bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Control and Freedom
Authors: Chun Wendy Hui Kyong
Published: March 2019

A work that bridges media archaeology and visual culture studies argues that the Internet has emerged as a mass medium by linking control with freedom and democracy.

How has the Internet, a medium that thrives on control, been accepted as a medium of freedom? Why is freedom increasingly indistinguishable from paranoid control? In Control and Freedom, Wendy Hui Kyong Chun explores the current political and technological coupling of freedom with control by tracing the emergence of the Internet as a mass medium. The parallel (and paranoid) myths of the Internet as total freedom/total control, she says, stem from our reduction of political problems into technological ones.

Drawing on the theories of Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault and analyzing such phenomena as Webcams and face-recognition technology, Chun argues that the relationship between control and freedom in networked contact is experienced and negotiated through sexuality and race. She traces the desire for cyberspace to cyberpunk fiction and maps the transformation of public/private into open/closed. Analyzing "pornocracy," she contends that it was through cyberporn and the government's attempts to regulate it that the Internet became a marketplace of ideas and commodities. Chun describes the way Internet promoters conflated technological empowerment with racial empowerment and, through close examinations of William Gibson's Neuromancer and Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell, she analyzes the management of interactivity in narratives of cyberspace.

The Internet's potential for democracy stems not from illusory promises of individual empowerment, Chun argues, but rather from the ways in which it exposes us to others (and to other machines) in ways we cannot control. Using fiber optic networks—light coursing through glass tubes—as metaphor and reality, Control and Freedom engages the rich philosophical tradition of light as a figure for knowledge, clarification, surveillance, and discipline, in order to argue that fiber-optic networks physically instantiate, and thus shatter, enlightenment.
An Introduction to Neural Networks
Authors: Anderson James A.
Published: March 2019

An Introduction to Neural Networks falls into a new ecological niche for texts. Based on notes that have been class-tested for more than a decade, it is aimed at cognitive science and neuroscience students who need to understand brain function in terms of computational modeling, and at engineers who want to go beyond formal algorithms to applications and computing strategies. It is the only current text to approach networks from a broad neuroscience and cognitive science perspective, with an emphasis on the biology and psychology behind the assumptions of the models, as well as on what the models might be used for. It describes the mathematical and computational tools needed and provides an account of the author's own ideas.

Students learn how to teach arithmetic to a neural network and get a short course on linear associative memory and adaptive maps. They are introduced to the author's brain-state-in-a-box (BSB) model and are provided with some of the neurobiological background necessary for a firm grasp of the general subject.

The field now known as neural networks has split in recent years into two major groups, mirrored in the texts that are currently available: the engineers who are primarily interested in practical applications of the new adaptive, parallel computing technology, and the cognitive scientists and neuroscientists who are interested in scientific applications. As the gap between these two groups widens, Anderson notes that the academics have tended to drift off into irrelevant, often excessively abstract research while the engineers have lost contact with the source of ideas in the field. Neuroscience, he points out, provides a rich and valuable source of ideas about data representation and setting up the data representation is the major part of neural network programming. Both cognitive science and neuroscience give insights into how this can be done effectively: cognitive science suggests what to compute and neuroscience suggests how to compute it.

Bradford Books imprint
An Introduction to Fuzzy Sets
Authors: Pedrycz Witold , Gomide Fernando
Published: March 2019

The concept of fuzzy sets is one of the most fundamental and influential tools in computational intelligence. Fuzzy sets can provide solutions to a broad range of problems of control, pattern classification, reasoning, planning, and computer vision. This book bridges the gap that has developed between theory and practice. The authors explain what fuzzy sets are, why they work, when they should be used (and when they shouldn't), and how to design systems using them.

The authors take an unusual top-down approach to the design of detailed algorithms. They begin with illustrative examples, explain the fundamental theory and design methodologies, and then present more advanced case studies dealing with practical tasks. While they use mathematics to introduce concepts, they ground them in examples of real-world problems that can be solved through fuzzy set technology. The only mathematics prerequisites are a basic knowledge of introductory calculus and linear algebra.

Bradford Books imprint
Knowledge and Mind
Authors: Brook Andrew , Stainton Robert J.
Published: March 2019

This is the only contemporary text to cover both epistemology and philosophy of mind at an introductory level. It also serves as a general introduction to philosophy: it discusses the nature and methods of philosophy as well as basic logical tools of the trade.

The book is divided into three parts. The first focuses on knowledge, in particular, skepticism and knowledge of the external world, and knowledge of language. The second focuses on mind, including the metaphysics of mind and freedom of will. The third brings together knowledge and mind, discussing knowledge of mind (other minds and our own) and naturalism and how epistemology and philosophy of mind come together in contemporary cognitive science. Throughout, the authors take into account the needs of the beginning philosophy student. They have made very effort to ensure accessibility while preserving accuracy.

