Postfabrication Tuning of Circular Bragg Resonators for Enhanced Emitter-Cavity Coupling.

Solid-state quantum emitters embedded in circular Bragg resonators are attractive due to their ability to emit quantum light with high brightness and low multiphoton probability. As for any emitter-microcavity system, fabrication imperfections limit the spatial and spectral overlap of the emitter with the cavity mode, thus limiting their coupling strength. Here, we show that an initial spectral mismatch can be corrected after device fabrication by repeated wet chemical etching steps.

Signatures of the Optical Stark Effect on Entangled Photon Pairs from Resonantly Pumped Quantum Dots.

Two-photon resonant excitation of the biexciton-exciton cascade in a quantum dot generates highly polarization-entangled photon pairs in a near-deterministic way. However, the ultimate level of achievable entanglement is still debated. Here, we observe the impact of the laser-induced ac-Stark effect on the quantum dot emission spectra and on entanglement.

Escape our Lab: creating an escape room game in the field of materials science and crystallography.

Although many challenges of the 21st century need solutions which are directly connected with the development of new technologies, the preferences of prospective students in Germany are often far from mathematics, physics and chemistry. Moreover, the acceptance and recognition of new achievements in these disciplines are quite low in society, even if these achievements are the basis for the development of new technologies that positively affect daily life. As a part of a campaign intended to increase the number of students in the fields of materials science and materials technology (and related fields), the authors created an escape room focused on materials science and crystallography, which illustrates the approaches used by materials scientists and the beauty of crystallography.

Hydrogen absorption and desorption in the V-Al-H system.

The presented work sets out to investigate the influence of aluminium on the hydrogenation of vanadium by first studying the hydrogenation properties of the V-H system in detail followed by the study of the V-Al-H system. Aluminium was found to have a stabilising effect on vanadium hydride phases. Presumably by functioning as an oxygen getter, aluminium lowers equilibrium pressures and increases hydrogen capacities in respect to the V/H ratio compared to the V-H system.

Beyond the Four-Level Model: Dark and Hot States in Quantum Dots Degrade Photonic Entanglement.

Entangled photon pairs are essential for a multitude of quantum photonic applications. To date, the best performing solid-state quantum emitters of entangled photons are semiconductor quantum dots operated around liquid-helium temperatures. To favor the widespread deployment of these sources, it is important to explore and understand their behavior at temperatures accessible with compact Stirling coolers.

Ideal refocusing of an optically active spin qubit under strong hyperfine interactions.

Combining highly coherent spin control with efficient light-matter coupling offers great opportunities for quantum communication and computing. Optically active semiconductor quantum dots have unparalleled photonic properties but also modest spin coherence limited by their resident nuclei. The nuclear inhomogeneity has thus far bound all dynamical decoupling measurements to a few microseconds.

Two-Photon Excitation Sets Limit to Entangled Photon Pair Generation from Quantum Emitters.

Entangled photon pairs are key to many novel applications in quantum technologies. Semiconductor quantum dots can be used as sources of on-demand, highly entangled photons. The fidelity to a fixed maximally entangled state is limited by the excitonic fine-structure splitting.

Clinical outcome of wild-type AmpC-producing Enterobacterales infection in critically ill patients treated with β-lactams: a prospective multicenter study.

Background: β-lactams are the main antibiotics used against wild-type AmpC-producing Enterobacterales (wtAE). However, they may fail or select AmpC-overproducing mutants. Our aim was to assess factors associated with clinical failure of β-lactams in the treatment of wtAE infection.

Hematites Precipitated in Alkaline Precursors: Comparison of Structural and Textural Properties for Methane Oxidation.

Hematite (α-FeO) catalysts prepared using the precipitation methods was found to be highly effective, and therefore, it was studied with methane (CH), showing an excellent stable performance below 500 °C. This study investigates hematite nanoparticles (NPs) obtained by precipitation in water from the precursor of ferric chloride hexahydrate using precipitating agents NaOH or NHOH at maintained pH 11 and calcined up to 500 °C for the catalytic oxidation of low concentrations of CH (5% by volume in air) at 500 °C to compare their structural state in a CH reducing environment. The conversion (%) of CH values decreasing with time was discussed according to the course of different transformation of goethite and hydrohematites NPs precursors to magnetite and the structural state of the calcined hydrohematites.

In vitro study of factors influencing the duration of antimicrobial protection of antimicrobial-impregnated external ventricular drains.

Background: In vitro and clinical studies assessing the duration of the protective activity of antimicrobial-impregnated external ventricular drains (AI-EVDs) gave conflicting results.

Objectives: To identify factors associated with decreased antimicrobial activity of AI-EVDs that were not taken into account in previous in vitro models.

Methods: We performed in vitro experiments with Bactiseal™ AI-EVDs, under different conditions.

Calcite Nanotuned Chitinous Skeletons of Giant Marine Demosponge.

Marine sponges were among the first multicellular organisms on our planet and have survived to this day thanks to their unique mechanisms of chemical defense and the specific design of their skeletons, which have been optimized over millions of years of evolution to effectively inhabit the aquatic environment. In this work, we carried out studies to elucidate the nature and nanostructural organization of three-dimensional skeletal microfibers of the giant marine demosponge , the body of which is a micro-reticular, durable structure that determines the ideal filtration function of this organism. For the first time, using the battery of analytical tools including three-dimensional micro-X-ray Fluorescence (3D-µXRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infra-red (FTIR), Raman and Near Edge X-ray Fine Structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, we have shown that biomineral calcite is responsible for nano-tuning the skeletal fibers of this sponge species.

