Proton Compton Scattering from Linearly Polarized Gamma Rays.

Differential cross sections for Compton scattering from the proton have been measured at scattering angles of 55°, 90°, and 125° in the laboratory frame using quasimonoenergetic linearly (circularly) polarized photon beams with a weighted mean energy value of 83.4 MeV (81.3 MeV). These measurements were performed at the High Intensity Gamma-Ray Source facility at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory. The results are compared to previous measurements and are interpreted in the chiral effective field theory framework to extract the electromagnetic dipole polarizabilities of the proton, which gives α_{E1}^{p}=13.8±1.2_{stat}±0.1_{BSR}±0.3_{theo},ß_{M1}^{p}=0.2∓1.2_{stat}±0.1_{BSR}∓0.3_{theo} in units of 10^{-4} fm^{3}.

Shape-controlling effects of hydrohalic and carboxylic acids in TiO2 nanoparticle synthesis.

The ability to synthesize nanoparticles (NPs), here TiO2, of different shapes in a controlled and reproducible way is of high significance for a wide range of fields including catalysis and materials design. Different NP shapes exhibit variations of emerging facets, and processes such as adsorption, diffusion, and catalytic activity are, in general, facet sensitive. Therefore, NP properties, e.g., the reactivity of NPs or the stability of assembled NPs, depend on their shape. We combine computational modeling based on density functional theory with experimental techniques such as transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and x-ray powder diffraction to investigate the ability of various adsorbates, including hydrohalic and carboxylic acids, to influence NP shape. This approach allows us to identify mechanisms stabilizing specific surface facets and thus to predict NP shapes using computational model systems and to experimentally characterize the synthesized NPs in detail. Shape-controlled anatase TiO2 NPs are synthesized here in agreement with the calculations in platelet and bi-pyramidal shapes by employing different precursors. The importance of the physical conditions and chemical environment during synthesis, e.g., via competitive adsorption or changes in the chemical potentials, is studied via ab initio thermodynamics, which allows us to set previous and new results in a broader context and to highlight potentials for additional synthesis routes and NP shapes.

An XROMM Study of Food Transport and Swallowing in Channel Catfish.

Most predatory ray-finned fishes swallow their food whole, which can pose a significant challenge, given that prey items can be half as large as the predators themselves. How do fish transport captured food from the mouth to the stomach? Prior work indicates that, in general, fish use the pharyngeal jaws to manipulate food into the esophagus, where peristalsis is thought to take over. We used X-Ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology to track prey transport in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). By reconstructing the 3D motions of both the food and the catfish, we were able to track how the catfish move food through the head and into the stomach. Food enters the oral cavity at high velocities as a continuation of suction and stops in the approximate location of the branchial basket before moving in a much slower, more complex path toward the esophagus. This slow phase coincides with little motion in the head and no substantial mouth opening or hyoid depression. Once the prey is in the esophagus, however, its transport is surprisingly tightly correlated with gulping motions (hyoid depression, girdle retraction, hypaxial shortening, and mouth opening) of the head. Although the transport mechanism itself remains unknown, to our knowledge, this is the first description of synchrony between cranial expansion and esophageal transport in a fish. Our results provide direct evidence of prey transport within the esophagus and suggest that peristalsis may not be the sole mechanism of esophageal transport in catfish.

Excitation wavelength dependence of the photoluminescence quantum yield and decay behavior of CdSe/CdS quantum dot/quantum rods with different aspect ratios.

The excitation wavelength (λexc) dependence of the photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (ΦPL) and decay behavior (τPL) of a series of CdSe/CdS quantum dot/quantum rods (QDQRs), consisting of the same spherical CdSe core and rod-shaped CdS shells, with aspect ratios ranging from 2 to 20 was characterized. λexc between 400-565 nm were chosen to cover the first excitonic absorption band of the CdSe core material, the onset of absorption of the CdS shell, and the region of predominant shell absorption. A strong λexc dependence of relative and absolutely measured ΦPL and τPL was found particularly for the longer QDQRs with higher aspect ratios. This is attributed to combined contributions from a length-dependent shell-to-core exciton localization efficiency, an increasing number of defect states within the shell for the longest QDQRs, and probably also the presence of absorbing, yet non-emitting shell material. Although the ΦPL values of the QDQRs decrease at shorter wavelength, the extremely high extinction coefficients introduced by the shell outweigh this effect, leading to significantly higher brightness values at wavelengths below the absorption onset of the CdS shell compared with direct excitation of the CdSe cores. Moreover, our results present also an interesting example for the comparability of absolutely measured ΦPL using an integrating sphere setup and ΦPL values measured relative to common ΦPL standards, and underline the need for a correction for particle scattering for QDQRs with high aspect ratios.

