Observations of a streak texture in the hybrid-aligned smectic-C phase.

A novel structure was observed below the smectic-A-smectic-C phase transition in a very thin open cell having an air interface above and enforced planar anchoring at the substrate below. The structure appears as periodic dark and light streaks running perpendicular to the oily streaks, which are present in the smectic-A phase [D. Coursault et al., Soft Matter, 2016, 12, 678]. These new streaks, which we call "soapy streaks", form by extending from one oily streak to the next in discrete steps, eliminating optical evidence at visible wavelengths of the oily streaks. At lower temperatures the streaks can undulate and exhibit a sawtooth-like structure; such a structure is chiral in two dimensions. A possible scenario for the origin of these streaks is presented.

Nodal analysis of nonlinear behavior of the instability at a fluid interface.

In interface instabilities, deformations first grow exponentially, then enter a nonlinear regime affecting amplitude and symmetry. Most extant studies have focused on amplitude alone. Here, we study a 2D Rayleigh-Taylor instability for an initial sinusoidal deformation, analyzing its amplitude and asymmetry over time. For the latter, we define a metric based on the zero crossings of the interface. We develop a weakly nonlinear model and compare it to experimental data. It shows that our asymmetry metric complements the amplitude for an improved description of the instabilities' nonlinear phases.

Liquid crystal quenched orientational disorder at an AFM-scribed alignment surface.

A polyimide substrate was scribed using the stylus of an atomic force microscope, then covered with a nematic liquid crystal. The fiber from a near field scanning optical microscope was immersed into the liquid crystal and rastered approximately 80 nm above the surface, thereby obviating smearing effects that occur in thicker samples. By appropriate averaging of multiple data sets, a histogram of the "frozen-in" director deviation Δφ from the average easy axis was obtained, having a full-width-half-maximum of ∼0.02 rad. Additionally, the spatial autocorrelation function of Δφ was extracted, where the primary correlation length was found to be comparable to, but larger than, the liquid crystal's extrapolation length. A secondary characteristic length scale of a few µm was observed, and is thought to be an artifact due to material ejection during the scribing process. Our results demonstrate the utility of nanoscale imaging of the interface behavior inside the liquid crystal.

Studies of nanocomposites of carbon nanotubes and a negative dielectric anisotropy liquid crystal.

It has been widely recognized that the combination of carbon nanotube (CNT) and liquid crystals (LCs) not only provides a useful way to align CNTs, but also dramatically enhances the order in the LC phases, which is especially useful in liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. As the measure of this phase behavior, the complex specific heat is presented over a wide temperature range for a negative dielectric anisotropy alkoxyphenylbenzoate liquid crystal (9OO4) and CNT composites as a function of CNT concentration. The calorimetric scans were performed under near-equilibrium conditions between 25 and 95 °C, first cooling and then followed by heating for CNT weight percent ranging from ϕ(w) = 0 to 0.2. All 9OO4/CNT mesophases have transition temperatures ~1 K higher and a crystallization temperature 4 K higher than that of the pure 9OO4. The crystal phase superheats until a strongly first-order specific heat feature is observed, 0.5 K higher than in the pure 9OO4. The transition enthalpy for the nanocomposite mesophases is 10% lower than that observed in the pure 9OO4. The strongly first-order crystallization and melting transition enthalpies are essentially constant over this range of ϕ(w). Complementary electroclinic measurement on a 0.05 wt. % sample, cooling towards the smectic-C phase from the smectic-A, indicates that the SmA-SmC transition remains mean-field-like in the presence of the CNTs. Given the homogeneous and random distribution of CNTs in these nanocomposites, we interpret these results as arising from the LC-CNT surface interaction pinning the orientational order uniformly along the CNT, without pinning the position of the 9OO4 molecule, leading to a net ordering effect for all phases. These effects of incorporating CNTs into LCs are likely due to "anisotropic orientational" coupling between CNT and LC, the change in the elastic properties of composites and thermal anisotropic properties of the CNTs.