Intravenous immunoglobulins in patients with COVID-19-associated moderate-to-severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ICAR): multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial.

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a major complication of COVID-19 and is associated with high mortality and morbidity. We aimed to assess whether intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) could improve outcomes by reducing inflammation-mediated lung injury.

Methods: In this multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, done at 43 centres in France, we randomly assigned patients (1:1) receiving invasive mechanical ventilation for up to 72 h with PCR confirmed COVID-19 and associated moderate-to-severe ARDS to receive either IVIG (2 g/kg over 4 days) or placebo.

Extreme Biomimetics: Designing of the First Nanostructured 3D Spongin-Atacamite Composite and its Application.

The design of new composite materials using extreme biomimetics is of crucial importance for bioinspired materials science. Further progress in research and application of these new materials is impossible without understanding the mechanisms of formation, as well as structural features at the molecular and nano-level. It presents a challenge to obtain a holistic understanding of the mechanisms underlying the interaction of organic and inorganic phases under conditions of harsh chemical reactions for biopolymers.

Quantum cryptography with highly entangled photons from semiconductor quantum dots.

Semiconductor quantum dots are capable of emitting polarization entangled photon pairs with ultralow multipair emission probability even at maximum brightness. Using a quantum dot source with a fidelity as high as 0.987(8), we implement here quantum key distribution with an average quantum bit error rate as low as 1.

Author Correction: Neutron diffraction analysis of stress and strain partitioning in a two-phase microstructure with parallel-aligned phases.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Neutron diffraction analysis of stress and strain partitioning in a two-phase microstructure with parallel-aligned phases.

By time-of-flight (TOF) neutron diffraction experiments, the influence of segregation-induced microstructure bands of austenite (γ) and martensite (α' ) phases on the partitioning of stress and strain between these phases was investigated. Initially, tensile specimens of a Co-added stainless steel were heat treated by quenching and partitioning (Q&P) processing. Tensile specimens were subsequently loaded at 350 °C parallel to the length of the bands within the apparent elastic limit of the phase mixture.

Functionalization of 3D Chitinous Skeletal Scaffolds of Sponge Origin Using Silver Nanoparticles and Their Antibacterial Properties.

Chitin, as one of nature's most abundant structural polysaccharides, possesses worldwide, high industrial potential and a functionality that is topically pertinent. Nowadays, the metallization of naturally predesigned, 3D chitinous scaffolds originating from marine sponges is drawing focused attention. These invertebrates represent a unique, renewable source of specialized chitin due to their ability to grow under marine farming conditions.

3D Chitin Scaffolds of Marine Demosponge Origin for Biomimetic Mollusk Hemolymph-Associated Biomineralization .

Structure-based tissue engineering requires large-scale 3D cell/tissue manufacture technologies, to produce biologically active scaffolds. Special attention is currently paid to naturally pre-designed scaffolds found in skeletons of marine sponges, which represent a renewable resource of biomaterials. Here, an innovative approach to the production of mineralized scaffolds of natural origin is proposed.

Structure assembly regularities in vapour-deposited gold-fullerene mixture films.

Self-assembly is an attractive phenomenon that, with proper handling, can enable the production of sophisticated hybrid nanostructures with sub-nm-scale precision. The importance of this phenomenon is particularly notable in the fabrication of metal-organic nanomaterials as promising substances for spintronic devices. The exploitation of self-assembly in nanofabrication requires a comprehension of atomic processes creating hybrid nanostructures.

A Systematic Literature Review on Water Insecurity from an Oregon Public Health Perspective.

This paper systematically reviews existing United States-based water insecurity literature with the goal of understanding the evidence base for developing public health water insecurity intervention strategies in Oregon. The authors conducted the systematic literature review using an adjusted PRISMA reporting checklist to document the review process. Results find 11 public health-related water insecurity interventions including surveillance practices and indicator and policy development.

Resolving the temporal evolution of line broadening in single quantum emitters.

Light emission from solid-state quantum emitters is inherently prone to environmental decoherence, which results in a line broadening and in the deterioration of photon indistinguishability. Here we employ photon correlation Fourier spectroscopy (PCFS) to study the temporal evolution of such a broadening in two prominent systems: GaAs and In(Ga)As quantum dots. Differently from previous experiments, the emitters are driven with short laser pulses as required for the generation of high-purity single photons, the time scales we probe range from a few nanoseconds to milliseconds and, simultaneously, the spectral resolution we achieve can be as small as ∼ 2µeV.

Entanglement Swapping with Photons Generated on Demand by a Quantum Dot.

Photonic entanglement swapping, the procedure of entangling photons without any direct interaction, is a fundamental test of quantum mechanics and an essential resource to the realization of quantum networks. Probabilistic sources of nonclassical light were used for seminal demonstration of entanglement swapping, but applications in quantum technologies demand push-button operation requiring single quantum emitters. This, however, turned out to be an extraordinary challenge due to the stringent prerequisites on the efficiency and purity of the generation of entangled states.