Engineering & Technology

Protein structure prediction with machine learning

Shuichiro Makigaki and Dr Takashi Ishida, from the Department of Computer Science at Tokyo Institute of Technology, are developing a new sequence alignment generation model that employs machine learning and dynamic programming to predict protein structures. This novel methodology can also be applied to homology detection which is fundamental to bioinformatics. A protein’s function is dictated by its three-dimensional structure. If the structure is […]

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Engineering & Technology

Crisis management: Using Artificial Intelligence to help save lives

Climate change, and humanitarian issues such as the movement of refugees can create challenges for crisis management and emergency response, particularly in developing countries. Dr Mayank Kejriwal, based at the University of Southern California is passionate about applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) to social problems. He is working with colleagues to develop tools that extract critical data sent via social media […]

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Engineering & Technology

Qualitative monitoring of information infrastructures: A case study

When it comes to measuring the effectiveness of research and implementation projects, funders usually favour hard facts and statistics that easily translate into soundbites. As a result, quantitative evaluation methods usually win the day. But a European Directive to create an infrastructure to allow countries to capture, use and share computerised environmental data (geographic information systems, or GIS) has also […]

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Engineering & Technology

How Industry 4.0 affects SMEs in Germany and China

The world has experienced three industrial revolutions in 250 years. Each has radically changed both manufacturing processes and our working and daily lives. Now we are on the threshold of a fourth, the digitally enabled and interconnected “Industry 4.0” whose impact could be even greater still. Professor Dr Julian Müller, from the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences in Austria, studied small […]

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Engineering & Technology

Sender-controlled private email Electronic privacy with EPRIVO

Dr Csaba Andras Moritz, Founder and Chairman of BlueRISC Inc. and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Massachusetts Amherst, together with Senior Research Scientist Dr Santosh Khasanvis, Technical Director Kristopher Carver, and research staff, are addressing digital privacy issues. In particular, the team are exploring the vulnerability of communication to privacy violations, and enabling private collaborations with […]

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Engineering & Technology

Reproducible computer vision. Cross-disciplinary and scalable image informatics

The LIMPID, or Large-Scale IMage Processing Infrastructure Development project aims to help scientists around the world to share information and advance the reproducibility of methods in the field of computer vision – or how computers ‘see’ and analyse images. The LIMPID project has applications in fields as diverse as materials science, biology, neuroscience, marine science, remote sensing, and medicine. The […]

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Engineering & Technology

Information compression as a unifying principle in human learning, perception, and cognition, and as a foundation for the SP Theory of Intelligence

In an extended programme of research, Dr Gerry Wolff of CognitionResearch.org, with colleagues, has been developing the SP Theory of Intelligence and its realisation in the SP Computer Model – and exploring their potential applications. A unifying principle in this research is that much of human learning, perception, and cognition, may be understood as compression of information. A key development in […]

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Engineering & Technology

Bayesian inference for 21st century drug development and approval

Traditional statistical hypothesis testing methods have been the mainstay of global regulatory agencies for decades. Dr Stephen Ruberg of Analytix Thinking, argues that a Bayesian approach, combining current data with prior knowledge, offers advantages over traditional methods. He reasons that these quantifiable probability assertions from Bayesian approaches are much more beneficial to both doctors and patients. Regulators should also find […]

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Engineering & Technology

Justice served? Discrimination in algorithmic risk assessment

Algorithmic risk assessment plays a pivotal part in determining an offender’s future, but it isn’t without its flaws. Dr Melissa Hamilton of the University of Surrey puts these flaws under the spotlight, with particular focus on algorithmic fairness and gender bias in criminal justice decision making. In our burgeoning world of information technology, algorithms are at the heart of modern […]

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Engineering & Technology

Enhancing Wi-Fi communication with effective CSI approximations

We increasingly rely on wireless networks for our everyday lives. Dr Zhenghao Zhang, a Full Professor at Florida State University, and his research team are developing the theory and applications of Channel State Information (CSI), or the status of communication links, in Wi-Fi networks. Their aim: to enable faster, more reliable wireless communications to be used in diverse applications from […]

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