A new approach for designing self-organizing systems and application to adaptive control

There is tremendous interest in the design of intelligent machines capable of autonomous learning and skillful performance under complex environments. A major task in designing such systems is to make the system plastic and adaptive when presented with new and useful information and stable in response to irrelevant events. A great body of knowledge, based on neuro-physiological concepts, has evolved as a possible solution to this problem. Adaptive resonance theory (ART) is a classical example under this category. The system dynamics of an ART network is described by a set of differential equations with nonlinear functions. An approach for designing self-organizing networks characterized by nonlinear differential equations is proposed

Classical Keggin intercalated into layered double hydroxides: facile preparation and catalytic efficiency in Knoevenagel condensation reaction

The family of polyoxometalate (POM) intercalated layered double hydroxides (LDHs) composite materials has shown great promise for the design of functional materials with numerous applications. It is known that intercalation of the classical Keggin polyoxometalate (POM) of [PW12O40]3- (PW12) into layered double hydroxides (LDHs) is very unlikely to take place by conventional ion exchange methods due to spatial and geometrical restrictions. In this paper, such intercalated compound of Mg0.73Al0.22(OH)2 [PW12O40]0.04•0.98H2O (Mg3Al-PW12) has been successfully obtained by adopting a spontaneous flocculation method. The Mg3Al-PW12 has been fully characterized using a wide range of methods (XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, EDX, XPS, FT-IR, NMR, BET). XRD patterns of Mg3Al-PW12 exhibit no impurity phase usually observed next to the (003) diffraction peak. Subsequent application of the Mg3Al-PW12 as catalyst in Knoevenagel condensation reactions of various aldehydes and ketones with Z–CH2-Z‘ type substrates (ethyl-cyanoacetate and malononitrile) at 60 oC in mixed solvents (Vi-propanol:Vwater = 2 : 1) demonstrated highly efficient catalytic activity. The synergistic effect between the acidic and basic sites of the Mg3Al-PW12 composite proved to be crucial for the efficiency of the condensation reactions. Additionally, the Mg3Al-PW12 catalysed Knoevenagel condensation of benzaldehyde with ethyl cyanoacetate demonstrated the highest turnover number (TON) of 47980 reported so far

TSGP: Two-Stage Generative Prompting for Unsupervised Commonsense Question Answering

Unsupervised commonsense question answering requires mining effective commonsense knowledge without the rely on the labeled task data. Previous methods typically retrieved from traditional knowledge bases or used pre-trained language models (PrLMs) to generate fixed types of knowledge, which have poor generalization ability. In this paper, we aim to address the above limitation by leveraging the implicit knowledge stored in PrLMs and propose a two-stage prompt-based unsupervised commonsense question answering framework (TSGP). Specifically, we first use knowledge generation prompts to generate the knowledge required for questions with unlimited types and possible candidate answers independent of specified choices. Then, we further utilize answer generation prompts to generate possible candidate answers independent of specified choices. Experimental results and analysis on three different commonsense reasoning tasks, CommonsenseQA, OpenBookQA, and SocialIQA, demonstrate that TSGP significantly improves the reasoning ability of language models in unsupervised settings. Our code is available at: https://github.com/Yueqing-Sun/TSGP.Comment: Findings of EMNLP202

High-order soliton evolution and pulse breaking-recovery in stretched ultrafast fiber lasers

We present a new pulse regime in a stretched ultrafast fiber laser based on numerical simulations. The pulse breaking due to high-order soliton evolution in the passive fiber is recovered to a smooth pulse in the gain fiber with normal dispersion. The new pulse regime formed by the two nonlinear processes makes the ultrafast fiber laser generate ultra-broadband, ultrashort duration, high energy and large breathing ratio pulses. Our work gives insights into the nonlinear dynamics in fiber lasers and has potential for a better design of the stretched fiber lasers

1-(3,5-Dimeth­oxy­benz­yl)-1H-pyrrole

The title compound, C13H15NO2, was synthesized from 3,5-dimeth­oxy­benzaldehyde. The dihedral angle between the pyrrole and benzene rings is 89.91 (5)°. In the crystal, weak C—H⋯O and C—H⋯π interactions link the mol­ecules into a three-dimensional network

Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs) in surface soils from coastal cities in North China:correlation between diastereoisomer profiles and industrial activities

Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) is a brominated flame retardant with a wide range of industrial applications, although little is known about its patterns of spatial distribution in soils in relation to industrial emissions. This study has undertaken a large-scale investigation around an industrialized coastal area of China, exploring the concentrations, spatial distribution and diastereoisomer profiles of HBCDD in 188 surface soils from 21 coastal cities in North China. The detection frequency was 100% and concentrations of total HBCDD in the surface soils ranged from 0.123 to 363 ng g−1 and averaged 7.20 ng g−1, showing its ubiquitous existence at low levels. The spatial distribution of HBCDD exhibited a correlation with the location of known manufacturing facilities in Weifang, suggesting the production of HBCDD as major emission source. Diastereoisomer profiles varied in different cities. Diastereoisomer compositions in soils were compared with emissions from HBCDD industrial activities, and correlations were found between them, which has the potential for source identification. Although the contemporary concentrations of HBCDD in soils from the study were relatively low, HBCDD-containing products (expanded/extruded polystyrene insulation boards) would be a potential source after its service life, and attention needs to be paid to prioritizing large-scale waste management efforts

Folate‐conjugated thermo‐responsive micelles for tumor targeting

Folate‐conjugated and thermo‐responsive poly(( N ‐isopropylacrylamide)‐ co ‐ acrylamide‐ co ‐(octadecyl acrylate)‐ co ‐(folate‐(polyethylene glycol)‐(acrylic acid))) (P(NIPA‐ co ‐AAm‐ co ‐ODA‐ co ‐FPA)) micelles with mean diameter of about 60 nm and lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of about 39°C were synthesized by free radical random copolymerization. Single‐factor tests of acrylamide and octadecyl acrylate were carried out to modulate micelles' LCST and diameter, respectively. LCST, diameter, and morphology of micelles were determined by UV–vis spectrophotometer, laser particle size analyzer, and transmittance electron microscope (TEM), respectively. Fluorescein was then used as a model drug to investigate the drug loading content of micelles. Micelles with maximum amount of octadecyl acrylate (180 mg) were found to yield drug loading content of 10.48%. Near infrared dye No.10 was chosen as the tracer to monitor micelles in vivo . The targeting behaviors of micelles in folate receptor positive Bel‐7402 tumor bearing nude mice were assessed by a self‐constructed near infrared imaging system. Results showed satisfactory targeting capability of the thermo‐responsive micelles toward Bel‐7402 tumors, and targeting accumulation could last for more than 96 h, enabling P(NIPA‐ co ‐AAm‐ co ‐ODA‐ co ‐FPA) micelles to function as a diagnostic reagent as well as a targeted tumor therapy. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 100A:3134–3142, 2012.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93660/1/34230_ftp.pd

Multifunctional gold nanostar conjugates for tumor imaging and combined photothermal and chemo-therapy

Uniform gold nanostars (Au NS) were conjugated with cyclic RGD (cRGD) and near infrared (NIR) fluorescence probe (MPA) or anti-cancer drug (DOX) to obtain multi-functional nanoconstructs, Au-cRGD-MPA and Au-cRGD-DOX respectively. The NIR contrast agent Au-cRGD-MPA was shown to have low cytotoxicity. Using tumor cells and tumor bearing mice, these imaging nanoparticles demonstrated favorable tumor-targeting capability mediated by RGD peptide binding to its over-expressed receptor on the tumor cells. The multi-therapeutic analogue, Au-cRGD-DOX, integrates targeting tumor, chemotherapy and photo-thermotherapy into a single system. The synergistic effect of photo-thermal therapy and chemotherapy was demonstrated in different tumor cell lines and in vivo using S180 tumor-bearing mouse models. The viability of MDA-MB-231 cells was only 40 % after incubation with Au-cRGD-DOX and irradiation with NIR light. Both tail vein and intratumoral injections showed Au-cRGD-DOX treated mice exhibiting the slowest tumor increase. These results indicate that the multifunctional nanoconstruct is a promising combined therapeutic agent for tumor-targeting treatment, with the potential to enhance the anti-cancer treatment outcomes