Atomistic calculation of size effects on elastic coefficients in nanometre-sized tungsten layers and wires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villain, P.; Beauchamp, P.; Badawi, K.F.; Goudeau, P.; Renault, P.-O.

2004-01-01

Equilibrium state and elastic coefficients of nanometre-sized single crystal tungsten layers and wires are investigated by atomistic simulations. The variations of the equilibrium distances as a function of the layer thickness or wire cross-section are mainly due to elastic effects of surface tension forces. A strong decrease of the Young's modulus is observed when the transverse dimensions are reduced below 2-3 nm

Ultrafast Vibrational Spectrometer for Engineered Nanometric Energetic Materials

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Dlott, Dana

2002-01-01

The proposer requested funding for laser equipment that would be used to study engineered nanometric energetic materials consisting of nanometer metal particles, passivation layers and oxidizing binders...

A single-atom quantum memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Specht, Holger P; Nölleke, Christian; Reiserer, Andreas; Uphoff, Manuel; Figueroa, Eden; Ritter, Stephan; Rempe, Gerhard

2011-05-12

The faithful storage of a quantum bit (qubit) of light is essential for long-distance quantum communication, quantum networking and distributed quantum computing. The required optical quantum memory must be able to receive and recreate the photonic qubit; additionally, it must store an unknown quantum state of light better than any classical device. So far, these two requirements have been met only by ensembles of material particles that store the information in collective excitations. Recent developments, however, have paved the way for an approach in which the information exchange occurs between single quanta of light and matter. This single-particle approach allows the material qubit to be addressed, which has fundamental advantages for realistic implementations. First, it enables a heralding mechanism that signals the successful storage of a photon by means of state detection; this can be used to combat inevitable losses and finite efficiencies. Second, it allows for individual qubit manipulations, opening up avenues for in situ processing of the stored quantum information. Here we demonstrate the most fundamental implementation of such a quantum memory, by mapping arbitrary polarization states of light into and out of a single atom trapped inside an optical cavity. The memory performance is tested with weak coherent pulses and analysed using full quantum process tomography. The average fidelity is measured to be 93%, and low decoherence rates result in qubit coherence times exceeding 180  microseconds. This makes our system a versatile quantum node with excellent prospects for applications in optical quantum gates and quantum repeaters.

Comparing single- and dual-process models of memory development.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, Brett K; Dunn, John C; Joubert, Amy; Taylor, Robert

2017-11-01

This experiment examined single-process and dual-process accounts of the development of visual recognition memory. The participants, 6-7-year-olds, 9-10-year-olds and adults, were presented with a list of pictures which they encoded under shallow or deep conditions. They then made recognition and confidence judgments about a list containing old and new items. We replicated the main trends reported by Ghetti and Angelini () in that recognition hit rates increased from 6 to 9 years of age, with larger age changes following deep than shallow encoding. Formal versions of the dual-process high threshold signal detection model and several single-process models (equal variance signal detection, unequal variance signal detection, mixture signal detection) were fit to the developmental data. The unequal variance and mixture signal detection models gave a better account of the data than either of the other models. A state-trace analysis found evidence for only one underlying memory process across the age range tested. These results suggest that single-process memory models based on memory strength are a viable alternative to dual-process models for explaining memory development. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Calibration of displacement sensors up to 300 µm with nanometre accuracy and direct traceability to a primary standard of length

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haitjema, H.; Schellekens, P.H.J.; Wetzels, S.F.C.L.

2000-01-01

A new class of sensor has recently appeared: nanometre sensors. These sensors are characterized by nanometre or sub-nanometre resolution and an uncertainty of a few nanometres over a range of at least several micrometres. Instruments such as capacitive or inductive sensors, laser interferometers,

Crack fronts and damage in glass at the nanometre scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marliere, Christian; Prades, Silke; Celarie, Fabrice; Dalmas, Davy; Bonamy, Daniel; Guillot, Claude; Bouchaud, Elisabeth

2003-01-01

We have studied the low-speed fracture regime for different glassy materials with variable but controlled length scales of heterogeneity in a carefully controlled surrounding atmosphere. By using optical and atomic force microscopy techniques, we tracked, in real-time, the crack tip propagation at the nanometre scale over a wide velocity range (10 -3 -10 -12 m s -1 and below). The influence of the heterogeneities on this velocity is presented and discussed. Our experiments reveal also - for the first time - that the crack progresses through nucleation, growth and coalescence of nanometric damage cavities within the amorphous phase. This may explain the large fluctuations observed in the crack tip velocities for the smallest values. This behaviour is very similar to that involved, at the micrometric scale, in ductile fracture. The only difference is very probably due to the related length scales (nanometric instead of micrometric). The consequences of such a nano-ductile fracture mode observed at a temperature far below the glass transition temperature, T g , in glass is also discussed

Crystal Orientation Effect on the Subsurface Deformation of Monocrystalline Germanium in Nanometric Cutting.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Min; Zhang, Xiaodong; Fang, Fengzhou

2017-12-01

Molecular dynamics simulations of nanometric cutting on monocrystalline germanium are conducted to investigate the subsurface deformation during and after nanometric cutting. The continuous random network model of amorphous germanium is established by molecular dynamics simulation, and its characteristic parameters are extracted to compare with those of the machined deformed layer. The coordination number distribution and radial distribution function (RDF) show that the machined surface presents the similar amorphous state. The anisotropic subsurface deformation is studied by nanometric cutting on the (010), (101), and (111) crystal planes of germanium, respectively. The deformed structures are prone to extend along the 110 slip system, which leads to the difference in the shape and thickness of the deformed layer on various directions and crystal planes. On machined surface, the greater thickness of subsurface deformed layer induces the greater surface recovery height. In order to get the critical thickness limit of deformed layer on machined surface of germanium, the optimized cutting direction on each crystal plane is suggested according to the relevance of the nanometric cutting to the nanoindentation.

Single-cell atomic quantum memory for light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Opatrny, Tomas

2006-01-01

Recent experiments demonstrating atomic quantum memory for light [B. Julsgaard et al., Nature 432, 482 (2004)] involve two macroscopic samples of atoms, each with opposite spin polarization. It is shown here that a single atomic cell is enough for the memory function if the atoms are optically pumped with suitable linearly polarized light, and quadratic Zeeman shift and/or ac Stark shift are used to manipulate rotations of the quadratures. This should enhance the performance of our quantum memory devices since less resources are needed and losses of light in crossing different media boundaries are avoided

Nanometric holograms based on a topological insulator material.

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Zengji; Xue, Gaolei; Liu, Juan; Wang, Yongtian; Gu, Min

2017-05-18

Holography has extremely extensive applications in conventional optical instruments spanning optical microscopy and imaging, three-dimensional displays and metrology. To integrate holography with modern low-dimensional electronic devices, holograms need to be thinned to a nanometric scale. However, to keep a pronounced phase shift modulation, the thickness of holograms has been generally limited to the optical wavelength scale, which hinders their integration with ultrathin electronic devices. Here, we break this limit and achieve 60 nm holograms using a topological insulator material. We discover that nanometric topological insulator thin films act as an intrinsic optical resonant cavity due to the unequal refractive indices in their metallic surfaces and bulk. The resonant cavity leads to enhancement of phase shifts and thus the holographic imaging. Our work paves a way towards integrating holography with flat electronic devices for optical imaging, data storage and information security.

Computational and empirical simulations of selective memory impairments: Converging evidence for a single-system account of memory dissociations.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Evan T; Jamieson, Randall K

2018-04-01

Current theory has divided memory into multiple systems, resulting in a fractionated account of human behaviour. By an alternative perspective, memory is a single system. However, debate over the details of different single-system theories has overshadowed the converging agreement among them, slowing the reunification of memory. Evidence in favour of dividing memory often takes the form of dissociations observed in amnesia, where amnesic patients are impaired on some memory tasks but not others. The dissociations are taken as evidence for separate explicit and implicit memory systems. We argue against this perspective. We simulate two key dissociations between classification and recognition in a computational model of memory, A Theory of Nonanalytic Association. We assume that amnesia reflects a quantitative difference in the quality of encoding. We also present empirical evidence that replicates the dissociations in healthy participants, simulating amnesic behaviour by reducing study time. In both analyses, we successfully reproduce the dissociations. We integrate our computational and empirical successes with the success of alternative models and manipulations and argue that our demonstrations, taken in concert with similar demonstrations with similar models, provide converging evidence for a more general set of single-system analyses that support the conclusion that a wide variety of memory phenomena can be explained by a unified and coherent set of principles.

Thickness Measurement of V2O5 Nanometric Thin Films Using a Portable XRF

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Lopes

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Nanometric thin films have always been chiefly used for decoration; however they are now being widely used as the basis of high technology. Among the various physical qualities that characterize them, the thickness strongly influences their properties. Thus, a new procedure is hereby proposed and developed for determining the thickness of V2O5 nanometric thin films deposited on the glass surface using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (PXRF equipment and the attenuation of the radiation intensity Kα of calcium present in the glass. It is shown through the present paper that the radiation intensity of calcium Kα rays is proportional to film thickness in nanometric films of vanadium deposited on the glass surface.

Simple Atomic Quantum Memory Suitable for Semiconductor Quantum Dot Single Photons

Science.gov (United States)

Wolters, Janik; Buser, Gianni; Horsley, Andrew; Béguin, Lucas; Jöckel, Andreas; Jahn, Jan-Philipp; Warburton, Richard J.; Treutlein, Philipp

2017-08-01

Quantum memories matched to single photon sources will form an important cornerstone of future quantum network technology. We demonstrate such a memory in warm Rb vapor with on-demand storage and retrieval, based on electromagnetically induced transparency. With an acceptance bandwidth of δ f =0.66 GHz , the memory is suitable for single photons emitted by semiconductor quantum dots. In this regime, vapor cell memories offer an excellent compromise between storage efficiency, storage time, noise level, and experimental complexity, and atomic collisions have negligible influence on the optical coherences. Operation of the memory is demonstrated using attenuated laser pulses on the single photon level. For a 50 ns storage time, we measure ηe2 e 50 ns=3.4 (3 )% end-to-end efficiency of the fiber-coupled memory, with a total intrinsic efficiency ηint=17 (3 )%. Straightforward technological improvements can boost the end-to-end-efficiency to ηe 2 e≈35 %; beyond that, increasing the optical depth and exploiting the Zeeman substructure of the atoms will allow such a memory to approach near unity efficiency. In the present memory, the unconditional read-out noise level of 9 ×10-3 photons is dominated by atomic fluorescence, and for input pulses containing on average μ1=0.27 (4 ) photons, the signal to noise level would be unity.

Corrosion behaviour of nanometre sized cerium oxide and titanium oxide incorporated aluminium in NaCl solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashraf, P. Muhamed; Edwin, Leela

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Corrosion resistant aluminium incorporated with nano oxides of cerium and titanium. ► 0.2% nano CeO 2 and 0.05% nano TiO 2 showed increased corrosion resistance. ► Nano TiO 2 concentration influenced the optimum performance of the material. ► Comparison of Micro and nano CeO 2 and TiO 2 aluminium showed the latter is best. - Abstract: The study highlights the development of an aluminium matrix composite by incorporating mixture of nanometre sized cerium oxide and titanium oxide in pure aluminium and its corrosion resistance in marine environment. The mixed nanometre sized oxides incorporated aluminium exhibited improved microstructure and excellent corrosion resistance. Corrosion resistance depends on the concentration of nanometre sized titanium oxide. Electrochemical characteristics improved several folds in nanometre sized mixed oxides incorporated aluminium than micrometre sized oxides incorporated aluminium.

A single-system model predicts recognition memory and repetition priming in amnesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Christopher J; Kessels, Roy P C; Wester, Arie J; Shanks, David R

2014-08-13

We challenge the claim that there are distinct neural systems for explicit and implicit memory by demonstrating that a formal single-system model predicts the pattern of recognition memory (explicit) and repetition priming (implicit) in amnesia. In the current investigation, human participants with amnesia categorized pictures of objects at study and then, at test, identified fragmented versions of studied (old) and nonstudied (new) objects (providing a measure of priming), and made a recognition memory judgment (old vs new) for each object. Numerous results in the amnesic patients were predicted in advance by the single-system model, as follows: (1) deficits in recognition memory and priming were evident relative to a control group; (2) items judged as old were identified at greater levels of fragmentation than items judged new, regardless of whether the items were actually old or new; and (3) the magnitude of the priming effect (the identification advantage for old vs new items) overall was greater than that of items judged new. Model evidence measures also favored the single-system model over two formal multiple-systems models. The findings support the single-system model, which explains the pattern of recognition and priming in amnesia primarily as a reduction in the strength of a single dimension of memory strength, rather than a selective explicit memory system deficit. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3410963-12$15.00/0.

A single bout of exercise improves motor memory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roig, Marc; Skriver, Kasper Christen; Lundbye-Jensen, Jesper

2012-01-01

Regular physical activity has a positive impact on cognition and brain function. Here we investigated if a single bout of exercise can improve motor memory and motor skill learning. We also explored if the timing of the exercise bout in relation to the timing of practice has any impact on the acq...... exercise on long-term motor memory....... that exercised before practice, the subjects that exercised after practice showed a better retention of the motor skill 7 days after practice. These findings indicate that one bout of intense exercise performed immediately before or after practicing a motor task is sufficient to improve the long-term retention......Regular physical activity has a positive impact on cognition and brain function. Here we investigated if a single bout of exercise can improve motor memory and motor skill learning. We also explored if the timing of the exercise bout in relation to the timing of practice has any impact...

SAP-like ultrafine-grained Al composites dispersion strengthened with nanometric AlN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balog, M.; Krizik, P.; Yan, M.; Simancik, F.; Schaffer, G.B.; Qian, M.

2013-01-01

This paper reports the development of novel Sinter-Aluminum-Pulver (SAP)-like Al–AlN nanocomposites via replacing the native Al 2 O 3 thin films on fine Al powder with a large volume fraction of in situ formed nanometric AlN dispersoids. Fine gas-atomized Al powder (d 50 =1.3 µm) compacts were first partially nitrided at 590 °C in flowing nitrogen, controlled by a small addition of Sn (0.3–0.4 wt%), and subsequently consolidated by hot direct extrusion. The resulting Al–AlN composites consisted of submicrometric Al grains reinforced with nanometric AlN dispersoids together with some nanometric Al 2 O 3 dispersoids. An Al–13 vol% AlN nanocomposite fabricated this way achieved exceptional ultimate tensile strength of 227 MPa, yield strength of 195 MPa and Young's modulus of 66 GPa at 300 °C, superior to typical SAP materials and coarse grained Al–AlN composites. In addition, the Al–13 vol% AlN nanocomposite exhibited good thermal stability up to 500 °C. The strengthening mechanism is discussed

Single-Chip Computers With Microelectromechanical Systems-Based Magnetic Memory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carley, L. Richard; Bain, James A.; Fedder, Gary K.; Greve, David W.; Guillou, David F.; Lu, Michael S.C.; Mukherjee, Tamal; Santhanam, Suresh; Abelmann, Leon; Min, Seungook

This article describes an approach for implementing a complete computer system (CPU, RAM, I/O, and nonvolatile mass memory) on a single integrated-circuit substrate (a chip)—hence, the name "single-chip computer." The approach presented combines advances in the field of microelectromechanical

Efficient perovskite light-emitting diodes featuring nanometre-sized crystallites

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Zhengguo; Kerner, Ross A.; Zhao, Lianfeng; Tran, Nhu L.; Lee, Kyung Min; Koh, Tae-Wook; Scholes, Gregory D.; Rand, Barry P.

2017-01-01

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite materials are emerging as highly attractive semiconductors for use in optoelectronics. In addition to their use in photovoltaics, perovskites are promising for realizing light-emitting diodes (LEDs) due to their high colour purity, low non-radiative recombination rates and tunable bandgap. Here, we report highly efficient perovskite LEDs enabled through the formation of self-assembled, nanometre-sized crystallites. Large-group ammonium halides added to the perovskite precursor solution act as a surfactant that dramatically constrains the growth of 3D perovskite grains during film forming, producing crystallites with dimensions as small as 10 nm and film roughness of less than 1 nm. Coating these nanometre-sized perovskite grains with longer-chain organic cations yields highly efficient emitters, resulting in LEDs that operate with external quantum efficiencies of 10.4% for the methylammonium lead iodide system and 9.3% for the methylammonium lead bromide system, with significantly improved shelf and operational stability.

Short term memory for single surface features and bindings in ageing: A replication study.

Science.gov (United States)

Isella, Valeria; Molteni, Federica; Mapelli, Cristina; Ferrarese, Carlo

2015-06-01

In the present study we replicated a previous experiment investigating visuo-spatial short term memory binding in young and older healthy individuals, in the attempt to verify the pattern of impairment that can be observed in normal elderly for short term memory for single items vs short term memory for bindings. Assessing a larger sample size (25 young and 25 older subjects), using a more appropriate measure of accuracy for a change detection task (A'), and adding the evaluation of speed of performance, we confirmed that old normals show a decline in short term memory for bindings of shape and colour that is of comparable extent, and not major, to the decline in memory for single shapes and single colours. The absence of a specific deficit of short term memory for conjunctions of surface features seems to distinguish cognitive ageing from Alzheimer's Disease. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Single-trial multisensory memories affect later auditory and visual object discrimination.

Science.gov (United States)

Thelen, Antonia; Talsma, Durk; Murray, Micah M

2015-05-01

Multisensory memory traces established via single-trial exposures can impact subsequent visual object recognition. This impact appears to depend on the meaningfulness of the initial multisensory pairing, implying that multisensory exposures establish distinct object representations that are accessible during later unisensory processing. Multisensory contexts may be particularly effective in influencing auditory discrimination, given the purportedly inferior recognition memory in this sensory modality. The possibility of this generalization and the equivalence of effects when memory discrimination was being performed in the visual vs. auditory modality were at the focus of this study. First, we demonstrate that visual object discrimination is affected by the context of prior multisensory encounters, replicating and extending previous findings by controlling for the probability of multisensory contexts during initial as well as repeated object presentations. Second, we provide the first evidence that single-trial multisensory memories impact subsequent auditory object discrimination. Auditory object discrimination was enhanced when initial presentations entailed semantically congruent multisensory pairs and was impaired after semantically incongruent multisensory encounters, compared to sounds that had been encountered only in a unisensory manner. Third, the impact of single-trial multisensory memories upon unisensory object discrimination was greater when the task was performed in the auditory vs. visual modality. Fourth, there was no evidence for correlation between effects of past multisensory experiences on visual and auditory processing, suggestive of largely independent object processing mechanisms between modalities. We discuss these findings in terms of the conceptual short term memory (CSTM) model and predictive coding. Our results suggest differential recruitment and modulation of conceptual memory networks according to the sensory task at hand. Copyright �

Persistent Memory in Single Node Delay-Coupled Reservoir Computing.

Science.gov (United States)

Kovac, André David; Koall, Maximilian; Pipa, Gordon; Toutounji, Hazem

2016-01-01

Delays are ubiquitous in biological systems, ranging from genetic regulatory networks and synaptic conductances, to predator/pray population interactions. The evidence is mounting, not only to the presence of delays as physical constraints in signal propagation speed, but also to their functional role in providing dynamical diversity to the systems that comprise them. The latter observation in biological systems inspired the recent development of a computational architecture that harnesses this dynamical diversity, by delay-coupling a single nonlinear element to itself. This architecture is a particular realization of Reservoir Computing, where stimuli are injected into the system in time rather than in space as is the case with classical recurrent neural network realizations. This architecture also exhibits an internal memory which fades in time, an important prerequisite to the functioning of any reservoir computing device. However, fading memory is also a limitation to any computation that requires persistent storage. In order to overcome this limitation, the current work introduces an extended version to the single node Delay-Coupled Reservoir, that is based on trained linear feedback. We show by numerical simulations that adding task-specific linear feedback to the single node Delay-Coupled Reservoir extends the class of solvable tasks to those that require nonfading memory. We demonstrate, through several case studies, the ability of the extended system to carry out complex nonlinear computations that depend on past information, whereas the computational power of the system with fading memory alone quickly deteriorates. Our findings provide the theoretical basis for future physical realizations of a biologically-inspired ultrafast computing device with extended functionality.

Shape memory behavior of single and polycrystalline nickel rich nickel titanium alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Kaya, Irfan

NiTi is the most commonly used shape memory alloy (SMA) and has been widely used for bio-medical, electrical and mechanical applications. Nickel rich NiTi shape memory alloys are coming into prominence due to their distinct superelasticity and shape memory properties as compared to near equi-atomic NiTi shape memory alloys. Besides, their lower density and higher work output than steels makes these alloys an excellent candidate for aerospace and automotive industry. Shape memory properties and phase transformation behavior of high Ni-rich Ni54Ti46 (at.%) polycrystals and Ni-rich Ni 51Ti49 (at.%) single-crystals are determined. Their properties are sensitive to heat treatments that affect the phase transformation behavior of these alloys. Phase transformation properties and microstructure were investigated in aged Ni54Ti46 alloys with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to reveal the precipitation characteristics and R-phase formation. It was found that Ni54Ti46 has the ability to exhibit perfect superelasticity under high stress levels (~2 GPa) with 4% total strain after 550°C-3h aging. Stress independent R-phase transformation was found to be responsible for the change in shape memory behavior with stress. The shape memory responses of [001], [011] and [111] oriented Ni 51Ti49 single-crystals alloy were reported under compression to reveal the orientation dependence of their shape memory behavior. It has been found that transformation strain, temperatures and hysteresis, Classius-Clapeyron slopes, critical stress for plastic deformation are highly orientation dependent. The effects of precipitation formation and compressive loading at selected temperatures on the two-way shape memory effect (TWSME) properties of a [111]- oriented Ni51Ti49 shape memory alloy were revealed. Additionally, aligned Ni4Ti3 precipitates were formed in a single crystal of Ni51Ti49 alloy by aging under applied compression stress along the

Contrasting single and multi-component working-memory systems in dual tasking.

Science.gov (United States)

Nijboer, Menno; Borst, Jelmer; van Rijn, Hedderik; Taatgen, Niels

2016-05-01

Working memory can be a major source of interference in dual tasking. However, there is no consensus on whether this interference is the result of a single working memory bottleneck, or of interactions between different working memory components that together form a complete working-memory system. We report a behavioral and an fMRI dataset in which working memory requirements are manipulated during multitasking. We show that a computational cognitive model that assumes a distributed version of working memory accounts for both behavioral and neuroimaging data better than a model that takes a more centralized approach. The model's working memory consists of an attentional focus, declarative memory, and a subvocalized rehearsal mechanism. Thus, the data and model favor an account where working memory interference in dual tasking is the result of interactions between different resources that together form a working-memory system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

GOTHIC memory management : a multiprocessor shared single level store

OpenAIRE

Michel , Béatrice

1990-01-01

Gothic purpose is to build an object-oriented fault-tolerant distributed operating system for a local area network of multiprocessor workstations. This paper describes Gothic memory manager. It realizes the sharing of the secondary memory space between any process running on the Gothic system. Processes on different processors can communicate by sharing permanent information. The manager implements a shared single level storage with an invalidation protocol working on disk-pages to maintain s...

Synthesis of New Silicon-linked Lanthanocene Complexes and Their High Catalytic Activity for Methyl Methacrylate Polymerization with Nanometric Sodium Hydride as Co-catalyst

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

谢小敏; 黄吉玲

2005-01-01

The synthesis and characterization of four new silicon-linked lanthanocene complexes with pendant phenyl groups on cyclopentadiene were reported. Based on the data of elemental analyses, MS and IR, the complexes were presumed to be unsolvated and dimeric complexes [Me2Si(C5H3CMe2C6H5)2LnC1]2 [Ln=Er (1), Gd (2), Sm (3), Dy (4)]. In conjunction with AlEt3 or sodium hydride as the co-catalyst, these complexes could efficiently catalyze the polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA). When the nanometric sodium hydride was used as a co-catalyst, the complexes were highly effective for the polymerization of MMA. At low temperature and in short time, in [MeESi(C5H3CMe2C6H5)2LnC1]2/NaH (nanometric) system, the polymer was obtained in more than 80% yield and the molecular weight was greater than 105. The activity reached that of organolanthanide hydride as a single-component catalyst. In ]MeESi(C5H3CMe2C6H5)2ErC1]2/Nail (nanometric) system, the effects of the molar ratio of MMA/catalyst and catalyst/co-catalyst, and the temperature on polymerization were studied.

Engineering a Biocompatible Scaffold with Either Micrometre or Nanometre Scale Surface Topography for Promoting Protein Adsorption and Cellular Response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuan Le

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Surface topographical features on biomaterials, both at the submicrometre and nanometre scales, are known to influence the physicochemical interactions between biological processes involving proteins and cells. The nanometre-structured surface features tend to resemble the extracellular matrix, the natural environment in which cells live, communicate, and work together. It is believed that by engineering a well-defined nanometre scale surface topography, it should be possible to induce appropriate surface signals that can be used to manipulate cell function in a similar manner to the extracellular matrix. Therefore, there is a need to investigate, understand, and ultimately have the ability to produce tailor-made nanometre scale surface topographies with suitable surface chemistry to promote favourable biological interactions similar to those of the extracellular matrix. Recent advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology have produced many new nanomaterials and numerous manufacturing techniques that have the potential to significantly improve several fields such as biological sensing, cell culture technology, surgical implants, and medical devices. For these fields to progress, there is a definite need to develop a detailed understanding of the interaction between biological systems and fabricated surface structures at both the micrometre and nanometre scales.

Human temporal cortical single neuron activity during working memory maintenance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zamora, Leona; Corina, David; Ojemann, George

2016-06-01

The Working Memory model of human memory, first introduced by Baddeley and Hitch (1974), has been one of the most influential psychological constructs in cognitive psychology and human neuroscience. However the neuronal correlates of core components of this model have yet to be fully elucidated. Here we present data from two studies where human temporal cortical single neuron activity was recorded during tasks differentially affecting the maintenance component of verbal working memory. In Study One we vary the presence or absence of distracting items for the entire period of memory storage. In Study Two we vary the duration of storage so that distractors filled all, or only one-third of the time the memory was stored. Extracellular single neuron recordings were obtained from 36 subjects undergoing awake temporal lobe resections for epilepsy, 25 in Study one, 11 in Study two. Recordings were obtained from a total of 166 lateral temporal cortex neurons during performance of one of these two tasks, 86 study one, 80 study two. Significant changes in activity with distractor manipulation were present in 74 of these neurons (45%), 38 Study one, 36 Study two. In 48 (65%) of those there was increased activity during the period when distracting items were absent, 26 Study One, 22 Study Two. The magnitude of this increase was greater for Study One, 47.6%, than Study Two, 8.1%, paralleling the reduction in memory errors in the absence of distracters, for Study One of 70.3%, Study Two 26.3% These findings establish that human lateral temporal cortex is part of the neural system for working memory, with activity during maintenance of that memory that parallels performance, suggesting it represents active rehearsal. In 31 of these neurons (65%) this activity was an extension of that during working memory encoding that differed significantly from the neural processes recorded during overt and silent language tasks without a recent memory component, 17 Study one, 14 Study two

Human Temporal Cortical Single Neuron Activity During Working Memory Maintenance

Science.gov (United States)

Zamora, Leona; Corina, David; Ojemann, George

2016-01-01

The Working Memory model of human memory, first introduced by Baddeley and Hitch (1974), has been one of the most influential psychological constructs in cognitive psychology and human neuroscience. However the neuronal correlates of core components of this model have yet to be fully elucidated. Here we present data from two studies where human temporal cortical single neuron activity was recorded during tasks differentially affecting the maintenance component of verbal working memory. In Study One we vary the presence or absence of distracting items for the entire period of memory storage. In Study Two we vary the duration of storage so that distractors filled all, or only one-third of the time the memory was stored. Extracellular single neuron recordings were obtained from 36 subjects undergoing awake temporal lobe resections for epilepsy, 25 in Study one, 11 in Study two. Recordings were obtained from a total of 166 lateral temporal cortex neurons during performance of one of these two tasks, 86 study one, 80 study two. Significant changes in activity with distractor manipulation were present in 74 of these neurons (45%), 38 Study one, 36 Study two. In 48 (65%) of those there was increased activity during the period when distracting items were absent, 26 Study One, 22 Study Two. The magnitude of this increase was greater for Study One, 47.6%, than Study Two, 8.1%, paralleling the reduction in memory errors in the absence of distracters, for Study One of 70.3%, Study Two 26.3% These findings establish that human lateral temporal cortex is part of the neural system for working memory, with activity during maintenance of that memory that parallels performance, suggesting it represents active rehearsal. In 31 of these neurons (65%) this activity was an extension of that during working memory encoding that differed significantly from the neural processes recorded during overt and silent language tasks without a recent memory component, 17 Study one, 14 Study two

Persistent Memory in Single Node Delay-Coupled Reservoir Computing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André David Kovac

Full Text Available Delays are ubiquitous in biological systems, ranging from genetic regulatory networks and synaptic conductances, to predator/pray population interactions. The evidence is mounting, not only to the presence of delays as physical constraints in signal propagation speed, but also to their functional role in providing dynamical diversity to the systems that comprise them. The latter observation in biological systems inspired the recent development of a computational architecture that harnesses this dynamical diversity, by delay-coupling a single nonlinear element to itself. This architecture is a particular realization of Reservoir Computing, where stimuli are injected into the system in time rather than in space as is the case with classical recurrent neural network realizations. This architecture also exhibits an internal memory which fades in time, an important prerequisite to the functioning of any reservoir computing device. However, fading memory is also a limitation to any computation that requires persistent storage. In order to overcome this limitation, the current work introduces an extended version to the single node Delay-Coupled Reservoir, that is based on trained linear feedback. We show by numerical simulations that adding task-specific linear feedback to the single node Delay-Coupled Reservoir extends the class of solvable tasks to those that require nonfading memory. We demonstrate, through several case studies, the ability of the extended system to carry out complex nonlinear computations that depend on past information, whereas the computational power of the system with fading memory alone quickly deteriorates. Our findings provide the theoretical basis for future physical realizations of a biologically-inspired ultrafast computing device with extended functionality.

Single-Event Effect Performance of a Conductive-Bridge Memory EEPROM

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Dakai; Wilcox, Edward; Berg, Melanie; Kim, Hak; Phan, Anthony; Figueiredo, Marco; Seidleck, Christina; LaBel, Kenneth

2015-01-01

We investigated the heavy ion single-event effect (SEE) susceptibility of the industry’s first stand-alone memory based on conductive-bridge memory (CBRAM) technology. The device is available as an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). We found that single-event functional interrupt (SEFI) is the dominant SEE type for each operational mode (standby, dynamic read, and dynamic write/read). SEFIs occurred even while the device is statically biased in standby mode. Worst case SEFIs resulted in errors that filled the entire memory space. Power cycle did not always clear the errors. Thus the corrupted cells had to be reprogrammed in some cases. The device is also vulnerable to bit upsets during dynamic write/read tests, although the frequency of the upsets are relatively low. The linear energy transfer threshold for cell upset is between 10 and 20 megaelectron volts per square centimeter per milligram, with an upper limit cross section of 1.6 times 10(sup -11) square centimeters per bit (95 percent confidence level) at 10 megaelectronvolts per square centimeter per milligram. In standby mode, the CBRAM array appears invulnerable to bit upsets.

A single bout of resistance exercise can enhance episodic memory performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinberg, Lisa; Hasni, Anita; Shinohara, Minoru; Duarte, Audrey

2014-11-01

Acute aerobic exercise can be beneficial to episodic memory. This benefit may occur because exercise produces a similar physiological response as physical stressors. When administered during consolidation, acute stress, both physical and psychological, consistently enhances episodic memory, particularly memory for emotional materials. Here we investigated whether a single bout of resistance exercise performed during consolidation can produce episodic memory benefits 48 h later. We used a one-leg knee extension/flexion task for the resistance exercise. To assess the physiological response to the exercise, we measured salivary alpha amylase (a biomarker of central norepinephrine), heart rate, and blood pressure. To test emotional episodic memory, we used a remember-know recognition memory paradigm with equal numbers of positive, negative, and neutral IAPS images as stimuli. The group that performed the exercise, the active group, had higher overall recognition accuracy than the group that did not exercise, the passive group. We found a robust effect of valence across groups, with better performance on emotional items as compared to neutral items and no difference between positive and negative items. This effect changed based on the physiological response to the exercise. Within the active group, participants with a high physiological response to the exercise were impaired for neutral items as compared to participants with a low physiological response to the exercise. Our results demonstrate that a single bout of resistance exercise performed during consolidation can enhance episodic memory and that the effect of valence on memory depends on the physiological response to the exercise. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The oldest magnetic record in our solar system identified using nanometric imaging and numerical modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Jay; Williams, Wyn; Almeida, Trevor P; Nagy, Lesleis; Muxworthy, Adrian R; Kovács, András; Valdez-Grijalva, Miguel A; Fabian, Karl; Russell, Sara S; Genge, Matthew J; Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E

2018-03-21

Recordings of magnetic fields, thought to be crucial to our solar system's rapid accretion, are potentially retained in unaltered nanometric low-Ni kamacite (~ metallic Fe) grains encased within dusty olivine crystals, found in the chondrules of unequilibrated chondrites. However, most of these kamacite grains are magnetically non-uniform, so their ability to retain four-billion-year-old magnetic recordings cannot be estimated by previous theories, which assume only uniform magnetization. Here, we demonstrate that non-uniformly magnetized nanometric kamacite grains are stable over solar system timescales and likely the primary carrier of remanence in dusty olivine. By performing in-situ temperature-dependent nanometric magnetic measurements using off-axis electron holography, we demonstrate the thermal stability of multi-vortex kamacite grains from the chondritic Bishunpur meteorite. Combined with numerical micromagnetic modeling, we determine the stability of the magnetization of these grains. Our study shows that dusty olivine kamacite grains are capable of retaining magnetic recordings from the accreting solar system.

Dynamic working memory performance in individuals with single-domain amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Guild, Emma B; Vasquez, Brandon P; Maione, Andrea M; Mah, Linda; Ween, Jon; Anderson, Nicole D

2014-01-01

Previous studies have observed poorer working memory performance in individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment than in healthy older adults. It is unclear, however, whether these difficulties are true only of the multiple-domain clinical subtype in whom poorer executive functioning is common. The current study examined working memory, as measured by the self-ordered pointing task (SOPT) and an n-back task, in healthy older adults and adults with single-domain amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Individuals with single-domain aMCI committed more errors and required longer to develop an organizational strategy on the SOPT. The single-domain aMCI group did not differ from healthy older adults on the 1-back or 2-back, but had poorer discrimination on the 3-back task. This is, to our knowledge, the first characterization of dynamic working memory performance in a single-domain aMCI group. These results lend support for the idea that clinical amnestic MCI subtypes may reflect different stages on a continuum of progression to dementia and question whether standardized measures of working memory (span tasks) are sensitive enough to capture subtle changes in performance.

The role of auditory cortices in the retrieval of single-trial auditory-visual object memories.

OpenAIRE

Matusz, P.J.; Thelen, A.; Amrein, S.; Geiser, E.; Anken, J.; Murray, M.M.

2015-01-01

Single-trial encounters with multisensory stimuli affect both memory performance and early-latency brain responses to visual stimuli. Whether and how auditory cortices support memory processes based on single-trial multisensory learning is unknown and may differ qualitatively and quantitatively from comparable processes within visual cortices due to purported differences in memory capacities across the senses. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) as healthy adults (n = 18) performed a ...

Long-Term Memory for a Single Infancy Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Perris, Eve Emmanuel; And Others

1990-01-01

Children's memory of single infant experience was evaluated. At 6.5 months, infants participated in study of reaching in light and dark for sounding object. Children repeated dark procedure in laboratory when they were either one year or two years older. Older children with infant experience reached and grasped the sounding object significantly…

Memory effects in single-molecule spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmitt, Daniel T.; Schulz, Michael; Reineker, Peter

2007-01-01

From the time series of LH2 optical single-molecule fluorescence excitation spectra of Rhodospirillum molischianum the memory function of the Mori-Zwanzig equation for the optical intensity is derived numerically. We show that the time dependence of the excited states is determined by at least three different non-Markovian stochastic processes with decay constants for the Mori-Zwanzig kernel on the order of 1-5min -1 . We suggest that this decay stems from the conformational motion of the protein scaffold of LH2

Memory effect in silicon time-gated single-photon avalanche diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalla Mora, A.; Contini, D.; Di Sieno, L.; Tosi, A.; Boso, G.; Villa, F.; Pifferi, A.

2015-01-01

We present a comprehensive characterization of the memory effect arising in thin-junction silicon Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) when exposed to strong illumination. This partially unknown afterpulsing-like noise represents the main limiting factor when time-gated acquisitions are exploited to increase the measurement dynamic range of very fast (picosecond scale) and faint (single-photon) optical signals following a strong stray one. We report the dependences of this unwelcome signal-related noise on photon wavelength, detector temperature, and biasing conditions. Our results suggest that this so-called “memory effect” is generated in the deep regions of the detector, well below the depleted region, and its contribution on detector response is visible only when time-gated SPADs are exploited to reject a strong burst of photons

Memory effect in silicon time-gated single-photon avalanche diodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalla Mora, A.; Contini, D., E-mail: davide.contini@polimi.it; Di Sieno, L. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Tosi, A.; Boso, G.; Villa, F. [Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Pifferi, A. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133 Milano (Italy); CNR, Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133 Milano (Italy)

2015-03-21

We present a comprehensive characterization of the memory effect arising in thin-junction silicon Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) when exposed to strong illumination. This partially unknown afterpulsing-like noise represents the main limiting factor when time-gated acquisitions are exploited to increase the measurement dynamic range of very fast (picosecond scale) and faint (single-photon) optical signals following a strong stray one. We report the dependences of this unwelcome signal-related noise on photon wavelength, detector temperature, and biasing conditions. Our results suggest that this so-called “memory effect” is generated in the deep regions of the detector, well below the depleted region, and its contribution on detector response is visible only when time-gated SPADs are exploited to reject a strong burst of photons.

Glomerular barrier behaves as an atomically precise bandpass filter in a sub-nanometre regime

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Bujie; Jiang, Xingya; Das, Anindita; Zhou, Qinhan; Yu, Mengxiao; Jin, Rongchao; Zheng, Jie

2017-11-01

The glomerular filtration barrier is known as a 'size cutoff' slit, which retains nanoparticles or proteins larger than 6-8 nm in the body and rapidly excretes smaller ones through the kidneys. However, in the sub-nanometre size regime, we have found that this barrier behaves as an atomically precise 'bandpass' filter to significantly slow down renal clearance of few-atom gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) with the same surface ligands but different sizes (Au18, Au15 and Au10-11). Compared to Au25 (∼1.0 nm), just few-atom decreases in size result in four- to ninefold reductions in renal clearance efficiency in the early elimination stage, because the smaller AuNCs are more readily trapped by the glomerular glycocalyx than larger ones. This unique in vivo nano-bio interaction in the sub-nanometre regime also slows down the extravasation of sub-nanometre AuNCs from normal blood vessels and enhances their passive targeting to cancerous tissues through an enhanced permeability and retention effect. This discovery highlights the size precision in the body's response to nanoparticles and opens a new pathway to develop nanomedicines for many diseases associated with glycocalyx dysfunction.

The "when" and the "where" of single-trial allocentric spatial memory performance in young children: Insights into the development of episodic memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Ribordy Lambert, Farfalla; Lavenex, Pierre; Banta Lavenex, Pamela

2017-03-01

Allocentric spatial memory, "where" with respect to the surrounding environment, is one of the three fundamental components of episodic memory: what, where, when. Whereas basic allocentric spatial memory abilities are reliably observed in children after 2 years of age, coinciding with the offset of infantile amnesia, the resolution of allocentric spatial memory acquired over repeated trials improves from 2 to 4 years of age. Here, we first show that single-trial allocentric spatial memory performance improves in children from 3.5 to 7 years of age, during the typical period of childhood amnesia. Second, we show that large individual variation exists in children's performance at this age. Third, and most importantly, we show that improvements in single-trial allocentric spatial memory performance are due to an increasing ability to spatially and temporally separate locations and events. Such improvements in spatial and temporal processing abilities may contribute to the gradual offset of childhood amnesia. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Memory under stress: from single systems to network changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwabe, Lars

2017-02-01

Stressful events have profound effects on learning and memory. These effects are mainly mediated by catecholamines and glucocorticoid hormones released from the adrenals during stressful encounters. It has been known for long that both catecholamines and glucocorticoids influence the functioning of the hippocampus, a critical hub for episodic memory. However, areas implicated in other forms of memory, such as the insula or the dorsal striatum, can be affected by stress as well. Beyond changes in single memory systems, acute stress triggers the reconfiguration of large scale neural networks which sets the stage for a shift from thoughtful, 'cognitive' control of learning and memory toward more reflexive, 'habitual' processes. Stress-related alterations in amygdala connectivity with the hippocampus, dorsal striatum, and prefrontal cortex seem to play a key role in this shift. The bias toward systems proficient in threat processing and the implementation of well-established routines may facilitate coping with an acute stressor. Overreliance on these reflexive systems or the inability to shift flexibly between them, however, may represent a risk factor for psychopathology in the long-run. © 2016 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Deterministic and Storable Single-Photon Source Based on a Quantum Memory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Shuai; Chen, Y.-A.; Strassel, Thorsten; Zhao Bo; Yuan Zhensheng; Pan Jianwei; Schmiedmayer, Joerg

2006-01-01

A single-photon source is realized with a cold atomic ensemble ( 87 Rb atoms). A single excitation, written in an atomic quantum memory by Raman scattering of a laser pulse, is retrieved deterministically as a single photon at a predetermined time. It is shown that the production rate of single photons can be enhanced considerably by a feedback circuit while the single-photon quality is conserved. Such a single-photon source is well suited for future large-scale realization of quantum communication and linear optical quantum computation

Improving performance of single-path code through a time-predictable memory hierarchy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cilku, Bekim; Puffitsch, Wolfgang; Prokesch, Daniel

2017-01-01

-predictable memory hierarchy with a prefetcher that exploits the predictability of execution traces in single-path code to speed up code execution. The new memory hierarchy reduces both the cache-miss penalty time and the cache-miss rate on the instruction cache. The benefit of the approach is demonstrated through...

Enrichment of ODMR-active nitrogen-vacancy centres in five-nanometre-sized detonation-synthesized nanodiamonds: Nanoprobes for temperature, angle and position.

Science.gov (United States)

Sotoma, Shingo; Terada, Daiki; Segawa, Takuya F; Igarashi, Ryuji; Harada, Yoshie; Shirakawa, Masahiro

2018-04-03

The development of sensors to estimate physical properties, and their temporal and spatial variation, has been a central driving force in scientific breakthroughs. In recent years, nanosensors based on quantum measurements, such as nitrogen-vacancy centres (NVCs) in nanodiamonds, have been attracting much attention as ultrastable, sensitive, accurate and versatile physical sensors for quantitative cellular measurements. However, the nanodiamonds currently available for use as sensors have diameters of several tens of nanometres, much larger than the usual size of a protein. Therefore, their actual applications remain limited. Here we show that NVCs in an aggregation of 5-nm-sized detonation-synthesized nanodiamond treated by Krüger's surface reduction (termed DND-OH) retains the same characteristics as observed in larger diamonds. We show that the negative charge at the NVC are stabilized, have a relatively long T 2 spin relaxation time of up to 4 μs, and are applicable to thermosensing, one-degree orientation determination and nanometric super-resolution imaging. Our results clearly demonstrate the significant potential of DND-OH as a physical sensor. Thus, DND-OH will raise new possibilities for spatiotemporal monitoring of live cells and dynamic biomolecules in individual cells at single-molecule resolution.

Record Endurance for Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube–Based Memory Cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Y

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract We study memory devices consisting of single-walled carbon nanotube transistors with charge storage at the SiO2/nanotube interface. We show that this type of memory device is robust, withstanding over 105 operating cycles, with a current drive capability up to 10−6 A at 20 mV drain bias, thus competing with state-of-the-art Si-devices. We find that the device performance depends on temperature and pressure, while both endurance and data retention are improved in vacuum.

Single-event phenomena on recent semiconductor devices. Charge-type multiple-bit upsets in high integrated memories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makihara, Akiko; Shindou, Hiroyuki; Nemoto, Norio; Kuboyama, Satoshi; Matsuda, Sumio; Ohshima, Takeshi; Hirao, Toshio; Itoh, Hisayoshi

2001-01-01

High integrated memories are used in solid state data recorder (SSDR) of the satellite for accumulating observation data. Single event upset phenomena which turn over an accumulated data in the memory cells are caused by heavy ion incidence. Studies on single-bit upset and multiple-bit upset phenomena in the high integrated memory cells are in progress recently. 16 Mbit DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memories) and 64 Mbit DRAM are irradiated by heavy ion species, such as iodine, bromine and nickel, in comparison with the irradiation damage in the cosmic environment. Data written on the memory devices are read out after the irradiation. The memory cells in three kinds of states, all of charged state, all of discharged state, and an alternative state of charge and discharge, are irradiated for sorting out error modes caused by heavy ion incidence. The soft error in a single memory cells is known as a turn over from charged state to discharged state. Electrons in electron-hole pair generated by heavy ion incidence are captured in a diffusion region between capacitor electrodes of semiconductor. The charged states in the capacitor electrodes before the irradiation are neutralized and changed to the discharged states. According to high integration of the memories, many of the cells are affected by a single ion incidence. The multiple-bit upsets, however, are generated in the memory cells of discharged state before the irradiation, also. The charge-type multiple-bit upsets is considered as that error data are written on the DRAM during refresh cycle of a sense-up circuit and a pre-charge circuit which control the DRAM. (M. Suetake)

Effect of a single dose of dextromethorphan on psychomotor performance and working memory capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Kuraishy, Hayder M; Al-Gareeb, Ali I; Ashor, Ammar Waham

2012-04-01

Previous studies show that the prolonged use of dextromethorphan produces cognitive deterioration in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a single dose of dextroemthrophan on psychomotor performance and working memory capacity. This is a randomized, double-blind, controlled, and prospective study. Thirty-six (17 women, 19 men) medical students enrolled in the study; half of them (7 women, 11 men) were given placebo, while the other half (10 women, 8 men) received dextromethorphan. The choice reaction time, critical flicker fusion threshold, and N-back working memory task were measured before and after 2 h of taking the drugs. Dextromethorphan showed a significant deterioration in the 3-back working memory task (P0.05). On the other hand, placebo showed no significant changes as regards the choice reaction time, critical flicker fusion threshold, and N-back working memory task (P>0.05). A single dose of dextromethorphan has no effect on attention and arousal but may significantly impair the working memory capacity.

Nucleation and Nanometric Inhomogeneity in Niobiogermanate Glass: In-Situ Inelastic Light Scattering and TEM Studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Y; Ihara, R; Fujiwara, T; Osada, M; Masai, H

2011-01-01

We performed in-situ inelastic light scattering measurement in KNbGeO 5 glass with a high nucleation ability during heating in order to elucidate nanocrystallization dynamics. The results of the in-situ measurement and TEM observation revealed that nanometric heterogeneous region (∼1-2 nm) consisting of the Nb-richer phase develops, i.e., K 3 Nb 7 O 19 , at the temperature, in which glassy-supercooled-liquid (SCL) phase-transition occurs, i.e., precursive stage of nanocrystallization. This strongly suggests that evolution of the nanometric Nb-richer phase in the SCL phase corresponds to nucleation in the KNbGeO 5 glass.

Single electron-spin memory with a semiconductor quantum dot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, Robert J; Dewhurst, Samuel J; Stevenson, R Mark; Atkinson, Paola; Bennett, Anthony J; Ward, Martin B; Cooper, Ken; Ritchie, David A; Shields, Andrew J

2007-01-01

We show storage of the circular polarization of an optical field, transferring it to the spin-state of an individual electron confined in a single semiconductor quantum dot. The state is subsequently read out through the electronically-triggered emission of a single photon. The emitted photon shares the same polarization as the initial pulse but has a different energy, making the transfer of quantum information between different physical systems possible. With an applied magnetic field of 2 T, spin memory is preserved for at least 1000 times more than the exciton's radiative lifetime

Single-exposure visual memory judgments are reflected in inferotemporal cortex

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Travis

2018-01-01

Our visual memory percepts of whether we have encountered specific objects or scenes before are hypothesized to manifest as decrements in neural responses in inferotemporal cortex (IT) with stimulus repetition. To evaluate this proposal, we recorded IT neural responses as two monkeys performed a single-exposure visual memory task designed to measure the rates of forgetting with time. We found that a weighted linear read-out of IT was a better predictor of the monkeys’ forgetting rates and reaction time patterns than a strict instantiation of the repetition suppression hypothesis, expressed as a total spike count scheme. Behavioral predictions could be attributed to visual memory signals that were reflected as repetition suppression and were intermingled with visual selectivity, but only when combined across the most sensitive neurons. PMID:29517485

Three-month performance evaluation of the Nanometrics, Inc., Libra Satellite Seismograph System in the northern California Seismic Network

Science.gov (United States)

Oppenheimer, David H.

2000-01-01

In 1999 the Northern California Seismic Network (NCSN) purchased a Libra satellite seismograph system from Nanometrics, Inc to assess whether this technology was a cost-effective and robust replacement for their analog microwave system. The system was purchased subject to it meeting the requirements, criteria and tests described in Appendix A. In early 2000, Nanometrics began delivery of various components of the system, such as the hub and remote satellite dish and mounting hardware, and the NCSN installed and assembled most equipment in advance of the arrival of Nanometrics engineers to facilitate the configuration of the system. The hub was installed in its permanent location, but for logistical reasons the "remote" satellite hardware was initially configured at the NCSN for testing. During the first week of April Nanometrics engineers came to Menlo Park to configure the system and train NCSN staff. The two dishes were aligned with the satellite, and the system was fully operational in 2 days with little problem. Nanometrics engineers spent the remaining 3 days providing hands-on training to NCSN staff in hardware/software operation, configuration, and maintenance. During the second week of April 2000, NCSN staff moved the entire remote system of digitizers, dish assembly, and mounting hardware to Mammoth Lakes, California. The system was reinstalled at the Mammoth Lakes water treatment plant and communications successfully reestablished with the hub via the satellite on 14 April 2000. The system has been in continuous operation since then. This report reviews the performance of the Libra system for the three-month period 20 April 2000 through 20 July 2000. The purpose of the report is to assess whether the system passed the acceptance tests described in Appendix A. We examine all data gaps reported by NCSN "gap list" software and discuss their cause.

Nanometre-sized inhomogeneity in high-Jc Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishiyama, M; Kinoda, G; Zhao, Y; Hasegawa, T; Itoh, Y; Koshizuka, N; Murakami, M

2004-01-01

We have performed atomic-scale high-resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy measurements on the cleaved surface of single crystal Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCuO 8+δ superconductors with high critical current density J c . The samples exhibited rugged structure about 15 nm in period, larger than the modulation of the BiO layer, which corresponded well to the energy gap distribution at 77 K. The presence of inhomogeneity from a nanometre to a micrometre scale, in the energy gap distribution, the structural modulation and the chemical composition fluctuation, may play an important role in improving J c values in the Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCuO 8+δ crystals

A single-trace dual-process model of episodic memory: a novel computational account of familiarity and recollection.

