Providing Self-Aware Systems with Reflexivity

We propose a new type of self-aware systems inspired by ideas from higher-order theories of consciousness. First, we discussed the crucial distinction between introspection and reflexion. Then, we focus on computational reflexion as a mechanism by which a computer program can inspect its own code at every stage of the computation. Finally, we provide a formal definition and a proof-of-concept implementation of computational reflexion, viewed as an enriched form of program interpretation and a way to dynamically "augment" a computational process.Comment: 12 pages plus bibliography, appendices with code description, code of the proof-of-concept implementation, and examples of executio

Malaria transmission after five years of vector control on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.

BACKGROUND: Malaria is endemic with year-round transmission on Bioko Island. The Bioko Island Malaria Control Project (BIMCP) started in 2004 with the aim to reduce malaria transmission and to ultimately eliminate malaria. While the project has been successful in reducing overall malaria morbidity and mortality, foci of high malaria transmission still persist on the island. Results from the 2009 entomological collections are reported here. METHODS: Human landing collections (HLC) and light trap collections (LTC) were carried out on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea in 2009. The HLCs were performed in three locations every second month and LTCs were carried out in 10 locations every second week. Molecular analyses were performed to identify species, detect sporozoites, and identify potential insecticide resistance alleles. RESULTS: The entomological inoculation rates (EIR) on Bioko Island ranged from 163 to 840, with the outdoor EIRs reaching > 900 infective mosquito bites per year. All three human landing collection sites on Bioko Island had an annual EIR exceeding the calculated African average of 121 infective bites per year. The highest recorded EIRs were in Punta Europa in northwestern Bioko Island with human biting rates of 92 and 66 mosquito landings per person per night, outdoors and indoors, respectively. Overall, the propensity for mosquito biting on the island was significantly higher outdoors than indoors (p < 0.001). Both Anopheles gambiae s.s. and An. melas were responsible for malaria transmission on the island, but with different geographical distribution patterns. Sporozoite rates were the highest in An. gambiae s.s. populations ranging from 3.1% in Punta Europa and 5.7% in Riaba in the southeast. Only the L1014F (kdr-west) insecticide resistance mutation was detected on the island with frequencies ranging from 22-88% in An. gambiae s.s. No insecticide resistance alleles were detected in the An. melas populations. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of five years of extensive malaria control and a generalized reduction in the force of transmission, parasite prevalence and child mortality, foci of very high transmission persist on Bioko Island, particularly in the northwestern Punta Europa area. This area is favorable for anopheline mosquito breeding; human biting rates are high, and the EIRs are among the highest ever recorded. Both vector species collected in the study have a propensity to bite outdoors more frequently than indoors. Despite current vector control efforts mosquito densities remain high in such foci of high malaria transmission. To further reduce transmission, indoor residual spraying (IRS) needs to be supplemented with additional vector control interventions

Advantages and Limitations of Commercially Available Electrocuting Grids for Studying Mosquito Behaviour.

Mosquito feeding behaviour plays a major role in determining malaria transmission intensity and the impact of specific prevention measures. Human Landing Catch (HLC) is currently the only method that can directly and consistently measure the biting rates of anthropophagic mosquitoes, both indoors and outdoors. However, this method exposes the participant to mosquito-borne pathogens, therefore new exposure-free methods are needed to replace it. Commercially available electrocuting grids (EGs) were evaluated as an alternative to HLC using a Latin Square experimental design in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Both HLC and EGs were used to estimate the proportion of human exposure to mosquitoes occurring indoors (πi), as well as its two underlying parameters: the proportion of mosquitoes caught indoors (Pi) and the proportion of mosquitoes caught between the first and last hour when most people are indoors (Pfl). HLC and EGs methods accounted for 69% and 31% of the total number of female mosquitoes caught respectively and both methods caught more mosquitoes outdoors than indoors. Results from the gold standard HLC suggest that An. gambiae s.s. in Dar es Salaam is neither exophagic nor endophagic (Pi ≈ 0.5), whereas An. arabiensis is exophagic (Pi < < 0.5). Both species prefer to feed after 10 pm when most people are indoors (Pfl > >0.5). EGs yielded estimates of Pi for An. gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis and An. coustani, that were approximately equivalent to those with HLC but significantly underestimated Pfl for An. gambiae s.s. and An. coustani. The relative sampling sensitivity of EGs declined over the course of the night (p ≤ 0.001) for all mosquito taxa except An. arabiensis. Commercial EGs sample human-seeking mosquitoes with high sensitivity both indoors and outdoors and accurately measure the propensity of Anopheles malaria vectors to bite indoors rather than outdoors. However, further modifications are needed to stabilize sampling sensitivity over a full nocturnal cycle so that they can be used to survey patterns of human exposure to mosquitoes

How consistent are the transcriptome changes associated with cold acclimation in two species of the Drosophila virilis group?

This work was financially support by a Marie Curie Initial Training Network grant, “Understanding the evolutionary origin of biological diversity” (ITN-2008–213780 SPECIATION), grants from the Academy of Finland to A.H. (project 132619) and M.K. (projects 268214 and 272927), a grant from NERC, UK to M.G.R. (grant NE/J020818/1), and NERC, UK PhD studentship to D.J.P. (NE/I528634/1).For many organisms the ability to cold acclimate with the onset of seasonal cold has major implications for their fitness. In insects, where this ability is widespread, the physiological changes associated with increased cold tolerance have been well studied. Despite this, little work has been done to trace changes in gene expression during cold acclimation that lead to an increase in cold tolerance. We used an RNA-Seq approach to investigate this in two species of the Drosophila virilis group. We found that the majority of genes that are differentially expressed during cold acclimation differ between the two species. Despite this, the biological processes associated with the differentially expressed genes were broadly similar in the two species. These included: metabolism, cell membrane composition, and circadian rhythms, which are largely consistent with previous work on cold acclimation/cold tolerance. In addition, we also found evidence of the involvement of the rhodopsin pathway in cold acclimation, a pathway that has been recently linked to thermotaxis. Interestingly, we found no evidence of differential expression of stress genes implying that long-term cold acclimation and short-term stress response may have a different physiological basis.PostprintPeer reviewe