Reservoir computing is a highly efficient network for processing temporal signals due to its low training cost compared to standard recurrent neural networks, and generating rich reservoir states is ...critical in the hardware implementation. In this work, we report a parallel dynamic memristor-based reservoir computing system by applying a controllable mask process, in which the critical parameters, including state richness, feedback strength and input scaling, can be tuned by changing the mask length and the range of input signal. Our system achieves a low word error rate of 0.4% in the spoken-digit recognition and low normalized root mean square error of 0.046 in the time-series prediction of the Hénon map, which outperforms most existing hardware-based reservoir computing systems and also software-based one in the Hénon map prediction task. Our work could pave the road towards high-efficiency memristor-based reservoir computing systems to handle more complex temporal tasks in the future.
is a medicinal plant species of the genus Aloe with a long history of usage around the world. Acemannan, considered one of the main bioactive polysaccharides of
, possesses immunoregulation, ...anti-cancer, anti-oxidation, wound healing and bone proliferation promotion, neuroprotection, and intestinal health promotion activities, among others. In this review, recent advancements in the extraction, purification, structural characteristics and biological activities of acemannan from
were summarized. Among these advancements, the structural characteristics of purified polysaccharides were reviewed in detail. Meanwhile, the biological activities of acemannan from
determined by
,
and clinical experiments are summarized, and possible mechanisms of these bioactivities were discussed. Moreover, the latest research progress on the use of acemannan in dentistry and wound healing was also summarized in details. The structure-activity relationships of acemannan and its medical applications were discussed. Finally, new perspectives for future research work on acemannan were proposed. In conclusion, this review summarizes the extraction, purification, structural characteristics, biological activities and pharmacological applications of acemannan
and provides information for the industrial production and possible applications in dentistry and wound healing in the future.
Owing to their attractive application potentials in both non-volatile memory and unconventional computing, memristive devices have drawn substantial research attention in the last decade. However, ...major roadblocks still remain in device performance, especially concerning relatively large parameter variability and limited cycling endurance. The response of the active region in the device within and between switching cycles plays the dominating role, yet the microscopic details remain elusive. This Review summarizes recent progress in scientific understanding of the physical origins of the non-idealities and propose a synergistic approach based on in situ characterization and device modeling to investigate switching mechanism. At last, the Review offers an outlook for commercialization viability of memristive technology.
In the context of global warming, the frequent occurrence of drought has become one of the main reasons affecting the loss of gross primary productivity (GPP) of terrestrial ecosystems. Under the ...influence of human activities, the vegetation greening trend of the Loess Plateau increased significantly. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the response of GPP to drought in the Loess Plateau under the greening trend. Here, we comprehensively assessed the ability of vegetation indices (VIs) and solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) to capture GPP changes at different seasonal scales and during drought. Specifically, we utilized three vegetation indices: normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), near-infrared reflectance of vegetation (NIRV), and kernel NDVI index (kNDVI), and determined the drought period of the Loess Plateau in 2001 based on the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and the standardized soil moisture index (SSMI). Moreover, the anomalies of VIs and SIF during the drought period and the relationship with GPP anomalies were compared. The results showed that both SIF and VIs were able to capture changes during the drought period as well as in normal years. Overall, SIF captured drought changes better due to water and heat stress as well as GPP changes compared to VIs. Across different time scales, SIF showed the strongest relationship with GPP (meanR2 = 0.85), followed by NIRV (meanR2 = 0.84), NDVI (meanR2 = 0.76), and kNDVI (meanR2 = 0.74), suggesting that SIF is more sensitive to physiological changes in vegetation. Notably, kNDVI performed best in sparse vegetation (meanR2 = 0.85). In capture during drought, NIRV and kNDVI performed better in less productive land classes; SIF showed superior capture as land use class productivity increased. In addition, GPP anomalies correlated better with kNDVI anomalies (meanR2 = 0.50) than with other index anomalies. In the future, efforts to integrate the respective strengths of SIF, NIRV, and kNDVI will improve our understanding of GPP changes.
The problem of drug resistance of food borne pathogens is becoming more and more serious. Although traditional antimicrobial agents have good therapeutic effects on a variety of food borne pathogens, ...more effective antimicrobial agents are still needed to combat the development of drug-resistant food borne pathogens. Plant-based natural essential oils (EOs) are widely used because of their remarkable antimicrobial activity. A potential strategy to address food borne pathogens drug resistance is to use a combination of EOs and antimicrobial agents. Because EOs have multi-target inhibitory effects on microorganisms, combining them with drugs can enhance the activity of the drugs and avoid the emergence of food borne pathogens drug resistance. This paper introduces the main factors affecting the antibacterial activity of EOs and describes methods for evaluating their synergistic antibacterial effects. The possible mechanisms of action of EOs and the synergistic inhibitory effects on pathogens of EOs in combination with antimicrobial agents is described. In summary, the combined use of EOs and existing antimicrobial agents is a promising potential new antibacterial therapy.
