Video_1_A brain-inspired robot pain model based on a spiking neural network.MP4

IntroductionPain is a crucial function for organisms. Building a “Robot Pain” model inspired by organisms' pain could help the robot learn self-preservation and extend longevity. Most previous studies about robots and pain focus on robots interacting with people by recognizing their pain expressions or scenes, or avoiding obstacles by recognizing dangerous objects. Robots do not have human-like pain capacity and cannot adaptively respond to danger. Inspired by the evolutionary mechanisms of pain emergence and the Free Energy Principle (FEP) in the brain, we summarize the neural mechanisms of pain and construct a Brain-inspired Robot Pain Spiking Neural Network (BRP-SNN) with spike-time-dependent-plasticity (STDP) learning rule and population coding method.MethodsThe proposed model can quantify machine injury by detecting the coupling relationship between multi-modality sensory information and generating “robot pain” as an internal state.ResultsWe provide a comparative analysis with the results of neuroscience experiments, showing that our model has biological interpretability. We also successfully tested our model on two tasks with real robots—the alerting actual injury task and the preventing potential injury task.DiscussionOur work has two major contributions: (1) It has positive implications for the integration of pain concepts into robotics in the intelligent robotics field. (2) Our summary of pain's neural mechanisms and the implemented computational simulations provide a new perspective to explore the nature of pain, which has significant value for future pain research in the cognitive neuroscience field.</p

Six-Membered-Ring-Based Radical Mechanism for Catalytic Growth of Carbon Nanotubes with Benzene Precursor

The growth mechanism of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) catalyzed by nickel catalyst with benzene precursor has been studied by using density functional theory calculations. The typical initial process of the graphene growth is considered as the formation of biphenyl on Ni(111) surface with two benzene molecules and the minimum energy pathway for this formation has been investigated in detail. It is found that the carbon−hydrogen bond could be selectively dissociated while the carbon−carbon connection still remained. Thus the dehydrogenated hexagonal rings are generated, which could form the graphene sheet on the catalyst surface through radical incorporation for sequential growth of CNTs. The calculations rationalize the six-membered-ring-based growth mechanism previously proposed according to in situ experimental results. The train of thought of this radical mechanism also should be enlightening for the synthesis of doped CNTs with some suitable heterocyclic precursors, which is of great importance for functionalization and wide applications

sj-pdf-1-jmx-10.1177_00222429231191446 - Supplemental material for When Do Marketing Ideation Crowdsourcing Contests Create Shareholder Value? The Effect of Contest Design and Marketing Resource Factors

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-jmx-10.1177_00222429231191446 for When Do Marketing Ideation Crowdsourcing Contests Create Shareholder Value? The Effect of Contest Design and Marketing Resource Factors by Zixia Cao, Hui Feng and Michael A. Wiles in Journal of Marketing</p

Synthesis of (<i>Z</i>)‑1-Thio- and (<i>Z</i>)‑2-Thio-1-alkenyl Boronates via Copper-Catalyzed Regiodivergent Hydroboration of Thioacetylenes: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

A Cu-catalyzed divergent hydroboration of thioacetylenes has been achieved, providing (<i>Z</i>)-1-thio- or (<i>Z</i>)-2-thio-1-alkenyl boronates in moderate to high yields with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity, by using pinacolborane or bis­(pinacolato)­diboron as the hydroborating reagents, respectively. DFT calculations indicate that the sulfur atom plays a key role in determining the regioselectivity through polarizing the C–C triple bonds and participating in the HOMO orbitals. Moreover, the SR group can serve as a good leaving group, resulting in the concise synthesis of six regio- and stereoisomers of trisubstituted alkenes <b>5</b> via the iterative cross-coupling of C–B and C–S bonds. Clearly, it will be valuable for assembling stereochemically diverse trisubstituted olefins in organic synthesis

Theoretical Investigation of Water Exchange on the Nanometer-Sized Polyoxocation AlO₄Al₁₂(OH)₂₄(H₂O)₁₂⁷⁺ (Keggin-Al₁₃) in Aqueous Solution

Theoretical Investigation of Water Exchange on the Nanometer-Sized Polyoxocation AlO4Al12(OH)24(H2O)127+ (Keggin-Al13) in Aqueous Solutio

The species properties and the mean sprout number per individual (mean±SE) in natural habitat and in disturbed habitat for the 15 species studied.

<p>* denotes the p-level of student's t-tests for the species in the two habitats. *  =  p<0.05, **  =  p<0.01, ***  =  p<0.001, ns  =  non-significant. Ss  =  small shrub (≤0.5 m), Ms  =  middle shrub (0.5–2 m), Ls  =  large shrub (2–5 m), St  =  small tree (5–8 m), Mt  =  middle tree (8–25 m), Lt  =  large tree (≥25 m); NH & DH  =  sprout number in natural & in disturbed habitat, respectively; Abbr.  =  the abbreviation of the species studied. CS denotes climax species and LP does long-lived pioneer. The species are sorted according to the column of DH/NH.</p><p>The species properties and the mean sprout number per individual (mean±SE) in natural habitat and in disturbed habitat for the 15 species studied.</p

Summary of phylogenetically independent comparative analysis (PICs) for the relationships between sprout number and seed size of the climax species (CS) and long-lived pioneers (LP) studied, and for the pooled data (Pooled) of the two groups.

