The Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) is a linguistic theory based on a universal set of semantic primes: simple, primitive word-meanings that have been shown to exist in most, if not all, languages of the world. According to this framework, any word, regardless of complexity, can be paraphrased using these primes, revealing a clear and universally translatable meaning. These paraphrases, known as explications, can offer valuable applications for many natural language processing (NLP) tasks, but producing them has traditionally been a slow, manual process. In this work, we present the first study of using large language models (LLMs) to generate NSM explications. We introduce automatic evaluation methods, a tailored dataset for training and evaluation, and fine-tuned models for this task. Our 1B and 8B models outperform GPT-4o in producing accurate, cross-translatable explications, marking a significant step toward universal semantic representation with LLMs and opening up new possibilities for applications in semantic analysis, translation, and beyond. Our code is available at https://github.com/OSU-STARLAB/DeepNSM.

The competition over natural reserves of minerals is expected to increase in part because of the linear-economy paradigm based on take-make-dispose. Simultaneously, the linear economy considers end-of-use products as waste rather than as a resource, which results in large volumes of waste whose management remains an unsolved problem. Since a transition to a circular economy can mitigate these open issues, in this paper we begin by enhancing the notion of circularity based on compartmental dynamical thermodynamics, namely, $λ$, and then, we model a thermodynamical material network processing a batch of 2 solid materials of criticality coefficients of 0.1 and 0.95, with a robotic disassembler compartment controlled via reinforcement learning (RL), and processing 2-7 kg of materials. Subsequently, we focused on the design of the robotic disassembler compartment using state-of-the-art RL algorithms and assessing the algorithm performance with respect to $λ$ (Fig. 1). The highest circularity is -2.1 achieved in the case of disassembling 2 parts of 1 kg each, whereas it reduces to -7.2 in the case of disassembling 4 parts of 1 kg each contained inside a chassis of 3 kg. Finally, a sensitivity analysis highlighted that the impact on $λ$ of the performance of an RL controller has a positive correlation with the quantity and the criticality of the materials to be disassembled. This work also gives the principles of the emerging research fields indicated as circular intelligence and robotics (CIRO). Source code is publicly available.

Volcanic eruptions come in many different forms, from the explosive eruptions of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, which disrupted European air travel for a week, to the Hawaiian Islands' relatively tranquil May 2018 lava flows. Likewise, these eruptions have different associated threats, from ash clouds to lava. Sometimes the eruption mechanism (e.g., water and magma interaction) is not obvious, and needs to be carefully evaluated by volcanologists to determine future threats and responses. Volcanologists look closely at the ash produced by eruptions, as different eruptions produce ash particles of varying shapes. But how does one look at thousands of tiny samples objectively to produce a cohesive picture of the eruption?

We provide a way to infer about existence of topological circularity in high-dimensional data sets in $\mathbb{R}^d$ from its projection in $\mathbb{R}^2$ obtained through a fast manifold learning map as a function of the high-dimensional dataset $\mathbb{X}$ and a particular choice of a positive real $\sigma$ known as bandwidth parameter. At the same time we also provide a way to estimate the optimal bandwidth for fast manifold learning in this setting through minimization of these functions of bandwidth. We also provide limit theorems to characterize the behavior of our proposed functions of bandwidth.

Take a look around and you'll see evidence of the widespread adoption of wearable sensors for health and fitness, such as the Fitbit, Garmin or other devices. What many people may not know is that we are also using sensors to monitor the structural integrity of bridges and buildings, as well as tracking the movements of insects and other animals. With the rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT), tens of billions of sensor devices are projected to connect in the next decade. These connected sensor devices will automate processes across a broad range of economic sectors, from industrial plants to healthcare management, delivering productivity gains and hopefully quality-of-life improvements. The core of these sensor devices that will be deployed across this broad range of applications is largely the same, featuring a microprocessor, memory and a wired or wireless communication interface to the internet, along with a battery or other energy source.