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Scientific Discovery (scientific + discovery)
Selected AbstractsImplementation, performance, and science results from a 30.7 TFLOPS IBM BladeCenter clusterCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 2 2010Craig A. Stewart Abstract This paper describes Indiana University's implementation, performance testing, and use of a large high performance computing system. IU's Big Red, a 20.48 TFLOPS IBM e1350 BladeCenter cluster, appeared in the 27th Top500 list as the 23rd fastest supercomputer in the world in June 2006. In spring 2007, this computer was upgraded to 30.72 TFLOPS. The e1350 BladeCenter architecture, including two internal networks accessible to users and user applications and two networks used exclusively for system management, has enabled the system to provide good scalability on many important applications while being well manageable. Implementing a system based on the JS21 Blade and PowerPC 970MP processor within the US TeraGrid presented certain challenges, given that Intel-compatible processors dominate the TeraGrid. However, the particular characteristics of the PowerPC have enabled it to be highly popular among certain application communities, particularly users of molecular dynamics and weather forecasting codes. A critical aspect of Big Red's implementation has been a focus on Science Gateways, which provide graphical interfaces to systems supporting end-to-end scientific workflows. Several Science Gateways have been implemented that access Big Red as a computational resource,some via the TeraGrid, some not affiliated with the TeraGrid. In summary, Big Red has been successfully integrated with the TeraGrid, and is used by many researchers locally at IU via grids and Science Gateways. It has been a success in terms of enabling scientific discoveries at IU and, via the TeraGrid, across the US. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The next exclusion debate: Assessing technology, ethics, and intellectual disability after the human genome projectDEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH REVIEW, Issue 2 2007Kelly M. Munger Abstract Recent scientific discoveries have made it much easier to test prenatally for various genetic disabilities, such as Down syndrome. However, while many observers have heralded such "advances" for their effectiveness in detecting certain conditions, others have argued that they perpetuate discrimination by preventing the birth of children with disabilities. This article examines the ethical and social implications of the Human Genome Project for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. It details the critique of prenatal testing articulated by many disability rights activists as well as scholarly and professional responses to that critique. A review of the pertinent research literature includes perspectives of genetic professionals, ethicists, disability studies scholars, parents of children with disabilities, and disabled individuals themselves. Finally, the article explores how future research endeavors, policies, and practices may more effectively integrate and respect the positions of these various stakeholders. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. MRDD Research Reviews 2007;13:121,128. [source] Sure independence screening for ultrahigh dimensional feature spaceJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES B (STATISTICAL METHODOLOGY), Issue 5 2008Jianqing Fan Summary., Variable selection plays an important role in high dimensional statistical modelling which nowadays appears in many areas and is key to various scientific discoveries. For problems of large scale or dimensionality p, accuracy of estimation and computational cost are two top concerns. Recently, Candes and Tao have proposed the Dantzig selector using L1 -regularization and showed that it achieves the ideal risk up to a logarithmic factor log (p). Their innovative procedure and remarkable result are challenged when the dimensionality is ultrahigh as the factor log (p) can be large and their uniform uncertainty principle can fail. Motivated by these concerns, we introduce the concept of sure screening and propose a sure screening method that is based on correlation learning, called sure independence screening, to reduce dimensionality from high to a moderate scale that is below the sample size. In a fairly general asymptotic framework, correlation learning is shown to have the sure screening property for even exponentially growing dimensionality. As a methodological extension, iterative sure independence screening is also proposed to enhance its finite sample performance. With dimension reduced accurately from high to below sample size, variable selection can be improved on both speed and accuracy, and can then be accomplished by a well-developed method such as smoothly clipped absolute deviation, the Dantzig selector, lasso or adaptive lasso. The connections between these penalized least squares methods are also elucidated. [source] Beauty and the Economist: The Role of Aesthetics in Economic TheoryKYKLOS INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, Issue 1 2005Cassey Lee SUMMARY The importance of aesthetic considerations is widely acknowledged in mathematics and the natural sciences. Beauty motivates mathematical and scientific discoveries and serves as a criterion for their acceptance by the scientific community. In contrast, there is little attention to beauty in the models, theorems and other objects of economic theory. This holds even though mathematics is an important tool of economic analysis. The pure theory of international trade provides useful examples to discuss the role of aesthetics in economic theory. The central feature of the discipline of economics which distinguishes it from the natural sciences and appears to explain the paucity of beauty in economics is that economic models lack generality. