Surface plasmons, collective electromagnetic excitations coupled to conduction electron oscillations, enable the manipulation of light–matter interactions at the nanoscale. Plasmon dispersion of metallic structures depends sensitively on their dimensionality and has been intensively studied for fundamental physics as well as applied technologies. Here, we report possible evidence for gate-tunable hybrid plasmons from the dimensionally mixed coupling between one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotubes and two-dimensional (2D) graphene. In contrast to the carrier density-independent 1D Luttinger liquid plasmons in bare metallic carbon nanotubes, plasmon wavelengths in the 1D-2D heterostructure are modulated by 75% via electrostatic gating while retaining the high figures of merit of 1D plasmons. We propose a theoretical model to describe the electromagnetic interaction between plasmons in nanotubes and graphene, suggesting plasmon hybridization as a possible origin for the observed large plasmon modulation. The mixed-dimensional plasmonic heterostructures may enable diverse designs of tunable plasmonic nanodevices. Surface plasmons have unique physical properties that make them also interesting for technology. Here, the authors observe plasmons in mixed-dimensional heterostructures that can be highly modulated with electrostatic gating, which may be explained by plasmon hybridization Dimensionality has profound effects on the plasmon properties. Plasmons in low dimensions have been intensely studied for their potential in manipulating light–matter interactions far below the diffraction limit5. Notably, in one-dimensional (1D) materials such as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), electrons are strongly correlated with each other as a Luttinger liquid, resulting in peculiar properties of 1D Luttinger plasmons8. The 1D Luttinger plasmon in metallic SWNTs combines a nondispersive plasmon velocity, deep subwavelength confinement, and low loss, but it cannot be actively modulated by gating due to its intrinsic independence on carrier density9. Two-dimensional (2D) graphene sheets encapsulated between hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) layers host highly confined and low-loss 2D plasmons with gate tunability16. Despite extensive efforts to investigate surface plasmons in each dimension as well as in coupled plasmonic systems within the same dimension , the exploration of plasmonic modes in systems of mixed dimensionality has been surprisingly limited21. Recently, mixed-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures have emerged as a promising platform to explore intriguing physical phenomena and new device functionalities25. Theoretical studies further suggest that the coupling between plasmonic materials of mixed dimensionality can drastically change the plasmon dispersion27. However, an experimental realization of the collective plasmon modes of a coupled mixed-dimensional heterostructure has yet to be demonstrated.Surface plasmons are collective charge oscillations coupled to electromagnetic wavesIn this article, we report experimental and theoretical studies of plasmons in mixed-dimensional SWNT/h-BN/graphene heterostructures, which serve as an exemplary 1D-2D hybrid plasmonic system. The results indicate that the experimentally observed tunable plasmon modes are most likely to be interpreted as hybrid plasmons due to the coupling between the 1D SWNT plasmons and the 2D graphene plasmons. This coupling is theoretically expected to lead to efficient electrical control of the highly localized plasmon excitations along the nanotube. Our findings demonstrate that dimensionally mixed coupled plasmonic systems may host plasmons with on-demand properties that cannot be attained in the constituents alone. The approach can be used to design hybrid plasmonic devices with varying functionalities.2/Si. A thin layer of top h-BN (~2 nm) is inserted between SWNT and graphene to avoid direct charge transfer while maintaining efficient electromagnetic coupling. Ultraclean SWNTs are directly grown onto SiO2/Si substrates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD)9. Graphene and h-BN flakes are mechanically exfoliated onto SiO2 (285 nm)/Si substrates. SWNT/h-BN/Graphene heterostructures are assembled by the standard polymer stamp dry-transfer technique28 (see Methods for details). The top h-BN flake does not fully cover the graphene to allow a direct metal contact with the exposed graphene region. The optical image of an as-prepared heterostructure is shown in Fig. As schematically shown in Fig. 11. This infrared nano-imaging technique is based on a tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM). The metallic AFM tip is illuminated with a focused infrared beam of wavelength 10.6 μm (28.3 THz). The sharp tip (~20 nm radius at the apex) acts as an optical nanoantenna and concentrates the incident light into a near-field nanoscale spot, which launches the plasmons in the sample. The launched plasmon wave propagates towards and reflects off the sample edges or other scatterers, forming a standing wave with a period of half plasmon wavelength, λp/2. The signal backscattered by the tip apex contains essential plasmon information and is captured by a mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) detector in the far field. By a raster scan of the sample surface, near-field images are obtained simultaneously with topography. Figure 8.We probe the plasmon modes in the heterostructure using infrared scanning near-field optical microscopy (IR-SNOM) as illustrated in Fig. 1aλ0 of 10.6 μm. The topography and corresponding near-field images of a long SWNT M1 are shown in Fig. Vg is varied away from the charge neutral point Vcnp, the graphene carrier density n and associated Fermi energy EF are tuned continuously as Cg is the capacitance density, ℏ is the reduced Planck constant, and 15. We study the heterostructure for a wide range of gate voltage with a maximum at − 120 V, corresponding to a hole density maximum of 22. The evolution of the twin fringes with gate voltage indicates that the graphene carrier density and associated graphene plasmons are effectively tuned by the applied gate voltage Vg in our measurement. More importantly, we clearly observe that prominent near-field oscillations emerge near the nanotube ends and that they depend sensitively on the gate voltage. The oscillation peaks near the right end correspond to the constructive interference between the plasmon wave excited by the tip and that reflected by the right end7. Note that the plasmon wave reflected by the left end experiences substantial damping during the long-distance roundtrip propagation and therefore has negligible contribution to the signal near the right end. The white double arrow  decreases from 7 to 4. The achieved plasmon wavelength modulation can be estimated to be ~(1/4 − 1/7)/(1/7) ~75%. The gate-tunable plasmons in SWNT M1 and M2 at the positive gate voltage side are shown in Supplementary Fig. The modulation of plasmon excitations is also evident in a short SWNT M2. Fig. ity Fig. , we cleaide Fig. , the cavVg | , the intensity maxima move from the nanotube axis to the top and bottom edges , the graphene plasmons suffer from severe Landau damping by exciting interband electron-hole pairs. When the intraband conductivity dominates at substantially high Fermi energy, the graphene plasmon wavelength EF-dependence is also clearly observed in the infrared nano-imaging of the gate-dependent graphene plasmon interference patterns near the edge of graphene in the same heterostructure  is the gate-tunable Fresnel-like graphene response function for the incoming evanescent waves of an arbitrary momentum k larger than kmed. To solve Eq. 1 analytically, we use the permittivity ratio εin/εmed = −210 + 23.52i to include the substrate effect. It yields λp ~80 nm and Q ~15 at EF = 0 eV, which are consistent with the experimental observations in Figs. A theoretical model is established to better understand the large plasmon modulation in this mixed-dimensional heterostructure, suggesting the likely origin to be the plasmon hybridization. SWNTs can be modeled as ultrathin cylindrical waveguides with radius entclass1pt{minimakp at a given Fermi energy EF, we can obtain the plasmon wavelength Q of the hybrid plasmon modes using the relation r = 0 reduces to that of freestanding SWNTs providing a single solution. On the contrary, Eq. 1 with r ≠ 0 yields double solutions exhibiting the plasmon hybridization in the mixed-dimensional heterostructure as shown in Fig. Vg, but progressively becomes graphene-like (SWNT-like) at higher Vg. The experimentally obtained plasmon wavelength as a function of gate voltage from infrared nano-imaging data of both SWNT M1 and M2 are displayed in black and blue squares, respectively as illustrated in Fig. Solving Eq. 1 for the complex-valued plasmon momentum 29. Second, the quality factor of the lower plasmon branch is smaller than the higher branch. As shown in the simulation results in Supplementary Fig. We hypothesize that the absence of the clear lower plasmon mode in the experimental data is due to a combination of two effects. First, for the lower plasmon mode, the out-of-phase charge oscillations in SWNT and graphene leads to a shorter plasmon wavelength and concentration of the electric field at the gap between SWNT and graphene, resulting in the weaker coupling of this mode to the metallic AFM tip. The gap localization of the lower mode 2 and its consequence are demonstrated in Supplementary Fig. Ez) at SWNT’s bottom surface when an oscillating point dipole source mimicking the tip is used to excite the surface plasmons in the heterostructure. Two dispersion branches in the numerical simulation can be resolved and match well with the theoretical results indicated by the white dashed lines  (see Methods for details). In the numerical simulation, the thin h-BN flake between SWNT and graphene is replaced by air as an approximation to avoid the huge numerical cost, while the dielectric screening effect can be included in the effective permittivity of SWNT. Figure ω(k), will be highly desirable. Systematic study of the hybrid plasmon dispersion in heterostructures with different nanotube diameters and h-BN thicknesses can further elucidate the evolution of the 1D-2D hybrid plasmon as a function of the coupling strength. Experimental realization of these measurements, however, can be challenging. For example, measurements of the plasmon dispersion require a tunable laser over a very broad spectral range away from the phonon bands of both SiO2 and h-BN layers . Such a broadly tunable infrared laser is not available in our current IR-SNOM setup. In addition, the fabrication of clean and gate-tunable SWNT/h-BN/graphene heterostructures with high-quality plasmon modes is quite challenging experimentally, which makes it very difficult to systematically examine the hybridized plasmon oscillations in heterostructures with varying nanotube diameters and h-BN thicknesses. Future improvements on the IR-SNOM apparatus and 1D-2D heterostructure fabrication technique will be needed to realize these measurements.Further experimental studies are needed to establish conclusively the 1D-2D hybrid plasmons in the SWNT/h-BN/graphene heterostructure. A full characterization of the plasmon dispersion as a function of frequency and momentum, that is 21. Optical responses of other metal/polar crystal heterostructures are constrained to the Reststrahlen bands of the polar crystals and cannot achieve broadband spectral coverage16. Although we have focused on a single infrared frequency (28.3 THz) in our study, the coupling effect and plasmon modulation are valid for a broad infrared spectrum where bare SWNT and graphene plasmon momentum can match. The coupled SWNT/h-BN/graphene heterostructure exhibits the combination of broadband response, ultimate confinement limit, and gate tunability, which is superior to other coupled plasmonic systems reported in the literature.It should be noted that some coupled systems have been studied before. For instance, graphene was shown to affect the plasmon resonance in a silver nanowire/graphene structure, but only a few percent modulation has been achieved due to the large mode mismatch between graphene plasmons and silver plasmons33.To conclude, we have experimentally realized a gate-tunable plasmonic system composed of low-dimensional vdW materials with mixed dimensionality in a SWNT/h-BN/graphene heterostructure. We observed gate-tunable plasmons in the heterostructure with a 75% plasmon wavelength modulation. Assisted by theoretical modeling and numerical simulations, we suggest that the plasmon modulation may be possible evidence for the hybridization between 1D plasmons in SWNTs and 2D plasmons in graphene. The coupled plasmonic systems with materials of different dimensionality may enable diverse applications in plasmonic nanodevices and light–matter interactions2/Si substrates by CVD. Graphene and h-BN flakes are mechanically exfoliated onto SiO2/Si substrates. SWNT/h-BN/Graphene heterostructures are assembled by the standard polymer stamp dry-transfer technique. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp coated with a thin polypropylene carbonate (PPC) film is used to sequentially pick up a thick h-BN flake, a graphene flake, a thin h-BN flake, and SWNTs. Graphene is partially covered by the top thin h-BN flake to allow direct contact of a metal electrode on the exposed area. The PPC thin film together with the heterostructure (SWNT/thin h-BN/graphene/thick h-BN) is peeled from the PDMS stamp, flipped over, and transferred onto a clean SiO2 (285 nm)/Si substrate. The sample is annealed in ultrahigh vacuum . At the excitation wavelength of 10.6 µm, the plasmonic responses of both SWNT and graphene are prominent and the effects from the phonon bands of h-BN and SiO2 substrates are negligible. The metallic tip is tapped at a frequency of Ω ~240 kHz, with an amplitude of ~80 nm. The signal backscattered from the tip apex carries local optical information of the sample and is captured by an MCT detector (Kolmar Technologies KLD-0.1-J1/11/DC) in the far field. To suppress the background scattering from the tip shaft and sample, the detector signal is demodulated at a frequency of 3 Ω by a lock-in amplifier (Zurich Instruments HF2LI). By recording the demodulated signal while scanning the sample, near-field images are obtained simultaneously with the topography.The infrared nano-imaging measurement in this work is accomplished using a home-built scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM). To perform infrared nano-imaging, the metallic tip  of a tapping mode AFM (Bruker Innova) is illuminated from the side with a p-polarized infrared beam  and the wavelength of the excitation light (10.6 μm), the thin h-BN spacer is replaced by an air gap of 2 nm. A point electric dipole mimicking the tip normal to the graphene surface (that is z-direction) excites the heterostructure at an oscillating frequency of 28.3 THz (~10.6 μm). The radial electric field, Re(Ez), is taken at the bottom surface of SWNT to avoid dipolar source fields and their diffraction, which can complicate the plasmon dispersion in Fourier transformed profiles.We use COMSOL Multiphysics to simulate the plasmon dispersion and electric field distribution in the heterostructure. SWNTs are modeled by a metallic cylinder with a radius Supplementary Information for Gate-tunable plasmons in mixed-dimensional van der Waals heterostructuresPeer Review File


Drosophila model of ALS based on TDP-43 expression in motor neurons that recapitulates hallmark features of motor neuron disease including TDP-43 aggregation, locomotor dysfunction, and reduced lifespan. To gain insights into metabolic changes caused by TDP-43, we performed global metabolomic profiling in larvae expressing TDP-43  and identified significant alterations in several metabolic pathways. Here, we report alterations in multiple metabolic pathways and highlight upregulation of Tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle metabolites and defects in neurotransmitter levels. We also show that modulating TCA cycle flux either genetically or by dietary intervention mitigates TDP-43-dependent locomotor defects. In addition, dopamine levels are significantly reduced in the context of TDP-43G298S, and we find that treatment with pramipexole, a dopamine agonist, improves locomotor function in vivo in Drosophila models of TDP-43 proteinopathy.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal, complex neurodegenerative disorder that causes selective degeneration of motor neurons. ALS patients exhibit symptoms consistent with altered cellular energetics such as hypermetabolism, weight loss, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and altered glucose tolerance. Although evidence supports metabolic changes in ALS patients, metabolic alterations at a cellular level remain poorly understood. Here, we used a  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects both upper and lower motor neurons (MNs). It leads to the loss of motor coordination, paralysis, respiratory insufficiency, and eventual death within 30 months of symptom onset in most patients. Although several risk factors have been identified, the disease etiology remains poorly understood ,2. Several clinical studies have reported that ALS patients exhibit hypermetabolism, altered energy and lipid metabolism, weight loss, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and altered glucose tolerance, as reviewed in ,4. MetabDrosophila model of ALS based on the over-expression of TDP-43 in MNs. Notably, these models recapitulate several features of motor neuron (MN) disease including locomotor dysfunction, TDP-43 containing cytoplasmic aggregates, and reduced lifespan [Drosophila expressing TDP-43 in MNs exhibit alterations in glycolysis, the carnitine shuttle, and lipid beta oxidation [Drosophila or human mitochondrial isocitrate dehydrogenase 3 (IDH3), or by feeding pyruvate, mitigates TDP-43 dependent locomotor defects. In addition, levels of dopamine are reduced, consistent with reports in ALS patients. We find that the administration of pramipexole, a dopamine agonist, improves locomotor function in Drosophila models of TDP-43 proteinopathy. These results show that dietary intervention or pharmacological and genetic manipulations mitigate TDP-43 induced locomotor dysfunction in vivo and identify broad ranging metabolic deficits that may inform therapeutic strategies based on improving cellular energetics.One of the pathological hallmarks of ALS is the accumulation of TAR DNA binding protein (TDP-43) into irreversible cytoplasmic aggregates . These clifespan ,9. Additxidation ,11,12,13Drosophila models of TDP-43 proteinopathy based on overexpression of wildtype TDP-43 (TDP-43WT) or an ALS-associated mutant variant, G298S (TDP-43G298S), in motor neurons, specifically. Metabolomic profiling was conducted on whole third instar larvae over-expressing TDP-43 in MNs (D42 > TDP-43WT or D42 > TDP-43G298S) and genetic background controls (D42 > w1118) . In brief, five replicates of 100 larvae each were submitted to Metabolon, Inc where they were analyzed for the presence of 572 compounds of known identity (metabolites). Biochemical profiling identified 106 significantly altered metabolites in TDP-43WT compared to controls  and 217 significantly altered metabolites in TDP-43G298S compared to controls   see . These a.05) see .G298S exhibit a significant increase in several TCA cycle intermediates compared to controls  [WT or TDP-43G298S significantly increased the larval turning times  compared to w1118 controls (8.19 ± 0.09 s). Interestingly, overexpression of either hIDH3a or dIDH3a in motor neurons on their own caused a significant increase in larval turning time   subunit a, the catalytic domain of IDH3  , with TD dIDH3a) ,9, expreH3a) see . HoweverWT . These results indicate that high levels of pyruvate rescue TDP-43-induced locomotor deficits and are consistent with increased flux through the TCA cycle as a compensatory mechanism.We have previously shown that the end product of glycolysis, pyruvate, is upregulated in TDP-43-expressing larvae, and genetic interaction experiments with phosphofructokinase  showed that this is a compensatory mechanism , in TDP-43WT, and a trend towards a decrease in TDP-43G298S larvae . These results indicate that a dopamine agonist rescues TDP-43 induced locomotor deficits in vivo.Our data showing that dopamine levels are decreased in the context of mutant TDP-43 overexpression led us to hypothesize that pramipexole, a dopamine agonist that has been shown to reverse motor deficits caused by dopamine depletion in Parkinson’s disease patients, may also be protective in the context of TDP-43 proteinopathy. To investigate if pramipexole can rescue locomotor deficits in fect see , 10 μM pDrosophila ALS models based on the overexpression of TDP-43 in MNs. Notably, our model has previously identified metabolic and molecular alterations that were subsequently validated in ALS spinal cords and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived MNs [Clinical observations identified metabolic alterations in ALS patients that are consistent with altered cellular energetics reviewed in . Howeverived MNs ,18,19. SDrosophila and human metabolism and/or due to limitations in our experimental approach . Alternatively, it is possible that our Drosophila model of ALS does not recapitulate all the aspects of motor neuron disease in humans.In this study, we used global metabolomics to gain insight into altered metabolic pathways in ALS, which could uncover potential therapeutic strategies. Here we report several altered metabolites including amino acids, peptides, lipids, and purine metabolism see , severalDrosophila IDH3a, the catalytic subunit of NAD+-dependent mitochondrial isocitrate dehydrogenase, although toxic on their own, mitigate locomotor deficits in the context of TDP-43. Similarly, dietary supplementation with pyruvate, which is predicted to fuel the TCA cycle, also mitigates TDP-43-induced locomotor deficits. Alternatively, pyruvate could be taken up into glia, where it is converted into lactate and then taken back up into neurons for fueling ATP production  [To further understand the contribution of the TCA cycle defects to TDP-43-dependent toxicity, we used genetic and dietary interventions. IDH3a catalyzes the production of α-ketoglutarate, which can also be replenished by glutaminolysis. In the absence of glutaminolysis, we tested whether IDH3a overexpression in the context of TDP-43 can rescue TDP-43-induced locomotor deficits. Indeed, we found that the overexpression of either human or shuttle) . These rshuttle) . TCA cycshuttle) . While tDrosophila expressing TDP-43 in MNs [At this time, we cannot distinguish whether pyruvate supplementation is protective due to increasing the TCA cycle or due to acting as free radical scavenger, as reported in tumor cells . It will3 in MNs   was added to reach a final concentration of 250 μM. The food was then dispensed into vials and allowed to solidify. For pramipexole supplementation, pramipexole  was dissolved in DMSO and was added to the food to reach a final concentration of 10 μM.Metabolite analyses were performed by Metabolon. Inc as previously described ,13,32. FLarval turning assays were performed as previously described ,9. BriefLarval turning data were analyzed using Kruskal–Wallis tests using GraphPad Prism v9.0.