Bradford Books imprint
Mental Leaps
Authors: Holyoak Keith J. , Thagard Paul
Published: March 2019

Analogy—recalling familiar past situations to deal with novel ones—is a mental tool that everyone uses. Analogy can provide invaluable creative insights, but it can also lead to dangerous errors. In Mental Leaps two leading cognitive scientists show how analogy works and how it can be used most effectively. Keith Holyoak and Paul Thagard provide a unified, comprehensive account of the diverse operations and applications of analogy, including problem solving, decision making, explanation, and communication.

Holyoak and Thagard present their own theory of analogy, considering its implications for cognitive science in general, and survey examples from many other domains. These include animal cognition, developmental and social psychology, political science, philosophy, history of science, anthropology, and literature.

Understanding how we draw analogies is important for people interested in the evolution of thinking in animals and in children; for those whose focus is on either creative thinking or errors of everyday reasoning; for those concerned with how decisions are made in law, business, and politics; and for those striving to improve education. Mental Leaps covers all of this ground, emphasizing the principles that govern the use of analogy and keeping technical matters to a minimum.

Bradford Books imprint
The Modularity of Mind
Authors: Fodor Jerry A.
Published: March 2019

This study synthesizes current information from the various fields of cognitive science in support of a new and exciting theory of mind. Most psychologists study horizontal processes like memory and information flow; Fodor postulates a vertical and modular psychological organization underlying biologically coherent behaviors. This view of mental architecture is consistent with the historical tradition of faculty psychology while integrating a computational approach to mental processes. One of the most notable aspects of Fodor's work is that it articulates features not only of speculative cognitive architectures but also of current research in artificial intelligence.

Bradford Books imprint
Multicomputer Networks
Authors: Reed Daniel A. , Fujimoto Richard M.
Published: March 2019

High-performance message-based supercomputers have only recently emerged from the research laboratory. The commercial manufacturing of such products as the Intel iPSC, the Ametek s/14, the NCUBE/ten, and the FPS T Series - all based on multicomputer network technology - has sparked lively interest in high-performance computation, and particularly in the message-passing paradigm for parallel computation. This book makes readily available information on many aspects of the design and use of multicomputer networks, including machine organization, system software, and application programs. It provides an introduction to the field for students and researchers and a survey of important recent results for practicing engineers. The emphasis throughout is on design principles and techniques; however, there are also descriptions and comparison of research and commercial machines and case studies of specific applications.Multicomputer Networks covers such major design areas as communication hardware, operating systems, fault tolerance, algorithms, and the selection of network topologies. The authors present results in each of these areas, emphasizing analytic models of interconnection networks, VLSI constraints and communication, communication paradigms and hardware support, multicomputer operating systems, and applications for distributed simulation and for partial differential equations. They survey the hardware designs and the available software and present a comparative performance study of existing machines.
The Network Nation
Authors: Hiltz Starr Roxanne , Turoff Murray
Published: March 2019

A visionary book when it was first published in the late 1970s, The Network Nation has become the defining document and standard reference for the field of computer mediated communication (CMC). This revised edition adds a substantial new chapter on "superconnectivity" (invented and defined in the unabridged edition of the Online Dictionary of the English Language, 2067) that reviews the developments of the last fifteen years and updates the authors' speculations about the future. Hiltz and Turoff highlight major current organizational, educational, and public applications of CMC, integrate their theoretical understanding of the impact of CMC technology, address ethical and legal issues, and describe a scenario in 2084. They have also added a selected bibliography on the key literature.
Numerica
Authors: Van Hentenryck Pascal , Michel Laurent , Deville Yves
Published: March 2019

Many science and engineering applications require the user to find solutions to systems of nonlinear constraints or to optimize a nonlinear function subject to nonlinear constraints. The field of global optimization is the study of methods to find all solutions to systems of nonlinear constraints and all global optima to optimization problems. Numerica is modeling language for global optimization that makes it possible to state nonlinear problems in a form close to the statements traditionally found in textbooks and scientific papers. The constraint-solving algorithm of Numerica is based on a combination of traditional numerical methods such as interval and local methods, and constraint satisfaction techniques. This comprehensive presentation of Numerica describes its design, functions, and implementation. It also discusses how to use Numerica effectively to solve practical problems and reports a number of experimental results. A commercial implementation of Numerica is available from ILOG under the name ILOG Numerica.
The Rise of Political Economy as a Science
Authors: Redman Deborah A
Published: March 2019

Reviews the epistemological ideas that inspired the classical economists: the methodological principles of Bacon, Descartes, Hobbes, Newton, Locke, Hume, Stewart, Herschel, and Whewell.

