Asymmetric lateral inhibitory neural activity in the auditory system: a magnetoencephalographic study

Background  

Decrements of auditory evoked responses elicited by repeatedly presented sounds with similar frequencies have been well investigated by means of electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography (MEG). However the possible inhibitory interactions between different neuronal populations remains poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the effect of proceeding notch-filtered noises (NFNs) with different frequency spectra on a following test tone using MEG.     

Bridgework ahead! Innovation ecosystems vis-à-vis responsible innovation

Public funding agencies largely support academic research as an effort to stimulate future product commercialization and foster broader societal benefits. Yet, translating research nurtured in academic settings into such outcomes is complex and demands functional interactions between government, academic, and industry, i.e., “triple helix,” organizations within an innovation ecosystem. This article argues that in the spirit of responsible innovation, research funding should build bridges that extend beyond the triple helix stakeholders to connect to peripheral organizations. To support that argument, evidence from agent network analysis gathered from two case studies reveals strong and weak connections, as well as gaps within innovation ecosystems in Switzerland and metropolitan Phoenix, USA. This article offers insights on how innovation ecosystems are aligned or misaligned with responsible innovation.     

Effect of temperature on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles with polyethylene glycol: new insights into the reduction mechanism

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules act as a reducing and stabilizing agent in the formation of silver nanoparticles. PEG undergoes thermal oxidative degradation at temperatures over 70 °C in the presence of oxygen. Here, we studied how the temperature and an oxidizing atmosphere could affect the synthesis of silver nanoparticles with PEG. We tested different AgNO₃ concentrations for nanoparticles syntheses using PEG of low molecular weight, at 60 and 100 °C. At the higher temperature, the reducing action of PEG increased and the effect of PEG/Ag⁺ ratio on nanoparticles aggregation changed. These results suggest that different synthesis mechanisms operate at 60 and 100 °C. Thus, at 60 °C the reduction of silver ions can occur through the oxidation of the hydroxyl groups of PEG, as has been previously reported. We propose that the thermal oxidative degradation of PEG at 100 °C increases the number of both, functional groups and molecules that can reduce silver ions and stabilize silver nanoparticles. This degradation process could explain the enhancement of PEG reducing action observed by other authors when they increase the reaction temperature or use a PEG of higher molecular weight     

Hierarchical porous nitrogen-doped partial graphitized carbon monoliths for supercapacitor

Porous carbon monoliths have attracted great interest in many fields due to their easy availability, large specific surface area, desirable electronic conductivity, and tunable pore structure. In this work, hierarchical porous nitrogen-doped partial graphitized carbon monoliths (N–MC–Fe) with ordered mesoporous have been successfully synthesized by using resorcinol-formaldehyde as precursors, iron salts as catalyst, and mixed triblock copolymers as templates via a one-step hydrothermal method. In the reactant system, hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) is used as nitrogen source and one of the carbon precursors under hydrothermal conditions instead of using toxic formaldehyde. The N–MC–Fe show hierarchically porous structures, with interconnected macroporous and ordered hexagonally arranged mesoporous. Nitrogen element is in situ doped into carbon through decomposition of HMT. Iron catalyst is helpful to improve the graphitization degree and pore volume of N–MC–Fe. The synthesis strategy is user-friendly, cost-effective, and can be easily scaled up for production. As supercapacitors, the N–MC–Fe show good capacity with high specific capacitance and good electrochemical stability.

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Graphical abstract Hierarchical porous nitrogen-doped partial graphitized carbon monoliths with ordered mesoporous have been successfully synthesized by using resorcinol-formaldehyde as precursors, iron as catalyst, and mixed triblock copolymers as templates via a one-step hydrothermal method.

     

Transport and abatement of fluorescent silica nanoparticle (SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> NP) in granular filtration: effect of porous media and ionic strength

The extensive production and application of engineered silica nanoparticles (SiO₂ NPs) will inevitably lead to their release into the environment. Granular media filtration, a widely used process in water and wastewater treatment plants, has the potential for NP abatement. In this work, laboratory-scale column experiments were performed to study the transport and retention of SiO₂ NPs on three widely used porous materials, i.e., sand, anthracite, and granular activated carbon (GAC). Synthetic fluorescent core-shell SiO₂ NPs (83 nm) were used to facilitate NP detection. Sand showed very low capacity for SiO₂ filtration as this material had a surface with limited surface area and a high concentration of negative charge. Also, we found that the stability and transport of SiO₂ NP were strongly dependent on the ionic strength of the solution. Increasing ionic strength led to NP agglomeration and facilitated SiO₂ NP retention, while low ionic strength resulted in release of captured NPs from the sand bed. Compared to sand, anthracite and GAC showed higher affinity for SiO₂ NP capture. The superior capacity of GAC was primarily due to its porous structure and high surface area. A process model was developed to simulate NP capture in the packed bed columns and determine fundamental filtration parameters. This model provided an excellent fit to the experimental data. Taken together, the results obtained indicate that GAC is an interesting material for SiO₂ NP filtration.     

