1,721,228 research outputs found
Determining Chemical Microheterogeneity from the Analysis of Absorption and Luminescence Transient Signals
No full text: The characterization of chemical microheterogeneity is compelling due to its relevant role in soft materials, high-entropy materials, and systems chemistry, to cite just a few instances. This work investigates the microheterogeneity of photochromic samples and metal oxide solid solutions by fitting time-resolved absorption and luminesce signals recorded after photoexcitation. The transient spectroscopic signals have been analyzed using polyexponential functions determined through the Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) and discrete exponential, Kohlrausch, and Becquerel functions through the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. The outputs of the different fitting functions and algorithms are compared and exploited to characterize chemical microheterogeneity quantitatively. The practical relevance of chemical microheterogeneity is supported by the demonstration that photochromic samples are transformed from binary to multistate systems, capable of encoding much more information, and that microheterogeneous photocatalysts are provided with several structural defects that guarantee the coexistence of many active sites and higher catalytic activity
Chemical AI in the Limelight: The Contribution of Photochromic Materials and Oscillatory Chemical Reactions
No full textChemical Artificial Intelligence (CAI) is the burgeoning research field devising chemical systems in "wetware" (i.e., in liquid solutions) to mimic biological intelligence competencies. UV-visible radiation is valuable for maintaining those systems out-of-equilibrium, prompting them to respond to optical and other physicochemical signals and probing their evolution. As it occurs in all the kingdoms of life, photochromic compounds play a relevant role. Several living beings exploit photochromic switches for variegate responses to the features of the environmental light. This work proposes a plausible justification by evidencing how each photochrome can be conceived as a trivial form of Markov blanket and implement (i) forward, (ii) final, and (iii) circular causalities. Furthermore, photochromic materials are appropriate for processing Boolean and fuzzy logic, exploiting their chemical reactivity, chaos, and quantum computing. Finally, photochromic molecules and oscillatory chemical reactions are promising ingredients for developing neuromorphic engineering in wetware based on optical signals. CAI inspires the design of adaptive, active, and autonomous chemical systems, which help humanity to colonize the molecular world against diseases, pollution, and poverty
Rassegna sull’efficacia del trattamento di coppia nella gestione del diabete: studi e prospettive future
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Living cells and biological mechanisms as prototypes for developing chemical artificial intelligence
No full textArtificial Intelligence (AI) is having a revolutionary impact on our societies. It is helping humans in facing the global challenges of this century. Traditionally, AI is developed in software or through neuromorphic engineering in hardware. More recently, a brand-new strategy has been proposed. It is the so-called Chemical AI (CAI), which exploits molecular, supramolecular, and systems chemistry in wetware to mimic human intelligence. In this work, two promising approaches for boosting CAI are described. One regards designing and implementing neural surrogates that can communicate through optical or chemical signals and give rise to networks for computational purposes and to develop micro/nanorobotics. The other approach concerns "bottom-up synthetic cells" that can be exploited for applications in various scenarios, including future nano-medicine. Both topics are presented at a basic level, mainly to inform the broader audience of non-specialists, and so favour the rise of interest in these frontier subjects
The Fuzziness in Molecular, Supramolecular, and Systems Chemistry
No full textThe global challenges of the XXI century require a more in-depth analysis and investigation of complex systems [...
The Conformational Contribution to Molecular Complexity and Its Implications for Information Processing in Living Beings and Chemical Artificial Intelligence
No full textThis work highlights the relevant contribution of conformational stereoisomers to the complexity and functions of any molecular compound. Conformers have the same molecular and structural formulas but different orientations of the atoms in the three-dimensional space. Moving from one conformer to another is possible without breaking covalent bonds. The interconversion is usually feasible through the thermal energy available in ordinary conditions. The behavior of most biopolymers, such as enzymes, antibodies, RNA, and DNA, is understandable if we consider that each exists as an ensemble of conformers. Each conformational collection confers multi-functionality and adaptability to the single biopolymers. The conformational distribution of any biopolymer has the features of a fuzzy set. Hence, every compound that exists as an ensemble of conformers allows the molecular implementation of a fuzzy set. Since proteins, DNA, and RNA work as fuzzy sets, it is fair to say that life’s logic is fuzzy. The power of processing fuzzy logic makes living beings capable of swift decisions in environments dominated by uncertainty and vagueness. These performances can be implemented in chemical robots, which are confined molecular assemblies mimicking unicellular organisms: they are supposed to help humans “colonise” the molecular world to defeat diseases in living beings and fight pollution in the environment
Establishing a New Link between Fuzzy Logic, Neuroscience, and Quantum Mechanics through Bayesian Probability: Perspectives in Artificial Intelligence and Unconventional Computing
No full textHuman interaction with the world is dominated by uncertainty. Probability theory is a valuable tool to face such uncertainty. According to the Bayesian definition, probabilities are personal beliefs. Experimental evidence supports the notion that human behavior is highly consistent with Bayesian probabilistic inference in both the sensory and motor and cognitive domain. All the higher-level psychophysical functions of our brain are believed to take the activities of interconnected and distributed networks of neurons in the neocortex as their physiological substrate. Neurons in the neocortex are organized in cortical columns that behave as fuzzy sets. Fuzzy sets theory has embraced uncertainty modeling when membership functions have been reinterpreted as possibility distributions. The terms of Bayes’ formula are conceivable as fuzzy sets and Bayes’ inference becomes a fuzzy inference. According to the QBism, quantum probabilities are also Bayesian. They are logical constructs rather than physical realities. It derives that the Born rule is nothing but a kind of Quantum Law of Total Probability. Wavefunctions and measurement operators are viewed epistemically. Both of them are similar to fuzzy sets. The new link that is established between fuzzy logic, neuroscience, and quantum mechanics through Bayesian probability could spark new ideas for the development of artificial intelligence and unconventional computing
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