Neural abnormalities underlying tinnitus and hyperacusis

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-90).Tinnitus, the ongoing perception of sound in the absence of a physical stimulus, and hyperacusis, the intolerance of sound intensities considered comfortable by most people, are two often co-occurring clinical conditions lacking effective treatments. This thesis identified neural correlates of these poorly understood disorders using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) to measure sound-evoked activity in the auditory pathway. Subjects with clinically normal hearing thresholds, with and without tinnitus, underwent fMRI or ABR testing and behavioral assessment of sound-level tolerance (SLT). The auditory midbrain, thalamus, and primary auditory cortex (PAC) showed elevated fMRI activation related to reduced SLT (i.e. hyperacusis). PAC, but not midbrain or thalamus, showed elevated fMRI activation related to tinnitus, perhaps reflecting undue attention to the auditory domain. In contrast to fMRI activation, ABRs showed relationships only to tinnitus, not SLT. Wave I of the ABR, which reflects auditory nerve activity, was reduced in tinnitus subjects, while wave V, reflecting input activity to the midbrain, was elevated. Wave I reduction in tinnitus subjects suggests that auditory nerve dysfunction apparent only above threshold is a factor in tinnitus. Because ABRs reflect activity in only one of multiple pathways from cochlear nucleus to midbrain, the wave V elevation implicates this particular pathway in tinnitus. The results directly link tinnitus and hyperacusis to hyperactivity within the central auditory system. Because fMRI and ABRs reflect different aspects of neural activity, the dependence of fMRI activation on SLT and ABR activity on tinnitus in the midbrain raises the possibility that tinnitus and hyperacusis arise in parallel from abnormal activity in separate brainstem pathways.by Jianwen Wendy Gu.Ph.D

The regulation of angular momentum during human walking

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-48).The conservation of angular momentum provides an elegant model for human walking and might be used to generate stable robotic locomotion if employed by a control algorithm. To examine the extent to which the body regulates angular momentum, a force model was developed to predict horizontal ground reaction forces assuming perfect angular momentum conservation. These model forces closely matched experimental forces, suggesting that the body does indeed regulate angular momentum. To determine how various links of the body contribute to total angular momentum, link angular momenta were calculated. Angular momenta in the medial-lateral and vertical directions showed evident cancellation of link angular momenta whereas angular momentum in the anterior-posterior direction did not. Link by link, angular momentum in the medial-lateral direction was much larger than angular momenta in the anterior-posterior and vertical directions, which makes it more likely to cause stability problems. Hence, angular momentum in the medial-lateral direction is the key angular momentum to regulate.by Jianwen Wendy Gu.S.B

In Situ Lithiation–Delithiation of Mechanically Robust Cu–Si Core–Shell Nanolattices in a Scanning Electron Microscope

Nanoarchitected Cu–Si core–shell lattices were fabricated via two-photon lithography and tested as mechanically robust Li-ion battery electrodes which accommodate ∼250% Si volume expansion during lithiation. The superior mechanical performance of the nanolattice electrodes is directly observed using an in situ scanning electron microscope, which allows volume expansion and morphological changes to be imaged at multiple length scales, from single lattice beam to the architecture level, during electrochemical testing. Finite element modeling of lithiation-induced volume expansion in a core–shell structure reveals that geometry and plasticity mechanisms play a critical role in preventing damage in the nanolattice electrodes. The two-photon lithography-based fabrication method combined with computational modeling and in situ characterization capabilities would potentially enable the rational design and fast discovery of mechanically robust and kinetically agile electrode materials that independently optimize geometry, feature size, porosity, surface area, and chemical composition, as well as other functional devices in which mechanical and transport phenomena are important

Flaw-driven Failure in Nanostructures

Understanding failure in nanomaterials is critical for the design of reliable structural materials and small-scale devices that have components or microstructural elements at the nanometer length scale. No consensus exists on the effect of flaws on fracture in bulk nanostructured materials or in nanostructures. Proposed theories include nanoscale flaw tolerance and maintaining macroscopic fracture relationships at the nanoscale with virtually no experimental support. We explore fracture mechanisms in nanomaterials via nanomechanical experiments on nanostructures with pre-fabricated surface flaws in combination with molecular dynamics simulations. Nanocrystalline Pt cylinders with diameters of ~120 nm with intentionally introduced surface notches were created using a template-assisted electroplating method and tested in uniaxial tension in in-situ SEM. Experiments demonstrate that 8 out of 12 samples failed at the notches and that tensile failure strengths were ~1.8 GPa regardless of whether failure occurred at or away from the flaw. These findings suggest that failure location was sensitive to the presence of flaws, while strength was flaw-insensitive. Molecular dynamics simulations support these observations and show that incipient plastic deformation commences via nucleation and motion of dislocations in concert with grain boundary sliding. We postulate that such local plasticity reduces stress concentration ahead of the flaw to levels comparable with the strengths of intrinsic microstructural features like grain boundary triple junctions, a phenomenon unique to nano-scale solids that contain an internal microstructural energy landscape. This mechanism causes failure to occur at the weakest link, be it an internal inhomogeneity or a surface feature with a high local stress

Extraordinary strain hardening from dislocation loops in defect-free Al nanocubes

The interaction of crystalline defects leads to strain hardening in bulk metals. Metals with high stacking fault energy (SFE), such as aluminum, tend to have low strain hardening rates due to an inability to form stacking faults and deformation twins. Here, we use in situ SEM mechanical compressions to find that colloidally synthesized defect-free 114 nm Al nanocubes combine a high linear strain hardening rate of 4.1 GPa with a high strength of 1.1 GPa. These nanocubes have a 3 nm self-passivating oxide layer that has a large influence on mechanical behavior and the accumulation of dislocation structures. Post-compression TEM imaging reveals stable prismatic dislocation loops and the absence of stacking faults. MD simulations relate the formation of dislocation loops and strain hardening to the surface oxide. These results indicate that slight modifications to surface and interfacial properties can induce enormous changes to mechanical properties in high SFE metals.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Pseudoelasticity at Large Strains in Au Nanocrystals [post-print]

