Dopamine and performance in a reinforcement learning task: evidence from Parkinson's disease.

The role dopamine plays in decision-making has important theoretical, empirical and clinical implications. Here, we examined its precise contribution by exploiting the lesion deficit model afforded by Parkinson's disease. We studied patients in a two-stage reinforcement learning task, while they were ON and OFF dopamine replacement medication. Contrary to expectation, we found that dopaminergic drug state (ON or OFF) did not impact learning. Instead, the critical factor was drug state during the performance phase, with patients ON medication choosing correctly significantly more frequently than those OFF medication. This effect was independent of drug state during initial learning and appears to reflect a facilitation of generalization for learnt information. This inference is bolstered by our observation that neural activity in nucleus accumbens and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, measured during simultaneously acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging, represented learnt stimulus values during performance. This effect was expressed solely during the ON state with activity in these regions correlating with better performance. Our data indicate that dopamine modulation of nucleus accumbens and ventromedial prefrontal cortex exerts a specific effect on choice behaviour distinct from pure learning. The findings are in keeping with the substantial other evidence that certain aspects of learning are unaffected by dopamine lesions or depletion, and that dopamine plays a key role in performance that may be distinct from its role in learning.

Dopamine and performance in a reinforcement learning task: Evidence from Parkinson's disease

The role dopamine plays in decision-making has important theoretical, empirical and clinical implications. Here, we examined its precise contribution by exploiting the lesion deficit model afforded by Parkinson's disease. We studied patients in a two-stage reinforcement learning task, while they were ON and OFF dopamine replacement medication. Contrary to expectation, we found that dopaminergic drug state (ON or OFF) did not impact learning. Instead, the critical factor was drug state during the performance phase, with patients ON medication choosing correctly significantly more frequently than those OFF medication. This effect was independent of drug state during initial learning and appears to reflect a facilitation of generalization for learnt information. This inference is bolstered by our observation that neural activity in nucleus accumbens and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, measured during simultaneously acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging, represented learnt stimulus values during performance. This effect was expressed solely during the ON state with activity in these regions correlating with better performance. Our data indicate that dopamine modulation of nucleus accumbens and ventromedial prefrontal cortex exerts a specific effect on choice behaviour distinct from pure learning. The findings are in keeping with the substantial other evidence that certain aspects of learning are unaffected by dopamine lesions or depletion, and that dopamine plays a key role in performance that may be distinct from its role in learning. © 2012 The Author.

Effect of dry oxidation on the performance of carbon nanotube arrays electrochemical capacitors

In this study, the effect of dry oxidation on the electrochemical properties of carbon nanotube arrays is investigated. Oxygenated surface functional groups were introduced to the arrays by oxygen plasma treatment, where their surface concentrations were varied by controlling the exposure time. The finding presented herein shows an augmentation of nearly thirty times in term of specific capacitance when the arrays are oxidized. Similar behavior is also observed in the non-aqueous electrolytes where the specific capacitance of the oxidized carbon nanotube arrays is measured more than three times higher than that of the pristine ones. However, overexposure to oxygen plasma treatment reverses this effect. At such high oxidation level, the damage to the graphitic structure becomes more pronounced such that the capacitive behavior of the arrays is overshadowed by their resistive behavior. These findings are important for further development of carbon nanotube based electrochemical capacitors. © 2012 Materials Research Society.

Impact of wide bandgap p-type nc-Si on the performance of a-Si solar cells

This paper reports the impact of a wide bandgap p-type hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) on the performances of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) based solar cells. The player consists of nanometer-sized Si crystallites and has a wide effective bandgap determined mainly by the quantum size-confinement effect (QSE). By incorporation of this p-layer into the devices we have obtained high performances of a-Si:H top solar cells with V-infinity=1.045 V and FF=70.3 %, and much improved mid and bottom a-SiGe:H cells, deposited on stainless steel (SS) substrate. The effects of the band-edge mismatch at the p/i-interface on the I-V characteristics of the solar cells arc discussed on the bases of the density-functional approach and the AMPS model.

Impact of wide bandgap p-type nc-Si on the performance of a-Si solar cells

This paper reports the impact of a wide bandgap p-type hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) on the performances of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) based solar cells. The player consists of nanometer-sized Si crystallites and has a wide effective bandgap determined mainly by the quantum size-confinement effect (QSE). By incorporation of this p-layer into the devices we have obtained high performances of a-Si:H top solar cells with V-infinity=1.045 V and FF=70.3 %, and much improved mid and bottom a-SiGe:H cells, deposited on stainless steel (SS) substrate. The effects of the band-edge mismatch at the p/i-interface on the I-V characteristics of the solar cells arc discussed on the bases of the density-functional approach and the AMPS model.