Effective PEGylation of gold nanorods.

Standard procedures to coat gold nanorods (AuNR) with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based ligands are not reliable and high PEG-grafting densities are not achieved. In this work, the ligand exchange of AuNR with PEGMUA, a tailored PEG-ligand bearing a C10 alkylene spacer, is studied. PEGMUA provides AuNR with very high stability against oxidative etching with cyanide. This etching reaction is utilized to study the ligand exchange in detail. Ligand exchange is faster, less ligand consuming and more reproducible with assisting chloroform extraction. Compared to PEG ligands commonly used, PEGMUA provides much higher colloidal and chemical stability. Further analyses based on NMR-, IR- and UV/Vis-spectroscopy reveal that significantly higher PEG-grafting densities, up to ∼3 nm(-2), are obtained with PEGMUA. This demonstrates how the molecular structure of the PEG ligand can be used to dramatically improve the ligand exchange and to synthesize PEGylated AuNR with high chemical and colloidal stability and high PEG grafting densities. Such AuNR are especially interesting for applications in nanomedicine.

Tungsten band edge absorber/emitter based on a monolayer of ceramic microspheres.

We report on a band edge absorber/emitter design for high-temperature applications based on an unstructured tungsten substrate and a monolayer of ceramic microspheres. The absorber was fabricated as a monolayer of ZrO(2) microparticles on a tungsten layer with a HfO(2) nanocoating. The band edge of the absorption is based on critically coupled microsphere resonances. It can be tuned from visible to near-infrared range by varying the diameter of the microparticles. The absorption properties were found to be stable up to 1000°C.

[Palliative home care in Westfalia-Lippe--baseline study 12 and 36 months after coming into effect of the "agreement to the implementation of ambulant home palliative careforterminally ill patients"]. / Ambulante Palliativversorgung in Westfalen-Lippe--Strukturierte Bestandsaufnahme 12 und 36 Monate nach Inkrafttreten der "Vereinbarung zur Umsetzung der ambulanten palliativmedizinischen Versorgung von unheilbar Kranken im häuslichen Umfeld".

BACKGROUND: On 2009-04-01 the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians Westfalia-Lippe and health insurance organizations made an agreement to implement palliative home care for terminally ill patients. Based on this agreement, family doctors and palliativecardoctorscooperate,supported by coordinators. METHOD: 12 and 36 months after coming into effect of the agreement a questionnaire was sent to the regional palliative care networks to collect data about supply structure, number of patients and their place of death. RESULTS: In the year 2011 85,410 people died in Westfalia-Lippe, 9.0% of them were included in palliative care structures. 69.5% of the included patients died at home, 9.9% in hospital (in 2010: 68.7% at home, 14.7% in hospital). A correlation between the population density or the number of included patients per palliative networkcould not be detected. CONCLUSION: Low-threshold access to palliative care networks(bothfamilydoctorand patientcancontact the palliative care team at any time) improves ambulant palliative care. Non-bureaucratic change from general home palliative care (German abbreviation: AAPV) to specialized home palliative care (SAPV) has proven successful in Westfalia-Lippe. Well-trained and experienced coordinators guarantee multidisciplinary and multiprofessional working of palliative care teams. In order to enhance palliative care in Westfalia-Lippe, data for quality assurance should be defined, periodically collected and evaluated in the future.

Unambiguous identification of the second 2+ state in 12C and the structure of the Hoyle state.

