Meaningful Infrastructures in Biological Networks: Related Studies, Algorithms and Evaluation Parameters

In network science and big data, the concept of finding meaningful infrastructures in networks has emerged as a method of finding groups of entities with similar properties within very complex systems. The whole concept is generally based on finding subnetworks which have more properties (links) amongst nodes belonging to the same cluster than nodes in other groups (A concept presented by Girvan and Newman, 2002). Today meaningful infrastructure identification is applied in all types of networks from computer networks, to social networks to biological networks. In this article we will look at how meaningful infrastructure identification is applied in biological networks. This concept is important in biological networks as it helps scientist discover patterns in proteins or drugs which helps in solving many medical mysteries. This article will encompass the different algorithms that are used for meaningful infrastructure identification in biological networks. These include Genetic Algorithm, Differential Evolution, Water Cycle Algorithm (WCA), Walktrap Algorithm, Connect Intensity Iteration Algorithm (CIIA), Firefly algorithms and Overlapping Multiple Label Propagation Algorithm. These al-gorithms are compared with using performance measurement parameters such as the Mod-ularity, Normalized Mutual Information, Functional Enrichment, Recall and Precision, Re-dundancy, Purity and Surprise, which we will also discuss here.

ASSESSMENT OF THE ECONOMIC EFFECT OF INNOVATION AT THE STAGES OF THE AIRCRAFT LIFE CYCLE

The article presents the concept of information-functional communication of technological innovations with a block of indicators of economic impact in the early stages of the aircraft life cycle, based on quantitative changes in technical indicators and operational perfection of aircraft systems.

Packaging as a Purchase Determinanton the Dietary Supplement Market in Poland

Unit packaging of dietary supplements - an inherent element of their manufacturing, without which they would be impossible to market — has numerous interlocking functions to fulfil, including the protective, transport, information, functional, ecological and marketing functions. The information function, however, is one of the priority functions of dietary supplement packaging. In the era of the continual development of online and self-service stores (including pharmacies), such packaging has become one of the key sources of information about dietary supplements’ features and properties, while also serving as a brand image creator and a carrier of promotional information. This raises the questions of whether and to what extent the unit packaging of dietary supplements influences the purchasing decisions of consumers, what features and elements of such packaging are crucial for consumers in the purchasing process, and what significance supplement packaging has in the purchasing process against the background of other purchasing determinants. Seeking to address these questions, herein we present selected results of an original study conducted in 2019 with a purposely selected sample of 468 dietary supplement consumers in Poland, whose main purpose was to identify the role and significance of packaging as a determinant of purchase in relation to three selected categories of dietary supplements..

Can Animals Refer? Meta-Positioning Studies of Animal Semantics

This meta-study applies a socio-semiotic framework combining five basic communicational aspects, form, content, act, time, and space, developed to help answering the question Can animals refer? It further operates with four levels, sign, utterance, genre, and lifeworld, studying relations between utterance and genre in particular. Semantic key terms found in an excerpted ‘resource collection’ consisting of three anthologies, two academic journals, and a monography, studying content in animal communication, are inspected, and discussed, especially information, functional reference, and reference. Since a temporary inspection concluded that the field seems unable to give convincing joint answers, the scope of the meta-study was extended to include critical investigations of implicit communicational epistemologies applied in the sources. Two major challenges were brought to surface. Firstly, the problem of conflicting interrelatedness in animal utterances (parts versus whole). Positioning analyses revealed that theories and project-designs were mostly dyadic, prioritising form/content, content/function, or function/form, and rarely form/content/function, as a whole. The second concerned the issue of functional openness of animal communication systems. The meta-study found that more recent studies tend to reduce an essentialist search for ‘clear’ categories in favor of more complex designs, where focus is less on references in utterances as such and more on a species’ communicational system. This shift in turn leads to a problematisation of the role of context, kinds of communication (life-genres) and semantic levels in animal utterances, in other words, on animal communication for particular species as a whole.

Plasticity in auditory categorization is supported by differential engagement of the auditory-linguistic network

ABSTRACTTo construct our perceptual world, the brain categorizes variable sensory cues into behaviorally-relevant groupings. Categorical representations are apparent within a distributed fronto-temporo-parietal brain network but how this neural circuitry is shaped by experience remains undefined. Here, we asked whether speech (and music) categories might be formed within different auditory-linguistic brain regions depending on listeners’ auditory expertise. We recorded EEG in highly skilled (musicians) vs. novice (nonmusicians) perceivers as they rapidly categorized speech and musical sounds. Musicians showed perceptual enhancements across domains, yet source EEG data revealed a double dissociation in the neurobiological mechanisms supporting categorization between groups. Whereas musicians coded categories in primary auditory cortex (PAC), nonmusicians recruited non-auditory regions (e.g., inferior frontal gyrus, IFG) to generate category-level information. Functional connectivity confirmed nonmusicians’ increased left IFG involvement reflects stronger routing of signal from PAC directed to IFG, presumably because sensory coding is insufficient to construct categories in less experienced listeners. Our findings establish auditory experience modulates specific engagement and inter-regional communication in the auditory-linguistic network supporting CP. Whereas early canonical PAC representations are sufficient to generate categories in highly trained ears, less experienced perceivers broadcast information downstream to higher-order linguistic brain areas (IFG) to construct abstract sound labels.

Towards a General Theory of Information

Contemporary society is an information society based on information sciences and information technology. Technical information is therefore the most accessed and further promoted. This chapter aims to push toward completeness the study of information by analyzing the variety of information types and by presenting the hierarchy of information levels of existence. Specific features of natural, social, and human information are highlighted. The internal information structure of distinct domains and levels of natural and social existence is explored. Information types such as structural information, systemic information, functional information, or free information are characterized and defined from various perspectives. An interdisciplinary study of information is thus accomplished by using findings from several scientific and philosophical disciplines from information epistemology or information aesthetics to neuroinformatics and neurorobotics. New research topics such as information values, information efficiency, and information responsibility are proposed at the end of the chapter.

Establishing a causal role for medial prefrontal cortex in reality monitoring

Reality monitoring is defined as the ability to distinguish internally self-generated information from externally-derived information. Functional imaging studies have consistently found that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a key brain region subserving reality monitoring. The aim of this study was to determine a causal role for mPFC in reality monitoring using navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (nrTMS). In a subject-blinded sham-controlled crossover design, healthy individuals received either active or sham nrTMS targeting mPFC. Active modulation of mPFC using nrTMS at a frequency of 10 Hz, significantly improved identification of both self-generated and externally-derived information during reality monitoring, when compared to sham or baseline. Targeted excitatory modulation of mPFC also improved positive mood ratings, reduced negative mood ratings and increased overall alertness/arousal. These results establish optimal nrTMS dosing parameters that maximized tolerability/comfort and induced significant neuromodulatory effects in the mPFC target. Importantly, this is a proof-of-concept study that establishes the mPFC as a novel brain target that can be stimulated with nrTMS to causally impact both mood and higher-order reality monitoring.