Generation of time-multiplexed chiroptical information from multilayer-type luminescence-based circular polarization conversion films

時間変化する円偏光スペクトルの生成と読み出しに成功 --光記録や偽造防止技術への円偏光利用に期待--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2024-02-09.Circularly polarized (CP) light generated from photoluminescence (PL) has great potential for the transmission of diverse forms of optical information including light intensity (brightness), spectral profile (color), and polarization (left-handed (LH)/right-handed (RH)), as well as temporal information corresponding to the PL lifetime of the CP light source. However, a systematic approach to the design of CP light-generating materials for the conveyance of time-multiplexed chiroptical information has not yet been reported. Herein, we demonstrate a novel approach to time-multiplexing chiroptical information using multilayered luminescence-based CP convertors comprising two linearly polarized luminescence (LPL) films with different PL lifetimes and a quarter-wave retardation film. We prepared LPL films with short and long PL lifetimes by stretching films comprising poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1, 4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV) and CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum rod (QR) luminogens, respectively. We then fabricated four types of multilayered luminescence-based CP convertors by laminating the LPLMEH-PPV and LPLQR films with quarter-wave retardation films, so that the azimuthal angles between the polarization axes of the LPL films and the fast axes of the quarter-wave films differed in each case. The resulting CP light comprised short- and long-lifetime components. Subsequently, we used a time-resolved spectroscopic technique to extract time-multiplexed chiroptical information from changes in the time-course of the spectral profile of the LH- and RH-CP light. The time-varying of CP light profiles were thereby read-out as time-multiplexed chiroptical information. Our findings will pave the way for the design of CP light-generating materials for conveying time-multiplexed chiroptical information

Status of adult outpatients with congenital heart disease in Japan: The Japanese Network of Cardiovascular Departments for Adult Congenital Heart Disease Registry

BackgroundThe Japanese Network of Cardiovascular Departments for Adult Congenital Heart Disease (JNCVD-ACHD) was founded in 2011 for the lifelong care of adult patients with congenital heart disease (ACHD patients). This network maintains the first Japanese ACHD registry.Methods and resultsFrom 2011 to 2019, the JNCVD-ACHD registered 54 institutions providing specialized care for ACHD patients in 32 of the 47 prefectures in Japan. The registry collected data on the disease profile for 24,048 patients from 50 institutions and the patient characteristics for 9743 patients from 24 institutions. The most common ACHDs were atrial septal defect (20.5 %), ventricular septal defect (20.5 %), tetralogy of Fallot (12.9 %), and univentricular heart (UVH)/single ventricle (SV; 6.6 %). ACHD patients without biventricular repair accounted for 37.0 % of the population. Also examined were the serious anatomical and/or pathophysiological disorders such as pulmonary arterial hypertension (3.0 %) including Eisenmenger syndrome (1.2 %), systemic right ventricle under biventricular circulation (sRV-2VC; 2.8 %), and Fontan physiology (6.0 %). The sRV-2VC cases comprised congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries without anatomical repair (61.9 %) and transposition of the great arteries with atrial switching surgery (38.1 %). The primary etiology (86.4 %) for Fontan physiology was UVH/SV. In addition, developmental/chromosomal/genetic disorders were heterotaxy syndromes (asplenia, 0.9 %; polysplenia, 0.7 %), trisomy 21 (4.0 %), 22q11.2 deletion (0.9 %), Turner syndrome (0.2 %), and Marfan syndrome (1.1 %).ConclusionsAlthough the specific management of ACHD has systematically progressed in Japan, this approach is still evolving. For ideal ACHD care, the prospective goals for the JNCVD-ACHD are to create local networks and provide a resource for multicenter clinical trials to support evidence-based practice

Formulation of Bicelles Based on Lecithin-Nonionic Surfactant Mixtures

Bicelles have been intensively studied for use as drug delivery carriers and in biological studies, but their preparation with low-cost materials and via a simple process would allow their use for other purposes as well. Herein, bicelles were prepared through a semi-spontaneous method using a mixture of hydrogenated soybean lecithin (SL) and a nonionic surfactant, polyoxyethylene cholesteryl ether (ChEO10), and then we investigated the effect of composition and temperature on the structure of bicelles, which is important to design tailored systems. As the fraction of ChEO10 (XC) was increased, a bimodal particle size distribution with a small particle size of several tens of nanometers and a large particle size of several hundred nanometers was obtained, and only small particles were observed when XC ≥ 0.6, suggesting the formation of significant structure transition (liposomes to bicelles). The small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) spectrum for these particles fitted a core-shell bicelle model, providing further evidence of bicelle formation. A transition from a monomodal to a bimodal size distribution occurred as the temperature was increased, with this transition taking place at lower temperatures when higher SL-ChEO10 concentrations were used. SANS showed that this temperature-dependent size change was reversible, suggesting the SL-ChEO10 bicelles were stable against temperature, hence making them suitable for several applications

Magnetotelluric transect of Unzen graben, Japan: conductors associated with normal faults

Abstract We conducted a broadband magnetotelluric (MT) survey along a north–south transect across Unzen graben, Japan. The MT survey line is located ~ 2 km west of the most recent lava dome and consisted of 27 stations along a 9-km profile. We estimated the 3-D resistivity structure and correlated it with the seismic reflection structure obtained by the same survey line as in the present study. The best-fit resistivity structure shows an upper resistive layer underlain by a moderately conductive layer. The resistive layer, which is interpreted as a cold groundwater zone, is cut by four faults marked by their relatively high conductivity. The underlying layer, which is interpreted as a hydrothermal-water-rich layer, also shows relatively conductive values near the faults. By assuming that the faults are imaged as relatively conductive zones, we infer the dip and depth extent of fracture zones around the faults. Beneath the Chijiwa Fault, which is the longest and most active fault of Unzen graben, the dominant conductor (C1) has a width of 2 km and extends down to below 4 km depth. C1 corresponds to a zone of strong seismic reflection and is located close to one of the pressure sources causing surface deformation. In this study, we interpret C1 as a network of fractures generated by the Chijiwa Fault to which magmatic volatiles are supplied from a deeper pressure source. Given that C1 extends to a greater depth and its resistivity is lower than other conductive zones, it is possible that earthquakes have occurred repeatedly on the Chijiwa Fault. In the center of the study area, we identify a vertically oriented body of high resistivity (R1) that corresponds to a zone of low seismic reflectivity. We interpret R1 as a cooled dyke complex that may have acted as a volcanic conduit