Surface-induced weak orientational order and role of isotropic-nematic interface fluctuations in the appearance of an induced nematic film.

Recently the nontrivial spatial and temperature dependence of the surface-induced weak planar orientational order parameter Q(z, T) was determined just above the isotropic-nematic (IN) phase transition point (Ji-H. Lee et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 167801 (2009)). In this paper we present a theoretical explanation of the observed behaviour. We obtain expressions for the short-range and long-range contributions to the interface potential of the induced nematic film and specify the repulsive character of the interaction between the soft IN interface and the external bounding substrate. It is shown that the small value of the IN interfacial tension results in the renormalization of the repulsive interaction potential due to the thermal fluctuations of the soft IN interface. This leads to an increase of the equilibrium thickness of the induced nematic film and the appearance of a step-like orientational order parameter profile. We find that only renormalized short-range and thermal pseudo-Casimir interactions are essential for the appearance of the induced nematic film, which provide the observed thickness, h ~ 30 nm, of this film. The long-range van der Waals interaction is shown to be negligibly small and the dominant role is played by the renormalized short-range repulsion. Fitting of the experimental order parameter profiles (Ji-H. Lee et al. (2009)) with the expressions based on these interactions makes it possible to determine the material parameters of the system, including the amplitudes of the surface interaction, the IN interfacial tension and the interfacial coherence length. The agreement between theory and experiment confirms the importance of the interface fluctuation renormalization of the interface potentials for soft interfaces.

Freedericksz transition in an anticlinic liquid crystal

It is shown experimentally that a very-long-pitch, surface-stabilized, anticlinic liquid crystal undergoes a two-step electric-field-induced transition to the synclinic phase. The liquid crystal remains undistorted below a threshold field E(th). For E>E(th), a Freedericksz transition occurs, wherein molecules in adjacent smectic layers undergo unequal azimuthal rotations about the layer normal. At higher fields a transition to the synclinic phase occurs via solitary waves.

Collapse dynamics of liquid bridges investigated by time-varying magnetic levitation

Using a novel technique that facilitates temporal control over the total body force on a liquid, an unexpected scaling relationship was discovered for the collapse time of a liquid bridge. A paramagnetic liquid was suspended between the tips of two collinear rods in a strong magnetic field gradient that was adjusted to compensate gravity. A sudden change of the magnet current, corresponding to a change of Bond number, resulted in a deformation and ultimate collapse of the liquid bridge. The collapse time was found to be independent of the bridge length when other parameters were held constant.

Velocity of an electric-field-induced synclinic solitary wave invading the anticlinic liquid crystal phase.

The electric-field dependence of the velocity of synclinic fingers invading the anticlinic phase is determined by a time-of-flight technique. The time delay for a rapid increase in the transmitted optical intensity through the sample is measured between two points as a function of their separation along the trajectory of the solitary wave. The data are quantitatively consistent with the rapid velocities deduced from a previous measurement [Liq. Cryst. 27, 249 (2000)], demonstrating that the previous data were not affected by multiple nucleation sites occurring at higher fields.

HPV prevalence among partners of women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to find HPV DNA incidence in women with CIN and normal women and in their respective partners, as well as the relation between the virus groups found in women with CIN or normal women and in their respective partners. METHODS: Partners of 30 women with CIN at several grades and of 60 normal women were prospectively assessed. In men, HPV search was performed by collecting samples through penile scraping for Hybrid Capture, followed by peniscopic evaluation and biopsy of acetowhite lesions. RESULTS: The presence of HPV DNA in male partners does not necessarily implicate the presence of HPV or even CIN in their female partners. CONCLUSIONS: If these results are confirmed by other authors, obtaining a peniscopy, a penile biopsy, and a HPV DNA search in partners that present with no clinical lesions, but in couples with women having CIN, would not be warranted.

A randomised, double-blind study comparing the efficacy and tolerability of controlled-release doxazosin and tamsulosin in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia in Brazil.

