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At least 1,045 records · Page 58

Assessing Decadal Predictability in an Earth-System Model Using Explainable Neural Networks

We show that explainable neural networks can identify regions of oceanic variability that contribute predictability on decadal timescales in a fully coupled Earth-system model. The neural networks learn to use sea-surface temperature anomalies to predict future continental surface temperature anomalies. We then use a neural-network explainability method called layerwise relevance propagation to infer which oceanic patterns lead to accurate predictions made by the neural networks. In particular, regions within the North Atlantic Ocean and North Pacific Ocean lend the most predictability for surface temperature across continental North America. We apply the proposed methodology to decadal variability, although the concept is generalizable to other timescales of predictability. Furthermore, while our approach focuses on predictable patterns of internal variability within climate models, it should be generalizable to observational data as well. Our study contributes to the growing evidence that explainable neural networks are important tools for advancing geoscientific knowledge.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Width-Based Discharge Partitioning in Distributary Networks: How Right We Are

River deltas are home to large populations and can be composed of complex channel networks which convey flows of matter to the shoreline. Knowledge of flow within individual channels is needed to quantify the distribution of discharge across the delta, and thus its sustainability over time. Due to a lack of field measurements at the local channel scale, researchers leverage remote sensing data to estimate the partitioning of flow. We compare data from 15 river deltas to discharge partitioning estimates based on channel network graphs derived from remote sensing imagery. We quantify errors in the common width-based method and test alternative partitioning techniques to find that width-based discharge partitioning is universally applicable, suggesting that absent any site-specific information, discharge partitioning by average channel width is an appropriate approach. We also provide networks, streamflow measurements, and flux partitioning estimates for 28 delta networks as the Discharge In Distributary NeTworks (DIDNT) dataset.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Characterizing the Impacts of Multi-Scale Heterogeneity on Solute Transport in Fracture Networks

We model flow and transport in fracture networks with varying degrees of fracture-to-fracture aperture heterogeneity and network intensity to show how changes in these properties can cause the emergence of anomalous flow and transport behavior. If fracture-to-fracture aperture heterogeneity is increased in sparse networks, velocity fluctuations inhibit high flow rates and solute transport can be delayed. Surprisingly, transport can be slowed even in cases where hydraulic aperture is monotonically increased. As the intensity of the networks is increased, more connected pathways allow for particles to bypass these effects. There exists transition behavior where with relatively few connected pathways in a network, first arrival times of particles are not heavily affected by fracture-to-fracture aperture heterogeneity, but the scaling behavior of the tails is strongly influenced. These results reinforce the importance of considering multi-scale effects in fractured systems and can inform flow and transport processes in both natural and engineered fractured systems.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Quartz Dissolution Effects on Flow Channelization and Transport Behavior in Three‐Dimensional Fracture Networks

We perform a set of reactive transport simulations in three-dimensional fracture networks to characterize the impact of geochemical reactions on flow channelization. Flow channelization, a frequently observed phenomenon in porous and fractured subsurface rock formations, results from the spatially variable hydraulic resistance offered by a geological structure. In addition to geo-structural features such as network connectivity, geometry, and hydraulic resistance, geochemical reactions, for example, dissolution and precipitation, can dynamically inhibit or enhance flow channelization. These geochemical processes can change the fracture permeability leading to increased flow channelization, which are localized connected regions of high volumetric flow rates that are seemingly ubiquitous in the subsurface. In our simulations, fractures partially filled with quartz are gradually dissolved until quasi-steady state conditions are obtained. We compare the flow field's initial unreacted and final dissolved states in terms of flow and transport observations. We observe that the dissolved fracture networks provide less resistance to flow and exhibit increased flow channelization when compared to their unreacted counterparts. However, there is substantial variability in the magnitude of these changes which implies that the channelization strongly depends on the network structure. In turn, we identify the interplay between the particular network structure and the impact of geochemical dissolution on flow channelization. The presented results indicate that geological systems that have been weathering or reactive for longer times in older landscapes are likely to have increased flow channelization compared to their equivalent but younger counterparts, which implies a time dependence on flow channelization in fractured media.