© 2018 American Physical Society. Pseudoelasticity in metals is typically associated with phase transformations (e.g., shape memory alloys) but has recently been observed in sub-10 nm Ag nanocrystals that rapidly recovered their original shape after deformation to large strains. The discovery of pseudoelasticity in nanoscale metals dramatically changes the current understanding of the properties of solids at the smallest length scales, and the motion of atoms at surfaces. Yet, it remains unclear whether pseudoelasticity exists in different metals and nanocrystal sizes. The challenge of observing deformation at atomistic to nanometer length scales has prevented a clear mechanistic understanding of nanoscale pseudoelasticity, although surface diffusion and dislocation-mediated processes have been proposed. We further the understanding of pseudoelasticity in nanoscale metals by using a diamond anvil cell to compress colloidal Au nanocrystals under quasihydrostatic and nonhydrostatic pressure conditions. Nanocrystal structural changes are measured using optical spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy and modeled using electrodynamic theory. We find that 3.9 nm Au nanocrystals exhibit pseudoelastic shape recovery after deformation to large uniaxial strains of up to 20%, which is equivalent to an ellipsoid with an aspect ratio of 2. Nanocrystal absorbance efficiency does not recover after deformation, which indicates that crystalline defects may be trapped in the nanocrystals after deformation

Effects of Helium Implantation on the Tensile Properties and Microstructure of Ni₇₃P₂₇ Metallic Glass Nanostructures

We report fabrication and nanomechanical tension experiments on as-fabricated and helium-implanted 130 nm diameter Ni₇₃P₂₇ metallic glass nanocylinders. The nanocylinders were fabricated by a templated electroplating process and implanted with He+ at energies of 50, 100, 150, and 200 keV to create a uniform helium concentration of 3 atom % throughout the nanocylinders. Transmission electron microscopy imaging and through-focus analysis reveal that the specimens contained 2 nm helium bubbles distributed uniformly throughout the nanocylinder volume. In situ tensile experiments indicate that helium-implanted specimens exhibit enhanced ductility as evidenced by a 2-fold increase in plastic strain over as-fabricated specimens with no sacrifice in yield and ultimate tensile strengths. This improvement in mechanical properties suggests that metallic glasses may actually exhibit a favorable response to high levels of helium implantation

Col11a2 Deletion Reveals the Molecular Basis for Tectorial Membrane Mechanical Anisotropy

The tectorial membrane (TM) has a significantly larger stiffness in the radial direction than other directions, a prominent mechanical anisotropy that is believed to be critical for the proper functioning of the cochlea. To determine the molecular basis of this anisotropy, we measured material properties of TMs from mice with a targeted deletion of Col11a2, which encodes for collagen XI. In light micrographs, the density of TM radial collagen fibers was lower in Col11a2 –/– mice than wild-types. Tone-evoked distortion product otoacoustic emission and auditory brainstem response measurements in Col11a2 –/– mice were reduced by 30–50 dB independent of frequency as compared with wild-types, showing that the sensitivity loss is cochlear in origin. Stress-strain measurements made using osmotic pressure revealed no significant dependence of TM bulk compressibility on the presence of collagen XI. Charge measurements made by placing the TM as an electrical conduit between two baths revealed no change in the density of charge affixed to the TM matrix in Col11a2 –/– mice. Measurements of mechanical shear impedance revealed a 5.5 ± 0.8 dB decrease in radial shear impedance and a 3.3 ± 0.3 dB decrease in longitudinal shear impedance resulting from the Col11a2 deletion. The ratio of radial to longitudinal shear impedance fell from 1.8 ± 0.7 for TMs from wild-type mice to 1.0 ± 0.1 for those from Col11a2 –/– mice. These results show that the organization of collagen into radial fibrils is responsible for the mechanical anisotropy of the TM. This anisotropy can be attributed to increased mechanical coupling provided by the collagen fibrils. Mechanisms by which changes in TM material properties may contribute to the threshold elevation in Col11a2 –/– mice are discussed.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-DC00238

Stress Induced Structural Transformations in Au Nanocrystals

Nanocrystals can exist in multiply twinned structures like the icosahedron, or single crystalline structures like the cuboctahedron or Wulff-polyhedron. Structural transformation between these polymorphic structures can proceed through diffusion or displacive motion. Experimental studies on nanocrystal structural transformations have focused on high temperature diffusion mediated processes. Thus, there is limited experimental evidence of displacive motion mediated structural transformations. Here, we report the high-pressure structural transformation of 6 nm Au nanocrystals under nonhydrostatic pressure in a diamond anvil cell that is driven by displacive motion. In-situ X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to detect the transformation of multiply twinned nanocrystals into single crystalline nanocrystals. High-pressure single crystalline nanocrystals were recovered after unloading, however, the nanocrystals quickly reverted back to multiply twinned state after redispersion in toluene solvent. The dynamics of recovery was captured using transmission electron microscopy which showed that the recovery was governed by surface recrystallization and rapid twin boundary motion. We show that this transformation is energetically favorable by calculating the pressure-induced change in strain energy. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that defects nucleated from a region of high stress region in the interior of the nanocrystal, which make twin boundaries unstable. Deviatoric stress driven Mackay transformation and dislocation/disclination mediated detwinning are hypothesized as possible mechanisms of high-pressure structural transformation.Comment: 32 pages, 14 figures, and 1 movie (please open pdf with Adobe Acrobat Reader to see the embedded movie