Efficient Design of Triplet Based Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity

Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity (STDP) is believed to play an important role in learning and the formation of computational function in the brain. The classical model of STDP which considers the timing between pairs of pre-synaptic and post-synaptic spikes (p-STDP) is incapable of reproducing synaptic weight changes similar to those seen in biological experiments which investigate the effect of either higher order spike trains (e.g. triplet and quadruplet of spikes), or, simultaneous effect of the rate and timing of spike pairs on synaptic plasticity. In this paper, we firstly investigate synaptic weight changes using a p-STDP circuit and show how it fails to reproduce the mentioned complex biological experiments. We then present a new STDP VLSI circuit which acts based on the timing among triplets of spikes (t-STDP) that is able to reproduce all the mentioned experimental results. We believe that our new STDP VLSI circuit improves upon previous circuits, whose learning capacity exceeds current designs due to its capability of mimicking the outcomes of biological experiments more closely; thus plays a significant role in future VLSI implementation of neuromorphic systems

Design and Implementation of BCM Rule Based on Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity

The Bienenstock-Cooper-Munro (BCM) and Spike Timing-Dependent Plasticity (STDP) rules are two experimentally verified form of synaptic plasticity where the alteration of synaptic weight depends upon the rate and the timing of pre- and post-synaptic firing of action potentials, respectively. Previous studies have reported that under specific conditions, i.e. when a random train of Poissonian distributed spikes are used as inputs, and weight changes occur according to STDP, it has been shown that the BCM rule is an emergent property. Here, the applied STDP rule can be either classical pair-based STDP rule, or the more powerful triplet-based STDP rule. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of two distinct VLSI circuit implementations of STDP to examine whether BCM learning is an emergent property of STDP. These circuits are stimulated with random Poissonian spike trains. The first circuit implements the classical pair-based STDP, while the second circuit realizes a previously described triplet-based STDP rule. These two circuits are simulated using 0.35 um CMOS standard model in HSpice simulator. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed triplet-based STDP circuit significantly produces the threshold-based behaviour of the BCM. Also, the results testify to similar behaviour for the VLSI circuit for pair-based STDP in generating the BCM

The revised short-form of the Eating Beliefs Questionnaire: Measuring positive, negative, and permissive beliefs about binge eating.

BACKGROUND: The Eating Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ) is a self-report assessment tool that measures positive and negative beliefs about food and eating that are believed to play a key role in maintaining binge eating behaviour that occurs in individuals with Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder and other atypical eating disorders. The present study aimed to further refine this measure with the addition of a third scale to assess permissive beliefs about eating, also thought to play a crucial role in the maintenance of binge eating. Permissive beliefs are defined as beliefs about eating that provide justification for the individual to engage in a binge eating episode. METHODS: After consultation with the literature and endorsement from 10 experts in eating disorders, 19 permissive belief items were generated. Eight hundred eighty-three participants were recruited to complete a test battery online that included the EBQ and the new permissive items. RESULTS: An exploratory factor analysis (n = 441) found a three-factor solution (positive, negative and permissive beliefs) explaining 63.4% of variance. A confirmatory factor analysis (n = 442) provided support for the three-factor model, with the data best supporting a shorter 18-item questionnaire. The revised scale demonstrated good internal consistency, as well as good convergent validity with measures of related eating disorder symptoms, emotional regulation, mood and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: With the addition of a third scale to measure permissive beliefs, the revised short-form of the EBQ offers clinicians and researchers a brief comprehensive tool for the measurement of positive, negative and permissive beliefs about binge eating

Processes and pathways to binge eating: development of an integrated cognitive and behavioural model of binge eating.