The photoconductive gain was improved by two orders of magnitude compared to the gain of a photodetector using a graphene/Bi2Te3 nanoplate junction. Additionally, the position of photocurrent generation was investigated at the graphene/Bi2Te3 NWs junction. Eventually, with low bandgap Bi2Te3 NWs and a graphene junction, the photoresponsivity improved by 200% at 2200 nm (~0.09 mA/W).A graphene photodetector decorated with Bi Graphene has attracted much interest for optoelectronic applications due to its unique photonic properties, such as its broad bandwidth absorption, short carrier lifetime, and high gain by the carrier multiplication process ,3,4,5,6.7 A/W photoresponsivity at 895 nm  and exp[−(t − toff)/τoff], respectively, as shown in 2Te3 NW decorated devices, the photocurrent generation time is increased to 8 ms, which represents a two-fold increase compared to the control group without Bi2Te3 NWs. In the case of the falling time, Bi2Te3 NW decorated devices show a longer time of 1.2 ms, compared to 0.8 ms for the control group.A transient photocurrent measurement with/without Bitr, where τ is the lifetime; ttr is the transit time, which is equal to L2/μVd; L is the channel length of the device; μ is the field-effect mobility; and Vd is the voltage applied to the drain. The photoconductive gain of the Bi2Te3 NWs/graphene photodetector was 3 × 104 at 1100 nm, which is two-fold larger than that of the only graphene sample.In addition, the photoconductive gain of each device was calculated using the result of the rising and falling time. The following equation can be employed to calculate the photoconductive gain: G = τ/t2Te3 NWs decoration show a longer rising/falling time compared to the control group due to the charge exchange between Bi2Te3 NW and graphene during the light illumination. In the graphene photodetector, the photocarriers are generated in the whole graphene channel, but the photocarriers generated near the graphene/metal junction can only be collected due to the short recombination time [The devices with Biion time . 2Te3 NWs/graphene photodetector. For the graphene channel device, the photocurrent was generated in the graphene/metal junction area [2Te3 NWs/graphene photodetector, the photocurrent was primarily generated through the whole channel, as shown in 2Te3 NWs decorated the graphene channel, the recombination time seemed to be increased, and the whole channel could be attributed to photocurrent generation. As a result, the absorption was improved for the Bi2Te3 NWs decorated graphene photodetector. This observation confirms that the Bi2Te3 NWs improved the photocurrent generation across the graphene channel. The maximum photocurrent increased five times using Bi2Te3 NWs, from 80 to 400 nA.Scanning photocurrent mapping (SPCM) measurement was carried out with a 530 nm single-mode fiber laser to clarify the exact location of the photocarrier generation in our devices and compare the photocurrent generation mechanism of both the graphene photodetector and Biion area . In the 2Te3 NWs by measuring the photoresponse under an infrared illumination condition  [2Te3 nanoplates/graphene junction (around 83).Overall, the performance of the Bits (103)  and dras2Te3 NWs/graphene junction using the drop-casting method. Graphene was n-doped after making contact with Bi2Te3 NWs, and the photoconductive gain was enhanced further, to 3 × 104, being 1.61 times larger than that of the only graphene photodetector. Additionally, the photoresponsivity under near-infrared was improved by 200% compared to the graphene devices. Moreover, the large area solution was processible and broadband absorption was possible using this structure.In this work, we investigated the Bi


Although the linguistic properties of polar questions have been extensively studied, comparatively little is known about how polar questions are processed in real time. In this paper, we report on three eye-tracking experiments on the processing of positive and negative polar questions in English and French. Our results show that in the early stages, participants pay attention to both positive and negative states of affairs for both positive and negative questions. In the late stages, positive and certain negative polar questions were associated with a bias for the positive state, and this bias appears to be pragmatic in nature. We suggest that different biases in mental representations reflect the hearer’s reasoning about the speaker’s purposes of enquiry. In everyday conversation, we frequently ask and answer polar questions. Indeed, in the Switchboard Speech Act Corpus, polar questions and their answers were among the most frequent speech acts, occurring more often than all wh-questions taken together .Polar questions can be either high negative) and negative polar questions where the negation follows the subject (low negative) as illustrated in (2).Certain languages make a further distinction within the class of negative polar questions depending on the surface position of the negation. For example, English distinguishes negative questions where the negation follows the auxiliary verb . In particular, we were interested in seeing whether positive and negative questions make different propositions cognitively salient, as several of the aforementioned semantic theories suggest.In order to answer this research question, we carried out a series of visual-world eye-tracking tasks. In these tasks, participants were presented with visual scenes containing relevant objects while listening to linguistic stimuli  and an open window in the case of (2b); another image‒the competitor‒mismatched with the content of the sentence, e.g., it showed an open window in the case of (2a) and a closed window in the case of (2a). The remaining two images were distractors, showing, e.g., a sliced pie and an unsliced pie.While listening to these assertions, participants were presented with four images. One of these images‒the Tian and colleagues found that when processing simple positive assertions, participants’ attention was shifted to the target image as soon as the verb was encountered. When processing simple negative assertions, however, participants’ attention was drawn toward both the target and the competitor image for a few hundred milliseconds before being shifted to the target. No difference was found between processing cleft positives and negatives.Tian and colleagues argue that processing assertions out of the blue triggers the representation of different pragmatic contexts. The sentences in their experiment, when uttered out of the blue, evoke different QUDs. In particular, the sentences in (2a-b) tend to be construed as answers to a positive polar question such as ‘Has Matt shut his dad’s window?’, while the sentences in (2c-d) tend to be construed as answers to a wh-question such as ‘Who has shut his dad’s window?’ for (2c), and ‘Who hasn’t shut his dad’s window?’ for (2d).In our study, participants listened to polar questions and responses, such as:While listening to these question–answer pairs, participants saw four images: one image showed an ironed shirt (the p image), one image showed a crumpled shirt (the ~p image), and the other two images were distractors that were included to ensure that participants were unable to predict the upcoming content of the question.We wanted to determine whether, upon hearing a polar question, participants fixate on both the p and ~p image, or whether they fixate primarily on only one of these images. The former is more in line with the partition view; while the latter is more consistent with the proposition–extraction view, as well as the proposals of Roelofsen and Farkas , Krifka In addition, we wanted to see how quickly participants would fixate on either the p or ~p image. For positive assertions, participants fixate on the correct image from the verb onwards. Hence, if polar questions are essentially assertions, as the proposition–extraction view proposes, the same should hold for polar questions. However, if the association between positive polar questions and the p image, and between negative polar questions and the ~p image is pragmatic in nature, we might expect a delay, as is generally found for pragmatic inferences  followed by answers.40 native English speakers were recruited from University College London via an online pool of participants. They all had uncorrected or corrected to normal vision. They were paid four pounds for their participation.The materials consisted of 42 question–answer pairs, such as the ones shown in (3). The questions always contained binary predicates, i.e., predicates whose negation corresponds to a well-defined situation, such as ‘ironed the shirt’, ‘opened the window’, and ‘broke the eggs’. See the “Each question had three forms: positive, high-neg, and low-neg. There were 8 lists containing 1 form of each of the 42 questions. Each list consisted of 14 positive questions, 14 high negative questions, and 14 low negative questions. These lists were supplemented with another 14 positive questions, thus ensuring an equal number of positive and negative questions. Since the latter 14 questions were only tested in one condition, they will not be included in the analyses below. Half of the questions in each condition were confirmed ; the other half rejected . The order of presentation was randomised across the eight lists.target images representing p and ~p , and two distractors, which were images of an item in two states . These distractors were included so that the participants could not predict the verb before hearing it. The critical images and the distractors all measured 250 × 250 pixels. The locations of the target and distractor images were randomised between the eight lists.Each question–answer pair was associated with a visual scene consisting of five images see Fig. : in the t-tests indicated that there were no significant differences in word duration across conditions .Sentences were recorded by a male speaker of South-East British English. There was a pause of 1.5 s between the question and the answer. The speaker was instructed to read all sentences with natural intonation. The average duration of the individual word regions that were identical across the three question forms  never differed by more than 20 ms. Paired The experiment was conducted using the E-Prime software and a Tobii T300 eye-tracker. Participants were calibrated at the beginning of the experiment using a nigh-point display. Before each trial, there was a fixation cross in the centre of the screen, and participants’ eye gaze had to be fixed on this point for a continuous 1.5 s before the trial started. Then a scene of five images (as described above) appeared for one second before the audio started. Participants were instructed to listen and look at the scene. A third of the trials were followed by a comprehension question to ensure that participants paid attention to the audio.We analysed fixations on the p and ~p images against the unfolding audio stimuli. For the analysis of eye movements, word region boundaries were offset by 200 ms to allow for the time it takes to launch eye movements Hallett, . FixatioFigure The results show that participants, upon hearing a positive or negative polar question, fixate on both the p and ~p images from the verb region  onwards. In this respect, polar questions differ from positive assertions. Recall that Tian et al.  observedIn the positive condition, a bias towards the p image emerged, starting in the genitive region  and persisting into the gap region. In the high-neg condition, the bias was similar but less prominent. In the low-neg condition, there was also a mitigated and less persistent bias towards the p image, occurring in the noun region .In order to test whether these biases were statistically significant, we calculated the natural log ratio of the probability of looks to the p image over looks to the ~p image. This measure is symmetrical around 0, meaning that a positive log ratio corresponds to a bias towards the p image and a negative log ratio to a bias towards the ~p image. We conducted mixed linear regression analyses to determine if the log ratios differed reliably from 0. The results of these analyses are shown in Table In the positive condition, there was a significant bias towards the p image