Chemical modification of group IV graphene analogs

Mono-elemental two-dimensional (2D) crystals (graphene, silicene, germanene, stanene, and so on), termed 2D-Xenes, have been brought to the forefront of scientific research. The stability and electronic properties of 2D-Xenes are main challenges in developing practical devices. Therefore, in this review, we focus on 2D free-standing group-IV graphene analogs (graphene quantum dots, silicane, and germanane) and the functionalization of these sheets with organic moieties, which could be handled under ambient conditions. We highlight the present results and future opportunities, functions and applications, and novel device concepts.     

A Hilbert warping method for handwriting gesture recognition

We propose a novel sequence alignment algorithm for recognizing handwriting gestures by a camera. In the proposed method, an input image sequence is aligned to the reference sequences by phase-synchronization of analytic signals which are transformed from original feature values. A cumulative distance is calculated simultaneously with the alignment process, and then used for the classification. A major benefit of this method is that over-fitting to sequences of incorrect categories is restricted. The proposed method exhibited higher recognition accuracy in handwriting gesture recognition, compared with the conventional dynamic time warping method which explores optimal alignment results for all categories.     

CuO/SnO2-In2O3 sensor for monitoring CO concentration in a reducing atmosphere

The CO sensing property of CuO-loaded SnO₂-In₂O₃ sensor was investigated in a reducing atmosphere. The sensor response to CO for CuO/SnO₂-In₂O₃ (8/2) was much higher than that for CuO/SnO₂ in the range of 200-1000 ppm of CO concentration. Such a high sensor response of CuO/SnO₂-In₂O₃ may originate from the high dispersion of CuO playing a role as sensing site.     

Properties of variations in the periods of ring neural oscillators with noise

Effects of additive noise on a series of the periods of oscillations in unidirectionally coupled ring neural networks of ring oscillator type are studied. Kinematical models of the traveling waves of an inconsistency, i.e. the successive same signs in the states of adjacent neurons in the network, are derived. A series of the half periods in the network of N neuron is then expressed by the sum of N sequences of the N-first order autoregressive process, the process with the spectrum of exponential type and the first-order autoregressive process. Noise and the interaction of the inconsistency cause characteristic positive correlations in a series of the half periods of the oscillations. Further, an experiment on an analog circuit of the ring neural oscillator was done and it is shown that correlations in the obtained periods of the oscillations agree with the derived three expressions.     

Slow eye movement as a possible predictor of reaction delays to auditory warning alarms in a drowsy state

In recently developed intelligent vehicles, warning alarms are often used to prompt avoidance behaviours from drivers facing imminent hazardous situations. However, when critical reaction delays to auditory stimulation are anticipated, the alarm should be activated earlier to compensate for such delays. It was found that reaction times to an auditory stimulus significantly increased in the presence of slow eye movement (SEM), which is known to occur frequently during the wake-sleep transition. The reaction delay could not be attributed to temporal effects such as fatigue and was invariant regardless of response effectors (finger or foot). Moreover, it was found that applied pedal force decreased immediately after an auditory stimulus interrupted SEM. Consequently, it was concluded that SEM can be a good predictor of reaction delays to auditory warning alarms when drivers are in a drowsy state. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The present study demonstrated that simple auditory reaction time significantly increased when SEM emerged. In the design of vehicle safety systems using warning alarms to prompt avoidance behaviours from drivers, such reaction delays during SEM must be taken into account.     