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die Bedeutung ästhetischer Überlegungen ist in der Mathematik und den Naturwissenschaften aner-kannt. Schönheit motiviert mathematische und naturwissenschaftliche Entdeckungen und dient als Kriterium für deren Akzeptanz in der wissenschaftlichen Gemeinschaft. In den Modellen, Theore-men und anderen Fragestellungen der ökonomischen Theorie wird hingegen kaum auf Schönheit ge-achtet; dies, obwohl Mathematik ein wichtiges Instrument der ökonomischen Analyse ist. Die reine Theorie des internationalen Handels bietet brauchbare Beispiele, um die Rolle der Ästhetik in der ökonomischen Theorie zu diskutieren. Was die Wirtschaftswissenschaften am deutlichsten von den Naturwissenschaften unterscheidet und den Mangel an Schönheit zu erklären scheint ist die Tatsache, dass ökonomische Modelle nicht allgemeingültig sind. [source] Translational experimental therapeutics: The translation of laboratory-based discovery into disease-related therapyMOUNT SINAI JOURNAL OF MEDICINE: A JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED AND TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2007Karl Kieburtz MD Abstract In the past decade, there has been an increasing emphasis on laboratory-based translational research. This has led to significant scientific advances in our understanding of disease mechanisms and in the development of novel approaches to therapy such as gene therapy, RNA interference, and stem cells. However, the translation of these remarkable scientific achievements into new and effective disease-modifying therapies has lagged behind these scientific accomplishments. We use the term "translational experimental therapeutics" to describe the pathway between the discovery of a basic disease mechanism or novel therapeutic approach and its translation into an effective treatment for patients with a specific disease. In this article, we review the components of this pathway, and discuss issues that might impede this process. Only by optimizing this pathway can we realize the full therapeutic potential of current scientific discoveries and translate the astounding advances that have been accomplished in the laboratory into effective treatments for our patients. Mt Sinai J Med 74: 7-14, 2007. Copyright © 2007 Mount Sinai School of Medicine [source] Penile Rehabilitation after Radical Prostatectomy: Where Do We Stand and Where Are We Going?THE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 4ii 2007FACS, Run Wang MD ABSTRACT Introduction., Postprostatectomy erectile dysfunction (ED) remains a serious quality-of-life issue. Recent advances in the understanding of the mechanism of postprostatectomy ED have stimulated great attention toward penile rehabilitation. Aim., This review presents and analyzes a contemporary series of the recent medical literature pertaining to penile rehabilitation therapy after radical prostatectomy (RP). Main Outcome Measures., The laboratory and clinical studies related to penile rehabilitation are analyzed. The validity of the methodology and the conclusion of the findings from each study are determined. Methods., The published and presented reports dealing with penile rehabilitation following RP in human and cavernous nerve injury in animal models are reviewed. Results., Exciting scientific discoveries have improved our understanding of postprostatectomy ED at the molecular level. The rationale for postprostatectomy penile rehabilitation appears to be logical according to animal studies. However, clinical studies have not consistently replicated the beneficial effects found in the laboratory studies. Currently available clinical studies are flawed due to short-term follow-up, small number of patients in the studies, studies with retrospective nature, or prospective studies without control. Rehabilitation programs are also facing a challenge with the compliance, which is critical for success for any rehabilitation program. At the present time, we do not have concrete evidence to recommend what, when, how long, and how often a particular penile rehabilitative therapy can be used effectively. Conclusions., Large prospective, multicentered, placebo-controlled trials with adequate follow-up are necessary to determine the cost-effective and therapeutic benefits of particular penile rehabilitative therapy or therapies in patients following the treatment of clinically localized prostate cancer. Until such evidence is available, it is difficult to recommend any particular penile rehabilitation program as a standard of practice. Wang R. Penile rehabilitation after radical prostatectomy: Where do we stand and where are we going? J Sex Med 2007;4:1085,1097. [source] Exploring Chemical Modifications for siRNA Therapeutics: A Structural and Functional OutlookCHEMMEDCHEM, Issue 3 2010Siddharth Shukla