Pseudorandom number generation with self programmable cellular automata

In this paper, we propose a new class of cellular automata – self programming cellular automata (SPCA) with specific application to pseudorandom number generation. By changing a cell's state transition rules in relation to factors such as its neighboring cell's states, behavioral complexity can be increased and utilized. Interplay between the state transition neighborhood and rule selection neighborhood leads to a new composite neighborhood and state transition rule that is the linear combination of two different mappings with different temporal dependencies. It is proved that when the transitional matrices for both the state transition and rule selection neighborhood are non-singular, SPCA will not exhibit non-group behavior. Good performance can be obtained using simple neighborhoods with certain CA length, transition rules etc. Certain configurations of SPCA pass all DIEHARD and ENT tests with an implementation cost lower than current reported work. Output sampling methods are also suggested to improve output efficiency by sampling the outputs of the new rule selection neighborhoods

Monte Carlo algorithm based on internal bridging moves for the atomistic simulation of thiophene oligomers and polymers

We introduce a powerful Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm for the atomistic simulation of bulk models of oligo- and poly-thiophenes by redesigning MC moves originally developed for considerably simpler polymer structures and architectures, such as linear and branched polyethylene, to account for the ring structure of the thiophene monomer. Elementary MC moves implemented include bias reptation of an end thiophene ring, flip of an internal thiophene ring, rotation of an end thiophene ring, concerted rotation of three thiophene rings, rigid translation of an entire molecule, rotation of an entire molecule and volume fluctuation. In the implementation of all moves we assume that thiophene ring atoms remain rigid and strictly co-planar; on the other hand, inter-ring torsion and bond bending angles remain fully flexible subject to suitable potential energy functions. Test simulations with the new algorithm of an important thiophene oligomer, {\alpha}-sexithiophene ({\alpha}-6T), at a high enough temperature (above its isotropic-to-nematic phase transition) using a new united atom model specifically developed for the purpose of this work provide predictions for the volumetric, conformational and structural properties that are remarkably close to those obtained from detailed atomistic Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations using an all-atom model. The new algorithm is particularly promising for exploring the rich (and largely unexplored) phase behavior and nanoscale ordering of very long (also more complex) thiophene-based polymers which cannot be addressed by conventional MD methods due to the extremely long relaxation times characterizing chain dynamics in these systems

Immunotronics - novel finite-state-machine architectures with built-in self-test using self-nonself differentiation

A novel approach to hardware fault tolerance is demonstrated that takes inspiration from the human immune system as a method of fault detection. The human immune system is a remarkable system of interacting cells and organs that protect the body from invasion and maintains reliable operation even in the presence of invading bacteria or viruses. This paper seeks to address the field of electronic hardware fault tolerance from an immunological perspective with the aim of showing how novel methods based upon the operation of the immune system can both complement and create new approaches to the development of fault detection mechanisms for reliable hardware systems. In particular, it is shown that by use of partial matching, as prevalent in biological systems, high fault coverage can be achieved with the added advantage of reducing memory requirements. The development of a generic finite-state-machine immunization procedure is discussed that allows any system that can be represented in such a manner to be "immunized" against the occurrence of faulty operation. This is demonstrated by the creation of an immunized decade counter that can detect the presence of faults in real tim

Evolution of oil droplets in a chemorobotic platform

Evolution, once the preserve of biology, has been widely emulated in software, while physically embodied systems that can evolve have been limited to electronic and robotic devices and have never been artificially implemented in populations of physically interacting chemical entities. Herein we present a liquid-handling robot built with the aim of investigating the properties of oil droplets as a function of composition via an automated evolutionary process. The robot makes the droplets by mixing four different compounds in different ratios and placing them in a Petri dish after which they are recorded using a camera and the behaviour of the droplets analysed using image recognition software to give a fitness value. In separate experiments, the fitness function discriminates based on movement, division and vibration over 21 cycles, giving successive fitness increases. Analysis and theoretical modelling of the data yields fitness landscapes analogous to the genotype–phenotype correlations found in biological evolution. , Trevor Hinkley, James Ward Taylor Kliment Yane

Toward the next generation of research into small area effects on health : a synthesis of multilevel investigations published since July 1998.

