Carbon nanomaterials are robust and possess fascinating properties useful for separation technology applications, but their scalability and high salt rejection when in a strong cross flow for long ...periods of time remain challenging. Here, we present a graphene-based membrane that is prepared using a simple and environmentally friendly method by spray coating an aqueous dispersion of graphene oxide/few-layered graphene/deoxycholate. The membranes were robust enough to withstand strong cross-flow shear for a prolonged period (120 h) while maintaining NaCl rejection near 85% and 96% for an anionic dye. Experimental results and molecular dynamic simulations revealed that the presence of deoxycholate enhances NaCl rejection in these graphene-based membranes. In addition, these novel hybrid-layered membranes exhibit better chlorine resistance than pure graphene oxide membranes. The desalination performance and aggressive shear and chlorine resistance of these scalable graphene-based membranes are promising for use in practical water separation applications.
Elderly patients with atrial fibrillation who were not appropriate candidates for standard doses of oral anticoagulants because of a high risk of bleeding were assigned to receive 15 mg of edoxaban ...or placebo once daily. Edoxaban was superior to placebo in preventing stroke or systemic embolism.
It is important from a fundamental standpoint and for practical applications to understand how the mechanical properties of graphene are influenced by defects. Here we report that the two-dimensional ...elastic modulus of graphene is maintained even at a high density of sp(3)-type defects. Moreover, the breaking strength of defective graphene is only ~14% smaller than its pristine counterpart in the sp(3)-defect regime. By contrast, we report a significant drop in the mechanical properties of graphene in the vacancy-defect regime. We also provide a mapping between the Raman spectra of defective graphene and its mechanical properties. This provides a simple, yet non-destructive methodology to identify graphene samples that are still mechanically functional. By establishing a relationship between the type and density of defects and the mechanical properties of graphene, this work provides important basic information for the rational design of composites and other systems utilizing the high modulus and strength of graphene.
Advances in neuroimaging and neuroanatomy have yielded major insights concerning fundamental principles of cortical organization and evolution, thus speaking to how well different species serve as ...models for human brain function in health and disease. Here, we focus on cortical folding, parcellation, and connectivity in mice, marmosets, macaques, and humans. Cortical folding patterns vary dramatically across species, and individual variability in cortical folding increases with cortical surface area. Such issues are best analyzed using surface-based approaches that respect the topology of the cortical sheet. Many aspects of cortical organization can be revealed using 1 type of information (modality) at a time, such as maps of cortical myelin content. However, accurate delineation of the entire mosaic of cortical areas requires a multimodal approach using information about function, architecture, connectivity, and topographic organization. Comparisons across the 4 aforementioned species reveal dramatic differences in the total number and arrangement of cortical areas, particularly between rodents and primates. Hemispheric variability and bilateral asymmetry are most pronounced in humans, which we evaluated using a high-quality multimodal parcellation of hundreds of individuals. Asymmetries include modest differences in areal size but not in areal identity. Analyses of cortical connectivity using anatomical tracers reveal highly distributed connectivity and a wide range of connection weights in monkeys and mice; indirect measures using functional MRI suggest a similar pattern in humans. Altogether, a multifaceted but integrated approach to exploring cortical organization in primate and nonprimate species provides complementary advantages and perspectives.
Drug-related cues induce craving, which may perpetuate drug use or trigger relapse in addicted individuals. Craving is also under the influence of other factors in daily life, such as drug ...availability and self-control. Neuroimaging studies using drug cue paradigms have shown frontal lobe involvement in this contextual influence on cue reactivity, but have not clarified how and which frontal area accounts for this phenomenon. We explored frontal lobe contributions to cue-induced drug craving under different intertemporal drug availability conditions by combining transcranial magnetic stimulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging in smokers. We hypothesized that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) regulates craving during changes in intertemporal availability. Subjective craving was greater when cigarettes were immediately available, and this effect was eliminated by transiently inactivating the DLPFC with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Functional magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated that the signal most proportional to subjective craving was located in the medial orbitofrontal cortex across all contexts, whereas the DLPFC most strongly encoded intertemporal availability information. The craving-related signal in the medial orbitofrontal cortex was attenuated by inactivation of the DLPFC, particularly when cigarettes were immediately available. Inactivation of the DLPFC also reduced craving-related signals in the anterior cingulate and ventral striatum, areas implicated in transforming value signals into action. These findings indicate that DLPFC builds up value signals based on knowledge of drug availability, and support a model wherein aberrant circuitry linking dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices may underlie addiction.