Science.gov (United States)

Greve, Andrea; Donaldson, David I; van Rossum, Mark C W

2010-02-01

Dual-process theories of episodic memory state that retrieval is contingent on two independent processes: familiarity (providing a sense of oldness) and recollection (recovering events and their context). A variety of studies have reported distinct neural signatures for familiarity and recollection, supporting dual-process theory. One outstanding question is whether these signatures reflect the activation of distinct memory traces or the operation of different retrieval mechanisms on a single memory trace. We present a computational model that uses a single neuronal network to store memory traces, but two distinct and independent retrieval processes access the memory. The model is capable of performing familiarity and recollection-based discrimination between old and new patterns, demonstrating that dual-process models need not to rely on multiple independent memory traces, but can use a single trace. Importantly, our putative familiarity and recollection processes exhibit distinct characteristics analogous to those found in empirical data; they diverge in capacity and sensitivity to sparse and correlated patterns, exhibit distinct ROC curves, and account for performance on both item and associative recognition tests. The demonstration that a single-trace, dual-process model can account for a range of empirical findings highlights the importance of distinguishing between neuronal processes and the neuronal representations on which they operate.

Conditional Dispersive Readout of a CMOS Single-Electron Memory Cell

Science.gov (United States)

Schaal, S.; Barraud, S.; Morton, J. J. L.; Gonzalez-Zalba, M. F.

2018-05-01

Quantum computers require interfaces with classical electronics for efficient qubit control, measurement, and fast data processing. Fabricating the qubit and the classical control layer using the same technology is appealing because it will facilitate the integration process, improving feedback speeds and offering potential solutions to wiring and layout challenges. Integrating classical and quantum devices monolithically, using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes, enables the processor to profit from the most mature industrial technology for the fabrication of large-scale circuits. We demonstrate a CMOS single-electron memory cell composed of a single quantum dot and a transistor that locks charge on the quantum-dot gate. The single-electron memory cell is conditionally read out by gate-based dispersive sensing using a lumped-element L C resonator. The control field-effect transistor (FET) and quantum dot are fabricated on the same chip using fully depleted silicon-on-insulator technology. We obtain a charge sensitivity of δ q =95 ×10-6e Hz-1 /2 when the quantum-dot readout is enabled by the control FET, comparable to results without the control FET. Additionally, we observe a single-electron retention time on the order of a second when storing a single-electron charge on the quantum dot at millikelvin temperatures. These results demonstrate first steps towards time-based multiplexing of gate-based dispersive readout in CMOS quantum devices opening the path for the development of an all-silicon quantum-classical processor.

Simple and efficient absorption filter for single photons from a cold atom quantum memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Stack, Daniel T; Lee, Patricia J; Quraishi, Qudsia

2015-03-09

The ability to filter unwanted light signals is critical to the operation of quantum memories based on neutral atom ensembles. Here we demonstrate an efficient frequency filter which uses a vapor cell filled with (85)Rb and a buffer gas to attenuate both residual laser light and noise photons by nearly two orders of magnitude with little loss to the single photons associated with our cold (87)Rb quantum memory. This simple, passive filter provides an additional 18 dB attenuation of our pump laser and erroneous spontaneous emissions for every 1 dB loss of the single photon signal. We show that the addition of a frequency filter increases the non-classical correlations and the retrieval efficiency of our quantum memory by ≈ 35%.

The Control of Single-color and Multiple-color Visual Search by Attentional Templates in Working Memory and in Long-term Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Grubert, Anna; Carlisle, Nancy B; Eimer, Martin

2016-12-01

The question whether target selection in visual search can be effectively controlled by simultaneous attentional templates for multiple features is still under dispute. We investigated whether multiple-color attentional guidance is possible when target colors remain constant and can thus be represented in long-term memory but not when they change frequently and have to be held in working memory. Participants searched for one, two, or three possible target colors that were specified by cue displays at the start of each trial. In constant-color blocks, the same colors remained task-relevant throughout. In variable-color blocks, target colors changed between trials. The contralateral delay activity (CDA) to cue displays increased in amplitude as a function of color memory load in variable-color blocks, which indicates that cued target colors were held in working memory. In constant-color blocks, the CDA was much smaller, suggesting that color representations were primarily stored in long-term memory. N2pc components to targets were measured as a marker of attentional target selection. Target N2pcs were attenuated and delayed during multiple-color search, demonstrating less efficient attentional deployment to color-defined target objects relative to single-color search. Importantly, these costs were the same in constant-color and variable-color blocks. These results demonstrate that attentional guidance by multiple-feature as compared with single-feature templates is less efficient both when target features remain constant and can be represented in long-term memory and when they change across trials and therefore have to be maintained in working memory.

Cosmic and terrestrial single-event radiation effects in dynamic random access memories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massengill, L.W.

1996-01-01

A review of the literature on single-event radiation effects (SEE) on MOS integrated-circuit dynamic random access memories (DRAM's) is presented. The sources of single-event (SE) radiation particles, causes of circuit information loss, experimental observations of SE information upset, technological developments for error mitigation, and relationships of developmental trends to SE vulnerability are discussed

Single-Walled Carbon-Nanotubes-Based Organic Memory Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sundes Fakher

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The electrical behaviour of organic memory structures, based on single-walled carbon-nanotubes (SWCNTs, metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS and thin film transistor (TFT structures, using poly(methyl methacrylate (PMMA as the gate dielectric, are reported. The drain and source electrodes were fabricated by evaporating 50 nm gold, and the gate electrode was made from 50 nm-evaporated aluminium on a clean glass substrate. Thin films of SWCNTs, embedded within the insulating layer, were used as the floating gate. SWCNTs-based memory devices exhibited clear hysteresis in their electrical characteristics (capacitance–voltage (C–V for MIS structures, as well as output and transfer characteristics for transistors. Both structures were shown to produce reliable and large memory windows by virtue of high capacity and reduced charge leakage. The hysteresis in the output and transfer characteristics, the shifts in the threshold voltage of the transfer characteristics, and the flat-band voltage shift in the MIS structures were attributed to the charging and discharging of the SWCNTs floating gate. Under an appropriate gate bias (1 s pulses, the floating gate is charged and discharged, resulting in significant threshold voltage shifts. Pulses as low as 1 V resulted in clear write and erase states.

A macroscopic model for magnetic shape-memory single crystals

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bessoud, A. L.; Kružík, Martin; Stefanelli, U.

2013-01-01

Roč. 64, č. 2 (2013), s. 343-359 ISSN 0044-2275 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100750802; GA ČR GAP201/10/0357 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : magnetostriction * evolution Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 1.214, year: 2013 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2012/MTR/kruzik-a macroscopic model for magnetic shape- memory single crystals.pdf

Room-Temperature Single-photon level Memory for Polarization States

Science.gov (United States)

Kupchak, Connor; Mittiga, Thomas; Jordaan, Bertus; Namazi, Mehdi; Nölleke, Christian; Figueroa, Eden

2015-01-01

An optical quantum memory is a stationary device that is capable of storing and recreating photonic qubits with a higher fidelity than any classical device. Thus far, these two requirements have been fulfilled for polarization qubits in systems based on cold atoms and cryogenically cooled crystals. Here, we report a room-temperature memory capable of storing arbitrary polarization qubits with a signal-to-background ratio higher than 1 and an average fidelity surpassing the classical benchmark for weak laser pulses containing 1.6 photons on average, without taking into account non-unitary operation. Our results demonstrate that a common vapor cell can reach the low background noise levels necessary for polarization qubit storage using single-photon level light, and propels atomic-vapor systems towards a level of functionality akin to other quantum information processing architectures.

Modeling single versus multiple systems in implicit and explicit memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Starns, Jeffrey J; Ratcliff, Roger; McKoon, Gail

2012-04-01

It is currently controversial whether priming on implicit tasks and discrimination on explicit recognition tests are supported by a single memory system or by multiple, independent systems. In a Psychological Review article, Berry and colleagues used mathematical modeling to address this question and provide compelling evidence against the independent-systems approach. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Single unit approaches to human vision and memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Kreiman, Gabriel

2007-08-01

Research on the visual system focuses on using electrophysiology, pharmacology and other invasive tools in animal models. Non-invasive tools such as scalp electroencephalography and imaging allow examining humans but show a much lower spatial and/or temporal resolution. Under special clinical conditions, it is possible to monitor single-unit activity in humans when invasive procedures are required due to particular pathological conditions including epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. We review our knowledge about the visual system and visual memories in the human brain at the single neuron level. The properties of the human brain seem to be broadly compatible with the knowledge derived from animal models. The possibility of examining high-resolution brain activity in conscious human subjects allows investigators to ask novel questions that are challenging to address in animal models.

Ion beam characterisation of nanometre structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persson, Leif.

1995-08-01

Ion beam analysis methods have been applied to the study of technologically important issues in III-V nanometre structure science. In the first application, the incorporation of hydrogen in GaAs during electron cyclotron resonance etching was studied using the 1 H( 15 N,αγ) 12 C reaction analysis method. The major part of the work was carried out using mass and energy dispersive Recoil Spectrometry (RS). RS was used to study reactions of thin metal films InP reactions. The metals investigated include Cr, Ti, Ni, Pd and Pt and the reactions as a function of temperature were studied to elucidate suitable compounds for contacts and metallization. Using 127 I in the 0.5A to 0.7A MeV region as the projectile, the depth profiles for the different elements were obtained. Complementary measurements with X-ray diffraction to obtain chemical phase information as well as scanning electron microscopy to study the surface morphology were also carried out. 59 refs, 15 figs

Virtual peer-delivered memory intervention: a single-case experimental design in an adolescent with chronic memory impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Janine M; Lockett, Stephen; McIlroy, Alissandra; Gonzalez, Linda

2018-01-01

Children and adolescents with chronic memory impairment may develop coping strategies that enable functioning, yet these often remain undetectable using traditional psychometric measures. Personalized intervention studies that promote the use of such strategies designed specifically for use by this young cohort are scarce. To investigate the effect of a novel virtual reality peer-delivered memory intervention on the everyday functioning and well-being of SE, a 17-year-old female with a history of chronic verbal memory issues, impaired autobiographical event recall and elevated mood symptoms. A single-case ABA experimental design study was used to assess change. Following initial baseline assessment using objective neuropsychological and subjective functional questionnaires and intervention training, case SE used the intervention daily for 3 weeks before repeating key outcome measures. Using non-overlap of all pairs and qualitative feedback analysis, the results revealed a significant increase in event recall and self-reported positive changes to levels of everyday functioning. Supporting autobiographical event recall and prospective memory via a virtual peer-delivered intervention may lead to reduction in cognitive load, and benefit overall well-being and everyday functioning.

Inhibiting corticosterone synthesis during fear memory formation exacerbates cued fear extinction memory deficits within the single prolonged stress model.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Samantha M; Schreiber, William B; Stanfield, Briana R; Knox, Dayan

2015-01-01

Using the single prolonged stress (SPS) animal model of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), previous studies suggest that enhanced glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression leads to cued fear extinction retention deficits. However, it is unknown how the endogenous ligand of GRs, corticosterone (CORT), may contribute to extinction retention deficits in the SPS model. Given that CORT synthesis during fear learning is critical for fear memory consolidation and SPS enhances GR expression, CORT synthesis during fear memory formation could strengthen fear memory in SPS rats by enhancing GR activation during fear learning. In turn, this could lead to cued fear extinction retention deficits. We tested the hypothesis that CORT synthesis during fear learning leads to cued fear extinction retention deficits in SPS rats by administering the CORT synthesis inhibitor metyrapone to SPS and control rats prior to fear conditioning, and observed the effect this had on extinction memory. Inhibiting CORT synthesis during fear memory formation in control rats tended to decrease cued freezing, though this effect never reached statistical significance. Contrary to our hypothesis, inhibiting CORT synthesis during fear memory formation disrupted extinction retention in SPS rats. This finding suggests that even though SPS exposure leads to cued fear extinction memory deficits, CORT synthesis during fear memory formation enhances extinction retention in SPS rats. This suggests that stress-induced CORT synthesis in previously stressed rats can be beneficial. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cu-Al-Ni Shape Memory Single Crystal Wires with High Transformation Temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Hautcoeur, Alain; Fouché, Florian; Sicre, Jacques

2016-01-01

CN-250X is a new material with higher performance than Nickel-Titanium Shape Memory Alloy (SMA). For space mechanisms, the main disadvantage of Nickel-Titanium Shape Memory Alloy is the limited transformation temperature. The new CN-250X Nimesis alloy is a Cu-Al-Ni single crystal wire available in large quantity because of a new industrial process. The triggering of actuators made with this Cu-Al-Ni single crystal wire can range from ambient temperature to 200 C in cycling and even to 250 C in one-shot mode. Another advantage of CN-250X is a better shape recovery (8 to 10%) than Ni-Ti (6 to 7%). Nimesis is the first company able to produce this type of material with its new special industrial process. A characterization study is presented in this work, including the two main solicitation modes for this material: tensile and torsion. Different tests measure the shape recovery of Cu-Al-Ni single crystals wires during heating from room temperature to a temperature higher than temperature of end of martensitic transformation.

Nanometric onion-like hollow spheres in laser synthesized boron nitride ultrafine powder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boulanger, L; Willaime, F [CEA Centre d` Etudes de Saclay, 91 - Gif-sur-Yvette (France). Direction des Technologies Avancees; Cauchetier, M [CEA Centre d` Etudes de Saclay, 91 - Gif-sur-Yvette (France). Dept. de Recherche sur l` Etat Condense, les Atomes et les Molecules

1994-12-31

TEM observations of ultra-fine B Cl{sub 3}-N H{sub 3} powders elaborated by an innovative method, laser pyrolysis, are presented. The resulting microstructures in the as received state and after thermal treatments show small nanometric scale configurations close to the ones met with carbon, such as an hollowed configuration of onions but at a much smaller scale than with carbon. 3 figs., 3 refs.

Transparent Flash Memory using Single Ta2O5 Layer for both Charge Trapping and Tunneling Dielectrics

KAUST Repository

Hota, Mrinal Kanti

2017-06-08

We report reproducible multibit transparent flash memory in which a single solution-derived Ta2O5 layer is used simultaneously as charge trapping and tunneling layer. This is different from conventional flash cells, where two different dielectric layers are typically used. Under optimized programming/erasing operations, the memory device shows excellent programmable memory characteristics with a maximum memory window of ~10 V. Moreover, the flash memory device shows a stable 2-bit memory performance, good reliability, including data retention for more than 104 sec and endurance performance for more than 100 cycles. The use of a common charge trapping and tunneling layer can simplify advanced flash memory fabrication.

Transparent Flash Memory using Single Ta2O5 Layer for both Charge Trapping and Tunneling Dielectrics

KAUST Repository

Hota, Mrinal Kanti; Alshammari, Fwzah H.; Salama, Khaled N.; Alshareef, Husam N.

2017-01-01

We report reproducible multibit transparent flash memory in which a single solution-derived Ta2O5 layer is used simultaneously as charge trapping and tunneling layer. This is different from conventional flash cells, where two different dielectric layers are typically used. Under optimized programming/erasing operations, the memory device shows excellent programmable memory characteristics with a maximum memory window of ~10 V. Moreover, the flash memory device shows a stable 2-bit memory performance, good reliability, including data retention for more than 104 sec and endurance performance for more than 100 cycles. The use of a common charge trapping and tunneling layer can simplify advanced flash memory fabrication.

One-single physical exercise session after object recognition learning promotes memory persistence through hippocampal noradrenergic mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva de Vargas, Liane; Neves, Ben-Hur Souto das; Roehrs, Rafael; Izquierdo, Iván; Mello-Carpes, Pâmela

2017-06-30

Previously we showed the involvement of the hippocampal noradrenergic system in the consolidation and persistence of object recognition (OR) memory. Here we show that one-single physical exercise session performed immediately after learning promotes OR memory persistence and increases norepinephrine levels in the hippocampus. Additionally, effects of exercise on memory are avoided by an intra-hippocampal beta-adrenergic antagonist infusion. Taken together, these results suggest that exercise effects on memory can be related to noradrenergic mechanisms and acute physical exercise can be a non-pharmacological intervention to assist memory consolidation and persistence, with few or no side effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Echoic memory of a single pure tone indexed by change-related brain activity

OpenAIRE

Inui, Koji; Urakawa, Tomokazu; Yamashiro, Koya; Otsuru, Naofumi; Takeshima, Yasuyuki; Nishihara, Makoto; Motomura, Eishi; Kida, Tetsuo; Kakigi, Ryusuke

2010-01-01

Abstract Background The rapid detection of sensory change is important to survival. The process should relate closely to memory since it requires that the brain separate a new stimulus from an ongoing background or past event. Given that sensory memory monitors current sensory status and works to pick-up changes in real-time, any change detected by this system should evoke a change-related cortical response. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether the single presentation of a sound is en...

Ion beam characterisation of nanometre structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Persson, Leif

1995-08-01

Ion beam analysis methods have been applied to the study of technologically important issues in III-V nanometre structure science. In the first application, the incorporation of hydrogen in GaAs during electron cyclotron resonance etching was studied using the {sup 1}H({sup 15}N,{alpha}{gamma}){sup 12}C reaction analysis method. The major part of the work was carried out using mass and energy dispersive Recoil Spectrometry (RS). RS was used to study reactions of thin metal films InP reactions. The metals investigated include Cr, Ti, Ni, Pd and Pt and the reactions as a function of temperature were studied to elucidate suitable compounds for contacts and metallization. Using {sup 127}I in the 0.5A to 0.7A MeV region as the projectile, the depth profiles for the different elements were obtained. Complementary measurements with X-ray diffraction to obtain chemical phase information as well as scanning electron microscopy to study the surface morphology were also carried out. 59 refs, 15 figs.

Metal-free, single-polymer device exhibits resistive memory effect

KAUST Repository

Bhansali, Unnat Sampatraj; Khan, Yasser; Cha, Dong Kyu; Almadhoun, Mahmoud N.; Li, Ruipeng; Chen, Long; Amassian, Aram; Odeh, Ihab N.; Alshareef, Husam N.

2013-01-01

All-polymer, write-once-read-many times resistive memory devices have been fabricated on flexible substrates using a single polymer, poly(3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). Spin-cast or inkjet-printed films of solvent-modified PEDOT:PSS are used as electrodes, while the unmodified or as-is PEDOT:PSS is used as the semiconducting active layer. The all-polymer devices exhibit an irreversible but stable transition from a low resistance state (ON) to a high resistance state (OFF) at low voltages caused by an electric-field-induced morphological rearrangement of PEDOT and PSS at the electrode interface. However, in the metal-PEDOT:PSS-metal devices, we have shown a metal filament formation switching the device from an initial high resistance state (OFF) to the low resistance state (ON). The all-PEDOT:PSS memory device has low write voltages (<3 V), high ON/OFF ratio (>10 3), good retention characteristics (>10 000 s), and stability in ambient storage (>3 months). © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Metal-free, single-polymer device exhibits resistive memory effect

KAUST Repository

Bhansali, Unnat Sampatraj

2013-12-23

All-polymer, write-once-read-many times resistive memory devices have been fabricated on flexible substrates using a single polymer, poly(3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). Spin-cast or inkjet-printed films of solvent-modified PEDOT:PSS are used as electrodes, while the unmodified or as-is PEDOT:PSS is used as the semiconducting active layer. The all-polymer devices exhibit an irreversible but stable transition from a low resistance state (ON) to a high resistance state (OFF) at low voltages caused by an electric-field-induced morphological rearrangement of PEDOT and PSS at the electrode interface. However, in the metal-PEDOT:PSS-metal devices, we have shown a metal filament formation switching the device from an initial high resistance state (OFF) to the low resistance state (ON). The all-PEDOT:PSS memory device has low write voltages (<3 V), high ON/OFF ratio (>10 3), good retention characteristics (>10 000 s), and stability in ambient storage (>3 months). © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Investigation of a new low cost and low consumption single poly-silicon memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Calenzo

2010-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper is presented an investigation on a new low cost and voltage consumption single poly-silicon memory cell for passive RFID (Radio Frequency IDentificationapplications. This structure is low cost due to its single poly-silicon design. This memory cell has two particularities : the first one is that no deported capacitor is necessary to program this cell which allows to reduce the structure size to 1.1μm². The second one is the way the cell is erased. A Zener diode is used to generate carriers in order to be injected into the floating gate. This Zener diode is one of the key points for the functionality that has to be validated with some electrical trials. These trials permit to integrate and use the Zener diodes measured in simulations of the complete memory cell. This is done to validate the best candidate between the Zener diodes used for the cell and highlight the efficiency in consumption and rapidity to erase the cell. Besides, the writing and the reading cases are simulated in order to show the low consumption required by the cell during these phases.

Hippocampal damage equally impairs memory for single items and memory for conjunctions.

Science.gov (United States)

Stark, Craig E L; Squire, Larry R

2003-01-01

single-item and associative memory.

Single memory with multiple shift register functionality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2010-01-01

The present invention relates to a memory device comprising a memory (EM) having at least two predetermined register memory sections addressable by respective address ranges AS1-ASz) and at least one access port (P1-PZ) for providing access to said memory (EM). Furthermore, access control means (A)

Operation of a quantum dot in the finite-state machine mode: Single-electron dynamic memory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klymenko, M. V.; Klein, M.; Levine, R. D.; Remacle, F.

2016-01-01

A single electron dynamic memory is designed based on the non-equilibrium dynamics of charge states in electrostatically defined metallic quantum dots. Using the orthodox theory for computing the transfer rates and a master equation, we model the dynamical response of devices consisting of a charge sensor coupled to either a single and or a double quantum dot subjected to a pulsed gate voltage. We show that transition rates between charge states in metallic quantum dots are characterized by an asymmetry that can be controlled by the gate voltage. This effect is more pronounced when the switching between charge states corresponds to a Markovian process involving electron transport through a chain of several quantum dots. By simulating the dynamics of electron transport we demonstrate that the quantum box operates as a finite-state machine that can be addressed by choosing suitable shapes and switching rates of the gate pulses. We further show that writing times in the ns range and retention memory times six orders of magnitude longer, in the ms range, can be achieved on the double quantum dot system using experimentally feasible parameters, thereby demonstrating that the device can operate as a dynamic single electron memory.

Operation of a quantum dot in the finite-state machine mode: Single-electron dynamic memory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klymenko, M. V. [Department of Chemistry, University of Liège, B4000 Liège (Belgium); Klein, M. [The Fritz Haber Center for Molecular Dynamics and the Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel); Levine, R. D. [The Fritz Haber Center for Molecular Dynamics and the Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel); Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging and Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States); Remacle, F., E-mail: fremacle@ulg.ac.be [Department of Chemistry, University of Liège, B4000 Liège (Belgium); The Fritz Haber Center for Molecular Dynamics and the Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel)

2016-07-14

A single electron dynamic memory is designed based on the non-equilibrium dynamics of charge states in electrostatically defined metallic quantum dots. Using the orthodox theory for computing the transfer rates and a master equation, we model the dynamical response of devices consisting of a charge sensor coupled to either a single and or a double quantum dot subjected to a pulsed gate voltage. We show that transition rates between charge states in metallic quantum dots are characterized by an asymmetry that can be controlled by the gate voltage. This effect is more pronounced when the switching between charge states corresponds to a Markovian process involving electron transport through a chain of several quantum dots. By simulating the dynamics of electron transport we demonstrate that the quantum box operates as a finite-state machine that can be addressed by choosing suitable shapes and switching rates of the gate pulses. We further show that writing times in the ns range and retention memory times six orders of magnitude longer, in the ms range, can be achieved on the double quantum dot system using experimentally feasible parameters, thereby demonstrating that the device can operate as a dynamic single electron memory.

Development of a keV single-ion-implanter for nanofabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, C.; Jamieson, D.N.; Hopf, T.; Tamanyan, G.; Spizziri, P.; Pakes, C.; Andresen, S.E.; Hudson, F.; Gauja, E.; Dzurak, A.; Clark, R.G.

2005-01-01

Traditional methods of doping semiconductors have a difficulty meeting the demand for high precision doping due to large statistical fluctuations in the numbers of dopant atoms introduced in the ever shrinking volume in micro- and nano-electronics devices, especially when the fabrication process approaches the nanometre scale. The statistical fluctuations in doping semiconductors for the fabrication of devices with a very small feature size may lead to inconsistent and unreliable performance. This paper describes the adaptation of a commercial ion implanter into a single-ion-implantation system for the accurate delivery of dopants into a nanometre or micrometre area in a silicon substrate. All the implanted ions can be accurately counted with near 100% certainty through online detection using the silicon substrate itself as an ion detector. A variety of ion species including B + , N + , P + at the energy range of 10-15 keV can be delivered in the single ion implantation system. (author). 6 refs., 6 figs

One-component solution system to prepare nanometric anatase TiO2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trung, Tran; Ha, Chang-Sik

2004-01-01

A novel one-pot synthesis route was proposed to prepare nanometric anatase TiO 2 using trichloroethylene as reaction medium, which may have great advantage over multicomponent solution systems when TiO 2 is used as a reinforcing filler for polymers dissolved in trichloroethylene. The anatase TiO 2 nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). It was found that the diameters of TiO 2 nanoparticles are in the range from 5 to 13 nm

Tribological Properties of Nanometric Atomic Layer Depositions Applied on AISI 420 Stainless Steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Marin

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Atomic Layer Deposition ( ALD is a modern technique that Allows to deposit nanometric, conformal coatings on almost any kind of substrates, from plastics to ceramic, metals or even composites. ALD coatings are not dependent on the morphology of the substrate and are only regulated by the composition of the precursors, the chamber temperature and the number of cycles. In this work, mono- and bi -layer nanometric, protective low-temperature ALD Coatings, based on Al2O3 and TiO2 were applied on AISI 420 Stainless Steel in orderto enhance its relatively low corrosion resistance in chloride containing environments. Tribological testing were also performed on the ALD coated AISI 420 in order to evaluate the wear and scratch resistance of these nanometric layers and thus evaluate their durability. Scratch tests were performed using a standard Rockwell C indenter, under a variable load condition, in order to evaluate the critical loading condition for each coating. Wear testing were performed using a stainless steel counterpart, in ball-on-discconfiguration, in order to measure the friction coefficient and wear to confront the resistance. All scratch tests scars and wear tracks were then observed by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM in order to understand the wear mechanisms that occurred on the sample surfaces. Corrosion testing, performed under immersion in 0.2 M NaCl solutions, clearly showed that the ALD coatings have a strong effect in protecting the Stainless Steel Substrate against corrosion, reducing the corrosion current density by two orders of magnitude.Tribological The preliminary results showed that ALD depositions obtained at low Temperatures have a brittle behavior caused by the amorphous nature of their structure, and thus undergo delamination phenomena during Scratch Testing at relatively low applied loads. During ball-on-disc testing, the coatings were removed from the substrate, in particular for monolayer ALD configurations

Synthesis and characterization of α-alumina col-gel nanometric: elaboration of biomaterials nanostructured for biomedical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passoni, L.S.; Feit, G.; Camargo, N.H.A.

2010-01-01

The production of nanostructured biomaterials are research themes for these present new characteristics of biocompatibility and bioactivity. The sol-gel process allows obtaining α-alumina nanometric with purity 99.99%. The use of nanoparticles of Al 2 O 3 -α, SiO 2 and TiO 2 are being employed as a second stage in the development of nanocomposites biomaterials. The presence of the second phase within a ceramic matrix leads to obtaining nanomaterials with micropores in micro and nanostructures interconnected, what contributes within the processes of osseous integration, osseous induction. The goal of this work focused on synthesis and characterization of an α- alumina by sol-gel process. Characterization studies were conducted using the various techniques: X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, exploratory differential scanning calorimetry and infrared spectrometry by Fourier transforms. The preliminary results showed the attainment the nanometric α-alumina powder. (author)

Status of a study of stabilization and fine positioning of CLIC quadrupoles to the nanometre level

CERN Document Server

Artoos, K; Esposito, M; Fernandez Carmona, P; Guinchard, M; Hauviller, C; Janssens, S; Kuzmin, A; Leuxe, R; Moron Ballester, R

2011-01-01

Mechanical stability to the nanometre and below is required for the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) quadrupoles to frequencies as low as 1 Hz. An active stabilization and positioning system based on very stiff piezo electric actuators and inertial reference masses is under study for the Main Beam Quadrupoles (MBQ). The stiff support was selected for robustness against direct forces and for the option of incrementally repositioning the magnet with nanometre resolution. The technical feasibility was demonstrated by a representative test mass being stabilized and repositioned to the required level in the vertical and lateral direction. Technical issues were identified and the development programme of the support, sensors, and controller was continued to increase the performance, integrate the system in the overall controller, adapt to the accelerator environment, and reduce costs. The improvements are implemented in models, test benches, and design of the first stabilized prototype CLIC magnet. The characterizati...

Induction of associative olfactory memory by targeted activation of single olfactory neurons in Drosophila larvae.

Science.gov (United States)

Honda, Takato; Lee, Chi-Yu; Yoshida-Kasikawa, Maki; Honjo, Ken; Furukubo-Tokunaga, Katsuo

2014-04-25

It has been postulated that associative memory is formed by at least two sets of external stimuli, CS and US, that are transmitted to the memory centers by distinctive conversing pathways. However, whether associative memory can be induced by the activation of only the olfactory CS and a biogenic amine-mediated US pathways remains to be elucidated. In this study, we substituted the reward signals with dTrpA1-mediated thermogenetic activation of octopaminergic neurons and the odor signals by ChR2-mediated optical activation of a specific class of olfactory neurons. We show that targeted activation of the olfactory receptor and the octopaminergic neurons is indeed sufficient for the formation of associative olfactory memory in the larval brain. We also show that targeted stimulation of only a single type of olfactory receptor neurons is sufficient to induce olfactory memory that is indistinguishable from natural memory induced by the activation of multiple olfactory receptor neurons.

Memory effects in annealed hybrid gold nanoparticles/block copolymer bilayers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruffino Francesco

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract We report on the use of the self-organization process of sputtered gold nanoparticles on a self-assembled block copolymer film deposited by horizontal precipitation Langmuir-Blodgett (HP-LB method. The morphology and the phase-separation of a film of poly-n-butylacrylate-block-polyacrylic acid (PnBuA-b-PAA were studied at the nanometric scale by using atomic force microscopy (AFM and Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS. The templating capability of the PnBuA-b-PAA phase-separated film was studied by sputtering gold nanoparticles (NPs, forming a film of nanometric thickness. The effect of the polymer chain mobility onto the organization of gold nanoparticle layer was assessed by heating the obtained hybrid PnBuA-b-PAA/Au NPs bilayer at T >Tg. The nanoparticles' distribution onto the different copolymer domains was found strongly affected by the annealing treatment, showing a peculiar memory effect, which modifies the AFM phase response of the Au NPs layer onto the polar domains, without affecting their surfacial composition. The effect is discussed in terms of the peculiar morphological features induced by enhanced mobility of polymer chains on the Au NPs layer.

Sub-nanometrically resolved chemical mappings of quantum-cascade laser active regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pantzas, Konstantinos; Beaudoin, Grégoire; Patriarche, Gilles; Largeau, Ludovic; Mauguin, Olivia; Sagnes, Isabelle; Pegolotti, Giulia; Vasanelli, Angela; Calvar, Ariane; Amanti, Maria; Sirtori, Carlo

2016-01-01

A procedure that produces sub-nanometrically resolved chemical mappings of MOCVD-grown InGaAs/InAlAs/InP quantum cascade lasers is presented. The chemical mappings reveal that, although the structure is lattice-matched to InP, the InAlAs barriers do not attain the nominal aluminum content—48%—and are, in fact, InGaAlAs quaternaries. This information is used to adjust the aluminum precursor flow and fine-tune the composition of the barriers, resulting in a significant improvement of the fabricated lasers. (paper)

Relationship between single-event upset immunity and fabrication processes of recent memories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemoto, N.; Shindou, H.; Kuboyama, S.; Matsuda, S.; Itoh, H.; Okada, S.; Nashiyama, I.

1999-01-01

Single-Event upset (SEU) immunity for commercial devices were evaluated by irradiation tests using high-energy heavy ions. We show test results and describe the relationship between observed SEU and structures/fabrication processes. We have evaluated single-even upset (SEU) tolerance of recent commercial memory devices using high energy heavy ions in order to find relationship between SEU rate and their fabrication process. It was revealed that the change of the process parameter gives much effect for the SEU rate of the devices. (authors)

Reactivation of Reward-Related Patterns from Single Past Episodes Supports Memory-Based Decision Making.

Science.gov (United States)

Wimmer, G Elliott; Büchel, Christian

2016-03-09

Rewarding experiences exert a strong influence on later decision making. While decades of neuroscience research have shown how reinforcement gradually shapes preferences, decisions are often influenced by single past experiences. Surprisingly, relatively little is known about the influence of single learning episodes. Although recent work has proposed a role for episodes in decision making, it is largely unknown whether and how episodic experiences contribute to value-based decision making and how the values of single episodes are represented in the brain. In multiple behavioral experiments and an fMRI experiment, we tested whether and how rewarding episodes could support later decision making. Participants experienced episodes of high reward or low reward in conjunction with incidental, trial-unique neutral pictures. In a surprise test phase, we found that participants could indeed remember the associated level of reward, as evidenced by accurate source memory for value and preferences to re-engage with rewarded objects. Further, in a separate experiment, we found that high-reward objects shown as primes before a gambling task increased financial risk taking. Neurally, re-exposure to objects in the test phase led to significant reactivation of reward-related patterns. Importantly, individual variability in the strength of reactivation predicted value memory performance. Our results provide a novel demonstration that affect-related neural patterns are reactivated during later experience. Reactivation of value information represents a mechanism by which memory can guide decision making. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/362868-13$15.00/0.

Memory architecture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2012-01-01

A memory architecture is presented. The memory architecture comprises a first memory and a second memory. The first memory has at least a bank with a first width addressable by a single address. The second memory has a plurality of banks of a second width, said banks being addressable by components

Storage of multiple single-photon pulses emitted from a quantum dot in a solid-state quantum memory

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Jian-Shun; Zhou, Zong-Quan; Wang, Yi-Tao; Li, Yu-Long; Liu, Xiao; Hua, Yi-Lin; Zou, Yang; Wang, Shuang; He, De-Yong; Chen, Geng; Sun, Yong-Nan; Yu, Ying; Li, Mi-Feng; Zha, Guo-Wei; Ni, Hai-Qiao; Niu, Zhi-Chuan; Li, Chuan-Feng; Guo, Guang-Can

2015-01-01

Quantum repeaters are critical components for distributing entanglement over long distances in presence of unavoidable optical losses during transmission. Stimulated by the Duan–Lukin–Cirac–Zoller protocol, many improved quantum repeater protocols based on quantum memories have been proposed, which commonly focus on the entanglement-distribution rate. Among these protocols, the elimination of multiple photons (or multiple photon-pairs) and the use of multimode quantum memory are demonstrated to have the ability to greatly improve the entanglement-distribution rate. Here, we demonstrate the storage of deterministic single photons emitted from a quantum dot in a polarization-maintaining solid-state quantum memory; in addition, multi-temporal-mode memory with 1, 20 and 100 narrow single-photon pulses is also demonstrated. Multi-photons are eliminated, and only one photon at most is contained in each pulse. Moreover, the solid-state properties of both sub-systems make this configuration more stable and easier to be scalable. Our work will be helpful in the construction of efficient quantum repeaters based on all-solid-state devices. PMID:26468996

Animal experiment on 188Re-radioactive nanometre particle esophageal stent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu Jianjun; Yang Bo; Zhao Difei; Wang Mingzhi; Sun Liang; Jiang Wei

2004-01-01

Objective: To investigate the mechanism and clinical reliability of applying 188 Re-radioactive nanometre particle esophageal stent. Methods: An elastic meshed esophageal stent made of double membranous nickel-titanium alloy and loaded with 188 Re-radioactive nanometre particles was used . The stent was introduced into the esophagus of eight experimental pigs and fixed in place. Two pigs served as controls. With the pig aneasthetized, the stent with good expandability was placed in the proper position. Radioactive MBq was applied to the 8 experiment pigs while the two control pigs received only the stent without the radioactive material. Three hours after the insertion of the stent, the pigs were allowed to feed, without any choking observed. Results: Seven days after the treatment of pathologic experiment pigs showed infla mmatory celluar infilfration, congestion and edema in the mucosa and submucous layer. After 21 days, some parts of the esophageal mucosa showed thickening of the vascular layer of the blood vessels and scanty fibrous hyperplasia. Seven days after application of larger dose of 259 MBq stent, pathology examination carried out in the experiment pigs showed extensive infla mmatory cellular infilfration, edema and congestion in the muscles and submucosa, and patch-like necrosis. Twenty-one days after application, repairing fibrous hyperplasia appeared. In the control pigs, not even any traumatic damage was observed. Periodic checking of the stool did not show any leakage of radioactivity and there was no displacement of the stents as confirmed by X-ray exam. Conclusions: The stent is effective to maintain an unobstructed passage of food . The loaded radioactive particles can be concentrated in the target area and adjusted by a body surface magnetic modulation and inhibit the intraluminal epithelial growth of esophageal mucosa without any severe radiation reaction or damage. It is quite promising to resolve the obstruction of advanced esophageal

Contact mechanics at nanometric scale using nanoindentation technique for brittle and ductile materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Roa, J J; Rayon, E; Morales, M; Segarra, M

2012-06-01

In the last years, Nanoindentation or Instrumented Indentation Technique has become a powerful tool to study the mechanical properties at micro/nanometric scale (commonly known as hardness, elastic modulus and the stress-strain curve). In this review, the different contact mechanisms (elastic and elasto-plastic) are discussed, the recent patents for each mechanism (elastic and elasto-plastic) are summarized in detail, and the basic equations employed to know the mechanical behaviour for brittle and ductile materials are described.

Low-energy neutron-induced single-event upsets in static random access memory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Xiaoqiang; Guo Hongxia; Wang Guizhen; Ling Dongsheng; Chen Wei; Bai Xiaoyan; Yang Shanchao; Liu Yan

2009-01-01

The visual analysis method of data process was provided for neutron-induced single-event upset(SEU) in static random access memory(SRAM). The SEU effects of six CMOS SRAMs with different feature size(from 0.13 μm to 1.50 μm) were studied. The SEU experiments were performed using the neutron radiation environment at Xi'an pulsed reactor. And the dependence of low-energy neutron-induced SEU cross section on SRAM's feature size was given. The results indicate that the decreased critical charge is the dominant factor for the increase of single event effect sensitivity of SRAM devices with decreased feature size. Small-sized SRAM devices are more sensitive than large-sized ones to single event effect induced by low-energy neutrons. (authors)

Complex antioxidants in a randomized single-blinded study of memory in seniors.

Science.gov (United States)

Summers, William K; Martin, Roy L; Liu, Yimeng; Peña, Bernice; Marsh, Gary M

2018-04-01

Oxidative injury to the brain and aging are theoretical co-causes of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Amyloid plaques and tangles are then secondary phenomenon. The preclinical state would then be 'normal' elderly. A potent complex antioxidant (antiOx) was tested against a popular one-a-day multivitamin (mV) in a randomized single blind design in 'normal' senior subjects over 6 months. Memory testing was done at baseline, 1, 3, and 6 months. The generalized estimating equation (GEE) approach was used to compare the change score of NLT 100 and 20 WR between two groups over time. Analysis of the antiOx group (30 subjects) demonstrated significant improvement in declarative memory (change score for NLT 100 at month 6 = 6.36 p working memory (change score for 20 WR at month 6 = 3.23, p < 0.0001). A change-score analysis over 6 months suggests possible neurogenesis in the antiOx group. The mV group (33 subjects) had a change score of the NLT 100 and 20WR on the sixth month of 2.20 and 0.32 (p = 0.07, 0.35). A complex antioxidant blend, sold as an over-the-counter (OTC) supplement, can improve memory in elder subjects. Antioxidants may be beneficial in AD and other neurodegerative diseases.

Crystal growth within a phase change memory cell.

Science.gov (United States)

Sebastian, Abu; Le Gallo, Manuel; Krebs, Daniel

2014-07-07

In spite of the prominent role played by phase change materials in information technology, a detailed understanding of the central property of such materials, namely the phase change mechanism, is still lacking mostly because of difficulties associated with experimental measurements. Here, we measure the crystal growth velocity of a phase change material at both the nanometre length and the nanosecond timescale using phase-change memory cells. The material is studied in the technologically relevant melt-quenched phase and directly in the environment in which the phase change material is going to be used in the application. We present a consistent description of the temperature dependence of the crystal growth velocity in the glass and the super-cooled liquid up to the melting temperature.

Effects of aging and divided attention on recognition memory processes for single and associative information.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinjo, Hikari

2011-04-01

In the divided attention paradigm to test age-related associative memory deficits, whether the effects of divided attention occur at encoding or retrieval has not been clarified, and the effect on retention has not been studied. This study explored whether and how much divided attention at either encoding, retention, or retrieval diminished accuracy in recognizing a single feature (object or location) and associated features (object+location) by 23 elderly people (13 women; M age = 70.6 yr., SD = 2.8) recruited from a neighborhood community circle, and 29 female college students (M age = 20.8 yr., SD = 1.1). The results showed a significant decline in memory performance for both age groups due to divided attention in location and associative memory at retention, suggesting that the retention process demands attentional resources. Overall, regardless of their relative deficiency in associative memory, older adults showed an effect of divided attention comparable to that of younger adults in a recognition task.

Heavy Ion Irradiation Fluence Dependence for Single-Event Upsets of NAND Flash Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Dakai; Wilcox, Edward; Ladbury, Raymond; Kim, Hak; Phan, Anthony; Seidleck, Christina; LaBel, Kenneth

2016-01-01

We investigated the single-event effect (SEE) susceptibility of the Micron 16 nm NAND flash, and found the single-event upset (SEU) cross section varied inversely with fluence. The SEU cross section decreased with increasing fluence. We attribute the effect to the variable upset sensitivities of the memory cells. The current test standards and procedures assume that SEU follow a Poisson process and do not take into account the variability in the error rate with fluence. Therefore, heavy ion irradiation of devices with variable upset sensitivity distribution using typical fluence levels may underestimate the cross section and on-orbit event rate.

Heavy Ion Irradiation Fluence Dependence for Single-Event Upsets in a NAND Flash Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Dakai; Wilcox, Edward; Ladbury, Raymond L.; Kim, Hak; Phan, Anthony; Seidleck, Christina; Label, Kenneth

2016-01-01

We investigated the single-event effect (SEE) susceptibility of the Micron 16 nm NAND flash, and found that the single-event upset (SEU) cross section varied inversely with cumulative fluence. We attribute the effect to the variable upset sensitivities of the memory cells. Furthermore, the effect impacts only single cell upsets in general. The rate of multiple-bit upsets remained relatively constant with fluence. The current test standards and procedures assume that SEU follow a Poisson process and do not take into account the variability in the error rate with fluence. Therefore, traditional SEE testing techniques may underestimate the on-orbit event rate for a device with variable upset sensitivity.

Single Event Upset in Static Random Access Memories in Atmospheric Neutron Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Arita, Yutaka; Takai, Mikio; Ogawa, Izumi; Kishimoto, Tadafumi

2003-07-01

Single-event upsets (SEUs) in a 0.4 μm 4 Mbit complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) static random access memory (SRAM) were investigated in various atmospheric neutron environments at sea level, at an altitude of 2612 m mountain, at an altitude of commercial airplane, and at an underground depth of 476 m. Neutron-induced SEUs increase with the increase in altitude. For a device with a borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) film, SEU rates induced by thermal neutrons increase with the decrease in the cell charge of a memory cell. A thermal neutron-induced SEU is significant in SRAMs with a small cell charge. With the conditions of small cell charge, thermal neutron-induced SEUs account for 60% or more of the total neutron-induced SEUs. The SEU rate induced by atmospheric thermal neutrons can be estimated by an acceleration test using 252Cf.

Observation of martensitic structure evolution in Cu-Al-Ni single crystals with shape memory effect under external load using photoacoustic microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muratikov, K.L.; Glazov, A.L.; Nikolaev, V.I.; Pul'nev, S.A.

2006-01-01

Photoacoustic microscopy is applied to observe the surface structure of Cu-Al-Ni shape-memory single crystals in both the loaded and unloaded states. Visualizing the early stages of the loading-induced martensitic transformation in Cu-Al-Ni single crystals is demonstrated to be feasible. The photoacoustic images are distinguished to advantage from the corresponding optical images by a higher contrast between different phases of the Cu-Al-Ni shape-memory alloy [ru

Heterodyne interferometric technique for displacement control at the nanometric scale

Science.gov (United States)

Topcu, Suat; Chassagne, Luc; Haddad, Darine; Alayli, Yasser; Juncar, Patrick

2003-11-01

We propose a method of displacement control that addresses the measurement requirements of the nanotechnology community and provide a traceability to the definition of the mèter at the nanometric scale. The method is based on the use of both a heterodyne Michelson's interferometer and a homemade high frequency electronic circuit. The system so established allows us to control the displacement of a translation stage with a known step of 4.945 nm. Intrinsic relative uncertainty on the step value is 1.6×10-9. Controls of the period of repetition of these steps with a high-stability quartz oscillator permits to impose an uniform speed to the translation stage with the same accuracy. This property will be used for the watt balance project of the Bureau National de Métrologie of France.

Linear nanometric tunnel junction sensors with exchange pinned sensing layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leitao, D. C.; Silva, A. V.; Cardoso, S.; Ferreira, R.; Paz, E.; Deepack, F. L.; Freitas, P. P.

2014-01-01

Highly sensitive nanosensors with high spatial resolution provide the necessary features for high accuracy imaging of isolated magnetic nanoparticles. In this work, we report the fabrication and characterization of MgO-barrier magnetic tunnel junction nanosensors, with two exchange-pinned electrodes. The perpendicular magnetization configuration for field sensing is set using a two-step annealing process, where the second annealing temperature was optimized to yield patterned sensors responses with improved linearity. The optimized circular nanosensors show sensitivities up to 0.1%/Oe, larger than previously reported for nanometric sensors and comparable to micrometric spin-valves. Our strategy avoids the use of external permanent biasing or demagnetizing fields (large for smaller structures) to achieve a linear response, enabling the control of the linear operation range using only the stack and thus providing a small footprint device

Linear nanometric tunnel junction sensors with exchange pinned sensing layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leitao, D. C., E-mail: dleitao@inesc-mn.pt; Silva, A. V.; Cardoso, S. [INESC-MN and IN, Rua Alves Redol 9, 1000-029 Lisboa (Portugal); Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1000-029 Lisboa (Portugal); Ferreira, R.; Paz, E.; Deepack, F. L. [INL, Av. Mestre Jose Veiga, 4715-31 Braga (Portugal); Freitas, P. P. [INESC-MN and IN, Rua Alves Redol 9, 1000-029 Lisboa (Portugal); INL, Av. Mestre Jose Veiga, 4715-31 Braga (Portugal)

2014-05-07

Highly sensitive nanosensors with high spatial resolution provide the necessary features for high accuracy imaging of isolated magnetic nanoparticles. In this work, we report the fabrication and characterization of MgO-barrier magnetic tunnel junction nanosensors, with two exchange-pinned electrodes. The perpendicular magnetization configuration for field sensing is set using a two-step annealing process, where the second annealing temperature was optimized to yield patterned sensors responses with improved linearity. The optimized circular nanosensors show sensitivities up to 0.1%/Oe, larger than previously reported for nanometric sensors and comparable to micrometric spin-valves. Our strategy avoids the use of external permanent biasing or demagnetizing fields (large for smaller structures) to achieve a linear response, enabling the control of the linear operation range using only the stack and thus providing a small footprint device.

Micromagnetic computer simulations of spin waves in nanometre-scale patterned magnetic elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sang-Koog

2010-01-01

Current needs for further advances in the nanotechnologies of information-storage and -processing devices have attracted a great deal of interest in spin (magnetization) dynamics in nanometre-scale patterned magnetic elements. For instance, the unique dynamic characteristics of non-uniform magnetic microstructures such as various types of domain walls, magnetic vortices and antivortices, as well as spin wave dynamics in laterally restricted thin-film geometries, have been at the centre of extensive and intensive researches. Understanding the fundamentals of their unique spin structure as well as their robust and novel dynamic properties allows us to implement new functionalities into existing or future devices. Although experimental tools and theoretical approaches are effective means of understanding the fundamentals of spin dynamics and of gaining new insights into them, the limitations of those same tools and approaches have left gaps of unresolved questions in the pertinent physics. As an alternative, however, micromagnetic modelling and numerical simulation has recently emerged as a powerful tool for the study of a variety of phenomena related to spin dynamics of nanometre-scale magnetic elements. In this review paper, I summarize the recent results of simulations of the excitation and propagation and other novel wave characteristics of spin waves, highlighting how the micromagnetic computer simulation approach contributes to an understanding of spin dynamics of nanomagnetism and considering some of the merits of numerical simulation studies. Many examples of micromagnetic modelling for numerical calculations, employing various dimensions and shapes of patterned magnetic elements, are given. The current limitations of continuum micromagnetic modelling and of simulations based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of motion of magnetization are also discussed, along with further research directions for spin-wave studies.

Micromagnetic computer simulations of spin waves in nanometre-scale patterned magnetic elements

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sang-Koog

2010-07-01

Current needs for further advances in the nanotechnologies of information-storage and -processing devices have attracted a great deal of interest in spin (magnetization) dynamics in nanometre-scale patterned magnetic elements. For instance, the unique dynamic characteristics of non-uniform magnetic microstructures such as various types of domain walls, magnetic vortices and antivortices, as well as spin wave dynamics in laterally restricted thin-film geometries, have been at the centre of extensive and intensive researches. Understanding the fundamentals of their unique spin structure as well as their robust and novel dynamic properties allows us to implement new functionalities into existing or future devices. Although experimental tools and theoretical approaches are effective means of understanding the fundamentals of spin dynamics and of gaining new insights into them, the limitations of those same tools and approaches have left gaps of unresolved questions in the pertinent physics. As an alternative, however, micromagnetic modelling and numerical simulation has recently emerged as a powerful tool for the study of a variety of phenomena related to spin dynamics of nanometre-scale magnetic elements. In this review paper, I summarize the recent results of simulations of the excitation and propagation and other novel wave characteristics of spin waves, highlighting how the micromagnetic computer simulation approach contributes to an understanding of spin dynamics of nanomagnetism and considering some of the merits of numerical simulation studies. Many examples of micromagnetic modelling for numerical calculations, employing various dimensions and shapes of patterned magnetic elements, are given. The current limitations of continuum micromagnetic modelling and of simulations based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of motion of magnetization are also discussed, along with further research directions for spin-wave studies.

FinFET memory cell improvements for higher immunity against single event upsets

Science.gov (United States)

Sajit, Ahmed Sattar

The 21st century is witnessing a tremendous demand for transistors. Life amenities have incorporated the transistor in every aspect of daily life, ranging from toys to rocket science. Day by day, scaling down the transistor is becoming an imperious necessity. However, it is not a straightforward process; instead, it faces overwhelming challenges. Due to these scaling changes, new technologies, such as FinFETs for example, have emerged as alternatives to the conventional bulk-CMOS technology. FinFET has more control over the channel, therefore, leakage current is reduced. FinFET could bridge the gap between silicon devices and non-silicon devices. The semiconductor industry is now incorporating FinFETs in systems and subsystems. For example, Intel has been using them in their newest processors, delivering potential saving powers and increased speeds to memory circuits. Memory sub-systems are considered a vital component in the digital era. In memory, few rows are read or written at a time, while the most rows are static; hence, reducing leakage current increases the performance. However, as a transistor shrinks, it becomes more vulnerable to the effects from radioactive particle strikes. If a particle hits a node in a memory cell, the content might flip; consequently, leading to corrupting stored data. Critical fields, such as medical and aerospace, where there are no second chances and cannot even afford to operate at 99.99% accuracy, has induced me to find a rigid circuit in a radiated working environment. This research focuses on a wide spectrum of memories such as 6T SRAM, 8T SRAM, and DICE memory cells using FinFET technology and finding the best platform in terms of Read and Write delay, susceptibility level of SNM, RSNM, leakage current, energy consumption, and Single Event Upsets (SEUs). This research has shown that the SEU tolerance that 6T and 8T FinFET SRAMs provide may not be acceptable in medical and aerospace applications where there is a very high

A review of recent work in sub-nanometre displacement measurement using optical and X-ray interferometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Peggs, G N; Yacoot, A

2002-05-15

This paper reviews recent work in the field of displacement measurement using optical and X-ray interferometry at the sub-nanometre level of accuracy. The major sources of uncertainty in optical interferometry are discussed and a selection of recent designs of ultra-precise, optical-interferometer-based, displacement measuring transducers presented. The use of X-ray interferometry and its combination with optical interferometry is discussed.

