Social connections predict brain structure in a multidimensional free-ranging primate society

Reproduction and survival in most primate species reflects management of both competitive and cooperative relationships. Here, we investigated the links between neuroanatomy and sociality in free-ranging rhesus macaques. In adults, the number of social partners predicted the volume of the mid–superior temporal sulcus and ventral-dysgranular insula, implicated in social decision-making and empathy, respectively. We found no link between brain structure and other key social variables such as social status or indirect connectedness in adults, nor between maternal social networks or status and dependent infant brain structure. Our findings demonstrate that the size of specific brain structures varies with the number of direct affiliative social connections and suggest that this relationship may arise during development. These results reinforce proposed links between social network size, biological success, and the expansion of specific brain circuits

Insights on the Electrochemical Magnesiation of InSb from Combined Operando X-ray Diffraction and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

International audienceThe continued acceleration of the lithium demand combined with its relatively low abundance and uneven concentration on the Earth's crust might dramatically increase its price in a near future. Mg-batteries are promising candidates to replace Li-ion batteries thanks to Mg abundance, theoretical capacity (2.2Ah/g-3.8Ah/cm$^3$), low cost and safety. However, metallic Mg reacts with standard electrolytes to form a blocking layer on its surface, preventing cation exchange, and thus dramatically limiting reversible stripping/deposition. An interesting alternative is to substitute Mg metal with another negative electrode made of p-block elements as they electrochemically alloy with Mg and possess adequate stability in standard electrolytes.In a recent work, we investigated the InSb alloy as a negative electrode in order to fundamentally understand the electrochemical reactions occurring in alloys in Mg batteries. A strong synergy between In and Sb has been evidenced with the promotion of the electrochemical activity of Sb towards magnesiation along few cycles, in contrast to what was already reported in other studies.Using complementary information from operando X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and X-Ray Absorption Spectrosopy (XAS), we further characterized in-depth the peculiar electrochemical behavior of InSb. Operando XRD measurements demonstrate the formation of the Mg$_3$Sb$_2$ phase almost all along the first magnesiation, accompanied by the extrusion of In metal. While crystalline MgIn has always been detected in the case of pure In or InBi electrodes, we observed a kinetically dependent electrochemically-driven amorphization of MgIn. This behavior suggests a possible competition between crystallization and amorphization in the material. EXAFS data, obtained at the In and Sb K-edges at the ROCK beamline of synchrotron Soleil, corroborate the formation of Mg$_3$Sb$_2$ and In crystalline phases but also the formation of MgIn. It gives us further insights on the atomic environment of In and Sb during the first magnesiation. Thanks to the evolution of EXAFS spectra as well as the changes in scattering paths, the phase proportions evolution as function of the number of Mg inserted into InSb has been followed. These results are of paramount importance to shed light on synergetic effects between $p$-block elements and to study the relation between $in\ situ$ amorphization and electrochemical behavior

A Composite Bolometer as a Charged-Particle Spectrometer

The measurement of radioactivity by direct conversion of nuclear radiation into a temperature rise of a calorimeter is as old as nuclear physics itself. As part of a general programme aiming at a determination of the mass of the electron neutrino, we have designed an improved version of a He-cooled composite diamond bolometer with a monolithic germanium thermistor, developed at the Laboratoire de Physique Stellaire et Planetaire (LPSP)1. Our approach, based on an idea by De Rujula2, is to study the shape, near the upper end-point of the internal bremsstrahlung spectrum in electron-capture β decay. The best nucleus for a precise measurement seems to be 163Ho, for which we have determined3 the Q EC value to be 2.83\ub10.05 keV. A particularly interesting possibility is to use total absorption spectrometry4 (calorimetry), in which the radioactive holmium forms part of the sensitive volume of the detector. With 5–6-MeV α particles impinging on the diamond wafer of the bolometer, a full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) of 36 keV was obtained at a temperature of 1.3 K. The theoretical resolution at 100 mK is a few electron-volts, so this new detection technique should give greatly enhanced energy resolution compared with present solid-state conductors based on charge carrier collection

Discovery of a Novel Broad-Spectrum Antifungal Agent Derived from Albaconazole

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