from the genitive onwards. In the high-neg condition, the bias emerged in the noun region. In the low-neg condition, the bias also emerged in the noun region, but disappeared immediately afterwards.t(34) = 2.1, p = 0.04, model = intercepts only; positive vs. low-neg: t(36) = 3.2, p = 0.00, model = intercepts for subjects and items; slopes for items; high-neg vs. low-neg: t(36) = 2.8, p = 0.01, model = intercepts for subjects and items; slopes for items). The positive bias was thus more persistent in the positive condition and in the high-neg condition compared to the low-neg condition; there was no significant difference between the positive and high-neg condition.In order to determine if the log ratio differed across conditions, we conducted, for each pair of conditions, mixed linear regression analyses predicting log ratio based on condition. In these analyses, we included random intercepts and slopes for participants and items  had to select the image showing an ironed shirt.40 native English speakers were recruited from University College London via an online pool of participants. All participants had normal or corrected to normal vision and were paid four pounds for their participation.The materials were the same as in Exp. 1.Participants were instructed to identify the image that corresponded to the answer in the question–answer pair. To this end, the four images were geographically mapped to the keys ‘e’, ‘c’, ‘i’, and ‘m’ on the keyboard. These buttons were marked with coloured stickers. Participants were asked to place four fingers on these keys and not look down during the experiment. This did not pose any difficulties to the participants. Participants were familiarised with the procedure by means of four practice trials that included feedback on their performance. Other than this, the procedure was the same as for Exp. 1.All participants achieved an accuracy of over 85% and data from all participants were included. Filtering of eye-tracking data followed the same procedure as Exp. 1.First, we briefly consider the behavioural data to validate the experimental task. Overall, accuracy was close to the ceiling at 94.4% correct responses. Participants were most accurate for positive questions (96.9% correct for both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ responses) and least accurate for low-neg questions (90.3% correct for ‘yes’ responses and 93.4% for ‘no’ responses). Accuracy for high-neg questions fell in between (95.8% correct for ‘yes’ responses and 93.4% correct for ‘no’ responses).Response times, measured from onset of the answer particle, were fastest for positive questions (1282 ms for ‘yes’ answers and 1230 ms for ‘no’ answers). Response times for high-neg questions were substantially slower (1412 ms for ‘yes’ answers and 1514 ms for ‘no’ answers). Response times for low-neg questions were the slowest . All other comparisons were not significant.In order to determine if the log ratio differed across conditions, we conducted, for each pair of conditions, mixed linear regression analyses predicting log ratio based on condition, with random intercepts and slopes for participants and items. Again, we stepwise dropped the random slopes if the models failed to converge. The alpha value was corrected for multiple comparisons and set at 0.016. This analysis indicated that the log ratio in the positive condition is numerically but not significantly higher than the low-neg condition during the noun region and during the first half of the gap  bias for the p image in the positive and high-neg conditions.The first two experiments tested the interpretation of polar questions in British-English, even though the conclusions that we would like to draw are much wider in scope. To address this, we replicated Exp. 2 in a different language: Belgian-French. Of course, even if we confirm the findings of Exps. 1 and 2 in one different language, this would not guarantee that the pattern of results is universal. It would, however, increase the experimental base on which to build more wide-ranging conclusions.There are a couple of differences between polar questions in English and French that warrant discussion up front. First, French has three constructions that can be used to ask questions. To illustrate, the question ‘Do you dance? can be translated into French as:In order to facilitate the comparison with English, and because it is the most natural form with which to ask negative questions, we tested questions that are marked by means of subject-verb inversion, as in (5b).Second, French has no distinction between high-neg and low-neg questions . Hence, we only tested two conditions: positive polar questions  and negative polar questions .Third, the response particle system in French is less ambiguous than in English. In particular, when responding to a negative question, ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ in English are variously used to confirm or reject the corresponding question. In our experiment, however, we always used ‘Yes’ to confirm and ‘No’ to reject questions, and the intended meaning was disambiguated in the continuation . In French, by contrast, ‘Si’ unambiguously confirms and ‘Non’ unambiguously rejects negative questions , we instead placed a temporal adverb between the verb and the object. Participants thus listened to sequences such as:t-tests indicated that there were no significant differences in word duration across conditions .The average duration of the individual word regions that were identical across the three question forms  never differed by more than 30 ms. Paired The procedure was the same as in Exp. 2.First, we briefly consider the behavioural data to validate the experimental task. Accuracy was close to ceiling at 96.3% correct responses. Participants were more accurate for negative questions (98.4% correct for ‘yes’ responses and 95.0% for ‘no’ responses) than for positive questions (98.2% correct for ‘yes’ responses and 93.5% for ‘no’ responses). Recall that, for English, we observed the lowest accuracy for ‘yes’ responses to negative questions; for French, accuracy was the highest in this condition. This difference is likely caused by the presence of French ‘si’ as an unambiguous way of referring to a positive state of affairs, whereas in English ‘yes’ is ambiguous between referring to a positive or negative state of affairs.Response times were also numerically faster for negative questions (1425 ms for ‘yes’ answers and 1582 ms for ‘no’ answers) compared to positive ones (1418 ms for ‘yes’ answers and 1603 ms for ‘no’ answers). However, the difference between positive and negative questions was extremely small. Again, these observations accord with our prior expectations. Hence, we now turn to the eye-tracking data.Figure To test whether the biases were statistically significant, we calculated the natural log ratio of the probability of looks to the p image over looks to the ~p image. We conducted mixed linear regression analyses to determine if the log ratios differed reliably from 0. In these analyses, we included random intercepts and slopes for participants and items. If this analysis did not converge, we stepwise dropped random slopes for items and participants. The results of these analyses are shown in Table Again, participants initially paid attention to both p and ~p images in both positive and negative conditions. In the positive condition, there was a significant bias towards the p image in the noun region and during the second half of the gap between question and answer. In the negative condition, there was a marginally significant positive bias in the verb region and during the first half of the gap between question and answer.t(79) = 2.3, p = 0.03, model = intercepts only).In order to determine if the log ratio differed across conditions, we conducted mixed linear regression analyses predicting log ratio based on condition (positive or negative), with random intercepts and slopes for participants and items. Again, we stepwise dropped the random slopes if the models failed to converge. The alpha value was corrected for multiple comparisons and set at 0.016. This analysis indicated that, in the noun region, the log ratio in the positive condition was numerically but not significantly higher than in the negative condition  and an image of a crumpled shirt (the ~p image).In Exp. 1, participants merely listened to these dialogues while watching visual scenes, occasionally answering comprehension questions to determine whether they were paying attention. In Exps. 2 and 3, participants were instructed to indicate which image corresponded to the answer in the question–answer pair. Exps. 1 and 2 tested polar questions in English ; Exp. 3 tested polar questions in French (positive and negative).The results of the three experiments were largely concurrent. In all conditions, participants paid increased attention to both p and ~p starting soon after hearing the verb, suggesting that participants consider both alternative states of affairs when processing a polar question. In this respect, polar questions differ from positive assertions, as Tian et al.  found thIn later regions, positive questions were associated with a bias towards the p image from the noun region  onwards. A smaller and less persistent bias towards the p image was observed for high-neg questions in English and for negative questions in French. Low-neg questions did not have a clear bias pattern. Although Exp. 1 observed a marginally significant bias towards the p image during the noun region, this effect was not replicated in Exp. 2. A negative bias  was never observed.Assuming that semantic representations straightforwardly map onto cognitive representations . A negative question in French can have the function of a high-neg or a low-neg English question, depending on the context and the question prosody. Given such states of enquiry, we might expect to observe a negative bias, but that was never observed. Why? One possibility is that some low-neg questions, especially in British English, can carry an epistemic bias for p. For example, ‘Is there not some call on judges to be just a little more respectful perhaps when they’re dealing with cases like this?’ . This question implies that the speaker expects p. The other possibility is that the optional positive epistemic bias counter-balanced the negative evidential bias Sudo, ; just liOverall, we argue that gaze biases in the late regions represent pragmatic processing: we represent the questioner’s ‘state of enquiry’. This conclusion rests on the assumption that semantic processing occurs relatively early, whereas the preferences that we observed often emerged more than a second after the question type was disambiguated. We should acknowledge, however, that, while there is evidence in favour of mapping early and late preferences to semantic and pragmatic processing (e.g., Bott & Noveck, This paper investigated the online processing of polar questions, and the properties that may influence the mental representation of polar questions. Through three visual world eye-tracking experiments, we found that in both English and French, the mental representations of polar questions involve representing both p and ~p, which is different from what Tian et al.  observed


