A Hopfield neural network with multiple attractors and its FPGA design

Neural network is important for a wide range of applications. Especially, a small neural network can display various complex behaviors. In this work, the investigations of a Hopfield neural network and its field programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation have been reported. The considered Hopfield neural network is simple because it includes only three neurons. It is interesting that we observed chaos and numerous coexisting attractors in such a network. In addition, the network has been implemented via an FPGA platform to verify its feasibility.     

Simultaneous determination of arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) by flow injection–inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) with ultrasonic nebulization

A dual-column protocol for the sequential determination of As(III) and As(V) is described using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) with ultrasonic nebulization (USN). This procedure employed a 16-way valve containing two different homemade mini columns for selective preconcentration of As(III) and As(V). One column was filled with Muromac A-1, which selectively preconcentrated As(III) at pH 3 after complexation with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC, 0.05%). The effluent of the first column was then passed through the second column, which was filled with an anion-exchange resin to collect As(V). By using 0.6 M sodium hydroxide, both species were eluted sequentially and measured by ICP-AES. Enrichment factors of 136 (17 for micro column x8 for USN) for As(V) and 160 (20 for micro column x8 for USN) for As(III) were achieved with 4 min preconcentration. With the proposed procedure, the detection limits were calculated to be 0.7 micro g L(-1) for As(V) and 0.8 micro g L(-1) for As(III) based on (3 sigma) blank determination ( N=10). The relative standard deviations for 20 micro g L(-1) of As(V) and As(III) were 5.8% and 6.5%, respectively. The recovery for spiked water samples was in the range of 85-112%.     

Non-isothermal cure and decomposition kinetics of hydroxyl and propargyl functional poly (ether ether ketone): epoxy resins

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - This paper presents the cure behavior and decomposition kinetics of epoxy resins incorporated with hydroxyl functionalized poly (ether ether ketone)s...     

Effect of wood sawdust filler on the mechanical properties of Indian mallow fiber yarn mat reinforced with polyester composites

The research article focused on the effect of wood sawdust as secondary filler reinforcement in Indian mallow fiber yarn mat reinforced with polyester composites. Composites were fabricated along the transverse and longitudinal orientation in six different combinations by compression molding machine. The mechanical properties of composites by single and double layer yarn mat with and without wood sawdust filler were evaluated while loading composites specimen on warp and weft direction at the first time in this research paper. The Indian mallow fiber double layer longitudinal orientation yarn mat/wood sawdust filler/polyester composite specimen along the warp direction was found to exhibit optimum mechanical properties compared to other composites. Furthermore, the Indian mallow fiber yarn mat composites were fabricated with helmet and civil construction pipes at first time in this work to replace the synthetic fiber through natural fiber. Scanning electron microscopy was performed to study the morphologies of internal crack and fractured surface of composites.     

Solvent effects on the structure of the triplet excited state of xanthone: a time‐resolved resonance Raman study

Solvent effects, especially intermolecular hydrogen bonding, play a central role in the photophysics and photochemistry of aromatic ketones. To gain insight into the solute–solvent interactions and their implications for structure and reactivity, we studied xanthone (XT) in two different solvents of similar dipolarity: acetonitrile (ACN; aprotic) and methanol (MeOH; protic), using time‐resolved resonance Raman (TR³) spectroscopy in conjunction with time‐dependent density functional theory calculations. Raman excitation profiles of XT in ACN followed the triplet‐triplet absorption band with a shoulder at the blue end, but for MeOH, they followed the triplet‐triplet absorption band quite closely; therefore, we propose that the resonance enhancement of Raman peaks are from two states in ACN and from a single state in the MeOH solvent. Furthermore, a resonance Raman peak at 614 cm⁻¹ (a₂ symmetry) that appeared in ACN but not in the MeOH solvent has been identified as a vibronic active mode that could be involved in coupling the two lowest 1³ππ* (1³A₁) and 1³nπ* (1³A₂) excited states. This was further confirmed by depolarization ratio measurements of some of the representative TR³ peaks in ACN, which showed a depolarized intensity for the 614 cm⁻¹ peak while the other peaks were polarized. Interestingly, we also observed blue shifting of some of the vibrational frequencies of XT in the 1³ππ* state compared with the ground state with increasing solvent polarity. This anomalous blue shift casts doubt on the general use of the resonance canonical structure to explain the structure of the excited states. In summary, we propose that the different hydrogen bonding mechanisms exhibited by the two lowest triplet states of XT separate them further in energy and that this can contribute to its low reactivity towards H atom abstraction in protic solvents. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of achiral pyrazolidinone templates in enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions: scope, limitations, and conformational insights

We have evaluated the role of achiral pyrazolidinone templates in conjunction with chiral Lewis acids in room temperature, enantioselective Diels-Alder cycloadditions. The role of the fluxional N(1) substituent was examined, with the bulky 1-naphthylmethyl group providing enantioselectivities up to 99% ee, while templates with smaller fluxional groups gave lower selectivities. High selectivities were also observed in reactions of 7d with chiral Lewis acids derived from relatively small chiral ligands, suggesting the pyrazolidinone templates are capable of relaying stereochemical information from the ligand to the reaction center. Lewis acids capable of adapting square planar geometries, such as Cu(OTf)2, Cu(ClO4)2, and Pd(ClO4)2, were found to be particularly effective at providing high selectivities. Additionally, substitution at the C-5 position of the pyrazolidinone templates has been shown to be critical for optimal selectivity. Reactions of the optimal pyrazolidinone appended with a number of common dienophiles and various dienes demonstrate the utility of this achiral template. Furthermore, catalytic loadings could be lowered to 2.5 mol % with essentially no loss in selectivity. Pi-Pi interactions were evaluated as a means to explain the unusually high selectivity observed at room temperature. Finally, non-C2-symmetric ligands were employed as a test to determine if chiral relay was operative.