Representation of research hypotheses

BACKGROUND: Hypotheses are now being automatically produced on an industrial scale by computers in biology, e.g. the annotation of a genome is essentially a large set of hypotheses generated by sequence similarity programs; and robot scientists enable the full automation of a scientific investigation, including generation and testing of research hypotheses. RESULTS: This paper proposes a logically defined way for recording automatically generated hypotheses in machine amenable way. The proposed formalism allows the description of complete hypotheses sets as specified input and output for scientific investigations. The formalism supports the decomposition of research hypotheses into more specialised hypotheses if that is required by an application. Hypotheses are represented in an operational way – it is possible to design an experiment to test them. The explicit formal description of research hypotheses promotes the explicit formal description of the results and conclusions of an investigation. The paper also proposes a framework for automated hypotheses generation. We demonstrate how the key components of the proposed framework are implemented in the Robot Scientist “Adam”. CONCLUSIONS: A formal representation of automatically generated research hypotheses can help to improve the way humans produce, record, and validate research hypotheses. AVAILABILITY: http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/cs/research/cb/projects/robotscientist/results

Matrix representation of the Kaliningrad regional accounts system: experimental development and modelling prospects

This article addresses the task of creating a regional Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) in the Kaliningrad region. Analyzing the behavior of economic systems of national and sub-national levels in the changing environment is one of the main objectives of macroeconomic research. Matrices are used in examining the flow of financial resources, which makes it possible to conduct a comprehensive analysis of commodity and cash flows at the regional level. The study identifies key data sources for matrix development and presents its main results: the data sources for the accounts development and filling the social accounting matrix are identified, regional accounts consolidated, the structure of regional matrix devised, and the multiplier of the regional social accounting matrix calculated. An important aspect of this approach is the set target, which determines the composition of matrix accounts representing different aspects of regional performance. The calculated multiplier suggests the possibility of modelling of a socioeconomic system for the region using a social accounting matrix. The regional modelling approach ensures the matrix compliance with the methodological requirements of the national syste

RESEARCH OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE DYNAMICS OF DEMOGRAPHIC PROCESSES IN TRANSBAIKAL TERRITORY

The processes of natural and mechanical movement of the population observed in the Transbaikal Territory in the past two decades testify to the extremely negative trends in the formation of the demographic potential of the region. Among these trends the following ones should be primarily named: low birth rate, high mortality rate, especially among men of working age, steady decrease in the proportion of rural population in the total population of the region, which is very unfavorable effect on reproduction (fertility in rural areas up to 1,3-1,4 times higher than in urban areas). The share of persons of retirement age increases. Negative changes occur in the family institution: increasing desire for small families. The attitude related to marriage and marital status changes: the stability of married unions decrease. The out-migration enhances, which entails, even natural growth, decline in population. These circumstances do not meet the economic and geopolitical interests. For investigation the factors affecting reproductive behavior in the Transbaikal Territory, the taxonomic method of multivariate analysis and the correlation analysis have been applied. Six groups of factors have been formed, which include: a healthy way of life, education, economic factors, habitat, social and domestic factors, social stability and moral-psychological factors. Results indicated that the greatest impact on the birth rate by factors: "Early childhood education" (r = 0,87); «Spiritual and moral education» (r = 0,76), «Housing Affordability» (r = -0,7) (for describing factor chosen as destabilizing indicators such as the proportion of families standing on the account, as in need of accommodation, the percentage of families, who have expressed a desire to participate in the sub-program "Housing for young families", but didn't get help), "Safety and the level of crime" (r = -0,52); "Material well-being" (r = -0,45). In 2013 the Russian Government approved the State Program of Russian Federation "Socio-economic development of the Far East and the Baikal region". Implementation of the program can be successful only on condition of the normalization of demographic trends and social conditions

Size fractionation of trace elements in the surface water and groundwater of the Ganjiang River and Xiushui River basins, China

The research of trace element behaviour and size fractionation is significant to understand the processes in the water-rock system. Moreover, the aqueous speciation of trace elements is strongly related to their distribution and toxicity. In this research, trace elements behaviour and their size fractionation are investigated in the natural water (the surface water and shallow groundwater) of the Ganjiang River and Xiushui River basins. Trace element concentrations were measured by ICP-MS. The authors estimated the size fractionation of the trace elements between suspended forms (>0.45 [mu]m) and dissolved fractions, which included truly dissolved (1 kDa) and colloidal particles (0.45 [mu]m-1 kDa)), after filtration through a 0.45 [mu]m acetate cellulose membrane filter. The distinct features of the trace element size fractionation were identified. The size fractionation of the trace elements under different conditions (in the surface water and shallow groundwater) was studied