This could be attributing to the lubrication effect of the water molecules, which sped up the migration of charged groups in the polyelectrolytes. Moreover, molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that a microphase separation occurred when the fraction reached an extreme value owing to the dominated interaction between PSS and PAH. These results provide support for the structural stability of this composite material and its applications in devices.Graphene/poly-(sodium-4-styrene sulfonate)(PSS)/poly- (PAH) composite is a frequently adopted system for fabricating polyelectrolyte multilayer films. Swelling is the bottleneck limiting its applications, and its effects on the conductivity is still controversial. Herein, we report successful swelling of a graphene/PSS/PAH composite in a vapor atmosphere, and the relation with the mass fraction of water is uncovered. The composite was prepared via a layer-by-layer assembly technique and systematically characterized. The results indicated that the average thickness for each bilayer was about 0.95 nm. The hardness and modulus were 2.5 ± 0.2 and 68 ± 5 GPa, respectively, and both were independent of thickness. The sheet resistance decreased slightly with the prolongation of immersion time, but was distinct from that of the water mass fraction. It reduced from 2.44 × 10 This because the swelling of poly/poly-(sodium-4-styrene sulfonate) (PAH/PSS) multilayers may open cation-exchange sites that preferentially bind K+ to enable highly selective transport [3− molecules exhibit interesting optoelectronic properties, making graphene-based materials potentially useful in a variety of optoelectronic device applications [Polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) films have been extensively explored in the last decade due to their high chemical and physical stability and their high permeability and selectivity. They have shown great promise in applications such as fabricating ultrathin conducting layers, permeation-selective membranes, protective coatings, sensors, and materials for nonlinear optics . For exa4 was about −10 kJ mol−1 for PAH/PSS, indicating the relatively strong association between the polymer segments [−1 [The PAH/PSS was the first system where the stratified nature of linearly growing multilayers was established, and now, it is a widely used polyelectrolyte combination for the buildup of PEM films . PSS andsegments . Varyingents [−1 . Furtherents [−1 ,10 and hents [−1 ,12.3Na and graphene multilayer films formed via π–π interactions not only dispersed well in water owing to the ionic side chains of -SO3Na, but also prevented the aggregation of graphene by electrostatic repulsion [Despite extensive investigations that revealed the factors affecting the building of PEM films, relatively little is known about the humidity that exists within these applications and the methods that control their swelling. For PAH/PSS assembly films, swelling in water was deteriorative for the stability of the nanostructures. Graphene oxide and its derivatives were composited to overcome this obstacle. For example, homogeneous and controllable -SOepulsion . In thisepulsion . The priw = 70,000), poly-(ethylenimine) , and poly-  were all purchased from Sigma-Aldrich . Concentrated sulfuric acid , sodium nitrate (NaNO3), hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrazine monohydrate (N2H4·H2O), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), potassium permanganate (KMnO4), and other chemicals were supplied by Sinopharm Chemical Reagent CO., Ltd. . All chemicals and reagents were used directly as received. Deionized water  was produced with a Milli-Q Plus system (Millipore) .Natural graphene flake (Grade-300), poly-(sodium-4-styrene sulfonate)  solution. The π-like stacking of benzene rings of PSS benefits the binding of PSS and graphene sheets, leading to a high fraction of individualized graphene after dispersion and reduction. Details: Graphene oxide was synthesized by Hummer’s method [2SO4/H2O2 (v/v: 3/1) at 80 °C for 1 h [Reduced graphene oxide composite was assembled on glass following the schematic shown in  for 1 h . General for 1 h . Hence, 2O mass fraction). After that, the sheet resistance was measured using a four-probe method.The traditional method, which involves immersing the assembled film in electrolyte solution for a certain amount of time, followed by washing and drying, leads, no doubt, to mass loss, especially for the polyelectrolytes in the film. Disruption of inter-polyelectrolyte binding also lies in the heart of salt-induced and pH-induced dissolution of multilayers. So as to avoid an erosion phenomenon in pure water, we swelled the composite film with water vapor at room temperature. The prepared composite films were immersed in water vapor for 24 h to complete the swelling, and then were dried in the air to reach a target mass  and FT-IR spectra (Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometer 3100) were assessed under a laser wavelength of 532 nm and an intensity of 1.5 mW. The wave number range was 4000–400 cm−1. A minimum of 16 scans signal-averaged with a resolution of 2 cm−1 was employed.The spectroscopic properties were investigated using the UV-Vis spectra  with a scanning range of 200–800 nm and a scanning speed of 300 nm·minThe morphologies were investigated with an atomic force microscope  on a Veeco Icon in the taping mode, and scanning electron microscopy  was performed on a HITACHI S4300 system at the accelerated voltage of 20 kV. Transmission electron microscopy measurements were performed on a Tecnai G2 F30 microscope  at 80 kV.The mechanical properties were tested by using nano-indentation experiments on a Nano Indenter XP system after a standard calibration. The Poisson ratio was set to 0.25, the surface-approach velocity was 10 nm/s, the strain rate target was 0.05/s, and the frequency target was 45 Hz. Keithley S4200  was used to measure the sheet resistances with a four-probe method under different levels of humidity at room temperature (30 °C). 3− groups showed the strongest inter-polyelectrolyte binding, resulting in inhibited chain exchange within PEMs. Prior to the assembly, PEI was first absorbed on the substrate to enhance the binding strength between the film and substrate. The growth of the multilayers was monitored using the UV-Vis spectrum. The UV-Vis curves are shown in −2 . Note that PAH and PSS had the same linear charge density; thus, the surface coverage was the same, and each adsorption step was accompanied by charge overcompensation [− ions dissolved from the multilayer, which was now positively charged. The surface charge density was again unusually low at 0.62 ± 0.22 mC m−2. Actually, the uniformity of the composite was key in obtaining excellent mechanical properties.Polycations with a high density of primary amino groups and polyanions with SOensation . During −1. The decrease in the peak intensity indicated that most of the –OH groups in graphene oxide were removed after the reduction by N2H4·H2O. The peaks of the C=O group were located between 1650 and 1750 cm−1 owing to asymmetric stretching. The peaks at 1540 and 1182 cm−1 were assigned to C=C bonds and C–O–C groups. The peak at 800 cm−1 was attributed to para-disubstituted benzene rings. The Raman peaks located at 1580 and 1380 cm−1 were G and D bands, respectively [3 to sp2.ectively ,20. The 2/Si substrate (A typical AFM test in the taping mode was performed, which indicated an average film thickness of 95 nm on a SiOubstrate a,b. The The mechanical properties, e.g., elastic modulus and hardness, were characterized by a nano−indentation method owing to its excellent performance on at the nano−scale. The variations in the hardness and modulus with the indentation depth are shown in 5 to 2.38 × 105 ohm/sq after immersion for 24 h. The sheet resistance decreased slightly with the prolongation of immersion time; however, the modified value was less than only 10% and was eventually saturated, which should not affect the fundamental properties. The influence of the H2O mass fraction, however, was different. It was reduced from 2.44 × 105 to 2.34 × 105 ohm/sq, and the rate of change increased with the increase in the H2O mass fraction, especially when the mass fraction was larger than 5%. This can be attributed to the lubrication effect of the water overflow in the film, which accelerated the migration of charged groups into the polyelectrolytes. However, when the mass fraction of H2O continued to increase, the interaction between PSS and PAH dominated and a microphase separation occurred, which led to restacking of the graphene sheets and, thus, a decrease in sheet resistance. Furthermore, graphene sheets could help to stabilize the polyelectrolyte films and greatly reduce the inner resistance by changing the transport of the electrons from a “point-to-point” mode to a more effective “plane-to-point’’ mode [The effect of the swelling of thin films on the sheet resistance is the key for further consideration. t’’ mode . 2O mass fraction, however, was different. It was reduced from 2.44 × 105 to 2.34 × 105 ohm/sq, and the rate of change increased with the increase in the H2O mass fraction, especially when the mass fraction was larger than 5%. This could be attributed to the lubrication effect of the water overflow in the film, which accelerated the migration of charged groups into the polyelectrolytes. When the mass fraction of H2O continued to increase, the interaction between PSS and PAH dominated and a microphase separation occurred. These results provide support for applications of the graphene/PSS/PAH thin films. In summary, we report the successful fabrication of a graphene/PSS/PAH composite for swelling studies. The composite was prepared via a layer-by-layer assembly technique and systematically characterized by UV-Vis, Raman, and FT-IR spectra, atomic force microscopy, a nano-indentation procedure, a four-probe method, and a theoretical calculation. An average film thickness of 0.95 nm was found for each bilayer. The average hardness and modulus were about 2.5 ± 0.2 and 68 ± 5 GPa, and both were independent of the thickness, which made the composite film easy to peel off and transfer to an arbitrary target. The sheet resistance decreased slightly with the prolongation of the immersion time. The influence of the H


Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic disease of connective tissue with granuloma formation of unknown etiology and unclear prevalence. Internet search data has been shown to correlate with disease incidences and the population’s interest as well as seasonal variations. Accordingly, aim of this study was to leverage internet search data on sarcoidosis-related keywords to identify unmet needs, geographical and seasonal factors influencing sarcoidosis and estimating its prevalence. In this retrospective longitudinal study, Google Ads Keyword Planner was used to determine the internet search volume of terms related to sarcoidosis across Germany as a whole and in 17 major German cities between July 2015 and June 2019. Identified keywords were qualitatively categorized, converted into number of searches per 100,000 inhabitants and analyzed including regional and seasonal differences. With 3,068,200 queries and 425 different sarcoidosis-related search terms in the studied time period, the search volume was very high for a rare disease. Most searches (67.9%) related to general disease information with “sarcoidosis”, "Löfgren's syndrome", "sarcoidosis lung", "Morbus Boeck" and "neurosarcoidosis" as the top five keywords. Searches per 100,000 inhabitants were comparable in all 17 cities but higher than in Germany as a whole. Overall, the search volume increased from 2015 to 2019 and peaked annually in European springtime with annual lows in European autumn and winter months. The overall high search volume suggests an unmet need for sarcoidosis-related information and a diagnostic gap. Seasonal fluctuations indicate environmental as well as climatic factors that may influence sarcoidosis. Histologically, non-necrotic granulomas with giant multinucleated cells dominate1. With an average lung involvement of about 90%, sarcoidosis most frequently causes pulmonary manifestations and often affects the mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes4. The prognosis depends on the type of sarcoidosis, the response to therapy, and the general condition of the individual5. Prevalence and incidence are not known for certain partly due to the disease’s nonspecific symptoms and its subsequent long diagnostic process7. In Europe, the annual sarcoidosis incidence is estimated at 5–60 cases per 100,000 inhabitants with a lifetime prevalence of 44 cases per 100,000 inhabitants9. Overall, it is estimated that there are about 30,000 cases in Germany with its total population of 83 million. The etiology of sarcoidosis is still unclear5. Currently, it is assumed that in a genetically predisposed person an immune dysfunction can be triggered by an as yet unidentified environmental factor4. This immune disorder, in turn, triggers a cascade which ends in a systemic granulomatous inflammation5. Infectious agents are repeatedly discussed as being possible environmental triggers, although a case–control study based on Swedish population registers found no significant correlation between