Preparation and performance of cellulose acetate/polyethyleneimine blend microfiltration membranes and their applications

A modified microfiltration membrane has been prepared by blending a matrix polymer with a functional polymer. Cellulose acetate (CA) was blended with polyethyleneimine (PEI), which was then crosslinked by polyisocyanate, in a mixture of solvents. In the membrane, PEI can supply coupling sites for ligands in affinity separation or be used as ligands for metal chelating, removal of endotoxin or ion exchange. The effects of the time of phase inversion induced by water vapor, blended amount of PEI and amount of crosslinking agent on membrane performance were investigated. The prepared blend membranes have specific surface area of 12.04-24.11 m(2)/g and pure water flux (PWF) of 10-50 ml/cm(2) min with porosity of 63-75%. The membranes, made of 0.15 50 wt.% PEI/CA ratio and 0.5 crosslinking agent/PEI ratio, were applied to adsorbing Cu2+ and bovine serum albumin (BSA) individually. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cu2+ ion on the blend membrane is 7.42 mg/g dry membrane. The maximum adsorption capacities of BSA on the membranes with and without chelating Cu2+ ion are 86.6 and 43.8 mg/g dry membrane, respectively. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A multifunctional iridium carbazolyl orange phosphor for high performance two-element WOLED exploiting exciton-managed fluorescence/phosphorescence

By attaching a bulky, inductively electron-with drawing trifluoromethyl (CF3) group on the pyridyl ring of the rigid 2-[3(N-phenylcarbazolyl)]pyridine cyclometalated ligand, we successfully synthesized a new heteroleptic orange-emitting phosphorescent iridium(III) complex [Ir(L-1)(2)(acac)] 1 (HL1=5-trifluoromethyl-2-[3-(N-phenylcarbazolyl)]pyridine, Hacac = acetylacetone) in good yield.

Effect of secondary ligands' size on energy transfer and electroluminescent efficiencies for a series of europium(III) complexes, a density functional theory study

In this paper, a quantum chemistry method was used to investigate the effect of different sizes of substituted phenanthrolines on absorption, energy transfer, and the electroluminescent performance of a series of Eu(TTA)(3)L (L = [1,10] phenanthroline (Phen), Pyrazino[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline (PyPhen), 2-methylprrazino[2,3-f][1,10] phenanthroline(MPP), dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine(DPPz), 11-methyldipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'c]phenazine(MDPz), 11.12-dimethyldipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine(DDPz), and benzo[i]dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine (BDPz)) complexes. Absorption spectra calculations show that different sizes of secondary ligands have different effects on transition characters, intensities, and absorption peak positions.

Novel Hybrid Electrocatalyst with Enhanced Performance in Alkaline Media: Hollow Au/Pd Core/Shell Nanostructures with a Raspberry Surface

In this paper, a hollow Au/Pd core/shell nanostructure with a raspberry surface was developed for methanol, ethanol, and formic acid oxidation in alkaline media. The results showed that it possessed better electrocatalyst performance than hollow Au nanospheres or Pd nanoparticles. The nanostructure was fabricated via a two-step method. Hollow Au nanospheres were first synthesized by a galvanic replacement reaction, and then they were coated with a layer of Pd grains. Several characterizations such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to investigate the prepared nanostructures.

Performance inhomogeneity of gelatin during gelation process

The structural and performance inhomogeneities of gelatin gel can directly affect its application as a kind of functional material. The structural inhomogeneity of gelatin caused by the uneven and unstable temperature field has been analyzed by the finite element method in our previous work. Further in this paper, the performance inhomogeneity of gelatin which is closely connected with the actual application is numerically analyzed during the gelation process, which includes the inhomogeneities of the optical and mechanical properties of gelatin gels. The time required for reaching the gel point at different spatial grids is exhibited and discussed. The calculated results also show that the equilibrium shear modulus of gelatin is dependent on the thermal history.

Electronic structures of 4d transition metal monoxides by density functional theory

Bond distances, dissociation energies, ionization potentials and electron affinities of 4d transition metal monoxides from YO to CdO and their positive and negative ions were studied by use of density functional methods B3LYP, BLYP, B3PW91, BPW91, B3P86, BP86, SVWN, MPW1PW91 and PBE1PBE. It was found that calculated properties are highly dependent on the functionals employed, especially for dissociation energy. For most neutral species, pure density functionals BLYP, BPW91 and BP86 have good performance in predicting dissociation energy than hybrid density functionals B3LYP, B3PW91 and B3P86. In addition, BLYP gives the largest bond distance compared with other density functional methods, while SVWN gives shortest bond distance, largest dissociation energy and electron affinity. For the ground state, the spin multiplicity of the charged species can be obtained by +/- 1 of their corresponding neutral species.

