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Complex Worlds from Simpler Nervous Systems By Frederick R. Prete
2004 | 457 Pages | ISBN: 0262162237 | PDF | 5 MB
Anyone curious as to extent to which various human cognitive and neural capabilities are can exist in nervous systems that are much smaller and simpler than humans will gain a lot from the perusal of this book. But more importantly, the book also offers a glimpse of how these nervous systems are able to deal with their environment in ways that perpetuate the survival of the organisms that possess them. Their abilities in many ways surpass those of humans, but the comparison with humans should really not be the focus of attention. The most important thing to gain from the reading of this book is that nervous systems have evolved in ways that are advantageous to the organism. As two authors in the book expressed it, "the abilities of an animal seem to be governed largely by what it needs to pursue its lifestyle." All of the articles in this book are interesting, but for lack of space only three of them will be reviewed here. The authors of the article "Exploration of Cognitive Capability in Honeybees: Higher Functions Emerge from a Small Brain", give a brief but fascinating overview of the research that has been performed in the neural and learning capabilities of honeybees. It is incredible fact, as brought out in the article, that the brain of the worker honeybee is only one cubic millimeter in volume, has a mass of only 1 mg, and has less than a million neurons. In spite of these dimensions however, honeybees are still able to process visual and motion information in ways that are very similar to the way that humans do. Indeed the honeybee is able to engage in pattern recognition, perception, and the learning of complex tasks. Honeybees are able to take pattern presented to them, train on these patterns, and use what they have learned to evaluate new patterns presented to them. Most interestingly, the authors describe experiments that show that honeybees are able to perceive some of the illusions that humans do. Other abilities discussed include learning to negotiate complex mazes, and are able to count landmarks as they do. Furthermore, they make use of rules that worked in the past in order to navigate through mazes. Thus bees exhibit a remarkable ability to construct concepts. The authors also mention the exciting prospect of constructing a learning machine that is capable of performing behavior similar to the honeybee. Given the size of the honeybee brain, this certainly seems like a goal that could be readily accomplished. In the article "In the Mind of a Hunter: The Visual World of Praying Mantis", the authors present the mantis as being an insect that is very complex from the standpoint of its ability to process information, being manifested in what the authors refer to as "plastic behaviors." Anyone who has observed a praying mantis in a garden or other places outdoors cannot help but be fascinated by their behavior. This article puts these behaviors on a neurological foundation, and the picture the authors paint is a very interesting one. The reader learns of the compound eyes of the praying mantis, which allow visualization in every direction. The range of light intensity (four log units) allows the mantis to distinguish between different objects. Amazingly, their eyes have about nine thousand sampling units or `ommatidia' as the authors call them. But it is the "prey recognition" algorithm used by mantids that is of primary interest to the authors. They have found through their research that this algorithm depends on the simultaneous assessment of a collection of stimulus parameters. From the standpoint of its nervous system, prey recognition is accomplished by a movement-sensitive cell called the lobula giant movement detector (LGMD). The LGMD is presynaptic to the descending contralateral movement detector (DCMD). They mention the construction of an artificial neural network of the LGMD-DCMD systems that learns to respond to the same types of stimuli that mantids recognize as prey, but unfortunately do not discuss it in any detail. The author of the article "Motion Perception Shapes the Visual World of Amphibians" discusses how frogs and toads are able to catch their prey, avoid predators, and find mates without the benefit of eye movements. The emphasis in the article is in on how these different entities are classified and discriminated, how retinal images of moving objects are discriminated from self-induced moving images, on whether or not toads employ concepts or engage in learning, and how toads analyze visual stimuli without the benefit of a cerebral neocortex. The distinction between prey and nonprey is correlated with the geometry of the object relative to the direction of movement. In order to justify what is happening at the neuronal level, the author describes the properties of the retinal ganglion cells (which mediate the output of the retinal network) and the neurons of the retinal projection fields in terms of their receptive fields. A table is given along with extension discussion of their properties. Toads also make use of the odor of their prey, and the author discusses, with a detailed diagram, the brain structures involved in visual-olfactory learning. Most interesting is the author's discussion of backpropagation artificial neural networks used to model the feature detection abilities of amphibians. A two-layered artificial neural network is trained to classify and evaluate objects of different lengths moving in prey and nonprey configurations.

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M. Spongberg, A. Curthoys, B. Caine, "Companion to Women's Historical Writing"
English | 2005 | ISBN: 1403915083 | PDF | pages: 729 | 100.3 mb
This A-Z reference work provides the first comprehensive reference guide to the wide range of historical writing with which women have been involved, particularly since the Renaissance. The Companion covers biographical writing, travelogue and historical fictions, broadening the concept of history to include the forms of writing with which women have historically engaged. The focus is on women writing in English internationally, but historical and historiographical traditions from beyond the English-speaking world are also examined. Brief biographies of individual writers are included.

