Mixed Selectivity Coding of Content-Temporal Detail by Dorsomedial Posterior Parietal Neurons.

The dorsomedial posterior parietal cortex (dmPPC) is part of a higher-cognition network implicated in elaborate processes underpinning memory formation, recollection, episode reconstruction, and temporal information processing. Neural coding for complex episodic processing is however under-documented. Here, we recorded extracellular neural activities from three male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and revealed a set of neural codes of "neuroethogram" in the primate parietal cortex. Analyzing neural responses in macaque dmPPC to naturalistic videos, we discovered several groups of neurons that are sensitive to different categories of ethogram items, low-level sensory features, and saccadic eye movement. We also discovered that the processing of category and feature information by these neurons is sustained by the accumulation of temporal information over a long timescale of up to 30 s, corroborating its reported long temporal receptive windows. We performed an additional behavioral experiment with additional two male rhesus macaques and found that saccade-related activities could not account for the mixed neuronal responses elicited by the video stimuli. We further observed monkeys' scan paths and gaze consistency are modulated by video content. Taken altogether, these neural findings explain how dmPPC weaves fabrics of ongoing experiences together in real time. The high dimensionality of neural representations should motivate us to shift the focus of attention from pure selectivity neurons to mixed selectivity neurons, especially in increasingly complex naturalistic task designs.

Multiple Charge Transfer Bands Induced Broad Excitation Eu3+ Red Emission in a Vanadium Phosphate System for White Light-Emitting Diodes.

In order to realize broad excitation and narrow emission red light phosphor, a new vanadium phosphate Ba2BiV2PO11 was selected as a host for Eu3+. Monitored at 619 nm, a wide band from 240 to 400 nm could be observed and inferred to be composed of Eu3+-O2- and V5+-O2- charge transfer bands, which could make it match well with the UV chip and the blue chip along with the characteristic excitation of Eu3+ at 465 nm. Under 354 nm excitation, the sample could emit high color purity red light, and the thermal quenching integral intensity showed good thermal stability. The generation of charge transfer bands was investigated in detail combined with the luminescence properties and the structure of the matrix. Moreover, the as-prepared phosphor could improve the white light performance of blue chip-activated YAG:Ce3+ and n-UV chip-activated tricolor phosphors. All the results indicated the multiple application potential of Ba2BiV2PO11:Eu3+ for white light-emitting diodes.

Sharing voxelwise neuroimaging results from rhesus monkeys and other species with Neurovault.

Animal neuroimaging studies can provide unique insights into brain structure and function, and can be leveraged to bridge the gap between animal and human neuroscience. In part, this power comes from the ability to combine mechanistic interventions with brain-wide neuroimaging. Due to their phylogenetic proximity to humans, nonhuman primate neuroimaging holds particular promise. Because nonhuman primate neuroimaging studies are often underpowered, there is a great need to share data amongst translational researchers. Data sharing efforts have been limited, however, by the lack of standardized tools and repositories through which nonhuman neuroimaging data can easily be archived and accessed. Here, we provide an extension of the Neurovault framework to enable sharing of statistical maps and related voxelwise neuroimaging data from other species and template-spaces. Neurovault, which was previously limited to human neuroimaging data, now allows researchers to easily upload and share nonhuman primate neuroimaging results. This promises to facilitate open, integrative, cross-species science while affording researchers the increased statistical power provided by data aggregation. In addition, the Neurovault code-base now enables the addition of other species and template-spaces. Together, these advances promise to bring neuroimaging data sharing to research in other species, for supplemental data, location-based atlases, and data that would otherwise be relegated to a "file-drawer". As increasing numbers of researchers share their nonhuman neuroimaging data on Neurovault, this resource will enable novel, large-scale, cross-species comparisons that were previously impossible.

Laser-induced dynamic alignment and nonlinear-like optical transmission in liquid suspensions of 2D atomically thin nanomaterials.

Nonlinear optical property of atomically thin materials suspended in liquid has attracted a lot of attention recently due to the rapid development of liquid exfoliation methods. Here we report laser-induced dynamic orientational alignment and nonlinear-like optical response of the suspensions as a result of their intrinsic anisotropic properties and thermal convection of solvents. Graphene and graphene oxide suspensions are used as examples, and the transition to ordered states from initial optically isotropic suspensions is revealed by birefringence imaging. Computational fluid dynamics is performed to simulate the velocity evolution of convection flow and understand alignment-induced birefringence patterns. The optical transmission of these suspensions exhibits nonlinear-like saturable or reverse saturable absorptions in Z-scan measurements with both nanosecond and continuous-wave lasers. Our findings not only demonstrate a non-contact controlling of macroscopic orientation and collective optical properties of nanomaterial suspensions by laser but also pave the way for further explorations of optical properties and novel device applications of low-dimensional nanomaterials.

