Proportion compatibility effects, in which task performance for compatible stimuli is improved in blocks consisting of mostly compatible stimuli (MC blocks) and task performance for incompatible ...stimuli is improved in blocks consisting of mostly incompatible stimuli (MI blocks), are common in interference tasks. This study addressed proportion compatibility effects on visual mismatch negativity (VMMN) in the flanker task, which consisted of compatible, incompatible, and deviant stimuli. Compatible and incompatible stimuli were arrays of five black arrows. Deviant stimuli were created by the black central arrow and red surroundings of equal signs. The flanker task was conducted in MC and MI blocks, and blocks with an equal probability (EP blocks) of compatible, incompatible, and deviant stimuli. The posterior negativity from 200 to 250 ms for deviant stimuli was significantly more negative in the MC than in the EP blocks. However, there was no difference in the posterior negativity from 200 to 250 ms between MI and EP blocks. These results indicate that VMMN for deviant stimuli was observed in the MC blocks but not in the MI blocks. In addition, the posterior negativity for incompatible stimuli was modulated by the probability of incompatible stimuli. In contrast, modulation by the probability was not found in the posterior negativity for compatible stimuli. The results indicate that VMMN was elicited by incompatible stimuli but not by compatible stimuli. These findings suggest that proactive control in the MI blocks may attenuate processing in an irrelevant visual field.
•This study examined proportion compatibility effects on visual mismatch negativity.•Deviant stimuli consisting of red surroundings were included in a flanker task.•VMMN for deviant stimuli was found in mostly compatible stimuli blocks.•VMMN for deviant stimuli was not found in mostly incompatible stimuli blocks.•VMMN was elicited by incompatible stimuli but not by compatible stimuli.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is involved in broad neuropsychological domains, including response inhibition, timing, delay aversion, sustained attention, and working memory. This ...study aimed to examine the relationship between ADHD symptoms and neuropsychological measures in university students.
A total of 167 graduate and undergraduate students participated in the study. Neuropsychological characteristics were comprehensively assessed using stop signal, delay discounting, time discrimination, sensorimotor synchronization, continuous performance, and digit span tasks. ADHD symptoms were assessed using the Japanese version of Conners’ ADHD Rating Scale.
ADHD symptoms were significantly correlated with some neuropsychological measures, such as the false alarm rate in the continuous performance task; however, these correlations were not strong. In the multiple regression analyses, models including neuropsychological measures were significantly associated with ADHD symptoms, but the coefficients of determination ranged from 0.06 to 0.08. Thus, most of the variance in ADHD symptoms was not explained by neuropsychological measures.
These findings suggest that the impact of each neuropsychological measure on ADHD symptoms was weak in university students, and ADHD symptoms cannot be explained by neuropsychological characteristics, which are currently considered core characteristics of ADHD. In addition, ADHD symptoms assessed by self-rating questionnaire in the non-clinical sample might not reflect the degree of real ADHD severity.
Sequential congruency effects are observed in interference tasks, in which reaction times (RTs) are shorter for congruent stimuli preceded by congruent (cC) than incongruent stimuli (iC), and RTs are ...longer for incongruent stimuli preceded by congruent (cI) than incongruent stimuli (iI). These effects are interpreted as resulting from incongruent stimuli triggering attentional control in the next trial, which reduces cognitive control. This study aimed to examine sequential congruency effects on event-related potential (ERP) components for Go- and Nogo-stimuli. We used the hybrid reverse Stroop Go/Nogo task. The stimuli were Kanji characters, "" (i.e., red) and "" (i.e., blue) painted in congruent and incongruent colors. Participants responded to one of the two characters (i.e, the Go-stimulus) and stopped responding to the other character (i.e., the Nogo-stimulus). The results indicated that the Nogo-N1 was reduced by trials preceded by incongruent stimuli compared with congruent ones, suggesting that color processing was inhibited by attentional control; however, there was no reduction in the Go-N1. In addition, the Nogo-N2 amplitudes were larger for cI than iI and iC than cC. On the other hand, the Go-N2 was not modulated by sequential modulation effects, which was lower for incongruent stimuli than congruent stimuli. These results indicate that the Nogo-N2 is involved in cognitive control, whereas the Go-N2 is associated with selection processing. These findings suggest that the modulation of sequential congruency effects of N1 and N2 required the response inhibition task demand; however, Go-P3 and Nogo-P3 amplitudes were the largest for cI. Therefore, the time range of ERP components might be related to the susceptibility of an interaction effect between response inhibition task demand and sequential congruency effects.
Reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interface of all-solid-state lithium batteries were studied for combinations of sulfide-based solid electrolytes with various Li4-xGe1-xPxS4 and Liy-M (M=Sn, ...Si) alloys as the negative electrodes, using ac impedance, X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The solid electrolyte at the interfacial region was found to decompose with the application of a current through the cells, resulting in the formation of a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer. Resistivity changes at the interface varied depending on the electrolyte composition and the redox potential (vs. Li/Li+) of the negative electrode material. Lower resistances were observed with lower Ge contents in the solid electrolyte and the use of a Li–M alloy with a higher redox potential due to the formation of an electrochemically stable SEI layer during battery operation. In contrast, a combination of higher Ge content and an alloy with a lower redox potential led to a rapid increase in the SEI resistance and increase in its thickness. The presence of a Li–P–S compound with low ionic conductivity in the interfacial region was found to be related with the increase of interfacial resistance, leading to poor cycling characteristics. The formation of a suitable SEI layer is an important factor in the future development of all-solid-state batteries and this study serves to clarify the relationships between the formation of the SEI phase, the redox potential of the electrode and the sulfide-based solid electrolyte composition.
