Network dilution and asymmetry in an efficient brain

ABSTRACT

The ultimate goal of neuroscience is to ultimately understand how the brain functions. The advancement of brain imaging shows us how the brain continuously alternates complex activity patterns and experimentally reveals how these patterns are responsible for memory, association, reasoning, and countless other tasks. Two fundamental parameters, dilution (the number of connections per node), and symmetry (the number of bidirectional connections of the same weight) characterise two fundamental features underlying the networks that connect the single neurons in the brain and generate these patterns. Mammalian brains show large variations of dilution, and mostly asymmetric connectivity, unfortunately the advantages which drove evolution to these state of network dilution and asymmetry are still unknown. Here, we studied the effects of symmetry and dilution on a discrete-time recurrent neural network with McCulloch–Pitts neurons. We use an exhaustive approach, in which we probe all possible inputs for several randomly connected neuron networks with different degrees of dilution and symmetry. We find an optimum value for the synaptic dilution and symmetry, which turns out to be in striking quantitative agreement with what previous researchers have found in the brain cortex, neocortex and hippocampus. The diluted asymmetric brain shows high memory capacity and pattern recognition speed, but most of all it is the less energy-consumptive with respect to fully connected and symmetric network topologies.     

Effect of relative humidity on mechanical properties of a woven thermoplastic composite for automotive application

The purpose of this work is to characterise the influence of moisture content in a woven glass fibre reinforced polyamide 6,6 composite. Two different stacking sequences are studied: [(0/90)₃] and [(±45)₃] as well as the neat PA6,6 matrix. Samples have been conditioned through three ways: either water immersed, left at ambient temperature and humidity or dried in 35 °C oven. A one dimensional Fick's law has been used to model the water uptake in immersed samples. The glass transition temperature is highly affected by the presence of water and has been measured using modulated DSC technique. Finally, the effects of water on these composite materials have been investigated through tensile tests instrumented with acoustic emission monitoring (AE). Mechanical properties are highly affected by the presence of water in the composite. This result is even more visible on [(±45)₃] sample because of the preferential loading of the matrix.     

Kojic acid—a new fragment for the preparation of bent‐core mesogens

Kojic acid was used to synthesize bent‐core mesogens. Antiferroelectric polar smectic mesophases, an oblique and a rectangular columnar mesophase were found. The mesophases were characterized by X‐ray scattering, electro‐optical measurements, polarizing microscopy and DSC. On the base of these measurements, models of the mesophases are proposed.     

Obituary: Professor Frank M. Leslie FRS (1935-2000)

The synthesis of five new cholesteryl-based monomers (M-1?M-5) and the corresponding smectic comb-like polymers containing cholesteryl groups (P-1?P-5) is presented. The chemical structures were characterised by FT-IR, 1H NMR and elemental analyses. The specific optical rotations were evaluated with a polarimeter. The phase behaviour was investigated by polarising optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction. The specific optical rotation values of these monomers and polymers with the same number of phenyl rings and terminal groups were nearly equal; however, they decreased with increasing the aryl numbers in the mesogenic core. The monomers M-1?M-5 showed oily streak and focal conic optical textures, or finger print textures characteristic of the chiral nematic phase. The polymers P-1?P-5 showed the smectic A phase. The melting, clearing, and glass transition temperatures increased, and the mesophase temperature ranges widened with increasing the aryl number in the mesogenic core. However, although the molecular structures of M-4 and M-5 were similar to those of M-3, namely their mesogenic cores contained three phenyl rings, their phase behaviour differed considerably, and T _m and T _i of M-4 and M-5 were less than those of M-3. In addition, M-4 and M-5 showed a clear glass transition similar to the polymer. Furthermore, the ester linkage bond and aryl arrangement in the mesogenic core also affected the phase behaviour.     

Multi-arm ionic liquid crystals formed by cholesteric mesophase and pyridinium groups

ABSTRACT

A series of novel star-shaped ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) compounds with various counterions (derived from HBF₄, HPF₆, CF₃COOH, d-MH-SO₃H, H₃PO₄, p-Toluenesulfonic acid) were designed and synthesised starting from precursors of pyridines and liquid crystalline monomer cholesteryl 4-bromobutanoate. Inducing various counterions by use of ionic self-assembly due to electrostatic attraction of various ion clusters was one of the most essential factors for intermolecular separation. The chemical structures, liquid crystalline properties, self-assembly behaviour and ionic conductivity of these compounds were researched during multiple experimental techniques. The star-shaped ILCs showed a smectic A (SmA) mesophase. The d-spacing of star-shaped ILCs increased slightly due to the increase volume of anion. The clearing temperatures of the pyridinium salts suggested that the effect of the stabilisation on the SmA structures was in the order H₂PO₄^?>BF₄^?>T_S^?>D-MH-SO₃^?>CF₃COO^?>PF₆^?. All these star-shaped ILCs displayed ionic conductivity in mesophase. It was noted that the conductivity (σ) increased with the increase of the anion size and temperature.     

