BINA

SwissSPAD3 is the latest of a family of widefield time-gated SPAD imagers developed for fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLI) applications. Its distinctive features are (i) the ability to define shorter gates than its predecessors (width W < 1 ns), (ii) support for laser repetition rates up to at least 80 MHz and (iii) a dual-gate architecture providing an effective duty cycle of 100%. We present widefield macroscopic FLI measurements of short lifetime NIR dyes, analyzed using the phasor approach. The results are compared with those previously obtained with SwissSPAD2 and to theoretical predictions.

The advent of functional devices based on two-dimensional (2D) materials has further intensified the interest in the latter. However, the fabrication of structures using layered materials remains a key challenge. Recently, we proposed the so-called “Laser-Induced Transfer” method (LIT), as a digital and solvent-free approach for the high-resolution and intact transfer of 2D materials’ pixels. Here, we will further highlight the versatility of LIT by reporting results on the high-quality digital transfer of graphene and MoS2. These materials have emerged in the field of nanoelectronics, sensors and photonics due to their unique optoelectronic properties, but their high-quality transfer remains a hurdle. The quality of the transferred films has been confirmed with systematic characterization based on Scanning Electron Microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, as well as mobility’s extraction. Then we will present how the laser …

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is characterized by aggressive local invasion and metastatic spread, leading to high lethality. Although driver gene mutations during PDA progression are conserved, no specific mutation is correlated with the dissemination of metastases–. Here we analysed RNA splicing data of a large cohort of primary and metastatic PDA tumours to identify differentially spliced events that correlate with PDA progression. De novo motif analysis of these events detected enrichment of motifs with high similarity to the RBFOX2 motif. Overexpression of RBFOX2 in a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) metastatic PDA cell line drastically reduced the metastatic potential of these cells in vitro and in vivo, whereas depletion of RBFOX2 in primary pancreatic tumour cell lines increased the metastatic potential of these cells. These findings support the role of RBFOX2 as a potent metastatic suppressor in …

Unconventional superconductivity was realized in systems comprising a monolayer of magnetic adatoms adsorbed on conventional superconductors, forming Shiba‐bands. Another approach to induce unconventional superconductivity and 2D Shiba‐bands was recently introduced, namely, by adsorbing chiral molecules (ChMs) on conventional superconductors, which act in a similar way to magnetic impurities as verified by conductance spectroscopy. However, the fundamental effect ChMs have on the strength of superconductivity has not yet been directly observed and mapped. In this work, local magnetic susceptometry is applied on heterostructures comprising islands of ChMs (α‐helix L‐polyalanine) monolayers adsorbed on Nb. It is found that the ChMs alter the superconducting landscape, resulting in spatially‐modulated weaker superconductivity. Surprisingly, the reduced diamagnetic response is located …

Cisplatin (CP) is the first-line standard of care for bladder cancer. However, a significant percentage of advanced bladder cancer patients are ineligible to receive standard CP treatment, due to the drug’s toxicity, and in particular its nephrotoxicity. These patients currently face suboptimal therapeutic options with lower efficacy. To overcome this limitation, here we designed CP-conjugated gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with specific properties that prevent renal toxicity, and concurrently preserve the therapeutic efficacy of CP. Safety and efficacy of the particles were studied in bladder tumor-bearing mice, using clinically-relevant fractionated or non-fractionated dosing regimens. A non-fractionated high dose of CP-GNP showed long-term intratumoral accumulation, blocked tumor growth, and nullified the lethal effect of CP. Treatment with fractionated lower doses of CP-GNP was also superior to an equivalent treatment with free CP, demonstrating both anti-tumor efficacy and prolonged mouse survival. Moreover, as opposed to free drug, CP-conjugated GNPs did not cause fibrosis or necrosis in kidney. These results indicate that conjugating CP to GNPs can serve as an effective, combined anti-cancer and renoprotective approach, and thus has potential to widen the range of patients eligible for CP-based therapy.