Single event upset in static random access memories in atmospheric neutron environments

CERN Document Server

Arita, Y; Ogawa, I; Kishimoto, T

2003-01-01

Single-event upsets (SEUs) in a 0.4 mu m 4Mbit complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) static random access memory (SRAM) were investigated in various atmospheric neutron environments at sea level, at an altitude of 2612 m mountain, at an altitude of commercial airplane, and at an underground depth of 476m. Neutron-induced SEUs increase with the increase in altitude. For a device with a borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) film, SEU rates induced by thermal neutrons increase with the decrease in the cell charge of a memory cell. A thermal neutron-induced SEU is significant in SRAMs with a small cell charge. With the conditions of small cell charge, thermal neutron-induced SEUs account for 60% or more of the total neutron-induced SEUs. The SEU rate induced by atmospheric thermal neutrons can be estimated by an acceleration test using sup 2 sup 5 sup 2 Cf. (author)

Language, learning, and memory in children with and without single-suture craniosynostosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapp-Simon, Kathleen A; Wallace, Erin; Collett, Brent R; Cradock, Mary Michaeleen; Crerand, Canice E; Speltz, Matthew L

2016-05-01

OBJECTIVE The language and memory functions of children with and without single-suture craniosynostosis (SSC) were compared at school age (mean 7.45 years, standard deviation [SD] 0.54 years). The children in this cohort were originally recruited in infancy and prior to cranial surgery for those with SSC. METHODS Individual evaluations of 179 school-aged children with SSC and 183 controls were conducted (70% of the original cohort) using standardized measures of language, learning, and memory. Parents participated in an interview about specialized education interventions and school progress. Parents and teachers completed questionnaires about language development. RESULTS Children with SSC (cases) obtained lower scores than controls on all measures. The adjusted differences in language, learning, and memory scores were modest, with SD ranging from 0.0 to -0.4 (p values ranged from 0.001 to 0.99). Censored normal regression was used to account for intervention services received prior to the school-age evaluation; this increased case-control differences (SD range 0.1 to -0.5, p value range 0.001 to 0.50). Mean scores for cases in each SSC diagnostic group were lower than those for controls, with the greatest differences observed among children with unilateral coronal craniosynostosis. CONCLUSIONS Children with SSC continue to show poorer performance than controls on language, learning, and memory tasks at early elementary school age, even when controlling for known confounders, although mean differences are small. Multidisciplinary care, including direct psychological assessment, for children with SSC should extend through school age with a specific focus on language and conceptual learning, as these are areas of potential risk. Future research is needed to investigate language, memory, and learning for this population during the middle to high school years.

Limbic systems for emotion and for memory, but no single limbic system.

Science.gov (United States)

Rolls, Edmund T

2015-01-01

The concept of a (single) limbic system is shown to be outmoded. Instead, anatomical, neurophysiological, functional neuroimaging, and neuropsychological evidence is described that anterior limbic and related structures including the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala are involved in emotion, reward valuation, and reward-related decision-making (but not memory), with the value representations transmitted to the anterior cingulate cortex for action-outcome learning. In this 'emotion limbic system' a computational principle is that feedforward pattern association networks learn associations from visual, olfactory and auditory stimuli, to primary reinforcers such as taste, touch, and pain. In primates including humans this learning can be very rapid and rule-based, with the orbitofrontal cortex overshadowing the amygdala in this learning important for social and emotional behaviour. Complementary evidence is described showing that the hippocampus and limbic structures to which it is connected including the posterior cingulate cortex and the fornix-mammillary body-anterior thalamus-posterior cingulate circuit are involved in episodic or event memory, but not emotion. This 'hippocampal system' receives information from neocortical areas about spatial location, and objects, and can rapidly associate this information together by the different computational principle of autoassociation in the CA3 region of the hippocampus involving feedback. The system can later recall the whole of this information in the CA3 region from any component, a feedback process, and can recall the information back to neocortical areas, again a feedback (to neocortex) recall process. Emotion can enter this memory system from the orbitofrontal cortex etc., and be recalled back to the orbitofrontal cortex etc. during memory recall, but the emotional and hippocampal networks or 'limbic systems' operate by different computational principles, and operate independently of each other except insofar as an

Nanometric depth resolution from multi-focal images in microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Dalgarno, Heather I C; Dalgarno, Paul A; Dada, Adetunmise C; Towers, Catherine E; Gibson, Gavin J; Parton, Richard M; Davis, Ilan; Warburton, Richard J; Greenaway, Alan H

2011-07-06

We describe a method for tracking the position of small features in three dimensions from images recorded on a standard microscope with an inexpensive attachment between the microscope and the camera. The depth-measurement accuracy of this method is tested experimentally on a wide-field, inverted microscope and is shown to give approximately 8 nm depth resolution, over a specimen depth of approximately 6 µm, when using a 12-bit charge-coupled device (CCD) camera and very bright but unresolved particles. To assess low-flux limitations a theoretical model is used to derive an analytical expression for the minimum variance bound. The approximations used in the analytical treatment are tested using numerical simulations. It is concluded that approximately 14 nm depth resolution is achievable with flux levels available when tracking fluorescent sources in three dimensions in live-cell biology and that the method is suitable for three-dimensional photo-activated localization microscopy resolution. Sub-nanometre resolution could be achieved with photon-counting techniques at high flux levels.

Single-passage read-out of atomic quantum memory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fiurasek, J; Sherson, J; Opatrny, T

2005-01-01

Retrieving quantum information, collective atomic spin systems, quantum memory Udgivelsesdato: 17 Feb.......Retrieving quantum information, collective atomic spin systems, quantum memory Udgivelsesdato: 17 Feb....

The role of auditory cortices in the retrieval of single-trial auditory-visual object memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Matusz, Pawel J; Thelen, Antonia; Amrein, Sarah; Geiser, Eveline; Anken, Jacques; Murray, Micah M

2015-03-01

Single-trial encounters with multisensory stimuli affect both memory performance and early-latency brain responses to visual stimuli. Whether and how auditory cortices support memory processes based on single-trial multisensory learning is unknown and may differ qualitatively and quantitatively from comparable processes within visual cortices due to purported differences in memory capacities across the senses. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) as healthy adults (n = 18) performed a continuous recognition task in the auditory modality, discriminating initial (new) from repeated (old) sounds of environmental objects. Initial presentations were either unisensory or multisensory; the latter entailed synchronous presentation of a semantically congruent or a meaningless image. Repeated presentations were exclusively auditory, thus differing only according to the context in which the sound was initially encountered. Discrimination abilities (indexed by d') were increased for repeated sounds that were initially encountered with a semantically congruent image versus sounds initially encountered with either a meaningless or no image. Analyses of ERPs within an electrical neuroimaging framework revealed that early stages of auditory processing of repeated sounds were affected by prior single-trial multisensory contexts. These effects followed from significantly reduced activity within a distributed network, including the right superior temporal cortex, suggesting an inverse relationship between brain activity and behavioural outcome on this task. The present findings demonstrate how auditory cortices contribute to long-term effects of multisensory experiences on auditory object discrimination. We propose a new framework for the efficacy of multisensory processes to impact both current multisensory stimulus processing and unisensory discrimination abilities later in time. © 2015 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Attempting to model dissociations of memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Reber, Paul J.

2002-05-01

Kinder and Shanks report simulations aimed at describing a single-system model of the dissociation between declarative and non-declarative memory. This model attempts to capture both Artificial Grammar Learning (AGL) and recognition memory with a single underlying representation. However, the model fails to reflect an essential feature of recognition memory - that it occurs after a single exposure - and the simulations may instead describe a potentially interesting property of over-training non-declarative memory.

Memory effect in gated single-photon avalanche diodes: a limiting noise contribution similar to afterpulsing

Science.gov (United States)

Contini, D.; Dalla Mora, A.; Di Sieno, L.; Cubeddu, R.; Tosi, A.; Boso, G.; Pifferi, A.

2013-03-01

In recent years, emerging applications, such as diffuse optical imaging and spectroscopy (e.g., functional brain imaging and optical mammography), in which a wide dynamic range is crucial, have turned the interest towards Single-Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD). In these fields, the use of a fast-gated SPAD has proven to be a successful technique to increase the measurement sensitivity of different orders of magnitude. However, an unknown background noise has been observed at high illumination during the gate-OFF time, thus setting a limit to the maximum increase of the dynamic range. In this paper we describe this noise in thin-junction silicon single-photon avalanche diode when a large amount of photons reaches the gated detector during the OFF time preceding the enabling time. This memory effect increases the background noise with respect to primary dark count rate similarly to a classical afterpulsing process, but differently it is not related to a previous avalanche ignition in the detector. We discovered that memory effect increases linearly with the power of light impinging on the detector and it has an exponential trend with time constants far different from those of afterpulsing and independently of the bias voltage applied to the junction. For these reasons, the memory effect is not due to the same trapping states of afterpulsing and must be described as a different process.

Negative Affect Impairs Associative Memory but Not Item Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Bisby, James A.; Burgess, Neil

2014-01-01

The formation of associations between items and their context has been proposed to rely on mechanisms distinct from those supporting memory for a single item. Although emotional experiences can profoundly affect memory, our understanding of how it interacts with different aspects of memory remains unclear. We performed three experiments to examine…

Temperature dependent evolution of wrinkled single-crystal silicon ribbons on shape memory polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yu; Yu, Kai; Qi, H Jerry; Xiao, Jianliang

2017-10-25

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) can remember two or more distinct shapes, and thus can have a lot of potential applications. This paper presents combined experimental and theoretical studies on the wrinkling of single-crystal Si ribbons on SMPs and the temperature dependent evolution. Using the shape memory effect of heat responsive SMPs, this study provides a method to build wavy forms of single-crystal silicon thin films on top of SMP substrates. Silicon ribbons obtained from a Si-on-insulator (SOI) wafer are released and transferred onto the surface of programmed SMPs. Then such bilayer systems are recovered at different temperatures, yielding well-defined, wavy profiles of Si ribbons. The wavy profiles are shown to evolve with time, and the evolution behavior strongly depends on the recovery temperature. At relatively low recovery temperatures, both wrinkle wavelength and amplitude increase with time as evolution progresses. Finite element analysis (FEA) accounting for the thermomechanical behavior of SMPs is conducted to study the wrinkling of Si ribbons on SMPs, which shows good agreement with experiment. Merging of wrinkles is observed in FEA, which could explain the increase of wrinkle wavelength observed in the experiment. This study can have important implications for smart stretchable electronics, wrinkling mechanics, stimuli-responsive surface engineering, and advanced manufacturing.

A single standard for memory: the case for reconsolidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nader, Karim; Hardt, Oliver

2009-03-01

Consolidated memories can re-enter states of transient instability following reactivation, from which they must again stabilize in order to persist, contradicting the previously dominant view that memory and its associated plasticity mechanisms progressively and irreversibly decline with time. We witness exciting times, as neuroscience begins embracing a position, long-held in cognitive psychology, that recognizes memory as a principally dynamic process. In light of remaining controversy, we here establish that the same operational definitions and types of evidence underpin the deduction of both reconsolidation and consolidation, thus validating the extrapolation that post-retrieval memory plasticity reflects processes akin to those that stabilized the memory following acquisition.

Single event simulation for memories using accelerated ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakagawa, Y.; Shiono, N.; Mizusawa, T.; Sekiguchi, M.; Sato, K.; Sugai, I.; Hirao, Y.; Nishimura, J.; Hattori, T.

1987-01-01

To evaluate the error immunity of the LSI memories from cosmic rays in space, an irradiation test using accelerated heavy ions is performed. The sensitive regions for 64 K DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and 4 K SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) are determined from the irradiation test results and the design parameters of the devices. The observed errors can be classified into two types. One is the direct ionization type and the other is the recoil produced error type. Sensitive region is determined for the devices. Error rate estimation methods for both types are proposed and applied to those memories used in space. The error rate of direct ionization exceeds the recoil type by 2 or 3 orders. And the direct ionization is susceptible to shield thickness. (author)

Reactive Stresses in Ni49Fe18Ga27Co6 Shape-Memory-Alloy Single Crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Averkin, A. I.; Krymov, V. M.; Guzilova, L. I.; Timashov, R. B.; Soldatov, A. V.; Nikolaev, V. I.

2018-03-01

The reactive stresses induced in Ni49Fe18Ga27Co6-alloy single crystals during martensitic transformations with a limited possibility of shape-memory-strain recovery have been experimentally studied. The data on these crystals are compared with the results obtained previously for Cu-Al-Ni, Ni-Ti, and Ni‒Fe-Ga crystals. The potential of application of the Ni49Fe18Ga27Co6 single crystals in designing drives and power motors is demonstrated.

An effect of age on implicit memory that is not due to explicit contamination: implications for single and multiple-systems theories.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Emma V; Berry, Christopher J; Shanks, David R

2013-06-01

Recognition memory is typically weaker in healthy older relative to young adults, while performance on implicit tests (e.g., repetition priming) is often comparable between groups. Such observations are commonly taken as evidence for independent explicit and implicit memory systems. On a picture version of the continuous identification with recognition (CID-R) task, we found a reliable age-related reduction in recognition memory, while the age effect on priming did not reach statistical significance (Experiment 1). This pattern was consistent with the predictions of a formal single-system model. Experiment 2 replicated these observations using separate priming (continuous identification; CID) and recognition phases, while a combined data analysis revealed a significant effect of age on priming. In Experiment 3, we provide evidence that priming in this task is unaffected by explicit processing, and we conclude that the age difference in priming is unlikely to have been driven by differences in explicit processing between groups of young and older adults ("explicit contamination"). The results support the view that explicit and implicit expressions of memory are driven by a single underlying memory system. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Effects of nanometric hydrophobic layer on performances of solar photovoltaic collectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrei BUTUZA

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The study refers to the experimental investigation of solar photovoltaic collectors' behaviour when the glazed surface is treated with a nanometric layer of hydrophobic solution. The experiment was carried out on two photovoltaic collectors, of which one was considered as reference and the other one was coated with a commercial hydrophobic solution. It was studied the evolution of the following electrical parameters: current, voltage, power, efficiency and daily energy production. The voltage was almost unaffected, but for all the others parameters, important drop were recorded. The preliminary conclusion of the study is that the use of hydrophobic solutions, for the treatment of glazed surfaces of solar collectors is not recommended. This hypothesis needs supplementary investigations and measurements in the context of reduced available information concerning the optical properties of hydrophobic solutions.

Integration of Plasticity Mechanisms within a Single Sensory Neuron of C. elegans Actuates a Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawk, Josh D; Calvo, Ana C; Liu, Ping; Almoril-Porras, Agustin; Aljobeh, Ahmad; Torruella-Suárez, María Luisa; Ren, Ivy; Cook, Nathan; Greenwood, Joel; Luo, Linjiao; Wang, Zhao-Wen; Samuel, Aravinthan D T; Colón-Ramos, Daniel A

2018-01-17

Neural plasticity, the ability of neurons to change their properties in response to experiences, underpins the nervous system's capacity to form memories and actuate behaviors. How different plasticity mechanisms act together in vivo and at a cellular level to transform sensory information into behavior is not well understood. We show that in Caenorhabditis elegans two plasticity mechanisms-sensory adaptation and presynaptic plasticity-act within a single cell to encode thermosensory information and actuate a temperature preference memory. Sensory adaptation adjusts the temperature range of the sensory neuron (called AFD) to optimize detection of temperature fluctuations associated with migration. Presynaptic plasticity in AFD is regulated by the conserved kinase nPKCε and transforms thermosensory information into a behavioral preference. Bypassing AFD presynaptic plasticity predictably changes learned behavioral preferences without affecting sensory responses. Our findings indicate that two distinct neuroplasticity mechanisms function together through a single-cell logic system to enact thermotactic behavior. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Negative affect impairs associative memory but not item memory.

OpenAIRE

Bisby, J. A.; Burgess, N.

2014-01-01

The formation of associations between items and their context has been proposed to rely on mechanisms distinct from those supporting memory for a single item. Although emotional experiences can profoundly affect memory, our understanding of how it interacts with different aspects of memory remains unclear. We performed three experiments to examine the effects of emotion on memory for items and their associations. By presenting neutral and negative items with background contexts, Experiment 1 ...

Echoic memory of a single pure tone indexed by change-related brain activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Inui, Koji; Urakawa, Tomokazu; Yamashiro, Koya; Otsuru, Naofumi; Takeshima, Yasuyuki; Nishihara, Makoto; Motomura, Eishi; Kida, Tetsuo; Kakigi, Ryusuke

2010-10-20

The rapid detection of sensory change is important to survival. The process should relate closely to memory since it requires that the brain separate a new stimulus from an ongoing background or past event. Given that sensory memory monitors current sensory status and works to pick-up changes in real-time, any change detected by this system should evoke a change-related cortical response. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether the single presentation of a sound is enough to elicit a change-related cortical response, and therefore, shape a memory trace enough to separate a subsequent stimulus. Under a paradigm where two pure sounds 300 ms in duration and 800 or 840 Hz in frequency were presented in a specific order at an even probability, cortical responses to each sound were measured with magnetoencephalograms. Sounds were grouped to five events regardless of their frequency, 1D, 2D, and 3D (a sound preceded by one, two, or three different sounds), and 1S and 2S (a sound preceded by one or two same sounds). Whereas activation in the planum temporale did not differ among events, activation in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) was clearly greater for the different events (1D, 2D, 3D) than the same event (1S and 2S). One presentation of a sound is enough to shape a memory trace for comparison with a subsequent physically different sound and elicits change-related cortical responses in the STG. The STG works as a real-time sensory gate open to a new event.

Application of a parallel genetic algorithm to the global optimization of medium-sized Au-Pd sub-nanometre clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Hussein, Heider A.; Demiroglu, Ilker; Johnston, Roy L.

2018-02-01

To contribute to the discussion of the high activity and reactivity of Au-Pd system, we have adopted the BPGA-DFT approach to study the structural and energetic properties of medium-sized Au-Pd sub-nanometre clusters with 11-18 atoms. We have examined the structural behaviour and stability as a function of cluster size and composition. The study suggests 2D-3D crossover points for pure Au clusters at 14 and 16 atoms, whereas pure Pd clusters are all found to be 3D. For Au-Pd nanoalloys, the role of cluster size and the influence of doping were found to be extensive and non-monotonic in altering cluster structures. Various stability criteria (e.g. binding energies, second differences in energy, and mixing energies) are used to evaluate the energetics, structures, and tendency of segregation in sub-nanometre Au-Pd clusters. HOMO-LUMO gaps were calculated to give additional information on cluster stability and a systematic homotop search was used to evaluate the energies of the generated global minima of mono-substituted clusters and the preferred doping sites, as well as confirming the validity of the BPGA-DFT approach.

Mathematical and numerical modelling of fluids at Nano-metric scales

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joubaud, R.

2012-01-01

This work presents some contributions to the mathematical and numerical modelling of fluids at Nano-metric scales. We are interested in two levels of modelling. The first level consists in an atomic description. We consider the problem of computing the shear viscosity of a fluid from a microscopic description. More precisely, we study the mathematical properties of the nonequilibrium Langevin dynamics allowing to compute the shear viscosity. The second level of description is a continuous description, and we consider a class of continuous models for equilibrium electrolytes, which incorporate on the one hand a confinement by charged solid objects and on the other hand non-ideality effects stemming from electrostatic correlations and steric exclusion phenomena due to the excluded volume effects. First, we perform the mathematical analysis of the case where the free energy is a convex function (mild non-ideality). Second, we consider numerically the case where the free energy is a non convex function (strong non-ideality) leading in particular to phase separation. (author)

Study of AFM-based nanometric cutting process using molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Pengzhe; Hu Yuanzhong; Ma Tianbao; Wang Hui

2010-01-01

Three-dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are conducted to investigate the atomic force microscope (AFM)-based nanometric cutting process of copper using diamond tool. The effects of tool geometry, cutting depth, cutting velocity and bulk temperature are studied. It is found that the tool geometry has a significant effect on the cutting resistance. The friction coefficient (cutting resistance) on the nanoscale decreases with the increase of tool angle as predicted by the macroscale theory. However, the friction coefficients on the nanoscale are bigger than those on the macroscale. The simulation results show that a bigger cutting depth results in more material deformation and larger chip volume, thus leading to bigger cutting force and bigger normal force. It is also observed that a higher cutting velocity results in a larger chip volume in front of the tool and bigger cutting force and normal force. The chip volume in front of the tool increases while the cutting force and normal force decrease with the increase of bulk temperature.

Far field optical nanoscopy: How far can you go in nanometric characterization without resolving all the details?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montgomery, Paul C.; Serio, Bruno; Anstotz, Freddy; Montaner, Denis

2013-01-01

In the development of nanomaterials and biomaterials, new characterization techniques are required that overcome the challenges presented by the increasing dimensional ratio between the different entities to be studied and the growing complexity introduced by the use of heterogeneous materials and technologies. Diffraction limited far field optical nanoscopy techniques are receiving growing interest because of their ability to detect nanometer structures over very large fields and at high speed. We present a classification scheme of the different types of optical nanoscopy techniques. In particular, we highlight four categories of far field diffraction limited techniques based on increasing the contrast, measuring the phase, using deconvolution and using nano-markers. We demonstrate that by increasing the power of detectability, observability or measurability, a wealth of information concerning nanometric structures becomes available even though all the lateral details may not be resolved. For example, it is possible to determine the presence, the structure and orientation of nanostructures, to measure their density, position and 2D and 3D distribution and to measure nanometric surface roughness in bulk materials, surfaces, nano-layers, soft matter and cells. These techniques conserve all the advantages associated with classical imaging such as real time imaging, non-invasiveness, non-destructiveness and ease of use.

A versatile nanotechnology to connect individual nano-objects for the fabrication of hybrid single-electron devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernand-Mantel, A; Bouzehouane, K; Seneor, P; Fusil, S; Deranlot, C; Petroff, F; Fert, A; Brenac, A; Notin, L; Morel, R

2010-01-01

We report on the high yield connection of single nano-objects as small as a few nanometres in diameter to separately elaborated metallic electrodes, using a 'table-top' nanotechnology. Single-electron transport measurements validate that transport occurs through a single nano-object. The vertical geometry of the device natively allows an independent choice of materials for each electrode and the nano-object. In addition ferromagnetic materials can be used without encountering oxidation problems. The possibility of elaborating such hybrid nanodevices opens new routes for the democratization of spintronic studies in low dimensions.

Drosophila olfactory memory: single genes to complex neural circuits.

Science.gov (United States)

Keene, Alex C; Waddell, Scott

2007-05-01

A central goal of neuroscience is to understand how neural circuits encode memory and guide behaviour. Studying simple, genetically tractable organisms, such as Drosophila melanogaster, can illuminate principles of neural circuit organization and function. Early genetic dissection of D. melanogaster olfactory memory focused on individual genes and molecules. These molecular tags subsequently revealed key neural circuits for memory. Recent advances in genetic technology have allowed us to manipulate and observe activity in these circuits, and even individual neurons, in live animals. The studies have transformed D. melanogaster from a useful organism for gene discovery to an ideal model to understand neural circuit function in memory.

Magnetization, shape memory and hysteresis behavior of single and polycrystalline FeNiCoTi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sehitoglu, H.; Efstathiou, C.; Maier, H.J.; Chumlyakov, Y.

2005-01-01

We report on the shape memory characteristics and magnetic behavior of polycrystalline and single crystalline FeNiCoTi. Predeforming the samples in the martensitic state and biasing of the martensite variants produced anisotropy in the magnetization behavior allowing the 'easy axis' to be identified as the 'a-axis' in the martensitic state. Based on these results, we provide an estimate of the magnetic anisotropy energy as 8.34x10 5 ergs/cm 3 . The results confirm the different magnetization behavior in the martensitic and austenitic states, and the shift in transformation temperatures upon application of a magnetic field. Shape memory strains near 2.5% are demonstrated under constant stress temperature cycling and upon heating at zero stress after deformation. We present a thermodynamics based theory that explains the origin of the hysteresis in this class of alloys emanating from the dissipation of energy due to plastic deformation. We predict the thermal hysteresis (135 K), and the shift in transformation temperature (14 K) with applied magnetic fields in agreement with the experimental results. The possibility of utilizing these classes of alloys as magnetic shape memory alloys is discussed

Event-related brain potentials in memory: correlates of episodic, semantic and implicit memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Wieser, Stephan; Wieser, Heinz Gregor

2003-06-01

To study cognitive evoked potentials, recorded from scalp EEG and foramen ovale electrodes, during activation of explicit and implicit memory. The subgroups of explicit memory, episodic and semantic memory, are looked at separately. A word-learning task was used, which has been shown to activate hippocampus in H(2)(15)O positron emission tomography studies. Subjects had to study and remember word pairs using different learning strategies: (i) associative word learning (AWL), which activates the episodic memory, (ii) deep single word encoding (DSWE), which activates the semantic memory, and (iii) shallow single word encoding (SSWE), which activates the implicit memory and serves as a baseline. The test included the 'remember/know' paradigm as a behavioural learning control. During the task condition, a 10-20 scalp EEG with additional electrodes in both temporal lobes regions was recorded from 11 healthy volunteers. In one patient with mesiotemporal lobe epilepsy, the EEG was recorded from bilateral foramen ovale electrodes directly from mesial temporal lobe structures. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were calculated off-line and visual and statistical analyses were made. Associative learning strategy produced the best memory performance and the best noetic awareness experience, whereas shallow single word encoding produced the worst performance and the smallest noetic awareness. Deep single word encoding performance was in between. ERPs differed according to the test condition, during both encoding and retrieval, from both the scalp EEG and the foramen ovale electrode recordings. Encoding showed significant differences between the shallow single word encoding (SSWE), which is mainly a function of graphical characteristics, and the other two strategies, deep single word (DSWE) and associative learning (AWL), in which there is a semantic processing of the meaning. ERPs generated by these two categories, which are both functions of explicit memory, differed as well

Psychophysiology of prospective memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothen, Nicolas; Meier, Beat

2014-01-01

Prospective memory involves the self-initiated retrieval of an intention upon an appropriate retrieval cue. Cue identification can be considered as an orienting reaction and may thus trigger a psychophysiological response. Here we present two experiments in which skin conductance responses (SCRs) elicited by prospective memory cues were compared to SCRs elicited by aversive stimuli to test whether a single prospective memory cue triggers a similar SCR as an aversive stimulus. In Experiment 2 we also assessed whether cue specificity had a differential influence on prospective memory performance and on SCRs. We found that detecting a single prospective memory cue is as likely to elicit a SCR as an aversive stimulus. Missed prospective memory cues also elicited SCRs. On a behavioural level, specific intentions led to better prospective memory performance. However, on a psychophysiological level specificity had no influence. More generally, the results indicate reliable SCRs for prospective memory cues and point to psychophysiological measures as valuable approach, which offers a new way to study one-off prospective memory tasks. Moreover, the findings are consistent with a theory that posits multiple prospective memory retrieval stages.

Nanometric locking of the tight focus for optical microscopy and tip-enhanced microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayazawa, N; Furusawa, K; Kawata, S

2012-01-01

We have successfully stabilized the tight focus onto the sample surface of an optical microscope within ±1.0 nm for a virtually unlimited time duration. The time-dependent thermal drift of the tight focus and the mechanical tilt of the sample surface were simultaneously sensed by a non-optical means based on a capacitive sensor and were compensated for in real-time. This non-optical scheme is promising for the suppression of background light sources for optical microscopy. The focus stabilization is crucial for microscopic measurement at an interface, particularly when scanning a large surface area, because there is always a certain amount of mechanical tilt of the sample substrate, which degrades the contrast of the image. When imaging nanoscopic materials such as carbon nanotubes or silicon nanowires, more stringent nanometric stabilization of the focus position relative to such samples is required, otherwise it is often difficult to interpret the results from the observations. Moreover, the smaller the sample volume is, the smaller the signal becomes, resulting in a long exposure time at each position. In this sense, long-term stability of the tight focus is essential for both microscopic large area scanning and nanosized sample scanning (high-resolution/large-area imaging). In addition, the recently developed tip-enhanced microscopy requires long-term stability of the relative position of the tip, sample and focus position. We were able to successfully demonstrate a stability improvement for tip-enhanced microscopy in the same manner. The stabilization of the tight focus enables us to perform long-term and robust measurements without any degradation of optical signal, resulting in the capability of true nanometric optical imaging with good reproducibility and high precision. The technique presented is a simple add-on for any kind of optical microscope. (paper)

Sub-nanometre channels embedded in two-dimensional materials

KAUST Repository

Han, Yimo

2017-12-04

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are among the most promising candidates for next-generation electronics due to their atomic thinness, allowing for flexible transparent electronics and ultimate length scaling1. Thus far, atomically thin p–n junctions2,3,4,5,6,7,8, metal–semiconductor contacts9,10,11, and metal–insulator barriers12,13,14 have been demonstrated. Although 2D materials achieve the thinnest possible devices, precise nanoscale control over the lateral dimensions is also necessary. Here, we report the direct synthesis of sub-nanometre-wide one-dimensional (1D) MoS2 channels embedded within WSe2 monolayers, using a dislocation-catalysed approach. The 1D channels have edges free of misfit dislocations and dangling bonds, forming a coherent interface with the embedding 2D matrix. Periodic dislocation arrays produce 2D superlattices of coherent MoS2 1D channels in WSe2. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we have identified other combinations of 2D materials where 1D channels can also be formed. The electronic band structure of these 1D channels offers the promise of carrier confinement in a direct-gap material and the charge separation needed to access the ultimate length scales necessary for future electronic applications.

Surface bond contraction and its effect on the nanometric sized lead zirconate titanate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haitao Huang; Sun, Chang Q.; Hing, Peter

2000-01-01

The grain size effect of lead zirconate titanate PbZr 1-x Ti x O 3 (PZT, x≥0.6) caused by surface bond contraction has been investigated by using the Landau-Ginsburg-Devonshire (LGD) phenomenological theory. It has been shown that, due to the surface bond contraction, both the Curie temperature and the spontaneous polarization of tetragonal PZT decrease with decreasing grain size. These effects become more significant when the grain size is in the nanometre range. A dielectric anomaly appears with decreasing grain size, which corresponds to a size dependent phase transformation. The ferroelectric critical size below which a loss of ferroelectricity will happen is estimated from the results obtained. (author). Letter-to-the-editor

The future of memory

Science.gov (United States)

Marinella, M.

In the not too distant future, the traditional memory and storage hierarchy of may be replaced by a single Storage Class Memory (SCM) device integrated on or near the logic processor. Traditional magnetic hard drives, NAND flash, DRAM, and higher level caches (L2 and up) will be replaced with a single high performance memory device. The Storage Class Memory paradigm will require high speed (read/write), excellent endurance (> 1012), nonvolatility (retention > 10 years), and low switching energies (memory (PCM). All of these devices show potential well beyond that of current flash technologies and research efforts are underway to improve the endurance, write speeds, and scalabilities to be on-par with DRAM. This progress has interesting implications for space electronics: each of these emerging device technologies show excellent resistance to the types of radiation typically found in space applications. Commercially developed, high density storage class memory-based systems may include a memory that is physically radiation hard, and suitable for space applications without major shielding efforts. This paper reviews the Storage Class Memory concept, emerging memory devices, and possible applicability to radiation hardened electronics for space.

Echoic memory of a single pure tone indexed by change-related brain activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Motomura Eishi

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The rapid detection of sensory change is important to survival. The process should relate closely to memory since it requires that the brain separate a new stimulus from an ongoing background or past event. Given that sensory memory monitors current sensory status and works to pick-up changes in real-time, any change detected by this system should evoke a change-related cortical response. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether the single presentation of a sound is enough to elicit a change-related cortical response, and therefore, shape a memory trace enough to separate a subsequent stimulus. Results Under a paradigm where two pure sounds 300 ms in duration and 800 or 840 Hz in frequency were presented in a specific order at an even probability, cortical responses to each sound were measured with magnetoencephalograms. Sounds were grouped to five events regardless of their frequency, 1D, 2D, and 3D (a sound preceded by one, two, or three different sounds, and 1S and 2S (a sound preceded by one or two same sounds. Whereas activation in the planum temporale did not differ among events, activation in the superior temporal gyrus (STG was clearly greater for the different events (1D, 2D, 3D than the same event (1S and 2S. Conclusions One presentation of a sound is enough to shape a memory trace for comparison with a subsequent physically different sound and elicits change-related cortical responses in the STG. The STG works as a real-time sensory gate open to a new event.

In-depth analysis and modelling of self-heating effects in nanometric DGMOSFETs

Science.gov (United States)

Roldán, J. B.; González, B.; Iñiguez, B.; Roldán, A. M.; Lázaro, A.; Cerdeira, A.

2013-01-01

Self-heating effects (SHEs) in nanometric symmetrical double-gate MOSFETs (DGMOSFETs) have been analysed. An equivalent thermal circuit for the transistors has been developed to characterise thermal effects, where the temperature and thickness dependency of the thermal conductivity of the silicon and oxide layers within the devices has been included. The equivalent thermal circuit is consistent with simulations using a commercial technology computer-aided design (TCAD) tool (Sentaurus by Synopsys). In addition, a model for DGMOSFETs has been developed where SHEs have been considered in detail, taking into account the temperature dependence of the low-field mobility, saturation velocity, and inversion charge. The model correctly reproduces Sentaurus simulation data for the typical bias range used in integrated circuits. Lattice temperatures predicted by simulation are coherently reproduced by the model for varying silicon layer geometry.

A comparison of the effects of temporary hippocampal lesions on single and dual context versions of the olfactory sequence memory task.

Science.gov (United States)

Sill, Orriana C; Smith, David M

2012-08-01

In recent years, many animal models of memory have focused on one or more of the various components of episodic memory. For example, the odor sequence memory task requires subjects to remember individual items and events (the odors) and the temporal aspects of the experience (the sequence of odor presentation). The well-known spatial context coding function of the hippocampus, as exemplified by place cell firing, may reflect the "where" component of episodic memory. In the present study, we added a contextual component to the odor sequence memory task by training rats to choose the earlier odor in one context and the later odor in another context and we compared the effects of temporary hippocampal lesions on performance of the original single context task and the new dual context task. Temporary lesions significantly impaired the single context task, although performance remained significantly above chance levels. In contrast, performance dropped all the way to chance when temporary lesions were used in the dual context task. These results demonstrate that rats can learn a dual context version of the odor sequence learning task that requires the use of contextual information along with the requirement to remember the "what" and "when" components of the odor sequence. Moreover, the addition of the contextual component made the task fully dependent on the hippocampus.

Event Memory: A Theory of Memory for Laboratory, Autobiographical, and Fictional Events

Science.gov (United States)

Rubin, David C.; Umanath, Sharda

2015-01-01

An event memory is a mental construction of a scene recalled as a single occurrence. It therefore requires the hippocampus and ventral visual stream needed for all scene construction. The construction need not come with a sense of reliving or be made by a participant in the event, and it can be a summary of occurrences from more than one encoding. The mental construction, or physical rendering, of any scene must be done from a specific location and time; this introduces a ‘self’ located in space and time, which is a necessary, but need not be a sufficient, condition for a sense of reliving. We base our theory on scene construction rather than reliving because this allows the integration of many literatures and because there is more accumulated knowledge about scene construction’s phenomenology, behavior, and neural basis. Event memory differs from episodic memory in that it does not conflate the independent dimensions of whether or not a memory is relived, is about the self, is recalled voluntarily, or is based on a single encoding with whether it is recalled as a single occurrence of a scene. Thus, we argue that event memory provides a clearer contrast to semantic memory, which also can be about the self, be recalled voluntarily, and be from a unique encoding; allows for a more comprehensive dimensional account of the structure of explicit memory; and better accounts for laboratory and real world behavioral and neural results, including those from neuropsychology and neuroimaging, than does episodic memory. PMID:25330330

Effect of a Single Dose of Dextromethorphan on Psychomotor Performance and Working Memory Capacity

OpenAIRE

Al-Kuraishy, Hayder M.; Al-Gareeb, Ali I.; Ashor, Ammar Waham

2012-01-01

Background: Previous studies show that the prolonged use of dextromethorphan produces cognitive deterioration in humans. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a single dose of dextroemthrophan on psychomotor performance and working memory capacity. Materials and Methods: This is a randomized, double-blind, controlled, and prospective study. Thirty-six (17 women, 19 men) medical students enrolled in the study; half of them (7 women, 11 men) were given placebo, while the o...

Calculation of neutron-induced single-event upset cross sections for semiconductor memory devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikeuchi, Taketo; Watanabe, Yukinobu; Nakashima, Hideki; Sun, Weili

2001-01-01

Neutron-induced single-event upset (SEU) cross sections for semiconductor memory devices are calculated by the Burst Generation Rate (BGR) method using LA150 data and QMD calculation in the neutron energy range between 20 MeV and 10 GeV. The calculated results are compared with the measured SEU cross sections for energies up to 160 MeV, and the validity of the calculation method and the nuclear data used is verified. The kind of reaction products and the neutron energy range that have the most effect on SEU are discussed. (author)

Cognitive memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Widrow, Bernard; Aragon, Juan Carlos

2013-05-01

Regarding the workings of the human mind, memory and pattern recognition seem to be intertwined. You generally do not have one without the other. Taking inspiration from life experience, a new form of computer memory has been devised. Certain conjectures about human memory are keys to the central idea. The design of a practical and useful "cognitive" memory system is contemplated, a memory system that may also serve as a model for many aspects of human memory. The new memory does not function like a computer memory where specific data is stored in specific numbered registers and retrieval is done by reading the contents of the specified memory register, or done by matching key words as with a document search. Incoming sensory data would be stored at the next available empty memory location, and indeed could be stored redundantly at several empty locations. The stored sensory data would neither have key words nor would it be located in known or specified memory locations. Sensory inputs concerning a single object or subject are stored together as patterns in a single "file folder" or "memory folder". When the contents of the folder are retrieved, sights, sounds, tactile feel, smell, etc., are obtained all at the same time. Retrieval would be initiated by a query or a prompt signal from a current set of sensory inputs or patterns. A search through the memory would be made to locate stored data that correlates with or relates to the prompt input. The search would be done by a retrieval system whose first stage makes use of autoassociative artificial neural networks and whose second stage relies on exhaustive search. Applications of cognitive memory systems have been made to visual aircraft identification, aircraft navigation, and human facial recognition. Concerning human memory, reasons are given why it is unlikely that long-term memory is stored in the synapses of the brain's neural networks. Reasons are given suggesting that long-term memory is stored in DNA or RNA

Theory of phase transformation and reorientation in single crystalline shape memory alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, J J; Liang, N G; Cai, M; Liew, K M; Huang, W M

2008-01-01

A constitutive model, based on an (n+1)-phase mixture of the Mori–Tanaka average theory, has been developed for stress-induced martensitic transformation and reorientation in single crystalline shape memory alloys. Volume fractions of different martensite lattice correspondence variants are chosen as internal variables to describe microstructural evolution. Macroscopic Gibbs free energy for the phase transformation is derived with thermodynamics principles and the ensemble average method of micro-mechanics. The critical condition and the evolution equation are proposed for both the phase transition and reorientation. This model can also simulate interior hysteresis loops during loading/unloading by switching the critical driving forces when an opposite transition takes place

Nanometre-thick single-crystalline nanosheets grown at the water-air interface

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fei; Seo, Jung-Hun; Luo, Guangfu; Starr, Matthew B.; Li, Zhaodong; Geng, Dalong; Yin, Xin; Wang, Shaoyang; Fraser, Douglas G.; Morgan, Dane; Ma, Zhenqiang; Wang, Xudong

2016-01-01

To date, the preparation of free-standing 2D nanomaterials has been largely limited to the exfoliation of van der Waals solids. The lack of a robust mechanism for the bottom-up synthesis of 2D nanomaterials from non-layered materials has become an obstacle to further explore the physical properties and advanced applications of 2D nanomaterials. Here we demonstrate that surfactant monolayers can serve as soft templates guiding the nucleation and growth of 2D nanomaterials in large area beyond the limitation of van der Waals solids. One- to 2-nm-thick, single-crystalline free-standing ZnO nanosheets with sizes up to tens of micrometres are synthesized at the water-air interface. In this process, the packing density of surfactant monolayers adapts to the sub-phase metal ions and guides the epitaxial growth of nanosheets. It is thus named adaptive ionic layer epitaxy (AILE). The electronic properties of ZnO nanosheets and AILE of other materials are also investigated.

Calculation of the intrinsic spectral density of current fluctuations in nanometric Schottky-barrier diodes at terahertz frequencies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahi, F.Z. [Science and Technology Institute, University of Bechar, 08000 Bechar (Algeria)], E-mail: fati_zo_mahi2002@yahoo.fr; Helmaoui, A. [Science and Technology Institute, University of Bechar, 08000 Bechar (Algeria); Varani, L. [Institut d' Electronique du Sud (CNRS UMR 5214), Universite Montpellier II, 34095 Montpellier (France); Shiktorov, P.; Starikov, E.; Gruzhinskis, V. [Semiconductor Physics Institute, 01108 Vilnius (Lithuania)

2008-10-01

An analytical model for the noise spectrum of nanometric Schottky-barrier diodes (SBD) is developed. The calculated frequency dependence of the spectral density of current fluctuations exhibits resonances in the terahertz domain which are discussed and analyzed as functions of the length of the diode, free carrier concentration, length of the depletion region and applied voltage. A good agreement obtained with direct Monte Carlo simulations of GaAs SBDs operating from barrier-limited to flat-band conditions fully validates the proposed approach.

An ultra-low-power area-efficient non-volatile memory in a 0.18 μm single-poly CMOS process for passive RFID tags

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia Xiaoyun; Feng Peng; Zhang Shengguang; Wu Nanjian; Zhao Baiqin; Liu Su

2013-01-01

This paper presents an ultra-low-power area-efficient non-volatile memory (NVM) in a 0.18 μm single-poly standard CMOS process for passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. In the memory cell, a novel low-power operation method is proposed to realize bi-directional Fowler—Nordheim tunneling during write operation. Furthermore, the cell is designed with PMOS transistors and coupling capacitors to minimize its area. In order to improve its reliability, the cell consists of double floating gates to store the data, and the 1 kbit NVM was implemented in a 0.18 μm single-poly standard CMOS process. The area of the memory cell and 1 kbit memory array is 96 μm 2 and 0.12 mm 2 , respectively. The measured results indicate that the program/erase voltage ranges from 5 to 6 V The power consumption of the read/write operation is 0.19 μW/0.69 μW at a read/write rate of (268 kb/s)/(3.0 kb/s). (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Estimating single molecule conductance from spontaneous evolution of a molecular contact

Science.gov (United States)

Gil, M.; Malinowski, T.; Iazykov, M.; Klein, H. R.

2018-03-01

We present an original method to estimate the conductivity of a single molecule anchored to nanometric-sized metallic electrodes, using a Mechanically Controlled Break Junction operated at room temperature in the liquid. We record the conductance through the metal/molecules/metal nanocontact while keeping the metallic electrodes at a fixed distance. Taking advantage of thermal diffusion and electromigration, we let the contact naturally explore the more stable configurations around a chosen conductance value. The conductance of a single molecule is estimated from a statistical analysis of raw conductance and conductance standard deviation data for molecular contacts containing up to 14 molecules. The single molecule conductance values are interpreted as time-averaged conductance of an ensemble of conformers at thermal equilibrium.

Cortical activities of single-trial P300 amplitudes modulated by memory load using simultaneous EEG-fMRI

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qiushi; Zhao, Xiaojie; Zhu, Chaozhe; Yang, Xueqian; Yao, Li

2015-03-01

The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) researches on working memory have found that activation of cortical areas appeared dependent on memory load, and event-related potentials (ERP) studies have demonstrated that amplitudes of P300 decreased significantly when working memory load increased. However, the cortical activities related with P300 amplitudes under different memory loads remains unclear. Joint fMRI and EEG analysis which fusions the time and spatial information in simultaneous EEG-fMRI recording can reveal the regional activation at each ERP time point. In this paper, we first used wavelet transform to obtain the single-trial amplitudes of P300 caused by a digital N-back task in the simultaneous EEG-fMRI recording as the ERP feature sequences. Then the feature sequences in 1-back condition and 3-back condition were introduced into general linear model (GLM) separately as parametric modulations to compare the cortical activation under different memory loads. The results showed that the average amplitudes of P300 in 3-back significantly decreased than that in 1-back, and the activities induced by ERP feature sequences in 3-back also significantly decreased than that in the 1-back, including the insular, anterior cingulate cortex, right inferior frontal gyrus, and medial frontal gyrus, which were relevant to the storage, monitoring, and manipulation of information in working memory task. Moreover, the difference in the activation caused by ERP feature showed a positive correlation with the difference in behavioral performance. These findings demonstrated the locations of P300 amplitudes differences modulated by the memory load and its relationship with the behavioral performance.

Fast all-optical multistate flip-flop operation realized by a single self-sustained micro-ring laser memory cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zhuoran; Yuan, Guohui

2013-01-01

We investigate all-optical multistate flip-flop operation realized by a single self-sustained micro-ring laser memory cell based on a time-domain multi-mode nonlinear model. Each state is written by the corresponding 100 ps-width input non-return-to-zero (NRZ) pulse carrying the directional and wavelength information, and the cell remains in the written state until another trigger arrives. The effects of key parameters including the detuning frequency and injection power ratio on the injection locking and flipping regions of different modes in both directions of the micro-ring device are studied. By optimizing the operation conditions, we simulate the minimal switching speed for each mode. The fast switching speed of less than 20 ps and up to ten mode flip-flop operation indicate that this single optical memory cell can support ten states at a data rate of at least 10 Gbps, which is particularly valuable for the realization of future all-optical networking and functional sub-system technology. (letter)

Synergistic effects of total ionizing dose on single event upset sensitivity in static random access memory under proton irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao Yao; Guo Hong-Xia; Zhang Feng-Qi; Zhao Wen; Wang Yan-Ping; Zhang Ke-Ying; Ding Li-Li; Luo Yin-Hong; Wang Yuan-Ming; Fan Xue

2014-01-01

Synergistic effects of the total ionizing dose (TID) on the single event upset (SEU) sensitivity in static random access memories (SRAMs) were studied by using protons. The total dose was cumulated with high flux protons during the TID exposure, and the SEU cross section was tested with low flux protons at several cumulated dose steps. Because of the radiation-induced off-state leakage current increase of the CMOS transistors, the noise margin became asymmetric and the memory imprint effect was observed. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Experimental equivalent cluster-size distributions in nano-metric volumes of liquid water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grosswendt, B.; De Nardo, L.; Colautti, P.; Pszona, S.; Conte, V.; Tornielli, G.

2004-01-01

Ionisation cluster-size distributions in nano-metric volumes of liquid water were determined for alpha particles at 4.6 and 5.4 MeV by measuring cluster-size frequencies in small gaseous volumes of nitrogen or propane at low gas pressure as well as by applying a suitable scaling procedure. This scaling procedure was based on the mean free ionisation lengths of alpha particles in water and in the gases measured. For validation, the measurements of cluster sizes in gaseous volumes and the cluster-size formation in volumes of liquid water of equivalent size were simulated by Monte Carlo methods. The experimental water-equivalent cluster-size distributions in nitrogen and propane are compared with those in liquid water and show that cluster-size formation by alpha particles in nitrogen or propane can directly be related to those in liquid water. (authors)

The aftermath of memory retrieval for recycling visual working memory representations.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hyung-Bum; Zhang, Weiwei; Hyun, Joo-Seok

2017-07-01

We examined the aftermath of accessing and retrieving a subset of information stored in visual working memory (VWM)-namely, whether detection of a mismatch between memory and perception can impair the original memory of an item while triggering recognition-induced forgetting for the remaining, untested items. For this purpose, we devised a consecutive-change detection task wherein two successive testing probes were displayed after a single set of memory items. Across two experiments utilizing different memory-testing methods (whole vs. single probe), we observed a reliable pattern of poor performance in change detection for the second test when the first test had exhibited a color change. The impairment after a color change was evident even when the same memory item was repeatedly probed; this suggests that an attention-driven, salient visual change made it difficult to reinstate the previously remembered item. The second change detection, for memory items untested during the first change detection, was also found to be inaccurate, indicating that recognition-induced forgetting had occurred for the unprobed items in VWM. In a third experiment, we conducted a task that involved change detection plus continuous recall, wherein a memory recall task was presented after the change detection task. The analyses of the distributions of recall errors with a probabilistic mixture model revealed that the memory impairments from both visual changes and recognition-induced forgetting are explained better by the stochastic loss of memory items than by their degraded resolution. These results indicate that attention-driven visual change and recognition-induced forgetting jointly influence the "recycling" of VWM representations.

Multistate Resistive Switching Memory for Synaptic Memory Applications

KAUST Repository

Hota, Mrinal Kanti

2016-07-12

Reproducible low bias bipolar resistive switching memory in HfZnOx based memristors is reported. The modification of the concentration of oxygen vacancies in the ternary oxide film, which is facilitated by adding ZnO into HfO2, results in improved memory operation by the ternary oxide compared to the single binary oxides. A controlled multistate memory operation is achieved by controlling current compliance and RESET stop voltages. A high DC cyclic stability up to 400 cycles in the multistate memory performance is observed. Conventional synaptic operation in terms of potentiation, depression plasticity, and Ebbinghaus forgetting process are also studied. The memory mechanism is shown to originate from the migration of the oxygen vacancies and modulation of the interfacial layers. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Built-in self-repair of VLSI memories employing neural nets

Science.gov (United States)

Mazumder, Pinaki

1998-10-01

The decades of the Eighties and the Nineties have witnessed the spectacular growth of VLSI technology, when the chip size has increased from a few hundred devices to a staggering multi-millon transistors. This trend is expected to continue as the CMOS feature size progresses towards the nanometric dimension of 100 nm and less. SIA roadmap projects that, where as the DRAM chips will integrate over 20 billion devices in the next millennium, the future microprocessors may incorporate over 100 million transistors on a single chip. As the VLSI chip size increase, the limited accessibility of circuit components poses great difficulty for external diagnosis and replacement in the presence of faulty components. For this reason, extensive work has been done in built-in self-test techniques, but little research is known concerning built-in self-repair. Moreover, the extra hardware introduced by conventional fault-tolerance techniques is also likely to become faulty, therefore causing the circuit to be useless. This research demonstrates the feasibility of implementing electronic neural networks as intelligent hardware for memory array repair. Most importantly, we show that the neural network control possesses a robust and degradable computing capability under various fault conditions. Overall, a yield analysis performed on 64K DRAM's shows that the yield can be improved from as low as 20 percent to near 99 percent due to the self-repair design, with overhead no more than 7 percent.