The second J(π)=2+ state of 12C, predicted over 50 years ago as an excitation of the Hoyle state, has been unambiguously identified using the 12C(γ,α0)(8)Be reaction. The alpha particles produced by the photodisintegration of 12C were detected using an optical time projection chamber. Data were collected at beam energies between 9.1 and 10.7 MeV using the intense nearly monoenergetic gamma-ray beams at the HIγS facility. The measured angular distributions determine the cross section and the E1-E2 relative phases as a function of energy leading to an unambiguous identification of the second 2+ state in 12C at 10.03(11) MeV, with a total width of 800(130) keV and a ground state gamma-decay width of 60(10) meV; B(E2:2(2)+→0(1)+)=0.73(13)e(2) fm(4) [or 0.45(8) W.u.]. The Hoyle state and its rotational 2+ state that are more extended than the ground state of 12C presents a challenge and constraints for models attempting to reveal the nature of three alpha-particle states in 12C. Specifically, it challenges the ab initio lattice effective field theory calculations that predict similar rms radii for the ground state and the Hoyle state.

First measurements of spin-dependent double-differential cross sections and the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Integrand from 3He(γ,n)pp at incident photon energies of 12.8 and 14.7 MeV.

The first measurement of the three-body photodisintegration of longitudinally polarized (3)He with a circularly polarized γ-ray beam was carried out at the High Intensity γ-ray Source facility located at Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory. The spin-dependent double-differential cross sections and the contributions from the three-body photodisintegration to the (3)He Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integrand are presented and compared with state-of-the-art three-body calculations at the incident photon energies of 12.8 and 14.7 MeV. The data reveal the importance of including the Coulomb interaction between protons in three-body calculations.

New method for precise determination of the isovector giant quadrupole resonances in nuclei.

The intense, nearly monoenergetic, 100% polarized γ-ray beams available at the HIγS facility, along with the realization that the E1-E2 interference term that appears in the Compton scattering polarization observable has opposite signs in the forward and backward angles, make it possible to obtain an order-of-magnitude improvement in the determination of the parameters of the isovector giant quadrupole resonance (IVGQR). Accurate IVGQR parameters will lead to a more detailed knowledge of the symmetry energy in the nuclear equation of state which is important for understanding nuclear matter under extreme conditions such as those present in neutron stars. Our new method is demonstrated for the case of (209)Bi.

Room-temperature exciton storage in elongated semiconductor nanocrystals.

The excited state of colloidal nanoheterostructures consisting of a spherical CdSe nanocrystal with an epitaxially attached CdS rod can be perturbed effectively by electric fields. Field-induced fluorescence quenching coincides with a conversion of the excited state species from the bright exciton to a metastable trapped state (dark exciton) characterized by a power-law luminescence decay. The conversion is reversible so that up to 10% of quenched excitons recombine radiatively post turn-off of a 1 micro s field pulse, increasing the delayed luminescence by a factor of 80. Excitons can be stored for up to 10(5) times the natural lifetime, opening up applications in optical memory elements.

Wave function engineering in elongated semiconductor nanocrystals with heterogeneous carrier confinement.

We explore two routes to wave function engineering in elongated colloidal CdSe/CdS quantum dots, providing deep insight into the intrinsic physics of these low-dimensional heterostructures. Varying the aspect ratio of the nanoparticle allows control over the electron-hole overlap (radiative rate), and external electric fields manipulate the interaction between the delocalized electron and the localized hole. In agreement with theory, this leads to an exceptional size dependent quantum confined Stark effect with field induced intensity modulations, opening applications as electrically switchable single photon sources.

The effect of nanocrystal surface structure on the luminescence properties: photoemission study of HF-etched InP nanocrystals.

InP nanocrystals with narrow size distribution and mean particle diameter tunable from approximately 2 up to approximately 7 nm were synthesized via the dehalosilylation reaction between InCl3 and tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphine. Specific capping of the nanocrystal surface with a shell of organic ligands protects the nanocrystals from oxidation and provides solubility of the particles in various organic solvents. InP nanocrystals with enhanced photoluminescence (PL) efficiency were obtained from the initial nanocrystals by photoassisted etching of the nanocrystal surface with HF. The resulting PL quantum efficiency of InP nanocrystals dispersed in n-butanol is about three orders of magnitude higher when compared to the nonetched InP samples and approaches approximately 40% at room temperature. High-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy with the use of synchrotron radiation was applied to reveal the changes of the nanocrystal surface responsible for the dramatic improvement of the PL efficiency. The analysis of high-resolution P 2p core-level spectra confirmed significant changes of the nanocrystal surface structure induced by the postpreparative treatments and allowed us to propose the description of the etching mechanism. In the nonetched InP nanocrystals, some surface P atoms generate energy states located inside the band gap which provide nonradiative recombination pathways. Photoassisted treatment of InP nanocrystals with HF results in selective removal of these phosphorous atoms from the nanocrystal surface. The reconstructed surface of the etched InP nanocrystals is terminated mainly with In atoms and is efficiently passivated with tri-n-octylphosphine oxide ligands.