Neuromotor systems have the capacity for functional recovery following local damage. The literature suggests a possible role for the premotor cortex and cerebellum in motor recovery. However, the ...specific changes to interactions between these areas following damage remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate potential rewiring of connections from the ipsilesional ventral premotor cortex (ip-PMv) to cerebellar structures in a nonhuman primate model of primary motor cortex (M1) lesion and motor recovery. Cerebellar connections arising from the ip-PMv were investigated by comparing biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) between two groups of male
: M1-lesion/motor recovery group and intact group. There were more BDA-labeled boutons and axons in all ipsilesional deep cerebellar nuclei (fastigial, interposed, and dentate) in the M1-lesion/recovery group than in the intact group. The difference was evident in the ipsilesional fastigial nucleus (ip-FN), and particularly observed in its middle, a putative somatosensory region of the ip-FN, which was characterized by absent or little expression of aldolase C. Some of the altered projections from the ip-PMv to ip-FN neurons were confirmed as functional because the synaptic markers, synaptophysin and vesicular glutamate transporter 1, were colocalized with BDA-labeled boutons. These results suggest that the adult primate brain after motor lesions can reorganize large-scale networks to enable motor recovery by enhancing sensorimotor coupling and motor commands via rewired fronto-cerebellar connections.
Damaging the motor cortex causes motor deficits, which can be recovered over time. Such motor recovery may result from functional compensation in remaining neuromotor areas, including the ventral premotor cortex. We investigated compensatory changes in neural axonal outputs from ventral premotor to deep cerebellar nuclei in a monkey model of primary motor cortical lesion and motor recovery. The results showed an increase in premotor projections and synaptic formations in deep cerebellar nuclei, especially the sensorimotor region of the fastigial nucleus. Our results provide the first evidence that large-scale reorganization of fronto-cerebellar circuits may underlie functional recovery after motor cortical lesions.
The first- and second-order Raman spectra of carbon nano-onions (CNOs), produced via annealing of detonation nanodiamonds with a mean grain size of ∼5nm in the argon ambience at the maximal ...temperature of annealing process (TMAX) varying from 1500 to 2150°C, are analyzed together with the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images. The combined analysis provides a deep insight into the annealing-induced atomic-scale structural modifications of the CNO nanoparticles. The Raman and HRTEM data unambiguously demonstrate the reduction in the number of defects in the CNO structure, as well as indicate the conversion from the diamond sp3-bonded carbon phase to the sp2-bonded carbon phase with increasing TMAX and its almost full completion for TMAX=1600°C.
Photosensor Device Based on Few-Layered WS2 Films Perea-López, Néstor; Elías, Ana Laura; Berkdemir, Ayse ...
Advanced functional materials,
November 26, 2013, Letnik:
23, Številka:
44
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Few‐layered films of WS2, synthesized by chemical vapor deposition on quartz, are successfully used as light sensors. The film samples are structurally characterized by Raman spectroscopy, atomic ...force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy. The produced samples consist of few layered sheets possessing up to 10 layers. UV–visible absorbance spectra reveals absorption peaks at energies of 1.95 and 2.33 eV, consistent with the A and B excitons characteristic of WS2. Current–voltage (I–V) and photoresponse measurements carried out at room temperature are performed by connecting the WS2 layered material with Au/Ti contacts. The photocurrent measurements are carried out using five different laser lines ranging between 457 and 647 nm. The results indicate that the electrical response strongly depends on the photon energy from the excitation lasers. In addition, it is found that the photocurrent varies non‐linearly with the incident power, and the generated photocurrent in the WS2 samples varies as a squared root of the incident power. The excellent response of few‐layered WS2 to detect different photon wavelengths, over a wide range of intensities, makes it a strong candidate for constructing novel optoelectronic devices.
A few‐layer WS2 photosensor shows variations in the conduction current by switching a laser on and off. An extensive study reveals that few‐layered WS2 grown by CVD can be used as an efficient light sensor in the visible spectral region for a wide range of incident intensities with a fast response in the order of a few milliseconds (e.g., 5.3 ms).
Studies of personality traits in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) indicate that there are five or six constructs-Sociability, Dominance, Neuroticism, Openness, and two related to ...Conscientiousness. The present study attempted to determine whether our earlier study of laboratory-housed individuals only yielded three-Dominance, Sociability, and Neuroticism-because of a low amount of between-subjects variance. To do so, we increased our sample size from 77 to 128. In addition, we ascertained the reliability and validity of ratings and whether polymorphisms related to the serotonin 1a receptor were associated with personality. We found Sociability, Dominance, and Negative Affect factors that resembled three domains found in previous studies, including ours. We also found an Openness and Impulsiveness factor, the latter of which bore some resemblance to Conscientiousness, and two higher-order factors, Pro-sociality and Boldness. In further analyses, we could not exclude the possibility that Pro-sociality and Boldness represented a higher-level of personality organization. Correlations between personality factors and well-being were consistent with the definitions of the factors. There were no significant associations between personality and genotype. These results suggest that common marmoset personality structure varies as a function of rearing or housing variables that have not yet been investigated systematically.
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