Chromatic polynomials and order ideals of monomials
One expansion of the chromatic polynomial π ( G , x ) of a graph G relies on spanning trees of a graph. In fact, for a connected graph G of order n , one can express π(G,x)=(−1) n−1 x ∑ i=1 n−1 t i (1−x) i ), where t i is the number of spanning trees with external activity 0 and internal activity i . Moreover, it is known (via commutative ring theory) that t i arises as the number of monomials of degree n − i − 1 in a set of monomials closed under division. We describe here how to explicitly carry out this construction algebraically. We also apply this viewpoint to prove a new bound for the roots of chromatic polynomials.

title: A ramsey type problem concerning vertex colourings
abstract: Let H → k v G denote the fact that for every function π: V ( H ) → {1, …, k } there is an induced subgraph G ′ of H with G ′ ≅ G and V ( G ′) ⊆ π −1 ( i ) for some i . Folkman has shown that for all graphs G and for all positive integers k such a graph H exists. We examine here f ( G , k ), the minimum order of a graph H for which H → k v G . We show that for any fixed integer k ≥ 2 there are positive constants C 1 and C 2 such that C 1 n 2 ≤ max{ f ( G , k ): | V ( G )| = n } ≤ C 2 n 2 log 2 n .

title: On chromatic roots with negative real part

title: The existence of uniquely -G colourable graphs
abstract: Given graphs F and G and a nonnegative integer k , a function π : V ( F ) → 1, …, k is a − G k-colouring of F if no induced copy of is monochromatic; F is − G k-chromatic if F has a − G k -colouring but no − G ( k − 1)-colouring. Further, we say F is uniquely − G k -colourable if F is − G k -chromatic and, up to a permutation of colours, it has only one − G k -colouring. Such notions are extensions of the well-known corresponding definitions from chromatic theory. It was conjectured that for all graphs G of order at least two and all positive integers k there exist uniquely − G k -colourable graphs. We prove the conjecture and show that, in fact, in all cases infinitely many such graphs exist.

title: The strongly connected reliability of complete digraphs
abstract: Given a digraph D, consider the model where each vertex is always operational, but the edges are independently operational with probability p. The strongly connected reliability of D, scRel(D, p), is the probability that the spanning subgraph of D consisting of the operational edges is strongly connected. One can view strongly connected reliability as the probability that any vertex can send information to any other vertex, given that edges fail independently. ∗Partially supported by a grant from NSERC. Communicating author.

title: The Complexity of Generalized Graph Colorings
abstract: Given a graph property P and positive integer k, a P k-coloring of a graph G is an assignment of one of k colors to each vertex of the graph so that the subgraphs induced by each color class have property P. This notion generalizes the standard definition of graph coloring, and has been investigated for many properties. We consider here the complexity of the decision problem. In particular, for the property —G, of not containing an induced subgraph isomorphic to G, we conjecture (and provide strong evidence) that —G k-colorability is NP-complete whenever G has order at least 3 and k ⩾ 2. The techniques rely on new NP-completeness results for hypergraph colorings.

title: The Social Life of Documents
abstract: Documents are evolving as means for structuring and navigating information space, and resources for constructing and negotiating social space

title: Computational and neural mechanisms of task switching
abstract: Switching between tasks that overlap in perceptual and response characteristics is assumed to rely upon the maintenance of task representations in prefrontal cortex (PFC). However, task-switching studies demonstrate ''switch costs,'' even when there is sufficient time to prepare for a new task. These costs suggest that task-switching performance reflects a complex interplay between priming and the updating and maintenance of task representations. We describe a computational model in which this interaction is made explicit and linked to the dynamics of PFC. Simulation results account for a variety of empirical phenomena and predict a double dissociation in lateral PFC that was subsequently identified.

title: How laminar frontal cortex and basal ganglia circuits interact to control planned and reactive saccades
abstract: How does the brain learn to balance between reactive and planned behaviors? The basal ganglia (BG) and frontal cortex together allow animals to learn planned behaviors that acquire rewards when prepotent reactive behaviors are insufficient. This paper proposes a new model, called TELOS, to explain how laminar circuitry of the frontal cortex, exemplified by the frontal eye fields, interacts with the BG, thalamus, superior colliculus, and inferotemporal and parietal cortices to learn and perform reactive and planned eye movements. The model is formulated as fourteen computational hypotheses. These specify how strategy priming and action planning (in cortical layers III, Va and VI) are dissociated from movement execution (in layer Vb), how the BG help to choose among and gate competing plans, and how a visual stimulus may serve either as a movement target or as a discriminative cue to move elsewhere. The direct, indirect and hyperdirect pathways through the BG are shown to enable complex gating functions, including deferred execution of selected plans, and switching among alternative sensory-motor mappings. Notably, the model can learn and gate the use of a What-to-Where transformation that enables spatially invariant object representations to selectively excite spatially coded movement plans. Model simulations show how dopaminergic reward and non-reward signals guide monkeys to learn and perform saccadic eye movements in the fixation, single saccade, overlap, gap, and delay (memory-guided) saccade tasks. Model cell activation dynamics quantitatively simulate seventeen established types of dynamics exhibited by corresponding real cells during performance of these tasks.

title: Steps Toward Automatic Theory Formation
abstract: This paper describes a theory formation system which can discover a partial axiomization of a data base represented as extensionally defined binary relations.- The system first discovers all possible intensional definitions of each binary relation in terms of the others. It then determines a minimal set of these relations from which the others can be defined. It then attempts to discover all the ways the relations of this minimal set can interact with each other, thus generating a set of inference rules. Although the system was originally designed to explore automatic techniques for theory construction for question-answering systems, it is currently being expanded to function as a symbiotic system to help social scientists explore certain kinds of data bases.

title: Plant snoRNA database
abstract: The Plant snoRNA database (http://www.scri.sari.ac.uk/plant_snoRNA/) provides information on small nucleolar RNAs from Arabidopsis and eighteen other plant species. Information includes sequences, expression data, methylation and pseudouridylation target modification sites, initial gene organization (polycistronic, single gene and intronic) and the number of gene variants. The Arabidopsis information is divided into box C/D and box H/ACA snoRNAs, and within each of these groups, by target sites in rRNA, snRNA or unknown. Alignments of orthologous genes and gene variants from different plant species are available for many snoRNA genes. Plant snoRNA genes have been given a standard nomenclature, designed wherever possible, to provide a consistent identity with yeast and human orthologues.