Brazilian patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia were randomised in a 12-week, double-blind, double-dummy study to receive doxazosin gastrointestinal therapeutic system (GITS) 4 mg q.i.d. (n = 82) or tamsulosin 0.4 q.i.d. (n = 83). Primary endpoints were the absolute and percentage change from baseline in symptoms measured by International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). Secondary endpoints included IPSS, quality-of-life (QOL) question from the IPSS, and questions 6 and 7 of the Sexual Function Abbreviated Questionnaire (SFAQ) at weeks 4 and 12. Doxazosin GITS and tamsulosin improved IPSS with no significant differences between groups at week 12. During weeks 4-8, tamsulosin-treated patients demonstrated a slower improvement (p < 0.001) in IPSS than doxazosin GITS-treated patients. The proportion of satisfied patients was observed earlier with doxazosin GITS (p = 0.006) vs. tamsulosin. At week 12, the proportion of patients with little or no difficulty at ejaculation (Q6 of SFAQ) was higher in the doxazosin GITS group (p = 0.019). Both treatments were well tolerated.

Anticlinic coupling between layers of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal.

The anticlinic interlayer coupling coefficient U was evaluated as a function of temperature for a pitch-compensated liquid crystal by optical observation of the electric field-induced optic mode. U was found to exhibit an unusual "S-shaped" dependence on temperature, with values ranging between 0.4x10(4) and 2.2x10(4) erg cm(-3) over a 10 degrees C temperature range below the smectic-A-smectic-C(*)(A) phase-transition temperature. The results are in good agreement with estimates for U based upon the threshold field for the onset of solitary waves, and provide strong support in the low-field regime for the single Fourier component model proposed by Li et al. [Phys. Rev. B 52, R13 075 (1995)].

Orientation of lipid tubules by a magnetic field.

Lipid tubules, which are straight hollow cylinders consisting of lipid bilayers, are shown to orient in strong magnetic fields. Birefringence measurements were made of dilute samples of tubules of 1,2-bis(10,12-tricosadiynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DC23PC) in magnetic fields of up to 4 T. The tubules were found to orient with their long axes parallel to the field direction, with saturated orientation [P2 (cos theta] approximately greater than 0.95) found at approximately 2 T. From known distributions of lengths and the number of bilayers in the walls, a value delta chi = (-7 +/- 1) X 10(-9) erg cm-3 G-2 was calculated for the tubules, which compares well with some previously reported values for phosphatidylcholines. Magnetic alignment will permit more sophisticated structural studies of monomeric and polymeric tubules, and provide a method of orienting macromolecules in the tubule walls or interior.

Light scattering investigation of electric field alignment of phospholipid tubules.

The polymerizable diacetylenic phospholipid 1,2-bis(10,12,tricosadiynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DC(23)PC) forms straight hollow cylinders in water. Using an ac electric field it was possible to achieve significant orientational alignment of the tubules parallel to the field direction, and from light scattering results deduce an effective dielectric susceptibility anisotropy Deltachi(E). Moreover, we suggest that the alignment arises from an orientational anisotropy of the total electrostatic enthalpy for a dielectric tubule in an electric field, rather than an inherent polarizability anisotropy of the constituent DC(23)PC molecules, as was the case with magnetic field alignment.

Electro-optic response of surface-induced nematic order above the nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature.

The optical retardation of a liquid crystal above the nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature T(NI) and subjected to planar alignment conditions at the substrate was investigated in the presence of an electric field applied normal to the substrates. The response was found to exhibit "S"-shaped behavior with electric field, and was larger near T(NI) than well above T(NI). The results were examined in the context of a model that permits both biaxiality and a field-induced tilt of the molecular director. The results suggest that the primary effect of the electric field is to induce biaxiality, and in consequence suppress the order induced by the surface. No clear indication of a Freedericksz-like transition, either experimental or theoretical, was observed.