Glossary of the key notions in Bionics and beyond

Markovnikov’s rule → ~ originally stated that the addition of a hydrogen halide (HX) to an unsymmetrically substituted alkene occurs with attachment of the hydrogen to the carbon atom of the double bond having more hydrogens. In a more general sense, the rule states that in the addition of an electrophilic-nucleophilic (E-Nu) to a carbon–carbon multiple bond, the electrophilic group (E) adds to the less substituted carbon. This preference is a result of formation of the more stable carbocation intermediate.

Mass → ~ (μάζα) commonly refers to any of three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent: inertial ~, active gravitational ~, and passive gravitational ~ (kg).

Mass number (of an element) → Sum of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an element

Mass Spectroscopy (MS) → Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that measures the mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles. It is used for determining masses of particles, for determining the elemental composition of a sample or molecule, and for elucidating the chemical structures of molecules.

Maximum current → The value of the load line of the diode in case of zero voltage value.

Maximum voltage → The value of the load line of the diode in case of zero current value.

Maxterm → The subsets A + B, A’ + B, A + B’ and A’ + B’are also called maxterms. Maxterms are therefore logical products in all the combinations occuring in words.

Maxwell → James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. His most prominent achievement was formulating classical electromagnetic theory. This united all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and even optics into a consistent theory.

Maxwell’s equations → ~ are a set of partial differential equations that, together with the Lorentz force law, form the foundation of classical electrodynamics, classical optics, and electric circuits. ~ demonstrated that electricity, magnetism and even light are all manifestations of the same phenomenon, namely the electromagnetic field.

Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution → A probability distribution of the velocities of particles in a gas at the temperature T. f(v)=sqrt(2/π·(m/k_BT)³)·v²·exp(-mv²/2k_BT) where f(v) is the probability density function of the velocities, m is the mass of the particles, kB is the Boltzmann constant and T is the temperature.

Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics → ~ describes the statistical distribution of material particles over various energy states in thermal equilibrium, when the temperature is high enough and density is low enough to render quantum effects negligible.

McCulloch-Pitts neuron → A neuron, which has a signum activation function

Mean ion activity coefficient → γ_±²=γ_-γ₊ where γ_±² is the mean ion activity coefficient, γ_- is the activity coefficient of the negatively charged ion and γ₊ is the activity coefficient of the positively charged ion in an electrolyte of one salt.

Mean ion standard chemical potential → μ_±=(μ_-⁰+μ₊⁰)/2 where μ_± is the mean ion standard chemical potential, μ_-⁰ is the standard chemical potential of the negatively charged ion and μ₊⁰ is the standard chemical potential of the positively charged ion in an electrolyte of one salt.

Mean square error → A standard error type used in signal processing. A mean of the square of a difference between the desired and the actual value

Measurand → A particular quantity determined through measurement is called a ~.

Measured value → The current value of the given measured volume at the time of measurement.

Measurement → It is a process by which a value of a particular quantity is obtained

Mechanical dynamics → In the field of physics, the study of the causes of motion and changes in motion is dynamics. In other words the study of forces and why objects are in motion. Dynamics includes the study of the effect of torques on motion. Dynamics is mostly related to Newton’s second law of motion.

Mechanics → ~ (Μηχανική) is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment. ~ has several fields: statics, dynamics, and kinematics.

Medulla oblongata → The somewhat pyramidal last part of the vertebrate brain developed from the posterior portion of the hindbrain and continuous posteriorly with the spinal cord, enclosing the fourth ventricle

Meisenheimer complex (adduct) → ~ is a cyclohexadienyl derivative formed as Lewis adduct from a nucleophile (Lewis base) and an aromatic or heteroaromatic compound, also called Jackson–Meisenheimer adduct.

Melatonin → A hormone released in darkness from the pineal gland which participates in the mediation of circadian as well as seasonal signals.

Melting point → ~ is the temperature at which the solid and the melted form is in equilibrium (melting range).

Membrane → A ~ is a layer of material which serves as a selective barrier between two phases and remains impermeable to specific particles, molecules, or substances when exposed to the action of a driving force.

Membrane capacitance → Capacitance arises from the fact that the membrane lipid bilayer is so thin that an accumulation of charged particles on one side gives rise to an electrical force that pulls oppositely-charged particles toward the other side.