History-dependent excitability as a single-cell substrate of transient memory for information discrimination.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabiano Baroni

Full Text Available Neurons react differently to incoming stimuli depending upon their previous history of stimulation. This property can be considered as a single-cell substrate for transient memory, or context-dependent information processing: depending upon the current context that the neuron "sees" through the subset of the network impinging on it in the immediate past, the same synaptic event can evoke a postsynaptic spike or just a subthreshold depolarization. We propose a formal definition of History-Dependent Excitability (HDE as a measure of the propensity to firing in any moment in time, linking the subthreshold history-dependent dynamics with spike generation. This definition allows the quantitative assessment of the intrinsic memory for different single-neuron dynamics and input statistics. We illustrate the concept of HDE by considering two general dynamical mechanisms: the passive behavior of an Integrate and Fire (IF neuron, and the inductive behavior of a Generalized Integrate and Fire (GIF neuron with subthreshold damped oscillations. This framework allows us to characterize the sensitivity of different model neurons to the detailed temporal structure of incoming stimuli. While a neuron with intrinsic oscillations discriminates equally well between input trains with the same or different frequency, a passive neuron discriminates better between inputs with different frequencies. This suggests that passive neurons are better suited to rate-based computation, while neurons with subthreshold oscillations are advantageous in a temporal coding scheme. We also address the influence of intrinsic properties in single-cell processing as a function of input statistics, and show that intrinsic oscillations enhance discrimination sensitivity at high input rates. Finally, we discuss how the recognition of these cell-specific discrimination properties might further our understanding of neuronal network computations and their relationships to the distribution and

A micromechanical constitutive model for anisotropic cyclic deformation of super-elastic NiTi shape memory alloy single crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Chao; Kang, Guozheng; Kan, Qianhua

2015-09-01

Based on the experimental observations on the anisotropic cyclic deformation of super-elastic NiTi shape memory alloy single crystals done by Gall and Maier (2002), a crystal plasticity based micromechanical constitutive model is constructed to describe such anisotropic cyclic deformation. To model the internal stress caused by the unmatched inelastic deformation between the austenite and martensite phases on the plastic deformation of austenite phase, 24 induced martensite variants are assumed to be ellipsoidal inclusions with anisotropic elasticity and embedded in the austenite matrix. The homogeneous stress fields in the austenite matrix and each induced martensite variant are obtained by using the Mori-Tanaka homogenization method. Two different inelastic mechanisms, i.e., martensite transformation and transformation-induced plasticity, and their interactions are considered in the proposed model. Following the assumption of instantaneous domain growth (Cherkaoui et al., 1998), the Helmholtz free energy of a representative volume element of a NiTi shape memory single crystal is established and the thermodynamic driving forces of the internal variables are obtained from the dissipative inequalities. The capability of the proposed model to describe the anisotropic cyclic deformation of super-elastic NiTi single crystals is first verified by comparing the predicted results with the experimental ones. It is concluded that the proposed model can capture the main quantitative features observed in the experiments. And then, the proposed model is further used to predict the uniaxial and multiaxial transformation ratchetting of a NiTi single crystal.

Orientation dependence of shape memory and super elastic effects in Ti-30% Ni-20% Cu single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chumlyakov, Yu.I.; Kireeva, I.V.

1999-01-01

Single crystals of Ti-30% Ni-20% Cu (at.%) alloy experiencing B2-B19 martensitic transformation are used to study the dependence of deforming stress σ cr , shape memory effect and super elasticity on test temperature, crystal orientation and the sign of tension/compression stresses. It is shown that experimental values of shape memory effect and super elasticity as well as their dependences on orientation and loading regime are described within the frameworks of the model taking into account lattice distortions only. The orientation dependence and axial stress asymmetry in the temperature range of stress-induced martensite formation are determined by the dependence of lattice distortion during B2-B19 martensitic transformations on the orientation and the sign of applied stresses [ru

Transition from many domain to single domain martensite morphology in small-scale shape memory alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueland, Stian M.; Schuh, Christopher A.

2013-01-01

The morphology of the martensitic transformation during a superelastic cycle is studied by in situ scanning electron microscopy deformation experiments in microwires of Cu–Zn–Al. The diameters of the wires studied (21–136 μm) span the range in which significant size effects upon transformation hysteresis have been observed. In larger wires the transformation is accommodated by the continual nucleation of many new martensite plates that grow and eventually coalesce with their neighbors. In small wires a single martensite plate nucleates at the start of transformation and then proceeds to grow in a monolithic fashion; the wire transforms by smooth axial propagation of a single interface. The transition from many domain to single domain transformation is gradual with wire diameter, and is based upon scaling of the domain density with sample size. We attribute it to a crossover from bulk to surface obstacle control of transformation front propagation. This observation also sheds light on reported size effects in energy dissipation in shape memory alloys

3 ns single-shot read-out in a quantum dot-based memory structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowozin, T.; Bimberg, D.; Beckel, A.; Lorke, A.; Geller, M.

2014-01-01

Fast read-out of two to six charges per dot from the ground and first excited state in a quantum dot (QD)-based memory is demonstrated using a two-dimensional electron gas. Single-shot measurements on modulation-doped field-effect transistor structures with embedded InAs/GaAs QDs show read-out times as short as 3 ns. At low temperature (T = 4.2 K) this read-out time is still limited by the parasitics of the setup and the device structure. Faster read-out times and a larger read-out signal are expected for an improved setup and device structure

An Experimental Analysis of Memory Processing

OpenAIRE

Wright, Anthony A

2007-01-01

Rhesus monkeys were trained and tested in visual and auditory list-memory tasks with sequences of four travel pictures or four natural/environmental sounds followed by single test items. Acquisitions of the visual list-memory task are presented. Visual recency (last item) memory diminished with retention delay, and primacy (first item) memory strengthened. Capuchin monkeys, pigeons, and humans showed similar visual-memory changes. Rhesus learned an auditory memory task and showed octave gener...

Feasibility of a neutron detector-dosemeter based on single-event upsets in dynamic random-access memories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, G.W.; August, R.A.; Campbell, A.B.; Nelson, M.E.; Guardala, N.A.; Price, J.L.; Moscovitch, M.

2002-01-01

The feasibility was investigated of a solid-state neutron detector/dosemeter based on single-event upset (SEU) effects in dynamic random-access memories (DRAMs), commonly used in computer memories. Such a device, which uses a neutron converter material to produce a charged particle capable of causing an upset, would be light-weight, low-power, and could be read simply by polling the memory for bit flips. It would have significant advantages over standard solid-state neutron dosemeters which require off-line processing for track etching and analysis. Previous efforts at developing an SEU neutron detector/dosemeter have suffered from poor response, which can be greatly enhanced by selecting a modern high-density DRAM chip for SEU sensitivity and by using a thin 10 B film as a converter. Past attempts to use 10 B were not successful because the average alpha particle energy was insufficient to penetrate to the sensitive region of the memory. This can be overcome by removing the surface passivation layer before depositing the 10 B film or by implanting 10B directly into the chip. Previous experimental data show a 10 3 increase in neutron sensitivity by chips containing borosilicate glass, which could be used in an SEU detector. The results are presented of simulations showing that the absolute efficiency of an SEU neutron dosemeter can be increased by at least a factor of 1000 over earlier designs. (author)

Spin polarized tunnelling investigation of nanometre Co clusters by means of a Ni bulk tip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rastei, M V; Bucher, J P

2006-01-01

A massive Ni tip is used in spin polarized scanning tunnelling microscopy (SP STM) to explore the magnetization state of nanometre Co clusters, self-organized on the Au(111) surface. Constant current STM images taken at 4.6 K show a bimodal distribution of the cluster heights, accounting for the spin polarization of the STM junction. The spin polarization of the tunnel junction as a function of the bias voltage is found to depend on the local density of states of the sample examined. Changing the vacuum barrier parameters by bringing the tip closer to the surface leads to a reduction in the tunnelling magnetoresistance that may be attributed to spin flip effects. (letter to the editor)

The two way shape memory effect: influence of stabilization in single and polycrystals of Cu-based alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cingolani, E.; Arneodo Larochette, P.; Ahlers, M.

2000-01-01

The possibility to obtain a two way shape memory effect (TWME) by stabilizing the martensite through diffusion controlled processes has been analysed in single and polycrystals of Cu-Zn-Al and in single crystals of Cu-Al-Be and Cu-Al-Ni. It is shown that the four systems behave very differently: Whereas in the Cu-Zn-Al single crystals sufficient vacancies remain available during extended times to obtain a perfect TWME, in Cu-Al-Be they anneal out fast, leading to a perfect TWME only right after quenching, and in Cu-Al-Ni they remain immobile below about 200 C. In polycrystals of Cu-Zn-Al the stabilization has only a negligible effect on the TWME, due to the formation of stable martensite configurations at the grain boundaries. (orig.)

Subattoampere current induced by single ions in silicon oxide layers of nonvolatile memory cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cellere, G.; Paccagnella, A.; Larcher, L.; Visconti, A.; Bonanomi, M.

2006-01-01

A single ion impinging on a thin silicon dioxide layer generates a number of electron/hole pairs proportional to its linear energy transfer coefficient. Defects generated by recombination can act as a conductive path for electrons that cross the oxide barrier, thanks to a multitrap-assisted mechanism. We present data on the dependence of this phenomenon on the oxide thickness by using floating gate memory arrays. The tiny number of excess electrons stored in these devices allows for extremely high sensitivity, impossible with any direct measurement of oxide leakage current. Results are of particular interest for next generation devices

Generation of single failures in memory devices irradiated by 1 GeV protons; Generatsiya edinichnykh sboev v ustrojstvakh pamyati, obluchaemykh protonami s ehnergiej 1 GehV

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ageev, S V [and others

1994-12-31

Cross sections of single reversible failures in the logic state of memory cells irradiated with 1 GeV energy protons are measured. It is found that the failure cross section does not depend on the beam intensity on the absorbed dose and on the source logic state of the memory cells.

DNA origami-based shape IDs for single-molecule nanomechanical genotyping

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Honglu; Chao, Jie; Pan, Dun; Liu, Huajie; Qiang, Yu; Liu, Ke; Cui, Chengjun; Chen, Jianhua; Huang, Qing; Hu, Jun; Wang, Lianhui; Huang, Wei; Shi, Yongyong; Fan, Chunhai

2017-04-01

Variations on DNA sequences profoundly affect how we develop diseases and respond to pathogens and drugs. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides a nanomechanical imaging approach for genetic analysis with nanometre resolution. However, unlike fluorescence imaging that has wavelength-specific fluorophores, the lack of shape-specific labels largely hampers widespread applications of AFM imaging. Here we report the development of a set of differentially shaped, highly hybridizable self-assembled DNA origami nanostructures serving as shape IDs for magnified nanomechanical imaging of single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Using these origami shape IDs, we directly genotype single molecules of human genomic DNA with an ultrahigh resolution of ~10 nm and the multiplexing ability. Further, we determine three types of disease-associated, long-range haplotypes in samples from the Han Chinese population. Single-molecule analysis allows robust haplotyping even for samples with low labelling efficiency. We expect this generic shape ID-based nanomechanical approach to hold great potential in genetic analysis at the single-molecule level.

Reward value determines memory consolidation in parasitic wasps.

Science.gov (United States)

Kruidhof, H Marjolein; Pashalidou, Foteini G; Fatouros, Nina E; Figueroa, Ilich A; Vet, Louise E M; Smid, Hans M; Huigens, Martinus E

2012-01-01

Animals can store learned information in their brains through a series of distinct memory forms. Short-lasting memory forms can be followed by longer-lasting, consolidated memory forms. However, the factors determining variation in memory consolidation encountered in nature have thus far not been fully elucidated. Here, we show that two parasitic wasp species belonging to different families, Cotesia glomerata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Trichogramma evanescens (Hymenoptera; Trichogrammatidae), similarly adjust the memory form they consolidate to a fitness-determining reward: egg-laying into a host-insect that serves as food for their offspring. Protein synthesis-dependent long-term memory (LTM) was consolidated after single-trial conditioning with a high-value host. However, single-trial conditioning with a low-value host induced consolidation of a shorter-lasting memory form. For Cotesia glomerata, we subsequently identified this shorter-lasting memory form as anesthesia-resistant memory (ARM) because it was not sensitive to protein synthesis inhibitors or anesthesia. Associative conditioning using a single reward of different value thus induced a physiologically different mechanism of memory formation in this species. We conclude that the memory form that is consolidated does not only change in response to relatively large differences in conditioning, such as the number and type of conditioning trials, but is also sensitive to more subtle differences, such as reward value. Reward-dependent consolidation of exclusive ARM or LTM provides excellent opportunities for within-species comparison of mechanisms underlying memory consolidation.

Shape memory polymers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilson, Thomas S.; Bearinger, Jane P.

2017-08-29

New shape memory polymer compositions, methods for synthesizing new shape memory polymers, and apparatus comprising an actuator and a shape memory polymer wherein the shape memory polymer comprises at least a portion of the actuator. A shape memory polymer comprising a polymer composition which physically forms a network structure wherein the polymer composition has shape-memory behavior and can be formed into a permanent primary shape, re-formed into a stable secondary shape, and controllably actuated to recover the permanent primary shape. Polymers have optimal aliphatic network structures due to minimization of dangling chains by using monomers that are symmetrical and that have matching amine and hydroxl groups providing polymers and polymer foams with clarity, tight (narrow temperature range) single transitions, and high shape recovery and recovery force that are especially useful for implanting in the human body.

Shape memory polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Thomas S.; Bearinger, Jane P.

2015-06-09

New shape memory polymer compositions, methods for synthesizing new shape memory polymers, and apparatus comprising an actuator and a shape memory polymer wherein the shape memory polymer comprises at least a portion of the actuator. A shape memory polymer comprising a polymer composition which physically forms a network structure wherein the polymer composition has shape-memory behavior and can be formed into a permanent primary shape, re-formed into a stable secondary shape, and controllably actuated to recover the permanent primary shape. Polymers have optimal aliphatic network structures due to minimization of dangling chains by using monomers that are symmetrical and that have matching amine and hydroxyl groups providing polymers and polymer foams with clarity, tight (narrow temperature range) single transitions, and high shape recovery and recovery force that are especially useful for implanting in the human body.

Formation process of lamella structures by deformation in an Fe-Mn-Si-Cr-Ni shape memory alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kikuchi, T.; Kajiwara, S.; Tomota, Y.

1995-01-01

For Fe-Mn-Si-Cr-Ni shape memory alloys, it was previously found by HREM study that the formation of the nanometric lamella structures consisting of f.c.c. and h.c.p. phase is very important to exhibit good shape memory effect. In the present work, the formation process of such lamella structures has been studied in detail. The results are as follows. The transformation is initiated by random formation of extremely thin martensite plates with 1-2 nm width and then these plates are clustered and some of them coalesce to form thicker martensite plates with increasing deformation. The clustered regions are 400-600 nm wide and will correspond to the above mentioned lamella structures. These clustered regions are considered also to correspond to the thinnest martensite plate observable with optical microscope. In the optical microscopic scale, the thin martenite plates with the smallest width are formed rather uniformly in an austenite grain, and with further increasing deformation, they are clustered and coalesce into thicker plates with 3-8 μm width. (orig.)

Rehabilitation of the central executive component of working memory: a re-organisation approach applied to a single case.

Science.gov (United States)

Duval, J; Coyette, F; Seron, X

2008-08-01

This paper describes and evaluates a programme of neuropsychological rehabilitation which aims to improve three sub-components of the working memory central executive: processing load, updating and dual-task monitoring, by the acquisition of three re-organisation strategies (double coding, serial processing and speed reduction). Our programme has two stages: cognitive rehabilitation (graduated exercises subdivided into three sub-programmes each corresponding to a sub-component) which enables the patient to acquire the three specific strategies; and an ecological rehabilitation, including analyses of scenarios and simulations of real-life situations, which aims to transfer the strategies learned to everyday life. The programme also includes information meetings. It was applied to a single case who had working memory deficits after a surgical operation for a cerebral tumour on his left internal temporal ganglioglioma. Multiple baseline tests were used to measure the effectiveness of the rehabilitation. The programme proved to be effective for all three working memory components; a generalisation of its effects to everyday life was observed, and the effects were undiminished three months later.

Single-photon sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lounis, Brahim; Orrit, Michel

2005-01-01

The concept of the photon, central to Einstein's explanation of the photoelectric effect, is exactly 100 years old. Yet, while photons have been detected individually for more than 50 years, devices producing individual photons on demand have only appeared in the last few years. New concepts for single-photon sources, or 'photon guns', have originated from recent progress in the optical detection, characterization and manipulation of single quantum objects. Single emitters usually deliver photons one at a time. This so-called antibunching of emitted photons can arise from various mechanisms, but ensures that the probability of obtaining two or more photons at the same time remains negligible. We briefly recall basic concepts in quantum optics and discuss potential applications of single-photon states to optical processing of quantum information: cryptography, computing and communication. A photon gun's properties are significantly improved by coupling it to a resonant cavity mode, either in the Purcell or strong-coupling regimes. We briefly recall early production of single photons with atomic beams, and the operation principles of macroscopic parametric sources, which are used in an overwhelming majority of quantum-optical experiments. We then review the photophysical and spectroscopic properties and compare the advantages and weaknesses of various single nanometre-scale objects used as single-photon sources: atoms or ions in the gas phase and, in condensed matter, organic molecules, defect centres, semiconductor nanocrystals and heterostructures. As new generations of sources are developed, coupling to cavities and nano-fabrication techniques lead to improved characteristics, delivery rates and spectral ranges. Judging from the brisk pace of recent progress, we expect single photons to soon proceed from demonstrations to applications and to bring with them the first practical uses of quantum information

Single Canonical Model of Reflexive Memory and Spatial Attention

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Saumil S.; Red, Stuart; Lin, Eric; Sereno, Anne B.

2015-01-01

Many neurons in the dorsal and ventral visual stream have the property that after a brief visual stimulus presentation in their receptive field, the spiking activity in these neurons persists above their baseline levels for several seconds. This maintained activity is not always correlated with the monkey’s task and its origin is unknown. We have previously proposed a simple neural network model, based on shape selective neurons in monkey lateral intraparietal cortex, which predicts the valence and time course of reflexive (bottom-up) spatial attention. In the same simple model, we demonstrate here that passive maintained activity or short-term memory of specific visual events can result without need for an external or top-down modulatory signal. Mutual inhibition and neuronal adaptation play distinct roles in reflexive attention and memory. This modest 4-cell model provides the first simple and unified physiologically plausible mechanism of reflexive spatial attention and passive short-term memory processes. PMID:26493949

Single Canonical Model of Reflexive Memory and Spatial Attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Saumil S; Red, Stuart; Lin, Eric; Sereno, Anne B

2015-10-23

Many neurons in the dorsal and ventral visual stream have the property that after a brief visual stimulus presentation in their receptive field, the spiking activity in these neurons persists above their baseline levels for several seconds. This maintained activity is not always correlated with the monkey's task and its origin is unknown. We have previously proposed a simple neural network model, based on shape selective neurons in monkey lateral intraparietal cortex, which predicts the valence and time course of reflexive (bottom-up) spatial attention. In the same simple model, we demonstrate here that passive maintained activity or short-term memory of specific visual events can result without need for an external or top-down modulatory signal. Mutual inhibition and neuronal adaptation play distinct roles in reflexive attention and memory. This modest 4-cell model provides the first simple and unified physiologically plausible mechanism of reflexive spatial attention and passive short-term memory processes.

Use of incidentally encoded memory from a single experience in cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Takagi, Saho; Tsuzuki, Mana; Chijiiwa, Hitomi; Arahori, Minori; Watanabe, Arii; Saito, Atsuko; Fujita, Kazuo

2017-08-01

We examined whether cats could retrieve and utilize incidentally encoded information from a single past event in a simple food-exploration task previously used for dogs (Fujita et al., 2012). In Experiment 1, cats were led to four open, baited containers and allowed to eat from two of them (Exposure phase). After a 15-min delay during which the cats were absent and all containers were replaced with empty ones, the cats were unexpectedly returned to the room and allowed to explore the containers (Test phase). Although the cats' first choice of container to visit was random, they explored containers from which they had not previously eaten for longer than those from which they did previously eat. In the Exposure phase of Experiment 2, two containers held food, one held a nonedible object, and the fourth was empty. Cats were allowed to eat from one of them. In the post-delay Test phase, the cats first visited the remaining baited-uneaten container significantly more often than chance and they spent more time exploring this container. Because the cats' behavior in the Test phase cannot be explained by association of the container with a pleasant experience (eating), the results suggest that cats retrieved and utilized "what" and "where" information from an incidentally encoded memory from a single experience. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Single-nitrogen-vacancy-center quantum memory for a superconducting flux qubit mediated by a ferromagnet

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Yen-Yu; Lin, Guin-Dar; Twamley, Jason; Goan, Hsi-Sheng

2018-05-01

We propose a quantum memory scheme to transfer and store the quantum state of a superconducting flux qubit (FQ) into the electron spin of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond via yttrium iron garnet (YIG), a ferromagnet. Unlike an ensemble of NV centers, the YIG moderator can enhance the effective FQ-NV-center coupling strength without introducing additional appreciable decoherence. We derive the effective interaction between the FQ and the NV center by tracing out the degrees of freedom of the collective mode of the YIG spins. We demonstrate the transfer, storage, and retrieval procedures, taking into account the effects of spontaneous decay and pure dephasing. Using realistic experimental parameters for the FQ, NV center and YIG, we find that a combined transfer, storage, and retrieval fidelity higher than 0.9, with a long storage time of 10 ms, can be achieved. This hybrid system not only acts as a promising quantum memory, but also provides an example of enhanced coupling between various systems through collective degrees of freedom.

Streptococcal Immunity Is Constrained by Lack of Immunological Memory following a Single Episode of Pyoderma.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manisha Pandey

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The immunobiology underlying the slow acquisition of skin immunity to group A streptococci (GAS, is not understood, but attributed to specific virulence factors impeding innate immunity and significant antigenic diversity of the type-specific M-protein, hindering acquired immunity. We used a number of epidemiologically distinct GAS strains to model the development of acquired immunity. We show that infection leads to antibody responses to the serotype-specific determinants on the M-protein and profound protective immunity; however, memory B cells do not develop and immunity is rapidly lost. Furthermore, antibodies do not develop to a conserved M-protein epitope that is able to induce immunity following vaccination. However, if re-infected with the same strain within three weeks, enduring immunity and memory B-cells (MBCs to type-specific epitopes do develop. Such MBCs can adoptively transfer protection to naïve recipients. Thus, highly protective M-protein-specific MBCs may never develop following a single episode of pyoderma, contributing to the slow acquisition of immunity and to streptococcal endemicity in at-risk populations.

An Experimental Analysis of Memory Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Anthony A.

2007-01-01

Rhesus monkeys were trained and tested in visual and auditory list-memory tasks with sequences of four travel pictures or four natural/environmental sounds followed by single test items. Acquisitions of the visual list-memory task are presented. Visual recency (last item) memory diminished with retention delay, and primacy (first item) memory…

Towards realising high-speed large-bandwidth quantum memory

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SHI BaoSen; DING DongSheng

2016-01-01

Indispensable for quantum communication and quantum computation,quantum memory executes on demand storage and retrieval of quantum states such as those of a single photon,an entangled pair or squeezed states.Among the various forms of quantum memory,Raman quantum memory has advantages forits broadband and high-speed characteristics,which results in a huge potential for applications in quantum networks and quantum computation.However,realising Raman quantum memory with true single photons and photonic entanglementis challenging.In this review,after briefly introducing the main benchmarks in the development of quantum memory and describing the state of the art,we focus on our recent experimental progress inquantum memorystorage of quantum states using the Raman scheme.

Concurrent performance of two memory tasks: evidence for domain-specific working memory systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Cocchini, Gianna; Logie, Robert H; Della Sala, Sergio; MacPherson, Sarah E; Baddeley, Alan D

2002-10-01

Previous studies of dual-task coordination in working memory have shown a lack of dual-task interference when a verbal memory task is combined with concurrent perceptuomotor tracking. Two experiments are reported in which participants were required to perform pairwise combinations of (1) a verbal memory task, a visual memory task, and perceptuomotor tracking (Experiment 1), and (2) pairwise combinations of the two memory tasks and articulatory suppression (Experiment 2). Tracking resulted in no disruption of the verbal memory preload over and above the impact of a delay in recall and showed only minimal disruption of the retention of the visual memory load. Performing an ongoing verbal memory task had virtually no impact on retention of a visual memory preload or vice versa, indicating that performing two demanding memory tasks results in little mutual interference. Experiment 2 also showed minimal disruption when the two memory tasks were combined, although verbal memory (but not visual memory) was clearly disrupted by articulatory suppression interpolated between presentation and recall. These data suggest that a multiple-component working memory model provides a better account for performance in concurrent immediate memory tasks than do theories that assume a single processing and storage system or a limited-capacity attentional system coupled with activated memory traces.

Viability Study of a Safe Method for Health to Prepare Cement Pastes with Simultaneous Nanometric Functional Additions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. A. de la Rubia

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The use of a mixing method based on a novel dry dispersion procedure that enables a proper mixing of simultaneous nanometric functional additions while avoiding the health risks derived from the exposure to nanoparticles is reported and compared with a common manual mixing in this work. Such a dry dispersion method allows a greater workability by avoiding problems associated with the dispersion of the particles. The two mixing methods have been used to prepare Portland cement CEM I 52.5R pastes with additions of nano-ZnO with bactericide properties and micro- or nanopozzolanic SiO2. The hydration process performed by both mixing methods is compared in order to determine the efficiency of using the method. The hydration analysis of these cement pastes is carried out at different ages (from one to twenty-eight days by means of differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetry (DTA-TG, X-ray diffraction (XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR analyses. Regardless of composition, all the mixtures of cement pastes obtained by the novel dispersion method showed a higher retardation of cement hydration at intermediate ages which did not occur at higher ages. In agreement with the resulting hydration behaviour, the use of this new dispersion method makes it possible to prepare homogeneous cement pastes with simultaneous functional nanoparticles which are physically supported on the larger particles of cement, avoiding exposure to the nanoparticles and therefore minimizing health risks. Manual mixing of cement-based materials with simultaneous nanometric functional nanoparticles on a large scale would make it difficult to obtain a homogenous material together with the health risks derived from the handling of nanoparticles.

Structural brain correlates of associative memory in older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Nina; Laukka, Erika J; Kalpouzos, Grégoria; Naveh-Benjamin, Moshe; Bäckman, Lars; Brehmer, Yvonne

2015-09-01

Associative memory involves binding two or more items into a coherent memory episode. Relative to memory for single items, associative memory declines greatly in aging. However, older individuals vary substantially in their ability to memorize associative information. Although functional studies link associative memory to the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and prefrontal cortex (PFC), little is known about how volumetric differences in MTL and PFC might contribute to individual differences in associative memory. We investigated regional gray-matter volumes related to individual differences in associative memory in a sample of healthy older adults (n=54; age=60years). To differentiate item from associative memory, participants intentionally learned face-scene picture pairs before performing a recognition task that included single faces, scenes, and face-scene pairs. Gray-matter volumes were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry region-of-interest (ROI) analyses. To examine volumetric differences specifically for associative memory, item memory was controlled for in the analyses. Behavioral results revealed large variability in associative memory that mainly originated from differences in false-alarm rates. Moreover, associative memory was independent of individuals' ability to remember single items. Older adults with better associative memory showed larger gray-matter volumes primarily in regions of the left and right lateral PFC. These findings provide evidence for the importance of PFC in intentional learning of associations, likely because of its involvement in organizational and strategic processes that distinguish older adults with good from those with poor associative memory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Thermal Effusivity Determination of Metallic Films of Nanometric Thickness by the Electrical Micropulse Method

Science.gov (United States)

Lugo, J. M.; Oliva, A. I.

2017-02-01

The thermal effusivity of gold, aluminum, and copper thin films of nanometric thickness (20 nm to 200 nm) was investigated in terms of the films' thickness. The metallic thin films were deposited onto glass substrates by thermal evaporation, and the thermal effusivity was estimated by using experimental parameters such as the specific heat, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity values obtained at room conditions. The specific heat, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity values of the metallic thin films are determined with a methodology based on the behavior of the thermal profiles of the films when electrical pulses of few microseconds are applied at room conditions. For all the investigated materials, the thermal effusivity decreases with decreased thickness. The thermal effusivity values estimated by the presented methodology are consistent with other reported values obtained under vacuum conditions and more elaborated methodologies.

[Effects of nasal provocation with a single-dose allergen on the explicit and implicit memory of physically active and inactive patients with ragweed allergy].

Science.gov (United States)

Tokodi, Margaréta; Csábi, Eszter; Kiricsi, Ágnes; Schultz, Rebeka; Molnár H, Andor; Rovó, László; Bella, Zsolt

2018-01-30

Allergy is an endemic disease and has a considerable impact on the quality of life. This study aimed to measure the effect of active allergic rhinitis on memory functions of physically active and inactive patients with ragweed allergy. Memory functions were assessed before and after allergen exposure. Participants in both groups were provoked nasally with 30 IR/mL ragweed allergen in each nostril. Explicit memory was measured with story-recalling and implicit memory was investigated with reaction time task. In neuropsychological assessments athletes performed significantly better, compared with the control group after allergen provocation in short-term and long-term memory functions. There was no difference between the groups in the implicit tasks. Athletes have achieved better results after provocation, comparing to the baseline test and the tests that measured short-term and long-term memory functions. Short-term disturbing factors, e.g. swollen nasal mucosa, sneezing, and watery eyes after provocation did have not caused deterioration in cognitive functions. A single-shot allergen in high doses have caused an increase of mental concentration, which was more pronounced in athletes.

Single Event Upset Analysis: On-orbit performance of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Digital Signal Processor Memory aboard the International Space Station

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jiaqiang; Choutko, Vitaly; Xiao, Liyi

2018-03-01

Based on the collection of error data from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) Digital Signal Processors (DSP), on-orbit Single Event Upsets (SEUs) of the DSP program memory are analyzed. The daily error distribution and time intervals between errors are calculated to evaluate the reliability of the system. The particle density distribution of International Space Station (ISS) orbit is presented and the effects from the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and the geomagnetic poles are analyzed. The impact of solar events on the DSP program memory is carried out combining data analysis and Monte Carlo simulation (MC). From the analysis and simulation results, it is concluded that the area corresponding to the SAA is the main source of errors on the ISS orbit. Solar events can also cause errors on DSP program memory, but the effect depends on the on-orbit particle density.

The Effects of Valence and Arousal on Associative Working Memory and Long-Term Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Bergmann, Heiko C.; Rijpkema, Mark; Fernández, Guillén; Kessels, Roy P. C.

2012-01-01

Background Emotion can either facilitate or impair memory, depending on what, when and how memory is tested and whether the paradigm at hand is administered as a working memory (WM) or a long-term memory (LTM) task. Whereas emotionally arousing single stimuli are more likely to be remembered, memory for the relationship between two or more component parts (i.e., relational memory) appears to be worse in the presence of emotional stimuli, at least in some relational memory tasks. The current study investigated the effects of both valence (neutral vs. positive vs. negative) and arousal (low vs. high) in an inter-item WM binding and LTM task. Methodology/Principal Findings A five-pair delayed-match-to-sample (WM) task was administered. In each trial, study pairs consisted of one neutral picture and a second picture of which the emotional qualities (valence and arousal levels) were manipulated. These pairs had to be remembered across a delay interval of 10 seconds. This was followed by a probe phase in which five pairs were tested. After completion of this task, an unexpected single item LTM task as well as an LTM task for the pairs was assessed. As expected, emotional arousal impaired WM processing. This was reflected in lower accuracy for pairs consisting of high-arousal pictures compared to pairs with low-arousal pictures. A similar effect was found for the associative LTM task. However, the arousal effect was modulated by affective valence for the WM but not the LTM task; pairs with low-arousal negative pictures were not processed as well in the WM task. No significant differences were found for the single-item LTM task. Conclusions/Significance The present study provides additional evidence that processes during initial perception/encoding and post-encoding processes, the time interval between study and test and the interaction between valence and arousal might modulate the effects of “emotion” on associative memory. PMID:23300724

One-way shared memory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schoeberl, Martin

2018-01-01

Standard multicore processors use the shared main memory via the on-chip caches for communication between cores. However, this form of communication has two limitations: (1) it is hardly time-predictable and therefore not a good solution for real-time systems and (2) this single shared memory...... is a bottleneck in the system. This paper presents a communication architecture for time-predictable multicore systems where core-local memories are distributed on the chip. A network-on-chip constantly copies data from a sender core-local memory to a receiver core-local memory. As this copying is performed...... in one direction we call this architecture a one-way shared memory. With the use of time-division multiplexing for the memory accesses and the network-on-chip routers we achieve a time-predictable solution where the communication latency and bandwidth can be bounded. An example architecture for a 3...

Bloch surface waves confined in one dimension with a single polymeric nanofibre

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ruxue; Xia, Hongyan; Zhang, Douguo; Chen, Junxue; Zhu, Liangfu; Wang, Yong; Yang, Erchan; Zang, Tianyang; Wen, Xiaolei; Zou, Gang; Wang, Pei; Ming, Hai; Badugu, Ramachandram; Lakowicz, Joseph R.

2017-02-01

Polymeric fibres with small radii (such as ≤125 nm) are delicate to handle and should be laid down on a solid substrate to obtain practical devices. However, placing these nanofibres on commonly used glass substrates prevents them from guiding light. In this study, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate that when the nanofibre is placed on a suitable dielectric multilayer, it supports a guided mode, a Bloch surface wave (BSW) confined in one dimension. The physical origin of this new mode is discussed in comparison with the typical two-dimensional BSW mode. Polymeric nanofibres are easily fabricated to contain fluorophores, which make the dielectric nanofibre and multilayer configuration suitable for developing a large range of new nanometric scale devices, such as processor-memory interconnections, devices with sensitivity to target analytes, incident polarization and multi-colour BSW modes.

The effects of a single bout of exercise on motor memory interference in the trained and untrained hemisphere

OpenAIRE

Lauber, Benedikt; Franke, Steffen; Taube, Wolfgang; Gollhofer, Albert

2017-01-01

Increasing evidence suggests that cardiovascular exercise has positive effects on motor memory consolidation. In this study, we investigated whether a single session of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) mitigates the effects of practicing an interfering motor task. Furthermore, learning and interference effects were assessed in the actively trained and untrained limb as it is known that unilateral motor learning can cause bilateral adaptations.Subjects performed a ballistic trainin...

Tunable coupled nanomechanical resonators for single-electron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheible, Dominik V; Erbe, Artur; Blick, Robert H

2002-01-01

Nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS) are ideal for sensor applications and ultra-sensitive force detection, since their mechanical degree of freedom at the nanometre scale can be combined with semiconductor nano-electronics. We present a system of coupled nanomechanical beam resonators in silicon which is mechanically fully Q-tunable ∼700-6000. This kind of resonator can also be employed as a mechanical charge shuttle via an insulated metallic island at the tip of an oscillating cantilever. Application of our NEMS as an electromechanical single-electron transistor (emSET) is introduced and experimental results are discussed. Three animation clips demonstrate the manufacturing process of the NEMS, the Q-tuning experiment and the concept of the emSET

Age effects on explicit and implicit memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emma eWard

2013-09-01

Full Text Available It is well documented that explicit memory (e.g., recognition declines with age. In contrast, many argue that implicit memory (e.g., priming is preserved in healthy aging. For example, priming on tasks such as perceptual identification is often not statistically different in groups of young and older adults. Such observations are commonly taken as evidence for distinct explicit and implicit learning/memory systems. In this article we discuss several lines of evidence that challenge this view. We describe how patterns of differential age-related decline may arise from differences in the ways in which the two forms of memory are commonly measured, and review recent research suggesting that under improved measurement methods, implicit memory is not age-invariant. Formal computational models are of considerable utility in revealing the nature of underlying systems. We report the results of applying single and multiple-systems models to data on age effects in implicit and explicit memory. Model comparison clearly favours the single-system view. Implications for the memory systems debate are discussed.

Age effects on explicit and implicit memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Emma V; Berry, Christopher J; Shanks, David R

2013-01-01

It is well-documented that explicit memory (e.g., recognition) declines with age. In contrast, many argue that implicit memory (e.g., priming) is preserved in healthy aging. For example, priming on tasks such as perceptual identification is often not statistically different in groups of young and older adults. Such observations are commonly taken as evidence for distinct explicit and implicit learning/memory systems. In this article we discuss several lines of evidence that challenge this view. We describe how patterns of differential age-related decline may arise from differences in the ways in which the two forms of memory are commonly measured, and review recent research suggesting that under improved measurement methods, implicit memory is not age-invariant. Formal computational models are of considerable utility in revealing the nature of underlying systems. We report the results of applying single and multiple-systems models to data on age effects in implicit and explicit memory. Model comparison clearly favors the single-system view. Implications for the memory systems debate are discussed.

Sub-nanometre resolution imaging of polymer-fullerene photovoltaic blends using energy-filtered scanning electron microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Masters, Robert C; Pearson, Andrew J; Glen, Tom S; Sasam, Fabian-Cyril; Li, Letian; Dapor, Maurizio; Donald, Athene M; Lidzey, David G; Rodenburg, Cornelia

2015-04-24

The resolution capability of the scanning electron microscope has increased immensely in recent years, and is now within the sub-nanometre range, at least for inorganic materials. An equivalent advance has not yet been achieved for imaging the morphologies of nanostructured organic materials, such as organic photovoltaic blends. Here we show that energy-selective secondary electron detection can be used to obtain high-contrast, material-specific images of an organic photovoltaic blend. We also find that we can differentiate mixed phases from pure material phases in our data. The lateral resolution demonstrated is twice that previously reported from secondary electron imaging. Our results suggest that our energy-filtered scanning electron microscopy approach will be able to make major inroads into the understanding of complex, nano-structured organic materials.

Sub-nanometre resolution imaging of polymer–fullerene photovoltaic blends using energy-filtered scanning electron microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Masters, Robert C.; Pearson, Andrew J.; Glen, Tom S.; Sasam, Fabian-Cyril; Li, Letian; Dapor, Maurizio; Donald, Athene M.; Lidzey, David G.; Rodenburg, Cornelia

2015-01-01

The resolution capability of the scanning electron microscope has increased immensely in recent years, and is now within the sub-nanometre range, at least for inorganic materials. An equivalent advance has not yet been achieved for imaging the morphologies of nanostructured organic materials, such as organic photovoltaic blends. Here we show that energy-selective secondary electron detection can be used to obtain high-contrast, material-specific images of an organic photovoltaic blend. We also find that we can differentiate mixed phases from pure material phases in our data. The lateral resolution demonstrated is twice that previously reported from secondary electron imaging. Our results suggest that our energy-filtered scanning electron microscopy approach will be able to make major inroads into the understanding of complex, nano-structured organic materials. PMID:25906738

Stress analysis of martensitic transformation in Cu-Al-Be polycrystalline and single-crystalline shape memory alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaouache, B.; Berveiller, S.; Inal, K.; Eberhardt, A.; Patoor, E.

2003-01-01

The aim of this study is to analyze the martensitic transformation in a shape memory alloy during a superelastic loading, focusing on internal strains, stresses and phases fractions. The behavior of the austenite phase is studied by X-ray diffraction stress analysis during in situ tensile test at room temperature. Both single-crystal and polycrystal samples have been investigated. The results are discussed with the aim to correlate the microstructural variations with the local stress state evolution in the austenitic phase while variants of martensite form and develop during a superelastic loading

Study on the dielectric properties of Al2O3/TiO2 sub-nanometric laminates: effect of the bottom electrode and the total thickness

Science.gov (United States)

Ben Elbahri, M.; Kahouli, A.; Mercey, B.; Lebedev, O.; Donner, W.; Lüders, U.

2018-02-01

Dielectrics based on amorphous sub-nanometric laminates of TiO2 and Al2O3 are subject to elevated dielectric losses and leakage currents, in large parts due to the extremely thin individual layer thickness chosen for the creation of the Maxwell-Wagner relaxation and therefore the high apparent dielectric constants. The optimization of performances of the laminate itself being strongly limited by this contradiction concerning its internal structure, we will show in this study that modifications of the dielectric stack of capacitors based on these sub-nanometric laminates can positively influence the dielectric losses and the leakage, as for example the nature of the electrodes, the introduction of thick insulating layers at the laminate/electrode interfaces and the modification of the total laminate thickness. The optimization of the dielectric stack leads to the demonstration of a capacitor with an apparent dielectric constant of 90, combined with low dielectric loss (tan δ) of 7 · 10-2 and with leakage currents smaller than 1  ×  10-6 A cm-2 at 10 MV m-1.

Spatial memory impairment in Morris water maze after electroconvulsive seizures.

Science.gov (United States)

Svensson, Maria; Hallin, Thord; Broms, Jonas; Ekstrand, Joakim; Tingström, Anders

2017-02-01

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most efficient treatments for severe major depression, but some patients suffer from retrograde memory loss after treatment. Electroconvulsive seizures (ECS), an animal model of ECT, have repeatedly been shown to increase hippocampal neurogenesis, and multiple ECS treatments cause retrograde amnesia in hippocampus-dependent memory tasks. Since recent studies propose that addition of newborn hippocampal neurons might degrade existing memories, we investigated whether the memory impairment after multiple ECS treatments is a cumulative effect of repeated treatments, or if it is the result of a delayed effect after a single ECS. We used the hippocampus-dependent memory task Morris water maze (MWM) to evaluate spatial memory. Rats were exposed to an 8-day training paradigm before receiving either a single ECS or sham treatment and tested in the MWM 24 h, 72 h, or 7 days after this treatment, or multiple (four) ECS or sham treatments and tested 7 days after the first treatment. A single ECS treatment was not sufficient to cause retrograde amnesia whereas multiple ECS treatments strongly disrupted spatial memory in the MWM. The retrograde amnesia after multiple ECS is a cumulative effect of repeated treatments rather than a delayed effect after a single ECS.

Negative affect impairs associative memory but not item memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Bisby, James A; Burgess, Neil

2013-12-17

The formation of associations between items and their context has been proposed to rely on mechanisms distinct from those supporting memory for a single item. Although emotional experiences can profoundly affect memory, our understanding of how it interacts with different aspects of memory remains unclear. We performed three experiments to examine the effects of emotion on memory for items and their associations. By presenting neutral and negative items with background contexts, Experiment 1 demonstrated that item memory was facilitated by emotional affect, whereas memory for an associated context was reduced. In Experiment 2, arousal was manipulated independently of the memoranda, by a threat of shock, whereby encoding trials occurred under conditions of threat or safety. Memory for context was equally impaired by the presence of negative affect, whether induced by threat of shock or a negative item, relative to retrieval of the context of a neutral item in safety. In Experiment 3, participants were presented with neutral and negative items as paired associates, including all combinations of neutral and negative items. The results showed both above effects: compared to a neutral item, memory for the associate of a negative item (a second item here, context in Experiments 1 and 2) is impaired, whereas retrieval of the item itself is enhanced. Our findings suggest that negative affect impairs associative memory while recognition of a negative item is enhanced. They support dual-processing models in which negative affect or stress impairs hippocampal-dependent associative memory while the storage of negative sensory/perceptual representations is spared or even strengthened.

Miniature, Single Channel, Memory-Based, High-G Acceleration Recorder (Millipen)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rohwer, Tedd A.

1999-01-01

The Instrumentation and Telemetry Departments at Sandia National Laboratories have been instrumenting earth penetrators for over thirty years. Recorded acceleration data is used to quantify penetrator performance. Penetrator testing has become more difficult as desired impact velocities have increased. This results in the need for small-scale test vehicles and miniature instrumentation. A miniature recorder will allow penetrator diameters to significantly decrease, opening the window of testable parameters. Full-scale test vehicles will also benefit from miniature recorders by using a less intrusive system to instrument internal arming, fusing, and firing components. This single channel concept is the latest design in an ongoing effort to miniaturize the size and reduce the power requirement of acceleration instrumentation. A micro-controller/memory based system provides the data acquisition, signal conditioning, power regulation, and data storage. This architecture allows the recorder, including both sensor and electronics, to occupy a volume of less than 1.5 cubic inches, draw less than 200mW of power, and record 15kHz data up to 40,000 gs. This paper will describe the development and operation of this miniature acceleration recorder

Short-term memory binding deficits in Alzheimer's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Parra, Mario A; Abrahams, Sharon; Fabi, Katia; Logie, Robert; Luzzi, Simona; Della Sala, Sergio

2009-04-01

Alzheimer's disease impairs long term memories for related events (e.g. faces with names) more than for single events (e.g. list of faces or names). Whether or not this associative or 'binding' deficit is also found in short-term memory has not yet been explored. In two experiments we investigated binding deficits in verbal short-term memory in Alzheimer's disease. Experiment 1: 23 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 23 age and education matched healthy elderly were recruited. Participants studied visual arrays of objects (six for healthy elderly and four for Alzheimer's disease patients), colours (six for healthy elderly and four for Alzheimer's disease patients), unbound objects and colours (three for healthy elderly and two for Alzheimer's disease patients in each of the two categories), or objects bound with colours (three for healthy elderly and two for Alzheimer's disease patients). They were then asked to recall the items verbally. The memory of patients with Alzheimer's disease for objects bound with colours was significantly worse than for single or unbound features whereas healthy elderly's memory for bound and unbound features did not differ. Experiment 2: 21 Alzheimer's disease patients and 20 matched healthy elderly were recruited. Memory load was increased for the healthy elderly group to eight items in the conditions assessing memory for single or unbound features and to four items in the condition assessing memory for the binding of these features. For Alzheimer's disease patients the task remained the same. This manipulation permitted the performance to be equated across groups in the conditions assessing memory for single or unbound features. The impairment in Alzheimer's disease patients in recalling bound objects reported in Experiment 1 was replicated. The binding cost was greater than that observed in the healthy elderly group, who did not differ in their performance for bound and unbound features. Alzheimer's disease grossly impairs the

Anchoring effects on early autobiographical memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, Daniel L; Bishara, Anthony J; Mugayar-Baldocchi, Marino A

2017-10-01

Studies of childhood memory typically show that our earliest memories come from between three and four years of age. This finding is not universal, however. The age estimate varies across cultures and is affected by social influences. Research from the judgments and decision-making literature suggests that these estimates might also involve a judgment under uncertainty. Therefore, they might be susceptible to less social influences such as heuristics and biases. To investigate this possibility, we conducted two experiments that used anchoring paradigms to influence participants' estimates of their age during early autobiographical memories. In Experiment 1, participants answered either a high-anchor or a low-anchor question, and were warned that the anchor was uninformative; they went on to estimate their age during their earliest autobiographical memory. In Experiment 2, we replicated Experiment 1 and extended the design to examine additional early autobiographical memories. In both experiments, participants in the low-anchor condition gave earlier age estimates than those in the high-anchor condition. These results provide new insights into the methods used to investigate autobiographical memory. Moreover, they show that reports of early autobiographical memories can be influenced by a relatively light touch - a change to a single digit in a single question.

Testing of Streckeisen STS-5A and Nanometrics Trillium 120PH Sensors for the Alaska Transportable Array

Science.gov (United States)

Abbasi Baghbadorani, A.; Aderhold, K.; Bloomquist, D.; Frassetto, A.; Miller, P. E.; Busby, R. W.

2017-12-01

Starting in 2014, the IRIS Transportable Array facility began to install and operate seismic stations in Alaska and western Canada. By the end of the project, the full deployment of the array will cover a grid of 280 stations spaced about 85 km apart covering all of mainland Alaska and parts of the Yukon, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. Approximately 200 stations will be operated directly by IRIS through at least 2019. A key aspect of the Alaska TA is the need for stations to operate autonomously, on account of the high cost of installation and potential subsequent visits to remote field-sites to repair equipment. The TA is using newly developed broadband seismometers Streckeisen STS-5A and Nanometrics Trillium-120PH, designed for installation in shallow posthole emplacements. These new instruments were extensively vetted beforehand, but they are still relatively new to the TA inventory. Here we will assess their performance under deployment conditions and after repeated commercial shipping and travel to the field. Our objective is to provide a thorough accounting of the identified failures of the existing inventory of posthole instruments. We will assess the practices and results of instrument testing by the PASSCAL Instrument Center/Array Operations Facility (PIC/AOF), Alaska Operations Center (AOC), and broadband seismic sensor manufacturers (Streckeisen, Nanometrics) in order to document potential factors in and stages during the process for instrument failures. This will help to quantify the overall reliability of the TA seismic sensors and quality of TA practices and data collection, and identify potential considerations in future TA operations. Our results show that the overall rate of failure of all posthole instruments is improved station performance after sensor replacement, and that these are key elements in assessing whether or not a sensor should be replaced in the field.

Large capacity temporary visual memory

Science.gov (United States)

Endress, Ansgar D.; Potter, Mary C.

2014-01-01

Visual working memory (WM) capacity is thought to be limited to three or four items. However, many cognitive activities seem to require larger temporary memory stores. Here, we provide evidence for a temporary memory store with much larger capacity than past WM capacity estimates. Further, based on previous WM research, we show that a single factor — proactive interference — is sufficient to bring capacity estimates down to the range of previous WM capacity estimates. Participants saw a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of 5 to 21 pictures of familiar objects or words presented at rates of 4/s or 8/s, respectively, and thus too fast for strategies such as rehearsal. Recognition memory was tested with a single probe item. When new items were used on all trials, no fixed memory capacities were observed, with estimates of up to 9.1 retained pictures for 21-item lists, and up to 30.0 retained pictures for 100-item lists, and no clear upper bound to how many items could be retained. Further, memory items were not stored in a temporally stable form of memory, but decayed almost completely after a few minutes. In contrast, when, as in most WM experiments, a small set of items was reused across all trials, thus creating proactive interference among items, capacity remained in the range reported in previous WM experiments. These results show that humans have a large-capacity temporary memory store in the absence of proactive interference, and raise the question of whether temporary memory in everyday cognitive processing is severely limited as in WM experiments, or has the much larger capacity found in the present experiments. PMID:23937181

Reinstatement versus Reactivation Effects on Active Memory in Infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Adler, Scott A.; Rovee-Collier, Carolyn; Wilk, Amy

2000-01-01

Four experiments examined whether reinstatement and reactivation reminder paradigms affected memory performance of 102 three-month-olds. Results indicated that a single reinstatement protracted retention twice as long after training as a single reactivation. The novelty of the reminder stimulus also affected duration and specificity of memory in…

Longitudinal multiparameter single-cell analysis of macaques immunized with pneumococcal protein-conjugated or unconjugated polysaccharide vaccines reveals distinct antigen specific memory B cell repertoires.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bin Jia

Full Text Available The efficacy of protein-conjugated pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines has been well characterized for children. The level of protection conferred by unconjugated polysaccharide vaccines remains less clear, particularly for elderly individuals who have had prior antigenic experience through immunization with unconjugated polysaccharide vaccines or natural exposure to Streptococcus pneumoniae.We compared the magnitude, diversity and genetic biases of antigen-specific memory B cells in two groups of adult cynomolgus macaques that were immunized with a 7-valent conjugated vaccine and boosted after five years with either a 13-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine (13vPnC or a 23-valent unconjugated pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPS using microengraving (a single-cell analysis method and single-cell RT-PCR.Seven days after boosting, the mean frequency of antigen-specific memory B cells was significantly increased in macaques vaccinated with 13vPnC compared to those receiving 23vPS. The 13vPnC-vaccinated macaques also exhibited a more even distribution of antibody specificities to four polysaccharides in the vaccine (PS4, 6B, 14, 23F that were examined. However, single-cell analysis of the antibody variable region sequences from antigen-specific B cells elicited by unconjugated and conjugated vaccines indicated that both the germline gene segments forming the heavy chains and the average lengths of the Complementary Determining Region 3 (CDR3 were similar.Our results confirm that distinctive differences can manifest between antigen-specific memory B cell repertoires in nonhuman primates immunized with conjugated and unconjugated pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines. The study also supports the notion that the conjugated vaccines have a favorable profile in terms of both the frequency and breadth of the anamnestic response among antigen-specific memory B cells.

