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Behavioral biology is one of the crucial and trending topics these days which needs proper attention by scholars for rapid development in this field. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to ease the process of collecting all kinds of relevant and vital data available on the internet regarding this topic in different forms of media, such as news articles, research papers, and YouTube lecture videos, all into one place into a single document in a proper summarized form. For proper training of the LSTM model, the lengthy video and journal datasets are pre-processed using the T5 transformer model to generate a uniform training dataset. So, in this work, a comprehensive approach is proposed based on an abstractive form of text summarization using the seq2seq encoder-decoder model combined with a stacked LSTM layer with an attention mechanism and a T5 transformer model pre-processor. Therefore, a proper hybrid model, T5LSTM-RNN, is implemented to generate the summarized data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 22 July 2022, the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos), a private institution and community university in southern Brazil, announced the interruption of 12 of its postgraduate programmes, including the Postgraduate Program of Biology (PPG Biologia), whose professors founded the journal, Neotropical Biology and Conservation. We conducted a bibliometric analysis of papers published by PPG Biologia in the past 20 years to assess its impact on biological research at a national level. The number of publications and citations increased constantly over the years, with publications growing exponentially. Although most collaborations with other research programmes occurred inside Brazil, a significant number of studies were co-authored by researchers from other countries from at least four continents. The main research lines focused on biological sciences, ecology, sociology, education, environmental sciences and genetics. Despite being affected by the decrease in research funding and the reduction of personnel, PPG Biologia kept its high impact score according to the national evaluation, above that of most programmes in private universities and similar to public ones. With a team of renowned researchers working on different and sometimes unique research lines, the interruption of PPG Biologia will harm the progress of biological research and conservation across the Neotropical realm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of osteoarthritis (OA) biology is rapidly evolving and brilliant progress has been made this year as well. Landmark studies of OA biology published in 2021 and early 2022 were selected through PubMed search by personal opinion. These papers were classified by their molecular mechanisms, and it was largely divided into the intracellular signaling mechanisms and the inter-compartment interaction in chondrocyte homeostasis and OA progression. The intracellular signaling mechanisms involving OA progression included (1) Piezo1/transient receptor potential channels of the vanilloid subtype (TRPV) 4-mediated calcium signaling, (2) mechanical load-F-box and WD repeat domain containing 7 (FBXW7) in chondrocyte senescence, (3) mechanical loading-primary cilia-hedgehog signaling, (4) low grade inflammation by toll-like receptor (TLR)-CD14-lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) complex and inhibitor of NF-κB kinase (IKK) β-nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling, (5) selenium pathway and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, (6) G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling, (7) peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα)-acyl-CoA thioesterase 12 (ACOT12)-mediated de novo lipogenesis and (8) hypoxia-disruptor of telomeric silencing 1-like (DOT1L)-H3-lysine 79 (H3K79) methylation pathway. The studies on inter-compartment or intercellular interaction in OA progression included the following subjects; (1) the anabolic role of lubricin, glycoprotein from superficial zone cells, (2) osteoclast-chondrocyte interaction via exosomal miRNA and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), (3) senescent fibroblast-like synoviocyte and chondrocyte interaction, (4) synovial macrophage and chondrocyte interaction through Flightless I, (5) αV integrin-mediated transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) activation by mechanical loading, and (6) osteocytic TGFβ in subchondral bone thickening. Despite the disastrous Covid-19 pandemic, many outstanding studies have expanded the boundary of OA biology. They provide both critical insight into the pathophysiology as well as clues for the treatment of OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theoretical biology movement originating in Britain in the early 1930’s and the biosemiotics movement which took off in Europe in the 1980’s have much in common. They are both committed to replacing the neo-Darwinian synthesis, and they have both invoked theories of signs to this end. Yet, while there has been some mutual appreciation and influence, particularly in the cases of Howard Pattee, René Thom, Kalevi Kull, Anton Markoš and Stuart Kauffman, for the most part, these movements have developed independently of each other. Focussing on morphogenesis understood as vegetative semiosis, in this paper I will argue that the ideas of these movements are commensurate. Furthermore, synthesising them would enable us to see life processes as proto-narratives. Doing