Edinburgh Napier University

About: Edinburgh Napier University is a education organization based out in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 2665 authors who have published 6859 publications receiving 175272 citations.

The genetic algorithm as a discovery engine: strange circuits and new principles

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter puts forward the view that evolutionary algorithms together with the assemble-and-test methodology can be regarded as a discovery engine or creative machine for new designs. The chapter suggests that new principles may be discovered by examining a series of evolved designs, in this case, for arithmetic logic circuits. The chapter examines the concept of the space of all circuit representations but observes that similar ideas may well carry over to the general field of design. The human-designed algebras that form subsets of the space of all representations both for binary and multiple-valued systems are analogous to small “pools” of human principles, and by employing the blind evolutionary technique new principles may be discovered. The chapter looks at the difficult problem of principle extraction from evolved data. The chapter ends on a hopeful note that the process of learning new principles from a blind evolutionary process is just a matter of time.

Relating the physicochemical characteristics and dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in different suspension media to their oxidative reactivity in vitro and inflammation in vivo.

Abstract: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production is important in the toxicity of pathogenic particles such as fibres. We examined the oxidative potential of straight (50 microm and 10 microm) and tangled carbon nanotubes in a cell free assay, in vitro and in vivo using different dispersants. The cell free oxidative potential of tangled nanotubes was higher than for the straight fibres. In cultured macrophages tangled tubes exhibited significantly more ROS at 30 min, while straight tubes increased ROS at 4 h. ROS was significantly higher in bronchoalveolar lavage cells of animals instilled with tangled and 10 mum straight fibres, whereas the number of neutrophils increased only in animals treated with the long tubes. Addition of dispersants in the suspension media lead to enhanced ROS detection by entangled tubes in the cell-free system. Tangled fibres generated more ROS in a cell-free system and in cultured cells, while straight fibres generated a slower but more prolonged effect in animals.

Encountering Misrecognition: Being Mistaken for Being Muslim

Abstract: Exploring both debates about misrecognition and explorations of encounters, this article focuses on the experiences of ethnic and religious minority young people who are mistaken for being Muslim in Scotland. We explore experiences of encountering misrecognition, including young people's understandings of, and responses to, such encounters. Recognizing how racism and religious discrimination operate to marginalize people—and how people manage and respond to this—is crucial in the struggle for social justice. Our focus is on young people from a diversity of ethnic and religious minority groups who are growing up in urban, suburban, and rural Scotland, 382 of whom participated in forty-five focus groups and 224 interviews. We found that young Sikhs, Hindus, and other south Asian young people as well as black and Caribbean young people were regularly mistaken for being Muslim. These encounters tended to take place at school, in taxis, at the airport, and in public spaces. Our analysis points to a dynamic set...