We demonstrate that the direction of current rectification via one of nature’s most efficient light-harvesting systems, the photosystem 1 complex (PS1), can be controlled by its orientation on Au substrates. Molecular self-assembly of the PS1 complex using four different linkers with distinct functional head groups that interact by electrostatic and hydrogen bonds with different surface parts of the entire protein PS1 complex was used to tailor the PS1 orientation. We observe an orientation-dependent rectification in the current–voltage characteristics for linker/PS1 molecule junctions. Results of an earlier study using a surface two-site PS1 mutant complex having its orientation set by covalent binding to the Au substrate supports our conclusion. Current–voltage–temperature measurements on the linker/PS1 complex indicate off-resonant tunneling as the main electron transport mechanism. Our ultraviolet photoemission …

The coherent dynamics in networks of coupled oscillators is of great interest in wave-physics since the coupling produces various dynamical effects, such as coherent energy exchange (beats) between the oscillators. However, it is common wisdom that these coherent dynamics are transients that quickly decay in active oscillators (e.g. lasers) since pump saturation causes mode competition that results, for homogeneous gain, in the prevalence of the single winning mode. We observe that pump saturation in coupled parametric oscillators counter-intuitively encourages the multi-mode dynamics of beating and indefinitely preserves it, despite the existence of mode competition. We explore in detail the coherent dynamics of a pair of coupled parametric oscillators with a shared pump and arbitrary coupling in a radio frequency (RF) experiment, as well as in simulation. Specifically, we realize two parametric oscillators as …

Disordered metallic nanostructures have features that are not realized in well‐defined nanometallic counterparts, such as broadband light localization and inhomogeneous refraction index at the nanoscale. Disordered metal systems with a networked inner architecture have both particles and voids with subwavelength dimensions which are randomly 3D organized in space. These disordered structures are benefited from high surface area and damage stability, permit guest materials permeability, and can be achieved in large scales employing less costs and expertise. Their abundant nanosize gaps and sharp tips can interact with incident light over a broadband range to generate a rich pattern of hot‐spots and can therefore function as an artificial leaf, for example. Here, the linear and nonlinear optical properties of both well‐defined and disordered plasmonic structures are reviewed with a focus on largescale 3D …

Bell inequalities are one of the cornerstones of quantum foundations, and fundamental tools for quantum technologies. Recently, the scientific community worldwide has put a lot of effort towards them, which culminated with loophole-free experiments. Nonetheless, none of the experimental tests so far was able to extract information on the full inequality from each entangled pair, since the wave function collapse forbids performing, on the same quantum state, all the measurements needed for evaluating the entire Bell parameter. We present here the first single-pair Bell inequality test, able to obtain a Bell parameter value for every entangled pair detected. This is made possible by exploiting sequential weak measurements, allowing to measure non-commuting observables in sequence on the same state, on each entangled particle. Such an approach not only grants unprecedented measurement capability, but also removes the need to choose between different measurement bases, intrinsically eliminating the freedom-of-choice loophole and stretching the concept of counterfactual-definiteness (since it allows measuring in the otherwise not-chosen bases). We also demonstrate how, after the Bell parameter measurement, the pair under test still presents a noteworthy amount of entanglement, providing evidence of the absence of (complete) wave function collapse and allowing to exploit this quantum resource for further protocols.