so will involve synthesising biohermeneutics, Peircian biosemiotics with Waddington’s theoretical biology and Piagetian genetic structuralism, and this, I claim, would strengthen the challenge of these traditions to mainstream biology. At the same time, this should contribute to overcoming the opposition between the sciences and the humanities, developing a broader tradition of Schellingian thought which involves developing the humanities and then demanding of the physical and biological sciences that they are consistent with and can make intelligible the emergence of humans as conceived by the humanities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Any individual is surrounded by a network of kin that develops over her lifetime. In a justly famous paper, Goodman, Keyfitz, and Pullum (1974) presented formal calculations of the mean numbers of (female, matrilineal) kin implied by a mortality and fertility schedule. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is a new theory of kinship demography that provides age distributions as well as expected numbers, permits calculation of properties (e.g., dependency) of kin, is easily computable, and does not require simulation. METHODS The analysis relies on a novel application of the matrix formulation of cohort component population projection to describe the dynamics of a kinship network. The approach arises from the observation that the kin of a focal individual form a population, and can be modelled as one. RESULTS Kinship dynamics are described by a coupled system of non-autonomous matrix equations. I show how to calculate age distributions, total numbers, prevalence, dependency, and the experience of the death of relatives. As an example, I compare the kinship networks implied by the period vital rates of Japanese women in 1947 and 2014. Over this interval, fertility declined by 70% while life expectancy increased by 60%. The implications of these changes for kinship structure are profound; a lifetime dominated, under 1947 rates, by the experience of the death of kin has changed to one in which the death of kin is a rare event. On the other hand, the burden of dependent aged kin, including those suffering from dementia, is many-fold larger under 2014 rates. CONCLUSIONS This new theory opens to investigation hitherto inaccessible aspects of kinship, with potential applications to many problems in family demography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this short note, radical proposals are made about the direction of the "exact" and "social" sciences. While it is uncontroversial to state that, as of 2018 as indeed for at least a generation before, the paradigms and consequently methodologies and institutions are no longer fit for purpose, few have raised their head over the parapet sufficiently high to enunciate articulated alternatives. The foundations of mind project has published over 150 papers from names like Kauffmann, Freeman, Stapp, as well as left-fielders like Capra, Langan, Wolf and Sarfatti; while it continues to struggle financially, the record download levels suggests many are listening. In this brief paper I will try to eschew technical terms where possible as the intent is that those not familiar with any discipline and its controversies can understand the basic problems. Those wishing to find the original references can peruse the 7 volumes of proceedings we published 2014-2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Educacao e Pesquisa is the property of Faculdade de Educacao da Universidade de Sao Paulo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of SHILAP Revista de Lepidopterologia is the property of Sociedad Hispano-Luso-Americana de Lepidopterologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper describes how to recognize, biology and how to attack the main pests of the apple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a refractory cancer with high degree of malignancy, rapid disease progression, poor prognosis and easy recurrence. In the past 30 years, the traditional treatment of SCLC, mainly chemotherapy and radiotherapy, has not changed significantly, and the effective treatment method for clinical needs is extremely urgent. The rapid development of precision medicine has revealed the molecular biological characteristics of SCLC, so its diagnosis and treatment will into a new era. At present, some studies have shown that anti-angiogenic drugs, immunotherapy and so on have improved the efficacy of SCLC treatment to some extent, and there are more studies on the diagnosis and treatment of SCLC, so a new field of SCLC treatment are coming and bringing more survival benefits to patients. New studies on targeted therapy, anti-angiogenesis drugs and immunotherapy of molecular pathology of SCLC are emerging. This paper reviews the new diagnosis and treatment methods of SCLC to provide new guidance for its clinical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of SHILAP Revista de Lepidopterologia is the property of Sociedad Hispano-Luso-Americana de Lepidopterologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background. The Neretva nase, Chondrostoma knerii Heckel, 1843, is an endemic cyprinid species distributed in the Neretva River basin in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, designated in the EU Habitats Directive as a species requiring conservation within member states. According to the IUCN, the species is catalogued as vulnerable (VU). Available scientific data indicate that significant aspects of its biological and ecological