Memory-assisted quantum key distribution resilient against multiple-excitation effects

Science.gov (United States)

Lo Piparo, Nicolò; Sinclair, Neil; Razavi, Mohsen

2018-01-01

Memory-assisted measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MA-MDI-QKD) has recently been proposed as a technique to improve the rate-versus-distance behavior of QKD systems by using existing, or nearly-achievable, quantum technologies. The promise is that MA-MDI-QKD would require less demanding quantum memories than the ones needed for probabilistic quantum repeaters. Nevertheless, early investigations suggest that, in order to beat the conventional memory-less QKD schemes, the quantum memories used in the MA-MDI-QKD protocols must have high bandwidth-storage products and short interaction times. Among different types of quantum memories, ensemble-based memories offer some of the required specifications, but they typically suffer from multiple excitation effects. To avoid the latter issue, in this paper, we propose two new variants of MA-MDI-QKD both relying on single-photon sources for entangling purposes. One is based on known techniques for entanglement distribution in quantum repeaters. This scheme turns out to offer no advantage even if one uses ideal single-photon sources. By finding the root cause of the problem, we then propose another setup, which can outperform single memory-less setups even if we allow for some imperfections in our single-photon sources. For such a scheme, we compare the key rate for different types of ensemble-based memories and show that certain classes of atomic ensembles can improve the rate-versus-distance behavior.

Multithreaded Asynchronous Graph Traversal for In-Memory and Semi-External Memory

KAUST Repository

Pearce, Roger

2010-11-01

Processing large graphs is becoming increasingly important for many domains such as social networks, bioinformatics, etc. Unfortunately, many algorithms and implementations do not scale with increasing graph sizes. As a result, researchers have attempted to meet the growing data demands using parallel and external memory techniques. We present a novel asynchronous approach to compute Breadth-First-Search (BFS), Single-Source-Shortest-Paths, and Connected Components for large graphs in shared memory. Our highly parallel asynchronous approach hides data latency due to both poor locality and delays in the underlying graph data storage. We present an experimental study applying our technique to both In-Memory and Semi-External Memory graphs utilizing multi-core processors and solid-state memory devices. Our experiments using synthetic and real-world datasets show that our asynchronous approach is able to overcome data latencies and provide significant speedup over alternative approaches. For example, on billion vertex graphs our asynchronous BFS scales up to 14x on 16-cores. © 2010 IEEE.

Memory states in small arrays of Josephson junctions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Braiman, Yehuda [ORNLOak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Computing and Computational Science Directorate; Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering; Neschke, Brendan [ORNLOak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Computing and Computational Science Directorate; Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering; Nair, Niketh S. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Computing and Computational Science Directorate; Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering; Imam, Neena [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Computing and Computational Science Directorat; Glowinski, R. [Univ. of Houston, TX (United States). Dept. of Mathematics

2017-11-30

Here, we study memory states of a circuit consisting of a small inductively coupled Josephson junction array and introduce basic (write, read, and reset) memory operations logics of the circuit. The presented memory operation paradigm is fundamentally different from conventional single quantum flux operation logics. We calculate stability diagrams of the zero-voltage states and outline memory states of the circuit. We also calculate access times and access energies for basic memory operations.

The effect of single and repeated prefrontal intermittent theta burst stimulation on cortical reactivity and working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Sung Wook; Rogasch, Nigel C; Hoy, Kate E; Fitzgerald, Paul B

With an increasing interest in the use of theta burst stimulation (TBS) as a cognitive enhancer and a potential therapeutic tool for psychiatric disorders, there is a need to identify optimal parameters of TBS in the prefrontal cortex. This study examined the effect of two blocks of prefrontal intermittent TBS (iTBS) on cortical reactivity and working memory performance, compared to one block of iTBS and sham stimulation. We hypothesized that greater cortical effects would be obtained with two blocks of iTBS. Eighteen healthy participants attended three experimental sessions and received either sham, one block or two blocks of iTBS with a 15-min interval. Concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation with electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) was used to assess the change in cortical reactivity via TMS-evoked potentials. Working memory performance was assessed using the N-back task. Cluster-based permutation statistics and two-way ANOVAs were used for neurophysiological and behavioural data, respectively. Both single and two blocks of iTBS resulted in a significant increase in the amplitude of TMS-evoked N100 and P200. No significant differences were observed between active conditions in either neurophysiological changes or working memory performance, and both failed to improve working memory performance relative to sham. Two blocks of iTBS did not result in stronger measured effects as compared to one block of iTBS. Future studies are needed to identify the optimal stimulation pattern in order to achieve a desired effect. It is also important to establish the best approach in quantifying neuromodulatory effects targeting the prefrontal cortex. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Coupled stress-strain and electrical resistivity measurements on copper based shape memory single crystals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gonzalez Cezar Henrique

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, electrical resistivity (ER measurements have been done during some thermomechanical tests in copper based shape memory alloys (SMA's. In this work, single crystals of Cu-based SMA's have been studied at different temperatures to analyse the relationship between stress (s and ER changes as a function of the strain (e. A good consistency between ER change values is observed in different experiments: thermal martensitic transformation, stress induced martensitic transformation and stress induced reorientation of martensite variants. During stress induced martensitic transformation (superelastic behaviour and stress induced reorientation of martensite variants, a linear relationship is obtained between ER and strain as well as the absence of hys teresis. In conclusion, the present results show a direct evidence of martensite electrical resistivity anisotropy.

A fast ECL bus memory: dual input memory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cesaroni, F.; Pascale, G.; Gentile, S.; Gao, Z.

1992-01-01

A fast and flexible dual input memory (DIM) has been constructed as single CAMAC unit. The device has been designed to receive via front panel two 16-bit data words, which can be stored in sequential mode into a memory and, at the same time, presented on the output. The design implemented also the possibility to connect 16-bit differential ECL outputs of many DIMs modules on the same bus. Its timing characteristics for writing and reading into and from memory is only 20 ns. This makes the module a useful element for all kinds of fast acquisition systems, as tempory storage of data, or data source or spy module. It will be, for example, used in the new energy tripper of the L3 experiment, designed for 8x8 bunch mode operation of LEP in 1992. (orig.)

Identifying Memory Allocation Patterns in HEP Software

Science.gov (United States)

Kama, S.; Rauschmayr, N.

2017-10-01

HEP applications perform an excessive amount of allocations/deallocations within short time intervals which results in memory churn, poor locality and performance degradation. These issues are already known for a decade, but due to the complexity of software frameworks and billions of allocations for a single job, up until recently no efficient mechanism has been available to correlate these issues with source code lines. However, with the advent of the Big Data era, many tools and platforms are now available to do large scale memory profiling. This paper presents, a prototype program developed to track and identify each single (de-)allocation. The CERN IT Hadoop cluster is used to compute memory key metrics, like locality, variation, lifetime and density of allocations. The prototype further provides a web based visualization back-end that allows the user to explore the results generated on the Hadoop cluster. Plotting these metrics for every single allocation over time gives a new insight into application’s memory handling. For instance, it shows which algorithms cause which kind of memory allocation patterns, which function flow causes how many short-lived objects, what are the most commonly allocated sizes etc. The paper will give an insight into the prototype and will show profiling examples for the LHC reconstruction, digitization and simulation jobs.

Characterization of Nanometric-Sized Carbides Formed During Tempering of Carbide-Steel Cermets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matus K.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article of this paper is to present issues related to characterization of nanometric-sized carbides, nitrides and/or carbonitrides formed during tempering of carbide-steel cermets. Closer examination of those materials is important because of hardness growth of carbide-steel cermet after tempering. The results obtained during research show that the upswing of hardness is significantly higher than for high-speed steels. Another interesting fact is the displacement of secondary hardness effect observed for this material to a higher tempering temperature range. Determined influence of the atmosphere in the sintering process on precipitations formed during tempering of carbide-steel cermets. So far examination of carbidesteel cermet produced by powder injection moulding was carried out mainly in the scanning electron microscope. A proper description of nanosized particles is both important and difficult as achievements of nanoscience and nanotechnology confirm the significant influence of nanocrystalline particles on material properties even if its mass fraction is undetectable by standard methods. The following research studies have been carried out using transmission electron microscopy, mainly selected area electron diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The obtained results and computer simulations comparison were made.

Nuclear data relevant to single event upsets in semiconductor memories induced by cosmic-ray neutrons and protons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Yukinobu

2008-01-01

The role of nuclear data is examined in the study of single event upset (SEU) phenomena in semiconductor memories caused by cosmic-ray neutrons and protons. Neutron and proton SEU cross sections are calculated with a simplified semi-empirical model using experimental heavy-ion SEU cross-sections and a dedicated database of neutron and proton induced reactions on 28 Si. Some impacts of the nuclear reaction data on SEU simulation are analyzed by investigating relative contribution of secondary ions and neutron elastic scattering to SEU and influence of simultaneous multiple ions emission on SEU. (author)

DESIGN NOTE: From nanometre to millimetre: a feasibility study of the combination of scanning probe microscopy and combined optical and x-ray interferometry

Science.gov (United States)

Yacoot, Andrew; Koenders, Ludger

2003-09-01

This feasibility study investigates the potential combination of an x-ray interferometer and optical interferometer as a one-dimensional long range high resolution scanning stage for an atomic force microscope (AFM) in order to overcome the problems of non-linearity associated with conventional AFMs and interferometers. Preliminary results of measurements of the uniformity of the period of a grating used as a transfer standards show variations in period at the nanometre level.

Transistor memory devices with large memory windows, using multi-stacking of densely packed, hydrophobic charge trapping metal nanoparticle array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Ikjun; Cho, Jinhan; Kim, Beom Joon; Cho, Jeong Ho; Ryu, Sook Won

2014-01-01

Organic field-effect transistor (OFET) memories have rapidly evolved from low-cost and flexible electronics with relatively low-memory capacities to memory devices that require high-capacity memory such as smart memory cards or solid-state hard drives. Here, we report the high-capacity OFET memories based on the multilayer stacking of densely packed hydrophobic metal NP layers in place of the traditional transistor memory systems based on a single charge trapping layer. We demonstrated that the memory performances of devices could be significantly enhanced by controlling the adsorption isotherm behavior, multilayer stacking structure and hydrophobicity of the metal NPs. For this study, tetraoctylammonium (TOA)-stabilized Au nanoparticles (TOA-Au NPs ) were consecutively layer-by-layer (LbL) assembled with an amine-functionalized poly(amidoamine) dendrimer (PAD). The formed (PAD/TOA-Au NP ) n films were used as a multilayer stacked charge trapping layer at the interface between the tunneling dielectric layer and the SiO 2 gate dielectric layer. For a single Au NP layer (i.e. PAD/TOA-Au NP ) 1 ) with a number density of 1.82 × 10 12 cm −2 , the memory window of the OFET memory device was measured to be approximately 97 V. The multilayer stacked OFET memory devices prepared with four Au NP layers exhibited excellent programmable memory properties (i.e. a large memory window (ΔV th ) exceeding 145 V, a fast switching speed (1 μs), a high program/erase (P/E) current ratio (greater than 10 6 ) and good electrical reliability) during writing and erasing over a relatively short time scale under an operation voltage of 100 V applied at the gate. (paper)

A dual-trace model for visual sensory memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Cappiello, Marcus; Zhang, Weiwei

2016-11-01

Visual sensory memory refers to a transient memory lingering briefly after the stimulus offset. Although previous literature suggests that visual sensory memory is supported by a fine-grained trace for continuous representation and a coarse-grained trace of categorical information, simultaneous separation and assessment of these traces can be difficult without a quantitative model. The present study used a continuous estimation procedure to test a novel mathematical model of the dual-trace hypothesis of visual sensory memory according to which visual sensory memory could be modeled as a mixture of 2 von Mises (2VM) distributions differing in standard deviation. When visual sensory memory and working memory (WM) for colors were distinguished using different experimental manipulations in the first 3 experiments, the 2VM model outperformed Zhang and Luck (2008) standard mixture model (SM) representing a mixture of a single memory trace and random guesses, even though SM outperformed 2VM for WM. Experiment 4 generalized 2VM's advantages of fitting visual sensory memory data over SM from color to orientation. Furthermore, a single trace model and 4 other alternative models were ruled out, suggesting the necessity and sufficiency of dual traces for visual sensory memory. Together these results support the dual-trace model of visual sensory memory and provide a preliminary inquiry into the nature of information loss from visual sensory memory to WM. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Entanglement fidelity of quantum memories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Surmacz, K.; Nunn, J.; Waldermann, F. C.; Wang, Z.; Walmsley, I. A.; Jaksch, D.

2006-01-01

We introduce a figure of merit for a quantum memory which measures the preservation of entanglement between a qubit stored in and retrieved from the memory and an auxiliary qubit. We consider a general quantum memory system consisting of a medium of two level absorbers, with the qubit to be stored encoded in a single photon. We derive an analytic expression for our figure of merit taking into account Gaussian fluctuations in the Hamiltonian parameters, which, for example, model inhomogeneous broadening and storage time dephasing. Finally we specialize to the case of an atomic quantum memory where fluctuations arise predominantly from Doppler broadening and motional dephasing

Acute exercise improves motor memory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skriver, Kasper Christen; Roig, Marc; Lundbye-Jensen, Jesper

2014-01-01

We have recently shown that a single bout of acute cardiovascular exercise improves motor skill learning through an optimization of long-term motor memory. Here we expand this previous finding, to explore potential exercise-related biomarkers and their association with measures of motor memory...... practice whereas lactate correlated with better retention 1 hour as well as 24 hours and 7 days after practice. Thus, improvements in motor skill acquisition and retention induced by acute cardiovascular exercise are associated with increased concentrations of biomarkers involved in memory and learning...... processes. More mechanistic studies are required to elucidate the specific role of each biomarker in the formation of motor memory....

Relations between the functions of autobiographical memory and psychological wellbeing.

Science.gov (United States)

Waters, Theodore E A

2014-01-01

Researchers have proposed that autobiographical memory serves three basic functions in everyday life: self-definition, social connection, and directing behaviour (e.g., Bluck, Alea, Habermas, & Rubin, 2005). However, no research has examined relations between the functions of autobiographical memory and healthy functioning (i.e., psychological wellbeing). The present research examined the relations between the self, social, and directive functions of autobiographical memory and three factors of psychological wellbeing in single and recurring autobiographical memories. A total of 103 undergraduate students were recruited and provided ratings of each function for four autobiographical memories (two single, two recurring events). Results found that individuals who use their autobiographical memories to serve self, social, and directive functions reported higher levels of Purpose and Communion and Positive Relationships, and that these relations differ slightly by event type.

EPS Mid-Career Award 2011. Are there multiple memory systems? Tests of models of implicit and explicit memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Shanks, David R; Berry, Christopher J

2012-01-01

This article reviews recent work aimed at developing a new framework, based on signal detection theory, for understanding the relationship between explicit (e.g., recognition) and implicit (e.g., priming) memory. Within this framework, different assumptions about sources of memorial evidence can be framed. Application to experimental results provides robust evidence for a single-system model in preference to multiple-systems models. This evidence comes from several sources including studies of the effects of amnesia and ageing on explicit and implicit memory. The framework allows a range of concepts in current memory research, such as familiarity, recollection, fluency, and source memory, to be linked to implicit memory. More generally, this work emphasizes the value of modern computational modelling techniques in the study of learning and memory.

Noise reduction in optically controlled quantum memory

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Lijun; Slattery, Oliver; Tang, Xiao

2018-05-01

Quantum memory is an essential tool for quantum communications systems and quantum computers. An important category of quantum memory, called optically controlled quantum memory, uses a strong classical beam to control the storage and re-emission of a single-photon signal through an atomic ensemble. In this type of memory, the residual light from the strong classical control beam can cause severe noise and degrade the system performance significantly. Efficiently suppressing this noise is a requirement for the successful implementation of optically controlled quantum memories. In this paper, we briefly introduce the latest and most common approaches to quantum memory and review the various noise-reduction techniques used in implementing them.

Circular polarization memory in single Quantum Dots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khatsevich, S.; Poem, E.; Benny, Y.; Marderfeld, I.; Gershoni, D.; Badolato, A.; Petroff, P. M.

2010-01-01

Under quasi-resonant circularly polarized optical excitation, charged quantum dots may emit polarized light. We measured various transitions with either positive, negative or no circular-polarization memory. We explain these observations and quantitatively calculate the polarization spectrum. Our model use the full configuration-interaction method, including the electron-hole exchange interaction, for calculating the quantum dot's confined many-carrier states, along with one assumption regarding the spin relaxation of photoexcited carriers: Electrons maintain their initial spin polarization, while holes do not.

Chemical memory reactions induced bursting dynamics in gene expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Tianhai

2013-01-01

Memory is a ubiquitous phenomenon in biological systems in which the present system state is not entirely determined by the current conditions but also depends on the time evolutionary path of the system. Specifically, many memorial phenomena are characterized by chemical memory reactions that may fire under particular system conditions. These conditional chemical reactions contradict to the extant stochastic approaches for modeling chemical kinetics and have increasingly posed significant challenges to mathematical modeling and computer simulation. To tackle the challenge, I proposed a novel theory consisting of the memory chemical master equations and memory stochastic simulation algorithm. A stochastic model for single-gene expression was proposed to illustrate the key function of memory reactions in inducing bursting dynamics of gene expression that has been observed in experiments recently. The importance of memory reactions has been further validated by the stochastic model of the p53-MDM2 core module. Simulations showed that memory reactions is a major mechanism for realizing both sustained oscillations of p53 protein numbers in single cells and damped oscillations over a population of cells. These successful applications of the memory modeling framework suggested that this innovative theory is an effective and powerful tool to study memory process and conditional chemical reactions in a wide range of complex biological systems.

Two retrievals from a single cue: A bottleneck persists across episodic and semantic memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Orscheschek, Franziska; Strobach, Tilo; Schubert, Torsten; Rickard, Timothy

2018-05-01

There is evidence in the literature that two retrievals from long-term memory cannot occur in parallel. To date, however, that work has explored only the case of two retrievals from newly acquired episodic memory. These studies demonstrated a retrieval bottleneck even after dual-retrieval practice. That retrieval bottleneck may be a global property of long-term memory retrieval, or it may apply only to the case of two retrievals from episodic memory. In the current experiments, we explored whether that apparent dual-retrieval bottleneck applies to the case of one retrieval from episodic memory and one retrieval from highly overlearned semantic memory. Across three experiments, subjects learned to retrieve a left or right keypress response form a set of 14 unique word cues (e.g., black-right keypress). In addition, they learned a verbal response which involved retrieving the antonym of the presented cue (e.g., black-"white"). In the dual-retrieval condition, subjects had to retrieve both the keypress response and the antonym word. The results suggest that the retrieval bottleneck is superordinate to specific long-term memory systems and holds across different memory components. In addition, the results support the assumption of a cue-level response chunking account of learned retrieval parallelism.

Self-Testing Computer Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Chau, Savio, N.; Rennels, David A.

1988-01-01

Memory system for computer repeatedly tests itself during brief, regular interruptions of normal processing of data. Detects and corrects transient faults as single-event upsets (changes in bits due to ionizing radiation) within milliseconds after occuring. Self-testing concept surpasses conventional by actively flushing latent defects out of memory and attempting to correct before accumulating beyond capacity for self-correction or detection. Cost of improvement modest increase in complexity of circuitry and operating time.

Comparison Elements on STG DICE cell for Content-Addressable Memory and Simulation of Single-Event Transients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Ya. Stenin

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Comparison elements on base the STG DICE cell and the logical element “Exclusive OR” for a content-addressable memory were designed and simulated. The comparison element contains two identical joint groups of transistors that are spaced on the chip by the distance of four micrometers, so the loss of data in STG DICE cell practically excluded. On the characteristics of the new 65-nm CMOS comparison element, we predict the hardness of these item to single event rate (SER more to hundred times compared to elements on 6-transistors cells and the standard DICE cell with distances 0.5-0.6 μm between mutually sensitive nodes.

Rats Remember Items in Context Using Episodic Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Panoz-Brown, Danielle; Corbin, Hannah E; Dalecki, Stefan J; Gentry, Meredith; Brotheridge, Sydney; Sluka, Christina M; Wu, Jie-En; Crystal, Jonathon D

2016-10-24

Vivid episodic memories in people have been characterized as the replay of unique events in sequential order [1-3]. Animal models of episodic memory have successfully documented episodic memory of a single event (e.g., [4-8]). However, a fundamental feature of episodic memory in people is that it involves multiple events, and notably, episodic memory impairments in human diseases are not limited to a single event. Critically, it is not known whether animals remember many unique events using episodic memory. Here, we show that rats remember many unique events and the contexts in which the events occurred using episodic memory. We used an olfactory memory assessment in which new (but not old) odors were rewarded using 32 items. Rats were presented with 16 odors in one context and the same odors in a second context. To attain high accuracy, the rats needed to remember item in context because each odor was rewarded as a new item in each context. The demands on item-in-context memory were varied by assessing memory with 2, 3, 5, or 15 unpredictable transitions between contexts, and item-in-context memory survived a 45 min retention interval challenge. When the memory of item in context was put in conflict with non-episodic familiarity cues, rats relied on item in context using episodic memory. Our findings suggest that rats remember multiple unique events and the contexts in which these events occurred using episodic memory and support the view that rats may be used to model fundamental aspects of human cognition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A unitary signal-detection model of implicit and explicit memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Christopher J; Shanks, David R; Henson, Richard N A

2008-10-01

Do dissociations imply independent systems? In the memory field, the view that there are independent implicit and explicit memory systems has been predominantly supported by dissociation evidence. Here, we argue that many of these dissociations do not necessarily imply distinct memory systems. We review recent work with a single-system computational model that extends signal-detection theory (SDT) to implicit memory. SDT has had a major influence on research in a variety of domains. The current work shows that it can be broadened even further in its range of application. Indeed, the single-system model that we present does surprisingly well in accounting for some key dissociations that have been taken as evidence for independent implicit and explicit memory systems.

Content addressable memories in scientific instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lotto, I. de; Golinelli, S.

1975-01-01

The content-addressable-memory feature of a new system designed in these laboratories for non-destructive testing of nuclear reactor pressure vessels based on acoustic emission analysis is presented. The content addressable memory is divided into two parts: the first selects the most frequent events among incoming ones (FES: Frequent Event Selection memory), the second stores the frequent events singled out (FEM: Frequent Event Memory). The statistical behaviour of FES is analyzed, and experimental results are compared with theoretical ones; the model presented proved to be a useful tool in dimensioning the instrument store capacity. (Auth.)

Working Memory Deficits in Children with Reading Difficulties: Memory Span and Dual Task Coordination

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shinmin; Gathercole, Susan E.

2013-01-01

The current study investigated the cause of the reported problems in working memory in children with reading difficulties. Verbal and visuospatial simple and complex span tasks, and digit span and reaction times tasks performed singly and in combination, were administered to 46 children with single word reading difficulties and 45 typically…

Sensory memory for ambiguous vision.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, Joel; Brascamp, Jan

2008-09-01

In recent years the overlap between visual perception and memory has shed light on our understanding of both. When ambiguous images that normally cause perception to waver unpredictably are presented briefly with intervening blank periods, perception tends to freeze, locking into one interpretation. This indicates that there is a form of memory storage across the blank interval. This memory trace codes low-level characteristics of the stored stimulus. Although a trace is evident after a single perceptual instance, the trace builds over many separate stimulus presentations, indicating a flexible, variable-length time-course. This memory shares important characteristics with priming by non-ambiguous stimuli. Computational models now provide a framework to interpret many empirical observations.

Time-dependent effects of cardiovascular exercise on memory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roig, Marc; Thomas, Richard; Mang, Cameron S

2016-01-01

We present new evidence supporting the hypothesis that the effects of cardiovascular exercise on memory can be regulated in a time-dependent manner. When the exercise stimulus is temporally coupled with specific phases of the memory formation process, a single bout of cardiovascular exercise may...... be sufficient to improve memory. SUMMARY: The timing of exercise in relation to the information to be remembered is critical to maximize the effects of acute cardiovascular exercise on memory....

Projected interaction picture of field operators and memory superoperators. A master equation for the single-particle Green's function in a Liouville space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grinberg, H.

1983-11-01

The projection operator method of Zwanzig and Feshbach is used to construct the time-dependent field operators in the interaction picture. The formula developed to describe the time dependence involves time-ordered cosine and sine projected evolution (memory) superoperators, from which a master equation for the interaction-picture single-particle Green's function in a Liouville space is derived. (author)

Plasmonic tunnel junctions for single-molecule redox chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

de Nijs, Bart; Benz, Felix; Barrow, Steven J; Sigle, Daniel O; Chikkaraddy, Rohit; Palma, Aniello; Carnegie, Cloudy; Kamp, Marlous; Sundararaman, Ravishankar; Narang, Prineha; Scherman, Oren A; Baumberg, Jeremy J

2017-10-20

Nanoparticles attached just above a flat metallic surface can trap optical fields in the nanoscale gap. This enables local spectroscopy of a few molecules within each coupled plasmonic hotspot, with near thousand-fold enhancement of the incident fields. As a result of non-radiative relaxation pathways, the plasmons in such sub-nanometre cavities generate hot charge carriers, which can catalyse chemical reactions or induce redox processes in molecules located within the plasmonic hotspots. Here, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy allows us to track these hot-electron-induced chemical reduction processes in a series of different aromatic molecules. We demonstrate that by increasing the tunnelling barrier height and the dephasing strength, a transition from coherent to hopping electron transport occurs, enabling observation of redox processes in real time at the single-molecule level.

Working memory for sequences of temporal durations reveals a volatile single-item store

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjay G Manohar

2016-10-01

Full Text Available When a sequence is held in working memory, different items are retained with differing fidelity. Here we ask whether a sequence of brief time intervals that must be remembered show recency effects, similar to those observed in verbal and visuospatial working memory. It has been suggested that prioritising some items over others can be accounted for by a focus of attention, maintaining some items in a privileged state. We therefore also investigated whether such benefits are vulnerable to disruption by attention or expectation. Participants listened to sequences of one to five tones, of varying durations (200ms to 2s. Subsequently, the length of one of the tones in the sequence had to be reproduced by holding a key. The discrepancy between the reproduced and actual durations quantified the fidelity of memory for auditory durations. Recall precision decreased with the number of items that had to be remembered, and was better for the first and last items of sequences, in line with set-size and serial position effects seen in other modalities. To test whether attentional filtering demands might impair performance, an irrelevant variation in pitch was introduced in some blocks of trials. In those blocks, memory precision was worse for sequences that consisted of only one item, i.e. the smallest memory set size. Thus, when irrelevant information was present, the benefit of having only one item in memory is attenuated. Finally we examined whether expectation could interfere with memory. On half the trials, the number of items in the upcoming sequence was cued. When the number of items was known in advance, performance was paradoxically worse when the sequence consisted of only one item. Thus the benefit of having only one item to remember is stronger when it is unexpectedly the only item. Our results suggest that similar mechanisms are used to hold auditory time durations in working memory, as for visual or verbal stimuli. Further, solitary items were

Multivalent Carbohydrate-Lectin Interactions: How Synthetic Chemistry Enables Insights into Nanometric Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

René Roy

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Glycan recognition by sugar receptors (lectins is intimately involved in many aspects of cell physiology. However, the factors explaining the exquisite selectivity of their functional pairing are not yet fully understood. Studies toward this aim will also help appraise the potential for lectin-directed drug design. With the network of adhesion/growth-regulatory galectins as therapeutic targets, the strategy to recruit synthetic chemistry to systematically elucidate structure-activity relationships is outlined, from monovalent compounds to glyco-clusters and glycodendrimers to biomimetic surfaces. The versatility of the synthetic procedures enables to take examining structural and spatial parameters, alone and in combination, to its limits, for example with the aim to produce inhibitors for distinct galectin(s that exhibit minimal reactivity to other members of this group. Shaping spatial architectures similar to glycoconjugate aggregates, microdomains or vesicles provides attractive tools to disclose the often still hidden significance of nanometric aspects of the different modes of lectin design (sequence divergence at the lectin site, differences of spatial type of lectin-site presentation. Of note, testing the effectors alone or in combination simulating (pathophysiological conditions, is sure to bring about new insights into the cooperation between lectins and the regulation of their activity.

From Single Market to Economic Union

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bartalevich, Dzmitry

2014-01-01

Book review of: From Single Market to Economic Union: Essays in Memory of John A. Usher / edited by N.N. Shuibhne and L.W. Gormley (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012, ISBN 9780199695706); viii + 431pp., £75.00 hb.......Book review of: From Single Market to Economic Union: Essays in Memory of John A. Usher / edited by N.N. Shuibhne and L.W. Gormley (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012, ISBN 9780199695706); viii + 431pp., £75.00 hb....

Neural circuitry for rat recognition memory

Science.gov (United States)

Warburton, E.C.; Brown, M.W.

2015-01-01

Information concerning the roles of different brain regions in recognition memory processes is reviewed. The review concentrates on findings from spontaneous recognition memory tasks performed by rats, including memory for single objects, locations, object–location associations and temporal order. Particular emphasis is given to the potential roles of different regions in the circuit of interacting structures involving the perirhinal cortex, hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex and medial dorsal thalamus in recognition memory for the association of objects and places. It is concluded that while all structures in this circuit play roles critical to such memory, these roles can potentially be differentiated and differences in the underlying synaptic and biochemical processes involved in each region are beginning to be uncovered. PMID:25315129

Working Memory and Fluid Intelligence: Capacity, Attention Control, and Secondary Memory Retrieval

Science.gov (United States)

Unsworth, Nash; Fukuda, Keisuke; Awh, Edward; Vogel, Edward K.

2015-01-01

Several theories have been put forth to explain the relation between working memory (WM) and gF. Unfortunately, no single factor has been shown to fully account for the relation between these two important constructs. In the current study we tested whether multiple factors (capacity, attention control, and secondary memory) would collectively account for the relation. A large number of participants performed multiple measures of each construct and latent variable analyses were used to examine the data. The results demonstrated that capacity, attention control, and secondary memory were uniquely related to WM storage, WM processing, and gF. Importantly, the three factors completely accounted for the relation between WM (both processing and storage) and gF. Thus, although storage and processing make independent contributions to gF, both of these contributions are accounted for by variation in capacity, attention control and secondary memory. These results are consistent with the multifaceted view of WM, suggesting that individual differences in capacity, attention control, and secondary memory jointly account for individual differences in WM and its relation with gF. PMID:24531497

Recollection of episodic memory within the medial temporal lobe: behavioural dissociations from other types of memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Easton, Alexander; Eacott, Madeline J

2010-12-31

In recent years there has been significant debate about whether there is a single medial temporal lobe memory system or dissociable systems for episodic and other types of declarative memory. In addition there has been a similar debate over the dissociability of recollection and familiarity based processes in recognition memory. Here we present evidence from recent work using episodic memory tasks in animals that allows us to explore these issues in more depth. We review studies that demonstrate triple dissociations within the medial temporal lobe, with only the hippocampal system being necessary for episodic memory. Similarly we review behavioural evidence for a dissociation in a task of episodic memory in rats where animals with lesions of the fornix are only impaired at recollection of the episodic memory, not recognition within the same trial. This work, then, supports recent models of dissociable neural systems within the medial temporal lobe but also raises questions for future investigation about the interactions of these medial temporal lobe memory systems with other structures. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Visual working memory contaminates perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Min-Suk; Hong, Sang Wook; Blake, Randolph; Woodman, Geoffrey F

2011-10-01

Indirect evidence suggests that the contents of visual working memory may be maintained within sensory areas early in the visual hierarchy. We tested this possibility using a well-studied motion repulsion phenomenon in which perception of one direction of motion is distorted when another direction of motion is viewed simultaneously. We found that observers misperceived the actual direction of motion of a single motion stimulus if, while viewing that stimulus, they were holding a different motion direction in visual working memory. Control experiments showed that none of a variety of alternative explanations could account for this repulsion effect induced by working memory. Our findings provide compelling evidence that visual working memory representations directly interact with the same neural mechanisms as those involved in processing basic sensory events.

Thermodynamic Model of Spatial Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufman, Miron; Allen, P.

1998-03-01

We develop and test a thermodynamic model of spatial memory. Our model is an application of statistical thermodynamics to cognitive science. It is related to applications of the statistical mechanics framework in parallel distributed processes research. Our macroscopic model allows us to evaluate an entropy associated with spatial memory tasks. We find that older adults exhibit higher levels of entropy than younger adults. Thurstone's Law of Categorical Judgment, according to which the discriminal processes along the psychological continuum produced by presentations of a single stimulus are normally distributed, is explained by using a Hooke spring model of spatial memory. We have also analyzed a nonlinear modification of the ideal spring model of spatial memory. This work is supported by NIH/NIA grant AG09282-06.

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in schizophrenia during verbal memory activation: a 99mTc-HMPAO single photon emission tomography (SPET) study.

Science.gov (United States)

Busatto, G F; Costa, D C; Ell, P J; Pilowsky, L S; David, A S; Kerwin, R W

1994-05-01

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was investigated in a group of medicated DSM-III-R schizophrenic patients and age, sex and handedness matched normal volunteers using a split-dose 99mTc-HMPAO Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPET) protocol. Measures were taken during the performance of a verbal memory task aimed at activating the left medial temporal lobe, a region repeatedly suggested to be structurally abnormal in schizophrenia. In normal subjects, the performance of the task was associated with significant rCBF increases in the left medial temporal, left inferior frontal and anterior cingulate cortices, and right cerebellum. Despite their significantly poorer performance on the memory task, the degree of medial temporal activation measured in the schizophrenic patients was not significantly different from that found in the control group. This finding suggests that memory deficits in schizophrenia do not necessarily imply failure to activate the left medial temporal lobe as assessed by 99mTc-HMPAO SPET.

Forged HITEMAL: Al-based MMCs strengthened with nanometric thick Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} skeleton

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balog, Martin, E-mail: ummsbama@savba.sk [Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Racianska 75, 83102 Bratislava (Slovakia); Krizik, Peter; Nosko, Martin; Hajovska, Zuzana [Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Racianska 75, 83102 Bratislava (Slovakia); Victoria Castro Riglos, Maria [Centro Atómico Bariloche, Av. Bustillo 9.500, 8400 Bariloche, Río Negro (Argentina); Rajner, Walter [New Materials Development GmbH, Römerstrasse 28, 83410 Laufen, Leobendorf (Germany); Liu, De-Shin [National Chung Cheng University, 168 University Rd., Min-Hsiung, 62102 Chia-Yi, Taiwan (China); Simancik, Frantisek [Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Racianska 75, 83102 Bratislava (Slovakia)

2014-09-08

Bulk Al–Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} metal matrix composites (MMCs) named HITEMAL (high temperature aluminum) were fabricated in situ by forging compaction of five different types of gas-atomized commercial purity Al powders with a mean particle size in the range of 1–9 µm. As-forged HITEMAL consisted of (sub)micrometric Al grains (matrix) decorated with nanometric thick amorphous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) skeleton. Low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) free of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} were located in the Al grain interior. The Al grain size and the portion of LAGBs increased with the increase in the relative powder surface area. As-forged HITEMAL shows excellent thermal stability up to 400 °C for 24 h. Annealing at temperatures ≥450 °C led to crystallization and morphological transformation from a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} skeleton to nanometric γ-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} particles. Owing to the pinning effect of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} phase, no Al grain growth took place during annealing up to 500 °C. HITEMAL showed attractive mechanical properties especially when tested at 300 °C (yield strength up to 220 MPa, Young's modulus up to 58 GPa). Despite the presence of a nearly continuous a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} skeleton along adjacent Al grains, forged HITEMAL materials had reasonable room temperature elongation of 7–26%. HITEMAL's elongation decreased as the Al grain size decreased and with increased testing temperature. The loss in elongation (uniform and total) was attributed to the inhomogeneous flow, which occurred due to high densities of high angle grain boundaries (dislocation sinks) and small content of LAGBs. The strength of HITEMAL stemmed from grain boundary mediated strengthening mechanisms. The results showed a positive deviation from the Hall–Petch plot, which is typical behavior of ultrafine-grained metals. Transformation of a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} skeleton to γ-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} particles led to deterioration of the HITEMAL strength and Young's modulus.

Memory-based attention capture when multiple items are maintained in visual working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Hollingworth, Andrew; Beck, Valerie M

2016-07-01

Efficient visual search requires that attention is guided strategically to relevant objects, and most theories of visual search implement this function by means of a target template maintained in visual working memory (VWM). However, there is currently debate over the architecture of VWM-based attentional guidance. We contrasted a single-item-template hypothesis with a multiple-item-template hypothesis, which differ in their claims about structural limits on the interaction between VWM representations and perceptual selection. Recent evidence from van Moorselaar, Theeuwes, and Olivers (2014) indicated that memory-based capture during search, an index of VWM guidance, is not observed when memory set size is increased beyond a single item, suggesting that multiple items in VWM do not guide attention. In the present study, we maximized the overlap between multiple colors held in VWM and the colors of distractors in a search array. Reliable capture was observed when 2 colors were held in VWM and both colors were present as distractors, using both the original van Moorselaar et al. singleton-shape search task and a search task that required focal attention to array elements (gap location in outline square stimuli). In the latter task, memory-based capture was consistent with the simultaneous guidance of attention by multiple VWM representations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Resistance switching at the nanometre scale in amorphous carbon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sebastian, Abu; Rossel, Christophe; Pozidis, Haralampos; Eleftheriou, Evangelos; Pauza, Andrew; Shelby, Robert M; RodrIguez, Arantxa Fraile

2011-01-01

The electrical transport and resistance switching mechanism in amorphous carbon (a-C) is investigated at the nanoscale. The electrical conduction in a-C thin films is shown to be captured well by a Poole-Frenkel transport model that involves nonisolated traps. Moreover, at high electric fields a field-induced threshold switching phenomenon is observed. The following resistance change is attributed to Joule heating and subsequent localized thermal annealing. We demonstrate that the mechanism is mostly due to clustering of the existing sp 2 sites within the sp 3 matrix. The electrical conduction behaviour, field-induced switching and Joule-heating-induced rearrangement of atomic order resulting in a resistance change are all reminiscent of conventional phase-change memory materials. This suggests the potential of a-C as a similar nonvolatile memory candidate material.

Location-based prospective memory.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Rear, Andrea E; Radvansky, Gabriel A

2018-02-01

This study explores location-based prospective memory. People often have to remember to do things when in a particular location, such as buying tissues the next time they are in the supermarket. For event cognition theory, location is important for structuring events. However, because event cognition has not been used to examine prospective memory, the question remains of how multiple events will influence prospective memory performance. In our experiments, people delivered messages from store to store in a virtual shopping mall as an ongoing task. The prospective tasks were to do certain activities in certain stores. For Experiment 1, each trial involved one prospective memory task to be done in a single location at one of three delays. The virtual environment and location cues were effective for prospective memory, and performance was unaffected by delay. For Experiment 2, each trial involved two prospective memory tasks, given in either one or two instruction locations, and to be done in either one or two store locations. There was improved performance when people received instructions from two locations and did both tasks in one location relative to other combinations. This demonstrates that location-based event structure influences how well people perform on prospective memory tasks.

Implementing and Quantifying the Shape-Memory Effect of Single Polymeric Micro/Nanowires with an Atomic Force Microscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Liang; Gould, Oliver E C; Lysyakova, Liudmila; Jiang, Yi; Sauter, Tilman; Frank, Oliver; Becker, Tino; Schossig, Michael; Kratz, Karl; Lendlein, Andreas

2018-04-23

The implementation of shape-memory effects (SME) in polymeric micro- or nano-objects currently relies on the application of indirect macroscopic manipulation techniques, for example, stretchable molds or phantoms, to ensembles of small objects. Here, we introduce a method capable of the controlled manipulation and SME quantification of individual micro- and nano-objects in analogy to macroscopic thermomechanical test procedures. An atomic force microscope was utilized to address individual electro-spun poly(ether urethane) (PEU) micro- or nanowires freely suspended between two micropillars on a micro-structured silicon substrate. In this way, programming strains of 10±1% or 21±1% were realized, which could be successfully fixed. An almost complete restoration of the original free-suspended shape during heating confirmed the excellent shape-memory performance of the PEU wires. Apparent recovery stresses of σ max,app =1.2±0.1 and 33.3±0.1 MPa were obtained for a single microwire and nanowire, respectively. The universal AFM test platform described here enables the implementation and quantification of a thermomechanically induced function for individual polymeric micro- and nanosystems. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effect of the long-term memory on the beam break-up instability of a single bunch in storage rings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pestrikov, D.V.

2009-01-01

We study modifications of the beam break-up instability of transverse coherent oscillations of a single bunch which occur in storage rings due to weak wakefields decaying longer than the revolution period of particles. The long-term part of the wake results in the eigenmode spectra of coherent oscillations. Both stable and unstable modes are found for coherent oscillations of a monochromatic bunch. The single turn wakefields result in the beam break-up coherent oscillations of the bunch. The found eigenmode spectrum does not contain a leading unstable mode. Despite the exponential increase in time of the eigenmodes, both self-consistent and the beam break-up parts of the coherent oscillations indicate similar and non-exponential time dependencies. The beam break-up behavior dominates, if the wake memory is weak.

Sleep Supports the Slow Abstraction of Gist from Visual Perceptual Memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Lutz, Nicolas D; Diekelmann, Susanne; Hinse-Stern, Patricia; Born, Jan; Rauss, Karsten

2017-02-17

Sleep benefits the consolidation of individual episodic memories. In the long run, however, it may be more efficient to retain the abstract gist of single, related memories, which can be generalized to similar instances in the future. While episodic memory is enhanced after one night of sleep, effective gist abstraction is thought to require multiple nights. We tested this hypothesis using a visual Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm, examining gist abstraction and episodic-like memory consolidation after 20 min, after 10 hours, as well as after one year of retention. While after 10 hours, sleep enhanced episodic-like memory for single items, it did not affect gist abstraction. One year later, however, we found significant gist knowledge only if subjects had slept immediately after encoding, while there was no residual memory for individual items. These findings indicate that sleep after learning strengthens episodic-like memories in the short term and facilitates long-term gist abstraction.

Dopamine Receptor Genes Modulate Associative Memory in Old Age.

Science.gov (United States)

Papenberg, Goran; Becker, Nina; Ferencz, Beata; Naveh-Benjamin, Moshe; Laukka, Erika J; Bäckman, Lars; Brehmer, Yvonne

2017-02-01

Previous research shows that associative memory declines more than item memory in aging. Although the underlying mechanisms of this selective impairment remain poorly understood, animal and human data suggest that dopaminergic modulation may be particularly relevant for associative binding. We investigated the influence of dopamine (DA) receptor genes on item and associative memory in a population-based sample of older adults (n = 525, aged 60 years), assessed with a face-scene item associative memory task. The effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms of DA D1 (DRD1; rs4532), D2 (DRD2/ANKK1/Taq1A; rs1800497), and D3 (DRD3/Ser9Gly; rs6280) receptor genes were examined and combined into a single genetic score. Individuals carrying more beneficial alleles, presumably associated with higher DA receptor efficacy (DRD1 C allele; DRD2 A2 allele; DRD3 T allele), performed better on associative memory than persons with less beneficial genotypes. There were no effects of these genes on item memory or other cognitive measures, such as working memory, executive functioning, fluency, and perceptual speed, indicating a selective association between DA genes and associative memory. By contrast, genetic risk for Alzheimer disease (AD) was associated with worse item and associative memory, indicating adverse effects of APOE ε4 and a genetic risk score for AD (PICALM, BIN1, CLU) on episodic memory in general. Taken together, our results suggest that DA may be particularly important for associative memory, whereas AD-related genetic variations may influence overall episodic memory in older adults without dementia.

The effect of internal and external stress on two-way shape-memory behaviour in Co49Ni21.6Ga29.4 single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, G D; Dai, X F; Luo, H Z; Liu, H Y; Meng, F B; Li, Y; Yu, X; Chen, J L; Wu, G H

2011-01-01

The effect of the internal stress on the two-way shape memory in Co 49 Ni 21.6 Ga 29.4 single crystals has been investigated. We found that the internal stress generated natively by the solidifying process works as a tensile force along the growth direction. Applying different compressive pre-stresses along the [0 0 1] direction, the shape-memory strain can be continuously changed from +1.0% to -2.3%. In the [1 1 0] direction, the strain monotonically increases from -2.0% to -4.0% due to a strong detwinning produced by the consistent effect of the external and internal stresses.

A generic model for a single strain mosquito-transmitted disease with memory on the host and the vector.

Science.gov (United States)

Sardar, Tridip; Rana, Sourav; Bhattacharya, Sabyasachi; Al-Khaled, Kamel; Chattopadhyay, Joydev

2015-05-01

In the present investigation, three mathematical models on a common single strain mosquito-transmitted diseases are considered. The first one is based on ordinary differential equations, and other two models are based on fractional order differential equations. The proposed models are validated using published monthly dengue incidence data from two provinces of Venezuela during the period 1999-2002. We estimate several parameters of these models like the order of the fractional derivatives (in case of two fractional order systems), the biting rate of mosquito, two probabilities of infection, mosquito recruitment and mortality rates, etc., from the data. The basic reproduction number, R0, for the ODE system is estimated using the data. For two fractional order systems, an upper bound for, R0, is derived and its value is obtained using the published data. The force of infection, and the effective reproduction number, R(t), for the three models are estimated using the data. Sensitivity analysis of the mosquito memory parameter with some important responses is worked out. We use Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) to identify the best model among the three proposed models. It is observed that the model with memory in both the host, and the vector population provides a better agreement with epidemic data. Finally, we provide a control strategy for the vector-borne disease, dengue, using the memory of the host, and the vector. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Extinction antagonizes olfactory memory at the subcellular level.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwaerzel, Martin; Heisenberg, Martin; Zars, Troy

2002-08-29

Memory loss occurs by diverse mechanisms, as different time constants of performance decrement and sensitivities to experimental manipulations suggest. While the phenomena of memory decay, interference, and extinction are well established behaviorally, little is known about them at the circuit or molecular level. In Drosophila, odorant memories lasting up to 3 hr can be localized to mushroom body Kenyon cells, a single neuronal level in the olfactory pathway. The plasticity underlying this memory trace can be induced without Kenyon cell synaptic output. Experimental extinction, i.e., presentation of the conditioned stimulus without the reinforcer, reduces memory performance and does so at the same circuit level as memory formation. Thus, unreinforced presentation of learned odorants antagonizes intracellularly the signaling cascade underlying memory formation.

Iconic memory requires attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Persuh, Marjan; Genzer, Boris; Melara, Robert D

2012-01-01

Two experiments investigated whether attention plays a role in iconic memory, employing either a change detection paradigm (Experiment 1) or a partial-report paradigm (Experiment 2). In each experiment, attention was taxed during initial display presentation, focusing the manipulation on consolidation of information into iconic memory, prior to transfer into working memory. Observers were able to maintain high levels of performance (accuracy of change detection or categorization) even when concurrently performing an easy visual search task (low load). However, when the concurrent search was made difficult (high load), observers' performance dropped to almost chance levels, while search accuracy held at single-task levels. The effects of attentional load remained the same across paradigms. The results suggest that, without attention, participants consolidate in iconic memory only gross representations of the visual scene, information too impoverished for successful detection of perceptual change or categorization of features.

Iconic memory requires attention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marjan ePersuh

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Two experiments investigated whether attention plays a role in iconic memory, employing either a change-detection paradigm (Experiment 1 or a partial-report paradigm (Experiment 2. In each experiment, attention was taxed during initial display presentation, focusing the manipulation on consolidation of information into iconic memory, prior to transfer into working memory. Observers were able to maintain high levels of performance (accuracy of change detection or categorization even when concurrently performing an easy visual search task (low load. However, when the concurrent search was made difficult (high load, observers’ performance dropped to almost chance levels, while search accuracy held at single-task levels. The effects of attentional load remained the same across paradigms. The results suggest that, without attention, participants consolidate in iconic memory only gross representations of the visual scene, information too impoverished for successful detection of perceptual change or categorization of features.

Radiation-Tolerant Intelligent Memory Stack - RTIMS

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Tak-kwong; Herath, Jeffrey A.

2011-01-01

This innovation provides reconfigurable circuitry and 2-Gb of error-corrected or 1-Gb of triple-redundant digital memory in a small package. RTIMS uses circuit stacking of heterogeneous components and radiation shielding technologies. A reprogrammable field-programmable gate array (FPGA), six synchronous dynamic random access memories, linear regulator, and the radiation mitigation circuits are stacked into a module of 42.7 42.7 13 mm. Triple module redundancy, current limiting, configuration scrubbing, and single- event function interrupt detection are employed to mitigate radiation effects. The novel self-scrubbing and single event functional interrupt (SEFI) detection allows a relatively soft FPGA to become radiation tolerant without external scrubbing and monitoring hardware

Parallel External Memory Graph Algorithms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arge, Lars Allan; Goodrich, Michael T.; Sitchinava, Nodari

2010-01-01

In this paper, we study parallel I/O efficient graph algorithms in the Parallel External Memory (PEM) model, one o f the private-cache chip multiprocessor (CMP) models. We study the fundamental problem of list ranking which leads to efficient solutions to problems on trees, such as computing lowest...... an optimal speedup of ¿(P) in parallel I/O complexity and parallel computation time, compared to the single-processor external memory counterparts....

Novel memory architecture for video signal processor

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Jen-Sheng; Lin, Chia-Hsing; Jen, Chein-Wei

1993-11-01

An on-chip memory architecture for video signal processor (VSP) is proposed. This memory structure is a two-level design for the different data locality in video applications. The upper level--Memory A provides enough storage capacity to reduce the impact on the limitation of chip I/O bandwidth, and the lower level--Memory B provides enough data parallelism and flexibility to meet the requirements of multiple reconfigurable pipeline function units in a single VSP chip. The needed memory size is decided by the memory usage analysis for video algorithms and the number of function units. Both levels of memory adopted a dual-port memory scheme to sustain the simultaneous read and write operations. Especially, Memory B uses multiple one-read-one-write memory banks to emulate the real multiport memory. Therefore, one can change the configuration of Memory B to several sets of memories with variable read/write ports by adjusting the bus switches. Then the numbers of read ports and write ports in proposed memory can meet requirement of data flow patterns in different video coding algorithms. We have finished the design of a prototype memory design using 1.2- micrometers SPDM SRAM technology and will fabricated it through TSMC, in Taiwan.

Recall, Recognition, and the Measurement of Memory for Print Advertisements

OpenAIRE

Richard P. Bagozzi; Alvin J. Silk

1983-01-01

The recall and recognition of people for 95 print ads were examined with an aim toward investigating memory structure and decay processes. It was found that recall and recognition do not, by themselves, measure a single underlying memory state. Rather, memory is multidimensional, and recall and recognition capture only a portion of memory, while at the same time reflecting other mental states. When interest in the ads was held constant, however, recall and recognition did measure memory as a ...

Storage and binding of object features in visual working memory

OpenAIRE

Bays, Paul M; Wu, Emma Y; Husain, Masud

2010-01-01

An influential conception of visual working memory is of a small number of discrete memory “slots”, each storing an integrated representation of a single visual object, including all its component features. When a scene contains more objects than there are slots, visual attention controls which objects gain access to memory.

Event boundaries and memory improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Pettijohn, Kyle A; Thompson, Alexis N; Tamplin, Andrea K; Krawietz, Sabine A; Radvansky, Gabriel A

2016-03-01

The structure of events can influence later memory for information that is embedded in them, with evidence indicating that event boundaries can both impair and enhance memory. The current study explored whether the presence of event boundaries during encoding can structure information to improve memory. In Experiment 1, memory for a list of words was tested in which event structure was manipulated by having participants walk through a doorway, or not, halfway through the word list. In Experiment 2, memory for lists of words was tested in which event structure was manipulated using computer windows. Finally, in Experiments 3 and 4, event structure was manipulated by having event shifts described in narrative texts. The consistent finding across all of these methods and materials was that memory was better when the information was distributed across two events rather than combined into a single event. Moreover, Experiment 4 demonstrated that increasing the number of event boundaries from one to two increased the memory benefit. These results are interpreted in the context of the Event Horizon Model of event cognition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Declarative vs. Procedural Memory: Roles in Second Language Acquisition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laleh Fakhraee Faruji

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Memory is not a single faculty but is a combination of multiple distinct abilities (Schacter, 1987. The declarative-procedural distinction is used both with regard to knowledge and memory that stores this knowledge. Ellis (2008 used the terms explicit/implicit, and declarative/procedural interchangeably. In this article the researcher aims at identifying the different aspects of declarative/procedural memory, interaction between these two types of memory, and the role they may play in second language acquisition.