Hyman, Jeffrey D.↗

Path sampling of recurrent neural networks by incorporating known physics

Recurrent neural networks have seen widespread use in modeling dynamical systems in varied domains such as weather prediction, text prediction and several others. Often one wishes to supplement the experimentally observed dynamics with prior knowledge or intuition about the system. While the recurrent nature of these networks allows them to model arbitrarily long memories in the time series used in training, it makes it harder to impose prior knowledge or intuition through generic constraints. In this work, we present a path sampling approach based on principle of Maximum Caliber that allows us to include generic thermodynamic or kinetic constraints into recurrent neural networks. We show the method here for a widely used type of recurrent neural network known as long short-term memory network in the context of supplementing time series collected from different application domains. These include classical Molecular Dynamics of a protein and Monte Carlo simulations of an open quantum system continuously losing photons to the environment and displaying Rabi oscillations. Our method can be easily generalized to other generative artificial intelligence models and to generic time series in different areas of physical and social sciences, where one wishes to supplement limited data with intuition or theory based corrections.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Labels as a feature: Network homophily for systematically annotating human GPCR drug-target interactions

Machine learning has revolutionized drug discovery by enabling the exploration of vast, uncharted chemical spaces essential for discovering novel patentable drugs. Despite the critical role of human G protein-coupled receptors in FDA-approved drugs, exhaustive in-distribution drug-target interaction testing across all pairs of human G protein-coupled receptors and known drugs is rare due to significant economic and technical challenges. This often leaves off-target effects unexplored, which poses a considerable risk to drug safety. In contrast to the traditional focus on out-of-distribution exploration (drug discovery), we introduce a neighborhood-to-prediction model termed Chemical Space Neural Networks that leverages network homophily and training-free graph neural networks with labels as features. We show that Chemical Space Neural Networks’ ability to make accurate predictions strongly correlates with network homophily. Thus, labels as features strongly increase a machine learning model’s capacity to enhance in-distribution prediction accuracy, which we show by integrating labeled data during inference. We validate these advancements in a high-throughput yeast biosensing system (3773 drug-target interactions, 539 compounds, 7 human G protein-coupled receptors) to discover novel drug-target interactions for FDA-approved drugs and to expand the general understanding of how to build reliable predictors to guide experimental verification.

Hansson, Frederik G↗

Ultrafast Bragg coherent diffraction imaging of epitaxial thin films using deep complex-valued neural networks

Abstract Domain wall structures form spontaneously due to epitaxial misfit during thin film growth. Imaging the dynamics of domains and domain walls at ultrafast timescales can provide fundamental clues to features that impact electrical transport in electronic devices. Recently, deep learning based methods showed promising phase retrieval (PR) performance, allowing intensity-only measurements to be transformed into snapshot real space images. While the Fourier imaging model involves complex-valued quantities, most existing deep learning based methods solve the PR problem with real-valued based models, where the connection between amplitude and phase is ignored. To this end, we involve complex numbers operation in the neural network to preserve the amplitude and phase connection. Therefore, we employ the complex-valued neural network for solving the PR problem and evaluate it on Bragg coherent diffraction data streams collected from an epitaxial La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 (LSCO) thin film using an X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL). Our proposed complex-valued neural network based approach outperforms the traditional real-valued neural network methods in both supervised and unsupervised learning manner. Phase domains are also observed from the LSCO thin film at an ultrafast timescale using the complex-valued neural network.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Network-level encoding of local neurotransmitters in cortical astrocytes

Abstract Astrocytes, the most abundant non-neuronal cell type in the mammalian brain, are crucial circuit components that respond to and modulate neuronal activity through calcium (Ca 2+ ) signalling 1–7 . Astrocyte Ca 2+ activity is highly heterogeneous and occurs across multiple spatiotemporal scales—from fast, subcellular activity 3,4 to slow, synchronized activity across connected astrocyte networks 8–10 —to influence many processes 5,7,11 . However, the inputs that drive astrocyte network dynamics remain unclear. Here we used ex vivo and in vivo two-photon astrocyte imaging while mimicking neuronal neurotransmitter inputs at multiple spatiotemporal scales. We find that brief, subcellular inputs of GABA and glutamate lead to widespread, long-lasting astrocyte Ca 2+ responses beyond an individual stimulated cell. Further, we find that a key subset of Ca 2+ activity—propagative activity—differentiates astrocyte network responses to these two main neurotransmitters, and may influence responses to future inputs. Together, our results demonstrate that local, transient neurotransmitter inputs are encoded by broad cortical astrocyte networks over a minutes-long time course, contributing to accumulating evidence that substantial astrocyte–neuron communication occurs across slow, network-level spatiotemporal scales 12–14 . These findings will enable future studies to investigate the link between specific astrocyte Ca 2+ activity and specific functional outputs, which could build a consistent framework for astrocytic modulation of neuronal activity.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

