Locked-in

Our goal is to decode firing patterns of single neurons in the left ventralis intermediate nucleus (Vim) of the thalamus, related to speech production, perception, and imagery. For realistic speech brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), we aim to characterize the amount of thalamic neurons necessary for high accuracy decoding.
Approach. We intraoperatively recorded single neuron activity in the left Vim of 8 neurosurgical patients undergoing implantation of deep brain stimulator or RF lesioning during production, perception and imagery of the five monophthongal vowel sounds...

Owing to good flexibility, prominent mechanical properties, three-dimensional (3D) nanofibrous structure and low background interference, sustainable bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is a highly attractive matrix material for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor. Herein, a highly sensitive, flexible and scalable silver nanorod-decorated BNC (AgNRs@BNC) SERS sensor is developed by a simple vacuum-assisted filtration. The AgNRs were firmly locked in the 3D nanofibrous network of cellulose nanofibers upon vacuum drying process, resulting in the formation of 3D SERS hotspots with a depth of more than 10 μm on the sensor...

Spin defects in silicon carbide are promising candidates for quantum sensing applications as they exhibit long coherence times even at room temperature. However, spin readout methods that rely on fluorescence detection can be challenging due to poor photon collection efficiency. Here, we demonstrate coherent spin control and all-electrical readout of a small ensemble of spins in a SiC junction diode using pulsed electrically detected magnetic resonance. A lock-in detection scheme based on a three stage modulation cycle is implemented, significantly enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio...

This paper presents a high-precision CMOS fluorescence photometry sensor using a novel lock-in amplification scheme based on switched-biasing and ping-pong auto-zeroing techniques. The CMOS sensor includes two photodiodes and a lock-in amplifier (LIA) operating at 1 kHz. The LIA comprises a differential low-noise amplifier using a novel switched-biasing ping-pong auto-zeroed scheme, an automatic phase aligner, a programmable gain amplifier, a band-pass filter, a mixer, and an output low-pass filter. The design is fabricated in 0...

The literature has demonstrated the potential for detecting accurate electrical signals that correspond to the will or intention to move, as well as decoding the thoughts of individuals who imagine houses, faces or objects. This investigation examines the presence of precise neural markers of imagined motivational states through the combining of electrophysiological and neuroimaging methods. 20 participants were instructed to vividly imagine the desire to move, listen to music or engage in social activities...

INTRODUCTION: Vertebral artery injury (VAI) following blunt trauma can lead to acute or delayed life-threatening posterior fossa ischemic stroke. Its management raises controversial issues and is still open to debate. MATERIAL & METHOD: We report the case of a 48-year-old male who presented a life-threatening posterior circulation ischemic stroke, secondary to a vertebral artery dissection caused by a cervical spine fracture. This case was successfully managed through intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy followed by antiplatelet therapy and an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion...

Low phase noise and narrow linewidth lasers are achieved by implementing self-injection locking of a DFB laser on two distinct fiber Fabry-Perot resonators. More than 45 dB improvement of the laser phase or frequency noise is observed when the laser is locked. In both cases, a frequency noise floor below 1 Hz2 /Hz is measured. The integrated linewidth of the best of the two lasers is computed to be in the range of 400 Hz and appears to be dominated by vibration noise close to the carrier...

It is both conceptually and practically fascinating to explore fundamental research studies and practical applications of two-dimensional systems with the tunable abundant valley Hall effect. In this work, based on first-principles calculations, the tunable abundant valley Hall effect is proved to appear in Janus monolayer VCGeN4 . When the magnetization is along the out-of-plane direction, VCGeN4 is an intrinsic ferromagnetic semiconductor with a valley feature. The intriguing spontaneous valley polarization exists in VCGeN4 due to the common influence of broken inversion and time-reversal symmetries, which makes it easier to realize the anomalous valley Hall effect...

Utilizing panel data from 119 cities spanning from 2013 to 2019, the study rigorously investigates the influence of environmental information disclosure (EID) on mitigating the risk of urban carbon lock-in through the application of both two-way fixed effects and spatial econometric models. The findings robustly indicate that EID plays a significant role in facilitating carbon unlocking within cities, a conclusion that remains steadfast even after addressing potential endogeneity issues. Mechanistically, it is revealed that EID can effectively decrease the risk of carbon lock-in by enhancing urbanization levels and reducing energy intensity...

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is an enormous global health threat stemming from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection. Up to now, the tremendous advances in combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) have shifted HIV-1 infection from a fatal illness into a manageable chronic disorder. However, the presence of latent reservoirs, the multifaceted nature of HIV-1, drug resistance, severe off-target effects, poor adherence, and high cost restrict the efficacy of current cART targeting the distinct stages of the virus life cycle...

Electrothermal piezoresistive resonant cantilever sensors have been fabricated with embedded actuating (heating resistor) and sensing (piezo resistors) parts, with the latter configured in a Wheatstone bridge circuit. Due to the close spacing between these two elements, a direct thermal parasitic effect on the resonant sensor during the actuating-sensing process leads to asymmetric amplitude and reversing phase spectral responses. Such a condition affects the precise determination of the cantilever's resonant frequency, f 0 ...