•Interfacial resistances in all-solid-state lithium batteries were investigated.•AC impedance method clarified the changes of the resistance during battery operation.•Sulfide solid electrolytes were decomposed at lower voltage region (vs. Li/Li+).•Lower resistances were observed with lower Ge proportion in the Li4-xGe1-xPxS4.
No design rules have yet been established for producing solid electrolytes with a lithium-ion conductivity high enough to replace liquid electrolytes and expand the performance and battery ...configuration limits of current lithium ion batteries. Taking advantage of the properties of high-entropy materials, we have designed a highly ion-conductive solid electrolyte by increasing the compositional complexity of a known lithium superionic conductor to eliminate ion migration barriers while maintaining the structural framework for superionic conduction. The synthesized phase with a compositional complexity showed an improved ion conductivity. We showed that the highly conductive solid electrolyte enables charge and discharge of a thick lithium-ion battery cathode at room temperature and thus has potential to change conventional battery configurations.
This study aimed to explore the relationships among autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits, loneliness, and social networking services (SNS) use. We created a questionnaire to evaluate manners during ...LINE use, which included five factors: “low literacy,” “inactive use,” “low responsiveness,” “lack of consideration,” and “low group activity.” Structural equation modeling revealed that difficulties in attention switching and low communication skills were associated with low literacy, low social skills were associated with inactive use, and low literacy and inactive use were associated with loneliness. We suggested that SNS use plays a role in maintaining and enhancing friendships, whereas college students with higher ASD traits tend to use inappropriate manners for SNS, which is associated with loneliness.
Perovskite-type lithium ionic conductors were explored in the (LixLa1−x/3)ScO3 system following their syntheses via a high-pressure solid-state reaction. Phase identification indicated that a solid ...solution with a perovskite-type structure was formed in the range 0 ≤ x < 0.6. When x = 0.45, (Li0.45La0.85)ScO3 exhibited the highest ionic conductivity and a low activation energy. Increasing the loading of lithium as an ionic diffusion carrier expanded the unit cell volume and contributed to the higher ionic conductivity and lower activation energy. Cations with higher oxidation numbers were introduced into the A/B sites to improve the ionic conductivity. Ce4+ and Zr4+ or Nb5+ dopants partially substituted the A-site (La/Li) and B-site Sc, respectively. Although B-site doping produced a lower ionic conductivity, A-site Ce4+ doping improved the conductive properties. A perovskite-type single phase was obtained for (Li0.45La0.78Ce0.05)ScO3 upon Ce4+ doping, providing a higher ionic conductivity than (Li0.45La0.85)ScO3. Compositional analysis and crystal-structure refinement of (Li0.45La0.85)ScO3 and (Li0.45La0.78Ce0.05)ScO3 revealed increased lithium contents and expansion of the unit cell upon Ce4+ co-doping. The highest ionic conductivity of 1.1 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 623 K was confirmed for (Li0.4Ce0.15La0.67)ScO3, which is more than one order of magnitude higher than that of the (LixLa1−x/3)ScO3 system.
The novel lithium-ion conductor Li7Ge3PS12 was synthesized by slow cooling from the ternary Li2S–GeS2–P2S5 system, and was shown to exhibit a cubic argyrodite-type structure. The phase composition ...was determined by varying the ratio of starting materials; the observed monophasic properties were close to those for the Li7Ge3PS12 composition. The lattice parameter (a =9.80192(3) Å) of Li7Ge3PS12 was slightly smaller than that of Li7PS6 (a =9.993Å), indicating that substitution of a Li cation by the smaller Ge cation contracted the cubic lattice. In addition, the novel structure consisted of a framework composed of four isolated (Ge/P)S4 tetrahedra. Li+ ions occupied tetrahedral sites within the framework, forming a three-dimensional conduction pathway. Finally, Li7Ge3PS12 exhibited a high ionic conductivity of 1.1×10−4 S cm−1 at 25°C and an activation energy of 25kJmol−1.
A novel Li7Ge3PS12 solid lithium ion conductor, with cubic argyrodite strucuture, shows high ion conductivity of 1.1×10–4 S cm–1 with an activation energy of 25kJmol–1. The argyrodite structure consists of (Ge/P)S4 tetrahedra units along with partial occupation of lithium and germanium at 48h site. Display omitted
•A novel lithium-ion conductor Li7Ge3PS12 was detected.•This was achieved through slow cooling of the ternary Li2S–GeS2–P2S5 system.•This novel conductor revealed a cubic argyrodite-type structure.•Li7Ge3PS12 exhibited a high ionic conductivity of 1.1×10−4 S cm−1 at 25°C.•These properties will aid in the design of superior lithium-ion conductors.
We examined the association of mental health problems with preventive behavior and caregivers' anxiety in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) and their caregivers during the coronavirus ...disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Data were obtained from 227 pairs of children with NDD and their caregivers in a clinic in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, from October 1 to December 31, 2020. During this period, the activities of children and caregivers were not strongly restricted by the public system. Caregivers' anxiety about children's activities was positively associated with caregivers' and children's fears of COVID-19 and children's depressive symptoms. Children's preventive behavior was negatively associated with children's depressive symptoms. These findings suggested that caregivers' fear of COVID-19 stemmed from worry about the relationship between children's activity and COVID-19 infection, and children might have reflected caregivers' expressions of concern. In schools and clinics, practitioners educate children on how to engage in preventive behavior against COVID-19. Our results support the effectiveness of such practices in mitigating mental health problems in children with NDD.
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