Electron energy loss spectroscopy database synthesis and automation of core-loss edge recognition by deep-learning neural networks

Abstract The ionization edges encoded in the electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) spectra enable advanced material analysis including composition analyses and elemental quantifications. The development of the parallel EELS instrument and fast, sensitive detectors have greatly improved the acquisition speed of EELS spectra. However, the traditional way of core-loss edge recognition is experience based and human labor dependent, which limits the processing speed. So far, the low signal–noise ratio and the low jump ratio of the core-loss edges on the raw EELS spectra have been challenging for the automation of edge recognition. In this work, a convolutional-bidirectional long short-term memory neural network (CNN-BiLSTM) is proposed to automate the detection and elemental identification of core-loss edges from raw spectra. An EELS spectral database is synthesized by using our forward model to assist in the training and validation of the neural network. To make the synthesized spectra resemble the real spectra, we collected a large library of experimentally acquired EELS core edges. In synthesize the training library, the edges are modeled by fitting the multi-Gaussian model to the real edges from experiments, and the noise and instrumental imperfectness are simulated and added. The well-trained CNN-BiLSTM network is tested against both the simulated spectra and real spectra collected from experiments. The high accuracy of the network, 94.9%, proves that, without complicated preprocessing of the raw spectra, the proposed CNN-BiLSTM network achieves the automation of core-loss edge recognition for EELS spectra with high accuracy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

In-plane selective area InSb–Al nanowire quantum networks

Abstract Strong spin–orbit semiconductor nanowires coupled to a superconductor are predicted to host Majorana zero modes. Exchange (braiding) operations of Majorana modes form the logical gates of a topological quantum computer and require a network of nanowires. Here, we utilize an in-plane selective area growth technique for InSb–Al semiconductor–superconductor nanowire networks. Transport channels, free from extended defects, in InSb nanowire networks are realized on insulating, but heavily mismatched InP (111)B substrates by full relaxation of the lattice mismatch at the nanowire/substrate interface and nucleation of a complete network from a single nucleation site by optimizing the surface diffusion length of the adatoms. Essential quantum transport phenomena for topological quantum computing are demonstrated in these structures including phase-coherence lengths exceeding several micrometers with Aharonov–Bohm oscillations up to five harmonics and a hard superconducting gap accompanied by 2 e -periodic Coulomb oscillations with an Al-based Cooper pair island integrated in the nanowire network.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

rNets: a standalone package to visualize reaction networks

In the study of chemical processes, visualizing reaction networks is pivotal for identifying crucial compounds and transformations. Traditional methods, such as network schematics and reaction path linear plots, often struggle to effectively represent complex reaction networks due to their size and intricate connectivity. Alternatives capable of leading with complexity include graph methods, but they are not user-friendly, lacking simplicity and modularity, which hinders their integration with widely-used research software. This work introduces rNets an innovative tool designed for the efficient visualization of reaction networks with a user-friendly interface, modularity, and seamless integration with existing software packages. The effectiveness of rNets is demonstrated through its application in analyzing three catalytic reactions, showcasing its potential to significantly enhance research both in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis fields. This tool not only simplifies the visualization process but also opens new avenues for exploring complex reaction networks in diverse research contexts.

Pablo-García, Sergio↗

CP‐SyNet: A tool for generating customised cyber‐power synthetic network for distribution systems with distributed energy resources

Abstract The integration of distributed energy resources and advancement in information technology has enabled the transition of traditional power distribution systems to active cyber‐physical distribution systems. A growing amount of research has been done on the modelling, analysis, and optimisation of power distribution system behaviour. However, existing publicly available distribution test feeders are limited in numbers and have minimal features. Furthermore, these test feeders do not include cyber models and are not customisable. To bridge this gap, we propose and develop Cyber‐physical synthetic distribution system network (CP‐SyNet), a tool for generating customisable cyber‐physical synthetic distribution test feeders. CP‐SyNet generates three‐phase unbalanced test feeders according to users' requirements, while simultaneously considering both the cyber side and the physical side of the network for cyber‐physical analysis. The physical test network is developed using a graph‐theoretical approach that employs information from existing test feeders. The cyber side considers an equivalent communication network by transforming the physical topology into possible and feasible simulated network. Two examples are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed framework to generate cyber‐physical test feeders.

