On Reverse Engineering in the Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Various research initiatives try to utilize the operational principles of organisms and brains to develop alternative, biologically inspired computing paradigms and artificial cognitive systems. This paper reviews key features of the standard method applied to complexity in the cognitive and brain sciences, i.e. decompositional analysis or reverse engineering. The indisputable complexity of brain and mind raise the issue of whether they can be understood by applying the standard method. Actually, recent findings in the experimental and theoretical fields, question central assumptions and hypotheses made for reverse engineering. Using the modeling relation as analyzed by Robert Rosen, the scientific analysis method itself is made a subject of discussion. It is concluded that the fundamental assumption of cognitive science, i.e. complex cognitive systems can be analyzed, understood and duplicated by reverse engineering, must be abandoned. Implications for investigations of organisms and behavior as well as for engineering artificial cognitive systems are discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure

Complex Neuro-Cognitive Systems

Cognitive functions such as a perception, thinking and acting are based on the working of the brain, one of the most complex systems we know. The traditional scientific methodology, however, has proved to be not sufficient to understand the relation between brain and cognition. The aim of this paper is to review an alternative methodology – nonlinear dynamical analysis – and to demonstrate its benefit\ud for cognitive neuroscience in cases when the usual reductionist method fails

Pengar och påverkan - Reglering av politiska partiers finansiering i Sverige och Finland

Politiska partiers finansiering är en fråga som blir allt viktigare. I takt med att utgifterna för valkampanjer växer för varje val spelar privat bidragsgivande till partierna en allt större roll. Frågor om korruption och otillbörlig påverkan väcks ofta i sammanhanget. Hur lagstiftare väljer att reglera dessa bidrag varierar dock mellan olika länder, också inom Europa. Den här uppsatsen syftar till att göra en komparativ analys mellan regleringen av politiska partiers finansiering i svensk respektive finsk rätt. Ett särskilt fokus ligger på hur regleringarna förhåller sig till skyddet för grundläggande fri- och rättigheter. Uppsatsen redogör för både rätts- och statsvetenskapliga perspektiv på politisk finansiering och beaktar även internationella organisationers inverkan på nationell lagstiftning inom området. Sverige och Finland representerar i viss utsträckning två olika modeller för reglering av partifinansiering. Båda länderna använder sig av ett omfattande statligt partistöd men i övrigt går lösningarna isär. Finland representerar en restriktiv syn på politiska partiers finansiering och har ålagt partierna en sträng redovisningsskyldighet för intäkter och utgifter samt infört begränsningar i möjligheterna att ta emot vissa typer av bidrag. Sverige representerar å andra sidan en mer tillåtande syn. Lagstiftaren har nyligen för första gången reglerat partifinansiering genom att ålägga partierna viss redovisningsskyldighet. Man har dock avstått ifrån att införa begränsningar i möjligheterna att motta bidrag. Skillnaderna i regleringen har både historiska och konstitutionella skäl. Uppsatsen diskuterar avslutningsvis de olika lösningarna utifrån lagstiftningens syfte och internationella åtaganden. Slutsatsen är att det finns brister i den svenska lagstiftningen och att ändringar bör övervägas. I det arbetet kan den svenska lagstiftaren bitvis inspireras av Finland.The financing of political parties is a matter of increasing importance. In step with the growing expenditures for political campaigns for each election, the contributions to political parties play a more essential role than earlier. The issue of corruption and inappropriate influence is often raised in this context. However, the way legislatures have chosen to regulate these contributions varies between different countries, also within Europe. This essay makes a comparative analysis between the regulations of political financing in Sweden and Finland. A particular focus lies upon the relation between these regulations and the protection of fundamental rights. The essay explains the financing of political parties both from a legal and a political science perspective. It also considers international organizations' influence on national legislation in this area. To some extent, Sweden and Finland represent two different models of political financing regulation. Both countries have chosen to give substantial public support to political parties but besides that, the legal solutions have taken different paths. Finland represents a restrictive view on political financing and has imposed a strict accounting responsibility together with restrictions on the possibilities of receiving contributions. Sweden, on the other hand, represents a more permissive view. The Swedish legislature has recently regulated political financing for the first time by imposing a limited accounting responsibility. However, there are no restrictions on how the political parties are allowed to receive contributions. The differences in regulations have both historical and constitutional reasons. This essay discusses the different legal solutions in the light of their purpose and international commitments. The conclusion is that there are inadequacies in the Swedish legislation and that changes should be considered. Finland can be a source of inspiration to the Swedish legislature in this context