The classical age of economics was marked by an intense interest in scientific methodology. It was, moreover, an age when science and philosophy were not yet distinct disciplines, and the educated were polymaths. The classical economists were acutely aware that suitable methods had to be developed before a body of knowledge could be deemed philosophical or scientific. They did not formulate their methodological views in a vacuum, but drew on a rich collection of philosophical ideas. Consequently, issues of methodology were at the heart of political economys rise as a science. The classical era of economics opened under Adam Smith with political economy understood as an integral part of a broader system of social philosophy; by the end, it had emerged via J. S. Mill as a "separate science", albeit one still inextricably tied to the other social sciences and to ethics. The Rise of Political Economy as a Science opens with a review of the epistemological ideas that inspired the classical economists: the methodological principles of Bacon, Descartes, Hobbes, Newton, Locke, Hume, Stewart, Herschel, and Whewell. These principles were influential not just in the development of political economy, but in the rise of social science in general. The author then examines science in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain, with a particular emphasis on the all-important concept of induction. Having laid the necessary groundwork, she proceeds to a history and analysis of the methodologies of four economist-philosophers—Adam Smith, Robert Malthus, David Ricardo, and J. S. Mill—selected for their historical importance as founders of economics and for their common Scottish intellectual lineage. Concluding remarks put classical methodology into a broader historical perspective.
Social Cognition
Authors: Kunda Ziva
Published: March 2019

Ziva Kunda provides a comprehensive and accessible survey of research and theory about social cognition at a level appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers in the field.

How do we make sense of other people and of ourselves? What do we know about the people we encounter in our daily lives and about the situations in which we encounter them, and how do we use this knowledge in our attempt to understand, predict, or recall their behavior? Are our social judgments fully determined by our social knowledge, or are they also influenced by our feelings and desires?

Social cognition researchers look at how we make sense of other people and of ourselves. In this book Ziva Kunda provides a comprehensive and accessible survey of research and theory about social cognition at a level appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers in the field.

The first part of the book reviews basic processes in social cognition, including the representation of social concepts, rules of inference, memory, "hot" cognition driven by motivation or affect, and automatic processing. The second part reviews three basic topics in social cognition: group stereotypes, knowledge of other individuals, and the self. A final chapter revisits many of these issues from a cross-cultural perspective.

Bradford Books imprint
The Embodied Mind
Authors: Varela Francisco J. , Rosch Eleanor , Thompson Evan
Published: March 2019

The Embodied Mind provides a unique, sophisticated treatment of the spontaneous and reflective dimension of human experience. The authors argue that only by having a sense of common ground between mind in Science and mind in experience can our understanding of cognition be more complete. Toward that end, they develop a dialogue between cognitive science and Buddhist meditative psychology and situate it in relation to other traditions such as phenomenology and psychoanalysis.
Trace Theory for Automatic Hierarchical Verification of Speed-Independent Circuits
Authors: Dill David L.
Published: March 2019

Speed-independent circuits offer a potential solution to the timing problems of VLSI. In this book David Dill develops and implements a theory for practical automatic verification of these control circuits. He describes a formal model of circuit operation, defines the proper relationship between an implementation and its specification, and constructs a computer program that can check this relationship. Asynchronous or speed-independent circuit design has gained renewed interest in the VLSI community because of the possibilities it provides for dealing with problems that arise with the increasing complexity of VLSI circuits. Speed-independent circuits offer a way around such phenomena as clock skew, which can be a serious obstacle in the design of large systems. They can expedite circuit design by reducing design time and simplifying the overall process. A major challenge to the successful utilization of speed-independent circuits is correctness. The verification method described here insures that a design is correct and because it can be automated it is a significant advantage over manual verification. Dill proposes two distinct theories - prefix-closed trace structures, which can model and specify safety properties, and complete trace structures, which can also deal with liveness and fairness properties.

Trace Theory for Automatic Hierarchical Verification of Speed Independent Circuits is a 1988 ACM Distinguished Dissertation
Using Hard Problems to Create Pseudorandom Generators
Authors: Nisan Noam , Gonczarowski Yannai
Published: March 2019

Randomization is an important tool in the design of algorithms, and the ability of randomization to provide enhanced power is a major research topic in complexity theory. Noam Nisan continues the investigation into the power of randomization and the relationships between randomized and deterministic complexity classes by pursuing the idea of emulating randomness, or pseudorandom generation. Pseudorandom generators reduce the number of random bits required by randomized algorithms, enable the construction of certain cryptographic protocols, and shed light on the difficulty of simulating randomized algorithms by deterministic ones. The research described here deals with two methods of constructing pseudorandom generators from hard problems and demonstrates some surprising connections between pseudorandom generators and seemingly unrelated topics such as multiparty communication complexity and random oracles. Nisan first establishes a precise connection between computational complexity and pseudorandom number generation, revealing that efficient deterministic simulation of randomized algorithms is possible under much weaker assumptions than was previously known, and bringing to light new consequences concerning the power of random oracles. Using a remarkable argument based on multiparty communication complexity, Nisan then constructs a generator that is good against all tests computable in logarithmic space. A consequence of this result is a new construction of universal traversal sequences.