Wang, Lusha↗

HOLISMOKES IX. Neural network inference of strong-lens parameters and uncertainties from ground-based images

Modeling of strong gravitational lenses is a necessity for further applications in astrophysics and cosmology. With the large number of detections in current and upcoming surveys, such as the Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), it is pertinent to investigate automated and fast analysis techniques beyond the traditional and time-consuming Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling methods. Building upon our (simple) convolutional neural network (CNN), we present here another CNN, specifically a residual neural network (ResNet), that predicts the five mass parameters of a singular isothermal ellipsoid (SIE) profile (lens center x and y, ellipticity e x and e y , Einstein radius θ E ) and the external shear (γ ext, 1 , γ ext, 2 ) from ground-based imaging data. In contrast to our previous CNN, this ResNet further predicts the 1σ uncertainty for each parameter. To train our network, we use our improved pipeline to simulate lens images using real images of galaxies from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Survey (HSC) and from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field as lens galaxies and background sources, respectively. We find very good recoveries overall for the SIE parameters, especially for the lens center in comparison to our previous CNN, while significant differences remain in predicting the external shear. From our multiple tests, it appears that most likely the low ground-based image resolution is the limiting factor in predicting the external shear. Given the run time of milli-seconds per system, our network is perfectly suited to quickly predict the next appearing image and time delays of lensed transients. Therefore, we use the network-predicted mass model to estimate these quantities and compare to those values obtained from our simulations. Unfortunately, the achieved precision allows only a first-order estimate of time delays on real lens systems and requires further refinement through follow-up modeling. Nonetheless, our ResNet is able to predict the SIE and shear parameter values in fractions of a second on a single CPU, meaning that we are able to efficiently process the huge amount of galaxy-scale lenses expected in the near future.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Connected Traffic Signal Coordination Optimization Framework through Network-Wide Adaptive Linear Quadratic Regulator–Based Control Strategy

Traffic congestion in metropolitan areas causes several significant challenges, such as longer travel times, decreased productivity, increased fuel consumption and vehicle emissions, and even severe injuries during crashes. Traffic signal control is a management approach to reduce traffic congestion and allocate the appropriate right of way for safety and mobility efficiency, both in temporal and spatial domains. Here, this study proposes a network-wide adaptive signal control coordination optimization framework based on the linear quadratic regulator algorithm. The traffic flow conditions driven by signal control inputs are formulated based on their network-wide state-space representation. After modeling traffic control regulation constraints, an adaptive linear quadratic regulator algorithm is designed to maximize the network-wide total throughput under the current conditions. Optimal signal control split time durations for multiple intersections in the network are derived by solving the algebraic Riccati equation. Furthermore, the recursive least square parameter estimation method is employed to quantify dynamic traffic condition changes. To verify the effectiveness of this proposed signal control framework, both simulation and real-world experimental tests are conducted for multiple intersections in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. In preparation for real-world experimental tests, pipelines for real-time data processing implementation and historical traffic flow data analysis are conducted. The test results demonstrate that the proposed control framework achieves a decrease in travel time by up to 19.4%, total time spent (TTS) by up to 11.9%, and relative queue balance (RQB) by up to 15.6%. The research findings indicate that the proposed signal control framework can be generalized to handle large scale signal control optimization network-wide.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Self-consistent hopping theory of activated relaxation and diffusion of dilute penetrants in dense crosslinked polymer networks

We generalize a microscopic statistical mechanical theory of the activated dynamics of dilute spherical penetrants in glass-forming liquids to study the influence of crosslinking in polymer networks on the penetrant relaxation time and diffusivity over a wide range of temperature and crosslink fraction (f n ). Our calculations are relevant to recent experimental studies of a nm-sized molecule diffusing in poly-(n-butyl methacrylate) networks. The theory predicts the penetrant relaxation time increases exponentially with the glass transition temperature, T g (f n ), which grows roughly linearly with the square root of fn due to the coupling of local hopping to longer-range collective elasticity. Moreover, T g is also found to be proportional to a geometric confinement parameter defined as the ratio of the penetrant diameter to the mean network mesh size. The decoupling ratio of the penetrant and Kuhn segment alpha times displays a complex non-monotonic dependence on f n and temperature that is well collapsed based on the variable T g (f n )/T. A model for the penetrant diffusion constant that combines activated relaxation and entropic mesh confinement is proposed, which results in a significantly stronger suppression of mass transport with degree of effective supercooling than predicted for the penetrant alpha time. Furthermore, this behavior corresponds to a new network-based type of “decoupling” of diffusion and relaxation. In contrast to the diffusion of larger nanoparticles in high temperature rubbery networks, our analysis in the supercooled regime suggests that for the penetrants studied the mesh confinement effects are of secondary importance relative to the consequences of crosslink-induced slowing down of activated hopping of glassy physics origin.

