45 research outputs found
Competition and band-pass filtering in biology: modelling and experimental validation in membrane trafficking and post-transcriptional gene regulation
No full textL'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen
microRNA-Mediated Encoding and Decoding of Time-Dependent Signals in Tumorigenesis
No full textmicroRNAs, pivotal post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, in the past decades have caught the attention of researchers for their involvement in different biological processes, ranging from cell development to cancer. Although lots of effort has been devoted to elucidate the topological features and the equilibrium properties of microRNA-mediated motifs, little is known about how the information encoded in frequency, amplitude, duration, and other features of their regulatory signals can affect the resulting gene expression patterns. Here, we review the current knowledge about microRNA-mediated gene regulatory networks characterized by time-dependent input signals, such as pulses, transient inputs, and oscillations. First, we identify the general characteristic of the main motifs underlying temporal patterns. Then, we analyze their impact on two commonly studied oncogenic networks, showing how their dysfunction can lead to tumorigenesis
ELSI of AI : Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Artificial Intelligence
No full textapplication/pdfR&D for artificial intelligence（“AI”）or usage thereof requires consideration on ethical, legal, and social implications （“ELSI”） because AI inherently contains dangerous characteristics such as uncontrollability, opacity, and unforeseeability. In this piece, the author tries to persuade readers to understand the necessity of ELSI through narratives and by focusing upon un-controllability of AI. He picks up some exemplary narratives from famous sci-fi films such as Robocop（Orion Pictures 1987）and 2001 Space Odyssey（MGM 1968）. Also he shows some counter-measures against the un-controllability of AI.departmental bulletin pape
The future of educational psychology
No full textEducational psychology is airing its anguish in public, and if the assertions of Brown (2010), Coleman and Pine (2010), and Hornby (2010) are to be believed then this professional discipline is indeed in a parlous state. As a psychologist who worked for the old Department of Education's Psychological Service, and subsequently for the Special Education Service and Specialist Education Services, I also think that educational psychology is in trouble. However, the history of occupations is littered with the wrecks of vocations that have become redundant to requirements. At the outset of his paper, Brown 2010 raises the possibility that educational psychologists are a species that may speedily become extinct because of hostile environments, and this parallel with the natural world is another reminder that change happens as circumstances alter
Mapping international research output within ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of assisted reproductive technologies
No full textResearch about ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is infuenced by cultural and value-based perspectives. It impacts regulations, funding, and clinical practice, and shapes the perception of ART in society. We analyze trends in the global literature on ELSI of ART between 1999 and 2019. As most output
is produced by North America, Western Europe, and Australia, we focus on international research, i.e., academic articles
studying a diferent country than that of the corresponding author.
Methods The corpus, extracted from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, includes 7714 articles, of which 1260 involved
international research. Analysis is based on titles, abstracts and keywords, classifcation into ART felds and Topic Modeling,
the countries of corresponding author, and countries mentioned in abstracts.
Results An absolute increase in the number of international studies, and their relative proportion. Trends of decentralization
are apparent, yet geographic centralization remains, which refects an unequal distribution of research funds across countries
and may result in fndings that do not refect global diversity of norms and values. Preference for studying conceptual challenges through philosophical analysis, and for felds that concern only a portion of ART cycles. Less attention was dedicated
to economic analysis and barriers to access, or to knowledge of and attitudes. International studies provide an opportunity
to expand and diversify the scope of ELSI research.