Lithium-Metal Anodes Working at 60†mA cm-2 and 60†mAh cm-2 through Nanoscale Lithium-Ion Adsorbing.

Achieving high-current-density and high-area-capacity operation of Li metal anodes offers promising opportunities for high-performing next-generation batteries. However, high-rate Li deposition suffers from undesired Li-ion depletion especially at the electrolyte-anode interface, which compromises achievable capacity and lifetime. Here, electronegative graphene quantum dots are synthesized and assembled into an ultra-thin overlayer capable of efficient Li-ion adsorbing at the nanoscale on Li-metal to fully relieve Li-ion depletion. The protected Li anode achieves long-term reversible Li plating/stripping over 1000 h at both superior current density of 60 mA cm-2 and areal capacity of 60 mAh cm-2 . Implementation of the protected anode allows for the construction of Li-air full battery with both enhanced rate capability and cycling performance.

Robust DNA-Bridged Memristor for Textile Chips.

Electronic textiles may revolutionize many fields, such as communication, health care and artificial intelligence. To date, unfortunately, computing with them is not yet possible. Memristors are compatible with the interwoven structure and manufacturing process in textiles because of its two-terminal crossbar configuration. However, it remains a challenge to realize textile memristors owing to the difficulties in designing advanced memristive materials and achieving high-quality active layers on fiber electrodes. Herein we report a robust textile memristor based on an electrophoretic-deposited active layer of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) on fiber electrodes. The unique architecture and orientation of DNA molecules with the incorporation of Ag nanoparticles offer the best-in-class performances, e.g., both ultra-low operation voltage of 0.3 V and power consumption of 100 pW and high switching speed of 20 ns. Fundamental logic calculations such as implication and NAND are demonstrated as functions of textile chips, and it has been thus integrated with power-supplying and light emitting modules to demonstrate an all-fabric information processing system.

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy-related inflammation: a case report presenting with a rare variant in SORL1 gene.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral amyloid angiopathy-related inflammation (CAA-ri) is a rare clinical entity, characterized by headaches, seizures, rapidly progressive cognitive decline, behavioral changes and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings underlying the autoimmune and inflammatory reaction at the level of CAA-affected vessel. CAA-ri is likely responsive to corticosteroid. MRI shows asymmetric and multifocal white matter hyperintensity (WMH) lesions and multiple cerebral microbleeds. Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ε4 homozygosity is associated with CAA-ri strongly [Neurology 68(17):1411-1416, 2007, Ann Neurol 73(4):449-458, 2013, J Alzheimers Dis 44(4):1069-1074, 2015]. SORL1 processes a causal involvement in Alzheimer's disease (AD) as a proposed modulator of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). It is unclear whether SORL1 is involved with CAA-ri or not. CASE PRESENTATION: A 48-year-old woman suffered from a one-day history of a headache, nausea, and vomiting. Neurological examination revealed normal. We diagnosed this case as probable CAA-ri according to the clinic manifestations and MRI. Gene detection indicated a rare variant in SORL1 and ApoE ε4 homozygosity. When treated with corticosteroid, the patient's clinical symptoms and MRI manifestations were almost relieved. However, when keeping the corticosteroid withdrawal for three months, the patient relapsed with a headache and typical images on MRI emerged. Corticosteroid therapy was effective again. Unfortunately, susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) showed increased microbleeds. With tapering corticosteroid slowly, no recurrence was found on this patient with four-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: A variant of SORL1 may be associated with CAA-ri, recurrence of disease could be detected with MRI by an increased microbleeds. Our case report suggests that corticosteroid therapy might be effective for CAA-ri.

Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Nanoscroll Foam with High Diffusion Rate and Binding Affinity for Removal of Organic Pollutants.

A nitrogen-doped 3D graphene foam assembled with nanoscroll structure is constructed via a facile mild-heating methodology using a polar molecule of formamide as the driving regent. The as-prepared graphene nanoscroll foam exhibits promising performance in organic pollutant removal with improved adsorption rate and high binding affinity, and is thought to be a novel adsorption material.

Oriented Arrangement: The Origin of Versatility for Porous Graphene Materials.