Abstract RNA interference (RNAi) is a post-transcriptional gene silencing mechanism induced by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and micro-RNAs (miRNAs), and has proved to be one of the most important scientific discoveries made in the last century. The robustness of RNAi has opened up new avenues in the development of siRNAs as therapeutic agents against various diseases including cancer and HIV. However, there had remained a lack of a clear mechanistic understanding of messenger RNA (mRNA) cleavage mediated by Argonaute2 of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), due to inadequate structural data. The X-ray crystal structures of the Argonaute (Ago),DNA,RNA complexes reported recently have proven to be a breakthrough in this field, and the structural details can provide guidelines for the design of the next generation of siRNA therapeutics. To harness siRNAs as therapeutic agents, the prudent use of various chemical modifications is warranted to enhance nuclease resistance, prevent immune activation, decrease off-target effects, and to improve pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. The focus of this review is to interpret the tolerance of various chemical modifications employed in siRNAs toward RNAi by taking into account the crystal structures and biochemical studies of Ago,RNA complexes. Moreover, the challenges and recent progress in imparting druglike properties to siRNAs along with their delivery strategies are discussed. [source] Grid services for earthquake scienceCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 6-7 2002Geoffrey Fox Abstract We describe an information system architecture for the ACES (Asia,Pacific Cooperation for Earthquake Simulation) community. It addresses several key features of the field,simulations at multiple scales that need to be coupled together; real-time and archival observational data, which needs to be analyzed for patterns and linked to the simulations; a variety of important algorithms including partial differential equation solvers, particle dynamics, signal processing and data analysis; a natural three-dimensional space (plus time) setting for both visualization and observations; the linkage of field to real-time events both as an aid to crisis management and to scientific discovery. We also address the need to support education and research for a field whose computational sophistication is rapidly increasing and spans a broad range. The information system assumes that all significant data is defined by an XML layer which could be virtual, but whose existence ensures that all data is object-based and can be accessed and searched in this form. The various capabilities needed by ACES are defined as grid services, which are conformant with emerging standards and implemented with different levels of fidelity and performance appropriate to the application. Grid Services can be composed in a hierarchical fashion to address complex problems. The real-time needs of the field are addressed by high-performance implementation of data transfer and simulation services. Further, the environment is linked to real-time collaboration to support interactions between scientists in geographically distant locations. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] RNA editing in plant mitochondria: 20 years laterIUBMB LIFE, Issue 12 2009Michael W. Gray Abstract In 1989, three laboratories (in Canada, France and Germany) independently and simultaneously reported the discovery of C-to-U RNA editing in plant mitochondria (1,3). To mark the 20th anniversary of this finding, the leaders of the three research teams have written personal essays describing the events leading up to the discovery in each of their laboratories. These essays are intended not only to capture historical facts but also to illustrate unexpected convergence in the process of scientific discovery, with different groups coming to the same conclusion, often very close together in time, drawing on different types of evidence and via sometimes quite different hypotheses and approaches. Essential background information pertaining to RNA editing in general and RNA editing in plant organelles in particular is provided in this overview. © 2009 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 61: 1101,1104, 2009 [source] Materialism, Agnosticism and GodJOURNAL FOR THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR, Issue 4 2001Sean Creaven The longstanding philosophical debate between idealism and materialism has recently entered the ontological terrain of critical realism (CR) and dialectical critical realism (DCR). This has been initiated by Roy Bhaskar's most recent book, From East to West, which attempts an ambitious synthesis of philosophy, social theory and theology. On the one hand, Bhaskar's attempt to root his philosophy and social theory in a ,realist theory of God' has found an echo within the CR and DCR research camp, some of whose members would urge us to take seriously the possibility of a ,religious sociology'. On the other hand, Bhaskar's abrupt ,idealist turn' has left many critical realists flabbergasted and horrified, particularly those working at the interface between realist philosophy and Marxist social science, especially since Bhaskar's new philosophical trajec-tory is radically at odds with the ,synchronic emergent powers materialism' outlined