The Informational Model of Consciousness: Mechanisms of Embodiment/Disembodiment of Information

It was shown recently that information is the central concept which it is to be considered to understand consciousness and its properties. Arguing that consciousness is a consequence of the operational activity of the informational system of the human body, it was shown that this system is composed by seven informational components, reflected in consciousness by corresponding cognitive centers. It was argued also that consciousness can be connected to the environment not only by the common senses, but also by a special connection pole to the bipolar properties of the universe, allowing to explain the associated phenomena of the near-death experiences and other special phenomena. Starting from the characteristics of this model, defined as the Informational Model of Consciousness and to complete the info-communication panorama, in this paper it is analyzed the info-connectivity of the informational system with the body itself. The brain areas where the activity of each informational component are identified, and a definition of consciousness in terms of information is proposed. As the electrical connectivity by means of the nervous system was already proved, allowing the application of the analysis and developing tools of the information science, a particular attention is paid to the non-electrical mechanisms implied in the internal communication. For this, it is shown that the key mechanisms consists in embodiment/disembodiment processes of information during the inter and intra communication of the cells. This process can be modeled also by means of, and in correlation with specific concepts of the science and technology of information, referred to network communication structures, and is represented by epigenetic mechanisms, allowing the acquired trait transmission to the offspring generation. From the perspective of the informational model of consciousness, the human organism appears therefore as a dynamic reactive informational system, actuating in correlation with matter for adaptation, by embodiment/disembodiment processes of information

Time and volume based optimal pricing strategies for telecommunication networks

In the recent past, there have been several initiatives by major network providers such as Turk Telekom lead the industry towards network capacity distribution in Turkey. In this study, we use a monopoly pricing model to examine the optimal pricing strategies for “pay-per-volume” and “pay-per-time” based leasing of data networks. Traditionally, network capacity distribution includes short/long term bandwidth and/or usage time leasing. Each consumer has a choice to select volume based pricing or connection time based pricing. When customers choose connection time based pricing, their optimal behavior would be utilizing the bandwidth capacity fully therefore it can cause network to burst. Also, offering pay-per-volume scheme to the consumer provides the advantage of leasing the excess capacity for other potential customers for network provider. We examine the following issues in this study: (i) What are the extra benefits to the network provider for providing the volume based pricing scheme? and (ii) Does the amount of demand (number of customers enter the market) change? The contribution of this paper is to show that pay-per-volume is a viable alternative for a large number of customers, and that judicious pricing for pay-per-volume is profitable for the network provider

Optimal pricing strategies for capacity leasing based on time and volume usage in telecommunication networks

In this study, we use a monopoly pricing model to examine the optimal pricing strategies for “pay-per-time”, “pay-per-volume” and “pay-per both time and volume” based leasing of data networks. Traditionally, network capacity distribution includes short/long term bandwidth and/or usage time leasing. Each consumer has a choice to select volume based, connection-time based or both volume and connection-time based pricing. When customers choose connection-time based pricing, their optimal behavior would be utilizing the bandwidth capacity fully, which can cause network to burst. Also, offering the pay-per-volume scheme to the consumer provides the advantage of leasing the excess capacity to other potential customers serving as network providers. However, volume-based strategies are decreasing the consumers’ interest and usage, because the optimal behaviors of the customers who choose the pay-per-volume pricing scheme generally encourages them to send only enough bytes for time-fixed tasks (for real time applications), causing quality of the task to decrease, which in turn creating an opportunity cost. Choosing pay-per time and volume hybridized pricing scheme allows customers to take advantages of both pricing strategies while decreasing (minimizing) the disadvantages of each, because consumers generally have both time-fixed and size-fixed task such as batch data transactions. However, such a complex pricing policy may confuse and frighten consumers. Therefore, in this study we examined the following two issues: (i) what (if any) are the benefits to the network provider of providing the time and volume hybridized pricing scheme? and (ii) would this offering schema make an impact on the market size? The main contribution of this study is to show that pay-per both time and volume pricing is a viable and often preferable alternative to the only time and/or only volume-based offerings for a large number of customers, and that judicious use of such pricing policy is profitable to the network provider

Logics of Finite Hankel Rank

We discuss the Feferman-Vaught Theorem in the setting of abstract model theory for finite structures. We look at sum-like and product-like binary operations on finite structures and their Hankel matrices. We show the connection between Hankel matrices and the Feferman-Vaught Theorem. The largest logic known to satisfy a Feferman-Vaught Theorem for product-like operations is CFOL, first order logic with modular counting quantifiers. For sum-like operations it is CMSOL, the corresponding monadic second order logic. We discuss whether there are maximal logics satisfying Feferman-Vaught Theorems for finite structures.Comment: Appeared in YuriFest 2015, held in honor of Yuri Gurevich's 75th birthday. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23534-9_1