Chemistry↗

Using the Metropolis algorithm to explore the loss surface of a recurrent neural network

In the limit of small trial moves the Metropolis Monte Carlo algorithm is equivalent to gradient descent on the energy function in the presence of Gaussian white noise. This observation was originally used to demonstrate a correspondence between Metropolis Monte Carlo moves of model molecules and overdamped Langevin dynamics, but it also applies in the context of training a neural network: making small random changes to the weights of a neural network, accepted with the Metropolis probability, with the loss function playing the role of energy, has the same effect as training by explicit gradient descent in the presence of Gaussian white noise. We explore this correspondence in the context of a simple recurrent neural network. We also explore regimes in which this correspondence breaks down, where the gradient of the loss function becomes very large or small. In these regimes the Metropolis algorithm can still effect training, and so can be used as a probe of the loss function of a neural network in regimes in which gradient descent struggles. We also show that training can be accelerated by making purposely-designed Monte Carlo trial moves of neural-network weights.

Casert, Corneel↗

Machine learning without a processor: Emergent learning in a nonlinear analog network

Standard deep learning algorithms require differentiating large nonlinear networks, a process that is slow and power-hungry. Electronic contrastive local learning networks (CLLNs) offer potentially fast, efficient, and fault-tolerant hardware for analog machine learning, but existing implementations are linear, severely limiting their capabilities. These systems differ significantly from artificial neural networks as well as the brain, so the feasibility and utility of incorporating nonlinear elements have not been explored. Here, we introduce a nonlinear CLLN—an analog electronic network made of self-adjusting nonlinear resistive elements based on transistors. We demonstrate that the system learns tasks unachievable in linear systems, including XOR (exclusive or) and nonlinear regression, without a computer. We find our decentralized system reduces modes of training error in order (mean, slope, curvature), similar to spectral bias in artificial neural networks. The circuitry is robust to damage, retrainable in seconds, and performs learned tasks in microseconds while dissipating only picojoules of energy across each transistor. This suggests enormous potential for fast, low-power computing in edge systems like sensors, robotic controllers, and medical devices, as well as manufacturability at scale for performing and studying emergent learning.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

Particle image velocimetry analysis with simultaneous uncertainty quantification using Bayesian neural networks

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is an effective tool in experimental fluid mechanics for extracting flow fields from images. Recently, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been used to perform PIV analysis with accuracy on par with classical methods. Here we extend the use of CNNs to analyze PIV data while providing simultaneous uncertainty quantification on the inferred flow field. The method we apply in this paper is a Bayesian convolutional neural network (BCNN) which learns distributions of the CNN weights through variational Bayes. In order to demonstrate the utility of BCNNs for the PIV task, we compare the performance of three distinct BCNN models with simple architectures. The first network estimates flow velocity from image interrogation regions only. Our second model learns to infer velocity from both the image interrogation regions and interrogation region cross-correlation maps. Finally, our best performing network infers velocities from interrogation region cross-correlation maps only. We find that BCNNs using interrogation region cross-correlation maps as inputs perform better than those using interrogation windows only as inputs and discuss reasons why this may be the case. Additionally, we test the best performing BCNN on a full synthetic test image pair and a real image pair from the 1st International PIV Challenge. We show that ~98% of true particle displacements from the full synthetic image pair can be captured within the BCNN's 95% confidence intervals, and that the BCNN's performance on the real image pair is quantitatively similar to that of algorithms tested in the 1st International PIV Challenge. Finally, we show that BCNNs can be generalized to be used with multi-pass PIV algorithms with a moderate loss in accuracy, which may be overcome by future work on finetuning and training schemes. So to our knowledge, this is the first use of Bayesian neural networks to perform PIV.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