<p>Letters <i>a</i> and <i>b</i> are the regressive coefficient and the intercept of the linear regressive equation <i>Y  =  ax+b</i>, where <i>Y</i> and <i>x</i> are seed mass and sprout number, respectively.</p><p>Summary of phylogenetically independent comparative analysis (PICs) for the relationships between sprout number and seed size of the climax species (CS) and long-lived pioneers (LP) studied, and for the pooled data (Pooled) of the two groups.</p

Study on the Impact of Na/Ca Bentonites on the Dispersion Performance of Conventional and Modified Phosphate Polycarboxylate Superplasticizers in Cement Mortar

Through molecular structure design, modified polycarboxylate superplasticizers (PCEs) were synthesized via copolymerization using isoprenyl oxy poly­(ethylene glycol) ether (TPEG), acrylic acid, and hydroxyethyl methacrylate phosphate. TPEG-PCEs were selected as potential dispersants for Na/Ca-bentonite containing cement mortar. Other two kinds of commercial PCE that were obtained based on methallyl ether (HPEG) and ethylene-glycol monovinyl polyethylene glycol (EPEG) as macromonomers were also applied in the mortar. The effects of the type of bentonite and its dosage, as well as the monomer structure of PCEs and the type of cement, on the dispersion properties of the bentonite-containing mortar were studied. According to the findings, the initial fluidity of the mortar was reduced by about 20 mm when two kinds of bentonite were used. Applying 3% Ca-bentonite resulted in 40% flow loss in the mortar after 1 h. The fluidity of the mortar with Na-bentonite exhibited lower dispersion ability than that with Ca-bentonite when HPEG-PCE and EPEG-PCE were chosen as dispersants. The TPEG-PCE exhibited superior dispersing performance over HPEG-PCE and EPEG-PCE and exerted a retarding effect on cement, being also weakly sensitive to clay content. Thus, TPEG-PCEs with phosphate groups present a viable alternative to conventional PCEs

Image_1_Identification of an epicuticular wax crystal deficiency gene Brwdm1 in Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. pekinensis).tiff

IntroductionThe cuticle wax covering the plant surface is a whitish hydrophobic protective barrier in Chinese cabbage, and the epicuticular wax crystal deficiency normally has higher commodity value for a tender texture and glossy appearance. Herein, two allelic epicuticular wax crystal deficiency mutants, wdm1 and wdm7, were obtained from the EMS mutagenesis population of a Chinese cabbage DH line ‘FT’.MethodsThe cuticle wax morphology was observed by Cryo-scanning electron microscopy (Cryo-SEM) and the composition of wax was determined by GC-MS. The candidate mutant gene was found by MutMap and validated by KASP. The function of candidate gene was verified by allelic variation.ResultsThe mutants had fewer wax crystals and lower leaf primary alcohol and ester content. Genetic analysis revealed that the epicuticular wax crystal deficiency phenotype was controlled by a recessive nuclear gene, named Brwdm1. MutMap and KASP analyses indicated that BraA01g004350.3C, encoding an alcohol-forming fatty acyl-CoA reductase, was the candidate gene for Brwdm1. A SNP 2,113,772 (C to T) variation in the 6th exon of Brwdm1 in wdm1 led to the 262nd amino acid substitution from threonine (T) to isoleucine (I), which existed in a rather conserved site among the amino acid sequences from Brwdm1 and its homologs. Meanwhile, the substitution changed the three-dimensional structure of Brwdm1. The SNP 2,114,994 (G to A) in the 10th exon of Brwdm1 in wdm7 resulted in the change of the 434th amino acid from valine (V) to isoleucine (I), which occurred in the STERILE domain. KASP genotyping showed that SNP 2,114,994 was co-segregated with glossy phenotype. Compared with the wild type, the relative expression of Brwdm1 was significantly decreased in the leaves, flowers, buds and siliques of wdm1.DiscussionThese results indicated that Brwdm1 was indispensable for the wax crystals formation and its mutation resulted in glossy appearance in Chinese cabbage.</p

The relationship of seed size vs. sprouts.

<p>The bivariate relationship between seed size and trunk sprouting number among climax species (CS) and long-lived pioneers (LP) in natural habitats in a subtropical broad-leaved forest in southwestern China. The two lines in the graph denote the fitted lines to the two functional groups (slope  =  common slope shared by the two functional groups) using the standardised major axis (SMA); broken line, CS species group; solid line, LP group.</p