We investigate the magnetic field-dependent fluorescence lifetime of microdiamond powder containing a high density of nitrogen-vacancy centers. This constitutes a non-intensity quantity for robust, all-optical magnetic field sensing. We propose a fiber-based setup in which the excitation intensity is modulated in a frequency range up to 100MHz. The change in magnitude and phase of the fluorescence relative to B=0 is recorded where the phase shows a maximum in magnetic contrast of 5.8∘ at 13MHz. A lock-in amplifier-based setup utilizing the change in phase at this frequency shows a 100 times higher immunity to fluctuations in the optical path compared to the intensity-based approach...

Traditionally, it was believed that both proximal and distal locking are essential for achieving stability during intra-medullary fixation for extra-capsular hip fractures. However, recent literature has presented varying perspectives on the necessity of distal locking. Distal locking plays a significant role in managing hip fractures with uncertainties regarding longitudinal and rotational stability. This includes cases of comminuted intertrochanteric fractures with subtrochanteric extension, reverse oblique and high oblique fractures, broad medullary canals, comminution of the lateral wall, diaphyseal fractures, and large posteromedial fragments extending below the level of the lesser trochanter...

Germanium-tin (Ge1- x Sn x ) semiconductors are a front-runner platform for compact mid-infrared devices due to their tunable narrow bandgap and compatibility with silicon processing. However, their large lattice parameter has been a major hurdle, limiting the quality of epitaxial layers grown on silicon or germanium substrates. Herein, we demonstrate that 20 nm Ge nanowires (NWs) act as effective compliant substrates to grow extended defect-free Ge1- x Sn x alloys with a composition uniformity over several micrometers along the NW growth axis without significant buildup of the compressive strain...

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 7A1 (ALDH7A1) catalyzes a step of lysine catabolism. Certain missense mutations in the ALDH7A1 gene cause pyridoxine dependent epilepsy (PDE), a rare autosomal neurometabolic disorder with recessive inheritance that affects almost 1:65000 live births and is classically characterized by recurrent seizures from the neonatal period. We report a biochemical, structural, and computational study of two novel ALDH7A1 missense mutations that were identified in a child with rare recurrent seizures from the third month of life...

Fusicoccadiene synthase from P. amygdala (PaFS) is a bifunctional assembly-line terpene synthase containing a prenyltransferase domain that generates geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) from dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) and three equivalents of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP), and a cyclase domain that converts GGPP into fusicoccadiene, a precursor of the diterpene glycoside Fusicoccin A. The two catalytic domains are linked by a flexible 69-residue polypeptide segment. The prenyltransferase domain mediates oligomerization to form predominantly octamers, and cyclase domains are randomly splayed out around the prenyltransferase core...

Linguistic communication requires interlocutors to consider differences in each other's knowledge (perspective-taking). However, perspective-taking might either be spontaneous or strategic. We monitored listeners' eye movements in a referential communication task. A virtual speaker gave temporally ambiguous instructions with scalar adjectives ("big" in "big cubic block"). Scalar adjectives assume a contrasting object (a small cubic block). We manipulated whether the contrasting object (a small triangle) for a competitor object (a big triangle) was in common ground (visible to both speaker and listener) or was occluded so it was in the listener's privileged ground, in which case perspective-taking would allow earlier reference-resolution...

A vascular anastomosis is a critical surgical skill that involves connecting blood vessels. Traditional handsewn techniques can be challenging and resource intensive. To address these issues, we have developed a unique sutureless anastomotic device called Vaso-Lock. This intraluminal device connects free vascular ends using anchors to maintain traction and enable a rapid anastomosis. We tested the anastomotic capability of Vaso-Locks in a pig common carotid-internal jugular arteriovenous model. The use of Vaso-Lock allowed us to accomplish this procedure in less than 10 min, in contrast to the approximately 40 min required for a handsewn anastomosis...

We demonstrate a high dynamic range (DR) Fourier-transform-based terahertz (THz) spectrometer by combining a THz photomultiplier tube (PMT) with a metasurface and a conventional Michelson interferometer. Because the THz-PMT response depends on the incident electric-field strength following the Fowler-Nordheim equation, we can directly obtain an electric field interferogram without any synchronized optical probe pulse in contrast to conventional THz-time-domain-spectroscopy (THz-TDS). The DR of the corresponding power spectrum using the proposed method was 4...

Convergence of neural implants with artificial intelligence (AI) presents opportunities for the development of novel neural implants and improvement of existing neurotechnologies. While such technological innovation carries great promise for the restoration of neurological functions, they also raise ethical challenges. Developers of AI-driven neural implants possess valuable knowledge on the possibilities, limitations and challenges raised by these innovations; yet their perspectives are underrepresented in academic literature...