EXACT2: the semantics of biomedical protocols

© 2014 Soldatova et al.; licensee BioMed Central. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background: The reliability and reproducibility of experimental procedures is a cornerstone of scientific practice. There is a pressing technological need for the better representation of biomedical protocols to enable other agents (human or machine) to better reproduce results. A framework that ensures that all information required for the replication of experimental protocols is essential to achieve reproducibility. Methods: We have developed the ontology EXACT2 (EXperimental ACTions) that is designed to capture the full semantics of biomedical protocols required for their reproducibility. To construct EXACT2 we manually inspected hundreds of published and commercial biomedical protocols from several areas of biomedicine. After establishing a clear pattern for extracting the required information we utilized text-mining tools to translate the protocols into a machine amenable format. We have verified the utility of EXACT2 through the successful processing of previously ‘unseen’ (not used for the construction of EXACT2) protocols. Results: The paper reports on a fundamentally new version EXACT2 that supports the semantically-defined representation of biomedical protocols. The ability of EXACT2 to capture the semantics of biomedical procedures was verified through a text mining use case. In this EXACT2 is used as a reference model for text mining tools to identify terms pertinent to experimental actions, and their properties, in biomedical protocols expressed in natural language. An EXACT2-based framework for the translation of biomedical protocols to a machine amenable format is proposed. Conclusions: The EXACT2 ontology is sufficient to record, in a machine processable form, the essential information about biomedical protocols. EXACT2 defines explicit semantics of experimental actions, and can be used by various computer applications. It can serve as a reference model for for the translation of biomedical protocols in natural language into a semantically-defined format.This work has been partially funded by the Brunel University BRIEF award and a grant from Occams Resources

Profession-oriented foreign language communicative competence forming: modern teaching technologies and methods

The present article deals with the problem of future Russian Customs Academy graduates' foreign language profession oriented communicative competence forming. The context approach is considered as one of the means to teach profession oriented communication. The authors describe an integrated language project with the senior year Economic faculty students as an example of context method application. An electronic text book is being described as another innovative means of communicative competence formingСтатья посвящена проблеме формирования профессионально-ориентированной иноязычной коммуникативной компетенции будущих выпускников Российской таможенной академии. В качестве одного из средств обучения профессионально-ориентированному общению рассматривается контекстный подход. Как пример использования контекстного подхода описывается интегрированное занятие в форме языкового проекта на старших курсах экономического факультета. В качестве инновационного средства формирования коммуникативной компетенции рассматривается электронный учебни