Although direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have been spotlighted in the past decade, their commercialization has been hampered by the poor efficiency of the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) due to the unsatisfactory performance of currently available electrocatalysts. Herein, we developed a binder-free, copper-based, self-supported electrode consisting of a heterostructure of Cu3P and mixed copper oxides, i.e., cuprous–cupric oxide (Cu-O), as a high-performance catalyst for the electro-oxidation of methanol. We synthesized a self-supported electrode composed of Cu-O|Cu3P using a two-furnace atmospheric pressure–chemical vapor deposition (AP-CVD) process. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed the formation of 3D nanocrystals with defects and pores. Cu-O|Cu3P outperformed the MOR activity of individual Cu3P and Cu-O owing to the synergistic interaction between them. Cu3P|Cu-O exhibited a highest anodic current density of 232.5 mAcm−2 at the low potential of 0.65 V vs. Hg/HgO, which is impressive and superior to the electrocatalytic activity of its individual counterparts. The formation of defects, 3D morphology, and the synergistic effect between Cu3P and Cu-O play a crucial role in facilitating the electron transport between electrode and electrolyte to obtain the optimal MOR activity. Cu-O|Cu3P shows outstanding MOR stability for about 3600 s with 100% retention of the current density, which proves its robustness alongside CO intermediate.

Introduced here are new hybrid benzocorrole ligands, displaying both the cavity size of corroles and the dianionic character of porphyrins. Nonaromatic and yet sporting deceptively porphyrin-like optical spectra, they are readily accessible via a simple three-step synthetic protocol.

Fer and its sperm and cancer specific variant, FerT, are non-receptor tyrosine kinases which play roles in cancer progression and metastasis. Recent studies have shed light on the regulatory role of these kinases in ensuring proper sperm function. Comparison of the regulatory cascades in which Fer and FerT are engaged in sperm and cancer cells presents an interesting picture, in which similar regulatory interactions of these enzymes are integrated in a similar or different regulatory context in the two cell types. These diverse compositions extend from the involvement of Fer in modulation of actin cytoskeleton integrity and function, to the unique regulatory interactions of Fer with PARP-1 and the PP1 phosphatase. Furthermore, recent findings link the metabolic regulatory roles of Fer and FerT in sperm and cancer cells. In the current review, we discuss the above detailed aspects, which portray Fer and FerT as new regulatory links between sperm and malignant cells. This perspective view can endow us with new analytical and research tools that will deepen our understanding of the regulatory trajectories and networks that govern these two multi-layered systems.

Corrosion resistance, porous structure and high surface area are becoming more and more significant as electrode properties in long-term operation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. In this work, high surface area, porous titanium-based ceramic compound was synthesized via the facile modified urea glass method (mUGM) and utilized as electrocatalyst support for oxygen resection reaction (ORR) in fuel cells cathodes. The as-prepared compound was found to have surface area and crystallite sizes of the scale of carbon black (CB) with strong dependency on the Ti precursor to urea molar ratio. N–C bonds were found to be involved, as suggested from the X-ray photoelectron spectra, and little to-no residual bulk carbon was found in the samples (X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy). After deposition of Pt metal catalyst, the ceramic-based system demonstrated superior ORR activity and fuel cell …

We report the observation of coherent oscillations in conversion efficiency of weakly bound dimers formed from a thermal gas of ultracold atoms. Finite thermal energy of the gas causes loss of coherence when a broad continuum is resonantly coupled to a discrete bound state. Restoration of the coherence can be achieved through nonadiabatic transitions of the dressed molecular energy level that are induced by a strong modulation pulse with fast envelope dynamics. Conditions to observe coherent oscillations are verified and control of their properties is demonstrated. The main experimental findings are supported by theoretical modeling and numerical calculations. The observed results may lead to a renewed interest in general studies of a discrete energy level coupled to a broadband continuum when the properties of both are fully controlled.

Sending an ultrafast pulse in multimode fiber can lead to nonlinear interactions between the modes. When sending such a pulse in graded-index fibers there are cases where all the energy is transferring from the high-order modes into the lowest one. This effect is called modal self-cleaning. We developed a multimode time-lens, which measures the temporal and spatial dynamics of ultrafast signals in multimode fibers. With our system, we can detect the dynamics of each mode in time with high temporal resolution, and identify which mode is coupled to which and how the energy transfers between them. In this talk, We will present our measurement system in details and describe our novel results on modal self-cleaning. We will also comment on other multimode effects which our system can measure for the first time.

