Major efforts to reproduce the brain performances in terms of classification and pattern recognition have been focused on the development of artificial neuromorphic systems based on topdown lithographic technologies typical of highly integrated components of digital computers. Unconventional computing has been proposed as an alternative exploiting the complexity and collective phenomena originating from various classes of physical substrates. Materials composed of a large number of non-linear nanoscale junctions are of particular interest: these systems, obtained by the self-assembling of nano-objects like nanoparticles and nanowires, results in non-linear conduction properties characterized by spatiotemporal correlation in their electrical activity. This appears particularly useful for classification of complex features: nonlinear projection into a high-dimensional space can make data linearly separable, providing classification solutions that are computationally very expensive with digital computers. Recently we reported that nanostructured Au films fabricated from the assembling of gold clusters by supersonic cluster beam deposition show a complex resistive switching behaviour. Their non-linear electric behaviour is remarkably stable and reproducible allowing the facile training of the devices on precise resistive states. Here we report about the fabrication and characterization of a device that allows the binary classification of Boolean functions by exploiting the properties of cluster-assembled Au films interconnecting a generic pattern of electrodes. This device, that constitutes a generalization of the perceptron, can receive inputs from different electrode configurations and generate a complete set of Boolean functions of n variables for classification tasks. We also show that the non-linear and non-local electrical conduction of clusterassembled gold films, working at room temperature, allows the classification of non-linearly separable functions without previous training of the device.

Mineral dust aerosol (dust) is widely recognized as a fundamental component of the climate system and is closely coupled with glacial-interglacial climate oscillations of the Quaternary period. However, the direct impact of dust on the energy balance of the Earth system remains poorly quantified, mainly because of uncertainties in dust radiative properties, which vary greatly over space and time. Here we provide the first direct measurements of the aerosol optical thickness of dust particles windblown to central East Antarctica (Dome C) during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and the Holocene. By applying the Single Particle Extinction and Scattering (SPES) technique and imposing preferential orientation to particles, we derive information on shape from samples of a few thousands of particles. These results highlight that clear shape variations occurring within a few years are hidden to routine measurement techniques. With this novel measurement method the optical properties of airborne dust can be directly measured from ice core samples, and can be used as input into climate model simulations. Based on simulations with an Earth System Model we suggest an effect of particle non-sphericity on dust aerosol optical depth (AOD) of about 30% compared to spheres, and differences in the order of ~10% when considering different combinations of particles shapes.

-We show that the radiation emitted by betatron oscillations of a high-energy electron beam undergoing wake-field acceleration is endowed with peculiar coherence properties which deliver quantitative information about the electron trajectories. Such results are achieved by means of accurate numerical simulations and a simple geometrical model gives a clear physical interpretation. Copyright c EPLA, 2015Introduction. -Radiation sources from relativistic beams are in continuous development due to the increasing demand of shorter wavelengths and higher brightness. Soft and hard X-rays are produced at large-scale facilities as synchrotrons and linacs (by means of wigglers, bending magnets, undulators) and in compact devices as laserdriven light sources. In many experiments, the emission has been optimized, and its properties measured and characterized in view of a wide range of applications [1]. In other cases, the information encoded in the radiation has been used to understand the beam dynamics [2] or to deduce the source parameters [3][4][5]. Useful information can be obtained from the coherence properties. Temporal coherence depends on the strength parameter a β = γr 0 k b , where γ is the Lorentz factor, r 0 is the oscillation amplitude and k b is the oscillation wave number. X-ray produced by sources with a β 1, such as magnetic wigglers or laser wake-field accelerators, are characterized by limited coherence length. Under these conditions, the analysis of the transverse spatial coherence is generally difficult or useless and the broad spectrum must be limited to get information about the bunches [6].In this work we show that the transverse coherence of a broad spectrum radiation can nevertheless be used to characterize the dynamics of the electron beam when the radiation is emitted in a narrow cone by particles moving along trajectories with non-zero

The behavior of nanoparticles in biological systems is determined by their dimensions, size distribution, shape, surface chemistry, density, drug loading and stability; the characterization of these parameters in realistic conditions and the possibility to follow their evolution in vitro and in vivo are, in most of the cases, far from the capabilities of the standard characterization technologies. Optical techniques such as dynamic light scattering (DLS) are, in principle, well suited for in line characterization of nanoparticle, however their fail in characterizing the evolution of nanoparticle in solution where change in particle dimension and density is present. Here we present an in-line optical technique based on single particle extinction and scattering (SPES) overcoming the limitations typical of DLS and allowing for the efficient characterization of nanoparticle polydispersity, index of refraction and degradation dynamics in solution. Using SPES, we characterized the evolution of PLGA nanoparticles with different structures and drug payloads in solution and we compared the results with DLS. Our results suggest that SPES could be used as a process analytical technology for pharmaceutical nanoparticle production.