One-dimensional Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Mo<Subscript>x</Subscript>W<Subscript>1-x</Subscript>O<Subscript>6</Subscript> sosoloids: controllable synthesis by electrospinning process and enhanced photocatalytic performance

One-dimensional Bi₂Mo_xW_1-xO₆ (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.67, and 1) photocatalysts have been successfully synthesized for the first time by a straightforward electrospinning technique with a calcination process. The as-formed Bi₂Mo_xW_1-xO₆ nanofibers are composed of inter-linked nanosheets of 30–50 nm in size and characterized by thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetric, Fourier transform infrared, Raman spectra, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscope, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, transmission electron microscope, UV-Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence, HPLC, and EIS. The photodegradation behaviors towards organic dyes, including rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) are investigated, and the results illustrate that Bi₂Mo_0.25W_0.75O₆ nanofibers exhibit the highest photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation than Bi₂Mo_xW_1-xO₆ (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.67, and 1) samples. The possible mechanisms of the enhanced photocatalytic properties are discussed in detail.     

In vitro and in vivo comparative study of the phototherapy anticancer activity of hyaluronic acid-modified single-walled carbon nanotubes,graphene oxide,and fullerene

In this work, carbon nanomaterials, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), graphene oxide (GO), and fullerene (C60) were modified by hyaluronic acid (HA) to obtain water-soluble and biocompatible nanomaterials with high tumor-targeting capacity and then the comparative study of these hyaluronic acid-modified carbon nanomaterials was made in vitro and in vivo. The conjugates of hyaluronic acid and carbon nanomaterials, namely, HA-SWNT, HA-GO, HA-C60, were confirmed by UV/Vis spectrum, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and a transmission electron microscope (TEM). After HA modification, the sizes of HA-SWNT, HA-GO, and HA-C60 were in a range of 70 to 300 nm, and all the three HA-modified materials were at negative potential, demonstrating that HA modification was in favor of extravasation of carbon materials into a tumor site due to enhanced permeability and retention effect of tumor. Photothermal conversion in vitro test demonstrated excellent photothermal sensitivity of HA-SWNT and HA-GO. But the reactive oxygen yield of HA-C60 was the highest compared with the others under visible light irradiation, which proved the good photodynamic therapy effect of HA-C60. In addition, cytotoxicity experiments exhibited that the inhibitory efficacy of HA-SWNT was the lowest, the second was HA-C60, and the highest was HA-GO, which was consistent with the uptake degree of them. While under the laser irradiation, the cell inhibition of the HA-SWNT was the highest, the second was HA-GO, and the last was HA-C60. In vivo evaluation of the three targeting carbon nanomaterials was consistent with the cytotoxicity assay results. Taken together, the results demonstrated that HA-SWNT and HA-GO were suited for photothermal therapy (PTT) agents for their good photothermal property, while HA-C60 was used as a kind of photodynamic therapy (PDT) agent for its photodynamic effect.     

Seed-mediated synthesis of acanthosphere-like gold microstructures with tunable LSPR in the NIR region using gemini surfactants as directing agents for SERS applications

Acanthosphere-like gold microstructures (AGMs) were synthesized using a facile, two-step, seed-mediated method and butanediyl-1,4-bis(dimethylhexadecylammonium bromide) (16-4-16) as a structure-directing agent. The morphologies and sizes of the products were controlled during the synthesis process by adjusting the concentrations of 16-4-16, the AgNO₃ feed, HAuCl₄, ascorbic acid, the amount of Ag seeds and the types of gemini surfactants used through systematic inquiry; particle sizes ranging from 130 to 800 nm were well prepared. Correspondingly, the morphology of the products changed between regular and irregular AGMs, and the products presented a number of new morphologies, such as open-mouthed submicrostructures and ribbon nanowires. In particular, with the increase in the 16-4-16 concentration, the structural morphology of the thorns clearly changed from a tip to a lamellar structure. A UV-vis spectroscopic analysis indicated that the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak of the AGMs could be adjusted by changing the above factors, which extended from 500 to 1350 nm in the near-infrared (NIR) region, enabling a tremendous potential for using the AGMs as platforms for various biomedical applications. Based on the intermediate products, we propose a two-stage growth mechanism for the AGMs in which their solid cores and tips are generated successively. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurements indicate that the AGMs can serve as sensitive SERS substrates; a SERS detection limit of 5 × 10^?7 M is presented for rhodamine B molecules.

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Graphical abstract