characteristics, as well as conservation requirements, are scarce and largely composed of outdated records. This paper provides a summary of the main life history traits, particularly those related to the conservation challenges and a detailed list of the current state of knowledge. Material and methods. This review was based on published literature in the form of research articles, monographs, books and technical reports, as well as unpublished data Results. All available data were organized, critically analysed and presented in a comprehensive form. Issues related to species conservation were highlighted with respect to the impact of development activities. The longterm monitoring data of reproduction activity in the Hutovo Blato wetland were presented, showing the lowering of spring inflow capacity as the major factors for spawning success. Conclusion. This review will, hopefully, serve as foundation and indicative example for future research aimed at better understanding the origin and status of this fish species in order to assure effective management and conservation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Ideas y Valores is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The fracture in the emerging discipline of biosemiotics when the code biologist Marcello Barbieri claimed that Peircian biosemiotics is not genuine science raises anew the question: What is science? When it comes to radically new approaches in science, there is no simple answer to this question, because if successful, these new approaches change what is understood to be science. This is what Galileo, Darwin and Einstein did to science, and with quantum theory, opposing interpretations are not merely about what theory is right, but what is real science. Peirce's work, as he acknowledged, is really a continuation of efforts of Schelling to challenge the heritage of Newtonian science for the very good reason that the deep assumptions of Newtonian science had made sentient life, human consciousness and free will unintelligible, the condition for there being science. Pointing out the need for such a revolution in science has not succeeded as a defence of Peircian biosemiotics, however. In this paper, I will defend the scientific credentials of Peircian biosemiotics by relating it to the theoretical biology of the bio-mathematician, Robert Rosen. Rosen's relational biology, focusing on anticipatory systems and giving a place to final causes, should also be seen as a rigorous development of the Schellingian project to conceive nature in such a way that the emergence of sentient life, mind and science are intelligible. Rosen has made a very strong case for the characterization of his ideas as a real advance not only in science, but in how science should be understood, and I will argue that it is possible to provide a strong defence of Peircian biosemiotics as science through Rosen's defence of relational biology. In the process, I will show how biosemiotics can and should become a crucial component of anticipatory systems theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of a discrete-time predator-prey system of Holling-I type in the closed first quadrant R2+ . The existence and local stability of positive fixed point of the discrete dynamical system is analyzed algebraically. It is shown that the system undergoes a flip bifurcation and a Neimark- Sacker bifurcation in the interior of R2+ by using bifurcation theory. It has been found that the dynamical behavior of the model is very sensitive to the parameter values and the initial conditions. Numerical simulation results not only show the consistence with the theoretical analysis but also display the new and interesting dynamic behaviors, including phase portraits, period-9, 10, 20-orbits, attracting invariant circle, cascade of period-doubling bifurcation from period-20 leading to chaos, quasi-periodic orbits, and sudden disappearance of the chaotic dynamics and attracting chaotic set. In particular, we observe that when the prey is in chaotic dynamic, the predator can tend to extinction or to a stable equilibrium. The Lyapunov exponents are numerically computed to characterize the complexity of the dynamical behaviors. The analysis and results in this paper are interesting in mathematics and biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advantage of examining causality from the perspective of modelling is thus that it puts us naturally closer to the practice of the sciences. This means being able to set up an interdisciplinary dialogue that contrasts and compares modelling practices in different fields, say economics and biology, medicine and statistics, climate change and physics. It also means that it helps philosophers looking for questions that go beyond the narrow 'what-is-causality' or 'what-are-relata' and thus puts causality right at the centre of a complex crossroad: epistemology/methodology, metaphysics, politics/ethics. This special issue collects nine papers that touch upon various scientific fields, from system biology to medicine to quantum mechanics to economics, and different questions, from explanation and prediction to the role of both true and false assumptions in modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Pattern recognition techniques have been widely used in a variety of scientific disciplines including computer vision, artificial intelligence, biology, and so forth. Although many methods present satisfactory performances, they still have several weak points, thus leaving a lot of space for further improvements. In