COMPUTER SIMULATION AND COMPUTABILITY OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

The ability to simulate a biological organism by employing a computer is related to the ability of the computer to calculate the behavior of such a dynamical system, or the "computability" of the system.* However, the two questions of computability and simulation are not equivalent. Since the question of computability can be given a precise answer in terms of recursive functions, automata theory and dynamical systems, it will be appropriate to consider it first. The more elusive question of adequate simulation of biological systems by a computer will be then addressed and a possible connection between the two answers given will be considered. A conjecture is formulated that suggests the possibility of employing an algebraic-topological, "quantum" computer (Baianu, 1971b) for analogous and symbolic simulations of biological systems that may include chaotic processes that are not, in genral, either recursively or digitally computable. Depending on the biological network being modelled, such as the Human Genome/Cell Interactome or a trillion-cell Cognitive Neural Network system, the appropriate logical structure for such simulations might be either the Quantum MV-Logic (QMV) discussed in recent publications (Chiara, 2004, and references cited therein)or Lukasiewicz Logic Algebras that were shown to be isomorphic to MV-logic algebras (Georgescu et al, 2001)

Loops and Knots as Topoi of Substance. Spinoza Revisited

The relationship between modern philosophy and physics is discussed. It is shown that the latter develops some need for a modernized metaphysics which shows up as an ultima philosophia of considerable heuristic value, rather than as the prima philosophia in the Aristotelian sense as it had been intended, in the first place. It is shown then, that it is the philosophy of Spinoza in fact, that can still serve as a paradigm for such an approach. In particular, Spinoza's concept of infinite substance is compared with the philosophical implications of the foundational aspects of modern physical theory. Various connotations of sub-stance are discussed within pre-geometric theories, especially with a view to the role of spin networks within quantum gravity. It is found to be useful to intro-duce a separation into physics then, so as to differ between foundational and empirical theories, respectively. This leads to a straightforward connection bet-ween foundational theories and speculative philosophy on the one hand, and between empirical theories and sceptical philosophy on the other. This might help in the end, to clarify some recent problems, such as the absence of time and causality at a fundamental level. It is implied that recent results relating to topos theory might open the way towards eventually deriving logic from physics, and also towards a possible transition from logic to hermeneutic.Comment: 42 page

Systematic Design of Expert System Using Unified Modelling Language

An expert system as an expert knowledge-based information system has been widely used by interested parties to consult their problems. Therefore, an expert system should be well designed so as to meet the requirements for a software to store knowledge, explain problems, and recommend solutions. The purpose of the present study is to develop a systematic design of an expert system using Unified Modeling Language (UML), which is one of popular object oriented modeling languages. The research method was a literature review as the main source for analyzing the expert system requirements. The developed design was then clarified, verified, and validated in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD). To evaluate the model, a review of some related studies was conducted. The research respondents were informatics lecturers at UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung. The results of the study revealed that the systematic design of expert system was well-developed because it was user-friendly, flexible, easy to be modified, and able to propose solutions for various problems

Eliciting Expertise

Since the last edition of this book there have been rapid developments in the use and exploitation of formally elicited knowledge. Previously, (Shadbolt and Burton, 1995) the emphasis was on eliciting knowledge for the purpose of building expert or knowledge-based systems. These systems are computer programs intended to solve real-world problems, achieving the same level of accuracy as human experts. Knowledge engineering is the discipline that has evolved to support the whole process of specifying, developing and deploying knowledge-based systems (Schreiber et al., 2000) This chapter will discuss the problem of knowledge elicitation for knowledge intensive systems in general

A guided tour of asynchronous cellular automata

Research on asynchronous cellular automata has received a great amount of attention these last years and has turned to a thriving field. We survey the recent research that has been carried out on this topic and present a wide state of the art where computing and modelling issues are both represented.Comment: To appear in the Journal of Cellular Automat