Background:There are a number of factors commonly believed to be important to the development and maintenance of binge eating that have been identified across multiple models and theories in the psychological literature. In the present study, we sought to develop and test a psychological model for binge eating that incorporated the main variables identified in the literature to drive binge eating behaviour; specifically, core low self-esteem, negative affect, difficulty with emotional regulation, restricted eating and beliefs about eating. Methods:Questionnaire data was collected from 760 unselected participants. The proposed model of binge eating was developed, bivariate relationships between the included variables were assessed, and the goodness-of-fit of this new model was evaluated using structural equations modelling. Result:The results identified significant bivariate relationships between all the included variables. While the originally proposed model did not provide a good fit to the data, the revised version of the model provided a good fit to the data. Conclusions:Supporting, integrating and building upon the current existing psychological models of binge eating, this study presents a new integrated cognitive and behavioural model of binge eating. The dual-pathway to binge eating identified in the new model provides a different way to understand transdiagnostic binge eating

The application of deep eutectic solvent ionic liquids for environmentally-friendly dissolution and recovery of precious metals

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: The application of deep eutectic solvent ionic liquids for environmentally-friendly dissolution and recovery of precious metals journaltitle: Minerals Engineering articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2015.09.026 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Search for post-merger gravitational waves from the remnant of the binary neutron star merger GW170817

The first observation of a binary neutron star (NS) coalescence by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave (GW) detectors offers an unprecedented opportunity to study matter under the most extreme conditions. After such a merger, a compact remnant is left over whose nature depends primarily on the masses of the inspiraling objects and on the equation of state of nuclear matter. This could be either a black hole (BH) or an NS, with the latter being either long-lived or too massive for stability implying delayed collapse to a BH. Here, we present a search for GWs from the remnant of the binary NS merger GW170817 using data from Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. We search for short- (lesssim1 s) and intermediate-duration (lesssim500 s) signals, which include GW emission from a hypermassive NS or supramassive NS, respectively. We find no signal from the post-merger remnant. Our derived strain upper limits are more than an order of magnitude larger than those predicted by most models. For short signals, our best upper limit on the root sum square of the GW strain emitted from 1–4 kHz is ${h}_{\mathrm{rss}}^{50 \% }=2.1\times {10}^{-22}\,{\mathrm{Hz}}^{-1/2}$ at 50% detection efficiency. For intermediate-duration signals, our best upper limit at 50% detection efficiency is ${h}_{\mathrm{rss}}^{50 \% }=8.4\times {10}^{-22}\,{\mathrm{Hz}}^{-1/2}$ for a millisecond magnetar model, and ${h}_{\mathrm{rss}}^{50 \% }=5.9\times {10}^{-22}\,{\mathrm{Hz}}^{-1/2}$ for a bar-mode model. These results indicate that post-merger emission from a similar event may be detectable when advanced detectors reach design sensitivity or with next-generation detectors

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of $\sim 1.7\,{\rm{s}}$ with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of ${40}_{-8}^{+8}$ Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 $\,{M}_{\odot }$. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at $\sim 40\,{\rm{Mpc}}$) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient's position $\sim 9$ and $\sim 16$ days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Estimating the contribution of dynamical ejecta in the kilonova associated with GW170817

The source of the gravitational-wave (GW) signal GW170817, very likely a binary neutron star merger, was also observed electromagnetically, providing the first multi-messenger observations of this type. The two-week-long electromagnetic (EM) counterpart had a signature indicative of an r-process-induced optical transient known as a kilonova. This Letter examines how the mass of the dynamical ejecta can be estimated without a direct electromagnetic observation of the kilonova, using GW measurements and a phenomenological model calibrated to numerical simulations of mergers with dynamical ejecta. Specifically, we apply the model to the binary masses inferred from the GW measurements, and use the resulting mass of the dynamical ejecta to estimate its contribution (without the effects of wind ejecta) to the corresponding kilonova light curves from various models. The distributions of dynamical ejecta mass range between ${M}_{\mathrm{ej}}={10}^{-3}-{10}^{-2}\,{M}_{\odot }$ for various equations of state, assuming that the neutron stars are rotating slowly. In addition, we use our estimates of the dynamical ejecta mass and the neutron star merger rates inferred from GW170817 to constrain the contribution of events like this to the r-process element abundance in the Galaxy when ejecta mass from post-merger winds is neglected. We find that if gsim10% of the matter dynamically ejected from binary neutron star (BNS) mergers is converted to r-process elements, GW170817-like BNS mergers could fully account for the amount of r-process material observed in the Milky Way