in his The Possibility of Naturalism. In response to this ,split' within the CR and DCR camp, the spectre of ,realist agnosticism' has been raised and defended by Mervyn Hartwig in this journal. Since neither science nor philosophy can settle the issue of what kind of stuff constitutes ,rock bottom reality', it is rational to be agnostic on the ,ultimate question', to deny positively affirming the claims of either one side or the other. Now this is the move that is resisted in this paper. My argument is that ontolog-ical idealism is disputable on a number of grounds-philosophical, scientific, ethical and political. In particular, I argue that objective idealism is unsupported by rational knowledge, is riddled with conceptual and logical defects, is contrary to the logic of scientific discovery, and is an obstacle to eudaimonia (human emancipation). Further, since realist agnosticism rests its case on the myth of infallible knowledge, and obviously stands or falls with the defensibility or other-wise of objective idealism, this gives us ,good enough' reasons for accepting a thoroughgoing materialism as the ontological foundation of social theory. [source] Toward a consilient science of psychologyJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2005Kevin L. Rand From its inception, psychology has been characterized by conceptual fragmentation and slow scientific progress (Henriques, 2004; Meehl, 1978). In contrast, the natural sciences have achieved in recent decades a remarkable degree of consilience,the linking of fact, theory, and method across disciplines (and subdisciplines) and across nested levels of informational complexity (Wilson, 1998). Although such consilience serves as a potent catalyst of scientific discovery, there exists several barriers to the emergence of a consilient science of psychology (e.g., the persistent influence of dualism, longstanding internecine discord, resistance to perceived reductionism, etc.). We discuss the manner in which the development of metatheoretical frameworks (including Henriques' Tree of Knowledge model) may play an important role in addressing such barriers. Likewise, we describe the hybrid interdisciplinary domain of cognitive neuroscience, which provides an empirically testable metatheory and a promising consilient bridge between psychology and the natural sciences. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol. [source] Supporting scientific discovery learning in a simulation environmentJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 1 2003D.J. Reid Abstract Until recent times, most studies on supporting simulation-based scientific discovery learning adopted the ad hoc strategies-oriented approach. This paper makes a systematic analysis of the internal conditions of scientific discovery learning to propose a triple scheme for learning support design that includes interpretative support (IS), experimental support (ES), and reflective support (RS). The experiment was conducted with 78 students (aged from 12 to 13 years) to examine the effects of the IS and ES using a 2x2 between-subjects design. The main results were: significant effects were observed for IS on the post-test of intuitive understanding, flexible application and knowledge integration; no main effect was demonstrated for ES, and there was a marginally significant interactive effect for ES and IS on the intuitive understanding test. A process analysis showed that the successful learners had designed more well-controlled experiments than the failing ones. Learning support in a simulation environment should be directed toward the three perspectives to invite meaningful, systematic and reflective discovery learning. [source] Our genes are not our destiny: incorporating molecular medicine into clinical practiceJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2008Stephen J. Genuis MD FRCSC DABOG DABEM FAAEM Abstract In many developed nations, the state of publicly administered health care is increasingly precarious as a result of escalating numbers of chronically ill patients, inadequate medical personnel and hospital facilities, as well as sparse funding for ongoing upgrades to state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic technology , an increased emphasis on aetiology-centred medicine should be considered in order to achieve improved health for patients and populations. Medical practice patterns which are designed to provide quick and effective amelioration of signs and symptoms are frequently not an enduring solution to many health afflictions and chronic disease states. Recent scientific discovery has rendered the drug-oriented algorithmic paradigm commonly found in contemporary evidence-based medicine to be a reductionist approach to clinical practice. Unfolding evidence appears to support a genetic predisposition model of health and illness rather than a fatalistic predestination construct , modifiable epigenetic and environmental factors have enormous potential to influence clinical outcomes. By understanding and applying fundamental clinical principles relating to the emerging fields of molecular medicine, nutrigenomics and human exposure assessment, doctors will be empowered to address causality of affliction when possible and achieve sustained reprieve for many suffering patients. [source] DataNet: An emerging cyberinfrastructure for sharing, reusing and