Conclusion We call on the research community to promote international collaborations, focus on less explored regions, and
divert more attention to questions of cost, access, knowledge, and attitude
The Human Genome Project and ELSI: The Imperative of Technology and the Reduction of the Public Ethics Debate
No full textabstract: In the past century, a number of technological projects have been undertaken as grand solutions to social problems. In the so called century of biology, this technological world view focuses on biomedical advances. The President of the United States, who once called for nuclear weapons and space exploration, now calls for new biotechnologies, such as genomics, individualized medicine, and nanotechnology, which will improve the world by improving our biological lives. Portrayed as the Manhattan Project of the late 20th Century, the Human Genome Project (HGP) not only undertook the science of sequencing the human genome but also the ethics of it. For this thesis I ask how the HGP did this; what was the range of possibilities of goods and evils imagined by the HGP; and what, if anything, was left out. I show that the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) research program of the HGP was inscribed with the competencies of the professional field of bioethics, which had lent itself useful for governing biomedical science and technology earlier in the 20th century. Drawing on a sociological framework for understanding the development of professional bioethics, I describe the development of ELSI, and I note how the given-in-advance boundaries between authorized/unauthorized questions shaped its formation and biased technologically based conceptualizations of social problems and potential solutions. In this sense, the HGP and ELSI served both as the ends of policy and as instruments of self-legitimation, thus re-inscribing and enacting the structures for these powerful sociotechnical imaginaries. I engage the HGP and ELSI through historical, sociological, and political philosophical analysis, by examining their immediate context of the NIH, the meso level of professional/disciplinary bioethics, and the larger context of American democracy and modernity. My argument is simultaneously a claim about how questions are asked and how knowledge and expertise are made, exposing the relationship between the HGP and ELSI as a mutually constitutive and reciprocally related form of coproduction of knowledge and social structures. I finish by arguing that ELSI is in a better position than bioethics to carry out the original project of that field, i.e., to provide a space to elucidate certain institutionally authorized questions about science and technology. Finally, I venture into making a prophecy about the future of ELSI and bioethics: that the former will replace the latter as a locus for only formally rational and thin ethical debates.Dissertation/ThesisM.S. Biology 201
Out-of-Equilibrium ceRNA Crosstalk
No full textAmong non-coding RNAs, microRNAs are pivotal post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression in higher eukaryotes. Through a titration-based mechanism of interaction with their target RNAs, microRNAs can mediate a weak but pervasive form of RNA cross-regulation, as different endogenous RNAs can be effectively coupled by competing for microRNA binding (a phenomenon now known as “crosstalk”). Mathematical modeling has been proven of great help in unraveling many features of these competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) interactions. However, although many studies have been devoted to the steady-state properties of this indirect regulatory layer, little is known about how the information encoded in frequency, amplitude, duration, and other features of regulatory signals can affect the resulting ceRNA crosstalk picture and hence the overall patterns of gene expression. Here, we focus on such dynamical aspects, with a special emphasis on the encoding and decoding of time-dependent signals
ELSI Model: Bridging user engagement around interactive public displays and media facades in urban spaces
No full textweimar.de With recent technological advancements and significant price drops of display technologies interactive digital displays rapidly find their way into urban environments. Researchers have been modeling coordination and engagement around displays, either around 1) small-scale situated displays or 2) large-scale urban screens such as media facades. To this day, the two are considered as different domains. In this paper we take a first step towards bridging the gap between both types of displays by deriving a general, dynamic model we call elastic space-interaction (ELSI) model of user engagement around interactive public displays and media facades. The ELSI model provides a common terminology for describing engagement around interactive displays and media facades, improves compatibility across studies, and points out how to observe changes in user coordination and engagement introduced by different screen sizes and interaction techniques. Author Keywords Public displays, media facades, user engagement modeling, urban computing, interactivity
Unraveling the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Neurobiobanking and Stroke Genomic Research in Africa: A Study Protocol of the African Neurobiobank for Precision Stroke Medicine ELSI Project
No full text\ua9 The Author(s) 2020.The ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of emerging neurobiobanks and data resources are unclear in an African scientific landscape with unique cultural, linguistic, and belief systems. The overarching goal of the African Neurobiobank for Precision Stroke Medicine–—ELSI Project is to identify, examine, and develop novel approaches to address ELSI issues of biobanking and stroke genomic research in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To accomplish the goal we will (1) explore knowledge, attitude, perceptions, barriers, and facilitators influencing ELSI issues related to biobanking and stroke genomic research; (2) use information obtained to craft a community intervention program focused on ELSI issues; and (3) build capacity and careers related to genomics and biobanking for effective client/community engagement while enhancing regulatory, governance, and implementation competences in biobanking science in SSA. A community-based participatory research and mixed-methodological approach, focused on various levels of the social ecological model, will be used to identify and examine relevant ELSI issues. Contextual intervention tools, platforms, and practices will be developed to enhance community understanding and participation in stroke biobanking and genomics research activities while facilitating enduring trust, and equitable and fair utilization of biobanking resources for genetic and trans-omics research. A concurrent capacity building program related to genetic counseling and biobanking will be implemented for early career researchers. The huge potential for neurobiobanking and genomics research in Africa to advance precision medicine applicable to stroke and other neurological disorders requires addressing ELSI challenges while building sustainable research, career, and regulatory capacities in trans-omics and biobanking science
Rab11-mediated trafficking and human cancers: An updated review
No full textMany disorders block and subvert basic cellular processes in order to boost their pro-gression. One protein family that is prone to be altered in human cancers is the small GTPase RAB11 family, the master regulator of vesicular trafficking. RAB11 isoforms function as membrane organizers connecting the transport of cargoes towards the plasma membrane with the assembly of autophagic precursors and the generation of cellular protrusions. These processes dramatically impact normal cell physiology and their alteration significantly affects the survival, progression and metastatization as well as the accumulation of toxic materials of cancer cells. In this review, we dis-cuss biological mechanisms ensuring cargo recognition and sorting through a RAB11-dependent pathway, a prerequisite to understand the effect of RAB11 alterations in human cancers