Membrane current → For several ionic species, a difference in electrochemical potential exists between the exterior and the interior of the cell. The opening of ion channels allows ions to move down the electrochemical gradient, which causes electric current to flow through the membrane. Measured in Amperes.

Membrane potential → Voltage between the two sides of a membrane caused by the difference in charged particles between the sides. Formally ΔФ=Ф_inside-Ф_outside

Membrane potential (MP) → The voltage difference measured between the interior and exterior of a cell.

Membrane proteins → Proteins taking part in building up of biological membranes.

Membrane raft → A region of lower fluidity (cholesterol-rich) in a cell membrane acting as a scaffold for relatively stable assembly of protein complexes

Membrane resistance → Ionic current through the membrane depends on the membrane potential. If the membrane is linear (“passive”), the (constant) slope of the current-voltage relation defines the membrane conductance, and its reciprocal, the ~. These quantities can be generalized to a nonlinear membrane.

Membrane time constant → Characteristic time scale of membrane potential change in a neuron, determined by the characteristics of the membrane (such as its resistance and capacitance); denoted by tau (τ).

Membrane transport → Transport substances across the membrane.

Membraneous labyrinth → The ~ is the part of the inner ear and is inside the osseus labyrinth separated by fluid (perilymph). It contains another fluid, the endolymph and the hair cells.

Mental chronometry → In psychophysiological experiments the latency of some endogenous ERP components (N200, P300) covaries with the reaction time. These components can be used as indicators of the time needed for the information processing.

Mercury → ~ is a chemical element of the Periodic table. Its chemical symbol is Hg, plate 80. In its elemental form it has the color of silver, of metal, it it liquid, conducts heat and electricity, and evaporates easily, so it should be kept closed.

Mesencephalon → Part of the brain stem, wedged between the pons and the diencephalon

Mesial-basal temporal lobe → Inner aspect of the temporal lobe, such as hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus and amygdala.

Mesomeric effect (conjuctive/resonance effect) → The ~ is a property of substituents or functional groups in a chemical compound. The effect is used in a qualitative way and describes the electron withdrawing or releasing properties of substituents based on relevant resonance structures and is symbolized by the letter M. The ~ is negative (-M) when the substituent is an electron-withdrawing group and the effect is positive (+M) when based on resonance the substituent is an electron releasing group.

Mesomerism → Essentially synonymous with resonance. The term is particularly associated with the picture of π-electrons as less localized in an actual molecule than in a Lewis formula. The term is intended to imply that the correct representation of a structure is intermediate between two or more Lewis formulae.

Metabolic control coefficient → The ~ is the normalized change in the pathway flux caused by unit change in one of the enzyme activities in the metabolic pathway

Metabolic steady state → The ~ is the state of a metabolic pathway when the fluxes at all steps are the same

Metabolite receptors → ~ are transcriptional regulators which form heterodimers when specific ligands (metabolites) bind to them. The heterodimers trigger transcription of target genes.

Metal → A ~ (Greek μέταλλον, mine) is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat, and readily loses electrons to form positive ions (cations) and ionic bonds with non-metals.

Metallurgic silicon → MS is a specific level purity (95%) of silicon.

Micelle → ~ is a spherical particle made up of amphipatic compounds such as bile acids which form a hydrophilic surface and a hydrophobic interior that contains virtually no water

Michaelis constant → It is the ratio of the sum of rate constants belonging to reaction where the amount of the enzyme substrate complex decreases and the rate constant belonging to the reaction where the amount of the enzyme substrate complex increases. It gives the substrate concentration where the rate of the reaction is the half of the potential maximal rate of that reaction. It is denoted by KM.

Michaelis-Menten model → A model describing the kinetics of enzyme reactions. It shows a good agreement with the behaviour of many enzymes.

Microarchitecture → ~ is the way a given instruction set architecture (ISA) is implemented on a processor.

Micro-bump bonding → The connections are made using solder (Sn+Au), indium bumps on the surface of die.

Microcontroller → A ~ is a computer optimized usually for control tasks, integrated on one single chip.

Micromanipulator → A ~ is a device which is used to physically interact with a sample under a microscope, where a level of precision of movement is necessary that cannot be achieved by the unaided human hand.

