Adiabatic Superconducting Artificial Neural Network: Basic Cells

We consider adiabatic superconducting cells operating as an artificial neuron and synapse of a multilayer perceptron (MLP). Their compact circuits contain just one and two Josephson junctions, respectively. While the signal is represented as magnetic flux, the proposed cells are inherently nonlinear and close-to-linear magnetic flux transformers. The neuron is capable of providing a one-shot calculation of sigmoid and hyperbolic tangent activation functions most commonly used in MLP. The synapse features by both positive and negative signal transfer coefficients in the range ~ (-0.5,0.5). We briefly discuss implementation issues and further steps toward multilayer adiabatic superconducting artificial neural network which promises to be a compact and the most energy-efficient implementation of MLP.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Thomson scattering diagnostics at the Globus M2 tokamak

The paper is devoted to the Thomson scattering (TS) diagnostics recently developed for the Globus-M2 spherical tokamak and prototyping the ITER divertor TS diagnostics. The distinctive features of the system are the use of spectrometers, acquisition system and lasers that meet the base requirements for ITER TS diagnostics. The paper describes the diagnostic system that allows precise measurements of TS signals, as well as the results of the first measurements of electron temperature and density in both central region of the plasma column and scrape-off layer. The system provides measurements of electron temperature $T_{e}$ in the range of 5 eV to 5 keV and density $n_{e}$ in the range of $5{\cdot}10^{17}{\div}3.25{\cdot}10^{20} m^{-3}$. The use of two ITER-grade probing lasers of different wavelengths (Nd:YAG 1064.5 nm and Nd:YLF 1047.3 nm) allows reliable measurement of $T_{e}$ in multi-colour mode, i.e., assuming that spectral calibration is unknown

Кистозная дуоденальная дистрофия. Диагностика и хирургическая тактика на примере типичного случая

Duodenal dystrophy, a chronic inflammation of the aberrant pancreatic tissue in the duodenal wall, is a relatively rare disease in the practice of physicians. The heterotopic pancreas is usually functioning, and the development of acute and chronic pancreatitis in it is even more probable than in the orthotopic gland as a result of an underdeveloped duct system. The progression of ectopic pancreatitis associated with increasing cystic formation could lead to a blockade of the major or minor duodenal papilla and subsequent chronic pancreatitits in the pancreas proper. Furthermore, a malignant transformation of the aberrant pancreas is not a rare occurrence. It is essential to carry out a timely and sharp diagnosis of this condition as it often defines the surgical tactics. The purpose of this report is to present a typical case of cystic duodenal dystrophy.Настоящая статья посвящена одной из дизонтогенетических причин хронического панкреатита - хроническому воспалению ткани поджелудочной железы, эктопированной в стенку двенадцатиперстной кишки. Ранее это заболевание выявлялось только при аутопсии или гистологическом исследовании удаленных панкреатодуоденальных комплексов. В настоящее время благодаря внедрению новых диагностических методов появилась возможность ее точной предоперационной верификации. Последнее обстоятельство позволяет своевременно избрать рациональную хирургическую тактику, что показано на примере клинического наблюдения

Analytical Description of Low-Tc DC SQUID Response and Methods for Its Linearization

We derived inductance-dependent expressions for time-averaged voltage-flux and voltage-current dependencies of Low-Tc DC SQUID. Utilization of these expressions speeds up optimization of real devices and expands possibilities for their analytical study. Optimization of voltage response linearity of two SQUIDs connected in series is presented as an example of application of the proposed analytics

Nutritional Status Assessment in ICU Patients Using Ultrasound Imaging of Muscles and Subcutaneous Fat

Ultrasound imaging of muscles and subcutaneous fat has been used in recent years to assess the nutritional status, but there are no common approaches for selecting muscles for it.The aim of the study was to examine the variability of thickness of different muscles and subcutaneous fat using ultrasonography to identify optimal cutaneous and muscle landmarks for the assessment of nutritional status.Materials and methods. It was a prospective observational study with participation of 14 patients. All patients underwent ultrasound examination of thickness of the following muscles: m. rectus femoris; m. tibialis anterior; m. biceps brachii; m. deltoideus and m. sternocleidomastoideus, as well as the thickness of skin and subcutaneous fat over the muscles. The ultrasound assessment was done on admission to ICU, on days 7, 14, 21, 28, 42. On days 7, 14 and 21 the intravenous load test of 1000 ml of 0.9% sodium chloride solution was performed. On days 5 and 10 the test with the patients in the lateral decubitus position was carried out.Results. We found that m. tibialis anterior changed its size when patients were turned laterally by 2%, m. deltoideus by 6%, m. sternocleidomastoideus by 10%, m. rectus femoris by 20.5%, and m. biceps brachii by 26%. After infusion of 1,000 ml of 0,9% sodium chloride solution, the variability of m. tibialis anterior size was 2%, m. deltoideus 2%, m. sternocleidomastoideus 6%, m. biceps brachii 8%, m. rectus femoris 12%.The thickness of subcutaneous fat over m. biceps brachii and m. rectus femoris changed more than the anteroposterior size of the muscles (P<0.05).Conclusion. The m. deltoideus and m. tibialis anterior are optimal for ultrasound assessment of the nutritional status because their size is less affected by the patient's positioning and infusion therapy. Intravenous fluid infusion increases the variability of subcutaneous fat thickness

Superconducting Bio-Inspired Au-Nanowire-Based Neurons

High-performance modeling of neurophysiological processes is an urgent task that requires new approaches to information processing. In this context, two- and three-junction superconducting quantum interferometers with Josephson weak links based on gold nanowires are fabricated and investigated experimentally. The studied cells are proposed for the implementation of bio-inspired neurons—high-performance, energy-efficient, and compact elements of neuromorphic processor. The operation modes of an advanced artificial neuron capable of generating the burst firing activation patterns are explored theoretically. A comparison with the Izhikevich mathematical model of biological neurons is carried out