infectious diseases and the development of sarcoidosis10. However, other studies concluded that exposure to aerosol infectious as well as seasonal and geographical variations in disease incidence could provide indications of the etiological significance of infectious agents14. Studies have also shown that the number of sarcoidosis cases varies within a country depending on the region. Although no clear urban or rural differentiation can be identified16.Sarcoidosis, also known as Boeck’s disease, is a multisystemic disease of connective tissue with granuloma formation and is described as the chameleon among the multisystemic diseases because of its varying manifestations, initial clinical signs, and course from patient to patient18. Approximately 95% of Germans use Google as a search engine in everyday life, which is why data tracking offers a variety of possibilities19. As demonstrated in previous studies, the analysis of Google search data is an unconventional approach to investigating people's needs and interest in various diseases21. Furthermore, websearch data has been shown to significantly correlate with the incidence of infectious diseases22. Hence, the aim of this study was to analyse nationwide and regional internet search data on sarcoidosis in Germany to identify unmet needs and geographical factors influencing the disease.There are no clear epidemiological data on prevalence and incidence of sarcoidosis in Germany. One approach to better understand the incidence and prevalence of diseases is to analyse the search volume of related search terms in online search engines such as Google, as the Internet is used as a common source of health information23. The term search volume applies to the number of searches for a topic or search term. To assess its volume within a specific field, words are initially entered into the Keyword Planner; thereupon, the program provides keywords that are most relevant to the topic. Only data from German IP addresses using Google in the German language were considered. Due to the described seasonal differences in sarcoidosis incidence, we defined the summer/spring months as March to August and the autumn/winter months as September to February13.In this retrospective longitudinal analysis, Google Ads Keyword Planner was used to assess the search volume of terms related to the German word for sarcoidosis (‘Sarkoidose’) across Germany as a whole and in 17 large German cities  between July 2015 and June 2019. Cities were chosen not only for their size but also for their geographic distribution across the country. In order to provide a better overview, the selected cities were allocated according to their geographical location as north, east, south and west and then graphically displayed together accordingly. The Keyword Planner is normally used in advertising to optimize marketing campaigns, but since the tool provides the monthly search volume of a specific topic, it can also be used for scientific purposes24.All identified keywords were qualitatively assessed and classified by the authors. Keywords that were not relevant to sarcoidosis were excluded from analysis . The cities with the lowest relative search volume were Berlin , Bremen , and Hamburg . In contrast, the highest number of searches per 100,000 inhabitants was observed in Freiburg , followed by Muenster  and Kiel , which reflect how this multisystemic disease often manifests itself first in the lungs and the skin25. The high interest in neurosarcoidosis seen with "neurosarcoidosis" being among the top five search terms is notable considering since it is a rare organ manifestation that only occurs in 5–10% of all cases in conventional studies26. This might underline people's fear of this sarcoidosis subtype or just an exaggerated interest due to the rarity of neurosarcoidosis. For example, “eye melanoma” is a rare disease shown to have similarly high interest in the population21. Another explanation is an increased interest stemming from individuals who show neurological symptoms but have not been diagnosed with neurosarcoidosis informing themselves online on this rare organ manifestation.The three most frequently searched terms, “sarcoidosis”, “Löfgren’s syndrome”, and “sarcoidosis lung”, are representative of their respective diagnoses, since sarcoidosis summarizes all sarcoidosis subtypes, Löfgren’s syndrome is found in up to 50% of all cases, and the lung is the most frequently affected organ13. One possible explanation for the observed increase in search volume in this study is the preceding wave of influenza. Granulomas of (symptomless) pulmonary sarcoidosis are often discovered by chance in chest X-rays, which are performed to identify influenza complications27. Another possible explanation is the strain on the immune system by high pollen counts in the spring that prompt inflammation of the respiratory epithelium through oxidase and neutrophil activity. This could augment the risk for developing sarcoidosis and exacerbate chronic sarcoidosis symptoms29. This assumption is supported by the fact that every year the volume of search terms was higher in April and May than in the other months. The deterioration of chronic lung diseases caused by pollen has already been observed in other studies on asthma31. Climate differences could also play a role, which would explain the decline in searches during the winter months. However as mentioned above, in other studies no statistically significant differences could be found, which makes the results of this websearch analysis even more interesting13. Furthermore, April 2019 was particularly striking with search results rising to 138 searches/100,000 inhabitants. That year the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) declared April “Sarcoidosis Month” and through campaigns sought to increase awareness about the disease, which would possibly explain this substantial peak in search volume.The study results indicate an increase in search volume for sarcoidosis during springtime. One study does indicate differences in terms of decreasing numbers in autumn compared to higher numbers in spring, which however, where not statistical significance33. However, it can be assumed that there are differences in access to specialists between urban and rural regions because of disparities in infrastructure and the allocation of health insurance fund seats according to the density of the patient population34. Previous studies have shown that people living in rural areas are less likely to visit specialists35. Accordingly, people living closer to specialists might consult a specialist instead of using Google for health-related information. In the case of sarcoidosis, this could mean that people living in rural areas are less likely to be diagnosed36. In smaller cities people might get the diagnosis, but as the medical care to specialists is less in comparison to big cities, they have less opportunity to ask questions about the disease. This deficit in information supply might be compensated by search queries. Another explanation could be that smaller cities like Freiburg, Muenster, Kiel, and Rostock, have a higher proportion of medical students and healthcare professionals within the respective inhabitants than large cities do and that the higher search volume of sarcoidosis related keywords in these cities can be attributed to medical students performing online research on the disease. Overall, the search queries in each city were higher than the national average. This was particularly noticeable in Kiel, Freiburg, and Erfurt. This phenomenon could also be explained by the lack of diagnosis in rural areas. The high search volume in Freiburg may be explained by the presence of the National Action Alliance for People with Rare Diseases, which has established appropriate structures for patient care in the University Hospitals of Freiburg and Tübingen37. Furthermore, it was shown that older people use the Internet less common, which might be one reason for the lower number of search queries in the whole of Germany compared to the cities examined38. Assuming that a higher search volume correlates with a higher prevalence of sarcoidosis like shown in studies on melanoma36, the study results contradict those from a previous study that found a higher prevalence among people living in rural areas12. The results of the Google analysis could accordingly indicate a much higher prevalence of sarcoidosis than previously assumed.The result showed that the search volume per 100,000 inhabitants was sustainable higher in smaller cities such as Freiburg and Muenster than in larger cities like Berlin and Hamburg. The lower number of search queries in bigger cities might be explained by the better access to medical care with specialists in larger cities than in smaller cities. There are some studies on the over- and undersupply of specialists in rural areas, such as neurologists and psychiatrists, but none specifically related to sarcoidosisUltimately, the discrepancy in search volume between individual cities and Germany as a whole can suggest an actual variation in sarcoidosis prevalence, but it also reflects different demographic distributions and better availability of resources, closer networking such as self-help groups and medical care in urban areas.39. Another study reported that online tools play an important role in gathering information regarding rare diseases40. Based on these findings, it can be assumed that there is a relation between search behavior and the occurrence of sarcoidosis. Another limitation is that Google through its autocomplete function provides search suggestions that could as well distort search behavior. Moreover, data provided by Google Ads Keyword Planner are based on monthly estimations instead of exact numbers and thus might slightly differ from the actual search volume. Therefore, the search behavior in cities might be rather overestimated, while it might be underestimated for Germany as a whole36.There are some study limitations. Google analyses are limited to people who have access to the Internet and use Google as a search engine. Although 95 percent of Germans use Google as a search engine, only including data collected from Google excludes information from a portion of the population. In general, young people use the Internet more than older people. On user demographics, the study is not able to show correlations with people’s age, gender, or nationality. Accordingly, the study might underestimate the disease burden through exclusion of elderly members of the population as well as foreign, non-German speaking residents. Another limitation of the present study is that the searches do not necessarily have to originate from affected individuals, but also from physicians, medical students, or relatives who are interested in the topic as well. It must be taken into consideration that most of the cities included in the study have large medical schools, which can lead to a disproportionately high number of searches through online student activity and medical research. Accordingly, this could be another explanation for the higher number of searches per 100,000 inhabitants in Freiburg for example. Furthermore, there is no information whether a few individuals searched very often or whether many people searched once or twice. So far, there is no study that assessed the correlation between online searches and the prevalence of sarcoidosis. However, considering other studies, a correlation between the number of Google searches and the number of registered cases such as skin cancer or multiple sclerosis was foundThe study demonstrated that there is an unmet need for information within affected individuals and the population for sarcoidosis-related keywords, as the search volume for this rare disease is relatively high in relation to the estimated prevalence in Germany. Another perspective of course could be that the prevalence is higher than previously assumed based on conventional studies, given the high number of searches in the cities in comparison to the overall search volume across the whole of Germany. Furthermore, low web search numbers in rural areas indicate a diagnostic gap and the clearly increased web search frequency in spring suggests environmental and climatic trigger factors, worthy of further investigation.