All‐solid‐state lithium batteries (ASSLBs) are considered as an alternative solution to lithium‐ion batteries, because of their safety and high theoretical energy density. Argyrodite‐based solid‐electrolytes (SEs), Li6PS5X (X = Cl, Cl0.5Br0.5 or Br), are promising candidates for ASSLBs. Most of the previous reports have used Li6PS5Cl as the default SE composition. Here, the electrochemical behavior of three different argyrodites with Cl− or Br−, or both, as the halogen is systematically studied. Using LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 as a model cathode, the behavior of these SEs in ASSLB cells is also studied. SEs containing Br show higher near‐room‐temperature ionic conductivity (>2 mS cm−1) and the critical current density (≥1 mA cm−2) during Li plating/stripping, and are stable up to 5 V versus Li/Li+. Li6PS5Br gives the best electrochemical performance in terms of C‐rate and long‐term cycling among the three …

Geometry, an ancient yet vibrant branch of mathematics, has important and far-reaching impacts on various disciplines such as art, science, and engineering. Here, we introduce an emerging concept dubbed “geometric deep optical sensing” that is based on a number of recent demonstrations in advanced optical sensing and imaging, in which a reconfigurable sensor (or an array thereof) can directly decipher the rich information of an unknown incident light beam, including its intensity, spectrum, polarization, spatial features, and possibly angular momentum. We present the physical, mathematical, and engineering foundations of this concept, with particular emphases on the roles of classical and quantum geometry and deep neural networks. Furthermore, we discuss the new opportunities that this emerging scheme can enable and the challenges associated with future developments.

We study the effects of electrostatic gating on the lateral distribution of charge carriers in two dimensional devices, in a non-linear dielectric environment. We compute the charge distribution using the Thomas-Fermi approximation to model the electrostatics of the system. The electric field lines generated by the gate are focused at the edges of the device, causing an increased depletion near the edges, compared to the center of the device. This effect strongly depends on the dimensions of the device, and the non-linear dielectric constant of the substrate. We experimentally demonstrate this effect using scanning superconducting interference device (SQUID) microscopy images of current distributions in gated LaAlO/SrTiO heterostructures.

The synchronization of human networks, and the possibility of obtaining an agreement in a group, are essential for our survival. The dynamics of human networks are affecting every aspect of our lives in politics, economics, science, and engineering, and are essential for our mental and physical health. We study the unique properties of human networks and their dynamics by resorting to coupled violin players. We found that the human ability to ignore inputs or to focus on an input change dramatically the dynamics of the network compared to other coupled networks. We show how human networks react to frustrating situations, how they change the network connectivity or the network coupling strength, and how they escape local minima. In addition, the formation of leaders has a significant impact on the dynamics of human groups and networks and can completely shift the trajectory of a society. We study how …

Quantum interferometers are able to improve the sensitivity of classical interferometers beyond the shot-noise limit. This is done by employing squeezed states of light and destructive interference of the noise in the system. We developed a quantum SU(1,1) interferometer in the time domain. Our nonlinear quantum interferometer creates interference of the input signals at different times and frequencies. We can control the time and frequency differences for investigating the full temporal and spectral structure of the signal. This quantum interferometer can be utilized for sensing ultrafast phase changes, quantum imaging, temporal mode encoding, and studying the temporal structure of entangled photons.

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is a group of disorders caused by mutations in genes involved in the process of lymphocyte maturation and function. CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing of the patient’s own hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) ex vivo could provide a therapeutic alternative to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the current gold standard for treatment of SCID. To eliminate the need for scarce patient samples, we engineered genotypes in healthy donor (HD)-derived CD34+ HSPCs using CRISPR-Cas9/rAAV6 gene-editing, to model both SCID and the therapeutic outcomes of gene-editing therapies for SCID via multiplexed homology-directed repair (HDR). First, we developed a SCID disease model via biallelic knockout of genes critical to the development of lymphocytes; and second, we established a knockin/knockout strategy to develop a proof-of-concept single …