On the thermomechanical deformation of silver shape memory nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Harold S.; Ji, Changjiang

2006-01-01

We present an analysis of the uniaxial thermomechanical deformation of single-crystal silver shape memory nanowires using atomistic simulations. We first demonstrate that silver nanowires can show both shape memory and pseudoelastic behavior, then perform uniaxial tensile loading of the shape memory nanowires at various deformation temperatures, strain rates and heat transfer conditions. The simulations show that the resulting mechanical response of the shape memory nanowires depends strongly upon the temperature during deformation, and can be fundamentally different from that observed in bulk polycrystalline shape memory alloys. The energy and temperature signatures of uniaxially loaded silver shape memory nanowires are correlated to the observed nanowire deformation, and are further discussed in comparison to bulk polycrystalline shape memory alloy behavior

Thinking about memories for everyday and shocking events: do people use ease-of-retrieval cues in memory judgments?

Science.gov (United States)

Echterhoff, Gerald; Hirst, William

2006-06-01

Extant research shows that people use retrieval ease, a feeling-based cue, to judge how well they remember life periods. Extending this approach, we investigated the role of retrieval ease in memory judgments for single events. In Experiment 1, participants who were asked to recall many memories of an everyday event (New Year's Eve) rated retrieval as more difficult and judged their memory as worse than did participants asked to recall only a few memories. In Experiment 2, this ease-of-retrieval effect was found to interact with the shocking character of the remembered event: There was no effect when the event was highly shocking (i.e., learning about the attacks of September 11, 2001), whereas an effect was found when the event was experienced as less shocking (due either to increased distance to "9/11" or to the nonshocking nature of the event itself). Memory vividness accounted for additional variance in memory judgments, indicating an independent contribution of content-based cues in judgments of event memories.

Working memory and fluid intelligence: capacity, attention control, and secondary memory retrieval.

Science.gov (United States)

Unsworth, Nash; Fukuda, Keisuke; Awh, Edward; Vogel, Edward K

2014-06-01

Several theories have been put forth to explain the relation between working memory (WM) and gF. Unfortunately, no single factor has been shown to fully account for the relation between these two important constructs. In the current study we tested whether multiple factors (capacity, attention control, and secondary memory) would collectively account for the relation. A large number of participants performed multiple measures of each construct and latent variable analyses were used to examine the data. The results demonstrated that capacity, attention control, and secondary memory were uniquely related to WM storage, WM processing, and gF. Importantly, the three factors completely accounted for the relation between WM (both processing and storage) and gF. Thus, although storage and processing make independent contributions to gF, both of these contributions are accounted for by variation in capacity, attention control and secondary memory. These results are consistent with the multifaceted view of WM, suggesting that individual differences in capacity, attention control, and secondary memory jointly account for individual differences in WM and its relation with gF. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Accelerator and Technical Sector Seminar: Mechanical stabilization and positioning of CLIC quadrupoles with sub-nanometre resolution

CERN Multimedia

2011-01-01

Thursday 24 November 2010 Accelerator and Technical Sector Seminar at 14:15  -  BE Auditorium, bldg. 6 (Meyrin) – please note unusual place Mechanical stabilization and positioning of CLIC quadrupoles with sub-nanometre resolution Stef Janssens /EN-MME Abstract: To reach the required luminosity at the CLIC interaction point, about 4000 quadrupoles are needed to obtain a vertical beam size of 1 nm at the interaction point. The mechanical jitter of the quadrupole magnets will result in an emittance growth. An active vibration isolation system is required to reduce vibrations from the ground and from external forces to about 1.5 nm integrated root mean square (r.m.s.) vertical displacement at 1 Hz. A short overview of vibration damping and isolation strategies will be presented as well as a comparison of existing systems. The unprecedented resolution requirements and the instruments enabling these measurements will be discussed. The vibration sources from which the magnets need to...

Visual and Auditory Memory: Relationships to Reading Achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruning, Roger H.; And Others

1978-01-01

Good and poor readers' visual and auditory memory were tested. No group differences existed for single mode presentation in recognition frequency or latency. With multimodal presentation, good readers had faster latencies. Dual coding and self-terminating memory search hypotheses were supported. Implications for the reading process and reading…

Temporal structure in neuronal activity during working memory in Macaque parietal cortex

CERN Document Server

Pesaran, B; Sahami, M; Mitra, P; Andersen, R A

2000-01-01

A number of cortical structures are reported to have elevated single unit firing rates sustained throughout the memory period of a working memory task. How the nervous system forms and maintains these memories is unknown but reverberating neuronal network activity is thought to be important. We studied the temporal structure of single unit (SU) activity and simultaneously recorded local field potential (LFP) activity from area LIP in the inferior parietal lobe of two awake macaques during a memory-saccade task. Using multitaper techniques for spectral analysis, which play an important role in obtaining the present results, we find elevations in spectral power in a 50--90 Hz (gamma) frequency band during the memory period in both SU and LFP activity. The activity is tuned to the direction of the saccade providing evidence for temporal structure that codes for movement plans during working memory. We also find SU and LFP activity are coherent during the memory period in the 50--90 Hz gamma band and no consisten...

Low-level memory processes in vision.

Science.gov (United States)

Magnussen, S

2000-06-01

Psychophysical studies of the short-term memory for attributes or dimensions of the visual stimulus that are known to be important in early visual processing (spatial frequency, orientation, contrast, motion and color) identify a low-level perceptual memory mechanism. This proposed mechanism is located early in the visual processing stream, prior to the structural description system responsible for shape priming but beyond primary visual cortex (V1); it is composed of a series of parallel, special-purpose perceptual mechanisms with independent but limited processing resources. Each mechanism is devoted to the analysis of a single dimension and is coupled to a memory store.

Nonvolatile Memory Technology for Space Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Oldham, Timothy R.; Irom, Farokh; Friendlich, Mark; Nguyen, Duc; Kim, Hak; Berg, Melanie; LaBel, Kenneth A.

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews several forms of nonvolatile memory for use in space applications. The intent is to: (1) Determine inherent radiation tolerance and sensitivities, (2) Identify challenges for future radiation hardening efforts, (3) Investigate new failure modes and effects, and technology modeling programs. Testing includes total dose, single event (proton, laser, heavy ion), and proton damage (where appropriate). Test vehicles are expected to be a variety of non-volatile memory devices as available including Flash (NAND and NOR), Charge Trap, Nanocrystal Flash, Magnetic Memory (MRAM), Phase Change--Chalcogenide, (CRAM), Ferroelectric (FRAM), CNT, and Resistive RAM.

Neural Correlates of Confidence during Item Recognition and Source Memory Retrieval: Evidence for Both Dual-Process and Strength Memory Theories

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, Scott M.; Buchler, Norbou; Stokes, Jared; Kragel, James; Cabeza, Roberto

2011-01-01

Although the medial-temporal lobes (MTL), PFC, and parietal cortex are considered primary nodes in the episodic memory network, there is much debate regarding the contributions of MTL, PFC, and parietal subregions to recollection versus familiarity (dual-process theory) and the feasibility of accounts on the basis of a single memory strength…

A Facile and General Approach to Recoverable High-Strain Multishape Shape Memory Polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xingjian; Pan, Yi; Zheng, Zhaohui; Ding, Xiaobin

2018-03-01

Fabricating a single polymer network with no need to design complex structures to achieve an ideal combination of tunable high-strain multiple-shape memory effects and highly recoverable shape memory property is a great challenge for the real applications of advanced shape memory devices. Here, a facile and general approach to recoverable high-strain multishape shape memory polymers is presented via a random copolymerization of acrylate monomers and a chain-extended multiblock copolymer crosslinker. As-prepared shape memory networks show a large width at the half-peak height of the glass transition, far wider than current classical multishape shape memory polymers. A combination of tunable high-strain multishape memory effect and as high as 1000% recoverable strain in a single chemical-crosslinking network can be obtained. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first thermosetting material with a combination of highly recoverable strain and tunable high-strain multiple-shape memory effects. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A Visual Approach to Investigating Shared and Global Memory Behavior of CUDA Kernels

KAUST Repository

Rosen, Paul

2013-01-01

We present an approach to investigate the memory behavior of a parallel kernel executing on thousands of threads simultaneously within the CUDA architecture. Our top-down approach allows for quickly identifying any significant differences between the execution of the many blocks and warps. As interesting warps are identified, we allow further investigation of memory behavior by visualizing the shared memory bank conflicts and global memory coalescence, first with an overview of a single warp with many operations and, subsequently, with a detailed view of a single warp and a single operation. We demonstrate the strength of our approach in the context of a parallel matrix transpose kernel and a parallel 1D Haar Wavelet transform kernel. © 2013 The Author(s) Computer Graphics Forum © 2013 The Eurographics Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

A Visual Approach to Investigating Shared and Global Memory Behavior of CUDA Kernels

KAUST Repository

Rosen, Paul

2013-06-01

We present an approach to investigate the memory behavior of a parallel kernel executing on thousands of threads simultaneously within the CUDA architecture. Our top-down approach allows for quickly identifying any significant differences between the execution of the many blocks and warps. As interesting warps are identified, we allow further investigation of memory behavior by visualizing the shared memory bank conflicts and global memory coalescence, first with an overview of a single warp with many operations and, subsequently, with a detailed view of a single warp and a single operation. We demonstrate the strength of our approach in the context of a parallel matrix transpose kernel and a parallel 1D Haar Wavelet transform kernel. © 2013 The Author(s) Computer Graphics Forum © 2013 The Eurographics Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Single event upset test programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russen, L.C.

1984-11-01

It has been shown that the heavy ions in cosmic rays can give rise to single event upsets in VLSI random access memory devices (RAMs). Details are given of the programs written to test 1K, 4K, 16K and 64K memories during their irradiation with heavy charged ions, in order to simulate the effects of cosmic rays in space. The test equipment, which is used to load the memory device to be tested with a known bit pattern, and subsequently interrogate it for upsets, or ''flips'', is fully described. (author)

Space Qualified, Radiation Hardened, Dense Monolithic Flash Memory, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Space Micro proposes to build a radiation hardened by design (RHBD) flash memory, using a modified version of our RH-eDRAM Memory Controller to solve all the single...

Susceptibility of memory consolidation during lapses in recall

Science.gov (United States)

Marra, Vincenzo; O’Shea, Michael; Benjamin, Paul R.; Kemenes, Ildikó

2013-01-01

Memories that can be recalled several hours after learning may paradoxically become inaccessible for brief periods after their formation. This raises major questions about the function of these early memory lapses in the structure of memory consolidation. These questions are difficult to investigate because of the lack of information on the precise timing of lapses. However, the use of a single-trial conditioning paradigm in Lymnaea solves this problem. Here we use electrophysiological and behavioural experiments to reveal lapses in memory recall at 30 min and 2 h post conditioning. We show that only during these lapses is consolidation of long-term memory susceptible to interruption by external disturbance. These shared time points of memory lapse and susceptibility correspond to transitions between different phases of memory that have different molecular requirements. We propose that during periods of molecular transition memory recall is weakened, allowing novel sensory cues to block the consolidation of long-term memory. PMID:23481386

Susceptibility of memory consolidation during lapses in recall.

Science.gov (United States)

Marra, Vincenzo; O'Shea, Michael; Benjamin, Paul R; Kemenes, Ildikó

2013-01-01

Memories that can be recalled several hours after learning may paradoxically become inaccessible for brief periods after their formation. This raises major questions about the function of these early memory lapses in the structure of memory consolidation. These questions are difficult to investigate because of the lack of information on the precise timing of lapses. However, the use of a single-trial conditioning paradigm in Lymnaea solves this problem. Here we use electrophysiological and behavioural experiments to reveal lapses in memory recall at 30 min and 2 h post conditioning. We show that only during these lapses is consolidation of long-term memory susceptible to interruption by external disturbance. These shared time points of memory lapse and susceptibility correspond to transitions between different phases of memory that have different molecular requirements. We propose that during periods of molecular transition memory recall is weakened, allowing novel sensory cues to block the consolidation of long-term memory.

The Developmental Influence of Primary Memory Capacity on Working Memory and Academic Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

In this study, we investigate the development of primary memory capacity among children. Children between the ages of 5 and 8 completed 3 novel tasks (split span, interleaved lists, and a modified free-recall task) that measured primary memory by estimating the number of items in the focus of attention that could be spontaneously recalled in serial order. These tasks were calibrated against traditional measures of simple and complex span. Clear age-related changes in these primary memory estimates were observed. There were marked individual differences in primary memory capacity, but each novel measure was predictive of simple span performance. Among older children, each measure shared variance with reading and mathematics performance, whereas for younger children, the interleaved lists task was the strongest single predictor of academic ability. We argue that these novel tasks have considerable potential for the measurement of primary memory capacity and provide new, complementary ways of measuring the transient memory processes that predict academic performance. The interleaved lists task also shared features with interference control tasks, and our findings suggest that young children have a particular difficulty in resisting distraction and that variance in the ability to resist distraction is also shared with measures of educational attainment. PMID:26075630

Synthesis and characterization of nanometric zinc oxide for a stationary phase in liquid chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gordillo-Delgado, F; Soto-Barrera, C C; Plazas-Saldaña, J

2017-01-01

The increasing demand for equipment to remove organic compounds in industry and research activity has led to evaluate nanometric zinc oxide (ZnO). In this work, we present the ZnO nanoparticles synthesis for reusing of discarded columns, as a low-cost alternative. The compound was obtained by sol-gel technique using zinc chloride and sodium hydroxide as precursors and a drying temperature of 169°C. An X-ray diffractometer was used to estimate the average particle size at 20.3±0.2nm; the adsorption capacity was 0.0144L/g and the chemical resistance was tested with HCl and NaOH. The ZnO nanopowder was packed with 100psi pressure in an empty C-18 column cavity. The column packing resolution was evaluated using a high performance liquid chromatographer (HPLC-Thermo Scientific Dionex UltiMate 3000); using a caffeine standard, the following parameters were established: solvent flow: 1.2mL/min, average column temperature: 40°C, running time: 10 minutes, mobile phase acetonitrile-water composition (9:1). These results validate the potential of ZnO nanopowder as a column packing material in HPLC technique. (paper)

Synthesis and characterization of nanometric zinc oxide for a stationary phase in liquid chromatography

Science.gov (United States)

Gordillo-Delgado, F.; Soto-Barrera, C. C.; Plazas-Saldaña, J.

2017-01-01

The increasing demand for equipment to remove organic compounds in industry and research activity has led to evaluate nanometric zinc oxide (ZnO). In this work, we present the ZnO nanoparticles synthesis for reusing of discarded columns, as a low-cost alternative. The compound was obtained by sol-gel technique using zinc chloride and sodium hydroxide as precursors and a drying temperature of 169°C. An X-ray diffractometer was used to estimate the average particle size at 20.3±0.2nm the adsorption capacity was 0.0144L/g and the chemical resistance was tested with HCl and NaOH. The ZnO nanopowder was packed with 100psi pressure in an empty C-18 column cavity. The column packing resolution was evaluated using a high performance liquid chromatographer (HPLC-Thermo Scientific Dionex UltiMate 3000); using a caffeine standard, the following parameters were established: solvent flow: 1.2mL/min, average column temperature: 40°C, running time: 10 minutes, mobile phase acetonitrile-water composition (9:1). These results validate the potential of ZnO nanopowder as a column packing material in HPLC technique.

Social memories in rodents: Methods, mechanisms and modulation by stress

OpenAIRE

van der Kooij MA; Sandi C.

2011-01-01

Intact social memory forms the basis of meaningful interactions between individuals. Many factors can modulate the quality of social memory, and these have been studied in detail in rodents. Social memory, however, cannot be considered a single entity. The term social memory reflects different processes, such as social recognition of a novel conspecific individual and social learning (or 'learning from others'). This review summarizes the findings obtained with behavioral paradigms that were ...

Merging of long-term memories in an insect.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, Kathryn L; Chittka, Lars

2015-03-16

Research on comparative cognition has largely focused on successes and failures of animals to solve certain cognitive tasks, but in humans, memory errors can be more complex than simple failures to retrieve information [1, 2]. The existence of various types of "false memories," in which individuals remember events that they have never actually encountered, are now well established in humans [3, 4]. We hypothesize that such systematic memory errors may be widespread in animals whose natural lifestyle involves the processing and recollection of memories for multiple stimuli [5]. We predict that memory traces for various stimuli may "merge," such that features acquired in distinct bouts of training are combined in an animal's mind, so that stimuli that have never been viewed before, but are a combination of the features presented in training, may be chosen during recall. We tested this using bumblebees, Bombus terrestris. When individuals were first trained to a solid single-colored stimulus followed by a black and white (b/w)-patterned stimulus, a subsequent preference for the last entrained stimulus was found in both short-term- and long-term-memory tests. However, when bees were first trained to b/w-patterned stimuli followed by solid single-colored stimuli and were tested in long-term-memory tests 1 or 3 days later, they only initially preferred the most recently rewarded stimulus, and then switched their preference to stimuli that combined features from the previous color and pattern stimuli. The observed merging of long-term memories is thus similar to the memory conjunction error found in humans [6]. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Single fluoxetine treatment before but not after stress prevents stress-induced hippocampal long-term depression and spatial memory retrieval impairment in rats

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Huili; Dai, Chunfang; Dong, Zhifang

2015-01-01

A growing body of evidence has shown that chronic treatment with fluoxetine, a widely prescribed medication for treatment of depression, can affect synaptic plasticity in the adult central nervous system. However, it is not well understood whether acute fluoxetine influences synaptic plasticity, especially on hippocampal CA1 long-term depression (LTD), and if so, whether it subsequently impacts hippocampal-dependent spatial memory. Here, we reported that LTD facilitated by elevated-platform stress in hippocampal slices was completely prevented by fluoxetine administration (10 mg/kg, i.p.) 30 min before stress. The LTD was not, however, significantly inhibited by fluoxetine administration immediately after stress. Similarly, fluoxetine incubation (10 μM) during electrophysiological recordings also displayed no influence on the stress-facilitated LTD. In addition, behavioral results showed that a single fluoxetine treatment 30 min before but not after acute stress fully reversed the impairment of spatial memory retrieval in the Morris water maze paradigm. Taken together, these results suggest that acute fluoxetine treatment only before, but not after stress, can prevent hippocampal CA1 LTD and spatial memory retrieval impairment caused by behavioral stress in adult animals. PMID:26218751

Contextual effects in visual working memory reveal hierarchically structured memory representations.

Science.gov (United States)

Brady, Timothy F; Alvarez, George A

2015-01-01

Influential slot and resource models of visual working memory make the assumption that items are stored in memory as independent units, and that there are no interactions between them. Consequently, these models predict that the number of items to be remembered (the set size) is the primary determinant of working memory performance, and therefore these models quantify memory capacity in terms of the number and quality of individual items that can be stored. Here we demonstrate that there is substantial variance in display difficulty within a single set size, suggesting that limits based on the number of individual items alone cannot explain working memory storage. We asked hundreds of participants to remember the same sets of displays, and discovered that participants were highly consistent in terms of which items and displays were hardest or easiest to remember. Although a simple grouping or chunking strategy could not explain this individual-display variability, a model with multiple, interacting levels of representation could explain some of the display-by-display differences. Specifically, a model that includes a hierarchical representation of items plus the mean and variance of sets of the colors on the display successfully accounts for some of the variability across displays. We conclude that working memory representations are composed only in part of individual, independent object representations, and that a major factor in how many items are remembered on a particular display is interitem representations such as perceptual grouping, ensemble, and texture representations.

Nonlocal superelastic model of size-dependent hardening and dissipation in single crystal Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys.

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao, Lei; Rimoli, Julian J; Chen, Ying; Schuh, Christopher A; Radovitzky, Raul

2011-02-25

We propose a nonlocal continuum model to describe the size-dependent superelastic effect observed in recent experiments of single crystal Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys. The model introduces two length scales, one in the free energy and one in the dissipation, which account for the size-dependent hardening and dissipation in the loading and unloading response of micro- and nanopillars subject to compression tests. The information provided by the model suggests that the size dependence observed in the dissipation is likely to be associated with a nonuniform evolution of the distribution of the austenitic and martensitic phases during the loading cycle. © 2011 American Physical Society

Modeling Confidence and Response Time in Recognition Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Ratcliff, Roger; Starns, Jeffrey J.

2009-01-01

A new model for confidence judgments in recognition memory is presented. In the model, the match between a single test item and memory produces a distribution of evidence, with better matches corresponding to distributions with higher means. On this match dimension, confidence criteria are placed, and the areas between the criteria under the…

KCNQ channels regulate age-related memory impairment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonia Cavaliere

Full Text Available In humans KCNQ2/3 heteromeric channels form an M-current that acts as a brake on neuronal excitability, with mutations causing a form of epilepsy. The M-current has been shown to be a key regulator of neuronal plasticity underlying associative memory and ethanol response in mammals. Previous work has shown that many of the molecules and plasticity mechanisms underlying changes in alcohol behaviour and addiction are shared with those of memory. We show that the single KCNQ channel in Drosophila (dKCNQ when mutated show decrements in associative short- and long-term memory, with KCNQ function in the mushroom body α/βneurons being required for short-term memory. Ethanol disrupts memory in wildtype flies, but not in a KCNQ null mutant background suggesting KCNQ maybe a direct target of ethanol, the blockade of which interferes with the plasticity machinery required for memory formation. We show that as in humans, Drosophila display age-related memory impairment with the KCNQ mutant memory defect mimicking the effect of age on memory. Expression of KCNQ normally decreases in aging brains and KCNQ overexpression in the mushroom body neurons of KCNQ mutants restores age-related memory impairment. Therefore KCNQ is a central plasticity molecule that regulates age dependent memory impairment.

New rather than old? For working memory tasks with abstract patterns the P3 and the single-trial delta response are larger for modified than identical probe stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathes, B; Schmiedt, J; Schmiedt-Fehr, C; Pantelis, C; Basar-Eroglu, C

2012-07-01

Memory-guided decision making is dynamic and context-dependent, even though many studies describe an enhancement of the P3 for recognized items in memory tasks ("old-new effect"). This study utilized a delay-dependent working memory task during which decision making could be optimized by focusing attention on detected changes instead of recognized similarities. Mean P3 amplitude and delta activity were analyzed from participants who classified probe stimuli as identical or modified. The P3 amplitudes were larger for modified than for identical probes, even when the probe occurred 4,000 ms after the primary stimulus. Enhanced single-trial amplitude, trial-by-trial consistency, and frontoparietal phase coherence of delta activity contributed to the larger P3 for the modified probe. Thus, context-dependent attentional resource allocation supporting memory-guided decisions might explain the enhancement of the P3 for specific probe types. Copyright © 2012 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Memory Effects in the Two-Level Model for Glasses

Science.gov (United States)

Aquino, Gerardo; Allahverdyan, Armen; Nieuwenhuizen, Theo M.

2008-07-01

We study an ensemble of two-level systems interacting with a thermal bath. This is a well-known model for glasses. The origin of memory effects in this model is a quasistationary but nonequilibrium state of a single two-level system, which is realized due to a finite-rate cooling and slow thermally activated relaxation. We show that single-particle memory effects, such as negativity of the specific heat under reheating, vanish for a sufficiently disordered ensemble. In contrast, a disordered ensemble displays a collective memory effect [similar to the Kovacs effect], where nonequilibrium features of the ensemble are monitored via a macroscopic observable. An experimental realization of the effect can be used to further assess the consistency of the model.

Regular rehearsal helps in consolidation of long term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Parle, Milind; Singh, Nirmal; Vasudevan, Mani

2006-01-01

Memory, one of the most complex functions of the brain comprises of multiple components such as perception, registration, consolidation, storage, retrieval and decay. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of different training sessions on the retention capacity of rats. The capacity of retention of learnt task was measured using exteroceptive behavioral models such as Hexagonal swimming pool apparatus, Hebb-Williams maze and Elevated plus-maze. A total of 150 rats divided into fifteen groups were employed in the present study. The animals were subjected to different training sessions during first three days. The ability to retain the learned task was tested after single, sub-acute, acute, sub-chronic and chronic exposure to above exteroceptive memory models in separate groups of animals. The memory score of all animals was recorded after 72 h, 192 h and 432 h of their last training trial. Rats of single exposure group did not show any effect on memory. Sub-acute training group animals showed improved memory up to 72 h only, where as in acute and sub-chronic training groups this memory improvement was extended up to 192 h. The rats, which were subjected to chronic exposures showed a significant improvement in retention capacity that lasted up to a period of eighteen days. These observations suggest that repeated rehearsals at regular intervals are probably necessary for consolidation of long-term memory. It was observed that sub-acute, acute and sub-chronic exposures, improved the retrieval ability of rats but this memory improving effect was short lived. Thus, rehearsal or training plays a crucial role in enhancing one's capacity of retaining the learnt information. Key PointsThe present study underlines the importance of regular rehearsals in enhancing one's capacity of retaining the learnt information. " Sub-acute, acute & sub-chronic rehearsals result in storing of information for a limited period of time.Quick decay of information or

Memory-assisted measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Panayi, Christiana; Razavi, Mohsen; Ma, Xiongfeng; Lütkenhaus, Norbert

2014-04-01

A protocol with the potential of beating the existing distance records for conventional quantum key distribution (QKD) systems is proposed. It borrows ideas from quantum repeaters by using memories in the middle of the link, and that of measurement-device-independent QKD, which only requires optical source equipment at the user's end. For certain memories with short access times, our scheme allows a higher repetition rate than that of quantum repeaters with single-mode memories, thereby requiring lower coherence times. By accounting for various sources of nonideality, such as memory decoherence, dark counts, misalignment errors, and background noise, as well as timing issues with memories, we develop a mathematical framework within which we can compare QKD systems with and without memories. In particular, we show that with the state-of-the-art technology for quantum memories, it is potentially possible to devise memory-assisted QKD systems that, at certain distances of practical interest, outperform current QKD implementations.

Memory-assisted measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panayi, Christiana; Razavi, Mohsen; Ma, Xiongfeng; Lütkenhaus, Norbert

2014-01-01

A protocol with the potential of beating the existing distance records for conventional quantum key distribution (QKD) systems is proposed. It borrows ideas from quantum repeaters by using memories in the middle of the link, and that of measurement-device-independent QKD, which only requires optical source equipment at the user's end. For certain memories with short access times, our scheme allows a higher repetition rate than that of quantum repeaters with single-mode memories, thereby requiring lower coherence times. By accounting for various sources of nonideality, such as memory decoherence, dark counts, misalignment errors, and background noise, as well as timing issues with memories, we develop a mathematical framework within which we can compare QKD systems with and without memories. In particular, we show that with the state-of-the-art technology for quantum memories, it is potentially possible to devise memory-assisted QKD systems that, at certain distances of practical interest, outperform current QKD implementations. (paper)

A potential spatial working memory training task to improve both episodic memory and fluid intelligence.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah R Rudebeck

on a single working memory task can potentially improve aspects of both episodic memory and fluid intelligence, and that an extensive training regime with multiple tasks may not be necessary.

Attention to information in working memory

OpenAIRE

Oberauer Klaus; Hein Laura

2012-01-01

Working memory retains information and makes it available for processing. People often need to hold several chunks of information available while concentrating on only one of them. This process requires selective attention to the contents of working memory. In this article we summarize evidence for both a broad focus of attention with a capacity of approximately four chunks and a narrow focus of attention that selects a single chunk at a time.

Testing the exclusivity effect in location memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Daniel P A; Dunn, Andrew K; Baguley, Thom

2013-01-01

There is growing literature exploring the possibility of parallel retrieval of location memories, although this literature focuses primarily on the speed of retrieval with little attention to the accuracy of location memory recall. Baguley, Lansdale, Lines, and Parkin (2006) found that when a person has two or more memories for an object's location, their recall accuracy suggests that only one representation can be retrieved at a time (exclusivity). This finding is counterintuitive given evidence of non-exclusive recall in the wider memory literature. The current experiment explored the exclusivity effect further and aimed to promote an alternative outcome (i.e., independence or superadditivity) by encouraging the participants to combine multiple representations of space at encoding or retrieval. This was encouraged by using anchor (points of reference) labels that could be combined to form a single strongly associated combination. It was hypothesised that the ability to combine the anchor labels would allow the two representations to be retrieved concurrently, generating higher levels of recall accuracy. The results demonstrate further support for the exclusivity hypothesis, showing no significant improvement in recall accuracy when there are multiple representations of a target object's location as compared to a single representation.

Short-term memory binding deficits in Alzheimer's disease

OpenAIRE

Parra, Mario; Abrahams, S.; Fabi, K.; Logie, R.; Luzzi, S.; Della Sala, Sergio

2009-01-01

Alzheimer's disease impairs long term memories for related events (e.g. faces with names) more than for single events (e.g. list of faces or names). Whether or not this associative or ‘binding’ deficit is also found in short-term memory has not yet been explored. In two experiments we investigated binding deficits in verbal short-term memory in Alzheimer's disease. Experiment 1 : 23 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 23 age and education matched healthy elderly were recruited. Participants...

Effects of working memory contents and perceptual load on distractor processing: When a response-related distractor is held in working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Koshino, Hideya

2017-01-01

Working memory and attention are closely related. Recent research has shown that working memory can be viewed as internally directed attention. Working memory can affect attention in at least two ways. One is the effect of working memory load on attention, and the other is the effect of working memory contents on attention. In the present study, an interaction between working memory contents and perceptual load in distractor processing was investigated. Participants performed a perceptual load task in a standard form in one condition (Single task). In the other condition, a response-related distractor was maintained in working memory, rather than presented in the same stimulus display as a target (Dual task). For the Dual task condition, a significant compatibility effect was found under high perceptual load; however, there was no compatibility effect under low perceptual load. These results suggest that the way the contents of working memory affect visual search depends on perceptual load. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measurements of a vortex transitional ndro Josephson memory cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tahara, S.; Ishida, I.; Hidaka, M.; Nagasawa, S.; Ajisawa, Y.; Wada, Y.

1988-01-01

A novel vortex transitional NDRO Jospehson memory cell has been successfully fabricated and tested. The memory cell consists of two superconducting loops and a two-junction interferometer gate as a sense gate. The superconducting loop contains one Josephson junction and inductances, and stores single flux quantum. The memory cell employs vortex transitions in the superconducting loops for writing and reading data. The memory cell chips have been fabricated using niobium planarization process. The +-21 percent address signal current margin and the +-33 percent sense gate current margin have been obtained experimentally. The memory operation of the cell driven by the two-junction interferometer gates has been accurately demonstrated

Changes in corticospinal excitability during consolidation predict acute exercise-induced off-line gains in procedural memory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ostadan, Fatemeh; Centeno, Carla; Daloze, Jean-Felix

2016-01-01

A single bout of cardiovascular exercise performed immediately after practicing a motor task improves the long-term retention of the skill through an optimization of memory consolidation. However, the specific brain mechanisms underlying the effects of acute cardiovascular exercise on procedural...... exercise correlated with the magnitude of off-line gains in skill level assessed in a retention test performed 8h after motor practice. A single bout of exercise modulates short-term neuroplasticity mechanisms subserving consolidation processes that predict off-line gains in procedural memory....... memory are poorly understood. We sought to determine if a single bout of exercise modifies corticospinal excitability (CSE) during the early stages of memory consolidation. In addition, we investigated if changes in CSE are associated with exercise-induced off-line gains in procedural memory...

Grouping and binding in visual short-term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Quinlan, Philip T; Cohen, Dale J

2012-09-01

Findings of 2 experiments are reported that challenge the current understanding of visual short-term memory (VSTM). In both experiments, a single study display, containing 6 colored shapes, was presented briefly and then probed with a single colored shape. At stake is how VSTM retains a record of different objects that share common features: In the 1st experiment, 2 study items sometimes shared a common feature (either a shape or a color). The data revealed a color sharing effect, in which memory was much better for items that shared a common color than for items that did not. The 2nd experiment showed that the size of the color sharing effect depended on whether a single pair of items shared a common color or whether 2 pairs of items were so defined-memory for all items improved when 2 color groups were presented. In explaining performance, an account is advanced in which items compete for a fixed number of slots, but then memory recall for any given stored item is prone to error. A critical assumption is that items that share a common color are stored together in a slot as a chunk. The evidence provides further support for the idea that principles of perceptual organization may determine the manner in which items are stored in VSTM. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Contrasting roles for DNA methyltransferases and histone deacetylases in single-item and associative recognition memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Hannah; Smith, Anna E; Barker, Gareth R; Uney, James B; Warburton, E Clea

2017-03-01

Recognition memory enables us to judge whether we have encountered a stimulus before and to recall associated information, including where the stimulus was encountered. The perirhinal cortex (PRh) is required for judgment of stimulus familiarity, while hippocampus (HPC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are additionally involved when spatial information associated with a stimulus needs to be remembered. While gene expression is known to be essential for the consolidation of long-term recognition memory, the underlying regulatory mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we investigated the roles of two epigenetic mechanisms, DNA methylation and histone deacetylation, in recognition memory. Infusion of DNA methyltransferase inhibitors into PRh impaired performance in novel object recognition and object-in-place tasks while infusions into HPC or mPFC impaired object-in-place performance only. In contrast, inhibition of histone deacetylases in PRh, but not mPFC, enhanced recognition memory. These results support the emerging role of epigenetic processes in learning and memory.

Contrasting roles for DNA methyltransferases and histone deacetylases in single-item and associative recognition memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hannah Scott

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Recognition memory enables us to judge whether we have encountered a stimulus before and to recall associated information, including where the stimulus was encountered. The perirhinal cortex (PRh is required for judgment of stimulus familiarity, while hippocampus (HPC and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC are additionally involved when spatial information associated with a stimulus needs to be remembered. While gene expression is known to be essential for the consolidation of long-term recognition memory, the underlying regulatory mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we investigated the roles of two epigenetic mechanisms, DNA methylation and histone deacetylation, in recognition memory. Infusion of DNA methyltransferase inhibitors into PRh impaired performance in novel object recognition and object-in-place tasks while infusions into HPC or mPFC impaired object-in-place performance only. In contrast, inhibition of histone deacetylases in PRh, but not mPFC, enhanced recognition memory. These results support the emerging role of epigenetic processes in learning and memory.

Layout Geometry in Encoding and Retrieval of Spatial Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Mou, Weimin; Liu, Xianyun; McNamara, Timothy P.

2009-01-01

Two experiments investigated whether the spatial reference directions that are used to specify objects' locations in memory can be solely determined by layout geometry. Participants studied a layout of objects from a single viewpoint while their eye movements were recorded. Subsequently, participants used memory to make judgments of relative…

Application of reflective memory network in Tokamak fast controller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weng Chuqiao; Zhang Ming; Liu Rui; Zheng Wei; Zhuang Ge

2014-01-01

A specific application of reflective memory network in Tokamak fast controller was introduced in this paper. The PMC-5565 reflective memory card and ACC-5565 network hub were used to build a reflective memory real-time network to test its real- time function. The real-time, rapidity and determinacy of the time delay for fast controller controlling power device under the reflective memory network were tested in the LabVIEW RT real-time operation system. Depending on the reflective memory technology, the data in several fast controllers were synchronized, and multiple control tasks using a single control task were finished. The experiment results show that the reflective memory network can meet the real-time requirements for fast controller to perform the feedback control over devices. (authors)

Media, Mental Imagery, and Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Robert L.

1978-01-01

Thirty-two students at the University of Oregon were tested to determine the effects of media on mental imagery and memory. The model incorporates a dual coding hypothesis, and five single and multiple channel treatments were used. (Author/JEG)

A 4096-pixel MAPS detector used to investigate the single-electron distribution in a Young–Feynman two-slit interference experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gabrielli, A. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Bologna (Italy); Department of Physics, University of Bologna (Italy); Giorgi, F.M., E-mail: giorgi@bo.infn.it [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Bologna (Italy); Semprini, N.; Villa, M.; Zoccoli, A. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Bologna (Italy); Department of Physics, University of Bologna (Italy); Matteucci, G.; Pozzi, G. [Department of Physics, University of Bologna (Italy); Frabboni, S. [Department of Physics, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy); CNR-Institute of Nanoscience-S3, Modena (Italy); Gazzadi, G.C. [CNR-Institute of Nanoscience-S3, Modena (Italy)

2013-01-21

A monolithic CMOS detector, made of 4096 active pixels developed for HEP collider experiments, has been used in the Young–Feynman two-slit experiment with single electrons. The experiment has been carried out by inserting two nanometric slits in a transmission electron microscope that provided the electron beam source and the electro-optical lenses for projecting and focusing the interference pattern on the sensor. The fast readout of the sensor, in principle capable to manage up to 10{sup 6} frames per second, allowed to record single-electron frames spaced by several empty frames. In this way, for the first time in a single-electron two-slit experiment, the time distribution of electron arrivals has been measured with a resolution of 165μs. In addition, high statistics samples of single-electron events were collected within a time interval short enough to be compatible with the stability of the system and coherence conditions of the illumination.

TMS-induced neural noise in sensory cortex interferes with short-term memory storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tyler D Bancroft

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In a previous study, Harris et al. (2002 found disruption of vibrotactile short-term memory after applying single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to primary somatosensory cortex (SI early in the maintenance period, and suggested that this demonstrated a role for SI in vibrotactile memory storage. While such a role is compatible with recent suggestions that sensory cortex is the storage substrate for working memory, it stands in contrast to a relatively large body of evidence from human EEG and single-cell recording in primates that instead points to prefrontal cortex as the storage substrate for vibrotactile memory. In the present study, we use computational methods to demonstrate how Harris et al.’s results can be reproduced by TMS-induced activity in sensory cortex and subsequent feedforward interference with memory traces stored in prefrontal cortex, thereby reconciling discordant findings in the tactile memory literature.

High-speed noise-free optical quantum memory

Science.gov (United States)

Kaczmarek, K. T.; Ledingham, P. M.; Brecht, B.; Thomas, S. E.; Thekkadath, G. S.; Lazo-Arjona, O.; Munns, J. H. D.; Poem, E.; Feizpour, A.; Saunders, D. J.; Nunn, J.; Walmsley, I. A.

2018-04-01

Optical quantum memories are devices that store and recall quantum light and are vital to the realization of future photonic quantum networks. To date, much effort has been put into improving storage times and efficiencies of such devices to enable long-distance communications. However, less attention has been devoted to building quantum memories which add zero noise to the output. Even small additional noise can render the memory classical by destroying the fragile quantum signatures of the stored light. Therefore, noise performance is a critical parameter for all quantum memories. Here we introduce an intrinsically noise-free quantum memory protocol based on two-photon off-resonant cascaded absorption (ORCA). We demonstrate successful storage of GHz-bandwidth heralded single photons in a warm atomic vapor with no added noise, confirmed by the unaltered photon-number statistics upon recall. Our ORCA memory meets the stringent noise requirements for quantum memories while combining high-speed and room-temperature operation with technical simplicity, and therefore is immediately applicable to low-latency quantum networks.

Location-Unbound Color-Shape Binding Representations in Visual Working Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Saiki, Jun

2016-02-01

The mechanism by which nonspatial features, such as color and shape, are bound in visual working memory, and the role of those features' location in their binding, remains unknown. In the current study, I modified a redundancy-gain paradigm to investigate these issues. A set of features was presented in a two-object memory display, followed by a single object probe. Participants judged whether the probe contained any features of the memory display, regardless of its location. Response time distributions revealed feature coactivation only when both features of a single object in the memory display appeared together in the probe, regardless of the response time benefit from the probe and memory objects sharing the same location. This finding suggests that a shared location is necessary in the formation of bound representations but unnecessary in their maintenance. Electroencephalography data showed that amplitude modulations reflecting location-unbound feature coactivation were different from those reflecting the location-sharing benefit, consistent with the behavioral finding that feature-location binding is unnecessary in the maintenance of color-shape binding. © The Author(s) 2015.

Memory for musical tones: the impact of tonality and the creation of false memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Vuvan, Dominique T; Podolak, Olivia M; Schmuckler, Mark A

2014-01-01

Although the relation between tonality and musical memory has been fairly well-studied, less is known regarding the contribution of tonal-schematic expectancies to this relation. Three experiments investigated the influence of tonal expectancies on memory for single tones in a tonal melodic context. In the first experiment, listener responses indicated superior recognition of both expected and unexpected targets in a major tonal context than for moderately expected targets. Importantly, and in support of previous work on false memories, listener responses also revealed a higher false alarm rate for expected than unexpected targets. These results indicate roles for tonal schematic congruency as well as distinctiveness in memory for melodic tones. The second experiment utilized minor melodies, which weakened tonal expectancies since the minor tonality can be represented in three forms simultaneously. Finally, tonal expectancies were abolished entirely in the third experiment through the use of atonal melodies. Accordingly, the expectancy-based results observed in the first experiment were disrupted in the second experiment, and disappeared in the third experiment. These results are discussed in light of schema theory, musical expectancy, and classic memory work on the availability and distinctiveness heuristics.

Memory for musical tones: The impact of tonality and the creation of false memories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominique T. Vuvan

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Although the relation between tonality and musical memory has been fairly well-studied, less is known regarding the contribution of tonal-schematic expectancies to this relation. Three experiments investigated the influence of tonal expectancies on memory for single tones in a tonal melodic context. In the first experiment, listener responses indicated superior recognition of both expected and unexpected targets in a major tonal context than for moderately expected targets. Importantly, and in support of previous work on false memories, listener responses also revealed a higher false alarm rate for expected than unexpected targets. These results indicate roles for tonal schematic congruency as well as distinctiveness in memory for melodic tones. The second experiment utilized minor melodies, which weakened tonal expectancies since the minor tonality can be represented in three forms simultaneously. Finally, tonal expectancies were abolished entirely in the third experiment through the use of atonal melodies. Accordingly, the expectancy-based results observed in the first experiment were disrupted in the second experiment, and disappeared in the third experiment. These results are discussed in light of schema theory, musical expectancy, and classic memory work on the availability and distinctiveness heuristics.

Memory for musical tones: the impact of tonality and the creation of false memories

Science.gov (United States)

Vuvan, Dominique T.; Podolak, Olivia M.; Schmuckler, Mark A.

2014-01-01

Although the relation between tonality and musical memory has been fairly well-studied, less is known regarding the contribution of tonal-schematic expectancies to this relation. Three experiments investigated the influence of tonal expectancies on memory for single tones in a tonal melodic context. In the first experiment, listener responses indicated superior recognition of both expected and unexpected targets in a major tonal context than for moderately expected targets. Importantly, and in support of previous work on false memories, listener responses also revealed a higher false alarm rate for expected than unexpected targets. These results indicate roles for tonal schematic congruency as well as distinctiveness in memory for melodic tones. The second experiment utilized minor melodies, which weakened tonal expectancies since the minor tonality can be represented in three forms simultaneously. Finally, tonal expectancies were abolished entirely in the third experiment through the use of atonal melodies. Accordingly, the expectancy-based results observed in the first experiment were disrupted in the second experiment, and disappeared in the third experiment. These results are discussed in light of schema theory, musical expectancy, and classic memory work on the availability and distinctiveness heuristics. PMID:24971071

Durable fear memories require PSD-95

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzgerald, Paul J.; Pinard, Courtney R.; Camp, Marguerite C.; Feyder, Michael; Sah, Anupam; Bergstrom, Hadley; Graybeal, Carolyn; Liu, Yan; Schlüter, Oliver; Grant, Seth G.N.; Singewald, Nicolas; Xu, Weifeng; Holmes, Andrew

2014-01-01

Traumatic fear memories are highly durable but also dynamic, undergoing repeated reactivation and rehearsal over time. While overly persistent fear memories underlie anxiety disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, the key neural and molecular mechanisms underlying fear memory durability remain unclear. Post-synaptic density 95 (PSD-95) is a synaptic protein regulating glutamate receptor anchoring, synaptic stability and certain types of memory. Employing a loss-of-function mutant mouse lacking the guanylate kinase domain of PSD-95 (PSD-95GK), we analyzed the contribution of PSD-95 to fear memory formation and retrieval, and sought to identify the neural basis of PSD-95-mediated memory maintenance using ex vivo immediate-early gene mapping, in vivo neuronal recordings and viral-mediated knockdown approaches. We show that PSD-95 is dispensable for the formation and expression of recent fear memories, but essential for the formation of precise and flexible fear memories and for the maintenance of memories at remote time points. The failure of PSD-95GK mice to retrieve remote cued fear memories was associated with hypoactivation of the infralimbic cortex (IL) (not anterior cingulate (ACC) or prelimbic cortex), reduced IL single-unit firing and bursting, and attenuated IL gamma and theta oscillations. Adeno-associated PSD-95 virus-mediated knockdown in the IL, not ACC, was sufficient to impair recent fear extinction and remote fear memory, and remodel IL dendritic spines. Collectively, these data identify PSD-95 in the IL as a critical mechanism supporting the durability of fear memories over time. These preclinical findings have implications for developing novel approaches to treating trauma-based anxiety disorders that target the weakening of overly persistent fear memories. PMID:25510511

Parallel effects of memory set activation and searchon timing and working memory capacity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard eSchweickert

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Accurately estimating a time interval is required in everyday activities such as driving or cooking. Estimating time is relatively easy, provided a person attends to it. But a brief shift of attention to another task usually interferes with timing. Most processes carried out concurrently with timing interfere with it. Curiously, some do not. Literature on a few processes suggests a general proposition, the Timing and Complex-Span Hypothesis: A process interferes with concurrent timing if and only if process performance is related to complex span. Complex-span is the number of items correctly recalled in order, when each item presented for study is followed by a brief activity. Literature on task switching, visual search, memory search, word generation and mental time travel supports the hypothesis. Previous work found that another process, activation of a memory set in long term memory, is not related to complex-span. If the Timing and Complex-Span Hypothesis is true, activation should not interfere with concurrent timing in dual-task conditions. We tested such activation in single-task memory search task conditions and in dual-task conditions where memory search was executed with concurrent timing. In Experiment 1, activating a memory set increased reaction time, with no significant effect on time production. In Experiment 2, set size and memory set activation were manipulated. Activation and set size had a puzzling interaction for time productions, perhaps due to difficult conditions, leading us to use a related but easier task in Experiment 3. In Experiment 3 increasing set size lengthened time production, but memory activation had no significant effect. Results here and in previous literature on the whole support the Timing and Complex-Span Hypotheses. Results also support a sequential organization of activation and search of memory. This organization predicts activation and set size have additive effects on reaction time and multiplicative

Gap junctions and memory: an investigation using a single trial discrimination avoidance task for the neonate chick.

Science.gov (United States)

Verwey, L J; Edwards, T M

2010-02-01

Gap junctions are important to how the brain functions but are relatively under-investigated with respect to their contribution towards behaviour. In the present study a single trial discrimination avoidance task was used to investigate the effect of the gap junction inhibitor 18-alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid (alphaGA) on retention. Past studies within our research group have implied a potential role for gap junctions during the short-term memory (STM) stage which decays by 15 min post-training. A retention function study comparing 10 microM alphaGA and vehicle given immediately post-training demonstrated a significant main effect for drug with retention loss at all times of test (10-180 min post-training). Given that the most common gap junction in the brain is that forming the astrocytic network it is reasonable to conclude that alphaGA was acting upon these. To confirm this finding and interpretation two additional investigations were undertaken using endothelin-1 (ET-1) and ET-1+tolbutamide. Importantly, a retention function study using 10nM ET-1 replicated the retention loss observed for alphaGA. In order to confirm that ET-1 was acting on astrocytic gap junctions the amnestic action of ET-1 was effectively challenged with increasing concentrations of tolbutamide. The present findings suggest that astrocytic gap junctions are important for memory processing. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Constitutive Models for Shape Memory Alloy Polycrystals

Science.gov (United States)

Comstock, R. J., Jr.; Somerday, M.; Wert, J. A.

1996-01-01

Shape memory alloys (SMA) exhibiting the superelastic or one-way effects can produce large recoverable strains upon application of a stress. In single crystals this stress and resulting strain are very orientation dependent. We show experimental stress/strain curves for a Ni-Al single crystal for various loading orientations. Also shown are model predictions; the open and closed circles indicate recoverable strains obtained at various stages in the transformation process. Because of the strong orientation dependence of shape memory properties, crystallographic texture can be expected to play an important role in the mechanical behavior of polycrystalline SMA. It is desirable to formulate a constitutive model to better understand and exploit the unique properties of SMA.

Age differences in visual sensory memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, D A; Thompson, L W

1978-05-01

Age differences in visual sensory memory were studied using the direct measure procedure of Haber and Standing (1969) -- the longest interstimulus interval at which subjects reported a single stimulus as continuous was measured. The visual storage of the young (mean age 24 years) was found to persist for 289 msec compared to 248 for the old (mean age 67 years). Similar estimates of sensory memory duration were obtained when either monoptic or dichoptic stimulus presentations were employed, supporting the idea that visual storage is centrally mediated for both age groups. The relevance of these findings for age differences in the registration of information into primary and secondary memory and their implications for the stimulus persistence hypothesis are considered. The appropriateness and validity of the persistence of form task for studies of sensory memory and aging are also discussed.

Different types of working memory binding in epilepsy patients with unilateral anterior temporal lobectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

van Geldorp, Bonnie; Bouman, Zita; Hendriks, Marc P H; Kessels, Roy P C

2014-03-01

The medial temporal lobe is an important structure for long-term memory formation, but its role in working memory is less clear. Recent studies have shown hippocampal involvement during working memory tasks requiring binding of information. It is yet unclear whether this is limited to tasks containing spatial features. The present study contrasted three binding conditions and one single-item condition in patients with unilateral anterior temporal lobectomy. A group of 43 patients with temporal lobectomy (23 left; 20 right) and 20 matched controls were examined with a working memory task assessing spatial relational binding (object-location), non-spatial relational binding (object-object), conjunctive binding (object-colour) and working memory for single items. We varied the delay period (3 or 6s), as there is evidence showing that delay length may modulate working memory performance. The results indicate that performance was worse for patients than for controls in both relational binding conditions, whereas patients were unimpaired in conjunctive binding. Single-item memory was found to be marginally impaired, due to a deficit on long-delay trials only. In conclusion, working memory binding deficits are found in patients with unilateral anterior temporal lobectomy. The role of the medial temporal lobe in working memory is not limited to tasks containing spatial features. Rather, it seems to be involved in relational binding, but not in conjunctive binding. The medial temporal lobe gets involved when working memory capacity does not suffice, for example when relations have to be maintained or when the delay period is long. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nonvolatile ferroelectric memory based on PbTiO3 gated single-layer MoS2 field-effect transistor

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Hyun Wook; Son, Jong Yeog

2018-01-01

We fabricated ferroelectric non-volatile random access memory (FeRAM) based on a field effect transistor (FET) consisting of a monolayer MoS2 channel and a ferroelectric PbTiO3 (PTO) thin film of gate insulator. An epitaxial PTO thin film was deposited on a Nb-doped SrTiO3 (Nb:STO) substrate via pulsed laser deposition. A monolayer MoS2 sheet was exfoliated from a bulk crystal and transferred to the surface of the PTO/Nb:STO. Structural and surface properties of the PTO thin film were characterized by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, respectively. Raman spectroscopy analysis was performed to identify the single-layer MoS2 sheet on the PTO/Nb:STO. We obtained mobility value (327 cm2/V·s) of the MoS2 channel at room temperature. The MoS2-PTO FeRAM FET showed a wide memory window with 17 kΩ of resistance variation which was attributed to high remnant polarization of the epitaxially grown PTO thin film. According to the fatigue resistance test for the FeRAM FET, however, the resistance states gradually varied during the switching cycles of 109. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Diagnostic Value of Subjective Memory Complaints Assessed with a Single Item in Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer’s Disease: Results of the DIAN Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoph Laske

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. We examined the diagnostic value of subjective memory complaints (SMCs assessed with a single item in a large cross-sectional cohort consisting of families with autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease (ADAD participating in the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN. Methods. The baseline sample of 183 mutation carriers (MCs and 117 noncarriers (NCs was divided according to Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR scale into preclinical (CDR 0; MCs: n=107; NCs: n=109, early symptomatic (CDR 0.5; MCs: n=48; NCs: n=8, and dementia stage (CDR ≥ 1; MCs: n=28; NCs: n=0. These groups were subdivided by the presence or absence of SMCs. Results. At CDR 0, SMCs were present in 12.1% of MCs and 9.2% of NCs (P=0.6. At CDR 0.5, SMCs were present in 66.7% of MCs and 62.5% of NCs (P=1.0. At CDR ≥ 1, SMCs were present in 96.4% of MCs. SMCs in MCs were significantly associated with CDR, logical memory scores, Geriatric Depression Scale, education, and estimated years to onset. Conclusions. The present study shows that SMCs assessed by a single-item scale have no diagnostic value to identify preclinical ADAD in asymptomatic individuals. These results demonstrate the need of further improvement of SMC measures that should be examined in large clinical trials.