Contents Introduction • Hardness vs. Randomness • Pseudorandom Generators for Logspace and Multiparty Protocols
Cardinals
Authors: Ionin Tania , Matushansky Ora
Published: March 2019

An argument that complex cardinals are not extra-linguistic but built using standard syntax and standard principles of semantic composition.

In Cardinals, Tania Ionin and Ora Matushansky offer a semantic and syntactic analysis of nominal expressions containing complex cardinals (for example, two hundred and thirty-five books). They show that complex cardinals are not an extra-linguistic phenomenon (as is often assumed) but built using standard syntax and standard principles of semantic composition. Complex cardinals can tell us as much about syntactic structure and semantic composition as other linguistic expressions.

Ionin and Matushansky show that their analysis accounts for the internal composition of cardinal-containing constructions cross-linguistically, providing examples from more than fifteen languages. They demonstrate that their proposal is compatible with a variety of related phenomena, including modified numerals, measure nouns, and fractions. Ionin and Matushansky show that a semantic or syntactic account that captures the behavior of a simplex cardinal (such as five) does not automatically transfer to a complex cardinal (such as five thousand and forty-six) and propose a compositional analysis of complex cardinals. They consider the lexical categories of simplex cardinals and their role in the construction of complex cardinals; examine in detail the numeral systems of selected languages, including Slavic and Semitic languages; discuss linguistic constructions that contain cardinals; address extra-linguistic conventions on the construction of complex cardinals; and, drawing on data from Modern Hebrew, Basque, Russian, and Dutch, show that modified numerals and partitives are compatible with their analysis.
From X-rays to DNA
Authors: Lee W. David , Drazen Jeffrey , Sharp Phillip A. , Langer Robert S.
Published: March 2019

An argument that technology accelerates biological discovery, with case studies ranging from chromosome discovery with early microscopes to how DNA replicates using radioisotope labels.

Engineering has been an essential collaborator in biological research and breakthroughs in biology are often enabled by technological advances. Decoding the double helix structure of DNA, for example, only became possible after significant advances in such technologies as X-ray diffraction and gel electrophoresis. Diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis improved as new technologies—including the stethoscope, the microscope, and the X-ray—developed. These engineering breakthroughs take place away from the biology lab, and many years may elapse before the technology becomes available to biologists. In this book, David Lee argues for concurrent engineering—the convergence of engineering and biological research—as a means to accelerate the pace of biological discovery and its application to diagnosis and treatment. He presents extensive case studies and introduces a metric to measure the time between technological development and biological discovery.

Investigating a series of major biological discoveries that range from pasteurization to electron microscopy, Lee finds that it took an average of forty years for the necessary technology to become available for laboratory use. Lee calls for new approaches to research and funding to encourage a tighter, more collaborative coupling of engineering and biology. Only then, he argues, will we see the rapid advances in the life sciences that are critically needed for life-saving diagnosis and treatment.
Human Robotics
Authors: Burdet Etienne , Franklin David W. , Milner Theodore E.
Published: March 2019

A synthesis of biomechanics and neural control that draws on recent advances in robotics to address control problems solved by the human sensorimotor system.

This book proposes a transdisciplinary approach to investigating human motor control that synthesizes musculoskeletal biomechanics and neural control. The authors argue that this integrated approach—which uses the framework of robotics to understand sensorimotor control problems—offers a more complete and accurate description than either a purely neural computational approach or a purely biomechanical one.

The authors offer an account of motor control in which explanatory models are based on experimental evidence using mathematical approaches reminiscent of physics. These computational models yield algorithms for motor control that may be used as tools to investigate or treat diseases of the sensorimotor system and to guide the development of algorithms and hardware that can be incorporated into products designed to assist with the tasks of daily living.

The authors focus on the insights their approach offers in understanding how movement of the arm is controlled and how the control adapts to changing environments. The book begins with muscle mechanics and control, progresses in a logical manner to planning and behavior, and describes applications in neurorehabilitation and robotics. The material is self-contained, and accessible to researchers and professionals in a range of fields, including psychology, kinesiology, neurology, computer science, and robotics.
Computer Games for Learning
Authors: Mayer Richard E.
Published: March 2019

A comprehensive and up-to-date investigation of what research shows about the educational value of computer games for learning.

Many strong claims are made for the educational value of computer games, but there is a need for systematic examination of the research evidence that might support such claims. This book fills that need by providing, a comprehensive and up-to-date investigation of what research shows about learning with computer games.

Computer Games for Learning describes three genres of game research: the value-added approach, which compares the learning outcomes of students who learn with a base version of a game to those of students who learn with the base version plus an additional feature; the cognitive consequences approach, which compares learning outcomes of students who play an off-the-shelf computer game for extended periods to those of students who do not; and the media comparative approach, which compares the learning outcomes of students who learn material by playing a game to those of students who learn the same material using conventional media.