THE PHENOMENON OF VIRTUAL IDENTITY: THE CONTEMPORARY CONDITION OF THE PROBLEM

Introduction. Modern society is characterized by the formation of a new socio-cultural environment, which is based on a wide access to a variety of sources of information. Mass distribution of the Internet has a direct impact on socialization processes of the representatives of “Z-generation” who spend enormous amount of time in a cyberspace, quite often losing at the same time an ability of real personal development, interest in acquisition of skills for real interaction and effective communication. In this regard, the research of a phenomenon of a new, virtual identity of the personality, which is formed in the Internet environment, is brought into focus. The aim of the present publication is to consider the current level of knowledge in the field of virtual identity and systematization of scientific knowledge of this phenomenon. Methodology and research methods. Theoretical analysis, methods of synthesis and generalization were used. Results and scientific novelty. Various approaches to interpretation of virtual identity are considered; research tendencies are highlighted. The concepts “real identity” and “virtual identity” are viewed in relation to each other; the features and risks of virtual identity formation are revealed. The functions of virtual identity are specified. It is revealed that virtual identity reflects the subjectively significant image of the “Ideal-I” which is compiled from the completed material, character set and graphic images of the Internet environment, and therefore does not possess the uniqueness. Factors of designing by the person of virtual identity are described. Virtual identity can arise as a result of dissatisfaction with real identity, as a consequence of the identification crisis, in which the individual loses integrity. At the same time, it is shown that the cyberspace gives ample opportunities for self-expression and maximum personal fulfillment, realization of qualities, playing of roles and experience of emotions which turn out to be frustrated under any circumstances in real life. Problem areas of excessive immersion into virtual space are identified. An immature personality can lose life orientations as well as acquire the programmed decisions and ready cogitative patterns through excessive Internet use. The social activity in the Internet environment significantly reduces the moral level of communication on social networking sites and messengers. Aspiration always “to be online”, fear to miss a new message or a post aggravate anxiety of the user, increase the feeling of fatigue and uncontrollable temper, scant attention and strongwilled self-regulation, aggravation of a hypodynamia.The authors conclude that is required to continue to study the specifics of socialization in the Internet environment since it generates new forms of age development, changes the tasks and ideas of children and teenagers about social relations, and transforms an ideal image of the subsequent age stages in their consciousness. Practical significance. The results of the work carried out can be applied in the activities of teachers, social educators, educators, psychologists and other specialists who deal with the questions of socialization of modern children and adolescents. Введение. В современном обществе продолжается формирование социокультурной среды, основной характеристикой которой является свободный доступ к разнообразным источникам информации. Массовое распространение сети Интернет оказывает непосредственное влияние на процессы социализации представителей «Z-поколения», которые проводят колоссальное количество времени в киберпространстве, нередко утрачивая при этом способность реального личностного развития, интерес к приобретению навыков реального взаимодействия и эффективных, ничем не опосредованных коммуникаций. В связи с этим актуализируется исследование феномена новой, виртуальной идентичности личности, формирующейся в интернет-среде. Цель публикации – обсуждение современного состояния изучения виртуальной идентичности и систематизация научных знаний о данном феномене. Методы, применявшиеся в работе, – теоретический анализ, синтез и обобщение. Результаты и научная новизна. Рассмотрены различные подходы к интерпретации виртуальной идентичности, обозначены тенденции ее исследования. Соотнесены понятия «реальная идентичность» и «виртуальная идентичность», выявлены особенности и риски формирования последней. Уточнены функции виртуальной идентичности. В общем виде она отражает субъективно-значимый образ «идеального Я», который, однако, компилируется из готового материала, набора символов и графических изображений интернет-среды и поэтому не обладает уникальностью. Описаны факторы конструирования человеком виртуальной идентичности, чаще всего возникающей по причине неудовлетворенности индивида своей реальной идентичностью или вследствие кризиса идентификации, при котором личность утрачивает целостность. Вместе с тем показано, что киберпространство предоставляет широкие возможности для самовыражения и максимального раскрытия личностного потенциала, реализации качеств, проигрывания ролей и переживания эмоций, оказавшихся из-за каких-либо обстоятельств фрустрированными в реальной жизни. Определены проблемные зоны чрезмерного погружения в виртуальное пространство. Злоупотребляя пребыванием в нем, незрелая личность может потерять жизненные ориентиры, усвоить запрограммированные решения и готовые мыслительные штампы. Социальное расторможение в интернет-среде существенно снижает морально-нравственный уровень коммуникации в социальных сетях и мессенджерах. Стремление всегда «быть онлайн», страх пропустить новое сообщение или пост усиливают тревожность пользователя, приводят к повышению у него утомляемости и раздражительности, ослаблению внимания и волевой регуляции, обострению гиподинамии.Сделан вывод о необходимости продолжения изучения специфики социализации в интернет-среде, поскольку она вырабатывает новые формы возрастного развития, изменяя его задачи и представления детей и подростков о социальных отношениях, трансформируя в их сознании идеальный образ последующих возрастных этапов. Практическая значимость. Материалы статьи могут найти применение в деятельности социальных педагогов, педагогов-психологов и иных специалистов, занимающихся вопросами детской и подростковой социализации.

Selected papers from the 14th Annual Bio-Ontologies Special Interest Group Meeting

Over the 14 years, the Bio-Ontologies SIG at ISMB has provided a forum for discussion of the latest and most innovative research in the bio-ontologies development, its applications to biomedicine and more generally the organisation, presentation and dissemination of knowledge in biomedicine and the life sciences. The seven papers selected for this supplement span a wide range of topics including: web-based querying over multiple ontologies, integration of data from wikis, innovative methods of annotating and mining electronic health records, advances in annotating web documents and biomedical literature, quality control of ontology alignments, and the ontology support for predictive models about toxicity and open access to the toxicity data

Selected papers from the 13th Annual Bio-Ontologies Special Interest Group Meeting

Over the years, the Bio-Ontologies SIG at ISMB has provided a forum for discussion of the latest and most innovative research in the application of ontologies and more generally the organisation, presentation and dissemination of knowledge in biomedicine and the life sciences. The ten papers selected for this supplement are extended versions of the original papers presented at the 2010 SIG. The papers span a wide range of topics including practical solutions for data and knowledge integration for translational medicine, hypothesis based querying , understanding kidney and urinary pathways, mining the pharmacogenomics literature; theoretical research into the orthogonality of biomedical ontologies, the representation of diseases, the representation of research hypotheses, the combination of ontologies and natural language processing for an annotation framework, the generation of textual definitions, and the discovery of gene interaction networks