preserving digital data for scientific discovery and learningAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 11 2009Jae W. Lee First page of article [source] History, heresy and radiology in scientific discoveryJOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY, Issue 5 2009J McCredie Summary Nowadays, most drugs reach the market after research has established their pharmacology, safety and efficacy. That was not always the case 50 years ago. Thalidomide was used before its target cell or mode of action were known. Commencing with the thalidomide catastrophe , an epidemic of gross birth defects (1958,1962) , thalidomide's origins are revisited to show how this drug came to be made and sold in the 1950s. Thalidomide intersected with Australian radiology in the 1970s. The site and mode of action of the drug was deduced from X-rays of thalidomide-induced bone defects, which have classical radiological signs of sensory neuropathic osteoarthropathy. The longitudinal reduction deformities follow the distribution of segmental sensory innervation of the limb skeleton, indicating neural crest as the target organ. Injury to one level of neural crest halts normal neurotrophism and deletes the dependent segment , a previously unrecognised embryonic mechanism that explains most non-genetic birth defects. The final common pathway is neural crest injury and failure of normal neurotrophism to result in longitudinal reduction deformities, for example, phocomelia. [source] When scientific knowledge becomes scientific discovery: The disappearance of classical conditioning before PavlovJOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, Issue 4 2002Biology, Cheryl A. Logan Professor of Psychology In the nineteenth century, scientific materials in experimental physiology changed dramatically. In this context, phenomena that had been widely accepted were lost, sometimes to be reintroduced later as "discoveries." I describe the loss of the phenomenon of classical conditioning, later rediscovered by Ivan Pavlov. In 1896, Austrian physiologist Alois Kreidl demonstrated experimentally that animals anticipate the occurrence of food that is cued by a variety of stimuli. Kreidl stated, moreover, that the fact that animals can be called to food had been widely known to science since the 1830s. I describe Kreidl's work and discuss several factors that may have led to the disappearance of conditioning prior to its rediscovery by Pavlov. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Tumour virology , history, status and future challengesAPMIS, Issue 5-6 2009KARL-HENNING KALLAND Viruses enter host cells in order to complete their life cycles and have evolved to exploit host cell structures, regulatory factors and mechanisms. The virus and host cell interactions have consequences at multiple levels, spanning from evolution through disease to models and tools for scientific discovery and treatment. Virus-induced human cancers arise after a long duration of time and are monoclonal or oligoclonal in origin. Cancer is therefore a side effect rather than an essential part of viral infections in humans. Still, 15,20% of all human cancers are caused by viruses. A review of tumour virology shows its close integration in cancer research. Viral tools and experimental models have been indispensible for the progress of molecular biology. In particular, retroviruses and DNA tumour viruses have played major roles in our present understanding of the molecular biology of both viruses and the host. Recently, additional complex relationships due to virus and host co-evolution have appeared and may lead to a further understanding of the overall regulation of gene expression programmes in cancer. [source] An overview of the heterogeneous telescope network system: Concept, scalability and operationASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 3 2008R.R. White Abstract In the coming decade there will be an avalanche of data streams devoted to astronomical exploration opening new windows of scientific discovery. The shear volume of data and the diversity of event types (Kantor 2006; Kaiser 2004; Vestrand & Theiler & Wozniak 2004) will necessitate; the move to a common language for the communication of event data, and enabling telescope systems with the ability to not just simply respond, but to act independently in order to take full advantage of available resources in a timely manner. Developed over the past three years, the Virtual Observatory Event (VOEvent) provides the best format for carrying these diverse event messages (White et al. 2006a; Seaman & Warner 2006). However, in order for the telescopes to be able to act independently, a system of interoperable network nodes must be in place, that will allow the astronomical assets to not only issue event notifications, but to coordinate and request specific observations. The Heterogeneous Telescope Network (HTN) is a network architecture that can achieve the goals set forth and provide a scalable design to match both fully autonomous and manual telescope system needs (Allan et al. 2006a;White et al. 2006b; Hessman 2006b). In this paper we will show the design concept of this meta-network and nodes, their scalable architecture and complexity, and how this concept can meet the needs of institutions in the near future. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] | ||||||||||||||||