After introductory chapters that describe the rationale and goals of learning game research as well as the relevance of cognitive science to learning with games, the book offers examples of research in all three genres conducted by the author and his colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara; meta-analyses of published research; and suggestions for future research in the field. The book is essential reading for researchers and students of educational games, instructional designers, learning-game developers, and anyone who wants to know what the research has to say about the educational effectiveness of computer games.
The Software Arts
Authors: Sack Warren
Published: March 2019

An alternative history of software that places the liberal arts at the very center of software's evolution.

In The Software Arts, Warren Sack offers an alternative history of computing that places the arts at the very center of software's evolution. Tracing the origins of software to eighteenth-century French encyclopedists' step-by-step descriptions of how things were made in the workshops of artists and artisans, Sack shows that programming languages are the offspring of an effort to describe the mechanical arts in the language of the liberal arts.

Sack offers a reading of the texts of computing—code, algorithms, and technical papers—that emphasizes continuity between prose and programs. He translates concepts and categories from the liberal and mechanical arts—including logic, rhetoric, grammar, learning, algorithm, language, and simulation—into terms of computer science and then considers their further translation into popular culture, where they circulate as forms of digital life. He considers, among other topics, the “arithmetization” of knowledge that presaged digitization; today's multitude of logics; the history of demonstration, from deduction to newer forms of persuasion; and the post-Chomsky absence of meaning in grammar. With The Software Arts, Sack invites artists and humanists to see how their ideas are at the root of software and invites computer scientists to envision themselves as artists and humanists.
Positive Computing
Authors: Calvo Rafael A. , Peters Dorian
Published: March 2019

A case for building a digital environment that can make us happier and healthier, not just more productive, and a theoretical framework for doing so.

On the eve of Google's IPO in 2004, Larry Page and Sergey Brin vowed not to be evil. Today, a growing number of technologists would go further, trying to ensure that their work actively improves people's lives. Technology, so pervasive and ubiquitous, has the capacity to increase stress and suffering; but it also has the less-heralded potential to improve the well-being of individuals, society, and the planet. In this book, Rafael Calvo and Dorian Peters investigate what they term “positive computing”—the design and development of technology to support psychological well-being and human potential.

Calvo and Peters explain that technologists' growing interest in social good is part of a larger public concern about how our digital experience affects our emotions and our quality of life—which itself reflects an emerging focus on humanistic values in many different disciplines. Synthesizing theory, knowledge, and empirical methodologies from a variety of fields, they offer a rigorous and coherent foundational framework for positive computing. Sidebars by experts from psychology, neuroscience, human–computer interaction, and other disciplines supply essential context. Calvo and Peters examine specific well-being factors, including positive emotions, self-awareness, mindfulness, empathy, and compassion, and explore how technology can support these factors. Finally, they offer suggestions for future research and funding.

Sidebars Timothy N. Bickmore, Jeremy Bailenson, danah boyd, Jane Burns, David R. Caruso, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Felicia Huppert, Mary-Helen Immordino-Yang, Adele Krusche and J. Mark G. Williams, Jane McGonigal, Jonathan Nicholas, Don Norman, Yvonne Rogers
Privacy on the Ground
Authors: Bamberger Kenneth A. , Mulligan Deirdre K.
Published: March 2019

An examination of corporate privacy management in the United States, Germany, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom, identifying international best practices and making policy recommendations.

Barely a week goes by without a new privacy revelation or scandal. Whether by hackers or spy agencies or social networks, violations of our personal information have shaken entire industries, corroded relations among nations, and bred distrust between democratic governments and their citizens. Polls reflect this concern, and show majorities for more, broader, and stricter regulation—to put more laws “on the books.” But there was scant evidence of how well tighter regulation actually worked “on the ground” in changing corporate (or government) behavior—until now.

This intensive five-nation study goes inside corporations to examine how the people charged with protecting privacy actually do their work, and what kinds of regulation effectively shape their behavior. And the research yields a surprising result. The countries with more ambiguous regulation—Germany and the United States—had the strongest corporate privacy management practices, despite very different cultural and legal environments. The more rule-bound countries—like France and Spain—trended instead toward compliance processes, not embedded privacy practices. At a crucial time, when Big Data and the Internet of Things are snowballing, Privacy on the Ground helpfully searches out the best practices by corporations, provides guidance to policymakers, and offers important lessons for everyone concerned with privacy, now and in the future.
MOTOR VEHICLE EXHAUST EMISSIONS IN THE CITY OF NIŠ
Authors: Rašić Marija , Đorđević Amelija , Krstić Ivan , Stevanović Vladica
Published: March 2019