Micropipette → Small glass tube used to physically interact with microscpoic samples. Usually made of borosilicate, aluminosilicate or quartz and fabricated in a micropipette puller.

Microprocessor → A ~ incorporates most or all of the functions of a computer’s central processing unit (CPU) on a single integrated circuit (IC, or microchip).

Microscope → A ~ (μικρός ~ small + σκοπειν ~ to look) is an instrument used to see objects too small for the naked eye. There are many types of microscopes - the most common and first to be invented is the optical ~ which uses light to image the sample -, electron microscope (both the transmission electron ~ and the scanning electron ~) and the various types of scanning probe ~.

Microshock → ~ is a risk in patients with intracardiac electrical conductors, such as external pacemaker electrodes. A current as low as 10uA directly through the heart, may send a patient directly into ventricular fibrillation.

Microstate → A ~ is a specific microscopic configuration of a physical system that the system may occupy with a certain probability in the course of its fluctuations. In the thermodynamic limit, the microstates visited by a macroscopic system during its fluctuations all have the same macroscopic properties.

Microstrip waveguide → A waveguide is basically a strip of the guiding layer confined between cladding layers.

Microwave frequency → Microwaves are electromagnetic waves with wavelengths ranging from one meter to one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz (0.3 GHz) and 300 GHz.

Middle ear implantable hearing device → The ~ is a hearing aid implanted in the middle ear, to treat conductive or sensorineural hearing loss. It directly stimulates the ossicles located in the middle ear with a piezoelectric or electromagnetic transducer.

Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) → An estimator describes the approach which minimizes the mean square error (MSE), which is a common measure of estimator quality.

Minimum phase (filter) → A filter which is minimal phase if the filter and it’s inverse is both causal and stabile filter.

Minority, majority carriers → The more abundant charge carriers are called majority carriers. In n-type semiconductors they are electrons, while in p-type semiconductors they are holes. The less abundant charge carriers are called minority carriers; in n-type semiconductors they are holes, while in p-type semiconductors they are electrons.

Mismatch → The ~ is the different operation of physical devices that have been designed to be equal.

Mismatch negativity (MMN) → MMN is a component of the auditory event-related potential (ERP) to an odd stimulus in a sequence of identical stimuli. It is studied in passive oddball paradigm.

Mitochondrial permeability transition → The ~ involves a sudden (and initially reversible) increase in permeability of the IMM to solutes up to 1.5 kDa

Mitochondrion → Intracellular organelle responsible for the aerobic ATP production

Mitosis → A type of cell division, by which a eukaryotic cell separates to form two daughter cells with two identical sets of chromosomes, which are also identical with the set present in the mother cell.

Mixed nerve action potential (MNAP) → The response of a mixed nerve (sensory and motor) after electrical stimulation.

Mixed salts → Two different acids or bases are used in the neutralization reaction of the salt

Mixed signal simulators → The ~ are combinations of an analog oriented nonlinear equation solver SPICE simulator and an event based digital simulator

Mixed-signal design → A design that combines analog and digital functional blocks.

Mixture → Multicomponent materials in gas or liquid state

Mobility → The electron ~ characterizes how quickly an electron can move through a metal or semiconductor, when pulled by an electric field. The electrons respond by moving with an average velocity (drift velocity) which is proprtional to the product of ~ and the electric field.

Model → It seeks to represent empirical objects, phenomena, and physical processes in a logical and objective way

Modified Neglect of Differential Overlap (MNDO) → A semi-empirical method for the quantum calculation of molecular electronic structure in computational chemistry.

Molar concentration → Number of particles of the solute in a unit volume of the solution. Most frequently it is given in the mol dm^-3 unit.

Molecular actuator → An actuator is a mechanical device for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, usually in the form of an electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure or pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into some kind of motion. ~ mimics some of the actions of biological motors. Actuator materials or assemblies are able to transduce optical, electrical or chemical stimulus into mechanical work through size shaping response.

Molecular formula → ~ is for compounds consisting of discrete molecules, a formula according with the relative molecular mass (or the structure)

Molecular Mechanics (MM) calculation → Molecular Mechanics (MM) calculation is an empirical calculational method intended to give estimates of structures and energies for conformations of molecules. The method is based on the assumption of ‘natural’ bond lengths and angles, deviation from which leads to strain, and the existence of torsional interactions and attractive and/or repulsive van der Waals and dipolar forces between non-bonded atoms. The method is also called ‘(empirical) force-field calculations’.

