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This unique volume surveys state-of-the-art research on statistical methods in molecular and systems biology, with contributions from leading experts in the field. Each chapter discusses theoretical aspects, applications to biological problems, and possible future developments. Topics and features: presents the use of thermodynamic models to analyze gene regulatory mechanisms; reviews major algorithms for RNA secondary structure prediction; discusses developments in the area of oligo arrays; examines the application of models of stochastic processes in nonequilibrium thermodynamics and biologi.

The concept of social protection and its analytical framework have gradually become important tools for analysing the development of social policies globally. However, few studies have examined social protection issues in Chinese megacities. This article uses the social protection index developed by the Asian Development Bank to analyse the development of social protection in Guangzhou, a megacity. Results have shown that between 2013 and 2015, Guangzhou's soaring social protection expenditures and the ongoing improvement of social protection have significantly improved people's standard of living. Despite the narrowing gap in gross domestic product per capita between Guangzhou and developed countries, there is still a huge gap in social protection. In addition, since social policy is heavily biased towards social insurance and social assistance in Chinese megacities, there are far fewer labour market programmes developed for poor people, compared to other developed countries. The authors recommend that Guangzhou increases its social expenditures and focuses on restructuring its social protection system. (China / GIGA)

Participatory governance has become a mode of governance around the world since the 1990s, including in non-democratic contexts. Since November 2002, the notion of participatory governance has indeed been appropriated by the Chinese authorities after the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Since 2010, numerous experiments in participatory governance have been implemented in China, from participatory budgeting to participatory planning. This essay studies the specific development of participatory governance in China through the role of urban planners. It will first discuss the context of the development of public participation at local levels, while analysing the emergence of participatory planning and its implications. Furthermore, it will analyse the role of planners in participatory planning. Then, it will focus on the transformation of local governance, especially in the case of community governance. In the final sections, the article will discuss planner-mediated participation and reflect on more academic thoughts on the model. It will conclude with a discussion on Chinese participative experiments. (China Perspect/GIGA)

AbstractHumans and other primates can reverse their choice of stimuli in one trial when the rewards delivered by the stimuli change or reverse. Rapidly changing our behavior when the rewards change is important for many types of behavior, including emotional and social behavior. It is shown in a one-trial rule-based Go-NoGo deterministic visual discrimination reversal task to obtain points, that the human right lateral orbitofrontal cortex and adjoining inferior frontal gyrus is activated on reversal trials, when an expected reward is not obtained, and the non-reward allows the human to switch choices based on a rule. This reward reversal goes beyond model-free reinforcement learning. This functionality of the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex shown here in very rapid, one-trial, rule-based changes in human behavior when a reward is not received is related to the emotional and social changes that follow orbitofrontal cortex damage, and to depression in which this non-reward system is oversensitive and over-connected.