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Commercial Wireless Circuits and Components Handbook By Mike Golio
2003 | 429 Pages | ISBN: 0849315646 | PDF | 11 MB
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Colonic Diseases By Timothy R. Koch
2003 | 574 Pages | ISBN: 0896039617 | PDF | 9 MB
Timothy R. Koch, MD, has assembled a panel of innovative basic researchers, esteemed clinical investigators, and well-known clinicians to bridge the gap between basic and clinical research and the day-to-day care of patients with colonic disorders. After a review of the basic science and mechanisms of colonic diseases, the authors fully discuss potential symptoms, pathological and radiological findings, the differential diagnosis, and presently recommended evaluation and therapy, including the use of probiotics. New areas of potential treatment not presently available for patients with chronic symptoms are also examined, along with the advanced treatment techniques currently in use at the Cleveland Clinic (for ulcerative colitis), The University of Chicago (for Crohn's disease), the Mayo Clinic (for irritable bowel syndrome), and the MD Anderson Cancer Center (for colorectal cancer).

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Cognitive Skills You Need for the 21st Century by Stephen K. Reed
English | Jul 1, 2020 | ISBN: 0197529003 | 300 pages | EPUB | 9 MB
In Cognitive Skills You Need for the 21st Century, Stephen Reed discusses a Future of Jobs report that contrasts trending and declining skills required by the workforce in the year 2022. Trending skills include analytical thinking and innovation, active learning strategies, creativity, reasoning, and complex problem solving. Part One on Acquiring Knowledge contains chapters on cognitive processes that are critical for learning. Part Two on Organizing Knowledge explains how matrices, networks, and hierarchies offer contrasting methods for visualizing organization. Part Three on Reasoning discusses visuospatial reasoning, reasoning from imperfect knowledge, and reasoning strategies. Part Four on Problem Solving focuses on the knowledge and strategies required to solve different types of problems, including those that involve design and dynamic changes. Part Five on Artificial Intelligence contains chapters on the Data Sciences, Explanatory Models, the Information Sciences, and General AI. Part Six on Education consists of three chapters on educating 21st century skills at all levels of instruction. Research in Cognitive Psychology, Education, and AI provides the foundation for acquiring these skills.

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Jay D. Friedenberg, "Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Study of Mind"
English | ISBN: 1412977614 | 2011 | 544 pages | PDF | 220 MB
Substantially revised, this Second Edition includes the latest breakthroughs in this fast-moving field. The authors present emerging areas of network science, dynamical systems theory, behavioral economics, and animal intelligence and tie each area to discoveries in psychology, neuroscience, and cognition. Major findings are placed in the context of the theories and models of cognition and critically evaluated. Providing a unifying framework, pedagogical features help students understand the different methodologies and perspectives in cognitive science.

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Classical Sanskrit Tragedy: The Concept of Suffering and Pathos in Medieval India by Bihani Sarkar
2021 | ISBN: 1788311116 | English | 224 pages | EPUB | 0.7 MB
It is often assumed that classical Sanskrit poetry and drama lack a concern with the tragic. However, as Bihani Sarkar makes clear in this book, this is far from the case. In the first study of tragedy in classical Sanskrit literature, Sarkar draws on a wide range of Sanskrit dramas, poems and treatises - much of them translated for the first time into English - to provide a complete history of the tragic in Indian literature from the second to the tenth centuries.

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Andrew Zimbalist, "Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup"
English | ISBN: 0815726511 | 2015 | 175 pages | EPUB | 581 KB
The numbers are staggering: China spent $40 billion to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing and Russia spent $50 billion for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. Brazil's total expenditures are thought to have been as much as $20 billion for the World Cup this summer and Qatar, which will be the site of the 2022 World Cup, is estimating that it will spend $200 billion. How did we get here? And is it worth it? Those are among the questions noted sports economist Andrew Zimbalist answers in Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup. Both the Olympics and the World Cup are touted as major economic boons for the countries that host them, and the competition is fierce to win hosting rights. Developing countries especially see the events as a chance to stand in the world's spotlight. Circus Maximus traces the path of the Olympic Games and the World Cup from noble sporting events to exhibits of excess. It exposes the hollowness of the claims made by their private industry boosters and government supporters, all illustrated through a series of case studies ripping open the experiences of Barcelona, Sochi, Rio, and London. Zimbalist finds no net economic gains for the countries that have played host to the Olympics or the World Cup. While the wealthy may profit, those in the middle and lower income brackets do not, and Zimbalist predicts more outbursts of political anger like that seen in Brazil surrounding the 2014 World Cup.

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Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Molecular Genetics, Biology, Diagnosis, and Management By Guy B. Faguet
2003 | 436 Pages | ISBN: 1588290999 | PDF | 6 MB
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Augusta, GA. Reviews scientific advances in molecular genetics and biology of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Discusses the clinical aspects, focusing on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment options, and complications. Also addresses familial and juvenile cases. DNLM: Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic.

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Choosing Your Battles: Inspiration and Wisdom from a Navy SEAL on How to Win Your Battles and Ensure a Positive Outcome by Don Mann
English | July 28, 2020 | ISBN: 1510752048 | 144 pages | Rar (PDF, AZW3) | 2.39 Mb
Wisdom and Inspiration to Help You Overcome Your Doubts from aNew York TimesBestselling Author

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