Molecular Orbital (MO) → ~ is a one-electron wavefunction describing an electron moving in the effective field provided by the nuclei and all other electrons of a molecular entity of more than one atom.

Molecular phylogenetics → Phylogenic prediction based on nucleotide sequences of DNA or RNA, or amino acid sequences of proteins

Molecular sensor → A ~/chemosensor is a molecule that interacts with an analyte to produce a detectable change. Molecular sensors combine molecular recognition with some form of reporter so the presence of the guest can be observed.

Molecular spectroscopy → ~ deals with the response of molecules interacting (energy exchange through absorbance or emission) with probing signals of known energy or frequency, according to Planck’s formula.

Molecularity → If a transformation proceeding through a single transition state, the number of species are involved in this single transformation are called as the ~ of that step. In an unimolecular reaction the number of species is 1. In a bimolecular reaction the number of species is 2.

Molecule → A ~ is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge.

Moment of inertia → I=mr² where I is the ~ for a particle carrying out rotation, m is the mass of the particle and r is the radius of the orbit.

Momentum → In classical mechanics, ~ (kgm/s, Ns) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. In classical physics ~ is a vector quantity, possessing a direction as well as a magnitude. ~ is a conserved quantity, meaning that if a closed system is not affected by external forces, its total ~ cannot change. ~ is sometimes referred to as linear ~ to distinguish it from the related subject of angular ~.

Monopolar stimulation → At ~ an “active” electrode is at the target area, the other “reference” electrode is at a distant region. The stimulation effect is exerted at the active electrode.

Monosacharides → Those carbohydrates that cannot be hydrolyzed into a simpler form

Monosynaptic reflex arc → A reflex arc that consists of only two neurons

Montage → A particular arrangement of derivations at a multichannel recording.

Montage reformatting → In digital EEG records are made with common reference. Different derivations can be obtained from referential derivations by mathematical subtraction.

Monte carlo simulation → Simulation technique used for random process variations.

Moore’s law → This “law” describes a long-term trend (prediction) in the history of computing hardware

Morphological phylogenetics → Phylogenic prediction is based on measurements of the phenotypic characteristics of the species

Morse potential → ~ is the empirical function relating the potential energy of a molecule to the inter-atomic distance r accounting for the anharmonicity of bond stretching.

MOS capacitor → Due to field strength, positive charges appear on the metal on the structure. In the p-type semiconductor, first an emptied layer is created, and then at a given field strength, negative moving charge carriers and so called inversion charges.

MOS transistor → The ~ is a MOS capacity supplemented by a source and a drain electrode. One weapon of the MOS capacity is the gate electrode, the other is the substrate.

MOSFET (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor) → ~ is a special type of field-effect transistor. It works by a voltage on the oxide-insulated gate electrode varying the channel conductivity, which affects the charge carriers (electrons or holes) flow between its two other terminals called source and drain.

Motif → A sequence ~ is a nucleotide or amino-acid sequence pattern that is widespread and has a biological significance

Motoneuron → A cell type distinguished in the CNS by its capability to trigger muscle contraction. Two types are distinguished; the upper one is located in the primary motor cortex, whereas the lower one is in the anterior horn of the spinal cord.

Motor axon → An axon is a long, slender projection of a motor neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron’s cell body or soma.

Motor cortex → ~ is a term that describes regions of the cerebral cortex involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary motor functions.

Motor unit → a single α-motor neuron and all of the muscle fibers innervated by the motor neuron.

Motor Unit Action Potential (MUAP) → The action potential of one motor neuron.

Motor unit number estimation (MUNE) → A method for estimating the number of motor units in a muscle.

Motor unit potential (MUP) → The ~ is the summation of single action potentials generated by the discharges of muscle fibers that are innervated by one motor unit.

MPW → Multi project wafer, a way of sharing a wafer between many designs to share cost.

MR Perfusion → Image acquisition techniques that highlight fluids moving through arteries, veins, and capillaries.

