Enhancing the effectiveness of ligand-based virtual screening using data fusion

Data fusion is being increasingly used to combine the outputs of different types of sensor. This paper reviews the application of the approach to ligand-based virtual screening, where the sensors to be combined are functions that score molecules in a database on their likelihood of exhibiting some required biological activity. Much of the literature to date involves the combination of multiple similarity searches, although there is also increasing interest in the combination of multiple machine learning techniques. Both approaches are reviewed here, focusing on the extent to which fusion can improve the effectiveness of searching when compared with a single screening mechanism, and on the reasons that have been suggested for the observed performance enhancement

Poofy Dresses and Big Guns: A poststructuralist analysis of gendered positioning through talk amongst friends

This article uses data collected from a class of eight to nine year-olds to show the specific ways children are defining their gendered positions within the context of their same-sex friendship groups. Children‘s subjectivities are described as both actively formed but also positioned within the surrounding (gendered) discourses. This article will show specific ways that structure and agency is played out through talk amongst friends. Importantly, the analysis of the talk indicates that children are able to both align themselves as well as challenge dominant gendered discourses. The article argues that informal talk amongst friends is an important space for children to make sense of masculinities and femininities and to develop their identities, particularly in the context of schools

The ‘English Question’, what we can learn from the Cornish Assembly Campaign, and why an English tier is not enough

Cornish calls for devolved Government have been heard consistently since the 1960, with campaigners even managing to amass the signatures of 10% of the county’s population just over a decade ago. Dr Joanie Willett argues that the debate around the future of England as a political entity must consider the creation of regional governance structures which take account of local identities and specificities such as those of Cornwall

Technology, Pedagogy and Digital Production: A Case Study of Children Learning New Media Skills

This article presents an analysis of data from a project which investigated children and young people's learning of digital cultures in informal settings in Britain. The project aimed to build links between young peoples' leisure and learning experiences, by engaging with the content and styles of learning connected with digital cultures in homes and community centres. The focus of this article is on a computer games making course for young people age 9 – 13. The article looks specifically at issues around technology and pedagogy. Questions are raised about types of software used with this age range, and the article includes a discussion of the models of learning which describe young people?s interactions with digital cultures

The Evaluation Of Molecular Similarity And Molecular Diversity Methods Using Biological Activity Data

This paper reviews the techniques available for quantifying the effectiveness of methods for molecule similarity and molecular diversity, focusing in particular on similarity searching and on compound selection procedures. The evaluation criteria considered are based on biological activity data, both qualitative and quantitative, with rather different criteria needing to be used depending on the type of data available

The Porter stemming algorithm: then and now

Purpose: In 1980, Porter presented a simple algorithm for stemming English language words. This paper summarises the main features of the algorithm, and highlights its role not just in modern information retrieval research, but also in a range of related subject domains. Design: Review of literature and research involving use of the Porter algorithm. Findings: The algorithm has been widely adopted and extended so that it has become the standard approach to word conflation for information retrieval in a wide range of languages. Value: The 1980 paper in Program by Porter describing his algorithm has been highly cited. This paper provides a context for the original paper as well as an overview of its subsequent use