SiO 2 films containing Si nanocrystals (nc-Si) and Er were prepared and their photoluminescence (PL) properties were studied. The samples exhibited luminescence peaks at 0.81 and 1.54 μm, which could be assigned to the electron-hole recombination in nc-Si and the intra-4f transition in Er3+, respectively. Correlation between the intensities of the two luminescence peaks was studied as functions of Er concentration and excitation power. The present results clearly demonstrate that excitation of Er3+ occurs through the recombination of photogenerated carriers spatially confined in nc-Si and the subsequent energy transfer to Er3+.

We have succeeded in observing the size dependent photoluminescence ͑PL͒ from Ge nanocrystals ͑nc-Ge͒ with 0.9-5.3 nm in average diameter (d ave) in the near-infrared region. The nc-Ge were fabricated by rf cosputtering of Ge and SiO 2 and post annealing at 800°C. It was found that the sample with d ave ϭ5.3 nm shows a PL peak at about 0.88 eV. With decreasing the size, the PL peak shifted to higher energies and reached 1.54 eV for the sample with d ave ϭ0.9 nm. It was also found that the PL intensity increases drastically with decreasing the size. The observed strong size dependence of the PL spectra indicates that the observed PL originates from the recombination of electron-hole pairs confined in nc-Ge. ͓S0163-1829͑98͒09535-6͔

We explore the superfluidity of 4He confined in a porous glass, which has nanopores of 2.5 nm in diameter, at pressures up to 5 MPa. With increasing pressure, the superfluidity is drastically suppressed, and the superfluid transition temperature approaches 0 K at some critical pressure, Pc approximately 3.4 MPa. The feature suggests that the extreme confinement of 4He into the nanopores induces a quantum phase transition from a superfluid to a nonsuperfluid at 0 K and at Pc.

Immunotherapy targeting immune checkpoint molecules, programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1), using therapeutic antibodies has been widely used for some human malignancies in the last 5 years. A costimulatory receptor, PD-1, is expressed on T cells and suppresses effector functions when it binds to its ligand, PD-L1. Aberrant PD-L1 expression is reported in various human cancers and is considered an immune escape mechanism. Antibodies blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 axis induce antitumour responses in patients with malignant melanoma and other cancers. In dogs, no such clinical studies have been performed to date because of the lack of therapeutic antibodies that can be used in dogs. In this study, the immunomodulatory effects of c4G12, a canine-chimerised anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, were evaluated in vitro, demonstrating significantly enhanced cytokine production and proliferation of dog peripheral blood mononuclear cells. A pilot clinical study was performed on seven dogs with oral malignant melanoma (OMM) and two with undifferentiated sarcoma. Objective antitumour responses were observed in one dog with OMM (14.3%, 1/7) and one with undifferentiated sarcoma (50.0%, 1/2) when c4G12 was given at 2 or 5 mg/kg, every 2 weeks. c4G12 could be a safe and effective treatment option for canine cancers.

SiO 2 films containing Si nanocrystals (nc-Si) and Er were prepared and their photoluminescence (PL) properties were studied. The samples exhibited PL peaks at 0.8 and 1.54 μm, which could be assigned to the electron-hole recombination in nc-Si and the intra-4f transition in Er3+, respectively. Correlation between the intensities of the two PL peaks was studied as functions of the size of nc-Si, Er concentration, excitation power and excitation wavelength. It was found that the 1.54 μm PL of Er3+ is strongly enhanced by incorporating nc-Si in films. Furthermore, the intensity of the 1.54 μm peak was found to depend strongly on the size of the incorporated nc-Si.