Electronic structures of 5d transition metal monoxides by density functional theory

Bond distances, vibrational frequencies, electron affinities, ionization potentials, and dissociation energies of the diatomic 5d transition metal (except La) monoxides and their positively and negatively charged ions were studied by use of density functional methods B3LYP, BLYP, B3PW91, BPW91, B3P86, BP86, MPW1PW91, PBE1PBE, and SVWN. Our calculation shows that for each individual species, the calculated properties are quite sensitive to the method used. Compared with hybrid density functional method B3PW91 (B3P86), pure density functional method BPW91 (BP86) gives longer bond distance (lower vibrational frequency) from HfO to PtO for neutral species, HfO+ to IrO+ for cationic species, and HfO- to AuO- for anionic species. While for B3LYP and BLYP, the trend was observed for cationic species from HfO+ to IrO+ and anionic species from HfO- to AuO- (except TaO-), but not for neutrals. Pure density function methods BLYP, BPW91, and BP86 give larger dissociation energy compared with hybrid density functional methods B3LYP, B3PW91, and B3P86. SVWN in most cases gives the smallest bond distance, while BLYP gives the largest value. MPW1PW91 and PBE1PBE show the same performance in predicting the spectroscopic constants.

Toward high-performance polymer solar cells: The importance of morphology control

Polymer solar cells have the potential to become a major electrical power generating tool in the 21st century. R&D endeavors are focusing on continuous roll-to-roll printing of polymeric or organic compounds from solution-like newspapers-to produce flexible and lightweight devices at low cost. It is recognized, though, that besides the functional properties of the compounds the organization of structures on the nanometer level-forced and controlled mainly by the processing conditions applied-determines the performance of state-of-the-art polymer solar cells. In such devices the photoactive layer is composed of at least two functional materials that form nanoscale interpenetrating phases with specific functionalities, a so-called bulk heterojunction. In this perspective article, our current knowledge on the main factors determining the morphology formation and evolution is introduced, and gaps of our understanding on nanoscale structure-property relations in the field of high-performance polymer solar cells are addressed. Finally, promising routes toward formation of tailored morphologies are presented.

Density functional study of the second row transition metal dimers

Equilibrium geometries, vibrational frequencies and dissociation energies of the second row transition metal dimers (from Y-2 to Cd-2 except Tc-2) ere studied by use of density functional methods B3LYP, BLYP, B3PW91, BHLYP, BP86, B3P86, SVWN, MPW1PW91 and PBE1PBE. The accuracy DFT methods is found to be highly dependent on the functional employed, in particular for vibrational frequency and dissociation energy. In most cases, the predicted bond distance is in general agreement with experiment and previous theoretical results. For van der Waals dimer Cd-2, B3LYP and BLYP have excellent performance in predicting the bond distance. For Ag-2, all density functional methods used in this study perform well in producing the bond distance, vibrational frequency and dissociation energy.

Density-functional study of lanthanum, ytterbium, and lutetium dimers

La-2, Yb-2, and Lu-2 have been studied by use of the density-functional methods B3LYP, BLYP, B3PW91, BHLYP, BP86, B3P86, MPW1PW91, and PBE1PBE. In these density-functional methods, the exchange functional is from either Becke's three-parameter HF-DFT hybrid exchange functional (B3), pure DFT exchange functional of 1988 (B), a modification of the half-and-half HF/DFT hybrid method (BH), Perdew-Wang 1991 (PW91), or Barone's modified PW91 (MPW1), while the correlation functional is from either Lee, Yang, and Parr (LYP), Perdew-Wang 1991 (PW91), or Perdew 86 (P86). PBE1PBE is the generalized-gradient-approximation exchange-correlation functional of Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof. For La-2, the calculated bond distance is in reasonable agreement with the experiment, but the calculated vibrational frequency is underestimated significantly compared with the experiment. Only BP86 and B3P86 have the best performance in reproducing the experimental dissociation energy for La-2. For the van der Waals dimer Yb-2, three functionals, B3LYP, BLYP, and BHLYP have excellent performance in reproducing the spectroscopic constants compared with both the experiment and previous theoretical studies.