Clean air is the foundation of a healthy life and survival on Earth. With the development and advances of human society an increasing number of pollutants in the atmosphere is present. In the 1950s, air pollution was recognized as a global issue whose solution would demand the use of existing and new scientific achievements as well as large financial funds. Firstly, the creation of national law regulations, which were later implemented into the international and European directives, started. As motor vehicles are one of the most prominent air pollutants, an estimation of pollutant emission at the busiest crossroads within the center of Niš has been analyzed in this paper, taking into account the frequency of vehicles on these crossroads. The values of emitted pollutants from the exhaust fumes of motor vehicle at the busiest crossroads in Nis are presented here, both with tables and graphs. Furthermore, the concentration of the calculated pollutants- carbon(II)–oxide and particles of the size of PM is also given. The paper indicates the influence of pollutants emitted through motor vehicles exhaust fumes on the health of the exposed population.
Key words:air pollution, pollutants, COPERT 4model, exposure
A TOOL FOR RISK ASSESSMENT
Authors: Ristic Dejan
Published: March 2019

A lot of companies need to carry out a risk assessment, but most of them do not have the experience to determine the risk in a qualitative way. Therefore, these organizations use the tools for qualitative or qualitative - quantitative risk assessment. A useful tool for risk assessment is risk matrices (risk assessment scoring matrices/ risk ranking matrices). The aim of this paper is to present various risk matrices. Typical risk assessment matrices with different levels recommended by the American standards and other standards have also been presented in this paper.
Key words: reliability, severity, risk, matrix, probability
A set of novel SNP loci for differentiating continental populations and three Chinese populations
Authors: Jin Xiao-Ye , Wei Yuan-Yuan , Lan Qiong , Cui Wei , Chen Chong , Guo Yu-Xin , Fang Ya-Ting , Zhu Bo-Feng
Published: March 2019

In recent years, forensic geneticists have begun to develop some ancestry informative marker (AIM) panels for ancestry analysis of regional populations. In this study, we chose 48 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from SPSmart database to infer ancestry origins of continental populations and Chinese subpopulations. Based on the genetic data of four continental populations (African, American, East Asian and European) from the CEPH-HGDP database, the power of these SNPs for differentiating continental populations was assessed. Population genetic structure revealed that distinct ancestry components among these continental populations could be discerned by these SNPs. Another novel population set from 1000 Genomes Phase 3 was treated as testing populations to further validate the efficiency of the selected SNPs. Twenty-two populations from CEPH-HGDP database were classified into three known populations (African, East Asian, and European) based on their biogeographical regions. Principal component analysis and Bayes analysis of testing populations and three known populations indicated these testing populations could be correctly assigned to their corresponding biogeographical origins. For three Chinese populations (Han, Mongolian, and Uygur), multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated that these 48 SNPs could be used to estimate ancestry origins of these populations. Therefore, these SNPs possessed the promising potency in ancestry analysis among continental populations and some Chinese populations, and they could be used in population genetics and forensic research.
Music-performance regulates microRNAs in professional musicians
Authors: Nair Preethy Sasidharan , Kuusi Tuire , Ahvenainen Minna , Philips Anju K. , Järvelä Irma
Published: March 2019

Musical training and performance require precise integration of multisensory and motor centres of the human brain and can be regarded as an epigenetic modifier of brain functions. Numerous studies have identified structural and functional differences between the brains of musicians and non-musicians and superior cognitive functions in musicians. Recently, music-listening and performance has also been shown to affect the regulation of several genes, many of which were identified in songbird singing. MicroRNAs affect gene regulation and studying their expression may give new insights into the epigenetic effect of music. Here, we studied the effect of 2 hours of classical music-performance on the peripheral blood microRNA expressions in professional musicians with respect to a control activity without music for the same duration. As detecting transcriptomic changes in the functional human brain remains a challenge for geneticists, we used peripheral blood to study music-performance induced microRNA changes and interpreted the results in terms of potential effects on brain function, based on the current knowledge about the microRNA function in blood and brain. We identified significant (FDR <0.05) up-regulation of five microRNAs; hsa-miR-3909, hsa-miR-30d-5p, hsa-miR-92a-3p, hsa-miR-222-3p and hsa-miR-30a-5p; and down-regulation of two microRNAs; hsa-miR-6803-3p and hsa-miR-1249-3p. hsa-miR-222-3p and hsa-miR-92a-3p putatively target FOXP2, which was found down-regulated by microRNA regulation in songbird singing. miR-30d and miR-222 corroborate microRNA response observed in zebra finch song-listening/learning. miR-222 is induced by ERK cascade, which is important for memory formation, motor neuron functions and neuronal plasticity. miR-222 is also activated by FOSL1, an immediate early gene from the FOS family of transcriptional regulators which are activated by auditory-motor stimuli. miR-222 and miR-92 promote neurite outgrowth by negatively regulating the neuronal growth inhibitor, PTEN, and by activating CREB expression and phosphorylation. The up-regulation of microRNAs previously found to be regulators of auditory and nervous system functions (miR-30d, miR-92a and miR-222) is indicative of the sensory perception processes associated with music-performance. Akt signalling pathway which has roles in cell survival, cell differentiation, activation of CREB signalling and dopamine transmission was one of the functions regulated by the up-regulated microRNAs; in accordance with functions identified from songbird learning. The up-regulated microRNAs were also found to be regulators of apoptosis, suggesting repression of apoptotic mechanisms in connection with music-performance. Furthermore, comparative analyses of the target genes of differentially expressed microRNAs with that of the song-responsive microRNAs in songbirds suggest convergent regulatory mechanisms underlying auditory perception.
Transcriptional factor regulation network and competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network determining response of esophageal squamous cell carcinomas to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy
Authors: Shao Mingrui , Li Wenya
Published: March 2019