Working Memory Integration Processes in Benign Childhood Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kárpáti, Judit; Donauer, Nándor; Somogyi, Eszter; Kónya, Anikó

2015-12-01

Benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is the most frequent focal epilepsy in children; however, the pattern of affected memory processes remains controversial. Previous studies in BECTS imply deficits in complex working memory tasks, but not in simple modality-specific tasks. We studied working memory processes in children with BECTS by comparing performance in memory binding tasks of different complexities. We compared 17 children with BECTS (aged 6 to 13 years) to 17 healthy children matched for age, sex, and intelligence quotient. We measured spatial and verbal memory components separately and jointly on three single-binding tasks (binding of what and where; what and when; and where and when) and a combined-binding task (integration of what, where, and when). We also evaluated basic visuospatial memory functions with subtests of the Children's Memory Scale, and intellectual abilities with verbal tasks of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition and the Raven Progressive Matrices. We found no difference between the BECTS and control groups in single-binding tasks; however, the children with BECTS performed significantly worse on the combined task, which included integration of spatial, verbal, and temporal information. We found no deficits in their intellectual abilities or basic visuospatial memory functions. Children with BECTS may have intact simple maintenance processes of working memory, but difficulty with high-level functions requiring attentional and executive resources. Our findings imply no specific memory dysfunction in BECTS, but suggest difficulties in integrating information within working memory, and possible frontal lobe disturbances.

The effects of marital status on episodic and semantic memory in healthy middle-aged and old individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Mousavi-Nasab, S-M-Hossein; Kormi-Nouri, Reza; Sundström, Anna; Nilsson, Lars-Göran

2012-02-01

The present study examined the influences of marital status on different episodic and semantic memory tasks. A total of 1882 adult men and women participated in a longitudinal project (Betula) on memory, health and aging. The participants were grouped into two age cohorts, 35-60 and 65-85, and studied over a period of 5 years. Episodic memory tasks concerned recognition and recall, whereas semantic memory tasks concerned knowledge and fluency. The results showed, after controlling for education, some diseases, chronological age and leisure activity as covariates, that there were significant differences between married and single individuals in episodic memory, but not in semantic memory. Married people showed significantly better memory performances than singles in both subsystems of episodic memory, that is, recall and recognition. Also, the rate of decline in episodic memory was significantly larger for singles and widowed than other groups over the 5-year time period in both age groups. The findings demonstrate that the positive relation found between marriage and health can be extended to the relation between marriage and cognitive performance. This effect might be explained by the role played by cognitive stimulation in memory and cognition. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Induction of Associative Olfactory Memory by Targeted Activation of Single Olfactory Neurons in Drosophila Larvae

OpenAIRE

Honda, Takato; Lee, Chi-Yu; Yoshida-Kasikawa, Maki; Honjo, Ken; Furukubo-Tokunaga, Katsuo

2014-01-01

It has been postulated that associative memory is formed by at least two sets of external stimuli, CS and US, that are transmitted to the memory centers by distinctive conversing pathways. However, whether associative memory can be induced by the activation of only the olfactory CS and a biogenic amine-mediated US pathways remains to be elucidated. In this study, we substituted the reward signals with dTrpA1-mediated thermogenetic activation of octopaminergic neurons and the odor signals by C...

Manipulating the reported age in earliest memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Wessel, Ineke; Schweig, Theresa; Huntjens, Rafaële J C

2017-11-02

Previous work suggests that the estimated age in adults' earliest autobiographical memories depends on age information implied by the experimental context [e.g., Kingo, O. S., Bohn, A., & Krøjgaard, P. (2013). Warm-up questions on early childhood memories affect the reported age of earliest memories in late adolescence. Memory, 21(2), 280-284. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2012.729598 ] and that the age in decontextualised snippets of memory is younger than in more complete accounts (i.e., event memories [Bruce, D., Wilcox-O'Hearn, L. A., Robinson, J. A., Phillips-Grant, K., Francis, L., & Smith, M. C. (2005). Fragment memories mark the end of childhood amnesia. Memory & Cognition, 33(4), 567-576. doi: 10.3758/BF03195324 ]). We examined the malleability of the estimated age in undergraduates' earliest memories and its relation with memory quality. In Study 1 (n = 141), vignettes referring to events happening at age 2 rendered earlier reported ages than examples referring to age 6. Exploratory analyses suggested that event memories were more sensitive to the age manipulation than memories representing a single, isolated scene (i.e., snapshots). In Study 2 (n = 162), asking self-relevant and public-event knowledge questions about participants' preschool years prior to retrieval yielded comparable average estimated ages. Both types of semantic knowledge questions rendered earlier memories than a no-age control task. Overall, the reported age in snapshots was younger than in event memories. However, age-differences between memory types across conditions were not statistically significant. Together, the results add to the growing literature indicating that the average age in earliest memories is not as fixed as previously thought.

An electroconvulsive therapy procedure impairs reconsolidation of episodic memories in humans

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kroes, Marijn C. W.; Tendolkar, Indira; van Wingen, Guido A.; van Waarde, Jeroen A.; Strange, Bryan A.; Fernández, Guillén

2014-01-01

Despite accumulating evidence for a reconsolidation process in animals, support in humans, especially for episodic memory, is limited. Using a within-subjects manipulation, we found that a single application of electroconvulsive therapy following memory reactivation in patients with unipolar

A compact PE memory for vision chips

Science.gov (United States)

Cong, Shi; Zhe, Chen; Jie, Yang; Nanjian, Wu; Zhihua, Wang

2014-09-01

This paper presents a novel compact memory in the processing element (PE) for single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) vision chips. The PE memory is constructed with 8 × 8 register cells, where one latch in the slave stage is shared by eight latches in the master stage. The memory supports simultaneous read and write on the same address in one clock cycle. Its compact area of 14.33 μm2/bit promises a higher integration level of the processor. A prototype chip with a 64 × 64 PE array is fabricated in a UMC 0.18 μm CMOS technology. Five types of the PE memory cell structure are designed and compared. The testing results demonstrate that the proposed PE memory architecture well satisfies the requirement of the vision chip in high-speed real-time vision applications, such as 1000 fps edge extraction.

A compact PE memory for vision chips

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Cong; Chen Zhe; Yang Jie; Wu Nanjian; Wang Zhihua

2014-01-01

This paper presents a novel compact memory in the processing element (PE) for single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) vision chips. The PE memory is constructed with 8 × 8 register cells, where one latch in the slave stage is shared by eight latches in the master stage. The memory supports simultaneous read and write on the same address in one clock cycle. Its compact area of 14.33 μm 2 /bit promises a higher integration level of the processor. A prototype chip with a 64 × 64 PE array is fabricated in a UMC 0.18 μm CMOS technology. Five types of the PE memory cell structure are designed and compared. The testing results demonstrate that the proposed PE memory architecture well satisfies the requirement of the vision chip in high-speed real-time vision applications, such as 1000 fps edge extraction. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Embedded System Synthesis under Memory Constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Jan; Bjørn-Jørgensen, Peter

1999-01-01

This paper presents a genetic algorithm to solve the system synthesis problem of mapping a time constrained single-rate system specification onto a given heterogeneous architecture which may contain irregular interconnection structures. The synthesis is performed under memory constraints, that is......, the algorithm takes into account the memory size of processors and the size of interface buffers of communication links, and in particular the complicated interplay of these. The presented algorithm is implemented as part of the LY-COS cosynthesis system....

Multiprocessor shared-memory information exchange

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santoline, L.L.; Bowers, M.D.; Crew, A.W.; Roslund, C.J.; Ghrist, W.D. III

1989-01-01

In distributed microprocessor-based instrumentation and control systems, the inter-and intra-subsystem communication requirements ultimately form the basis for the overall system architecture. This paper describes a software protocol which addresses the intra-subsystem communications problem. Specifically the protocol allows for multiple processors to exchange information via a shared-memory interface. The authors primary goal is to provide a reliable means for information to be exchanged between central application processor boards (masters) and dedicated function processor boards (slaves) in a single computer chassis. The resultant Multiprocessor Shared-Memory Information Exchange (MSMIE) protocol, a standard master-slave shared-memory interface suitable for use in nuclear safety systems, is designed to pass unidirectional buffers of information between the processors while providing a minimum, deterministic cycle time for this data exchange

Relationship between single-event upset immunity and fabrication processes of recent memories; Relations entre l'immunite au SEU et les procedes de fabrication de memoires recentes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nemoto, N.; Shindou, H.; Kuboyama, S.; Matsuda, S. [National Space Development Agency of Japan, Ibaraki-ken (Japan); Itoh, H.; Okada, S.; Nashiyama, I. [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan)

1999-07-01

Single-Event upset (SEU) immunity for commercial devices were evaluated by irradiation tests using high-energy heavy ions. We show test results and describe the relationship between observed SEU and structures/fabrication processes. We have evaluated single-even upset (SEU) tolerance of recent commercial memory devices using high energy heavy ions in order to find relationship between SEU rate and their fabrication process. It was revealed that the change of the process parameter gives much effect for the SEU rate of the devices. (authors)

The control of single-colour and multiple-colour visual search by attentional templates in working memory and in long-term memory

OpenAIRE

Grubert, Anna; Carlisle, N.; Eimer, Martin

2016-01-01

The question whether target selection in visual search can be effectively controlled by simultaneous attentional templates for multiple features is still under dispute. We investigated whether multiple-colour attentional guidance is possible when target colours remain constant and can thus be represented in long-term memory but not when they change frequently and have to be held in working memory. Participants searched for one, two, or three possible target colours that were specified by cue ...

Resonator memories and optical novelty filters

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Dana Z.; Erle, Marie C.

Optical resonators having holographic elements are potential candidates for storing information that can be accessed through content addressable or associative recall. Closely related to the resonator memory is the optical novelty filter, which can detect the differences between a test object and a set of reference objects. We discuss implementations of these devices using continuous optical media such as photorefractive materials. The discussion is framed in the context of neural network models. There are both formal and qualitative similarities between the resonator memory and optical novelty filter and network models. Mode competition arises in the theory of the resonator memory, much as it does in some network models. We show that the role of the phenomena of "daydreaming" in the real-time programmable optical resonator is very much akin to the role of "unlearning" in neural network memories. The theory of programming the real-time memory for a single mode is given in detail. This leads to a discussion of the optical novelty filter. Experimental results for the resonator memory, the real-time programmable memory, and the optical tracking novelty filter are reviewed. We also point to several issues that need to be addressed in order to implement more formal models of neural networks.

Specificity in autobiographical memory narratives correlates with performance on the Autobiographical Memory Test and prospectively predicts depressive symptoms

Science.gov (United States)

Sumner, Jennifer A.; Mineka, Susan; McAdams, Dan P.

2012-01-01

Reduced autobiographical memory specificity (AMS) is an important cognitive marker in depression that is typically measured with the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT; Williams & Broadbent, 1986). The AMT is widely used, but the overreliance on a single methodology for assessing AMS is a limitation in the field. The current study investigated memory narratives as an alternative measure of AMS in an undergraduate student sample selected for being high or low on a measure of depressive symptoms (N = 55). We employed a multi-method design to compare narrative- and AMT-based measures of AMS. Participants generated personally significant self-defining memory narratives, and also completed two versions of the AMT (with and without instructions to retrieve specific memories). Greater AMS in self-defining memory narratives correlated with greater AMS in performance on both versions of the AMT in the full sample, and the patterns of relationships between the different AMS measures were generally similar in low and high dysphoric participants. Furthermore, AMS in self-defining memory narratives was prospectively associated with depressive symptom levels. Specifically, greater AMS in self-defining memory narratives predicted fewer depressive symptoms at a 10-week follow-up over and above baseline symptom levels. Implications for future research and clinical applications are discussed. PMID:23240988

Shape memory characteristics of sputter-deposited Ti-Ni thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyazaki, Shuichi; Ishida, Akira.

1994-01-01

Ti-Ni shape memory alloy thin films were deposited using an RF magnetron sputtering apparatus. The as-sputtered films were heat-treated in order to crystallize and memorize. After the heat treatment, the shape memory characteristics have been investigated using DSC and thermomechanical tests. Upon cooling the thin films, the solution-treated films showed a single peak in the DSC curve indicating a single stage transformation occurring from B2 to the martensitic phase, while the age-treated films showed double peaks indicating a two-stage transformation, i.e., from B2 to the R-phase, then to the martensitic phase. A perfect shape memory effect was achieved in these sputter-deposited Ti-Ni thin films in association both with the R-phase and martensitic transformations. Transformation temperatures increased linearly with increasing applied stress. The transformation strain also increased with increasing stress. The shape memory characteristics were strongly affected by heat-treatment conditions. (author)

Heavy ion and proton-induced single event multiple upset

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reed, R.A.; Carts, M.A.; Marshall, P.W.

1997-01-01

Individual ionizing heavy ion events are shown to cause two or more adjacent memory cells to change logic states in a high density CMOS SRAM. A majority of the upsets produced by normally incident heavy ions are due to single-particle events that causes a single cell to upset. However, for grazing angles a majority of the upsets produced by heavy-ion irradiation are due to single-particle events that cause two or more cells to change logic states. Experimental evidence of a single proton-induced spallation reaction that causes two adjacent memory cells to change logic states is presented. Results from a dual volume Monte-Carlo simulation code for proton-induced single-event multiple upsets are within a factor of three of experimental data for protons at normal incidence and 70 degrees

Hippocampal Administration of Levothyroxine Impairs Contextual Fear Memory Consolidation in Rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Dafu; Zhou, Heng; Zou, Lin; Jiang, Yong; Wu, Xiaoqun; Jiang, Lizhu; Zhou, Qixin; Yang, Yuexiong; Xu, Lin; Mao, Rongrong

2017-01-01

Thyroid hormone (TH) receptors are highly distributed in the hippocampus, which plays a vital role in memory processes. However, how THs are involved in the different stages of memory process is little known. Herein, we used hippocampus dependent contextual fear conditioning to address the effects of hippocampal THs on the different stages of fear memory. First, we found that a single systemic levothyroxine (LT 4 ) administration increased the level of free triiodothyronine (FT 3 ) and free tetraiodothyroxine (FT 4 ) not only in serum but also in hippocampus. In addition, a single systemic LT 4 administration immediately after fear conditioning significantly impaired fear memory. These results indicated the important role of hippocampal THs in fear memory process. To further confirm the effects of hippocampal THs on the different stages of fear memory, LT 4 (0.4 μg/μl, 1 μl/side) was injected bilaterally into hippocampus. Rats given LT 4 into hippocampus before training or tests had no effect on the acquisition or retrieval of fear memory, however rats given LT 4 into hippocampus either immediately or 2 h after training showed being significantly impaired fear memory, which demonstrated LT 4 administration into hippocampus impairs the consolidation but has no effect on the acquisition and retrieval of fear memory. Furthermore, hippocampal injection of LT 4 did not affect rats' locomotor activity, thigmotaxis and THs level in prefrontal cortex (PFC) and serum. These findings may have important implications for understanding mechanisms underlying contribution of THs to memory disorders.

Task set induces dynamic reallocation of resources in visual short-term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheremata, Summer L; Shomstein, Sarah

2017-08-01

Successful interaction with the environment requires the ability to flexibly allocate resources to different locations in the visual field. Recent evidence suggests that visual short-term memory (VSTM) resources are distributed asymmetrically across the visual field based upon task demands. Here, we propose that context, rather than the stimulus itself, determines asymmetrical distribution of VSTM resources. To test whether context modulates the reallocation of resources to the right visual field, task set, defined by memory-load, was manipulated to influence visual short-term memory performance. Performance was measured for single-feature objects embedded within predominantly single- or two-feature memory blocks. Therefore, context was varied to determine whether task set directly predicts changes in visual field biases. In accord with the dynamic reallocation of resources hypothesis, task set, rather than aspects of the physical stimulus, drove improvements in performance in the right- visual field. Our results show, for the first time, that preparation for upcoming memory demands directly determines how resources are allocated across the visual field.

Dedup Est Machina : Memory Deduplication as an Advanced Exploitation Vector

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosman, Erik; Razavi, Kaveh; Bos, Herbert; Giuffrida, Cristiano

2016-01-01

Memory deduplication, a well-known technique to reduce the memory footprint across virtual machines, is now also a default-on feature inside the Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 operating systems. Deduplication maps multiple identical copies of a physical page onto a single shared copy with copy-on-write

Nanometre-scale 3D defects in Cr2AlC thin films.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Y T; Music, D; Shang, L; Mayer, J; Schneider, J M

2017-04-20

MAX-phase Cr 2 AlC containing thin films were synthesized by magnetron sputtering in an industrial system. Nanometre-scale 3D defects are observed near the boundary between regions of Cr 2 AlC and of the disordered solid solution (CrAl) x C y . Shrinkage of the Cr-Cr interplanar distance and elongation of the Cr-Al distance in the vicinity of the defects are detected using transmission electron microscopy. The here observed deformation surrounding the defects was described using density functional theory by comparing the DOS of bulk Cr 2 AlC with the DOS of a strained and unstrained Cr 2 AlC(0001) surface. From the partial density of states analysis, it can be learned that Cr-C bonds are stronger than Cr-Al bonds in bulk Cr 2 AlC. Upon Cr 2 AlC(0001) surface formation, both bonds are weakened. While the Cr-C bonds recover their bulk strength as Cr 2 AlC(0001) is strained, the Cr-Al bonds experience only a partial recovery, still being weaker than their bulk counterparts. Hence, the strain induced bond strengthening in Cr 2 AlC(0001) is larger for Cr d - C p bonds than for Cr d - Al p bonds. The here observed changes in bonding due to the formation of a strained surface are consistent with the experimentally observed elongation of the Cr-Al distance in the vicinity of nm-scale 3D defects in Cr 2 AlC thin films.

REGULAR REHEARSAL HELPS IN CONSOLIDATION OF LONG TERM MEMORY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milind Parle

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Memory, one of the most complex functions of the brain comprises of multiple components such as perception, registration, consolidation, storage, retrieval and decay. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of different training sessions on the retention capacity of rats. The capacity of retention of learnt task was measured using exteroceptive behavioral models such as Hexagonal swimming pool apparatus, Hebb-Williams maze and Elevated plus-maze. A total of 150 rats divided into fifteen groups were employed in the present study. The animals were subjected to different training sessions during first three days. The ability to retain the learned task was tested after single, sub-acute, acute, sub-chronic and chronic exposure to above exteroceptive memory models in separate groups of animals. The memory score of all animals was recorded after 72 h, 192 h and 432 h of their last training trial. Rats of single exposure group did not show any effect on memory. Sub-acute training group animals showed improved memory up to 72 h only, where as in acute and sub-chronic training groups this memory improvement was extended up to 192 h. The rats, which were subjected to chronic exposures showed a significant improvement in retention capacity that lasted up to a period of eighteen days. These observations suggest that repeated rehearsals at regular intervals are probably necessary for consolidation of long-term memory. It was observed that sub-acute, acute and sub-chronic exposures, improved the retrieval ability of rats but this memory improving effect was short lived. Thus, rehearsal or training plays a crucial role in enhancing one's capacity of retaining the learnt information

SHORT-TERM MEMORY IS INDEPENDENT OF BRAIN PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, Hasker P.; Rosenzweig, Mark R.; Jones, Oliver W.

1980-09-01

Male Swiss albino CD-1 mice given a single injection of a cerebral protein synthesis inhibitor, anisomycin (ANI) (1 mg/animal), 20 min prior to single trial passive avoidance training demonstrated impaired retention at tests given 3 hr, 6 hr, 1 day, and 7 days after training. Retention was not significantly different from saline controls when tests were given 0.5 or 1.5 hr after training. Prolonging inhibition of brain protein synthesis by giving either 1 or 2 additional injections of ANI 2 or 2 and 4 hr after training did not prolong short-term retention performance. The temporal development of impaired retention in ANI treated mice could not be accounted for by drug dosage, duration of protein synthesis inhibition, or nonspecific sickness at test. In contrast to the suggestion that protein synthesis inhibition prolongs short-term memory (Quinton, 1978), the results of this experiment indicate that short-term memory is not prolonged by antibiotic drugs that inhibit cerebral protein synthesis. All evidence seems consistent with the hypothesis that short-term memory is protein synthesis independent and that the establishment of long-term memory depends upon protein synthesis during or shortly after training. Evidence for a role of protein synthesis in memory maintenance is discussed.

Multiple memory systems, multiple time points: how science can inform treatment to control the expression of unwanted emotional memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Visser, Renée M; Lau-Zhu, Alex; Henson, Richard N; Holmes, Emily A

2018-03-19

Memories that have strong emotions associated with them are particularly resilient to forgetting. This is not necessarily problematic, however some aspects of memory can be. In particular, the involuntary expression of those memories, e.g. intrusive memories after trauma, are core to certain psychological disorders. Since the beginning of this century, research using animal models shows that it is possible to change the underlying memory, for example by interfering with its consolidation or reconsolidation. While the idea of targeting maladaptive memories is promising for the treatment of stress and anxiety disorders, a direct application of the procedures used in non-human animals to humans in clinical settings is not straightforward. In translational research, more attention needs to be paid to specifying what aspect of memory (i) can be modified and (ii) should be modified. This requires a clear conceptualization of what aspect of memory is being targeted, and how different memory expressions may map onto clinical symptoms. Furthermore, memory processes are dynamic, so procedural details concerning timing are crucial when implementing a treatment and when assessing its effectiveness. To target emotional memory in its full complexity, including its malleability, science cannot rely on a single method, species or paradigm. Rather, a constructive dialogue is needed between multiple levels of research, all the way 'from mice to mental health'.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Of mice and mental health: facilitating dialogue between basic and clinical neuroscientists'. © 2018 The Authors.

Components of working memory and visual selective attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Burnham, Bryan R; Sabia, Matthew; Langan, Catherine

2014-02-01

Load theory (Lavie, N., Hirst, A., De Fockert, J. W., & Viding, E. [2004]. Load theory of selective attention and cognitive control. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133, 339-354.) proposes that control of attention depends on the amount and type of load that is imposed by current processing. Specifically, perceptual load should lead to efficient distractor rejection, whereas working memory load (dual-task coordination) should hinder distractor rejection. Studies support load theory's prediction that working memory load will lead to larger distractor effects; however, these studies used secondary tasks that required only verbal working memory and the central executive. The present study examined which other working memory components (visual, spatial, and phonological) influence visual selective attention. Subjects completed an attentional capture task alone (single-task) or while engaged in a working memory task (dual-task). Results showed that along with the central executive, visual and spatial working memory influenced selective attention, but phonological working memory did not. Specifically, attentional capture was larger when visual or spatial working memory was loaded, but phonological working memory load did not affect attentional capture. The results are consistent with load theory and suggest specific components of working memory influence visual selective attention. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

A Memristor as Multi-Bit Memory: Feasibility Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Bass

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The use of emerging memristor materials for advanced electrical devices such as multi-valued logic is expected to outperform today's binary logic digital technologies. We show here an example for such non-binary device with the design of a multi-bit memory. While conventional memory cells can store only 1 bit, memristors-based multi-bit cells can store more information within single device thus increasing the information storage density. Such devices can potentially utilize the non-linear resistance of memristor materials for efficient information storage. We analyze the performance of such memory devices based on their expected variations in order to determine the viability of memristor-based multi-bit memory. A design of read/write scheme and a simple model for this cell, lay grounds for full integration of memristor multi-bit memory cell.

Focused ion beam milling of nanocavities in single colloidal particles and self-assembled opals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woldering, Leon A; Otter, A M; Husken, Bart H; Vos, Willem L

2006-01-01

We present a new method of realizing single nanocavities in individual colloidal particles on the surface of silicon dioxide artificial opals using a focused ion beam milling technique. We show that both the radius and the position of the nanocavity can be controlled with nanometre precision, to radii as small as 40 nm. The relation between the defect size and the milling time has been established. We confirmed that milling not only occurs on the surface of the spheres, but into and through them as well. We also show that an array of nanocavities can be fashioned. Structurally modified colloids have interesting potential applications in nanolithography, as well as in chemical sensing and solar cells, and as photonic crystal cavities

Long-term consolidation of declarative memory: insight from temporal lobe epilepsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tramoni, Eve; Felician, Olivier; Barbeau, Emmanuel J; Guedj, Eric; Guye, Maxime; Bartolomei, Fabrice; Ceccaldi, Mathieu

2011-03-01

Several experiments carried out with a subset of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy have demonstrated normal memory performance at standard delays of recall (i.e. minutes to hours) but impaired performance over longer delays (i.e. days or weeks), suggesting altered long-term consolidation mechanisms. These mechanisms were specifically investigated in a group of five adult-onset pharmaco-sensitive patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, exhibiting severe episodic memory complaints despite normal performance at standardized memory assessment. In a first experiment, the magnitude of autobiographical memory loss was evaluated using retrograde personal memory tasks based on verbal and visual cues. In both conditions, results showed an unusual U-shaped pattern of personal memory impairment, encompassing most of the patients' life, sparing however, periods of the childhood, early adulthood and past several weeks. This profile was suggestive of a long-term consolidation impairment of personal episodes, adequately consolidated over 'short-term' delays but gradually forgotten thereafter. Therefore, in a subsequent experiment, patients were submitted to a protocol specifically devised to investigate short and long-term consolidation of contextually-bound experiences (episodic memory) and context-free information (semantic knowledge and single-items). In the short term (1 h), performance at both contextually-free and contextually-bound memory tasks was intact. After a 6-week delay, however, contextually-bound memory performance was impaired while contextually-free memory performance remained preserved. This effect was independent of task difficulty and the modality of retrieval (recall and recognition). Neuroimaging studies revealed the presence of mild metabolic changes within medial temporal lobe structures. Taken together, these results show the existence of different consolidation systems within declarative memory. They suggest that mild medial temporal lobe dysfunction

Acute exercise and motor memory consolidation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomas, Richard; Korsgaard Johnsen, Line; Geertsen, Svend Sparre

2016-01-01

where low to moderate intensities may be more suitable. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of intensity in mediating the effects of acute cardiovascular exercise on motor skill learning. We investigated the effects of different exercise intensities on the retention (performance score...... an important role in modulating the effects that a single bout of cardiovascular exercise has on the consolidation phase following motor skill learning. There appears to be a dose-response relationship in favour of higher intensity exercise in order to augment off-line effects and strengthen procedural memory.......A single bout of high intensity aerobic exercise (~90% VO2peak) was previously demonstrated to amplify off-line gains in skill level during the consolidation phase of procedural memory. High intensity exercise is not always a viable option for many patient groups or in a rehabilitation setting...

Working memory retrieval differences between medial temporal lobe epilepsy patients and controls: a three memory layer approach.

Science.gov (United States)

López-Frutos, José María; Poch, Claudia; García-Morales, Irene; Ruiz-Vargas, José María; Campo, Pablo

2014-02-01

Multi-store models of working memory (WM) have given way to more dynamic approaches that conceive WM as an activated subset of long-term memory (LTM). The resulting framework considers that memory representations are governed by a hierarchy of accessibility. The activated part of LTM holds representations in a heightened state of activation, some of which can reach a state of immediate accessibility according to task demands. Recent neuroimaging studies have studied the neural basis of retrieval information with different states of accessibility. It was found that the medial temporal lobe (MTL) was involved in retrieving information within immediate access store and outside this privileged zone. In the current study we further explored the contribution of MTL to WM retrieval by analyzing the consequences of MTL damage to this process considering the state of accessibility of memory representations. The performance of a group of epilepsy patients with left hippocampal sclerosis in a 12-item recognition task was compared with that of a healthy control group. We adopted an embedded model of WM that distinguishes three components: the activated LTM, the region of direct access, and a single-item focus of attention. Groups did not differ when retrieving information from single-item focus, but patients were less accurate retrieving information outside focal attention, either items from LTM or items expected to be in the WM range. Analyses focused on items held in the direct access buffer showed that consequences of MTL damage were modulated by the level of accessibility of memory representations, producing a reduced capacity. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Shape recovery mechanism observed in single crystals of shape memory alloys

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Seiner, Hanuš; Sedlák, Petr; Landa, Michal

2008-01-01

Roč. 81, č. 6 (2008), s. 537-551 ISSN 0141-1594 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20760514 Keywords : shape memory alloys * shape recovery process * martensitic microstructure * non-classical boundaries Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.201, year: 2008

Slow oscillations orchestrating fast oscillations and memory consolidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mölle, Matthias; Born, Jan

2011-01-01

Slow-wave sleep (SWS) facilitates the consolidation of hippocampus-dependent declarative memory. Based on the standard two-stage memory model, we propose that memory consolidation during SWS represents a process of system consolidation which is orchestrated by the neocortical memory. The slow oscillations temporally group neuronal activity into up-states of strongly enhanced neuronal activity and down-states of neuronal silence. In a feed-forward efferent action, this grouping is induced not only in the neocortex but also in other structures relevant to consolidation, namely the thalamus generating 10-15Hz spindles, and the hippocampus generating sharp wave-ripples, with the latter well known to accompany a replay of newly encoded memories taking place in hippocampal circuitries. The feed-forward synchronizing effect of the slow oscillation enables the formation of spindle-ripple events where ripples and accompanying reactivated hippocampal memory information become nested into the single troughs of spindles. Spindle-ripple events thus enable reactivated memory-related hippocampal information to be fed back to neocortical networks in the excitable slow oscillation up-state where they can induce enduring plastic synaptic changes underlying the effective formation of long-term memories. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prospective memory, working memory, retrospective memory and self-rated memory performance in persons with intellectual disability

OpenAIRE

Levén, Anna; Lyxell, Björn; Andersson, Jan; Danielsson, Henrik; Rönnberg, Jerker

2008-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between prospective memory, working memory, retrospective memory and self-rated memory capacity in adults with and without intellectual disability. Prospective memory was investigated by means of a picture-based task. Working memory was measured as performance on span tasks. Retrospective memory was scored as recall of subject performed tasks. Self-ratings of memory performance were based on the prospective and retrospective mem...

Hearing aid noise suppression and working memory function

OpenAIRE

Fischer, Rosa-Linde; Neher, Tobias; Wagener, Kirsten C.

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Research findings concerning the relation between benefit from hearing aid (HA) noise suppression and working memory function are inconsistent. The current study thus investigated the effects of three noise suppression algorithms on auditory working memory and the relation with reading span.DESIGN: Using a computer simulation of bilaterally fitted HAs, four settings were tested: (1) unprocessed, (2) directional microphones, (3) single-channel noise reduction and (4) binaural cohere...

What You See Is What You Remember: Visual Chunking by Temporal Integration Enhances Working Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Akyürek, Elkan G; Kappelmann, Nils; Volkert, Marc; van Rijn, Hedderik

2017-12-01

Human memory benefits from information clustering, which can be accomplished by chunking. Chunking typically relies on expertise and strategy, and it is unknown whether perceptual clustering over time, through temporal integration, can also enhance working memory. The current study examined the attentional and working memory costs of temporal integration of successive target stimulus pairs embedded in rapid serial visual presentation. ERPs were measured as a function of behavioral reports: One target, two separate targets, or two targets reported as a single integrated target. N2pc amplitude, reflecting attentional processing, depended on the actual number of successive targets. The memory-related CDA and P3 components instead depended on the perceived number of targets irrespective of their actual succession. The report of two separate targets was associated with elevated amplitude, whereas integrated as well as actual single targets exhibited lower amplitude. Temporal integration thus provided an efficient means of processing sensory input, offloading working memory so that the features of two targets were consolidated and maintained at a cost similar to that of a single target.

Magnetic memory of a single-molecule quantum magnet wired to a gold surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Mannini, Matteo; Pineider, Francesco; Sainctavit, Philippe; Danieli, Chiara; Otero, Edwige; Sciancalepore, Corrado; Talarico, Anna Maria; Arrio, Marie-Anne; Cornia, Andrea; Gatteschi, Dante; Sessoli, Roberta

2009-03-01

In the field of molecular spintronics, the use of magnetic molecules for information technology is a main target and the observation of magnetic hysteresis on individual molecules organized on surfaces is a necessary step to develop molecular memory arrays. Although simple paramagnetic molecules can show surface-induced magnetic ordering and hysteresis when deposited on ferromagnetic surfaces, information storage at the molecular level requires molecules exhibiting an intrinsic remnant magnetization, like the so-called single-molecule magnets (SMMs). These have been intensively investigated for their rich quantum behaviour but no magnetic hysteresis has been so far reported for monolayers of SMMs on various non-magnetic substrates, most probably owing to the chemical instability of clusters on surfaces. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism synchrotron-based techniques, pushed to the limits in sensitivity and operated at sub-kelvin temperatures, we have now found that robust, tailor-made Fe(4) complexes retain magnetic hysteresis at gold surfaces. Our results demonstrate that isolated SMMs can be used for storing information. The road is now open to address individual molecules wired to a conducting surface in their blocked magnetization state, thereby enabling investigation of the elementary interactions between electron transport and magnetism degrees of freedom at the molecular scale.

Genetic Dissection of Aversive Associative Olfactory Learning and Memory in Drosophila Larvae

Science.gov (United States)

Widmann, Annekathrin; Artinger, Marc; Biesinger, Lukas; Boepple, Kathrin; Schlechter, Jana; Selcho, Mareike; Thum, Andreas S.

2016-01-01

Memory formation is a highly complex and dynamic process. It consists of different phases, which depend on various neuronal and molecular mechanisms. In adult Drosophila it was shown that memory formation after aversive Pavlovian conditioning includes—besides other forms—a labile short-term component that consolidates within hours to a longer-lasting memory. Accordingly, memory formation requires the timely controlled action of different neuronal circuits, neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and molecules that were initially identified by classical forward genetic approaches. Compared to adult Drosophila, memory formation was only sporadically analyzed at its larval stage. Here we deconstruct the larval mnemonic organization after aversive olfactory conditioning. We show that after odor-high salt conditioning larvae form two parallel memory phases; a short lasting component that depends on cyclic adenosine 3’5’-monophosphate (cAMP) signaling and synapsin gene function. In addition, we show for the first time for Drosophila larvae an anesthesia resistant component, which relies on radish and bruchpilot gene function, protein kinase C activity, requires presynaptic output of mushroom body Kenyon cells and dopamine function. Given the numerical simplicity of the larval nervous system this work offers a unique prospect for studying memory formation of defined specifications, at full-brain scope with single-cell, and single-synapse resolution. PMID:27768692

Genetic Dissection of Aversive Associative Olfactory Learning and Memory in Drosophila Larvae.

Science.gov (United States)

Widmann, Annekathrin; Artinger, Marc; Biesinger, Lukas; Boepple, Kathrin; Peters, Christina; Schlechter, Jana; Selcho, Mareike; Thum, Andreas S

2016-10-01

Memory formation is a highly complex and dynamic process. It consists of different phases, which depend on various neuronal and molecular mechanisms. In adult Drosophila it was shown that memory formation after aversive Pavlovian conditioning includes-besides other forms-a labile short-term component that consolidates within hours to a longer-lasting memory. Accordingly, memory formation requires the timely controlled action of different neuronal circuits, neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and molecules that were initially identified by classical forward genetic approaches. Compared to adult Drosophila, memory formation was only sporadically analyzed at its larval stage. Here we deconstruct the larval mnemonic organization after aversive olfactory conditioning. We show that after odor-high salt conditioning larvae form two parallel memory phases; a short lasting component that depends on cyclic adenosine 3'5'-monophosphate (cAMP) signaling and synapsin gene function. In addition, we show for the first time for Drosophila larvae an anesthesia resistant component, which relies on radish and bruchpilot gene function, protein kinase C activity, requires presynaptic output of mushroom body Kenyon cells and dopamine function. Given the numerical simplicity of the larval nervous system this work offers a unique prospect for studying memory formation of defined specifications, at full-brain scope with single-cell, and single-synapse resolution.

Genetic Dissection of Aversive Associative Olfactory Learning and Memory in Drosophila Larvae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annekathrin Widmann

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Memory formation is a highly complex and dynamic process. It consists of different phases, which depend on various neuronal and molecular mechanisms. In adult Drosophila it was shown that memory formation after aversive Pavlovian conditioning includes-besides other forms-a labile short-term component that consolidates within hours to a longer-lasting memory. Accordingly, memory formation requires the timely controlled action of different neuronal circuits, neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and molecules that were initially identified by classical forward genetic approaches. Compared to adult Drosophila, memory formation was only sporadically analyzed at its larval stage. Here we deconstruct the larval mnemonic organization after aversive olfactory conditioning. We show that after odor-high salt conditioning larvae form two parallel memory phases; a short lasting component that depends on cyclic adenosine 3'5'-monophosphate (cAMP signaling and synapsin gene function. In addition, we show for the first time for Drosophila larvae an anesthesia resistant component, which relies on radish and bruchpilot gene function, protein kinase C activity, requires presynaptic output of mushroom body Kenyon cells and dopamine function. Given the numerical simplicity of the larval nervous system this work offers a unique prospect for studying memory formation of defined specifications, at full-brain scope with single-cell, and single-synapse resolution.

Peak performance: remote memory revisited

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mühleisen, H.; Gonçalves, R.; Kersten, M.; Johnson, R.; Kemper, A.

2013-01-01

Many database systems share a need for large amounts of fast storage. However, economies of scale limit the utility of extending a single machine with an arbitrary amount of memory. The recent broad availability of the zero-copy data transfer protocol RDMA over low-latency and high-throughput

Visual memory performance for color depends on spatiotemporal context.

Science.gov (United States)

Olivers, Christian N L; Schreij, Daniel

2014-10-01

Performance on visual short-term memory for features has been known to depend on stimulus complexity, spatial layout, and feature context. However, with few exceptions, memory capacity has been measured for abruptly appearing, single-instance displays. In everyday life, objects often have a spatiotemporal history as they or the observer move around. In three experiments, we investigated the effect of spatiotemporal history on explicit memory for color. Observers saw a memory display emerge from behind a wall, after which it disappeared again. The test display then emerged from either the same side as the memory display or the opposite side. In the first two experiments, memory improved for intermediate set sizes when the test display emerged in the same way as the memory display. A third experiment then showed that the benefit was tied to the original motion trajectory and not to the display object per se. The results indicate that memory for color is embedded in a richer episodic context that includes the spatiotemporal history of the display.

Specificity and detail in autobiographical memory: Same or different constructs?

Science.gov (United States)

Kyung, Yoonhee; Yanes-Lukin, Paula; Roberts, John E

2016-01-01

Research on autobiographical memory has focused on whether memories are coded as specific (i.e., describe a single event that happened at a particular time and place). Although some theory and research suggests that the amount of detail in autobiographical memories reflects a similar underlying construct as memory specificity, past research has not investigated whether these variables converge. Therefore, the present study compared the proportion of specific memories and the amount of detail embedded in memory responses to cue words. Results demonstrated that memory detail and proportion of specific memories were not correlated with each other and showed different patterns of association with other conceptually relevant variables. When responses to neutral cue words were examined in multiple linear and logistic regression analyses, the proportion of specific memories uniquely predicted less depressive symptoms, low emotional avoidance, lower emotion reactivity, better executive control and lower rumination, whereas the amount of memory detail uniquely predicted the presence of depression diagnosis, as well as greater depressive symptoms, subjective stress, emotion reactivity and rumination. Findings suggest that the ability to retrieve specific memories and the tendency to retrieve detailed personal memories reflect different constructs that have different implications in the development of emotional distress.

Uranium(III)-carbon multiple bonding supported by arene δ-bonding in mixed-valence hexauranium nanometre-scale rings.

Science.gov (United States)

Wooles, Ashley J; Mills, David P; Tuna, Floriana; McInnes, Eric J L; Law, Gareth T W; Fuller, Adam J; Kremer, Felipe; Ridgway, Mark; Lewis, William; Gagliardi, Laura; Vlaisavljevich, Bess; Liddle, Stephen T

2018-05-29

Despite the fact that non-aqueous uranium chemistry is over 60 years old, most polarised-covalent uranium-element multiple bonds involve formal uranium oxidation states IV, V, and VI. The paucity of uranium(III) congeners is because, in common with metal-ligand multiple bonding generally, such linkages involve strongly donating, charge-loaded ligands that bind best to electron-poor metals and inherently promote disproportionation of uranium(III). Here, we report the synthesis of hexauranium-methanediide nanometre-scale rings. Combined experimental and computational studies suggest overall the presence of formal uranium(III) and (IV) ions, though electron delocalisation in this Kramers system cannot be definitively ruled out, and the resulting polarised-covalent U = C bonds are supported by iodide and δ-bonded arene bridges. The arenes provide reservoirs that accommodate charge, thus avoiding inter-electronic repulsion that would destabilise these low oxidation state metal-ligand multiple bonds. Using arenes as electronic buffers could constitute a general synthetic strategy by which to stabilise otherwise inherently unstable metal-ligand linkages.

Are There Multiple Kinds of Episodic Memory? An fMRI Investigation Comparing Autobiographical and Recognition Memory Tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hung-Yu; Gilmore, Adrian W; Nelson, Steven M; McDermott, Kathleen B

2017-03-08

and at times contradicted each other. The present experiment was designed to match the two primary approaches to studying episodic memory in an unparalleled manner. Results suggest a clear separation of systems supporting memory as it is typically tested in the laboratory and memory as assessed under autobiographical retrieval conditions. These data provide neurobiological evidence that episodic memory is not a single construct, challenging the degree to which different experimental traditions are studying the same construct. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/372764-12$15.00/0.

Reward associations magnify memory-based biases on perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Doallo, Sonia; Patai, Eva Zita; Nobre, Anna Christina

2013-02-01

Long-term spatial contextual memories are a rich source of predictions about the likely locations of relevant objects in the environment and should enable tuning of neural processing of unfolding events to optimize perception and action. Of particular importance is whether and how the reward outcome of past events can impact perception. We combined behavioral measures with recordings of brain activity with high temporal resolution to test whether the previous reward outcome associated with a memory could modulate the impact of memory-based biases on perception, and if so, the level(s) at which visual neural processing is biased by reward-associated memory-guided attention. Data showed that past rewards potentiate the effects of spatial memories upon the discrimination of target objects embedded within complex scenes starting from early perceptual stages. We show that a single reward outcome of learning impacts on how we perceive events in our complex environments.

Elements of episodic-like memory in animals.

OpenAIRE

Clayton, N S; Griffiths, D P; Emery, N J; Dickinson, A

2001-01-01

A number of psychologists have suggested that episodic memory is a uniquely human phenomenon and, until recently, there was little evidence that animals could recall a unique past experience and respond appropriately. Experiments on food-caching memory in scrub jays question this assumption. On the basis of a single caching episode, scrub jays can remember when and where they cached a variety of foods that differ in the rate at which they degrade, in a way that is inexplicable by relative fam...

How should we measure nutrition-induced improvements in memory?

Science.gov (United States)

Benton, David; Kallus, K Wolfgang; Schmitt, Jeroen A J

2005-12-01

There is a basic distinction between declarative memories, which can be stated verbally, and non-declarative memory, such as how to ride a bicycle, which cannot be expressed in words. With age it is the performance of declarative memory, particularly episodic memory that requires recall of events placed in time, that declines. As memory is not a unitary phenomenon, it should be ideally monitored using a range of tests that reflect theoretical conceptions of the topic. If circumstances demand the use of a single test then a measure of episodic memory is suggested. When it proves only possible to use a rating scale it should be ensured that memory is distinguished from other aspects of cognition and that different types of memory are not confused. The tests used, and the form in which they are used, need to be chosen to be of appropriate difficulty for the sample studied. A major conclusion is that the selection of the measure of memory used in the study of a dietary intervention should never be routine. It is inevitable that the form of the test used will need to be chosen carefully for the population being studied.

Elements of episodic-like memory in animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Clayton, N S; Griffiths, D P; Emery, N J; Dickinson, A

2001-09-29

A number of psychologists have suggested that episodic memory is a uniquely human phenomenon and, until recently, there was little evidence that animals could recall a unique past experience and respond appropriately. Experiments on food-caching memory in scrub jays question this assumption. On the basis of a single caching episode, scrub jays can remember when and where they cached a variety of foods that differ in the rate at which they degrade, in a way that is inexplicable by relative familiarity. They can update their memory of the contents of a cache depending on whether or not they have emptied the cache site, and can also remember where another bird has hidden caches, suggesting that they encode rich representations of the caching event. They make temporal generalizations about when perishable items should degrade and also remember the relative time since caching when the same food is cached in distinct sites at different times. These results show that jays form integrated memories for the location, content and time of caching. This memory capability fulfils Tulving's behavioural criteria for episodic memory and is thus termed 'episodic-like'. We suggest that several features of episodic memory may not be unique to humans.

Auditory memory for temporal characteristics of sound.

Science.gov (United States)

Zokoll, Melanie A; Klump, Georg M; Langemann, Ulrike

2008-05-01

This study evaluates auditory memory for variations in the rate of sinusoidal amplitude modulation (SAM) of noise bursts in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). To estimate the extent of the starling's auditory short-term memory store, a delayed non-matching-to-sample paradigm was applied. The birds were trained to discriminate between a series of identical "sample stimuli" and a single "test stimulus". The birds classified SAM rates of sample and test stimuli as being either the same or different. Memory performance of the birds was measured as the percentage of correct classifications. Auditory memory persistence time was estimated as a function of the delay between sample and test stimuli. Memory performance was significantly affected by the delay between sample and test and by the number of sample stimuli presented before the test stimulus, but was not affected by the difference in SAM rate between sample and test stimuli. The individuals' auditory memory persistence times varied between 2 and 13 s. The starlings' auditory memory persistence in the present study for signals varying in the temporal domain was significantly shorter compared to that of a previous study (Zokoll et al. in J Acoust Soc Am 121:2842, 2007) applying tonal stimuli varying in the spectral domain.

Short-term memory across eye blinks.

Science.gov (United States)

Irwin, David E

2014-01-01

The effect of eye blinks on short-term memory was examined in two experiments. On each trial, participants viewed an initial display of coloured, oriented lines, then after a retention interval they viewed a test display that was either identical or different by one feature. Participants kept their eyes open throughout the retention interval on some blocks of trials, whereas on others they made a single eye blink. Accuracy was measured as a function of the number of items in the display to determine the capacity of short-term memory on blink and no-blink trials. In separate blocks of trials participants were instructed to remember colour only, orientation only, or both colour and orientation. Eye blinks reduced short-term memory capacity by approximately 0.6-0.8 items for both feature and conjunction stimuli. A third, control, experiment showed that a button press during the retention interval had no effect on short-term memory capacity, indicating that the effect of an eye blink was not due to general motoric dual-task interference. Eye blinks might instead reduce short-term memory capacity by interfering with attention-based rehearsal processes.

A developmental study of latent absolute pitch memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Jakubowski, Kelly; Müllensiefen, Daniel; Stewart, Lauren

2017-03-01

The ability to recall the absolute pitch level of familiar music (latent absolute pitch memory) is widespread in adults, in contrast to the rare ability to label single pitches without a reference tone (overt absolute pitch memory). The present research investigated the developmental profile of latent absolute pitch (AP) memory and explored individual differences related to this ability. In two experiments, 288 children from 4 to12 years of age performed significantly above chance at recognizing the absolute pitch level of familiar melodies. No age-related improvement or decline, nor effects of musical training, gender, or familiarity with the stimuli were found in regard to latent AP task performance. These findings suggest that latent AP memory is a stable ability that is developed from as early as age 4 and persists into adulthood.

A Brain System for Auditory Working Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Sukhbinder; Joseph, Sabine; Gander, Phillip E; Barascud, Nicolas; Halpern, Andrea R; Griffiths, Timothy D

2016-04-20

The brain basis for auditory working memory, the process of actively maintaining sounds in memory over short periods of time, is controversial. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging in human participants, we demonstrate that the maintenance of single tones in memory is associated with activation in auditory cortex. In addition, sustained activation was observed in hippocampus and inferior frontal gyrus. Multivoxel pattern analysis showed that patterns of activity in auditory cortex and left inferior frontal gyrus distinguished the tone that was maintained in memory. Functional connectivity during maintenance was demonstrated between auditory cortex and both the hippocampus and inferior frontal cortex. The data support a system for auditory working memory based on the maintenance of sound-specific representations in auditory cortex by projections from higher-order areas, including the hippocampus and frontal cortex. In this work, we demonstrate a system for maintaining sound in working memory based on activity in auditory cortex, hippocampus, and frontal cortex, and functional connectivity among them. Specifically, our work makes three advances from the previous work. First, we robustly demonstrate hippocampal involvement in all phases of auditory working memory (encoding, maintenance, and retrieval): the role of hippocampus in working memory is controversial. Second, using a pattern classification technique, we show that activity in the auditory cortex and inferior frontal gyrus is specific to the maintained tones in working memory. Third, we show long-range connectivity of auditory cortex to hippocampus and frontal cortex, which may be responsible for keeping such representations active during working memory maintenance. Copyright © 2016 Kumar et al.

CPEB3 is associated with human episodic memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Vogler

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding (CPEB proteins are crucial for synaptic plasticity and memory in model organisms. A highly conserved, mammalian-specific short intronic sequence within CPEB3 has been identified as a ribozyme with self-cleavage properties. In humans the ribozyme sequence is polymorphic and harbors a single nucleotide polymorphism which influences cleavage activity of the ribozyme. Here we show that this variation is related to performance in an episodic memory task and that the effect of the variation depends on the emotional valence of the presented material. Our data support a role for human CPEB3 in human episodic memory.

Parallel effects of memory set activation and search on timing and working memory capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Schweickert, Richard; Fortin, Claudette; Xi, Zhuangzhuang; Viau-Quesnel, Charles

2014-01-01

Accurately estimating a time interval is required in everyday activities such as driving or cooking. Estimating time is relatively easy, provided a person attends to it. But a brief shift of attention to another task usually interferes with timing. Most processes carried out concurrently with timing interfere with it. Curiously, some do not. Literature on a few processes suggests a general proposition, the Timing and Complex-Span Hypothesis: A process interferes with concurrent timing if and only if process performance is related to complex span. Complex-span is the number of items correctly recalled in order, when each item presented for study is followed by a brief activity. Literature on task switching, visual search, memory search, word generation and mental time travel supports the hypothesis. Previous work found that another process, activation of a memory set in long term memory, is not related to complex-span. If the Timing and Complex-Span Hypothesis is true, activation should not interfere with concurrent timing in dual-task conditions. We tested such activation in single-task memory search task conditions and in dual-task conditions where memory search was executed with concurrent timing. In Experiment 1, activating a memory set increased reaction time, with no significant effect on time production. In Experiment 2, set size and memory set activation were manipulated. Activation and set size had a puzzling interaction for time productions, perhaps due to difficult conditions, leading us to use a related but easier task in Experiment 3. In Experiment 3 increasing set size lengthened time production, but memory activation had no significant effect. Results here and in previous literature on the whole support the Timing and Complex-Span Hypotheses. Results also support a sequential organization of activation and search of memory. This organization predicts activation and set size have additive effects on reaction time and multiplicative effects on percent

Storage and detection of a single flux quantum in Josephson junction devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gueret, P.

