Photoluminescence Stokes shift and exciton fine structure in CdTe nanocrystals

The photoluminescence spectra of spherical CdTe nanocrystals with zincblende structure are studied by size-selective spectroscopic techniques. We observe a resonant Stokes shift of 15 meV when the excitation laser energy is tuned to the red side of the absorption band at 2.236 eV. The experimental data are analyzed within a symmetry-based tight-binding theory of the exciton spectrum, which is first shown to account for the size dependence of the fundamental gap reported previously in the literature. The theoretical Stokes shift presented as a function of the gap shows a good agreement with the experimental data, indicating that the measured Stokes shift indeed arises from the electron-hole exchange interaction.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, LaTe

Controls on gut phosphatisation : the trilobites from the Weeks Formation Lagerstätte (Cambrian; Utah)

Despite being internal organs, digestive structures are frequently preserved in Cambrian Lagerstätten. However, the reasons for their fossilisation and their biological implications remain to be thoroughly explored. This is particularly true with arthropods--typically the most diverse fossilised organisms in Cambrian ecosystems--where digestive structures represent an as-yet underexploited alternative to appendage morphology for inferences on their biology. Here we describe the phosphatised digestive structures of three trilobite species from the Cambrian Weeks Formation Lagerstätte (Utah). Their exquisite, three-dimensional preservation reveals unique details on trilobite internal anatomy, such as the position of the mouth and the absence of a differentiated crop. In addition, the presence of paired pygidial organs of an unknown function is reported for the first time. This exceptional material enables exploration of the relationships between gut phosphatisation and the biology of organisms. Indeed, soft-tissue preservation is unusual in these fossils as it is restricted to the digestive structures, which indicates that the gut played a central role in its own phosphatisation. We hypothesize that the gut provided a microenvironment where special conditions could develop and harboured a source of phosphorus. The fact that gut phosphatization has almost exclusively been observed in arthropods could be explained by their uncommon ability to store ions (including phosphorous) in their digestive tissues. However, in some specimens from the Weeks Formation, the phosphatisation extends to the entire digestive system, suggesting that trilobites might have had some biological particularities not observed in modern arthropods. We speculate that one of them might have been an increased capacity for ion storage in the gut tissues, related to the moulting of their heavily-mineralised carapace

The Osteopontin Level in Liver, Adipose Tissue and Serum Is Correlated with Fibrosis in Patients with Alcoholic Liver Disease

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Osteopontin (OPN) plays an important role in the progression of chronic liver diseases. We aimed to quantify the liver, adipose tissue and serum levels of OPN in heavy alcohol drinkers and to compare them with the histological severity of hepatic inflammation and fibrosis.</p> <h3>Methodology/Principal Findings</h3><p>OPN was evaluated in the serum of a retrospective and prospective group of 109 and 95 heavy alcohol drinkers, respectively, in the liver of 34 patients from the retrospective group, and in the liver and adipose tissue from an additional group of 38 heavy alcohol drinkers. Serum levels of OPN increased slightly with hepatic inflammation and progressively with the severity of hepatic fibrosis. Hepatic OPN expression correlated with hepatic inflammation, fibrosis, TGFβ expression, neutrophils accumulation and with the serum OPN level. Interestingly, adipose tissue OPN expression also correlated with hepatic fibrosis even after 7 days of alcohol abstinence. The elevated serum OPN level was an independent risk factor in estimating significant (F≥2) fibrosis in a model combining alkaline phosphatase, albumin, hemoglobin, OPN and FibroMeter® levels. OPN had an area under the receiving operator curve that estimated significant fibrosis of 0.89 and 0.88 in the retrospective and prospective groups, respectively. OPN, Hyaluronate (AUROC: 0.88), total Cytokeratin 18 (AUROC: 0.83) and FibroMeter® (AUROC: 0.90) estimated significance to the same extent in the retrospective group. Finally, the serum OPN levels also correlated with hepatic fibrosis and estimated significant (F≥2) fibrosis in 86 patients with chronic hepatitis C, which suggested that its elevated level could be a general response to chronic liver injury.</p> <h3>Conclusion/Significance</h3><p>OPN increased in the liver, adipose tissue and serum with liver fibrosis in alcoholic patients. Further, OPN is a new relevant biomarker for significant liver fibrosis. OPN could thus be an important actor in the pathogenesis of this chronic liver disease.</p> </div

Light Emission by Semiconductor Nanostructures in Dielectric Medium or Close to Plane Interface

We review several situations in which the emission rate of a nanostructure is modified by its environment. We first consider small objects embedded in media with different refractive indices. The local electromagnetic field and the rate of spontaneous emission of the nanostructure are enhanced or inhibited by the induced dipole charges on the interface. In quantum wells or nanocrystals embedded in a low dielectric constant medium, the binding energy of excitons is increased. In anisotropic microcrystals, the local field is anisotropic and emission of light is polarized. We consider especially the case of p$\text{}^{+}$-doped porous silicon in which nanocrystals are elongated. Another interesting situation occurs when a dipole is in the vicinity of a dielectric interface. The local field acting on the dipole results from the interferences of incident and reflected beams. Contributions from evanescent waves are important when the dipole is located in the medium of low refractive index, very close to the surface. The intensity of emission and its pattern are modified by the vicinity of the dielectric interface. Close to the interface semiconductor/air, the exciton binding energy is increased. In the vicinity of a metallic surface, a nonradiative transfer to the metal occurs for small distances of the nano-object or quantum well to the surface and the quantum efficiency varies with the distance to the metallic surface. The exciton binding energy of a quantum well is decreased close to a metallic surface

Periodic Behavior of the Exciton Oscillator Strength with AlAs Thickness in Type II GaAs AlAs Heterostructures

For a single GaAs/AlAs/GaAs type II pseudodirect double quantum well, as well as for superlattices it was predicted that the oscillator strength of the lowest optical transition has a periodic dependence on the number of AlAs monolayers. The oscillator strength depends on the coupling between theΓ and X electron states. We use samples containing a single GaAs/AlAs/GaAs double quantum well with thickness gradient to show experimental evidence of this effect. The results concerning theΓ-X coupling are obtained from the study of the ratio of photoluminescence intensities of the zero-phonon line and the phonon replica and from their time decay. They show the monolayer dependence of the Γ-X mixing potential. We extend the model describing the Γ-X coupling for ideal interfaces in the frame of the envelope approximation to the case of non-abrupt interfaces and exciton localization. The amplitude of variation of the radiative recombination time due to the Γ-X mixing is well reproduced within this model

Periodic Behavior of the Exciton Oscillator Strength with AlAs Thickness in Type II GaAs AlAs Heterostructures

For a single GaAs/AlAs/GaAs type II pseudodirect double quantum well, as well as for superlattices it was predicted that the oscillator strength of the lowest optical transition has a periodic dependence on the number of AlAs monolayers. The oscillator strength depends on the coupling between theΓ and X electron states. We use samples containing a single GaAs/AlAs/GaAs double quantum well with thickness gradient to show experimental evidence of this effect. The results concerning theΓ-X coupling are obtained from the study of the ratio of photoluminescence intensities of the zero-phonon line and the phonon replica and from their time decay. They show the monolayer dependence of the Γ-X mixing potential. We extend the model describing the Γ-X coupling for ideal interfaces in the frame of the envelope approximation to the case of non-abrupt interfaces and exciton localization. The amplitude of variation of the radiative recombination time due to the Γ-X mixing is well reproduced within this model