MR spectroscopy (MRS) → Use of magnetic resonance to study the MR spectrum of a sample or a tissue region. In addition to the effects of factors such as relaxation times that can affect the MR signal as seen in magnetic resonance imaging, effects such as J-modulation or the transfer of magnetization after selective excitation of particular spectral lines can affect the relative strengths of spectral lines. The frequencies of certain lines may also be affected by factors such as the local pH.

Multichannel TMS → TMS with multiple (say, 20-100) coils that are independently controlled.

Multi-chip-modules → Integration of different dies together in a 3D package on a different substrate.

Multicompartmental model → A model consisting of multiple, connected compartments. Each compartment can have a different set (if any) of voltage-dependent conductances, and different passive properties.

Multicore → A computational device with more than one processing element

Multifinger transistor → ~, where large transistors are separated into parallel devices.

Multifocal dystonia → Affects many different parts of the body

Multilayer neural network → The neurons in the neural network are ordered into layers, the output of neurons of the lth neuron is connected into the l+1th neurons

Multilayer perceptron → A feedforward artificial neural network model that maps sets of input data onto a set of appropriate output. It consists of multiple layers of nodes in a directed graph, with each layer fully connected to the next one.

Multipath propagation → It is a phenomenon that results in radio signals reaching the receiving antenna by two or more paths.

Multipennate muscle → the central tendon branches within a muscle (deltoid anterior-posterior in the shoulder)

Multiple aligment → Comparing three or more sequences

Multiple bond → ~ is a covalent bond formed when two atoms share more than one pairs of electrons.

Multiple Instruction Multiple Data → MIMD describes computers with multiple processing elements that perform the several operations on multiple data simultaneously

Multistep reactions → Multistep reaction is a sequence of chemical reactions which has two or more elementary reaction steps. Each reaction steps has its transient species called a reactive intermediate or just an intermediate.

Multiunit activity (MUA) → Action potentials generated by several neurons and recorded with a single extracellular electrode.

Multi-variate analysis → Measuring the impact of more than one variable at a time while analyzing a set of data.

Multivariate optimization task → When we seek an extremal point of a function with multiple variables. The learning of the FFNN is such a task.

Muscarinic ACh receptor → The G protein-coupled (metabotropic) acetylcholine receptor, which binds muscarine with high affinity.

Muscle athrophy → ~ is the partial or complete wasting away of the muscle

Muscle attachment sites → ~ are areas located on bone surfaces, determining the range of motion of the joint. Two types are discerned: a)origin and b)insertion.

Muscle fiber → A cylindrical cell with several nuclei composed of numerous myofibrils that contracts when stimulated.

Muscle Fibril (Myofibrillum) → A bundle of protein filaments expanding the length of the muscle fiber.

Muscle spindle → Muscle spindles are sensory receptors within the belly of a muscle, which primarily detect changes in the length of this muscle. This information can be processed by the brain to determine the position of body parts.

Muscle synergy → The cooperation of muscles to execute desired joint rotations.

Muscle tone → ~ is the continuous and passive partial muscle contraction

Musculoskeletal system → an organ system that gives humans and anials the ability to move using muscles and the skeletal (bone) systems. It provides form, gives stability, and helps to execute movements.

Mutatis mutandis → ~ is a Latin phrase meaning “by changing those things which need to be changed” or more simply “the necessary changes having been made”.

MVPA(Multi-voxel pattern) → a B1528classificator that relies on patterns composed of multiple voxel activity values.

Myelin → A lamellar outgrowth of glial cell (either oligodendrocytes or Schwann cells) which forms a roll of membrane sheath around the axon.

Myoelectric signal → An electrical impulse that produces contraction of muscle fibers in the body.

Myopathy → The disease of the muscle.

17. N

N100 component → N1 is a negative-going evoked potential measured by electroencephalography; it peaks in adults between 80 and 120 milliseconds after the onset of a stimulus, and distributed mostly over the fronto-central region of the scalp. It is elicited by any unpredictable stimulus in the absence of task demands. While most research focuses on auditory stimuli, the N100 also occurs for visual, olfactory, heat, pain, balance, respiration blocking and somatosensory stimuli.

N400 component → The N400 is part of the normal brain response to words and other meaningful (or potentially meaningful) stimuli, including visual and auditory words, sign language signs, pictures, faces, environmental sounds, and smells.

