Genetics of Obesity

Numerous classical genetic studies have proved that genes are contributory factors for obesity. Genes are directly responsible for obesity associated disorders such as Bardet–Biedl and Prader–Willi syndromes. However, both genes as well as environment are associated with obesity in the general population. Genetic epidemiological approaches, particularly genome-wide association studies, have unraveled many genes which play important roles in human obesity. Elucidation of their biological functions can be very useful for understanding pathobiology of obesity. In the near future, further exploration of obesity genetics may help to develop useful diagnostic and predictive tests for obesity treatment.     

My avatar,my self: Virtual harm and attachment

Multi-user online environments involve millions of participants world-wide. In these online communities participants can use their online personas – avatars – to chat, fight, make friends, have sex, kill monsters and even get married. Unfortunately participants can also use their avatars to stalk, kill, sexually assault, steal from and torture each other. Despite attempts to minimise the likelihood of interpersonal virtual harm, programmers cannot remove all possibility of online deviant behaviour. Participants are often greatly distressed when their avatars are harmed by other participants’ malicious actions, yet there is a tendency in the literature on this topic to dismiss such distress as evidence of too great an involvement in and identification with the online character. In this paper I argue that this dismissal of virtual harm is based on a set of false assumptions about the nature of avatar attachment and its relation to genuine moral harm. I argue that we cannot dismiss avatar attachment as morally insignificant without being forced to also dismiss other, more acceptable, forms of attachment such as attachment to possessions, people and cultural objects and communities. Arguments against according moral significance to virtual harm fail because they do not reflect participants’ and programmers’ experiences and expectations of virtual communities and they have the unintended consequence of failing to grant significance to attachments that we take for granted, morally speaking. Avatar attachment is expressive of identity and self-conception and should therefore be accorded the moral significance we give to real-life attachments that play a similar role. A shorter version of this paper was presented at the Cyberspace 2005 Conference at Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic     

具有二次性能指标的最优输出反馈的一个必要条件

本文用矩阵的秩这个工具考察了有限维线性系统具有二次性能指标的最优输出反馈问题，得到了一个必要条件。特殊情形下，这一条件可以演化为最优输出反馈增益与观测矩阵的乘积即为状态反馈增益这个相当清晰的关系。     

脑科学与类脑研究概述

脑科学和类脑智能技术是两个重要的前沿科技领域;二者相互借鉴、相互融合的发展是近年来国际科学界涌现的新趋势。脑科学研究对大脑认知神经原理的认识,提升了人类对自身的理解和脑重大疾病的诊治水平,也为发展类脑计算系统和器件、突破传统计算机架构的束缚提供了重要的依据。文章概括性地总结了国际脑科学和智能技术领域的总体进展,未来15年的发展趋势和有望解决的重大科学问题,以及我国在这两领域发展的特色和优势。     

科技服务业系统功能分析

科技服务业是科技发展战略及规划研究中的一个新的热点问题.应用系统论、控制论的思想和方法,结合我国现行科技管理体制和科技市场运行特征,依据科技成果产业化进程,分析研究科技服务业的系统构成和功能作用,从而,为区域科技政策的制定和优化提供思路.