Photoelectron spectroscopic investigations of chemical bonding in organically stabilized PbS nanocrystals.

The surface structure of organically capped PbS nanocrystals using synchrotron radiation excited core-level photoelectron spectroscopy has been studied. The nanocrystallites prepared by methods of colloidal chemistry have average diameters of 3.1, 3.9, 4.6, and 7.6 nm with narrow size distributions and are stabilized either with oleic acid only or with a combination of trioctylphosphine and oleic acid as ligands. High resolution photoelectron spectroscopy measurements allowed the surface structure to be studied and in particular how the organic ligands bind to the surface of the PbS nanocrystals to be elucidated. The results indicate that the trioctylphosphine ligands passivate only the surface S sites while oleic acid ligands appear to bind mainly to Pb sites.

Inside Front Cover: Polarized-Light-Emitting Quantum-Rod Diodes (Adv. Mater. 11/2005).

Polarized-light-emitting quantum-rod diodes have been successfully produced using thin layers of quantum rods oriented by a rubbing technique, as shown on the inside cover. Hikmet and co-workers report on p. 1436 that diode emission at 620 nm with a luminance efficiency of 0.65 cd A-1 and an external quantum efficiency of 0.49 % is obtained. Light emitted polarized parallel to the long axis of the rods is 1.5 times more intense than that polarized perpendicular to the rods.

Polarized-Light-Emitting Quantum-Rod Diodes.

For the first time, polarized-light-emitting quantum-rod diodes have been successfully produced, using thin layers of quantum rods oriented by a rubbing technique. Diode emission at 620 nm with a luminance efficiency of 0.65 Cd A-1 and an external quantum efficiency of 0.49 % is obtained.

Monitoring surface charge movement in single elongated semiconductor nanocrystals.

We demonstrate a universal correlation between the spectral linewidth and position of the excitonic transition in the spectral jitter observed from single elongated colloidal quantum dots. Breaking the symmetry of electron and hole confinement as well as of the spatial directions for surface charge diffusion enables us to microscopically track meandering surface charges, providing a novel probe of the particle's nanoenvironment. Spectral diffusion exhibits only a weak temperature dependence, which allows us to uncover the single particle homogeneous linewidth of 50 meV at room temperature.

First measurement of the double spin asymmetry in (-->)e(-->)p-->e(prime)pi(+)n in the resonance region.

The double spin asymmetry in the (-->)e(-->)p --> e(prime)pi(+)n reaction has been measured for the first time in the resonance region for four-momentum transfer Q2 = 0.35-1.5 GeV(2). Data were taken at Jefferson Lab with the CLAS detector using a 2.6 GeV polarized electron beam incident on a polarized solid NH3 target. Comparison with predictions of phenomenological models shows strong sensitivity to resonance contributions. Helicity-1/2 transitions are found to be dominant in the second and third resonance regions. The measured asymmetry is consistent with a faster rise with Q(2) of the helicity asymmetry A1 for the F(15)(1680) resonance than expected from the analysis of the unpolarized data.

Parity measurements of nuclear levels using a free-electron-laser generated gamma-ray beam.

The quality and intensity of gamma rays at the High Intensity gamma-ray Source are shown to make nuclear resonance fluorescence studies possible at a new level of precision and efficiency. First experiments have been carried out using an intense (10(7) gamma/s) beam of 100% linearly polarized, nearly monoenergetic, gamma rays on the semimagic nucleus (138)Ba. Negative parity quantum numbers have been assigned to 18 dipole excitations of (138)Ba between 5.5 MeV and 6.5 MeV from azimuthal gamma-intensity asymmetries.