Active percolation analysis of pyramidal neurons of somatosensory cortex: A comparison of wildtype and p21H-Ras<Sup>Val12 transgenic mice

This article describes the investigation of morphological variations among two sets of neuronal cells, namely a control group of wild type rat cells and a group of cells of a trangenic line. Special attention is given to singular points in the neuronal structure, namely the branching points and extremities of the dendritic processes. The characterization of the spatial distribution of such points is obtained by using a recently reported morphological technique based on forced percolation and window-size compensation, which is particularly suited to the analysis of scattered points, presenting several coexisting densities. Different dispersions were identified in our statistical analysis, suggesting that the transgenic line of neurons is characterized by a more pronounced morphological variation. A classification scheme based on a canonical discriminant function was also considered in order to identify the morphological differences

Addressing Profiles of Systemic Inflammation Across the Different Clinical Phenotypes of Acutely Decompensated Cirrhosis

ACLF; Acute decompensation; CirrhosisInsuficiencia hepática aguda sobre crónica; Descompensación aguda; CirrosisInsuficiència hepàtica aguda sobre crònica; Descompensació aguda; CirrosiBackground: Patients with acutely decompensated cirrhosis (AD) may or may not develop acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). ACLF is characterized by high-grade systemic inflammation, organ failures (OF) and high short-term mortality. Although patients with AD cirrhosis exhibit distinct clinical phenotypes at baseline, they have low short-term mortality, unless ACLF develops during follow-up. Because little is known about the association of profile of systemic inflammation with clinical phenotypes of patients with AD cirrhosis, we aimed to investigate a battery of markers of systemic inflammation in these patients. Methods: Upon hospital admission baseline plasma levels of 15 markers (cytokines, chemokines, and oxidized albumin) were measured in 40 healthy controls, 39 compensated cirrhosis, 342 AD cirrhosis, and 161 ACLF. According to EASL-CLIF criteria, AD cirrhosis was divided into three distinct clinical phenotypes (AD-1: Creatinine<1.5, no HE, no OF; AD-2: creatinine 1.5-2, and or HE grade I/II, no OF; AD-3: Creatinine<1.5, no HE, non-renal OF). Results: Most markers were slightly abnormal in compensated cirrhosis, but markedly increased in AD. Patients with ACLF exhibited the largest number of abnormal markers, indicating "full-blown" systemic inflammation (all markers). AD-patients exhibited distinct systemic inflammation profiles across three different clinical phenotypes. In each phenotype, activation of systemic inflammation was only partial (30% of the markers). Mortality related to each clinical AD-phenotype was significantly lower than mortality associated with ACLF (p < 0.0001 by gray test). Among AD-patients baseline systemic inflammation (especially IL-8, IL-6, IL-1ra, HNA2 independently associated) was more intense in those who had poor 28-day outcomes (ACLF, death) than those who did not experience these outcomes. Conclusions: Although AD-patients exhibit distinct profiles of systemic inflammation depending on their clinical phenotypes, all these patients have only partial activation of systemic inflammation. However, those with the most extended baseline systemic inflammation had the highest the risk of ACLF development and death

Iron Inhibits the Secretion of Apolipoprotein E in Cultured Human Adipocytes

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is characterized by adipose tissue dysfunction with insulin resistance and the dysregulation of adipokines 1. Recent data indicate repartitioning of iron from the liver to adipocytes in obesity and a role for iron in the development of adipose tissue dysfunction 2,3. However, the molecular mechanisms have not been established. To test the hypothesis that iron modulates adipokine release, we performed a quantitative proteomics analysis of the human Simpson-Golabi-Behmel Syndrome (SGBS) adipocyte secretome after 48 hours of treatment with ferric ammonium citrate (FAC). We used stable isotope-labeled amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) to characterize changes in the adipocyte secretome in response to iron. This technique has enabled direct comparison of quantities of individual proteins in the adipocyte secretome in response to iron using a proteomics approach as a tool for the identification of novel treatment targets in NASH