Macroscopic porous graphene materials composed of graphene sheets have demonstrated their advantageous aspects in diverse application areas. It is essential to maximize their excellent performances by rationally controlling the sheet arrangement and pore structure. Bulk porous graphene materials with oriented pore structure and arrangement of graphene sheets are prepared by marrying electrolyte-assisted self-assembly and shear-force-induced alignment of graphene oxide sheets, and the super elasticity and anisotropic mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties induced by this unique structure are systematically investigated. Its application in pressure sensing exhibits ultrahigh sensitivity of 313.23 kPa-1 for detecting ultralow pressure variation below 0.5 kPa, and it shows high retention rate for continuously intercepting dye molecules with a high flux of ≈18.7 L m-2 h-1 bar-1 and a dynamic removal rate of 510 mg m-2 h-1 .

In situ preparation of Fe3O4 in a carbon hybrid of graphene nanoscrolls and carbon nanotubes as high performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries.

A new conductive carbon hybrid combining both reduced graphene nanoscrolls and carbon nanotubes (rGNSs-CNTs) is prepared, and used to host Fe3O4 nanoparticles through an in situ synthesis method. As an anode material for LIBs, the obtained Fe3O4@rGNSs-CNTs shows good electrochemical performance. At a current density of 0.1 A g-1, the anode material shows a high reversible capacity of 1232.9 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles. Even at a current density of 1 A g-1, it still achieves a high reversible capacity of 812.3 mAh g-1 after 200 cycles. Comparing with bare Fe3O4 and Fe3O4/rGO composite anode materials without nanoscroll structure, Fe3O4@rGNSs-CNTs shows much better rate capability with a reversible capacity of 605.0 and 500.0 mAh g-1 at 3 and 5 A g-1, respectively. The excellent electrochemical performance of the Fe3O4@rGNSs-CNTs anode material can be ascribed to the hybrid structure of rGNSs-CNTs, and their strong interaction with Fe3O4 nanoparticles, which on one hand provides more pathways for lithium ions and electrons, on the other hand effectively relieves the volume change of Fe3O4 during the charge-discharge process.

CTAB micelles assisted rGO-AgNP hybrids for SERS detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

A structure of hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) micelle-assisted reduced graphene oxide-Ag nanoparticle (rGO-AgNP) hybrids is designed and fabricated for SERS detection of nonpolar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in which CTAB micelles act as the host material to capture PAH molecules. This method provides stable aqueous suspensions of functionalized graphene with an alkyl chain, since the rGO-AgNP hybrids do not need to be pre-modified by CTAB. The result shows that the CTAB-assisted rGO-AgNP substrate has excellent SERS performance toward PAHs and ideal stability under continuous laser radiation. With further optimization, the detection limits of pyrene and perylene were 10(-6) M and 10(-7) M, respectively. Two different PAH molecules could be detected simultaneously by their characteristic peaks.

Unraveling the origin of broadband yellow emission in Bi3+-doped LuXnGaO4 (Xn = Mg, Zn) phosphors.

Despite extensive research on the photoluminescence properties of Bi3+ ions, the origins of their emission and excitation bands remain elusive. Herein, we present a comprehensive analysis of the photoluminescence properties of Bi3+-activated LuXnGaO4 (Xn = Mg, Zn), elucidating the underlying factors governing the intra-ionic and extra-ionic electronic transitions. By integrating crystal structure data and spectroscopic data analyses with semi-empirical formula calculations, the origins of excitation and emission states were elucidated. Moreover, the impact of alterations in chemical surroundings on the luminescence of Bi3+ was investigated. Both LuXnGaO4:Bi3+ phosphors exhibit three excitation peaks in the near ultraviolet region and display a broadband yellow emission. However, the luminous behavior of LuMgGaO4:Bi3+ and LuZnGaO4:Bi3+ differs due to variations in the band gap, bond length and neighboring atoms. It is anticipated that the investigation of Bi3+-activated gallates presents a promising avenue for advancing wide-band and long-wavelength emitting phosphors.

Aminoazanium of A-site Cations in Metal-Free Halide Perovskite Single Crystals to Reduce Thermal Expansion for Efficient X-ray Detection.

Metal-free perovskites (MFPs) have recently become a newcomer in X-ray detection due to their flexibility and low toxicity characteristics. However, their photoelectronic properties and stability should be further improved mainly through materials design. Here, the aminoazanium of DABCO2+ was developed for the preparation of NDABCO-NH4Br3 (NDABCO = N-amino-N'-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octonium) single crystals (SCs), and its physical properties, intermolecular interactions, and device performance were systematically explored. Notably, NDABCO-NH4Br3 can achieve improved stability by enlarging defect formation energy and inducing abundant intermolecular forces. Moreover, the slight lattice distortion could ensure the weakening electron-phonon coupling for improving carrier transport. In particular, the slight lattice distortion after the long-chain NDABCO2+ introduction could retard thermal expansion for the preparation of high-quality crystals. Finally, the corresponding X-ray detector delivered a moderate sensitivity of 623.3 µC Gyair-1 cm-2. This work provides a novel strategy through rationally designed organic cations to balance the material stability and device performance.