The present review summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of three different aging methods (traditional dry aging, wet aging in vacuum shrink pack and dry aging in a highly moisture-permeable ...bag), discusses the effects of aging on beef which focus on the formation of taste-active compounds and aroma-active compounds and texture changes, and speculates the role of microbes. All these three aging methods can improve the aroma, flavor and texture of beef to varying degrees. It is concluded that the improvement in the taste during aging may be attributed to the following three aspects: First, the release of reducing sugars from the transition of glycogen and ATP; Second, the formation of free amino acids (FAAs) and peptides through proteolysis; Third, IMP, GMP, inosine and hypoxanthine which are produced by the degradation of nucleotides. The improvement of aroma is related to the volatile aroma-active components, which are produced by the thermal oxidation/degradation of fatty acids and the Maillard reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars during aging. And the change of texture is mainly owing to the degradation of cytoskeletal myofibrin and collagen with intramural connective tissue in meat by the endogenous proteolysis system. The role of microorganism in aging will be the main direction of further research.
The mango is a rich source of various polyphenolic compounds. The major polyphenols in the mango in terms of antioxidative capacity and/or quantity are: mangiferin, catechins, quercetin, kaempferol, ...rhamnetin, anthocyanins, gallic and ellagic acids, propyl and methyl gallate, benzoic acid, and protocatechuic acid. The nutraceutical and pharmaceutical significance of mangiferin, which is a special polyphenol in the mango has been extensively demonstrated and continues to attract much attention especially in its potential to combat degenerative diseases like heart diseases and cancer. The amounts of the different polyphenolic compounds in the mango vary from part to part (pulp, peel, seed, bark, leaf, and flower) with most polyphenols being found in all the parts. Mango polyphenols, like other polyphenolic compounds, work mainly as antioxidants, a property that enables them to protect human cells against damage due to oxidative stress leading to lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, and many degenerative diseases. Use of pure isolated compounds has been found to be less effective than the use of crude mixtures from the particular mango part suggesting that synergism of the various mango polyphenols is important for maximum antioxidative activity. In this article, we review the major mango polyphenols, looking at their proposed antioxidative activity, estimated amounts in the different parts, their structures, suggested modes of action, and related significance to human health, with great emphasis on mangiferin.
A memristor
has been proposed as an artificial synapse for emerging neuromorphic computing applications
. To train a neural network in memristor arrays, changes in weight values in the form of device ...conductance should be distinct and uniform
. An electrochemical metallization (ECM) memory
, typically based on silicon (Si), has demonstrated a good analogue switching capability
owing to the high mobility of metal ions in the Si switching medium
. However, the large stochasticity of the ion movement results in switching variability. Here we demonstrate a Si memristor with alloyed conduction channels that shows a stable and controllable device operation, which enables the large-scale implementation of crossbar arrays. The conduction channel is formed by conventional silver (Ag) as a primary mobile metal alloyed with silicidable copper (Cu) that stabilizes switching. In an optimal alloying ratio, Cu effectively regulates the Ag movement, which contributes to a substantial improvement in the spatial/temporal switching uniformity, a stable data retention over a large conductance range and a substantially enhanced programmed symmetry in analogue conductance states. This alloyed memristor allows the fabrication of large-scale crossbar arrays that feature a high device yield and accurate analogue programming capability. Thus, our discovery of an alloyed memristor is a key step paving the way beyond von Neumann computing.
Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has been attracting much attentions due to its excellent electrical and optical properties. We report here the synthesis of large-scale and uniform MoS2 nanosheets with ...vertically standing morphology using chemical vapor deposition method. TEM observations clearly reveal the growth mechanism of these vertical structures. It is suggested that the vertical structures are caused by the compression and extrusion between MoS2 islands. More importantly, the vertical morphology of two dimensional (2D) materials hold many promising potential applications. We demonstrate here the as-synthesized vertically standing MoS2 nanosheets could be used for hydrogen evolution reaction, where the exchange current density is about 70 times of bulk MoS2. The field emission performance of vertically standing MoS2 were also improved due to the abundantly exposed edges.