Information gathering and searching approaches on the Web

The information accessible through the Internet is increasing explosively as the Web is getting more and more widespread. In this situation, the Web is indispensable information resource for both of information gathering and information searching. Though traditional information retrieval techniques have been applied to information gathering and searching in the Web, they are insufficient for this new form of information source. Fortunately some Al techniques can be straightforwardly applicable to such tasks in the Web, and many researchers are trying this approach. In this paper, we attempt to describe the current state of information gathering and searching technologies in the Web, and the application of AI techniques in the fields. Then we point out limitations of these traditional and AI approaches and introduce two aapproaches: navigation planning and a Mondou search engine for overcoming them. The navigation planning system tries to collect systematic knowledge, rather than Web pages, which are only pieces of knowledge. The Mondou search engine copes with the problems of the query expansion/modification based on the techniques of text/web mining and information visualization. Seiji Yamada, Dr. Eng.: He received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.S. degrees in control engineering and artificial intelligence from Osaka University, Osaka, Japan, in 1984, 1986 and 1989, respectively. From 1989 to 1991, he served as a Research Associate in the Department of Control Engineering at Osaka University. From 1991 to 1996, he served as a Lecturer in the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research at Osaka University. In 1996, he joined the Department of Computational Intelligence and Systems Science at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan, as an Associate Professor. His research interests include artificial intelligence, planning, machine learning for a robotics, intelligent information retrieval in the WWW, human computer interaction, He is a member of AAAI, IEEE, JSAI, RSJ and IEICE. Hiroyuki Kawano, Dr.Eng.: He is an Associate Professor at the Department of Systems Science, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Japan. He obtained his B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees in Applied Mathematics and Physics, and his Dr.Eng. degree in Applied Systems Science from Kyoto University. His research interests are in advanced database technologies, such as data mining, data warehousing, knowledge discovery and web search engine (Mondou). He has served on the program committees of several conferences in the areas of Data Base Systems, and technical committes of advanced information systems.     

Multicomponent diffusion in phase-separating polymer blends with different frictional interactions: a mean-friction model

We present a compact formula for describing the mean frictional forces acting on a molecule in multicomponent systems. The friction-based diffusion theory of Zielinski and Hanley was extended to newly include the friction-average molar velocity as a reference frame. The results showed that the previous diffusion theories are unified by the friction-average concept by properly choosing the average velocity. The present model based on the diffusivity-related molar average velocity provides better predictions for the diffusive flux in a ternary miscible liquid compared to the other existing theories. The application of the model in phase-separating ternary systems revealed that the introduction of a highly diffusive third component into demixing polymer blends promotes a particular enhancement of the spinodal decomposition due to the difference in the frictional interactions between polymers.     

SiO2 thin film deposition on the inner surface of a poly(tetra-fluoroethylene) narrow tube by atmospheric-pressure glow microplasma

SiO₂ thin films were deposited on the inner surfaces of a commercial poly(tetrafluoroethylene) narrow tube with an inner diameter of 0.5 mm using tetraethoxysilane/O₂ feedstock gases and He carrier gas by atmospheric-pressure microplasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. A glow microplasma was generated inside the tube by radio frequency (RF) capacitively coupled discharge. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra showed that the tube inner surface was covered by a SiO₂ thin film. Transparent SiO₂ thin films were obtained with a deposition rate of 230 nm/min at an RF power of 6 W and substrate temperature of 100 °C. The wettability of the SiO₂-coated tube was about 3 times as large as that of an untreated sample tube.     

Effects of neural refractoriness on spatio-temporal variability in spike initiations with Electrical stimulation.

In this paper, the effects of neural refractoriness on action potential (spike) initiations with electrical stimulation are investigated using computer modeling and simulation techniques. The computational model was composed of a myelinated nerve fiber with 50 nodes of Ranvier, each consisting of stochastic sodium and potassium channels, making it possible to represent the fluctuations of spike initiation. A series of two-pulse stimuli was presented by a stimulating electrode above the central (26th) node of Ranvier. The amplitude of the first (masker) pulse stimulus was set such that the masker pulse stimulus evoked spikes on each trial, while that of the second (probe) pulse stimulus was set such that the probe pulse stimulus evoked spikes on a half of trials, threshold values. Then the transmembrane potentials in response to the probe pulse stimulus were recorded at each node (i.e., 1-50 nodes) in order to determine the spike initiation node and time. From the observation of the spike initiation node and time, a spatio-temporal histogram as well as a spatial variability and a temporal variability of spike initiations was generated which allowed us to interpret fluctuations in spike initiation node and time. It was shown that the distribution of spike initiations tended to become greater spatially and longer temporally as the masker-probe intervals (MPIs) of the two-pulse stimuli shortened. It was also shown that the number of activated sodium channels as functions of space and time tended to become smaller due to inactivation of sodium channels and varied spatially and temporally as MPIs shortened. These findings may imply that the stochastic sodium channels during a relative refractory period may contribute to enhancing the fluctuations in spike initiations, and give us an insight into encoding information with electric stimuli to improve the performance of the prosthetic devices, especially cochlear implants.