinking is a very interesting phenomenon commonly observed in single molecule/particle experiments. Under continuous laser illumination, the fluorescence time trace of these single nanoparticles exhibit random light and dark periods. Since its first observation in the mid-1990s, this intriguing phenomenon has attracted wide attention among researchers from many disciplines. We will first present the historical background of the discovery and the observation of unusual inverse power-law dependence for the waiting time distributions of light and dark periods. Then, we will describe our theoretical modeling efforts to elucidate the causes for the power-law behavior, to probe the roles of electron transfer in blinking, and eventually to control blinking and to achieve complete suppression of the blinking, which is an annoying feature in many applications of quantum dots as light sources and fluorescence labels for biomedical imaging
«La relation de limitation et dâexception dans le français dâaujourdâhui : exceptĂ©, sauf et hormis comme pivots dâune relation algĂ©brique »
Lâanalyse des emplois prĂ©positionnels et des emplois conjonctifs dâ âexceptĂ©â, de âsaufâ et dâ âhormisâ permet dâenvisager les trois prĂ©positions/conjonctions comme le pivot dâun binĂŽme, comme la plaque tournante dâune structure bipolaire. PlacĂ©es au milieu du binĂŽme, ces prĂ©positions sont forcĂ©es par leur sĂ©mantisme originaire dĂ»ment mĂ©taphorisĂ© de jouer le rĂŽle de marqueurs dâinconsĂ©quence systĂ©matique entre lâĂ©lĂ©ment se trouvant Ă leur gauche et celui qui se trouve Ă leur droite. Lâopposition qui surgit entre les deux Ă©lĂ©ments nâest donc pas une incompatibilitĂ© naturelle, intrinsĂšque, mais extrinsĂšque, induite. Dans la plupart des cas (emplois limitatifs), cette opposition prend la forme dâun rapport entre une « classe » et le « membre (soustrait) de la classe », ou bien entre un « tout » et une « partie » ; dans dâautres (emplois exceptifs), cette opposition se manifeste au contraire comme une attaque de front portĂ©e par un « tout » Ă un autre « tout ». De plus, lâinconsĂ©quence induite mise en place par la prĂ©position/conjonction paraĂźt, en principe, tout Ă fait insurmontable. Dans lâassertion « les Ă©cureuils vivent partout, sauf en Australie » (que lâon peut expliciter par « Les Ă©cureuils vivent partout, sauf [quâils ne vivent pas] en Australie »), la prĂ©position semble en effet capable dâimpliquer le prĂ©dicat principal avec signe inverti, et de bĂątir sur une telle implication une sorte de sous Ă©noncĂ© qui, Ă la rigueur, est totalement inconsĂ©quent avec celui qui le prĂ©cĂšde (si « les Ă©cureuils ne vivent pas en Australie », le fait quâils « vivent partout » est faux). NĂ©anmoins, lâanalyse montre quâalors que certaines de ces oppositions peuvent enfin ĂȘtre dĂ©passĂ©es, dâautres ne le peuvent pas. Câest, respectivement, le cas des relations limitatives et des relations exceptives. La relation limitative, impliquant le rapport « tout » - « partie », permet de rĂ©soudre le conflit dans les termes dâune somme algĂ©brique entre deux sous Ă©noncĂ©s pourvus de diffĂ©rent poids informatif et de signe contraire. Les valeurs numĂ©riques des termes de la somme Ă©tant dĂ©sĂ©quilibrĂ©es, le rĂ©sultat est toujours autre que zĂ©ro. La relation exceptive, au contraire, qui nâimplique pas le rapport « tout » - « partie », nâest pas capable de rĂ©soudre le conflit entre deux sous Ă©noncĂ©s pourvus du mĂȘme poids informatif et en mĂȘme temps de signe contraire : les valeurs numĂ©riques des termes de la somme Ă©tant symĂ©triques et Ă©gales, le rĂ©sultat sera toujours Ă©quivalent Ă zĂ©ro
Epidemiology of intra-abdominal infection and sepsis in critically ill patients: âAbSeSâ, a multinational observational cohort study and ESICM Trials Group Project
Purpose: To describe the epidemiology of intra-abdominal infection in an international cohort of ICU patients according to a new system that classifies cases according to setting of infection acquisition (community-acquired, early onset hospital-acquired, and late-onset hospital-acquired), anatomical disruption (absent or present with localized or diffuse peritonitis), and severity of disease expression (infection, sepsis, and septic shock). Methods: We performed a multicenter (n = 309), observational, epidemiological study including adult ICU patients diagnosed with intra-abdominal infection. Risk factors for mortality were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Results: The cohort included 2621 patients. Setting of infection acquisition was community-acquired in 31.6%, early onset hospital-acquired in 25%, and late-onset hospital-acquired in 43.4% of patients. Overall prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was 26.3% and difficult-to-treat resistant Gram-negative bacteria 4.3%, with great variation according to geographic region. No difference in prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was observed according to setting of infection acquisition. Overall mortality was 29.1%. Independent risk factors for mortality included late-onset hospital-acquired infection, diffuse peritonitis, sepsis, septic shock, older age, malnutrition, liver failure, congestive heart failure, antimicrobial resistance (either methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Gram-negative bacteria, or carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria) and source control failure evidenced by either the need for surgical revision or persistent inflammation. Conclusion: This multinational, heterogeneous cohort of ICU patients with intra-abdominal infection revealed that setting of infection acquisition, anatomical disruption, and severity of disease expression are disease-specific phenotypic characteristics associated with outcome, irrespective of the type of infection. Antimicrobial resistance is equally common in community-acquired as in hospital-acquired infection
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