Background

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery benefits survival for patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCC) compared with surgery alone, but the clinical outcomes of nCRT are heterogeneous. This study aimed to elucidate transcriptional factor (TF) regulation network and competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network determining response of ESCC to nCRT.

Materials and Methods

RNA microarray data of GSE59974 and GSE45670 were analyzed to investigate the significant changes of lincRNAs, miRNAs, mRNAs in responders and non-responders of nCRT in ESCC. Functional and enrichment analyses were conducted by clusterProfiler. The target lincRNAs and mRNAs of miRNAs were predicted by miRWalk. The ceRNA and TF regulatory networks were constructed using Cytoscape.

Results

Differentially expressed genes between responders and non-responders mainly enriched in biological process including Wnt signaling pathway and regulation of cell development and morphogenesis involved in differentiation. Besides, these genes showed enrichment in molecular function of glycosaminoglycan binding, metalloendopeptidase inhibitor and growth factor activity. KEGG analysis enriched these genes in pathways of neurotrophin signaling pathway, cell adhesion molecules and Wnt signaling pathway. We also constructed ceRNA network and TF network regulating response of ESCC to nCRT. Core regulatory miRNAs were miR-520a, miR-548am, miR-3184, miR-548d, miR-4725, miR-148a, miR-4659a and key regulatory TFs included MBNL1, SLC26A3, BMP4, ZIC1 and ANKRD7.

Conclusion

We identified significantly altered lincRNAs, miRNAs and mRNAs involved in the nCRT response of ESCC. In addition, the ceRNA regulatory network of lincRNA-miRNA-mRNA and TF regulatory network were constructed, which would elucidate novel molecular mechanisms determining nCRT response of ESCC, thus providing promising clues for clinical therapy.
Distinct cellular responses to replication stress leading to apoptosis or senescence
Authors: Lukášová Emilie , Řezáčová Martina , Bačíková Alena , Šebejová Ludmila , Vávrová Jiřina , Kozubek Stanislav
Published: March 2019

Replication stress (RS) is a major driver of genomic instability and tumorigenesis. Here, we investigated whether RS induced by the nucleotide analog fludarabine and specific kinase inhibitors [e.g. targeting checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) or ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3‐related (ATR)] led to apoptosis or senescence in four cancer cell lines differing in TP53 mutation status and expression of lamin A/C (LA/C). RS resulted in uneven chromatin condensation in all cell types, as evidenced by the presence of metaphasic chromosomes with unrepaired DNA damage, as well as detection of less condensed chromatin in the same nucleus, frequent ultrafine anaphase bridges, and micronuclei. We observed that responses to these chromatin changes may be distinct in individual cell types, suggesting that expression of lamin A/C and lamin B1 (LB1) may play an important role in the transition of damaged cells to senescence. MCF7 mammary carcinoma cells harboring wild‐type p53 (WT‐p53) and LA/C responded to RS by transition to senescence with a significant reduction of lamin B receptor and LB1 proteins. In contrast, a lymphoid cancer cell line WSU‐NHL (WT‐p53) lacking LA/C and expressing low levels of LB1 died after several hours, while lines MEC‐1 and SU‐DHL‐4, both with mutated p53, and SU‐DHL‐4 with mutations in LA/C, died at different rates by apoptosis. Our results show that, in addition to being influenced by p53 mutation status, the response to RS (apoptosis or senescence) may also be influenced by lamin A/C and LB1 status.
Axial bonds at the T1 Cu site of Thermus thermophilus SG0.5JP17‐16 laccase influence enzymatic properties
Authors: Zhu Yanyun , Zhang Yi , Zhan Jiangbo , Lin Ying , Yang Xiaorong
Published: March 2019

