Plasmonic nanoparticles can confine light in nanoscale and locally heat the surrounding. Here we use titanium nitride (TiN) nanoparticles as broadband plasmonic light absorbers and synthesized a highly photoresponsive hybrid cross-linked polymer from shape memory polymer poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). The TiN-PCL hybrid is responsive to sunlight and the threshold irradiance was among the lowest when compared with other photoresponsive shape memory polymers studied previously. Sunlight heating with TiN NPs can be applied to other heat responsive smart polymers, thereby contributing to energy-saving smart polymers research for a sustainable society.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5b12658 | DOI Listing |
Sleep
January 2025
UR2NF-Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Unit affiliated at CRCN - Centre for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences and UNI - ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
Enhancing the retention of recent memory traces through sleep reactivation is possible via Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR), involving cueing learned material during post-training sleep. Evidence indicates detectable short-term microstructural changes in the brain within an hour after motor sequence learning, and post-training sleep is believed to contribute to the consolidation of these motor memories, potentially leading to enduring microstructural changes. In this study, we explored how TMR during post-training sleep affects performance gains and delayed microstructural remodeling, using both standard Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and advanced Neurite Orientation Dispersion & Density Imaging (NODDI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolymers (Basel)
December 2024
Centre of Nanoheterostructure Physics, Ioffe Institute, Saint Petersburg 194021, Russia.
The paper presents a review of CNTs synthesis methods and their application as a functional filler to obtain polymer composites for various technical purposes for strain gauges, electrical heating, anti-static coatings, electrically conductive compounds, etc. Various synthesis methods allow CNTs with different morphology and structural properties to be created, which expands the possibilities of the application of such nanoscale structures. Polymers can provide such effects as 'shape memory' and self-repair of mechanical defects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtten Percept Psychophys
January 2025
Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
Our attention can sometimes be disrupted by salient but irrelevant objects in the environment. This distractor interference can be reduced when distractors appear frequently, allowing us to anticipate their presence. However, it remains unknown whether distractor frequency can be learned implicitly across distinct contexts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Department of Neurophysiology, Medical Faculty, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum 44780, Germany.
The novelty, saliency, and valency of ongoing experiences potently influence the firing rate of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the locus coeruleus (LC). Associative experience, in turn, is recorded into memory by means of hippocampal synaptic plasticity that is regulated by noradrenaline sourced from the LC, and dopamine, sourced from both the VTA and LC. Two persistent forms of synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation (LTP), and long-term depression (LTD) support the encoding of different kinds of spatial experience.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWorking memory (WM) is an evolving concept. Our understanding of the neural functions that support WM develops iteratively alongside the approaches used to study it, and both can be profoundly shaped by available tools and prevailing theoretical paradigms. Here, the organizers of the 2024 Working Memory Symposium-inspired by this year's meeting-highlight current trends and looming questions in WM research.
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