Colorectal Cancer Through Simulation and Experiment

Colorectal cancer has continued to generate a huge amount of research interest over several decades, forming a canonical example of tumourigenesis since its use in Fearon and Vogelstein’s linear model of genetic mutation. Over time, the field has witnessed a transition from solely experimental work to the inclusion of mathematical biology and computer-based modelling. The fusion of these disciplines has the potential to provide valuable insights into oncologic processes, but also presents the challenge of uniting many diverse perspectives. Furthermore, the cancer cell phenotype defined by the ‘Hallmarks of Cancer’ has been extended in recent times and provides an excellent basis for future research. We present a timely summary of the literature relating to colorectal cancer, addressing the traditional experimental findings, summarising the key mathematical and computational approaches, and emphasising the role of the Hallmarks in current and future developments. We conclude with a discussion of interdisciplinary work, outlining areas of experimental interest which would benefit from the insight that mathematical and computational modelling can provide

A Unified Checklist for Observational and Experimental Research in Software Engineering (Version 1)

Current checklists for empirical software engineering cover either experimental research or case study research but ignore the many commonalities that exist across all kinds of empirical research. Identifying these commonalities, and explaining why they exist, would enhance our understanding of empirical research in general and of the differences between experimental and case study research in particular. In this report we design a unified checklist for empirical research, and identify commonalities and differences between experimental and case study research. We design the unified checklist as a specialization of the general engineering cycle, which itself is a special case of the rational choice cycle. We then compare the resulting empirical research cycle with two checklists for experimental research, and with one checklist for case study research. The resulting checklist identifies important questions to be answered in experimental and case study research design and reports. The checklist provides insights in two different types of empirical research design and their relationships. Its limitations are that it ignores other research methods such as meta-research or surveys. It has been tested so far only in our own research designs and in teaching empirical methods. Future work includes expanding the comparison with other methods and application in more cases, by others than ourselves

Social and Economic Background of the Small Loan Problem

This paper discusses how future studies and design could enable a more conscious and participatory engagement in our common future. The starting point being that representations of the future are often done in an abstract and quantitative manner, which hinders a broad engagement, and understanding of the implications of the scenarios presented. We discuss how on-going research including experimental design methodologies can be used to make images of the future more concrete and accessible. Finally, we argue, not only for prototyping as a method to make the ungraspable future more concrete, but foremost for a designerly approach to the most important of all stakes - the future.QC 20140910Prototyping the Futur

The evolution of rhythmic cognition: New perspectives and technologies in comparative research

Music is a pervasive phenomenon in human culture, and musical rhythm is virtually present in all musical traditions. Research on the evolution and cognitive underpinnings of rhythm can benefit from a number of approaches. We outline key concepts and definitions, allowing fine-grained analysis of rhythmic cognition in experimental studies. We advocate comparative animal research as a useful approach to answer questions about human music cognition and review experimental evidence from different species. Finally, we suggest future directions for research on the cognitive basis of rhythm. Apart from research in semi-natural setups, possibly allowed by “drum set for chimpanzees” prototypes presented here for the first time, mathematical modeling and systematic use of circular statistics may allow promising advances

Dynamic airfoil stall investigations

Experimental and computational investigations of the dynamic stall phenomenon continue to attract the attention of various research groups in the major aeronautical research laboratories. There are two reasons for this continued research interest. First, the occurrence of dynamic stall on the retreating blade of helicopters imposes a severe performance limitation and thus suggests to search for ways to delay the onset of dynamic stall. Second, the lift enhancement prior to dynamic stall presents an opportunity to achieve enhanced maneuverability of fighter aircraft. A description of the major parameters affecting dynamic stall and lift and an evaluation of research efforts prior to 1988 has been given by Carr. In this paper the authors' recent progress in the development of experimental and computational methods to analyze the dynamic stall phenomena occurring on NACA 0112 airfoils is reviewed. First, the major experimental and computational approaches and results are summarized. This is followed by an assessment of our results and an outlook toward the future