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The author reflects on transformative change within organizations in the healthcare sector. Topics discussed include examples of successful transformative change in the U.S. healthcare system, the components of transformational change, and a portfolio of critical priorities that would help organizations develop strategic initiatives that are both incremental and revolutionary.

In this paper, we propose a simple, flexible, and efficient hybrid spell checking methodology based upon phonetic matching, supervised learning, and associative matching in the AURA neural system. We integrate Hamming Distance and n-gram algorithms that have high recall for typing errors and a phonetic spell-checking algorithm in a single novel architecture. Our approach is suitable for any spell checking application though aimed toward isolated word error correction, particularly spell checking user queries in a search engine. We use a novel scoring scheme to integrate the retrieved words from each spelling approach and calculate an overall score for each matched word. From the overall scores, we can rank the possible matches. In this paper, we evaluate our approach against several benchmark spellchecking algorithms for recall accuracy. Our proposed hybrid methodology has the highest recall rate of the techniques evaluated. The method has a high recall rate and low-computational cost. Index Terms--Binary neural spell checker, integrated modular spell checker, associative matching.

A 65 nm CMOS integrated circuit implementation of a bio-physiological signal compression device is presented, reporting exceptionally low power, and extremely low silicon area cost, relative to state-of-the-art. A novel ‘xor-log2-sub-band’ data compression scheme is evaluated, achieving modest compression, but with very low resource cost. With the intent to design the 'simplest useful compression algorithm’, the outcome is demonstrated to be very favourable where power must be saved by trading off compression effort against data storage capacity, or data transmission power, even where more complex algorithms can deliver higher compression ratios. A VLSI design and fabricated Integrated Circuit implementation are presented, and estimated performance gains and efficiency measures for various bio-medical use-cases are given. Power costs as low as 1.2 pJ per sample-bit are suggested for a 10 kSa/s data-rate, whilst utilizing a power-gating scenario, and dropping to 250 fJ/bit at continuous conversion data-rates of 5 MSa/sec. This is achieved with a diminutive circuit area of 155 um2. Both power and area appear to be state-of-the-art in terms of compression versus resource cost, and this yields benefit for system optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rodent electroencephalography (EEG) in preclinical research is frequently conducted in behaving animals. However, the difficulty inherent in identifying EEG epochs associated with a particular behavior or cue is a significant obstacle to more efficient analysis. In this paper we highlight a new solution, using infrared event stamping to accurately synchronize EEG, recorded from superficial sites above the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, with video motion tracking data in a transgenic Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse model. Epochs capturing specific behaviors were automatically identified and extracted prior to further analysis. This was achieved by the novel design of an ultra-miniature wearable EEG recorder, the NAT-1 device, and its in-situ IR recording module. The device is described in detail, and its contribution to enabling new neuroscience is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a hierarchical clustering algorithm (TreeGCS) based upon the Growing Cell Structure (GCS) neural network of Fritzke. Our algorithm refines and builds upon the GCS base, overcoming an inconsistency in the original GCS algorithm, where the network topology is susceptible to the ordering of the input vectors. Our algorithm is unsupervised, flexible, and dynamic and we have imposed no additional parameters on the underlying GCS algorithm. Our ultimate aim is a hierarchical clustering neural network that is both consistent and stable and identifies the innate hierarchical structure present in vector-based data. We demonstrate improved stability of the GCS foundation and evaluate our algorithm against the hierarchy generated by an ascendant hierarchical clustering dendogram. Our approach emulates the hierarchical clustering of the dendogram. It demonstrates the importance of the parameter settings for GCS and how they affect the stability of the clustering. Index Terms--Unsupervised, growing, neural, network, hierarchical, cluster, topology.

The computer mouse is one of the most familiar artefacts of the developed world to have been devised in the late twentieth century. The essential form remains the same as when it was first invented, but during this time the mouse has transformed our physical interaction with and perception of computers. With increased attention being paid to curating and collecting technologies of the contemporary world, and within the context of an archaeological research culture that extends to the contemporary, an archaeological examination of this ubiquitous object appeared timely. There are millions - if not billions - of mice in circulation, including models that are now outdated or obsolete. Despite their apparent uniformity they differ in significant ways, and examination of these differences can help us to understand human experiences of technology in ways that resonate with artefact types of much earlier periods. With that time depth in mind, this paper will therefore focus on the form and function of the computer mouse and its place in the contemporary imagination. This will be followed by a detailed study of five specific examples which together illustrate some of the key issues and challenges that face us, as archaeologists and curators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An issue that has been with us forever, it seems, is the status of the scientific workforce. Are we training too many? Sometimes it seems that way, as well-credentialed biochemists [...]