this paper, we propose two performance-driven subspace learning methods by extending the principal component analysis (PCA) and the kernel PCA (KPCA). Both methods adopt a common structure where genetic algorithms are employed to pursue optimal subspaces. Because the proposed feature extractors aim at achieving high classification accuracy, enhanced generalization ability can be expected. Extensive experiments are designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms in real-world problems including object recognition and a number of machine learning tasks. Comparative studies with other state-of-the-art techniques show that the methods in this paper are capable of enhancing generalization ability for pattern recognition systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper examines the relation between Foucault's account of modern race and racism in the "Society Must Be Defended" lectures and his analysis of the emergence of the modern notion of life and its science in The Order of Things. In "Society Must Be Defended," Foucault uses the term 'life' both with respect to pre-modern and modern political regimes, arguing that in the pre-modern eras there was a particular relation of sovereign power to life and death that differs from the relation to life and death which prevails in the modern era. In The Order of Things, Foucault also discusses the concept of life and the historical emergence of the science of life, biology, in the nineteenth century. For Foucault, modern biological racism is a specifically scientific death sentence. The paper argues that the kind of death at issue in this modern racism must be understood in light of the new evolutionary accounts of life as a trans-organismic continuity that emerge in the life sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic laboratory notebooks are becoming an increasingly popular tool for research and routine laboratories as part of a way to optimize workflow and minimize cost while realizing time-saving benefits. The number and variety of available solutions are quickly increasing; making selection of the right notebook a cumbersome process. To allay some of the strain associated with an exhaustive search through notebook technologies, this paper details some key features from a pool of 35 electronic notebooks available today. This review effectively classifies these notebooks into five categories based on market audience as follows: notebooks suited for a Quality environment can be found within the Quality Assurance/Quality Control pool. Notebooks suited for specialized tasks in Biology or Chemistry can be found within the Biology or Chemistry pools, respectively. Notebooks that are suitable for general science functionalities can be found under either the Research and Development or the Multidiscipline pools. Lastly, notebooks that are designed and developed for the spectrum of stringent Quality laboratories to free-form research laboratories can be found within the Multidiscipline pool. The guidelines put forth in this paper eliminate the need to perform an exhaustive search for a suitable notebook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The researcher conducted a content analysis and literature review of papers written from 2000-2010 that focused on university biology students, faculty, and their papers. Scholarly articles were divided into the library research domains. The largest number of papers was from the Education domain, followed closely by Collections. Only two papers were categorized as Reference/Enquiries, and no papers were found in Management and Professional Issues. This research will enable science librarians to better understand what has already been written about biology subjects in a university setting. Gaps in the literature can help other librarians who are interested in pursuing more research with biology subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the changing role of science in public discourse on "race" and racism, examining the contention that new biological accounts of human life ('biologism') are transforming how differences are lived and understood. The paper argues that recent developments must be interpreted in the context of two earlier periods during which science was integral to, first racism and then anti-racism. The growing ascendancy of biologism has prompted both utopian and dystopian accounts of the future: one in which scientific racism is revived, the other in which science finally abolishes race thinking. These futures resonate socially and politically, but lack plausibility when held up against either the historical experience of racism or detailed examination of the apparent direction of biologism. The paper argues, however, that there are significant changes taking place. The new biology challenges existing notions of relatedness, personhood and the nature/culture distinction, and is altering the terrain over which race is discussed. The paper highlights some the features of this new setting by exploring the emergence of novel expressions of racialized politics that both utilize biology in the construction of identity and see biology itself as a site of struggle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we present three algorithms for the Motif Identification Problem in Biological Weighted Sequences. The first algorithm extracts repeated motifs from a biological weighted sequence. The motifs correspond to repetitive words which are approximately equal, under a Hamming distance, with probability of occurrence , where k is a small constant. The