Synthesis and characterisation of polymethacrylates containing para-, meta- and ortho-monosubstituted azobenzene moieties in the side chain

Three sets of novel side-chain liquid crystalline polymers with monosubstituted azobenzene moieties in the side-chain have been studied. These are poly(p-(4′-methoxy-4-oxyhexyloxy azobenzene) benzyl methacrylate) (PPHABM), poly(m-(4′-methoxy-4-oxyhexyloxy azobenzene) benzyl methacrylate) (PMHABM) and poly(o-(4′-methoxy-4-oxyhexyloxy azobenzene) benzyl methacrylate) (POHABM). The chemical structure of the monomers was confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The structural characterisation of the polymers was performed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography, and their phase behaviour and liquid crystalline properties were studied using differential scanning calorimetry, polarised optical microscopy and wide-angle X-ray diffraction. The results show that the transitional behaviour of side-chain liquid crystalline polymers containing monosubstituted azobenzene moieties depends strongly on the position of the substituent on the azobenzene moiety; for example, the ortho-monosubstituted polymers do not form liquid crystalline phases, but all the para- and meta-monosubstituted polymers exhibit a smectic A phase. Furthermore, the glass transition temperature (T_g ) of the polymers decreases in the order, para > meta > ortho. For the PPHABM and PMHABM polymers the isotropic temperature (T_i ) and liquid crystalline range (ΔT, from T_g to T_i ) are found to be in the order, para > meta, although it is surprising that the associated enthalpy changes in these polymers is the opposite order, meta > para.     

Criteria for the first order Freedericksz transitions

This paper summarizes the exact criteria for the first order Fréedericksz transition to occur in magnetically, electrically or optically driven liquid crystal cells. All these criteria are in terms of the material parameters, cell geometrical parameters and surface anchoring parameters.     

碳纤维布加固钢筋混凝土梁受力性能的试验研究

通过对8根矩形截面钢筋混凝土梁的静力加载试验,研究了抗弯和抗剪两种加固方式对钢筋混凝土梁的破坏形态和力学性能的影响,对比分析了碳纤维加固率、试验梁的状态、混凝土强度对加固效果的影响。结果表明：经碳纤维抗弯哥口抗剪加固后加圉梁相应的力学性能指标值明显提高;混凝土裂缝扩展得到了有效延缓,加固效果明显;抗弯加固后可显著提高混凝土梁的承载力和延性,但提高程度并不与加固率成正比;预裂粱抗弯加固后承载力和延性得到提高,但与其相同加固参数的梁相比,其承载力和延性有所降低;抗剪加固时混凝土强度越高,加固后混凝土梁的承载力和变形能力提高幅度越大,其中混凝土梁的变形能力受混凝土强度的影响较大。最后,对加固梁的极限承载力进行了理论分析与计算,建立了实用的理论计算公式,计算结果与试验结果吻合较好。     

Synthesis, spectroscopy and biological investigations of manganese(III) Schiff base complexes derived from heterocyclic β-diketone with various primary amine and 2,2'-bipyridyl

The mixed ligand mononuclear complex [Mn(bipy)(HPMFP)(OAc)]ClO(4) was synthesized by reaction of Mn(OAc)(3)·2H(2)O with HPMFP and 2,2'-bipyridyl. The corresponding Schiff base complexes were prepared by condensation of [Mn(bipy)(HPMFP)(OAc)]ClO(4) with ethylenediamine, ethanolamine and glycine (where HPMFP=1-phenyl-3methyl-4-formyl-2-pyrazolin-5one, bipy=2,2'-bipyridyl). All the compounds have been characterized by elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility, conductometry measurements and (1)H and (13)C NMR, FT-IR, mass spectrometry. Electronic spectral and magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate square pyramidal geometry around manganese(III) ion. The thermal stabilities, activation energy E*, entropy change ΔS*, enthalpy change ΔH* and heat capacity of thermal degradation for these complexes were determined by TGA and DSC. The in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activity of four coordination compounds and ligand HPMFP were investigated. In vitro activates of Bacillus subtillis (MTCC-619), Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC-96), Escherichia coli (MTCC-722) and Klebsiella pneumonia (MTCC-109) bacteria and the fungus Candida albicans (ATCC-90028) were determined. All the compounds showed good antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activities increased as formation of Schiff base.