The Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Brain Fingerprint Stability: A Magnetoencephalography Validation Study.

This study examined the stability of the functional connectome (FC) over time using fingerprint analysis in healthy subjects. Additionally, it investigated how a specific stressor, namely sleep deprivation, affects individuals' differentiation. To this aim, 23 healthy young adults underwent magnetoencephalography (MEG) recording at three equally spaced time points within 24 h: 9 a.m., 9 p.m., and 9 a.m. of the following day after a night of sleep deprivation. The findings indicate that the differentiation was stable from morning to evening in all frequency bands, except in the delta band. However, after a night of sleep deprivation, the stability of the FCs was reduced. Consistent with this observation, the reduced differentiation following sleep deprivation was found to be negatively correlated with the effort perceived by participants in completing the cognitive task during sleep deprivation. This correlation suggests that individuals with less stable connectomes following sleep deprivation experienced greater difficulty in performing cognitive tasks, reflecting increased effort.

Highly Sensitive Tunable Magnetometer Based on Superconducting Quantum Interference Device.

In the present article, experimental results regarding fully integrated superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID), including a circuit to tune and optimize the main sensor device characteristics, are reported. We show the possibility of modifying the critical current of a SQUID magnetometer in liquid helium by means of a suitable heating circuit. This allows us to improve the characteristics of the SQUID sensor and in particular to optimize the voltage-magnetic flux characteristic and the relative transfer factor (responsivity) and consequently to also improve the flux and magnetic field noise. It is also possible to reset the SQUID sensor in case of entrapment of magnetic flux, avoiding taking it out of the helium bath. These results are very useful in view of most SQUID applications such as those requiring large multichannel systems in which it is desirable to optimize and eventually reset the magnetic sensors in a simple and effective way.

High-Quality Ferromagnetic Josephson Junctions Based on Aluminum Electrodes.

Aluminum Josephson junctions are the building blocks for the realization of superconducting quantum bits. Attention has been also paid to hybrid ferromagnetic Josephson junctions, which allow switching between different magnetic states, making them interesting for applications such as cryogenic memories, single-photon detectors, and spintronics. In this paper, we report on the fabrication and characterization of high-quality ferromagnetic Josephson junctions based on aluminum technology. We employed an innovative fabrication process inspired by niobium-based technology, allowing us to obtain very high-quality hybrid aluminum Josephson junctions; thus, supporting the use of ferromagnetic Josephson junctions in advanced quantum circuits. The fabrication process is described in detail and the main DC transport properties at low temperatures (current-voltage characteristic, critical current as a function of the temperature, and the external magnetic field) are reported. Here, we illustrate in detail the fabrication process, as well as the main DC transport properties at low temperatures (current-voltage characteristic, critical current as a function of the temperature, and the external magnetic field).

Reduced graphene oxide on silicon-based structure as novel broadband photodetector.

Heterojunction photodetector based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been realized using a spin coating technique. The electrical and optical characterization of bare GO and thermally reduced GO thin films deposited on glass substrate has been carried out. Ultraviolet-visible-infrared transmittance measurements of the GO and rGO thin films revealed broad absorption range, while the absorbance analysis evaluates rGO band gap of about 2.8 eV. The effect of GO reduction process on the photoresponse capability is reported. The current-voltage characteristics and the responsivity of rGO/n-Si based device have been investigated using laser diode wavelengths from UV up to IR spectral range. An energy band diagram of the heterojunction has been proposed to explain the current versus voltage characteristics. The device demonstrates a photoresponse at a broad spectral range with a maximum responsivity and detectivity of 0.20 A/W and 7 × 1010 cmHz/W, respectively. Notably, the obtained results indicate that the rGO based device can be useful for broadband radiation detection compatible with silicon device technology.

Detection of Magnetomechanical Effect in Structural Steel Using GMR 2nd Order Gradiometer Based Sensors.

The magneto-mechanical behaviour of structural steel specimens stressed up to the plastic deformation stage was investigated using a 2nd order gradiometer based on Giant Magneto Resistive (GMR) sensors. The correlation between the gradient of the magnetization and the dislocation density before the crack initiation inside the test material was reported. The capability of the GMR scanning sensor to detect the residual magnetization due to the tensile stress with a non-invasive technique was demonstrated.

Fine-Tuning and Optimization of Superconducting Quantum Magnetic Sensors by Thermal Annealing.

In the present article, we present the experimental results concerning the fine-tuning and optimization of superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) parameters by thermal annealing. This treatment allows for the modification of the parameters in order to meet a specific application or to adjust the device parameters to prevent the increase of magnetic field noise and work instability conditions due to a different critical current with respect to the design value. In particular, we report the sensor critical current, the voltage-flux (V-Φ) characteristics and the spectral density of the magnetic field of SQUID magnetometers for different annealing temperatures. The measurements demonstrate that it is possible to achieve a fine control of the most important device parameters. In particular, we show that thermal annealing allows for the reduction of SQUID noise by more than a factor of 5 and makes the device working operations very stable. These results are very useful in view of quantum technology applications related to superconducting quantum computing where the correct functioning of the quantum bit depends on the fine control of the superconducting quantum device parameters and selectable annealing is possible by using a suitable laser as a thermal source.

Mutations in the SPAST gene causing hereditary spastic paraplegia are related to global topological alterations in brain functional networks.

AIM: Our aim was to describe the rearrangements of the brain activity related to genetic mutations in the SPAST gene. METHODS: Ten SPG4 patients and ten controls underwent a 5 min resting state magnetoencephalography recording and neurological examination. A beamformer algorithm reconstructed the activity of 90 brain areas. The phase lag index was used to estimate synchrony between brain areas. The minimum spanning tree was used to estimate topological metrics such as the leaf fraction (a measure of network integration) and the degree divergence (a measure of the resilience of the network against pathological events). The betweenness centrality (a measure to estimate the centrality of the brain areas) was used to estimate the centrality of each brain area. RESULTS: Our results showed topological rearrangements in the beta band. Specifically, the degree divergence was lower in patients as compared to controls and this parameter related to clinical disability. No differences appeared in leaf fraction nor in betweenness centrality. CONCLUSION: Mutations in the SPAST gene are related to a reorganization of the brain topology.

Brain functional networks become more connected as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progresses: a source level magnetoencephalographic study.

This study hypothesizes that the brain shows hyper connectedness as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progresses. 54 patients (classified as "early stage" or "advanced stage") and 25 controls underwent magnetoencephalography and MRI recordings. The activity of the brain areas was reconstructed, and the synchronization between them was estimated in the classical frequency bands using the phase lag index. Brain topological metrics such as the leaf fraction (number of nodes with degree of 1), the degree divergence (a measure of the scale-freeness) and the degree correlation (a measure of disassortativity) were estimated. Betweenness centrality was used to estimate the centrality of the brain areas. In all frequency bands, it was evident that, the more advanced the disease, the more connected, scale-free and disassortative the brain networks. No differences were evident in specific brain areas. Such modified brain topology is sub-optimal as compared to controls. Within this framework, our study shows that brain networks become more connected according to disease staging in ALS patients.

Multichannel system based on a high sensitivity superconductive sensor for magnetoencephalography.

We developed a multichannel system based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) for magnetoencephalography measurements. Our system consists of 163 fully-integrated SQUID magnetometers, 154 channels and 9 references, and all of the operations are performed inside a magnetically-shielded room. The system exhibits a magnetic field noise spectral density of approximatively 5 fT/Hz(1=2). The presented magnetoencephalography is the first system working in a clinical environment in Italy.