1975-01-01

It is shown both by computer simulations and experimentally that a single Josephson junction has memory and can therefore be used for information storage. Means of reading-out the information content of such a memory element are demonstrated. Finally, memory operation, writing and reading, is described as a direct application of these concepts

A Hybrid Approach to Processing Big Data Graphs on Memory-Restricted Systems

KAUST Repository

Harshvardhan,; West, Brandon; Fidel, Adam; Amato, Nancy M.; Rauchwerger, Lawrence

2015-01-01

that sacrifice performance. In this work, we propose a novel RAM-Disk hybrid approach to graph processing that can scale well from a single shared-memory node to large distributed-memory systems. It works by partitioning the graph into sub graphs that fit in RAM

Transfer doping of single isolated nanodiamonds, studied by scanning probe microscopy techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolker, Asaf; Saguy, Cecile; Kalish, Rafi

2014-09-26

The transfer doping of diamond surfaces has been applied in various novel two-dimensional electronic devices. Its extension to nanodiamonds (ND) is essential for ND-based applications in many fields. In particular, understanding the influence of the crystallite size on transfer doping is desirable. Here, we report the results of a detailed study of the electronic energetic band structure of single, isolated transfer-doped nanodiamonds with nanometric resolution using a combination of scanning tunneling spectroscopy and Kelvin force microscopy measurements. The results show how the band gap, the valence band maximum, the electron affinity and the work function all depend on the ND's size and nanoparticle surface properties. The present analysis, which combines information from both scanning tunneling spectroscopy and Kelvin force microscopy, should be applicable to any nanoparticle or surface that can be measured with scanning probe techniques.

Transfer doping of single isolated nanodiamonds, studied by scanning probe microscopy techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Bolker, Asaf; Saguy, Cecile; Kalish, Rafi

2014-09-01

The transfer doping of diamond surfaces has been applied in various novel two-dimensional electronic devices. Its extension to nanodiamonds (ND) is essential for ND-based applications in many fields. In particular, understanding the influence of the crystallite size on transfer doping is desirable. Here, we report the results of a detailed study of the electronic energetic band structure of single, isolated transfer-doped nanodiamonds with nanometric resolution using a combination of scanning tunneling spectroscopy and Kelvin force microscopy measurements. The results show how the band gap, the valence band maximum, the electron affinity and the work function all depend on the ND’s size and nanoparticle surface properties. The present analysis, which combines information from both scanning tunneling spectroscopy and Kelvin force microscopy, should be applicable to any nanoparticle or surface that can be measured with scanning probe techniques.

Transfer doping of single isolated nanodiamonds, studied by scanning probe microscopy techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolker, Asaf; Kalish, Rafi; Saguy, Cecile

2014-01-01

The transfer doping of diamond surfaces has been applied in various novel two-dimensional electronic devices. Its extension to nanodiamonds (ND) is essential for ND-based applications in many fields. In particular, understanding the influence of the crystallite size on transfer doping is desirable. Here, we report the results of a detailed study of the electronic energetic band structure of single, isolated transfer-doped nanodiamonds with nanometric resolution using a combination of scanning tunneling spectroscopy and Kelvin force microscopy measurements. The results show how the band gap, the valence band maximum, the electron affinity and the work function all depend on the ND’s size and nanoparticle surface properties. The present analysis, which combines information from both scanning tunneling spectroscopy and Kelvin force microscopy, should be applicable to any nanoparticle or surface that can be measured with scanning probe techniques. (paper)

Laser memory (hologram) and coincident redundant multiplex memory (CRM-memory)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ostojic, Branko

1975-01-01

It is shown that besides the memory which remembers the object by memorising of the phases of the interferenting waves of the light (i.e. hologram) it is possible to construct the memory which remembers the object by memorising of the phases of the interferenting impulses (CFM-memory). It is given the mathematical description of the memory, based on the experimental model. Although in the paper only the technical aspect of CRM memory is given. It is mentioned the possibility that the human memory has the same principle and that the invention of CRM memory is due to cybernetical analysis of the system human eye-visual cortex

Memory-induced acceleration and slowdown of barrier crossing

Science.gov (United States)

Kappler, Julian; Daldrop, Jan O.; Brünig, Florian N.; Boehle, Moritz D.; Netz, Roland R.

2018-01-01

We study the mean first-passage time τMFP for the barrier crossing of a single massive particle with non-Markovian memory by Langevin simulations in one dimension. In the Markovian limit of short memory time τΓ, the expected Kramers turnover between the overdamped (high-friction) and the inertial (low-friction) limits is recovered. Compared to the Markovian case, we find barrier crossing to be accelerated for intermediate memory time, while for long memory time, barrier crossing is slowed down and τMFP increases with τΓ as a power law τM F P˜τΓ2. Both effects are derived from an asymptotic propagator analysis: while barrier crossing acceleration at intermediate memory can be understood as an effective particle mass reduction, slowing down for long memory is caused by the slow kinetics of energy diffusion. A simple and globally accurate heuristic formula for τMFP in terms of all relevant time scales of the system is presented and used to establish a scaling diagram featuring the Markovian overdamped and the Markovian inertial regimes, as well as the non-Markovian intermediate memory time regime where barrier crossing is accelerated and the non-Markovian long memory time regime where barrier crossing is slowed down.

Ultra-large single crystals by abnormal grain growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Kusama, Tomoe; Omori, Toshihiro; Saito, Takashi; Kise, Sumio; Tanaka, Toyonobu; Araki, Yoshikazu; Kainuma, Ryosuke

2017-08-25

Producing a single crystal is expensive because of low mass productivity. Therefore, many metallic materials are being used in polycrystalline form, even though material properties are superior in a single crystal. Here we show that an extraordinarily large Cu-Al-Mn single crystal can be obtained by abnormal grain growth (AGG) induced by simple heat treatment with high mass productivity. In AGG, the sub-boundary energy introduced by cyclic heat treatment (CHT) is dominant in the driving pressure, and the grain boundary migration rate is accelerated by repeating the low-temperature CHT due to the increase of the sub-boundary energy. With such treatment, fabrication of single crystal bars 70 cm in length is achieved. This result ensures that the range of applications of shape memory alloys will spread beyond small-sized devices to large-scale components and may enable new applications of single crystals in other metallic and ceramics materials having similar microstructural features.Growing large single crystals cheaply and reliably for structural applications remains challenging. Here, the authors combine accelerated abnormal grain growth and cyclic heat treatments to grow a superelastic shape memory alloy single crystal to 70 cm.

TMS-induced neural noise in sensory cortex interferes with short-term memory storage in prefrontal cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Bancroft, Tyler D; Hogeveen, Jeremy; Hockley, William E; Servos, Philip

2014-01-01

In a previous study, Harris et al. (2002) found disruption of vibrotactile short-term memory after applying single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to primary somatosensory cortex (SI) early in the maintenance period, and suggested that this demonstrated a role for SI in vibrotactile memory storage. While such a role is compatible with recent suggestions that sensory cortex is the storage substrate for working memory, it stands in contrast to a relatively large body of evidence from human EEG and single-cell recording in primates that instead points to prefrontal cortex as the storage substrate for vibrotactile memory. In the present study, we use computational methods to demonstrate how Harris et al.'s results can be reproduced by TMS-induced activity in sensory cortex and subsequent feedforward interference with memory traces stored in prefrontal cortex, thereby reconciling discordant findings in the tactile memory literature.

The Effect of Memory and Attention Rehabilitation to Decrease of Memory Deficits in Older Adults With Alzheimer Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehdi Amini

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Alzheimer's disease is a chronic problem and most common demantic disorders in elderly. That has high cost for elders and them family. In this study, we examined the effect of memory and attention rehabilitation, a new and non-pharmacological approach to reduce memory defecits in Alzheimer's disease. Methods & Materials: This study was a quasi-experimental research, in single-subject study -Time-series with control group- and based on A-B design. That was conducted in two group of control and experimental in order to evaluate effectiveness of memory and attention rehabilitation, to decrease of memory deficits in elders with Alzheimer's disease. Subject consisted of eight patients (4 controls and 4 experiments with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. For experiment group, memory and attention rehabilitation were held in 45 minutes -1 hour session, twice weekly for 7 weeks. For data collection, patient evaluated by MMSE, GDS-15, WMS-O, in 1 and 14 sessions, and with Logical memory, Learning associations and Digit span subscales of WMS-O, and Coding subscale from WAIS-R in 1, 5, 8, 11 and 14 sessions. Statically analysis was done by visual inspection of graphed data, effect size and improvement percent for individuals and groups. Results: The analysis of data showed that memory functions in the paired patients and groups before the intervention was similar, but after procedures experimental patients showed increasing in level of functions and show significant effect size (d= 3.17-1.22, and significant improvement percent in memory functions. Conclusion: Consequently, the hypothesis of this study memory and attention rehabilitation decrease the memory function in elders with Alzheimer’s disease, such hypothesis was confirmed.

Working memory resources are shared across sensory modalities.

Science.gov (United States)

Salmela, V R; Moisala, M; Alho, K

2014-10-01

A common assumption in the working memory literature is that the visual and auditory modalities have separate and independent memory stores. Recent evidence on visual working memory has suggested that resources are shared between representations, and that the precision of representations sets the limit for memory performance. We tested whether memory resources are also shared across sensory modalities. Memory precision for two visual (spatial frequency and orientation) and two auditory (pitch and tone duration) features was measured separately for each feature and for all possible feature combinations. Thus, only the memory load was varied, from one to four features, while keeping the stimuli similar. In Experiment 1, two gratings and two tones-both containing two varying features-were presented simultaneously. In Experiment 2, two gratings and two tones-each containing only one varying feature-were presented sequentially. The memory precision (delayed discrimination threshold) for a single feature was close to the perceptual threshold. However, as the number of features to be remembered was increased, the discrimination thresholds increased more than twofold. Importantly, the decrease in memory precision did not depend on the modality of the other feature(s), or on whether the features were in the same or in separate objects. Hence, simultaneously storing one visual and one auditory feature had an effect on memory precision equal to those of simultaneously storing two visual or two auditory features. The results show that working memory is limited by the precision of the stored representations, and that working memory can be described as a resource pool that is shared across modalities.

Passive Double-Sensory Evoked Coherence Correlates with Long-Term Memory Capacity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Horwitz, Anna; Mortensen, Erik L.; Osler, Merete

2017-01-01

-task sensory steady-state stimulation. We investigated 40 healthy males born in 1953 who were part of a Danish birth cohort study. Coherence was measured in the gamma range in response to a single-sensory visual stimulation (36 Hz) and a double-sensory combined audiovisual stimulation (auditive: 40 Hz; visual...... found that the difference in anterior coherence (ΔCA ) is a better predictor of memory than power in multivariate models. The sensitivity of ΔCA for detecting low memory capacity is 92%. Finally, ΔCA was also associated with other types of memory: verbal learning, visual recognition, and spatial memory...

Antennal tactile learning in the honeybee: effect of nicotinic antagonists on memory dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Dacher, M; Lagarrigue, A; Gauthier, M

2005-01-01

Restrained worker honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) are able to learn to associate antennal-scanning of a metal plate with a sucrose reinforcement delivered to the mouthparts. Learning occurs reliably in a single association of the two sensory stimuli. The involvement of nicotinic pathways in memory formation and retrieval processes was tested by injecting, into the whole brain through the median ocellus, either mecamylamine (0.6 microg per bee) or alpha-bungarotoxin (2.4 ng per bee). Saline served as a control. Mecamylamine injected 10 min before the retrieval test impairs the retention level tested 3 h and 24 h after single- or multi-trial learning. Retrieval tests performed at various times after the injection show that the blocking effect of mecamylamine lasts about 1 h. The drug has no effect on the reconsolidation or extinction processes. Mecamylamine injected 10 min before conditioning impairs single-trial learning but has no effect on five-trial learning and on the consolidation process. By contrast, alpha-bungarotoxin only impairs the formation of long-term memory (24 h) induced by the five-trial learning and has no effect on medium-term memory (3 h), on single-trial learning or on the retrieval process. Hence, owing to previous data, at least two kinds of nicotinic receptors seem to be involved in honeybee memory, an alpha-bungarotoxin-sensitive and an alpha-bungarotoxin-insensitive receptor. Our results extend to antennal mechanosensory conditioning the role of the cholinergic system that we had previously described for olfactory conditioning in the honeybee. Moreover, we describe here in this insect a pharmacological dissociation between alpha-bungarotoxin sensitive long-term memory and alpha-bungarotoxin insensitive medium-term memory, the last one being affected by mecamylamine.

Information and processes underlying semantic and episodic memory across tasks, items, and individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Gregory E; Hemmer, Pernille; Aue, William R; Criss, Amy H

2018-04-01

The development of memory theory has been constrained by a focus on isolated tasks rather than the processes and information that are common to situations in which memory is engaged. We present results from a study in which 453 participants took part in five different memory tasks: single-item recognition, associative recognition, cued recall, free recall, and lexical decision. Using hierarchical Bayesian techniques, we jointly analyzed the correlations between tasks within individuals-reflecting the degree to which tasks rely on shared cognitive processes-and within items-reflecting the degree to which tasks rely on the same information conveyed by the item. Among other things, we find that (a) the processes involved in lexical access and episodic memory are largely separate and rely on different kinds of information, (b) access to lexical memory is driven primarily by perceptual aspects of a word, (c) all episodic memory tasks rely to an extent on a set of shared processes which make use of semantic features to encode both single words and associations between words, and (d) recall involves additional processes likely related to contextual cuing and response production. These results provide a large-scale picture of memory across different tasks which can serve to drive the development of comprehensive theories of memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A super-assembly of Whi3 encodes memory of deceptive encounters by single cells during yeast courtship.

Science.gov (United States)

Caudron, Fabrice; Barral, Yves

2013-12-05

Cellular behavior is frequently influenced by the cell's history, indicating that single cells may memorize past events. We report that budding yeast permanently escape pheromone-induced cell-cycle arrest when experiencing a deceptive mating attempt, i.e., not reaching their putative partner within reasonable time. This acquired behavior depends on super-assembly and inactivation of the G1/S inhibitor Whi3, which liberates the G1 cyclin Cln3 from translational inhibition. Super-assembly of Whi3 is a slow response to pheromone, driven by polyQ and polyN domains, counteracted by Hsp70, and stable over generations. Unlike prion aggregates, Whi3 super-assemblies are not inherited mitotically but segregate to the mother cell. We propose that such polyQ- and polyN-based elements, termed here mnemons, act as cellular memory devices to encode previous environmental conditions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysis by Monte Carlo simulations of the sensitivity to single event upset of SRAM memories under spatial proton or terrestrial neutron environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lambert, D.

2006-07-01

Electronic systems in space and terrestrial environments are subjected to a flow of particles of natural origin, which can induce dysfunctions. These particles can cause Single Event Upsets (SEU) in SRAM memories. Although non-destructive, the SEU can have consequences on the equipment functioning in applications requiring a great reliability (airplane, satellite, launcher, medical, etc). Thus, an evaluation of the sensitivity of the component technology is necessary to predict the reliability of a system. In atmospheric environment, the SEU sensitivity is mainly caused by the secondary ions resulting from the nuclear reactions between the neutrons and the atoms of the component. In space environment, the protons with strong energies induce the same effects as the atmospheric neutrons. In our work, a new code of prediction of the rate of SEU has been developed (MC-DASIE) in order to quantify the sensitivity for a given environment and to explore the mechanisms of failures according to technology. This code makes it possible to study various technologies of memories SRAM (Bulk and SOI) in neutron and proton environment between 1 MeV and 1 GeV. Thus, MC-DASIE was used with experiment data to study the effect of integration on the sensitivity of the memories in terrestrial environment, a comparison between the neutron and proton irradiations and the influence of the modeling of the target component on the calculation of the rate of SEU. (author)

Single-ion quantum lock-in amplifier.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotler, Shlomi; Akerman, Nitzan; Glickman, Yinnon; Keselman, Anna; Ozeri, Roee

2011-05-05

Quantum metrology uses tools from quantum information science to improve measurement signal-to-noise ratios. The challenge is to increase sensitivity while reducing susceptibility to noise, tasks that are often in conflict. Lock-in measurement is a detection scheme designed to overcome this difficulty by spectrally separating signal from noise. Here we report on the implementation of a quantum analogue to the classical lock-in amplifier. All the lock-in operations--modulation, detection and mixing--are performed through the application of non-commuting quantum operators to the electronic spin state of a single, trapped Sr(+) ion. We significantly increase its sensitivity to external fields while extending phase coherence by three orders of magnitude, to more than one second. Using this technique, we measure frequency shifts with a sensitivity of 0.42 Hz Hz(-1/2) (corresponding to a magnetic field measurement sensitivity of 15 pT Hz(-1/2)), obtaining an uncertainty of less than 10 mHz (350 fT) after 3,720 seconds of averaging. These sensitivities are limited by quantum projection noise and improve on other single-spin probe technologies by two orders of magnitude. Our reported sensitivity is sufficient for the measurement of parity non-conservation, as well as the detection of the magnetic field of a single electronic spin one micrometre from an ion detector with nanometre resolution. As a first application, we perform light shift spectroscopy of a narrow optical quadrupole transition. Finally, we emphasize that the quantum lock-in technique is generic and can potentially enhance the sensitivity of any quantum sensor. ©2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

The anticancer estrogen receptor antagonist tamoxifen impairs consolidation of inhibitory avoidance memory through estrogen receptor alpha.

Science.gov (United States)

Lichtenfels, Martina; Dornelles, Arethuza da Silva; Petry, Fernanda Dos Santos; Blank, Martina; de Farias, Caroline Brunetto; Roesler, Rafael; Schwartsmann, Gilberto

2017-11-01

Over two-thirds of women with breast cancer have positive tumors for hormone receptors, and these patients undergo treatment with endocrine therapy, tamoxifen being the most widely used agent. Despite being very effective in breast cancer treatment, tamoxifen is associated with side effects that include cognitive impairments. However, the specific aspects and mechanisms underlying these impairments remain to be characterized. Here, we have investigated the effects of tamoxifen and interaction with estrogen receptors on formation of memory for inhibitory avoidance conditioning in female rats. In the first experiment, Wistar female rats received a single oral dose of tamoxifen (1, 3, or 10 mg/kg) or saline by gavage immediately after training and were tested for memory consolidation 24 h after training. In the second experiment, rats received a single dose of 1 mg/kg tamoxifen or saline by gavage 3 h after training and were tested 24 h after training for memory consolidation. In the third experiment, rats received a subcutaneous injection with estrogen receptor α agonist or estrogen receptor beta agonist 30 min before the training. After training, rats received a single oral dose of tamoxifen 1 mg/kg or saline and were tested 24 h after training. In the fourth experiment, rats were trained and tested 24 h later. Immediately after test, rats received a single dose of tamoxifen (1 mg/kg) or saline by gavage and were given four additional daily test trials followed by a re-instatement. Tamoxifen at 1 mg/kg impaired memory consolidation when given immediately after training and the estrogen receptor alpha agonist improved the tamoxifen-related memory impairment. Moreover, tamoxifen impairs memory consolidation of the test. These findings indicate that estrogen receptors regulate the early phase of memory consolidation and the effects of tamoxifen on memory consolidation.

Ni–Mn–Ga single crystal exhibiting multiple magnetic shape memory effects

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Heczko, Oleg; Veřtát, Petr; Vronka, Marek; Kopecký, Vít; Perevertov, Oleksiy

2016-01-01

Roč. 2, č. 3 (2016), s. 272-280 ISSN 2199-384X R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36566G; GA ČR GA15-00262S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : magnetic shape memory * NiMnGa * stress-strain * twinning * magnetic field-induced transformation * magnetic field-induced reorientation Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism

Episodic memory, semantic memory, and amnesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Squire, L R; Zola, S M

1998-01-01

Episodic memory and semantic memory are two types of declarative memory. There have been two principal views about how this distinction might be reflected in the organization of memory functions in the brain. One view, that episodic memory and semantic memory are both dependent on the integrity of medial temporal lobe and midline diencephalic structures, predicts that amnesic patients with medial temporal lobe/diencephalic damage should be proportionately impaired in both episodic and semantic memory. An alternative view is that the capacity for semantic memory is spared, or partially spared, in amnesia relative to episodic memory ability. This article reviews two kinds of relevant data: 1) case studies where amnesia has occurred early in childhood, before much of an individual's semantic knowledge has been acquired, and 2) experimental studies with amnesic patients of fact and event learning, remembering and knowing, and remote memory. The data provide no compelling support for the view that episodic and semantic memory are affected differently in medial temporal lobe/diencephalic amnesia. However, episodic and semantic memory may be dissociable in those amnesic patients who additionally have severe frontal lobe damage.

Low-memory iterative density fitting.

Science.gov (United States)

Grajciar, Lukáš

2015-07-30

A new low-memory modification of the density fitting approximation based on a combination of a continuous fast multipole method (CFMM) and a preconditioned conjugate gradient solver is presented. Iterative conjugate gradient solver uses preconditioners formed from blocks of the Coulomb metric matrix that decrease the number of iterations needed for convergence by up to one order of magnitude. The matrix-vector products needed within the iterative algorithm are calculated using CFMM, which evaluates them with the linear scaling memory requirements only. Compared with the standard density fitting implementation, up to 15-fold reduction of the memory requirements is achieved for the most efficient preconditioner at a cost of only 25% increase in computational time. The potential of the method is demonstrated by performing density functional theory calculations for zeolite fragment with 2592 atoms and 121,248 auxiliary basis functions on a single 12-core CPU workstation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Imaging and manipulation of single viruses by atomic force microscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baclayon, M.; Wuite, G. J. L.; Roos, W. H.

2010-01-01

The recent developments in virus research and the application of functional viral particles in nanotechnology and medicine rely on sophisticated imaging and manipulation techniques at nanometre resolution in liquid, air and vacuum. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a tool that combines these

Storage of features, conjunctions and objects in visual working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, E K; Woodman, G F; Luck, S J

2001-02-01

Working memory can be divided into separate subsystems for verbal and visual information. Although the verbal system has been well characterized, the storage capacity of visual working memory has not yet been established for simple features or for conjunctions of features. The authors demonstrate that it is possible to retain information about only 3-4 colors or orientations in visual working memory at one time. Observers are also able to retain both the color and the orientation of 3-4 objects, indicating that visual working memory stores integrated objects rather than individual features. Indeed, objects defined by a conjunction of four features can be retained in working memory just as well as single-feature objects, allowing many individual features to be retained when distributed across a small number of objects. Thus, the capacity of visual working memory must be understood in terms of integrated objects rather than individual features.

Audiovisual semantic congruency during encoding enhances memory performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Heikkilä, Jenni; Alho, Kimmo; Hyvönen, Heidi; Tiippana, Kaisa

2015-01-01

Studies of memory and learning have usually focused on a single sensory modality, although human perception is multisensory in nature. In the present study, we investigated the effects of audiovisual encoding on later unisensory recognition memory performance. The participants were to memorize auditory or visual stimuli (sounds, pictures, spoken words, or written words), each of which co-occurred with either a semantically congruent stimulus, incongruent stimulus, or a neutral (non-semantic noise) stimulus in the other modality during encoding. Subsequent memory performance was overall better when the stimulus to be memorized was initially accompanied by a semantically congruent stimulus in the other modality than when it was accompanied by a neutral stimulus. These results suggest that semantically congruent multisensory experiences enhance encoding of both nonverbal and verbal materials, resulting in an improvement in their later recognition memory.

The Role of Aging in Intra-Item and Item-Context Binding Processes in Visual Working Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Dwight J.; Naveh-Benjamin, Moshe

2016-01-01

Aging is accompanied by declines in both working memory and long-term episodic memory processes. Specifically, important age-related memory deficits are characterized by performance impairments exhibited by older relative to younger adults when binding distinct components into a single integrated representation, despite relatively intact memory…

Analysis of antigen-specific B-cell memory directly ex vivo.

Science.gov (United States)

McHeyzer-Williams, Louise J; McHeyzer-Williams, Michael G

2004-01-01

Helper T-cell-regulated B-cell memory develops in response to initial antigen priming as a cellular product of the germinal center (GC) reaction. On antigen recall, memory response precursors expand rapidly with exaggerated differentiation into plasma cells to produce the high-titer, high-affinity antibody(Ab) that typifies the memory B-cell response in vivo. We have devised a high-resolution flow cytometric strategy to quantify the emergence and maintenance of antigen-specific memory B cells directly ex vivo. Extended cell surface phenotype establishes a level of cellular diversity not previously appreciated for the memory B-cell compartment. Using an "exclusion transfer" strategy, we ascertain the capacity of two distinct memory B-cell populations to transfer antigen-specific memory into naive adoptive hosts. Finally, we sequence expressed messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) from single cells within the population to estimate the level of somatic hypermutation as the best molecular indicator of B-cell memory. In this chapter, we describe the methods used in each of these four sections that serve to provide high-resolution quantification of antigen-specific B-cell memory responses directly ex vivo.

Passive Double-Sensory Evoked Coherence Correlates with Long-Term Memory Capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Horwitz, Anna; Mortensen, Erik L; Osler, Merete; Fagerlund, Birgitte; Lauritzen, Martin; Benedek, Krisztina

2017-01-01

HIGHLIGHTS Memory correlates with the difference between single and double-sensory evoked steady-state coherence in the gamma range (Δ C ).The correlation is most pronounced for the anterior brain region (Δ C A ).The correlation is not driven by birth size, education, speed of processing, or intelligence.The sensitivity of Δ C A for detecting low memory capacity is 90%. Cerebral rhythmic activity and oscillations are important pathways of communication between cortical cell assemblies and may be key factors in memory. We asked whether memory performance is related to gamma coherence in a non-task sensory steady-state stimulation. We investigated 40 healthy males born in 1953 who were part of a Danish birth cohort study. Coherence was measured in the gamma range in response to a single-sensory visual stimulation (36 Hz) and a double-sensory combined audiovisual stimulation (auditive: 40 Hz; visual: 36 Hz). The individual difference in coherence (Δ C ) between the bimodal and monomodal stimulation was calculated for each subject and used as the main explanatory variable. Δ C in total brain were significantly negatively correlated with long-term verbal recall. This correlation was pronounced for the anterior region. In addition, the correlation between Δ C and long-term memory was robust when controlling for working memory, as well as a wide range of potentially confounding factors, including intelligence, length of education, speed of processing, visual attention and executive function. Moreover, we found that the difference in anterior coherence (Δ C A ) is a better predictor of memory than power in multivariate models. The sensitivity of Δ C A for detecting low memory capacity is 92%. Finally, Δ C A was also associated with other types of memory: verbal learning, visual recognition, and spatial memory, and these additional correlations were also robust enough to control for a range of potentially confounding factors. Thus, the Δ C is a predictor of memory

Human T Cell Memory: A Dynamic View

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Derek C. Macallan

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Long-term T cell-mediated protection depends upon the formation of a pool of memory cells to protect against future pathogen challenge. In this review we argue that looking at T cell memory from a dynamic viewpoint can help in understanding how memory populations are maintained following pathogen exposure or vaccination. For example, a dynamic view resolves the apparent paradox between the relatively short lifespans of individual memory cells and very long-lived immunological memory by focussing on the persistence of clonal populations, rather than individual cells. Clonal survival is achieved by balancing proliferation, death and differentiation rates within and between identifiable phenotypic pools; such pools correspond broadly to sequential stages in the linear differentiation pathway. Each pool has its own characteristic kinetics, but only when considered as a population; single cells exhibit considerable heterogeneity. In humans, we tend to concentrate on circulating cells, but memory T cells in non-lymphoid tissues and bone marrow are increasingly recognised as critical for immune defence; their kinetics, however, remain largely unexplored. Considering vaccination from this viewpoint shifts the focus from the size of the primary response to the survival of the clone and enables identification of critical system pinch-points and opportunities to improve vaccine efficacy.

Synthesis and characterization of nanometric magnetite coated by oleic acid and the surfactant CTAB

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Celis, J. Almazán, E-mail: jony-jac-5@hotmail.com; Olea Mejía, O. F., E-mail: oleaoscar@yahoo.com [Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Centro Conjunto de Investigación en Química Sustentable UAEMéx-UNAM (Mexico); Cabral-Prieto, A., E-mail: agustin.cabral@inin.gob.mx; García-Sosa, I., E-mail: irma.garcia@inin.gob.mx [Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares (Mexico); Derat-Escudero, R., E-mail: escu@unam.mx [Instituto de Investigación de materiales de la UNAM (Mexico); Baggio Saitovitch, E. M., E-mail: esaitovitch@yahoo.com.br; Alzamora Camarena, M., E-mail: mariella.alzamora@gmail.com [Centro Brasileiro de Pesquizas Físicas (Brazil)

2017-11-15

Nanometric magnetite (nm-Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}) particles were prepared by the reverse co-precipitation synthesis method, obtaining particle sizes that ranged from 4 to 8.5 nm. In their synthesis, the concentration of iron salts of ferric nitrate, Fe(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}⋅9H{sub 2}O, and ferrous sulfate, FeSO{sub 4}⋅7H{sub 2}O, were varied relative to the chemical reaction volume and by using different surfactants such as oleic acid (OA) and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The nm-Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} particles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS), magnetic and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Typical asymmetrical and/or broad lines shapes appeared in all Mössbauer spectra of the as prepared samples suggesting strong magnetic inter-particle interactions, reducing these interactions to some extent by gentle mechanical grinding. For the smallest particles, maghemite instead of magnetite was the main preparation product as low temperature Mössbauer and magnetic measurements indicated. For the intermediate and largest particles a mixture of magnetite and maghemite phases were produced as the saturation magnetization values of M{sub S} ∼ 60 emu/g indicated; these values were measured for most samples, independently of the coating surfactant concentration, and according to the ZFC-FC curves the blocking temperatures were 225K and 275K for the smallest and largest magnetite nanoparticles, respectively. The synthesis method was highly reproducible.

Multi-floor cascading ferroelectric nanostructures: multiple data writing-based multi-level non-volatile memory devices

Science.gov (United States)

Hyun, Seung; Kwon, Owoong; Lee, Bom-Yi; Seol, Daehee; Park, Beomjin; Lee, Jae Yong; Lee, Ju Hyun; Kim, Yunseok; Kim, Jin Kon

2016-01-01

Multiple data writing-based multi-level non-volatile memory has gained strong attention for next-generation memory devices to quickly accommodate an extremely large number of data bits because it is capable of storing multiple data bits in a single memory cell at once. However, all previously reported devices have failed to store a large number of data bits due to the macroscale cell size and have not allowed fast access to the stored data due to slow single data writing. Here, we introduce a novel three-dimensional multi-floor cascading polymeric ferroelectric nanostructure, successfully operating as an individual cell. In one cell, each floor has its own piezoresponse and the piezoresponse of one floor can be modulated by the bias voltage applied to the other floor, which means simultaneously written data bits in both floors can be identified. This could achieve multi-level memory through a multiple data writing process.Multiple data writing-based multi-level non-volatile memory has gained strong attention for next-generation memory devices to quickly accommodate an extremely large number of data bits because it is capable of storing multiple data bits in a single memory cell at once. However, all previously reported devices have failed to store a large number of data bits due to the macroscale cell size and have not allowed fast access to the stored data due to slow single data writing. Here, we introduce a novel three-dimensional multi-floor cascading polymeric ferroelectric nanostructure, successfully operating as an individual cell. In one cell, each floor has its own piezoresponse and the piezoresponse of one floor can be modulated by the bias voltage applied to the other floor, which means simultaneously written data bits in both floors can be identified. This could achieve multi-level memory through a multiple data writing process. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr07377d

The role of prefrontal cortex in working memory: a mini review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Homero Lara

2015-12-01

Full Text Available A prominent account of prefrontal cortex (PFC function is that single neurons within the PFC maintain representations of task-relevant stimuli in working memory. Evidence for this view comes from studies in which subjects hold a stimulus across a delay lasting up to several seconds. Persistent elevated activity in the PFC has been observed in animal models as well as in humans performing these tasks. This persistent activity has been interpreted as evidence for the encoding of the stimulus itself in working memory. However, recent findings have posed a challenge to this notion. A number of recent studies have examined neural data from the PFC and posterior sensory areas, both at the single neuron level in primates, and at a larger scale in humans, and have failed to find encoding of stimulus information in the PFC during tasks with a substantial working memory component. Strong stimulus related information, however, was seen in posterior sensory areas. These results suggest that delay period activity in the PFC might be better understood not as a signature of memory storage per se, but as a top down signal that influences posterior sensory areas where the actual working memory representations are maintained.

Effects of Learning Experience on Forgetting Rates of Item and Associative Memories

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jiongjiong; Zhan, Lexia; Wang, Yingying; Du, Xiaoya; Zhou, Wenxi; Ning, Xueling; Sun, Qing; Moscovitch, Morris

2016-01-01

Are associative memories forgotten more quickly than item memories, and does the level of original learning differentially influence forgetting rates? In this study, we addressed these questions by having participants learn single words and word pairs once (Experiment 1), three times (Experiment 2), and six times (Experiment 3) in a massed…

The use of atomic force microscopy as an important technique to analyze the dispersion of nanometric fillers and morphology in nanocomposites and polymer blends based on elastomers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sousa, Fabiula Danielli Bastos de; Scuracchio, Carlos Henrique, E-mail: fabiuladesousa@gmail.com [Universidade Federal do ABC (CECS/UFABC), Santo Andre, SP (Brazil). Centro de Engenharia, Modelagem e Ciencias Sociais Aplicadas

2014-11-15

AFM has been recognized as one of the most powerful tools for the analysis of surface morphologies because it creates three-dimensional images at angstrom and nano scale. This technique has been exhaustively used in the analyses of dispersion of nanometric components in nanocomposites and in polymer blends, because of the easiness of sample preparation and lower equipment maintenance costs compared to electron microscopy. In this review, contributions using AFM are described, with emphasis on the dispersion of nanofillers in polymeric matrices. It is aimed to show the importance of technical analysis for nanocomposites and polymer blends based on elastomers. (author)

Circadian modulation of short-term memory in Drosophila.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyons, Lisa C; Roman, Gregg

2009-01-01

Endogenous biological clocks are widespread regulators of behavior and physiology, allowing for a more efficient allocation of efforts and resources over the course of a day. The extent that different processes are regulated by circadian oscillators, however, is not fully understood. We investigated the role of the circadian clock on short-term associative memory formation using a negatively reinforced olfactory-learning paradigm in Drosophila melanogaster. We found that memory formation was regulated in a circadian manner. The peak performance in short-term memory (STM) occurred during the early subjective night with a twofold performance amplitude after a single pairing of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli. This rhythm in memory is eliminated in both timeless and period mutants and is absent during constant light conditions. Circadian gating of sensory perception does not appear to underlie the rhythm in short-term memory as evidenced by the nonrhythmic shock avoidance and olfactory avoidance behaviors. Moreover, central brain oscillators appear to be responsible for the modulation as cryptochrome mutants, in which the antennal circadian oscillators are nonfunctional, demonstrate robust circadian rhythms in short-term memory. Together these data suggest that central, rather than peripheral, circadian oscillators modulate the formation of short-term associative memory and not the perception of the stimuli.

Study of nanometric thin pyrolytic carbon films for explosive electron emission cathode in high-voltage planar diode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baryshevsky, Vladimir; Belous, Nikolai; Gurinovich, Alexandra; Gurnevich, Evgeny [Research Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarusian State University, Bobruiskaya Str. 11, Minsk 220030 (Belarus); Kuzhir, Polina, E-mail: polina.kuzhir@gmail.com [Research Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarusian State University, Bobruiskaya Str. 11, Minsk 220030 (Belarus); National Research Tomsk State University, 36 Lenin Prospekt, Tomsk 634050 (Russian Federation); Maksimenko, Sergey [Research Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarusian State University, Bobruiskaya Str. 11, Minsk 220030 (Belarus); National Research Tomsk State University, 36 Lenin Prospekt, Tomsk 634050 (Russian Federation); Molchanov, Pavel; Shuba, Mikhail [Research Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarusian State University, Bobruiskaya Str. 11, Minsk 220030 (Belarus); Roddatis, Vladimir [CIC energiGUNE, Albert Einstein 48, 01510 Minano, Alava (Spain); Institut für Materialphysik of Universität Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen (Germany); Kaplas, Tommi; Svirko, Yuri [Institute of Photonics, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, Joensuu FI-80101 (Finland)

2015-04-30

We report on an experimental study of explosive electron emission properties of cathode made by nanometric thin pyrolytic carbon (PyC) films (2–150 nm) deposited on Cu substrate via methane-based chemical vapor deposition. High current density at level of 300 A/cm{sup 2} in 5 · 10{sup −5} Pa vacuum has been observed together with very stable explosive emission from the planar cathode. The Raman spectroscopy investigation proves that the PyC films remain the same after seven shots. According to the optical image analysis of the cathode before and after one and seven shots, we conclude that the most unusual and interesting feature of using the PyC films/Cu cathode for explosive emission is that the PyC layer on the top of the copper target prevents its evaporation and oxidation, which leads to higher emission stability compared to conventional graphitic/Cu cathodes, and therefore results in longer working life. - Highlights: • Explosive electron emission from pyrolytic carbon (PyC) cathode is reported. • We observe high current density, 300 A/cm{sup 2}, and stable emission parameters. • PyC integrity ensures a high application potential for high current electronics.

Hierarchical process memory: memory as an integral component of information processing

Science.gov (United States)

Hasson, Uri; Chen, Janice; Honey, Christopher J.

2015-01-01

Models of working memory commonly focus on how information is encoded into and retrieved from storage at specific moments. However, in the majority of real-life processes, past information is used continuously to process incoming information across multiple timescales. Considering single unit, electrocorticography, and functional imaging data, we argue that (i) virtually all cortical circuits can accumulate information over time, and (ii) the timescales of accumulation vary hierarchically, from early sensory areas with short processing timescales (tens to hundreds of milliseconds) to higher-order areas with long processing timescales (many seconds to minutes). In this hierarchical systems perspective, memory is not restricted to a few localized stores, but is intrinsic to information processing that unfolds throughout the brain on multiple timescales. “The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.”Henri L Bergson PMID:25980649

Single-atom reversible recording at room temperature

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Quaade, Ulrich; Stokbro, Kurt; Lin, Rong

2001-01-01

investigate two important aspects of using this single-atom switch as a memory device. First, the switching is electron stimulated, and through detailed modelling the switching probability per electron is accurately deduced. Second, we have investigated the possibilities for desorbing single hydrogen atoms...... to construct ordered arrays of switches to manufacture a memory device. Two desorption mechanisms have been considered: the well known electron-induced desorption at negative sample bias and a novel mechanism probably involving elastic deformation of the tip. For both mechanisms mechanical stability of the STM...... is of crucial importance. With our equipment it was possible to create a row of four switches in a controlled way.(Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)....

Memory blindness: Altered memory reports lead to distortion in eyewitness memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Cochran, Kevin J; Greenspan, Rachel L; Bogart, Daniel F; Loftus, Elizabeth F

2016-07-01

Choice blindness refers to the finding that people can often be misled about their own self-reported choices. However, little research has investigated the more long-term effects of choice blindness. We examined whether people would detect alterations to their own memory reports, and whether such alterations could influence participants' memories. Participants viewed slideshows depicting crimes, and then either reported their memories for episodic details of the event (Exp. 1) or identified a suspect from a lineup (Exp. 2). Then we exposed participants to manipulated versions of their memory reports, and later tested their memories a second time. The results indicated that the majority of participants failed to detect the misinformation, and that exposing witnesses to misleading versions of their own memory reports caused their memories to change to be consistent with those reports. These experiments have implications for eyewitness memory.

Implementation of Parallel Dynamic Simulation on Shared-Memory vs. Distributed-Memory Environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Shuangshuang; Chen, Yousu; Wu, Di; Diao, Ruisheng; Huang, Zhenyu

2015-12-09

Power system dynamic simulation computes the system response to a sequence of large disturbance, such as sudden changes in generation or load, or a network short circuit followed by protective branch switching operation. It consists of a large set of differential and algebraic equations, which is computational intensive and challenging to solve using single-processor based dynamic simulation solution. High-performance computing (HPC) based parallel computing is a very promising technology to speed up the computation and facilitate the simulation process. This paper presents two different parallel implementations of power grid dynamic simulation using Open Multi-processing (OpenMP) on shared-memory platform, and Message Passing Interface (MPI) on distributed-memory clusters, respectively. The difference of the parallel simulation algorithms and architectures of the two HPC technologies are illustrated, and their performances for running parallel dynamic simulation are compared and demonstrated.

High-throughput gene expression profiling of memory differentiation in primary human T cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Russell Kate

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The differentiation of naive T and B cells into memory lymphocytes is essential for immunity to pathogens. Therapeutic manipulation of this cellular differentiation program could improve vaccine efficacy and the in vitro expansion of memory cells. However, chemical screens to identify compounds that induce memory differentiation have been limited by 1 the lack of reporter-gene or functional assays that can distinguish naive and memory-phenotype T cells at high throughput and 2 a suitable cell-line representative of naive T cells. Results Here, we describe a method for gene-expression based screening that allows primary naive and memory-phenotype lymphocytes to be discriminated based on complex genes signatures corresponding to these differentiation states. We used ligation-mediated amplification and a fluorescent, bead-based detection system to quantify simultaneously 55 transcripts representing naive and memory-phenotype signatures in purified populations of human T cells. The use of a multi-gene panel allowed better resolution than any constituent single gene. The method was precise, correlated well with Affymetrix microarray data, and could be easily scaled up for high-throughput. Conclusion This method provides a generic solution for high-throughput differentiation screens in primary human T cells where no single-gene or functional assay is available. This screening platform will allow the identification of small molecules, genes or soluble factors that direct memory differentiation in naive human lymphocytes.

Intelligence, Working Memory, and Multitasking Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Colom, Roberto; Martinez-Molina, Agustin; Shih, Pei Chun; Santacreu, Jose

2010-01-01

Multitasking performance is relevant in everyday life and job analyses highlight the influence of multitasking over several diverse occupations. Intelligence is the best single predictor of overall job performance and it is also related to individual differences in multitasking. However, it has been shown that working memory capacity (WMC) is…

Working memory load-dependent spatio-temporal activity of single-trial P3 response detected with an adaptive wavelet denoiser.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qiushi; Yang, Xueqian; Yao, Li; Zhao, Xiaojie

2017-03-27

Working memory (WM) refers to the holding and manipulation of information during cognitive tasks. Its underlying neural mechanisms have been explored through both functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG). Trial-by-trial coupling of simultaneously collected EEG and fMRI signals has become an important and promising approach to study the spatio-temporal dynamics of such cognitive processes. Previous studies have demonstrated a modulation effect of the WM load on both the BOLD response in certain brain areas and the amplitude of P3. However, much remains to be explored regarding the WM load-dependent relationship between the amplitude of ERP components and cortical activities, and the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the EEG signal still poses a challenge to performing single-trial analyses. In this paper, we investigated the spatio-temporal activities of P3 during an n-back verbal WM task by introducing an adaptive wavelet denoiser into the extraction of single-trial P3 features and using general linear model (GLM) to integrate simultaneously collected EEG and fMRI data. Our results replicated the modulation effect of the WM load on the P3 amplitude. Additionally, the activation of single-trial P3 amplitudes was detected in multiple brain regions, including the insula, the cuneus, the lingual gyrus (LG), and the middle occipital gyrus (MOG). Moreover, we found significant correlations between P3 features and behavioral performance. These findings suggest that the single-trial integration of simultaneous EEG and fMRI signals may provide new insights into classical cognitive functions. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behavioral characterization of individual olfactory memory retrieval in Drosophila melanogaster.

Science.gov (United States)

Chabaud, Marie-Ange; Preat, Thomas; Kaiser, Laure

2010-01-01

Memory performance depends not only on effective learning and storage of information, but also on its efficient retrieval. In Drosophila, aversive olfactory conditioning generates qualitatively different forms of memory depending on the number and spacing of conditioning trials. However, it is not known how these differences are reflected at the retrieval level, in the behavior of individual flies during testing. We analyzed conditioned behaviors after one conditioning trial and after massed and spaced repeated trials. The single conditioning produces an early memory that was tested at 1.5 h. Tested at 24 h after training, the spaced and the massed protocols generate two different forms of consolidated memory, dependent, or independent of de novo protein-synthesis. We found clearly distinct patterns of locomotor activity in flies trained with either spaced or massed conditioning protocols. Spaced-trained flies exhibited immediate and dynamic choices between punished and unpunished odors during the test, whereas massed-trained flies made a delayed choice and showed earlier disappearance of the conditioned response. Flies trained with single and spaced trials responded to the punished odor by decreasing their resting time, but not massed-trained flies. These findings demonstrate that genetically and pharmacologically distinct forms of memory drive characteristically different forms of locomotor behavior during retrieval, and they may shed light on our previous observation that memory retrieval in massed-trained flies is socially facilitated. Social interactions would enhance exploratory activity, and then reduce the latency of their conditioned choice and delay its extinction.

Behavioral characterization of individual olfactory memory retrieval in Drosophila melanogaster

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie-Ange eCHABAUD

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Memory performance depends not only on effective learning and storage of information, but also on its efficient retrieval. In Drosophila, aversive olfactory conditioning generates qualitatively different forms of memory depending on the number and spacing of conditioning trials. However, it is not known how these differences are reflected at the retrieval level, in the behavior of individual flies during testing. We analyzed conditioned behaviors after one conditioning trial and after massed and spaced repeated trials. The single conditioning produces an early memory that was tested at 1.5 h. Tested at 24h after training, the spaced and the massed protocols generate two different forms of consolidated memory, dependent or independent of de novo protein-synthesis. We found clearly distinct patterns of locomotor activity in flies trained with either spaced or massed conditioning protocols. Spaced-trained flies exhibited immediate and dynamic choices between punished and unpunished odors during the test, whereas massed-trained flies made a delayed choice and showed earlier disappearance of the conditioned response. Flies trained with single and spaced trials responded to the punished odor by decreasing their resting time, but not massed-trained flies. These findings demonstrate that genetically and pharmacologically distinct forms of memory drive characteristically different forms of locomotor behavior during retrieval, and they may shed light on our previous observation that memory retrieval in massed-trained flies is socially facilitated. Social interactions would enhance exploratory activity, and then reduce the latency of their conditioned choice and delay its extinction.

The functional neuroanatomy of multitasking: combining dual tasking with a short term memory task.

Science.gov (United States)

Deprez, Sabine; Vandenbulcke, Mathieu; Peeters, Ron; Emsell, Louise; Amant, Frederic; Sunaert, Stefan

2013-09-01

Insight into the neural architecture of multitasking is crucial when investigating the pathophysiology of multitasking deficits in clinical populations. Presently, little is known about how the brain combines dual-tasking with a concurrent short-term memory task, despite the relevance of this mental operation in daily life and the frequency of complaints related to this process, in disease. In this study we aimed to examine how the brain responds when a memory task is added to dual-tasking. Thirty-three right-handed healthy volunteers (20 females, mean age 39.9 ± 5.8) were examined with functional brain imaging (fMRI). The paradigm consisted of two cross-modal single tasks (a visual and auditory temporal same-different task with short delay), a dual-task combining both single tasks simultaneously and a multi-task condition, combining the dual-task with an additional short-term memory task (temporal same-different visual task with long delay). Dual-tasking compared to both individual visual and auditory single tasks activated a predominantly right-sided fronto-parietal network and the cerebellum. When adding the additional short-term memory task, a larger and more bilateral frontoparietal network was recruited. We found enhanced activity during multitasking in components of the network that were already involved in dual-tasking, suggesting increased working memory demands, as well as recruitment of multitask-specific components including areas that are likely to be involved in online holding of visual stimuli in short-term memory such as occipito-temporal cortex. These results confirm concurrent neural processing of a visual short-term memory task during dual-tasking and provide evidence for an effective fMRI multitasking paradigm. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Short-term retention of a single word relies on retrieval from long-term memory when both rehearsal and refreshing are disrupted.

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Nathan S; Buchsbaum, Bradley R; Craik, Fergus I M

2014-07-01

Many working memory (WM) models propose that the focus of attention (or primary memory) has a capacity limit of one to four items, and therefore, that performance on WM tasks involves retrieving some items from long-term (or secondary) memory (LTM). In the present study, we present evidence suggesting that recall of even one item on a WM task can involve retrieving it from LTM. The WM task required participants to make a deep (living/nonliving) or shallow ("e"/no "e") level-of-processing (LOP) judgment on one word and to recall the word after a 10-s delay on each trial. During the delay, participants either rehearsed the word or performed an easy or a hard math task. When the to-be-remembered item could be rehearsed, recall was fast and accurate. When it was followed by a math task, recall was slower, error-prone, and benefited from a deeper LOP at encoding, especially for the hard math condition. The authors suggest that a covert-retrieval mechanism may have refreshed the item during easy math, and that the hard math condition shows that even a single item cannot be reliably held in WM during a sufficiently distracting task--therefore, recalling the item involved retrieving it from LTM. Additionally, performance on a final free recall (LTM) test was better for items recalled following math than following rehearsal, suggesting that initial recall following math involved elaborative retrieval from LTM, whereas rehearsal did not. The authors suggest that the extent to which performance on WM tasks involves retrieval from LTM depends on the amounts of disruption to both rehearsal and covert-retrieval/refreshing maintenance mechanisms.

Active immobilization of biomolecules on a hybrid three-dimensional nanoelectrode by dielectrophoresis for single-biomolecule study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Takatoki; Fujii, Teruo

2007-01-01

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method of active immobilization for biomolecules on a three-dimensional nanometre-scale electrode (3D nanoelectrode) using dielectrophoresis to immobilize the biomolecules at predetermined locations for single-biomolecule study. We have developed a novel two-step fabrication process for obtaining a 3D nanoelectrode having a sharp top, which is necessary for immobilizing a single biomolecule at a single point. The first step is to fabricate the backbone structure, which is rigid and defines the shape of the 3D nanoelectrode. It was fabricated with diamond-like carbon (DLC) obtained using focused ion beam assisted chemical vapour deposition followed by post-plasma etching, which reshapes the DLC structure. The second step coats the DLC structure with a thin layer of aluminium, which supplies electrical conductivity to the DLC structure. By applying a high frequency (of the order of megahertz) and high intensity (greater than or equal to a few megavolts per metre) electric field using the 3D nanoelectrodes, the generated dielectrophoresis attracted and then immobilized target biomolecules onto the tops of 3D nanoelectrodes, as a demonstration of active immobilization of biomolecules

WORKING MEMORY STRUCTURE REVEALED IN ANALYSIS OF RECALL ERRORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regina V Ershova

2017-12-01

Full Text Available We analyzed working memory errors stemming from 193 Russian college students taking the Tarnow Unchunkable Test utilizing double digit items on a visual display.In three-item trials with at most one error per trial, single incorrect tens and ones digits (“singlets” were overrepresented and made up the majority of errors, indicating a base 10 organization.These errors indicate that there are separate memory maps for each position and that there are pointers that can move primarily within these maps. Several pointers make up a pointer collection. The number of pointer collections possible is the working memory capacity limit. A model for self-organizing maps is constructed in which the organization is created by turning common pointer collections into maps thereby replacing a pointer collection with a single pointer.The factors 5 and 11 were underrepresented in the errors, presumably because base 10 properties beyond positional order were used for error correction, perhaps reflecting the existence of additional maps of integers divisible by 5 and integers divisible by 11.

The reliability and stability of visual working memory capacity.

Science.gov (United States)