Itinerant memory dynamics and global bifurcations in chaotic neural networks

We have considered itinerant memory dynamics in a chaotic neural network composed of four chaotic neurons with synaptic connections determined by two orthogonal stored patterns as a simple example of a chaotic itinerant phenomenon in dynamical associative memory. We have analyzed a mechanism of generating the itinerant memory dynamics with respect to intersection of a pair of alpha branches of periodic points and collapse of a periodic in-phase attracting set. The intersection of invariant sets is numerically verified by a novel method proposed in this paper.     

Swelling of poly(ethylene oxide) gel in aqueous solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate with added sodium chloride

The swelling behavior of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) gels in aqueous solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with and without NaCl was investigated. In the absence of NaCl, PEO gels with different degrees of cross-linking began to swell from a concentration lower than the critical micelle concentration (cmc) of SDS, then showed sigmoidal enhancements of swelling in a higher SDS concentration region until the degrees of swelling reached maximum values. The SDS concentration at which the swelling began to appear was in reasonable agreement with the critical aggregation concentration (cac) value reported for the aqueous PEO system. For the cases where NaCl was present, the swelling behavior of PEO gel was different from that when NaCl was absent in the following way. The concentrations where the swelling begins to appear, and hence those where the degree of swelling rises steeply, decreased with an increase in NaCl concentration. The ultimate degrees of swelling at higher concentration regions also decreased with an increase in the NaCl concentration. The lowering of the SDS concentrations at which the PEO gel began to swell is in line with the decreases in the cmc of SDS solutions containing NaCl and also with the decreases in the cac of PEO solution. Electronic Publication     

Fundamental imaging properties of transillumination laser computed tomography based on coherent detection imaging method.

The coherent detection imaging (CDI) method uses the optical heterodyne detection technique. CW and single frequency lasers having long coherence lengths are used to exploit the maximum advantages of heterodyne detection, such as high directionality, selectivity and sensitivity. The CDI method based on optical heterodyne detection enables selective filtering of the directional coherence-retaining emergent photons, which leads to image reconstruction from projections, similar to X-ray computed tomography (CT). So far we have demonstrated the advantages and capabilities of the measurement technique for transillumination optical computed tomography in biomedicine. Here, we investigate the fundamental imaging properties of CDI method, such as its high directionality and quantitativeness, with preliminary physical phantom experiments. The results show that the CDI method satisfies the requirements for CT reconstruction under the first order approximation, and enables quantitative measurements in the sense that the relationship between estimated and actual concentration retains a satisfactory linearity.     

Rod-like liquid crystals of organic transition metal complexes. I. Reversible transformation between blue smectogen and red nematogen

Two novel types of transition-metal-containing liquid crystals, bis(p-n-koxydithiobenzoato)nickel(II) (abbreviated as (C_nO-DTB)₂Ni), and (p-n-alkoxydithiobenzoato)(p-n-alkoxyperthiobenzoato)nickel(II) (abbreviated as (C_nO-DTB)(C_nO-PTB)Ni), were synthesized. It was found that the (C_nO-DTB)₂Ni complex for n = 8 has smectic H and C mesophases, and that the (C_nO-DTB)₂Ni complexes for n = 4 and 8 easily transform into the corresponding monoperthio complexes, _nO-PTB)Ni, by heating at temperatures between 230°C and 285°C. It was confirmed that the transformation originates from an intermolecular reaction between the (C_nO-DTB)₂Ni complexes at high temperatures, and that the origin of the extra sulphurs in the resulting (C_nO-DTB)(C_nO-PTB)Ni complexes is the neighbouring (C_nO-DTB)₂Ni complexes. Interestingly, each of the (C_nO-DTB)(C_nO-PTB)Ni complexes (n = 4 and 8), has nematic mesophase and exhibits a unique double melting behaviour via the nematic phase, which is the first example in liquid crystals. The reversible transformation between the blue smectic rod-like (C_nO-DTB)₂Ni complex and the red nematic Λ-like (C_nO-DTB)(C_nO-PTB)Ni complex is possible.     

Ionic conduction in CuxAg1−xBrTe solid solutions

The ionic conduction of cation substituted CuBrTe, Cu_xAg_1−xBrTe solid solutions, is investigated in the temperature range between 100 and 400 K. The change of electrical conductivities with temperature in the range of 0.94≤x<1 shows the characteristics of second-order rather than first-order phase transitions. The replacement of Cu with the Ag cation in Cu_xAg_1−xBrTe leads to an increase in conductivity especially in the β and γ-phases.     

A non-D-space with large extent

We proved that ^?+ implies the existence of a non-D-space whose all closed subspace F satisfies e(F)=L(F). The existence of such a space under MA+¬CH or PFA is also discussed.     

Complexity of Body Movements during Sleep in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Recently, measuring the complexity of body movements during sleep has been proven as an objective biomarker of various psychiatric disorders. Although sleep problems are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and might exacerbate ASD symptoms, their objectivity as a biomarker remains to be established. Therefore, details of body movement complexity during sleep as estimated by actigraphy were investigated in typically developing (TD) children and in children with ASD. Several complexity analyses were applied to raw and thresholded data of actigraphy from 17 TD children and 17 children with ASD. Determinism, irregularity and unpredictability, and long-range temporal correlation were examined respectively using the false nearest neighbor (FNN) algorithm, information-theoretic analyses, and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). Although the FNN algorithm did not reveal determinism in body movements, surrogate analyses identified the influence of nonlinear processes on the irregularity and long-range temporal correlation of body movements. Additionally, the irregularity and unpredictability of body movements measured by expanded sample entropy were significantly lower in ASD than in TD children up to two hours after sleep onset and at approximately six hours after sleep onset. This difference was found especially for the high-irregularity period. Through this study, we characterized details of the complexity of body movements during sleep and demonstrated the group difference of body movement complexity across TD children and children with ASD. Complexity analyses of body movements during sleep have provided valuable insights into sleep profiles. Body movement complexity might be useful as a biomarker for ASD.     

Intensely Fluorescent Azobenzenes: Synthesis,Crystal Structures,Effects of Substituents,and Application to Fluorescent Vital Stain

2‐[Bis(pentafluorophenyl)boryl]azobenzenes bearing hydrogen, methoxy, dimethylamino, trifluoromethyl, fluoro, n‐butyl, and tert‐butyldimethylsiloxy groups at the 4′‐position or methoxy and bromo groups at the 4‐position have been synthesized. The 4‐bromo group of the 2‐boryl‐4‐bromoazobenzene derivative was converted to phenyl and diphenylamino groups by palladium‐catalyzed reactions. The absorption and fluorescence properties have been investigated using UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. The 2‐borylazobenzenes emitted an intense green, yellow, and orange fluorescence, in marked contrast to the usual azobenzene fluorescence. The 4′‐siloxy derivative showed the highest fluorescence quantum yield (0.90) among those reported for azobenzenes to date. The correlation between the substituent and the fluorescence properties was elucidated by studying the effect of the substituent on the relaxation process and from DFT and TD‐DFT calculations. An electron‐donating group at the 4′‐position was found to be important for an intense emission. Application of fluorescent azobenzenes as a fluorescent vital stain for the visualization of living tissues was also investigated by microinjection into Xenopus embryos, suggesting these compounds are nontoxic towards embryos.