Na-K-Cl cotransporter 1 (NKCC1) → A transporter protein targeting sodium, potassium, and chloride into the cell from the blood. It is commonly found in organs secreting fluids.

Nanobio-technology → ~ refers to nanotechnology applied to biology.

Nanoparticles → ~ are sized between 1 and 100 nanometers. A particle is defined as a small object that behaves as a whole unit in terms of its transport and properties.

Nanoscale → A scale of nanometers. One nanometer (1 nm) is equal to a billionth of a meter (10^-9 m).

Nanotechnology → ~ is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, ~ deals with structures sized between 1 to 100 nm, in at least one dimension, and involves developing materials or devices possessing at least one dimension within that size. Quantum mechanical effects are very important at this scale, which is in the quantum realm.

Narrowband channel → The narrowband implies that the channel under consideration is sufficiently narrow that its frequency response can be considered flat.

Near field → The “near-field”, which is inside about one wavelength distance from the antenna, is a region in which there are strong inductive and capacitative effects from the currents and charges in the antenna, which do not behave like far-field radiation. These effects decrease in power far more quickly with distance (with r² and r³), than does the far-field radiation power. Also, absorption of radiated power in this region has effects which feed-back to the transmitter

Negative bit → This bit is set to the value of the most significant bit (sign bit) of the result of the previous operation.

Negative cooperativity → Cooperativity, where the binding of one ligand decreases the binding affinity at other sites.

Negative logic → If logical 1 corresponds to voltage level L (low), then it is called negative logic.

Neighborhood → The cells in a given radius of a cell are called neighborhood

Neighbor-joining algorithm → Finds pairs of leaves close to each other but far from other leaves (that is, finding pairs of neighboring leaves), developed by Saitou and Nei

Nernst equation → An equation which relates the reversal potential of an ion to its concentration gradient

Nerve conduction velocity → The speed of propagation of an action potential along a peripheral nerve.

Network models → ~ are graph-representations of various biological and technical systems in which entities are represented as nodes (vertices) and relationships are denoted with edges.

Neural hearing loss → ~ is a hearing disordes in which the auditory nerve or other brain structures in the auditory pathway are damaged.

Neural interface → ~ is a connection between the living tissue and a man-made device, in most case a bioelectrode.

Neural Network → An artifical network, whereas the elements of the network are bioinspired

Neural prostheses → ~ are a series of devices that can substitute a motor, sensory or cognitive modality

Neurofibromatosis type 2 → ~ (NF2) is an inherited disease caused by mutations. A symmetric brain tumor developes in the region of the vestibulocochlear nerve, which results in deafness if the tumor is not removed surgically.

Neuromorph → Neural-like motor control. (Control based on the activity of motor neurons)

Neuromuscular junction → The ~ is the synapse of the axon terminal of a motor neuron with the motor end plate. After the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine action potentials are initiated in the muscle to contract.

Neuromuscular stimulation (NMS) → ~ is a form of electrical stimulation that attempts to strengthen muscles weakened by disuse using sub-contraction stimulus to promote muscle growth.

Neuron → A cell, which is the most important communication entity in the nervous system

Neuron (Neural Networks) → The basic artificial element of neural networks

Neuron doctrine → It is a descriptive term for the fundamental concept that the nervous system is made up of discrete individual cells, a discovery due to decisive neuro-anatomical work of Santiago Ramon y Cajal (1852-1934).

Neuron membrane → A phospholipid bilayer that separates the intracellular and the extracellular fluids. Each phospholipid molecule consists of a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic part. Molecules are organized into layers such that hydrophobic parts are inside the membrane, and hydrophilic parts contact with the external world. This structure makes the membrane not permeable for ions and charged molecules, thus a good dielectric.

Neuronal parameter optimization → The process of identifying sets of parameters that lead to a desired electrical activity pattern in a neuron or neuronal network model that is not fully constrained by experimental data.

Neuropathy → The disease of the motor neurons.

Neuroprosthetics → ~ is a discipline related to neuroscience and biomedical engineering, its main activity is the development and application of neural prostheses.

Neurostimulator → ~ is a pulse generator encased in a titanium housing. It can be programmed by radiofrequency way. Its electrical pulses interfere with neural activity at the stimulated site. It is usually implanted under the skin of the chest, wires go under the skin to the electrodes implanted to the brain.