second algorithm extracts common motifs from a set of weighted sequences. In this case, the motifs consists of words that must occur with probability , in distinct sequences of the set. The third algorithm extracts maximal pairs from a biological weighted sequence. A pair in a sequence is the occurrence of the same word twice. In addition, the algorithms presented in this paper improve previous work on these problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Historical Studies is the property of Canadian Catholic Historical Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Summary: In a research article, published in “Basic and Applied Ecology” in 2000, the authors T. Becker and S. Getzin described dynamics and characteristics of the so-called fairy circles in Kaokoland (North-West Namibia). They stated that the foraging activity of the harvester termite Hodotermes mossambicus Hagen, which is widely distributed in Southern Africa, results in conspicuous, circular, vegetationless patches (fairy circles), surrounded by densely packed grass tussocks. The authors concluded that a) foraging and nesting characteristics of H. mossambicus determine the occurrence of the fairy circles b) grass species richness and assemblage influences the harvesting pattern of H. mossambicus c) differences in the intensity of foraging of H. mossambicus may cause different diameters of the circular forms d) the diameter of the circles is limited by the temperature sensitivity of H. mossambicus Becker and Getzin''s statements regarding basic termite biology are based on literature data published in the late 1950''s and the author''s fieldwork was restricted to few weeks in March/April 2000. The objective of the present opinion paper was to write a comment upon the findings of Becker and Getzin and to encourage future research, which will result in a sound theory about the origin of the fairy circles in Namibia. In einem wissenschaftlichen Beitrag im Journal “Basic and Applied Ecology” (2000) beschrieben T. Becker und S. Getzin Dynamik und Eigenschaften der sogenannten Feenkreise in Kaokoland (Nord-West Namibia). Sie berichteten, dass die Ernteaktivität der im südlichen Afrika weit verbreiteten Termite Hodotermes mossambicus kreisrunde, vegetationslose, von dichten Grasbüscheln umgebene Flecken (Feenkreise) verursacht. Die Autoren kamen zu dem Schluss, dass a) Ernteaktivität und Nesteigenschaften von H. mossambicus das Auftreten der Feenkreise bestimmen b) Artenreichtum der Gräser sowie deren Ansammlung das Erntemuster von H. mossambicus beeinflussen c) Intensitätsunterschiede in der Ernteaktivität von H. mossambicus zu unterschiedlich großen Feenkreisen führen kann d) der Durchmesser der Feenkreise duch die Temperaturempfindlichkeit von H. mossambicus beeinflusst wird Becker und Getzin''s Befunde zur Termitenbiologie stützen sich auf Literaturdaten aus den 1950''er Jahren und die Feldarbeit der Autoren war auf wenige Wochen im März/April 2000 beschränkt. Das vorliegende “Opinion Paper” kommentiert die Befunde von Becker und Getzin und will zu weiterer Forschung ermutigen, die zu einer wohlbegründeten Theorie zur Entstehung der Feenkreise führen kann. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie is the property of Presses Universitaires de France and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Prior to its identification as the vector of Lyme borreliosis spirochaetes in Europe in 1983, interest in Ixodes ricinus (L.) was moderate and mainly concerned the transmission of pathogens to farm animals and of tick-borne encephalitis virus to humans. The situation now is very different, and more papers have been published on I. ricinus than on any other ixodid tick species. However, this large literature is scattered and in recent years has become dominated by the molecular detection and characterization of the many pathogens that I. ricinus transmits. Several decades have now elapsed since a review addressing its basic biology and ecology appeared, and the present publication seeks to present basic aspects of its biology and ecology that are related to its role as a vector of disease agents, including its life cycle, feeding behaviour, host relations, survival off the host, and the impact of weather and climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores story and science as products of human cultures, imagination, and innovation, using the recent emergence of heroism research as a case study. Drawing on in-depth interviews with experts in the field of heroism studies and beyond, the paper investigates interdisciplinary perspectives on heroism, and explores synergies between language used in the biological sciences and the hero's journey story arc. Story and metaphor are found to be important methodological tools in participants' contemporary research practices. The hero's journey, in particular, emerges as an interpretive apparatus that can inform interdisciplinary, novel and creative research practices, and facilitate the breakdown of increasingly dissolving disciplinary boundaries. The compatibility of narratives of heroism and biology indicated in this qualitative study is a promising platform for reintroducing diverse ways of knowing and ameliorating the split between competing knowledge cultures in contemporary scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Cadernos Cedes is the property of Centro de Estudos de Educacao e Sociedade and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Biology is the property of Instituto Internacional de Ecologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cadernos