Zhang et al.  recently reported that SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be retrotranscribed and integrated into the DNA of human cells by the L1 retrotransposon machinery. This phenomenon could cause persistence of viral sequences in patients and may explain the prolonged PCR-positivity of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, even long after the phase of active virus replication has ended. This commentary does critically review the available data on this topic and discusses them in the context of findings made for other exogenous viruses and ancestral endogenous retroviral elements. The COVID pandemic that started at the end of 2019 led to a remarkable mobilization of scientific efforts as evidenced by > 175.000 publications to date. Among these, the work by Zhang et al. triggered an animated debate in the scientific community [These original reports opened a heated debate on the correctness of the findings and their relevance for recovered COVID patients and subsequent work was initiated to test alternative explanations. It was proposed early on that the observed chimeric RNAs could be artifacts generated during cDNA library preparation. Two findings hint at this possibility. First, the directionality of the observed chimeric transcripts, in which a large fraction of SARS-CoV-2 RNA derives from the (–) strand, in contrast to the predominance of ( +) strand RNAs in SARS-CoV-2 natural infection. Second, the absence of the 3’ end and polyA tail of the viral genome, which are commonly present in integrated sequences processed by L1 elements.The origin of the chimeric human-SARS-CoV-2 reads in RNA-seq libraries was subsequently investigated in a dedicated study , which sTo put these recent reports in a broader context, some consideration should be given to the molecular biology of L1 elements and their interplay with viruses. L1 elements represent the most abundant subfamily of non-LTR retrotransposons, accounting for ∼17% of the human genome. L1 elements are autonomous for self-mobilization by encoding two proteins (ORF1 and ORF2) that together mediate reverse transcription of their own RNA and subsequent integration of the resulting dsDNA in the cellular genome . This prThere are few reports on L1-mediated mobilization of viral transcripts. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) induced by hepatitis B virus (HBV), recurrent integration of HBV subgenomic RNAs was reported to yield a chimeric long non-coding RNA between the HBV mRNA for the X antigen (HBx) and L1 RNA in > 23% of patient samples . Of noteThe most remarkable case of L1-virus interplay does however not involve “modern” human viruses, but rather a group of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) that were acquired by the primate genome some 20–43 million years ago through infection of the germ line by now-extinct retroviruses . The haltrans-mobilization has been infrequent even for exogenous retroviruses that use integration as a key feature of their replication cycle. Accordingly, despite the evidence that the primate DNA genome has been invaded repeatedly by exogenous retroviral infections during evolution, only a single HERV group was copied-and-pasted by the L1 machinery, and the molecular signatures that facilitate viral RNA retrotransposition by the L1 apparatus are still poorly defined. It is known that SINE non-autonomous retrotransposons exploit the L1 machinery for retrotransposition, which is based on 3′ end sequence similarity between LINEs and SINEs [Overall, it seems unlikely that the L1 machinery is responsible for “genuine” SARS-CoV-2 genomic integration in infected cells. In fact, this process of nd SINEs . Given tFurther studies are necessary to assess the actual impact of active retrotransposons in the mobilization of viral and host transcripts and to characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying their integration in the host genome and their subsequent expression.


Straintronics is a new concept to enhance electronic device performances by strain for next-generation information sensors and energy-saving technologies. The lattice deformation in graphene can modulate the thermal conductivity because phonons are the main heat carriers. However, the device fabrication process affects graphene’s heat transport properties due to its high stretchability. This study experimentally investigates the change in the thermal conductivity when biaxial tensile strain is applied to graphene. To eliminate non-strain factors, two mechanisms are considered: pressure-induced and electrostatic attraction–induced strain. Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy precisely estimate the strain. The thermal conductivity of graphene decreases by approximately 70% with a strain of only 0.1%. Such thermal conductivity controllability paves the way for applying graphene as high-efficiency thermal switches and diodes in future thermal management devices. For effective thermal management and energy recycling of devices, understanding the thermal transport properties of materials is crucial. A heat spreader requires a high thermal conductivity material to dissipate the heat generated from electronic devices efficiently. On the other hand, thermoelectric conversion has attracted much attention as a renewable energy. This technology requires materials with higher electrical but lower thermal conductivities. Consequently, many theoretical and experimental studies have investigated the reduction in thermal conductivity to improve the thermoelectric conversion efficiency.1. As a representative 2D material, graphene has potential for mechanical4 and electrical8 devices. Graphene displays much higher thermal transport properties than existing materials12. Due to its 2D nature, its thermal conductivity can easily be modified by introducing carbon isotopes15, structural defects19, and domain boundaries21. These modifications can control the thermal conductivity in applications such as thermal management devices.Two-dimensional (2D) materials composed of one-atom-thick layers exhibit outstanding characteristics, which differ from those of three-dimensional materials, and are expected to realize future electronic devices22, the change in its thermal conductivity due to the continuous introduction of strain has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we investigate the thermal conductivity changes due to strain in identical graphene drums. To eliminate other factors that may alter the thermal conductivity, strain was introduced by two different mechanisms: pressure difference–induced strain (DEVICE 1) and electrostatic attraction–induced strain (DEVICE 2). The thermal conductivity was measured using Raman spectroscopy, which is very sensitive to the number of layers25, temperature27, and strain29. AFM-based analyses were used to precisely estimate the strain into graphene.Since phonons are the main heat carriers in graphene, strain-induced lattice deformation easily modulates phonon propagation, leading to changes in the thermal conductivity. Due to its high stretchability, the device fabrication process affects graphene’s heat transport properties. To utilize graphene in electronic and thermal management devices, elucidating its thermal transport properties against strain is essential. Although the thermal conductivity of graphene with strain was recently reported6 and C4F8 gases . The holes with the depth of approximately 170 μm do not pass through the substrate  in a Si/SiO2 substrate on which the Cr/Au (20 nm/80 nm) electrodes were deposited in advance. The graphene film, which was mechanically exfoliated from kish graphite, was transferred to produce a suspended drum-shaped graphene membrane as described previously. Strain was applied by the electrostatic force generated with the electrical voltage VG between graphene and the Si substrate  was used to observe the surface morphology of the graphene bulge at various pressures Fig. . The samses Fig. b. It sho34. The thermal conductivity κ is calculated bya is the radius of the graphene drum (7.5 μm), r0 is the radius of the laser beam, t is the graphene thickness, Qabs is the laser power absorbed by graphene, and ΔT is the temperature rise induced by laser irradiation. In our setup, α is 0.9819. The graphene thickness estimated by AFM is 6.1 nm, which corresponds to 18 layers. Assuming that the temperature of the drum edge is at room temperature, the temperature rise ΔT at the center of the drum is estimated by35We measured the thermal conductivity of graphene using Raman thermometryentclass1pt{minimaχ and out. The samples were set in a vacuum chamber , where the pressure in the chamber was changed with a variable leak bulb. After reaching the appropriate pressure, Raman spectra were collected with the vacuum pump turned off to avoid the vibration problem. Raman spectra were obtained with a 100 × objective using a 532-nm laser as an excitation source. The Raman line scanning mode across a steep edge of a gold electrode on Si/SiO2 substrate estimated the diameter is 0.65 μm36. Figure out decreases due to the induced strain, except at 100 kPa, where the graphene drum is initially bent inward  to calculate ned Fig. b. Changiout was changed. Then an analytical model37 estimated the stress and strain induced at the center of the membrane when the circular graphene drum bulged. In this model, in-plane stress (σ) and in-plane strain To estimate the strain induced by the pressure difference, AFM measured the mechanical deformation of the graphene membrane as PP is the pressure applied to graphene a is the radius of the graphene membrane (7.5 μm). t is the graphene membrane thickness (6.1 nm). h is the height of the bulge measured by AFM, and h0 is the height of the membrane at a strain of 0. This model can be applied when the membrane is initially slack. From the above equations, stress Δout is 87 kPa, the in-plane stress and strain induced into graphene can be calculated at a given pressure by Eqs. ..