Human/Humanity, Consciousness and Universe: Informational Relation

From the perspective of the Informational Model of Consciousness elaborated and reported recently on the basis of the last discoveries of the quantum mechanics and astrophysics, the meeting horizon between some ancient coherent empirical models of the humanity and our modern scientific results is analyzed. These results are discussed in terms of information, as a central axis relating the universe, the human and inter-humanity connections, and consciousness as an informational tool for the exploration of the reality. Bringing into discussion the relevant recent discoveries of quantum mechanics (Higgs’ boson, disembodiment of information from the physical particles), and matter/information properties near the black holes, it is reinforced the concept of information as one of the fundamental constituent of matter and of our universe, showing that information is actually the base fabric of matter structures, living structures and universe. The huge quantity of dynamic information engaged in the living structures, particularly in the human organism, necessary to maintain the life’s functions and to allow the adaptation requirements, differentiates the living from non-living entities. It is shown that consciousness, human and universe cannot be really understood if it is not introduced on the panoramic scene a new player – dark matter, with more than 20% contribution, besides more than 70% dark energy and only 5% observable matter from the matter total quantity. It is shown also that the Informational Model of Consciousness, consisting in an architecture of seven cognitive centers, converges with the ancient models of chakras, of etheric body and aura concepts, with dual Taoist concepts of universe and human body, contributing with answers to the “mind-body”, “nature or nurture” problems and even to Qualia “hard” problem, and supporting the Jung’s concepts on the mind. Finally, some questions are addressed to the quantum mechanics, concerning the retro-causal effect and non-locality principle

Finiteness conditions for graph algebras over tropical semirings

Connection matrices for graph parameters with values in a field have been introduced by M. Freedman, L. Lov{\'a}sz and A. Schrijver (2007). Graph parameters with connection matrices of finite rank can be computed in polynomial time on graph classes of bounded tree-width. We introduce join matrices, a generalization of connection matrices, and allow graph parameters to take values in the tropical rings (max-plus algebras) over the real numbers. We show that rank-finiteness of join matrices implies that these graph parameters can be computed in polynomial time on graph classes of bounded clique-width. In the case of graph parameters with values in arbitrary commutative semirings, this remains true for graph classes of bounded linear clique-width. B. Godlin, T. Kotek and J.A. Makowsky (2008) showed that definability of a graph parameter in Monadic Second Order Logic implies rank finiteness. We also show that there are uncountably many integer valued graph parameters with connection matrices or join matrices of fixed finite rank. This shows that rank finiteness is a much weaker assumption than any definability assumption.Comment: 12 pages, accepted for presentation at FPSAC 2014 (Chicago, June 29 -July 3, 2014), to appear in Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Scienc

A computational study on altered theta-gamma coupling during learning and phase coding

There is considerable interest in the role of coupling between theta and gamma oscillations in the brain in the context of learning and memory. Here we have used a neural network model which is capable of producing coupling of theta phase to gamma amplitude firstly to explore its ability to reproduce reported learning changes and secondly to memory-span and phase coding effects. The spiking neural network incorporates two kinetically different GABAA receptor-mediated currents to generate both theta and gamma rhythms and we have found that by selective alteration of both NMDA receptors and GABAA,slow receptors it can reproduce learning-related changes in the strength of coupling between theta and gamma either with or without coincident changes in theta amplitude. When the model was used to explore the relationship between theta and gamma oscillations, working memory capacity and phase coding it showed that the potential storage capacity of short term memories, in terms of nested gamma-subcycles, coincides with the maximal theta power. Increasing theta power is also related to the precision of theta phase which functions as a potential timing clock for neuronal firing in the cortex or hippocampus

Abnormal connectional fingerprint in schizophrenia: a novel network analysis of diffusion tensor imaging data

The graph theoretical analysis of structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data has received a great deal of interest in recent years to characterize the organizational principles of brain networks and their alterations in psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. However, the characterization of networks in clinical populations can be challenging, since the comparison of connectivity between groups is influenced by several factors, such as the overall number of connections and the structural abnormalities of the seed regions. To overcome these limitations, the current study employed the whole-brain analysis of connectional fingerprints in diffusion tensor imaging data obtained at 3 T of chronic schizophrenia patients (n = 16) and healthy, age-matched control participants (n = 17). Probabilistic tractography was performed to quantify the connectivity of 110 brain areas. The connectional fingerprint of a brain area represents the set of relative connection probabilities to all its target areas and is, hence, less affected by overall white and gray matter changes than absolute connectivity measures. After detecting brain regions with abnormal connectional fingerprints through similarity measures, we tested each of its relative connection probability between groups. We found altered connectional fingerprints in schizophrenia patients consistent with a dysconnectivity syndrome. While the medial frontal gyrus showed only reduced connectivity, the connectional fingerprints of the inferior frontal gyrus and the putamen mainly contained relatively increased connection probabilities to areas in the frontal, limbic, and subcortical areas. These findings are in line with previous studies that reported abnormalities in striatal–frontal circuits in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, highlighting the potential utility of connectional fingerprints for the analysis of anatomical networks in the disorder