Cedes is the property of Centro de Estudos de Educacao e Sociedade and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The geographical origin of all published papers in four major vascular journals as well as the “vascular papers” in two high impact “general” surgical journals during a four year period (2003-2006) were examined by search of their electronic editions. As an index of high quality papers, the randomized controlled trials (RCT''s) by country were also examined. A total of 3422 papers were searched in the four vascular journals (115 RCT''s) while 144 “vascular” papers (19 RCT''s) were located in the two “general” surgical journals. It was not surprising that USA and western European countries were having the largest contribution to the vascular literature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reviews strategies for solving problems encountered when analyzing large genomic data sets and describes the implementation of those strategies in R by packages from the Bioconductor project. We treat the scalable processing, summarization and visualization of big genomic data. The general ideas are well established and include restrictive queries, compression, iteration and parallel computing. We demonstrate the strategies by applying Bioconductor packages to the detection and analysis of genetic variants from a whole genome sequencing experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a defense of naturalism, which might improve its chance of being adopted as a direction, both for theory and for empirical research. This defense responds in particular to three themes:: the emergence of mind (as opposed to nonemergence or reductionism), the pervasiveness of nonlinearity in biology and psychology, and the need for levels and degrees of self (as opposed to a human self that is self-evidently unitary, or a self that turns out to be illusory, or a concealment of what is truly there). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Magis: Revista Internacional de Investigación en Educación is the property of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Traditional human-centred epistemologies have failed to adequately address the question, 'How are cognition and knowledge possible?' Naturalistic epistemologies, however, and in particular, evolutionary, biosemiotic, and autopoeitic approaches, have recognized that humans are not the only knowers, perceivers, cognizers and rememberers in nature, and thus ask instead, 'How does nature make cognition and knowledge possible?' thereby reconceiving epistemology as study of the cognition and experience of living, embodied, interacting and intersignifying natural beings. Nonetheless, their insights into how nature makes knowledge (and other epistemological achievements) possible, while instructive, typically are incomplete - in most cases because key aspects of the peculiar physical/causal dynamics of cognitive processes and their causal/functional roles in the lives of organisms, are insufficiently considered. This paper seeks to redress this situation, to provide a clearer understanding of how nature makes knowledge (and other epistemological processes and achievements) possible. The argument draws upon insights of the approaches mentioned, and upon studies of biological hierarchy, natural emergence, complex causal dynamics and hierarchically structured causal processes, to show that nature's "inventions" of non-linear causation and cybernetic process-modulation led to the emergence of novel systems whose sensitivity to ultralow- energy signals (for example, just a few molecules of a chemical compound) radically enhances their viability by producing a non-linear hierarchically ordered cascade of adaptive activity peculiarly associated with the signal type. This is biosemiosis. It is argued that the unique causal character of biosemiotic processes is not only their physical "signature", but is essential to subsequently emergent cognitive processes and achievements and their functions, and indeed to the biological functions of the organic processes that make life possible. This is a further reason (if further reason were needed) for holding biosemiosis to be, ontologically, a natural kind. Indeed, an understanding of the distinctive causal/functional character of biosemiosis is the key to understanding how nature makes possible not only knowledge (and all other epistemological processes and achievements) but also, by those semiotic means, life itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project is part of a larger effort within the SoTL community to try and better understand the effects of service projects on student learning. Service learning is an integral part of the culture at Rockhurst University, but there remain questions about its effectiveness in improving learning. In this project, my students work in groups of three to mentor a single student (in 6-10th grade) from an inner city charter school. My research question is, "What do biology students learn from serving as mentors for science fair projects?" Surveys, exam questions, and reflection papers have been gathered as evidence. Collectively, the different forms of evidence allowed me to look at the student understanding of scientific process and the impact of mentoring on their learning. Feedback from this conference will be used to revise or refine both my central question and the design of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper aims to present a bio-computational model that simulates the electrical activation in the heart, mainly designed for people who study or work in the fields of biology, health sciences or medicine with no previous background in programming. The model has been created on a MATLAB environment using the principles of cellular automaton discrete models and Greenberg-Hastings proposal. It visualises the energy propagation on a normal and on a malfunctioning heart tissue during its disturbances. As a result, a computationally inexpensive model has been developed which incorporates various types of cell neighbourhood patterns. In conclusion, the integration of this multi-disciplinary model at the universities could be a very beneficial addition to medical, biological and health education. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Automatika: Journal for Control, Measurement, Electronics, Computing & Communications is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Investigacion en Enfermeria: Imagen y Desarrollo is the property of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper connects the biological function concept with adaptations in order to clarify the former. In this way, it is proposed that adaptations— defined in present and non-historical terms—are functional. Hence, the term function is equivalent to the concept of adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Electrónica de Enseñanza de las Ciencias is the property of Revista Electronica de Ensenanza de las Ciencias and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Electrónica de Enseñanza de las Ciencias is the property of Revista Electronica de Ensenanza de las Ciencias and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper I explore the capacity of Moodle to enhance the teaching and learning of Leaving Certificate Biology within a small urban secondary school. I simultaneously investigate the potential of the technology to enhance higher-order cognition and motivation to learn among the students. Adopting an action research approach has led me to a much deeper understanding of the tacit knowledge that inspires my work. The chief stimulus to my research was the realisation that my explicit practice was in negation of my implicit values. I have come to know my practice and over time changed it. I can now see evidence of a greater congruence between my espoused core educational values and my explicit actions. Cycle one of the research focuses on setting up and introducing Moodle to a group of Biology students. The second cycle shows the feasibility of a community of enquiry through a discussion- forum. A process of social validation runs concurrently, in which interested individuals substantiate my claim that my core educational values are being translated into my practice. Throughout I learn to strike a balance between co-learner and guide. Consequently the students come to act as co-authors in moving away from authoritarian dissemination of facts. This facilitates a community of inquiry, revolving around the collaborative negotiation of meaning. There is clear evidence of increased higher-order cognition and motivation to learn among the participants within this virtual community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modem biology is a highly visual science. Some bioscience imagery jumped out of the research arena and now is part of the collective visual memory. A case study on research papers published in Science and Nature shows that also in peer reviewed scientific communication, the visual component is very important. We can argue that visuals are seen as a privileged resource by the authors as they use specific strategies to density, compact and gather information in order to counteract the limit of figures imposed by editorial politics. In the digital age, new visual representations with recovered aesthetic features arise. The future will bring even more visuality. Simulation and the possibility to interact with computational models in real time, as well as interaction with virtual organisms developed by synthetic biology, makes us think that they will not be only images of life, but also images that are alive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A discussion about several new species of Rhabdias from the lungs of chamaeleonids, two from Trioceros ellioti in East Africa and one from Brookesia superciliaris in Madagascar, is presented. It mentions several points which the authors of the paper wanted to highlight such as the fact that a single host specimen may harbour more than one Rhabdias species at a time. A figure that shows schematic representation of anterior extremity of Rhabdias is presented. It mentions the belief that pseudocoelomocytes are large cells that are involved in the immune response of nematodes such as scavenger cells.

Abstract: Knowledge discovery from large and complex scientific data is a challenging task. With the ability to measure and simulate more processes at increasingly finer spatial and temporal scales, the growing number of data dimensions and data objects presents tremendous challenges for effective data analysis and data exploration methods and tools. The combination and close integration of methods from scientific visualization, information visualization, automated data analysis, and other enabling technologies—such as efficient data management—supports knowledge discovery from multi-dimensional scientific data. This paper surveys two distinct applications in developmental biology and accelerator physics, illustrating the effectiveness of the described approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]