\documen29. Since the Raman peak positions are temperature-dependent27, the effect of laser heating on the Raman spectra cannot be ignored. Therefore, we extrapolated the G peak position without the laser heating effect from the y-intercept in Fig. Then we extracted the change in the Raman peaks due to strain from Fig. out, the strain induced into graphene can be estimated more precisely. Figure G0 is 1581.6 cm-1. This coincides with the experimentally obtained G band position without the strain effect. Hence, the strain can be estimated from the Raman spectra Finally, by combining the strain estimated from AFM Figure G between graphene and the Si substrate. Figure G. The displacement of the graphene drum increases with increasing VG. The trend is consistent with the finite element calculation (COMSOL) with a graphene thickness of 3.4 nm and Young’s modulus of 0.78 TPa  using the device shown in Fig. G. As mentioned above, the y-intercepts were obtained as the values of G and 2D band peak positions without the laser heating effect. Consistent with a previous report44, the G and 2D peak positions change positively with respect to the applied voltage VG  of the strain vector (slope: 2.1) with G was estimated relative to that when VG = 0 V  and − 0.0296 cm-1/K (DEVICE 2) in our experiment compared to the reported value (− 0.011 cm-1/K)45. The strain induced in graphene may vary depending on the temperature when measuring the temperature coefficient47, implying that the temperature coefficients became unexpectedly high. As expressed in Eq. . Thus, the thermal conductivity reduction by the strain introduction is typical for graphene samples irrespective of the number of layers.Since the deflection mechanisms differ between DEVICE 1 (pressure difference) and DEVICE 2 (electrostatic attraction), the change in the thermal conductivity primarily originates from the biaxial strain induced into the graphene network. It is noteworthy that the stain-induced thermal conductivity change is observed not only for multilayer graphene used in this study but also for exfoliated monolayer graphene48. Because long-wavelength phonons mainly contribute to the thermal energy transport, the phonon group velocity for heat conduction is nearly equal to the speed of sound in a material. The speed of sound in a material is proportional to the square root of the stiffness due to the nonlinear character of lattice elasticity. Consequently, the phonon group velocity decreases significantly as the tensile strain increases. Thermal conductivity κ is expressed as C is the specific heat, v is the phonon group velocity, and λ is the mean free path (MFP) of a phonon. In other words, the thermal conductivity decreases as the phonon group velocity decreases. In addition, biaxial tensile strain also reduces the stiffness in the out-of-plane direction48, drastically changing the thermal conductivity in multilayer graphene compared to that in single-layer graphene.The tensile strain decreases the stiffness tensor and increases in lattice anharmonicityλph, λdef, λGB, and λel are the phonon MFP due to intrinsic phonon–phonon, phonon–defect, phonon–grain boundary, and phonon–electron scatterings, respectively. Here, the effect of phonon–phonon scattering must be considered because both DEVICE 1 and DEVICE 2 show identical thermal conductivity changes, implying that other factors may have a relatively small effect.Next, the change in the phonon MFP due to strain must be considered. According to Matthiessen’s rule, the phonon MFP is described by 49. The downshift of phonon frequencies causes more activated phonon modes, enhancing Umklapp scattering. All the aforementioned effects significantly reduce λph. Consequently, the decreased phonon MFP drastically reduces the thermal conductivity of the graphene drums.The strain responsible for thermal conductivity reduction in this study may be nonuniformly distributed over the graphene membrane. Nonuniform strain typically breaks the crystal symmetry of graphene by enhancing phonon–phonon scattering. On the other hand, strain also splits the two degenerate optical dispersion branches (LO and TO) at the G points to create a phonon bandgapHerein we investigated the change in the thermal conductivity of single crystalline multilayer graphene by biaxial strain. Two mechanisms were used to introduce strain: pressure difference–induced strain and electrostatic attraction–induced strain. By precisely estimating the strain using AFM and Raman spectroscopy, we found that both mechanisms drastically reduce the thermal conductivity by 60–70% with a strain of approximately 0.1%. This reduction does not originate from convective heat transfer or phonon–electron scattering, but it may be due to the decreased phonon group velocity and MFP caused by strain. Consequently, strain-controlled heat conduction may realize thermal management devices such as high-efficiency thermal switches and diodes.Supplementary Figures.


Increasingly, firefighting aerosols are being used to extinguish fires. It is assumed that the extinguishing mechanism involves breaking the chain of physicochemical reactions occurring during combustion by binding free radicals at ignition. The radicals are most likely formed from the transformation of water molecules, with the active surfaces of aerosol micro- or even nanoparticles. The aerosol extinguishing method is very effective even though it does not reduce oxygen levels in the air. In contrast to typical extinguishing powders, the aerosol leaves a trace amount of pollutants and, above all, does not adversely affect the environment by depleting the ozone layer and increasing greenhouse effects. Depending on how the firefighting generators are released, the aerosol can act locally or volumetrically, but depending on environmental conditions, its effectiveness can be variable. The article presents the influence of environmental humidity on the atomization of aerosol nanosize, which confirms the radical combustion mechanism. This paper presents the effect of environmental humidity on the atomization of aerosol superfine (nano) particles. The main focus was on the grain distribution and its effect on the surface activity of the FP-40C type firefighting aerosol. Changes in the characteristic parameters of the particle size distribution of RRSB (Rosin-Rammler-Sperling-Bennet) are presented. The mechanism of action of extinguishing spray is not yet well understood. It is assumed to be associated with the inhibition of the combustion reaction. In further explaining this mechanism, it is important to know the form of fuel, oxygen and the environment in which, during a fire, the chain reactions can occur. For simplicity, we can assume that coal and hydrogen are considered as fuels in the environment. Fuel can exist in different states of matter, however, and in the case of a flame combustion reaction, only the gaseous state carrying the mentioned hydrogen and carbon atoms, is present. A similar combustion mechanism may occur in the case of liquid fuel combustion, although in this case the liquid vaporizes first. In other words, it should be assumed that flame combustion occurs only in a gaseous environment. A schematic of the flame combustion of solid and liquid fuels is shown in 3O*, H2O2*, etc., which support combustion reactions. Through radical recombination, the eventual fire is sustained until the potential for radical formation is exhausted 0.632d—average population diameter by RRSB in which 63.2% of the grains are smaller (1 − 1/e = 0.632)a—constant of homogeneityThe cumulative curve of the RRSB function (after integration) is described by the following equation:fA)] with respect to d in logarithmic coordinates, since the linear form can be derived in Equation (3), while the ratio 0.632d/d is the variance form of the nanoparticle size distribution. The convolution of the grain-frequency distribution function of the RRSB in the investigated size range, i.e., from 15–685 nm, can also represent the atomization activity of fA aerosol (neglecting the aspects of mass and shape of aerosol nanoparticles) in a large simplification  . HoweverFixed aerosol extinguishing systems are a generation of very effective systems used to extinguish all groups of fires, except for fire group D , although even here there is no conclusive evidence. Although the fire suppression mechanisms are not well understood, many successful implementations have been made using them.Superfine powder particles act as fire suppressors through heterogeneous free radical inhibition. The heterogeneous  quenching mechanism results in a ‘‘thermal death’’ effect of free radical flame burning (FFR) on the powder surface. The powder remains in the solid phase, does not evaporate and acts as a “cold medium” in which recombination reactions take place to break the chain combustion process. Each single particle of extinguishing powder, in the process of adsorption, contributes to the destruction of radicals, so it is important to have the maximum possible fineness, which can be obtained at the right humidity (70%).Therefore, intensive research is still being conducted. First of all, it has been shown that firefighting aerosols are highly dispersed when atomized in an environment of about 70% humidity. This fact opens new cognitive possibilities towards the elucidation of their mechanism of action. Probably, water molecules and their radicals immediately adhere to the surface of atomized nanosized grains forming an envelope. Such a mechanism, on the one hand, hinders the aggregation of aerosol superfine particles caused by a large surface development, and on the other hand, effectively traps radicals. However, the aqueous envelope can evaporate at high temperatures and the aerosol becomes invisible. This probably occurred in the 70% humidity environment  where thA lower ambient humidity immediately changes the dispersion of aerosols toward larger sizes. This is caused by their rapid aggregation as in In dry (30% humidity) and very humid (90% humidity) environments, the number of aerosol particles decreases over time due to both aggregation and clumping.The size of the mode fraction, median and mean value of the aerosol increases over time from 20 to 50 nm depending on the environmental humidity.The most preferable conditions for extinguishing aerosol atomization occur in an environment with a humidity of about 70%, which may be connected with more effective capture of water radicals of chain reactions occurring in flame fires.