Laccase is a multi‐copper oxidase which oxidizes substrate at the type 1 copper site, simultaneously coupling the reduction of dioxygen to water at the trinuclear copper center. In this study, we used site‐directed mutagenesis to study the effect of axial bonds between the metal and amino acid residue side chains in lacTT. Our kinetic and spectral data showed that the replacement of the axial residue with non‐coordinating residues resulted in higher efficiency (kcat/Km) and a lower Cu2+ population at the type 1 copper site, while substitution with strongly coordinating residues resulted in lower efficiency and a higher Cu2+ population, as compared with the wild‐type. The redox potentials of mutants with hydrophobic axial residues (Ala and Phe) were higher than that of the wild‐type. In conclusion, these insights into the catalytic mechanism of laccase may be of use in protein engineering to fine‐tune its enzymatic properties for industrial application.
Medical cannabis physician decries lack of education
Authors: Knopf Alison
Published: March 2019

“This is all new to them.” That's how David G. Ostrow, M.D., Ph.D., vice president of the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine (AACM), describes medical cannabis, which has actually been legal in some states for many years. It was the precursor to recreational cannabis, but it's not the same thing. Patients with real medical problems ask their doctors about it — and their doctors don't know what to say.
Bipartisan Policy Center says to keep up the funding, but make it more flexible and sustainable
Authors: Knopf Alison
Published: March 2019

Last week, the Bipartisan Policy Center convened a meeting that focused on how $11 billion in federal funding has been spent on the opioid problem over the course of two years. This money came from various agencies, including law enforcement. In addition to reviewing documents, the center looked at five states — Arizona, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio and Tennessee — to determine how things are going locally.
Direct Detection of Local Electric Polarization in the Interfacial Region in Ferroelectric Polymer Nanocomposites
Authors: Peng Simin , Yang Xiao , Yang Yang , Wang Shaojie , Zhou Yao , Hu Jun , Li Qi , He Jinliang
Published: March 2019

Ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites are widely used in capacitive energy storage, electrocaloric refrigeration, and mechanical energy harvesting due to their exceptional electric polarization property and ease of fabrication. It is generally considered that the abnormal performance of ferroelectric nanocomposites stems from the interfacial region between the polymer matrix and embedded nanoparticles. However, direct evidence of the distinct local electric polarization property at the interfacial region is not yet accessible. Herein, a modified Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) method with nanoscale spatial resolution is reported for direct detection of local polarization property at the matrix/particle interface in ferroelectric nanocomposites. Typical ferroelectric nanocomposites are studied using the present method. It is quantitatively probed that the electric polarization at matrix/particle interfacial region is higher than the polymer matrix under applied electric fields. Taking into account the enhanced local electric polarization gauged by the modified KPFM, the dielectric property of ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites matches with bulk experimental characterizations, indicating that the established method is reliable. It is anticipated that the present method, opening up new possibilities in understanding the matrix/particle interfacial region, may help with judicious design and engineering of high‐performance ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites.
A Ferrite Synaptic Transistor with Topotactic Transformation
Authors: Ge Chen , Liu Chang‐xiang , Zhou Qing‐li , Zhang Qing‐hua , Du Jian‐yu , Li Jian‐kun , Wang Can , Gu Lin , Yang Guo‐zhen , Jin Kui‐juan
Published: March 2019

Hardware implementation of artificial synaptic devices that emulate the functions of biological synapses is inspired by the biological neuromorphic system and has drawn considerable interest. Here, a three‐terminal ferrite synaptic device based on a topotactic phase transition between crystalline phases is presented. The electrolyte‐gating‐controlled topotactic phase transformation between brownmillerite SrFeO2.5 and perovskite SrFeO3−δ is confirmed from the examination of the crystal and electronic structure. A synaptic transistor with electrolyte‐gated ferrite films by harnessing gate‐controllable multilevel conduction states, which originate from many distinct oxygen‐deficient perovskite structures of SrFeOx induced by topotactic phase transformation, is successfully constructed. This three‐terminal artificial synapse can mimic important synaptic functions, such as synaptic plasticity and spike‐timing‐dependent plasticity. Simulations of a neural network consisting of ferrite synaptic transistors indicate that the system offers high classification accuracy. These results provide insight into the potential application of advanced topotactic phase transformation materials for designing artificial synapses with high performance.
Catalytic Desymmetrization of 1,3‐Difluoropropan‐2‐ols via C−F Bond Activation Using a Phosphazene Base Affords Monofluoromethyl‐Substituted Epoxides
Authors: Wang Jiandong , Tanaka Junki , Tokunaga Etsuko , Shibata Norio
Published: March 2019

A facile synthetic route to monofluoromethyl substituted epoxides via the desymmetrization of 1,3‐difluoropropan‐2‐ols is reported. A silicon‐containing additive activates the inert C(sp3)−F bond in aliphatic fluorides to promote the intramolecular epoxidation under metal‐free reaction conditions. A phosphazene base, which acts as a catalyst, is indispensable for this silicon‐induced defluorinative cyclization.