Neurotransmission → The way of infomation-transmission between neurons; through synapses by means of neurotransmitters.

Neurotrophic electrode → Cortically implanted glass microelectrode filled with neurotrophic growth factors.

Neurotropic → A characteristic of certain agents (i.e. viruses) which are capable of infecting nerve cells.

Neutrino → A ~ (ν), meaning “small neutral one”; is an elementary particle that usually travels close to the speed of light, is electrically neutral, and is able to pass through ordinary matter almost unaffected. This makes neutrinos extremely difficult to detect. Neutrinos have a very small, but nonzero mass.

Newman projection → The ~ is a representation formulated by Melvin S. Newman and it shows the spatial relationship of the atoms in a molecule. In a molecule, one particular carbon–carbon bond selected as an axis and viewed down drawing a projection of the carbons. All the attached groups are in the plane of the paper. The bonds from the atoms attached to the front carbon are represented by solid lines meeting at a central point that represents the front carbon atom. The bonds from the atoms attached to the rear carbon atom are eclipsed by the front carbon, are represented by short lines from these atoms to the periphery of a circle drawn around the central point.

Newton → Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727 was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian. His Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, 1687 (Principia), is one of the most important scientific books ever written. It lays the groundwork for most of classical mechanics. Newton described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion, which dominated the scientific view of the physical universe for the next three centuries. Newton showed that the motions of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies are governed by the same set of natural laws, and his theory of gravitation; thus removing the last doubts about heliocentrism and advancing the Scientific Revolution.

Newton’s equations → Newton’s laws of motion are three physical laws that form the basis for classical mechanics. They describe the relationship between the forces acting on a body and its motion due to those forces.First law: Every body remains in a state of constant velocity unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force.Second law: the total force applied on a body is equal to the time derivative of linear momentum of the body.Third law: The mutual forces of action and reaction (action and the reaction are simultaneous) between two bodies are equal, opposite and collinear.

Nissl staining → A general staining method, which stains the negatively charged RNA and DNA-containing cellular organelles blue with basic dyes.

Nitro compounds → ~ are compounds having the nitro group (–NO2), which may be attached to carbon, nitrogen (as in nitramines), or oxygen (as in nitrates), among other elements (in the absence of specification, C-nitro compounds are usually implied).

Nitrogen fixation → Nitrogen is abundant in the atmosphere, but the biological systems (with a few exceptions) can use only reduced form of nitrogen. Nitrogen is reduced by a Nitrogenease enzyme.

NMDA receptor → A type of ion-channel-coupled synaptic receptor for the neurotransmitter glutamate, whose activation also depends on postsynaptic depolarization, and which leads to a slow excitatory response mediated by the influx of Na+ and Ca2+ ions.

N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) → NMDA is an amino acid derivative which binds to the NMDA type of glutamate receptor only.

Nociceptive stimulus → Low-intensity stimuli gain access to the nociceptive pathway and begin to produce pain.

Noise figure → It is ratio of SNR on the input versus on the output.

Noise-limited systems → Cellular systems (e.g. WLAN, cellular mobile) operate in this mode if the user density is low and/or if no other BS is in the vicinity

Nonbonding molecular orbital → ~ is a molecular orbital whose occupation by electrons does not contribute (or contributes insignificantly) to the binding energy of the molecule. Generally, a nonbonding MO represents the highest occupied molecular orbital of a molecule.

Non-competitive inhibitor → A reversible inhibitor, which decreases the Vmax value and does not change the Km value of the enzyme

Non-invazive → Not penetrating the body, as by incision or injection

Nonlinear activation function → The activation fuction of the neurons are nonlinear

Nonlinear component → A circuit element whose voltage-voltage function shows a non-linear characteristic.

Nonlinear regression → A form of regression analysis in which the dependent variables are modeled as a nonlinear function of the independent variables. B1553

Nonlinear resistor → A resistor is a two-terminal passive electronic component that resists an electric current by producing a voltage drop between its terminals in accordance with Ohm’s law. A resistor is used to create a known voltage-to-current ratio in an electric circuit. Nonlinear resistors have resistances that vary significantly with, for example, the applied current or voltage, temperature or light.