To map out area effects on health research, this study had the following aims: (1) to inventory multilevel investigations of area effects on self rated health, cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, and mortality among adults; (2) to describe and critically discuss methodological approaches employed and results observed; and (3) to formulate selected recommendations for advancing the study of area effects on health. Overall, 86 studies were inventoried. Although several innovative methodological approaches and analytical designs were found, small areas are most often operationalised using administrative and statistical spatial units. Most studies used indicators of area socioeconomic status derived from censuses, and few provided information on the validity and reliability of measures of exposures. A consistent finding was that a significant portion of the variation in health is associated with area context independently of individual characteristics. Area effects on health, although significant in most studies, often depend on the health outcome studied, the measure of area exposure used, and the spatial scale at which associations are examined

Measuring implicit European and Mediterranean landscape identity. A tool proposal

This study presents a tool - the Landscape Identity Implicit Association Test (LI-IAT) - devoted to measure the implicit identification with European and Mediterranean landscapes. To this aim, a series of prototypical landscapes was selected as stimulus, following an accurate multi-step procedure. Participants (N = 174), recruited in two Italian cities, performed two LI-IATs devoted to assess their identification with European vs. Not-European and Mediterranean vs. Not-Mediterranean prototypical landscapes. Psychometric properties and criterion validity of these measures were investigated. Two self-report measures, assessing, respectively, European and Mediterranean place identity and pleasantness of the target landscapes, were also administered. Results showed: (1) an adequate level of internal consistency for both LI-IATs; (2) a higher identification with European and Mediterranean landscapes than, respectively, with Not-European and Not-Mediterranean ones; and (3) a significant positive relationship between the European and Mediterranean LI-IATs and the corresponding place identity scores, also when pleasantness of landscapes was controlled for. Overall, these findings provide a first evidence supporting the reliability and criterion validity of the European and Mediterranean LI-IAT

A silicon implementation of the fly's optomotor control system

Flies are capable of stabilizing their body during free flight by using visual motion information to estimate self-rotation. We have built a hardware model of this optomotor control system in a standard CMOS VLSI process. The result is a small, low-power chip that receives input directly from the real world through on-board photoreceptors and generates motor commands in real time. The chip was tested under closed-loop conditions typically used for insect studies. The silicon system exhibited stable control sufficiently analogous to the biological system to allow for quantitative comparisons

Spontaneous assembly of an organic-inorganic nucleic acid Z-DNA double-helix structure

Herein, we report a hybrid polyoxometalate organic–inorganic compound, Na2[(HGMP)2Mo5O15]⋅7 H2O (1; where GMP=guanosine monophosphate), which spontaneously assembles into a structure with dimensions that are strikingly similar to those of the naturally occurring left-handed Z-form of DNA. The helical parameters in the crystal structure of the new compound, such as rise per turn and helical twist per dimer, are nearly identical to this DNA conformation, allowing a close comparison of the two structures. Solution circular dichroism studies show that compound 1 also forms extended secondary structures in solution. Gel electrophoresis studies demonstrate the formation of non-covalent adducts with natural plasmids. Thus we show a route by which simple hybrid inorganic–organic monomers, such as compound 1, can spontaneously assemble into a double helix without the need for a covalently connected linear sequence of nucleic acid base pairs

How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program

Damage localization map using electromechanical impedance spectrums and inverse distance weighting interpolation: Experimental validation on thin composite structures

Piezoelectric sensors are widely used for structure health monitoring technique. In particular, electromechanical impedance techniques give simple and low-cost solutions for detecting damage in composite structures. The purpose of the method proposed in this article is to generate a damage localization map based on both indicators computed from electromechanical impedance spectrums and inverse distance weighting interpolation. The weights for the interpolation have a physical sense and are computed according to an exponential law of the measured attenuation of acoustic waves. One of the main advantages of the method, so-called data-driven method, is that only experimental data are used as inputs for our algorithm. It does not rely on any model. The proposed method has been validated on both one-dimensional and two-dimensional composite structures