Socially and biologically inspired computing for self-organizing communications networks

The design and development of future communications networks call for a careful examination of biological and social systems. New technological developments like self-driving cars, wireless sensor networks, drones swarm, Internet of Things, Big Data, and Blockchain are promoting an integration process that will bring together all those technologies in a large-scale heterogeneous network. Most of the challenges related to these new developments cannot be faced using traditional approaches, and require to explore novel paradigms for building computational mechanisms that allow us to deal with the emergent complexity of these new applications. In this article, we show that it is possible to use biologically and socially inspired computing for designing and implementing self-organizing communication systems. We argue that an abstract analysis of biological and social phenomena can be made to develop computational models that provide a suitable conceptual framework for building new networking technologies: biologically inspired computing for achieving efficient and scalable networking under uncertain environments; socially inspired computing for increasing the capacity of a system for solving problems through collective actions. We aim to enhance the state-of-the-art of these approaches and encourage other researchers to use these models in their future work

Adenosine Triphosphate Release and P2 Receptor Signaling in Piezo1 Channel-Dependent Mechanoregulation

Organs and tissues and their constituent cells are physiologically submitted to diverse types of mechanical forces or stress, one common sequence of which is release of intracellular ATP into extracellular space. Extracellular ATP is a well-established autocrine or paracrine signaling molecule that regulates multiple cell functions and mediates cell-to-cell communications via activating the purinergic P2 receptors, more specifically, ligand-gated ion channel P2X receptors and some of the G-protein-coupled P2Y receptors. The molecular mechanisms that sense mechanical and transduce forces to trigger ATP release are poorly understood. The Piezo1, a newly identified mechanosensing ion channel, shows widespread expression and confers mechanosensitivity in many different types of cells. In this mini-review, we briefly introduce the Piezo1 channel and discuss the evidence that supports its important role in the mechanoregulation of diverse cell functions and, more specifically, critical engagement of ATP release and subsequent P2 receptor activation in Piezo1 channel-dependent mechanoregulation. Such ATP release-mediated coupling of the Piezo1 channel and P2 receptors may serve a signaling mechanism that is more common than we currently understand in transducing mechanical information to regulation of the attendant cell functions in various organs and tissues

Appropriate endpoints for the characterization of behavioral changes in developmental toxicology

The present paper is devoted to second- and higher-tier test methods for the characterization of behavioral changes produced in rodents by exposure to noxious agents during development. The paper analyzes a series of end points that are informative about specific processes and underlying regulatory mechanisms but require greater technical sophistication and larger investments than first-tier end points. This applies to ultrasonic emissions in successive postnatal periods; to mother-pup interactions, including appropriate cross-fostering controls, to social (including sexual) interaction tests from the infantile to the young adult stage; and to a variety of conditioning and learning tests using both positive and negative reinforcemen

Management implications and outcomes of LI-RADS-2, -3, -4, and -M category observations

A radiologist issuing a LI-RADS category is, implicitly or explicitly, a member of a multidisciplinary team. If the definite diagnosis of a benign or malignant entity is not possible, categorizing the uncertainty as LR-2, -3, -4, or -M has important management implications. In this article, we discuss the range of options for management or further diagnostic testing and how a LR category may affect the choice between them. We then review recent published data regarding eventual diagnoses following assignment of a LR category