If there is one domain of science policy in which bad estimates have become routine, it is the one we used to call 'scientific manpower.' Time after time we have [...]

This paper proposes Logical Matching Strategy for sequential pattern matching. We show the two real-world applications of the method: (1) locate repeating sequential pattern and (2) alignment-free comparison of sequential pattern of finite length using fuzzy membership values that generate automatically from the number of matches and mismatches. The results show the utility of the method by analyzing DNA sequences taken from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) databank. The Logical Matching Strategy can possibly be applied to develop a method of research in sequental pattern matching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the challenges in developing a domestic workforce for scientists and engineers in the U.S. According to policymakers, the country's science and engineering (S&E) labor force is dependent on foreign scientists which makes the nation economically vulnerable. Several organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science advocate domestic S&E labor expansion as a way of increasing the diversity of the labor force. An increase in the production of S&E labor and an increase in the diversity of the field's labor pool will strengthen the market forces.

The use of search engines within the Internet is now ubiquitous. This paper examines how Grid technology may affect the implementation of search engines by focusing on the Signal Data Explorer application developed within the Distributed Aircraft Maintenance Environment (DAME) project. This application utilizes advanced neural-network-based methods (Advanced Uncertain Reasoning Architecture (AURA) technology) to search for matching patterns in time-series vibration data originating from Rolls-Royce aeroengines (jet engines). The large volume of data associated with the problem required the development of a distributed search engine, where data is held at a number of geographically disparate locations. This paper gives a brief overview of the DAME project, the pattern marching problem, and the architecture. It also describes the Signal Data Explorer application and provides an overview of the underlying search engine technology and its use in the aeroengine health-monitoring domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a hierarchical, lexical clustering neural network algorithm that automatically generates a thesaurus (synonym abstraction) using purely stochastic information derived from unstructured text corpora and requiring no prior word classifications. The lexical hierarchy overcomes the Vocabulary Problem by accommodating paraphrasing through using synonym clusters and overcomes Information Overload by focusing search within cohesive clusters. We describe existing word categorisation methodologies, identifying their respective strengths and weaknesses and evaluate our proposed approach against an existing neural approach using a benchmark statistical approach and a human generated thesaurus for comparison. We also evaluate our word context vector generation methodology against two similar approaches to investigate the effect of word vector dimensionality and the effect of the number of words in the context window on the quality of word clusters produced. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach and its superiority to existing techniques. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In previous work, the authors presented a 3D hexagonal wireless direct-interconnect network for a massively parallel computer, with a focus on analysing processor utilisation. In this study, we consider the characteristics of such an architecture in terms of link utilisation and power consumption. We have applied a store-and-forward packet-switching algorithm to both our proposed architecture and a traditional wired 5D direct network (the same as IBM’s Blue Gene). Simulations show that for small and medium-size networks the link utility of the proposed architecture is comparable with (and in some cases even better than) traditional 5D networks. This work demonstrates that there is a potential for wireless processing array concepts to address High-Performance Computing (HPC) challenges whilst alleviating some significant physical construction drawbacks of traditional systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the celebration of the success of the new faculty class by profiling eight early-career researchers from the United States and Europe who came of age, beginning their first permanent jobs as independent scientists. It is further noted in the article that the conventional wisdom for job seekers is "keep it simple." It is hard enough to get a tenure-track job without any complications. One should forget about finding two jobs in the same place, for instance, or adding children to the mix. By that standard, earth scientist Alexis Templeton and biophysical chemist Amy Palmer did a lot wrong in their search for tenure-track jobs. They were determined to stay together, seeking faculty positions in the same city, even the same institution, and they started a family just as they began searching for jobs. Yet Palmer and Templeton have ended up together at the University of Colorado, in jobs that they each wanted. The conventional wisdom, it seems, is no longer always so wise. It is been eroded by cultural changes at leading institutions.

The article presents a personal narrative of the author's experience of walking away from his career as a researcher at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, including the academic job market in the 1990s, his love of writing, and his editorship at "Science" Careers.

The authors reflect on career paths for post-doctoral students (Ph.D) in the U.S. They argue that science Ph.Ds are expected to pursue a career path in academia, but most Ph.D. graduates pursue careers outside academia in fields such as communications, knowledge brokering, and patent law. Topics include the disconnect between how scientists are trained and available employment opportunities, individual development plans, and a web application for creating IDPs, called myIDP.