GA4GH: International policies and standards for data sharing across genomic research and healthcare.

The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) aims to accelerate biomedical advances by enabling the responsible sharing of clinical and genomic data through both harmonized data aggregation and federated approaches. The decreasing cost of genomic sequencing (along with other genome-wide molecular assays) and increasing evidence of its clinical utility will soon drive the generation of sequence data from tens of millions of humans, with increasing levels of diversity. In this perspective, we present the GA4GH strategies for addressing the major challenges of this data revolution. We describe the GA4GH organization, which is fueled by the development efforts of eight Work Streams and informed by the needs of 24 Driver Projects and other key stakeholders. We present the GA4GH suite of secure, interoperable technical standards and policy frameworks and review the current status of standards, their relevance to key domains of research and clinical care, and future plans of GA4GH. Broad international participation in building, adopting, and deploying GA4GH standards and frameworks will catalyze an unprecedented effort in data sharing that will be critical to advancing genomic medicine and ensuring that all populations can access its benefits

Coincidence Detection: Towards an Alternative to Synaptic Plasticity. Technical Report 2012‐01

This paper introduces neurally plausible mechanisms for the basis of active memory and association making without synaptic plasticity. After discussing the predominant hebbian view for memory and learning in cognitive science, its limitations are presented from an energetic and temporal perspective. In particular, it is shown that synaptic plasticity cannot account for short-term mechanisms in memory and association making. The foundations of alternative mechanisms based on the spatiotemporal dynamic properties of neural groups are then developed and supported by existing work. Finally, how these alternate mechanisms can address the problem of retrieval is addressed along with future considerations. Keywords: online cognition, synaptic plasticity, short-term memory, active memory, sensory memory, association, learning, spatiotemporal dynamics, neural groups

Algerian Dilemmas

The Algerian State is only two years old but already many doctors who are deeply worried over the likely prospects of this very young child, have earnestly submitted it to a variety of searching tests. Is it or is it not a "socialist" state? And if not, does it show promise of becoming one? If the promise does exist, how long will it be before it is fulfilled, and at what price? These are the kind of questions which are being asked about Algeria, and it is certainly right that they should be asked, since they are of obvious concern to us. But we need to be clear about the nature of our concern. It is undoubtedly worth while to look right and left before crossing a road; but one looks rather differently if one has to cross this road and no other, no matter how dangerous the crossing may be. In other words, we should try not to forget that our judgments on the present Algerian regime are always presented from the outside, that our analyses of the Algerian situation remain purely theoretical exercises (one is tempted to say purely rhetorical exercises), and that, according to sound Marxist doctrine, they cannot therefore make claim to genuine objectivity. The praxis of the Algerians may well shed considerable light on their situation for non-Algerian observers, but never as much as it does for the Algerians themselves, who may have to verify their analyses at the cost of their lives. In such matters, only that is true which is capable of realization: the "possible" which fails to achieve this very much resembles the impossible

La Phénoménologie

Lugar e data tomada do colofó

Local -Mondial : l'urgence de la dialectisation

International audiencePrenant la mesure de l'effet de la mondialisation sur les personnes et les groupes en termes de négation de lieu, de détemporalisation et de vide social, Francis Jeanson propose de lutter contre le sentiment d'impuissance en renouvelant le travail de dialectisation qui lui est cher : pratiquer le contexte dans lequel on vit sur fond de monde, en s'efforçant chaque fois de repérer le centre de gravité des conflits et les moyens de les faire bouger, en recherchant toutes les médiations possibles et en s'appuyant et en reliant entre eux les réseaux locaux de lutte. Cette action culturelle qui doit se jouer à tous les niveaux de notre existence sociale relève d'une entreprise de politisation visant à ré-actualiser nos potentialités communes

Local -Mondial : l'urgence de la dialectisation

International audiencePrenant la mesure de l'effet de la mondialisation sur les personnes et les groupes en termes de négation de lieu, de détemporalisation et de vide social, Francis Jeanson propose de lutter contre le sentiment d'impuissance en renouvelant le travail de dialectisation qui lui est cher : pratiquer le contexte dans lequel on vit sur fond de monde, en s'efforçant chaque fois de repérer le centre de gravité des conflits et les moyens de les faire bouger, en recherchant toutes les médiations possibles et en s'appuyant et en reliant entre eux les réseaux locaux de lutte. Cette action culturelle qui doit se jouer à tous les niveaux de notre existence sociale relève d'une entreprise de politisation visant à ré-actualiser nos potentialités communes

Transductionally Bounded Hierarchical Systems

Using a hierarchical-systems analysis, this paper supports the orthodox view of the mind. We claim that the orthodox mind – bounded by brains or bodies – is organized into various system levels, each of which is emergent from the dynamics of level below it. We see the extended mind hypothesis as borrowing terms from a high-level system of the orthodox mind and applying it to interactions between high levels of separate hierarchical systems, without providing any lower levels on which to ground it

Dynamic memory for robot control using delay-based coincidence detection neurones

This paper demonstrates the feasibility of dynamic memory in transmission delay coincidence detection networks. We present a low complexity, procedural algorithm for determining delay connectivity for the control of a simulated e-puck robot to solve the t-maze memory task. This work shows that dynamic memory modules need not undergo structural change during learning but that peripheral structures could be alternate candidates for this. Overall, this supports the view that delay coincidence detection networks can be effectively coupled to produce embodied adaptive behaviours

Evolving axonal delay neural networks for robot control

This paper investigates the dynamical and control properties of a discrete spiking neural network model with axonal delays. After examining contemporary work on spike timing as a mechanism for neural coding, we introduce a simple axonal delay network model which, via coincidence detection, demonstrates the presence of biologically observed regimes such as sustained firing and the emergence of synchrony. We establish delay criteria allowing for the classification of three distinct regimes including global synchrony, complex firing, and dissipation. We then proceed to test this model in a robot light seeking task. Results show that evolving network delays is sufficient for solving the task. We conclude by hypothesizing that global synchronous firing is more suited to reactive behaviours while complex firing patterns may serve as an organizing mechanism for more indirect processing