Visual ratiometric optical thermometer with high sensitivity and excellent signal discriminability based on LiScSiO4:Ce3+, Tb3+ thermochromic phosphor.

Developing optical thermometer phosphors with high sensitivity, high signal discriminability and strong fluorescence intensity is ongoing. A dual-emitting thermochromic phosphor, LiScSiO4:Ce3+, Tb3+, was successfully synthesized via solid-state reaction method. The crystal structure, electronic structure, luminescent performance and thermal luminescence behaviors as well as the luminescence mechanism of LiScSiO4:Ce3+, Tb3+ were systematically investigated. Due to the energy transfer and different thermoluminescence behaviors between Ce3+ and Tb3+, high relative sensitivity (2.2 % K-1@473 K), excellent signal discriminability (5747 cm-1), outstanding temperature resolution (0.067 K) and good repeatability, as well as efficient emission at high temperatures were achieved based on the fluorescence intensity ratio of Ce3+ and Tb3+, indicating its potential in ratiometric optical thermometer. Moreover, the excellent visualizing thermochromic enable LiScSiO4:Ce3+, Tb3+ to be used as safety sign in variable temperature environment to monitor temperature distribution.

Alkali-Etched NiCoAl-LDH with Improved Electrochemical Performance for Asymmetric Supercapacitors.

Hydrotalcite, first found in natural ores, has important applications in supercapacitors. NiCoAl-LDH, as a hydrotalcite-like compound with good crystallinity, is commonly synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Al3+ plays an important role in the crystallization of hydrotalcite and can provide stable trivalent cations, which is conducive to the formation of hydrotalcite. However, aluminum and its hydroxides are unstable in a strong alkaline electrolyte; therefore, a secondary alkali treatment is proposed in this work to produce cation vacancies. The hydrophilicity of the NiCoAl-OH surface with cation vacancy has been greatly improved, which is conducive to the wetting and infiltration of electrolyte in water-based supercapacitors. At the same time, cation vacancies generate a large number of defects as active sites for energy storage. As a result, the specific capacity of the NiCoAl-OH electrode after 10,000 cycles can be maintained at 94.1%, which is much better than the NiCoAl-LDH material of 74%.

Highly Reliable Textile-Type Memristor by Designing Aligned Nanochannels.

Information-processing devices are the core components of modern electronics. Integrating them into textiles is the indispensable demand for electronic textiles to form close-loop functional systems. Memristors with crossbar configuration are regarded as promising building blocks to design woven information-processing devices that seamlessly unify with textiles. However, the memristors always suffer from severe temporal and spatial variations due to the random growth of conductive filaments during filamentary switching processes. Here, inspired by the ion nanochannels across synaptic membranes, a highly reliable textile-type memristor made of Pt/CuZnS memristive fiber with aligned nanochannels, showing small set voltage variation (<5.6%) under ultralow set voltage (≈0.089 V), high on/off ratio (≈106 ), and low power consumption (0.1 nW), is reported. Experimental evidence indicate that nanochannels with abundant active S defects can anchor silver ions and confine their migrations to form orderly and efficient conductive filaments. Such memristive performances enable the resultant textile-type memristor array to have high device-to-device uniformity and process complex physiological data like brainwave signals with high recognition accuracy (95%). The textile-type memristor arrays are mechanically durable to withstand hundreds of bending and sliding deformations, and seamlessly unified with sensing, power-supplying, and displaying textiles/fibers to form all-textile integrated electronic systems for new generation human-machine interactions.

Dielectrophoretic placement of quasi-zero-, one-, and two-dimensional nanomaterials into nanogap for electrical characterizations.

