Is Mental Effort Exertion Contagious? A Replication Study.

Daily, we perform activities in the presence of others (e.g., office work).

Me, us, and others: exploring the role of familiarity and emotional expressions in face visual awareness.

Faces play a pivotal role in human interaction, and the rapid processing of face identity and emotional expressions is essential for effective social behaviour. Here, we investigated whether and how face identity and emotional expressions jointly affect face visual awareness. We manipulated three levels of identity (Self, Friend, Stranger) and emotional expressions (Happy, Neutral, Angry) in a Binocular Rivalry (BR) paradigm.

Single-Layer Magnet Phase in Intrinsic Magnetic Topological Insulators, [MnTe][BiTe], Far beyond the Thermodynamic Limit.

The intrinsic magnetic topological insulator (IMTI) family [MnTe][BiTe] has demonstrated magneto-topological properties dependent on , making it a promising platform for advanced electronics and spintronics. However, due to technical barriers in sample synthesis, their properties in the large limit remain unknown. To overcome this, we utilized the atomic layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy (ALL-MBE) technique and achieved IMTIs with as large as 15, far beyond that previously reported in bulk crystals or thin films.

How interpersonal distance varies throughout the lifespan.

Interpersonal Distance (IPD) is defined as the physical distance that individuals maintain between themselves and others during social interactions. While literature has extensively focused on this everyday social behavior, how IPD changes throughout the lifespan remains an open question. In this study, 864 participants, aged 3-89 years, performed the Stop Distance Paradigm in their real-life environments, and we measured the distance they kept from both familiar and unfamiliar others during social interactions.

Pupil dilation responds to the intrinsic social characteristics of affective touch.

Affective Touch is characterized by both emotional and arousing dimensions that rely on specific features of a gentle human caress. In this study, we investigated whether and how both the nature of the touching effector (Human hand vs. Artificial hand) and touch type (Dynamic vs.

Comparison of peripheral cannula outcomes, ultrasound-guided placement of deep veins versus blind insertion of superficial veins in children aged 0-18 years: A retrospective study.

Background: The clinical use of ultrasound has increased the chances of successful insertion of all venous access devices, including short peripheral cannulas (SPC) and long peripheral catheters (LPC). The aim of the study was to compare the clinical performance of peripheral cannulas inserted using the traditional "blind" technique versus those inserted with ultrasound guidance (US).

Methods: In this retrospective study we compared 135 peripheral intravenous cannulations (PIVCs) with ultrasound guidance and 135 PIVCs with blind technique, inserted in children (0-18 years) in the emergency department.

Cooperation and competition have same benefits but different costs.

Cooperation and competition shape everyday human interactions and impact individuals' chances of success in different domains. Using a virtual Stroop test, classically employed to assess general cognitive interference, we examined the impact of social context (cooperation and competition) and other's ability (higher and lower performers) on performance, perceived stress, and autonomic activity. In Experiment 1, we found that both cooperation with a lower performer and competition with a higher performer led to similar enhancement in performance.

Realization of a two-dimensional Weyl semimetal and topological Fermi strings.

A two-dimensional (2D) Weyl semimetal, akin to a spinful variant of graphene, represents a topological matter characterized by Weyl fermion-like quasiparticles in low dimensions. The spinful linear band structure in two dimensions gives rise to distinctive topological properties, accompanied by the emergence of Fermi string edge states. We report the experimental realization of a 2D Weyl semimetal, bismuthene monolayer grown on SnS(Se) substrates.

Interfacially Enhanced Superconductivity in Fe(Te,Se)/BiTe Heterostructures.

Realizing topological superconductivity by integrating high-transition-temperature (T) superconductors with topological insulators can open new paths for quantum computing applications. Here, a new approach is reported for increasing the superconducting transition temperature by interfacing the unconventional superconductor Fe(Te,Se) with the topological insulator Bi-Te system in the low-Se doping regime, near where superconductivity vanishes in the bulk. The critical finding is that the of Fe(Te,Se) increases from nominally non-superconducting to as high as 12.

Autonomic and hedonic response to affective touch in autism spectrum disorder.

Interpersonal touch plays a crucial role in shaping relationships and encouraging social connections. Failure in processing tactile input or abnormal tactile sensitivity may hamper social behaviors and have severe consequences in individuals' relational lives. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by both sensory disruptions and social impairments, making affective touch an ideal meeting point for understanding these features in ASD individuals.

Reconfigurable Resistive Switching in VO/LaSrMnO/AlO (0001) Memristive Devices for Neuromorphic Computing.

The coexistence of nonvolatile and volatile switching modes in a single memristive device provides flexibility to emulate both neuronal and synaptic functions in the brain. Furthermore, such a device structure may eliminate the need for additional circuit elements such as transistor-based selectors, enabling low-power consumption and high-density device integration in fully memristive spiking neural networks. In this work, we report dual resistive switching (RS) modes in VO/LaSrMnO (LSMO) bilayer memristive devices.

Anisotropic Properties of Epitaxial Ferroelectric Lead-Free 0.5[Ba(TiZr)O]-0.5(BaCa)TiO Films.

As the energy demand is expected to double over the next 30 years, there has been a major initiative towards advancing the technology of both energy harvesting and storage for renewable energy. In this work, we explore a subset class of dielectrics for energy storage since ferroelectrics offer a unique combination of characteristics needed for energy storage devices. We investigate ferroelectric lead-free 0.

Manipulating topological Hall-like signatures by interface engineering in epitaxial ruthenate/manganite heterostructures.

Topologically protected non-trivial spin textures ( skyrmions) give rise to a novel phenomenon called the topological Hall effect (THE) and have promising implications in future energy-efficient nanoelectronic and spintronic devices. Here, we have studied the Hall effect in SrRuO/LaCaMnO (SRO/LCMO) bilayers. Our investigation suggests that pure SRO has hard and soft magnetic characteristics but the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in SRO is governed by the high coercivity phase.

Hedonic and autonomic responses in promoting affective touch.

Interpersonal touch is intrinsically reciprocal since it entails a person promoting and another receiving the touch. While several studies have investigated the beneficial effects of receiving affective touch, the affective experience of caressing another individual remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the hedonic and autonomic responses (skin conductance and heart rate) in the person promoting affective touch.

Machine Learning-Enabled Superior Energy Storage in Ferroelectric Films with a Slush-Like Polar State.

Heterogeneities in structure and polarization have been employed to enhance the energy storage properties of ferroelectric films. The presence of nonpolar phases, however, weakens the net polarization. Here, we achieve a slush-like polar state with fine domains of different ferroelectric polar phases by narrowing the large combinatorial space of likely candidates using machine learning methods.

Pain perception and physiological responses are modulated by active support from a romantic partner.

As social animals, humans are strongly affected by social bonds and interpersonal interactions. Proximity and social support from significant others may buffer the negative outcomes of a painful experience. Several studies have investigated the role of romantic partners' support in pain modulation, mostly focusing on tactile support and showing its effectiveness in reducing pain perception.

Effects of prism adaptation and visual scanning training on perceptual and response bias in unilateral spatial neglect.

In some patients with unilateral spatial neglect, symptoms reflect impaired lateralized spatial attention and representation (perceptual bias) whereas in others the inability to respond to stimuli located in contralesional space (response bias). Here, we investigated whether prismatic adaptation (PA) and visual scanning training (VST) differentially affect perceptual and response bias and whether rehabilitation outcome depends on the type of bias underlying symptoms. Two groups of neglect patients in the subacute phase were evaluated before, immediately after, and two weeks following 10 days of PA ( = 9) or VST ( = 9).

Beyond alpha-band: The neural correlate of creative thinking.

The compound nature of creativity entails the interplay of multiple cognitive processes, making it difficult to attribute creativity to a single neural signature. Divergent thinking paradigms, widely adopted to investigate creative production, have highlighted the key role of specific mental operations subserving creativity, such as inhibition of external stimuli, loose semantic associations, and mental imagery. Neurophysiological studies have typically shown a high alpha rhythm synchronization when individuals are engaged in creative ideation.

Development and Calibration of a Low-Cost, Piezoelectric Rainfall Sensor through Machine Learning.

In situ measurements of precipitation are typically obtained by tipping bucket or weighing rain gauges or by disdrometers using different measurement principles. One of the most critical aspects of their operational use is the calibration, which requires the characterization of instrument responses both in laboratory and in real conditions. Another important issue with in situ measurements is the coverage.

Superconducting Fourfold Fe(Te,Se) Film on Sixfold Magnetic MnTe via Hybrid Symmetry Epitaxy.

Epitaxial Fe(Te,Se) thin films have been grown on various substrates but never been grown on magnetic layers. Here we report the epitaxial growth of fourfold Fe(Te,Se) film on a sixfold antiferromagnetic insulator, MnTe. The Fe(Te,Se)/MnTe heterostructure shows a clear superconducting transition at around 11 K, and the critical magnetic field measurement suggests the origin of the superconductivity to be bulk-like.

High Entropy Oxide Relaxor Ferroelectrics.

Relaxor ferroelectrics are important in technological applications due to strong electromechanical response, energy storage capacity, electrocaloric effect, and pyroelectric energy conversion properties. Current efforts to discover and design materials in this class generally rely on substitutional doping as slight changes to local compositional order can significantly affect the Curie temperature, morphotropic phase boundary, and electromechanical responses. In this work, we demonstrate that moving to the strong limit of compositional complexity in an O perovskite allows stabilization of relaxor responses that do not rely on a single narrow phase transition region.

Designing Magnetism in High Entropy Oxides.

In magnetic systems, spin and exchange disorder can provide access to quantum criticality, frustration, and spin dynamics, but broad tunability of these responses and a deeper understanding of strong limit disorder are lacking. Here, it is demonstrated that high entropy oxides present a previously unexplored route to designing materials in which the presence of strong local compositional disorder may be exploited to generate tunable magnetic behaviors-from macroscopically ordered states to frustration-driven dynamic spin interactions. Single-crystal La(Cr Mn Fe Co Ni )O films are used as a model system hosting a magnetic sublattice with a high degree of microstate disorder in the form of site-to-site spin and exchange type inhomogeneity.