DEP is one of promising techniques for positioning nanomaterials into the desirable location for nanoelectronic applications. In contrast, the lithography technique is commonly used to make ultra-thin conducting wires and narrow gaps but, due to the limit of patterning resolution, it is not feasible to make electrical contacts on ultra-small nanomaterials for a bottom-up device fabrication. Thus, integrating the lithography and dielectrophoresis, a real bottom-up fabrication can be achieved. In this work, the device with the nanogap in between two nanofinger-electrodes is made using electron-beam lithography from top down and the ultra-small nanomaterials, such as colloidal PbSe quantum dots, polyaniline nanofibers, and reduced-graphene-oxide flakes, are placed in the nanogap by DEP from bottom up. The threshold electric field for the DEP placement of PbSe nanocrystals was roughly estimated to be about 8.3 × 10(4) V/cm under our experimental configuration. After the DEP process, several procedures for reducing contact resistances are attempted and measurements of intrinsic electron transport in versatile nanomaterials are performed. It is experimentally confirmed that electron transport in both PbSe nanocrystal arrays and polyaniline nanofibers agrees well with Prof. Ping Sheng's model of granular metallic conduction. In addition, electron transport in reduced-graphene-oxide flakes follows Mott's 2D variable-range-hopping model. This study illustrates an integration of the electron-beam lithography and the DEP techniques for a precise manipulation of nanomaterials into electronic circuits for characterization of intrinsic properties.

Efficacy and safety of ambroxol hydrochloride in the treatment of secretory otitis media: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Secretory otitis media is a very common nonsuppurative inflammatory disease in otorhinolaryngology. Ambroxol hydrochloride helps to improve ciliary movement in the ear canal and promote the dissolution and discharge of secretions. However, its effect still lacks systematic evaluation. We conducted a meta-analysis of clinical studies to systematically evaluate the application effect of ambroxol hydrochloride. Methods: A computer-based search of the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), PubMed, and Web of Science databases was conducted using the keywords "Ambroxol hydrochloride" & "secretory otitis media". Randomized controlled trials published after 2015 were selected and then screened and analyzed using RevMan 5.4 software. Results: Ten studies involving a total of 998 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that adding ambroxol hydrochloride to the original glucocorticoid treatment improved therapeutic efficacy [odds ratio (OR) =4.95, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.27, 7.50, P<0.00001], reduced tympanic pressure after treatment [mean difference (MD) =-19.04, 95% CI: -22.72, -15.36, P<0.00001], and increased the pure tone threshold (MD =6.37, 95% CI: 5.36, 7.37, P<0.00001), without increasing adverse reactions (OR =0.51, 95% CI: 0.14, 1.85, P=0.30). Discussion: On the basis of the original treatment of secretory otitis media, adding ambroxol hydrochloride treatment improved the therapeutic effect, reduced tympanic pressure after treatment, and improved the pure tone threshold (hearing), without increasing adverse reactions.

Design of a nitridoalumosilicate red phosphor synthesized under mild conditions.

Developing nitridosilicate red phosphors under mild synthesis conditions is important for regulating the emission quality of white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs). Based on the thermodynamic theory and crystal structure chemistry for the synthesis of nitridosilicates, the Gibbs free energy variation of a hybrid system can be made more negative by reducing the proportion of Si3N4 and increasing the proportion of M2N3 and AlN, enabling the formation of new nitridosilicates under mild conditions. Therefore, a general chemical formula MxSiyAlzNk was proposed for the design of nitridosilicate red phosphors prepared under mild conditions, where M is an alkaline earth metal ion; x > y; z ≥ y; 1 ≤ y ≤ 3; x + 2y = 3n + 3; k - z = 2n + 2; and n is a positive integer. Therefore, in this study, we successfully synthesized the nitridoalumosilicate red phosphor Ca4SiAl3N7:Eu2+ at normal pressure and lower temperature (1350 °C). Under excitation with 460 nm blue light, the Ca4SiAl3N7:Eu2+ phosphor efficiently emits red light at 645 nm and exhibits excellent thermal stability. The crystal structure and luminescence properties of Ca4SiAl3N7:Eu2+ were investigated in detail. The results indicate that Ca4SiAl3N7:Eu2+ exhibits strong potential for use in WLEDs. The design of nitridoalumosilicate red phosphors synthesized under mild conditions based on Gibbs free energy variation provides a new idea for the development of new nitride phosphors.

MgGd4Si3O13:Ce3+, Mn2+: A Dual-Excitation Temperature Sensor.

A novel apatite-based phosphor MgGd4Si3O13[Mg2Gd8(SiO4)6O2]:Ce3+, Mn2+ was designed and successfully synthesized by a solid-state reaction. Based on the different luminescence properties under 298 and 340 nm excitations, its potential application as a dual-excitation luminescent ratiometric thermometer was studied in detail. Under the excitations of 298 and 340 nm, the fluorescent intensity ratio of Ce3+ and Mn2+ is linearly correlated in the temperature range of 303-473 K. The sensitivity showed an opposite trend with the increase of temperature, and the maximum value was 0.95% K-1. These results indicated that MgGd4Si3O13: Ce3+, Mn2+ can be used as an ideal dual-excitation luminescent ratiometric thermometer.