Non-REM sleep (NREM) → Sleep stages characterized by slow EEG activity.

Norton equivalent circuit → According to Norton’s law, any two-poles made up of generators and resistances can be substituted by a current generator, and the inner resistance parallel to it.

Notch filter → It is a filter that passes all frequencies except those in a stop band

Novelty P300 → If in an active oddball paradigm additional unexpected novel stimuli are rarely presented an earlier P300 component called “novelty P300” appear.

NPC1 → Nieman-Pick C1 protei+B1577n, an intracellular carrier of cholesterol

NP-hard problem → A problem that cannot be solved generally in guarantied polinomial execution time (solution time could be so long, that we are not able to wait it!)

N-type doped → The addition of pentavalent (donor) impurities such as antimony, arsenic or phosphorous contributes free electrons. In n-type material there are extra energy levels near the top of the band gap so that electrons can be easily excited into the conduction band.

N-type material → It contains an excess of conduction band electrons

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy → NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectroscopy involves the interactions of atomic nuclei simultaneously with two different magnetic fields: a strong fixed magnetic field and a much weaker field oscillating perpendicular to the a strong fixed field at radio frequencies. The spectroscopic signals generated by the nuclear–magnetic interactions give detailed information about the molecular environment of each atom, which is equivalent to molecular structure information including connectivity, geometry, proximity, dynamics, etc. NMR is the most powerful spectroscopic technique for the elucidation of molecular structure and dynamics.

Nuclear planetary model → Rutherford’s new model/planetary model (instead of the so-called “plum pudding model” of J. J. Thomson, which proved to be incorrect) based on the experimental results, had the new features of a relatively high central charge concentrated into a very small core in comparison to the rest of the atom and containing the bulk of the atomic mass (the nucleus of the atom).

Nucleophilic (nucleophile) → A nucleophile (or ~ reagent) is a reagent that forms a bond to its reaction partner (the electrophile) by donating both bonding electrons. A ‘nucleophilic substitution reaction’ is a heterolytic reaction in which the reagent supplying the entering group acts as a nucleophile.

Nucleotide synthesis → The amount of nucleotides uptaken by diet is not sufficient for several cells, therefore their synthesis is important. They are produced mainly from amino acids. Purin ring is produced by 2Gln, Gly, 2 Formyl THF, CO2 and Asp. Pyrimidine is synthesized from carbamoyl phosphate and Asp.

Nucleus, nuclei → The ~ is the very dense region consisting of nucleons (protons and neutrons) at the center of an atom. Almost all of the mass in an atom is made up from the protons and neutrons in the ~, with a very small contribution from the orbiting electrons. The diameter of the nucleus is in the range of 1.75 fm (1 fm=10^-15 m) for hydrogen (the diameter of a single proton) to about 15 fm for the heaviest atoms (uranium). These dimensions are much smaller than the diameter of the atom itself (nucleus + electronic cloud), by a factor of about 23,000 (uranium) to about 145,000 (hydrogen).

Nullcline → A ~ is a set of points where the temporal derivative of one variable is zero. The intersections of all nullclines are equilibrium points (fixed points) of the system.

Numerical solution of a neuron → Adaptation of the weights by using learning algorithm

18. O

Objective audiometry → Audiometry based on the fact that the amplitude and latency of the exogenous components of the auditory EPs depends on the stimulus intensity.

Observable → In quantum physics, a system ~ is a property of the system state that can be determined by some sequence of physical operations. These operations might involve submitting the system to various electromagnetic fields and eventually reading a value off some gauge. In systems governed by classical mechanics, any experimentally observable value can be shown to be given by a real-valued function on the set of all possible system states. Physically meaningful observables must also satisfy transformation laws which relate observations performed by different observers in different frames of reference.

Occipital cortex → A part of the cerebral cortex located in the posterior lobe of the brain.

Ockham rasor principle → A logic principle from a 14th-century English logician, theologian and Franciscan friar Father William of Ockham

Ocular dominance → ~ is the tendency of cells in visual cortex to prefer visual input from one eye to input from the other.

Ocular dominance stripes → In the primary visual cortex, neurons are organised along bands, with each neighbouring band receiving stimulus from different eye. These bands appear as stripes on the surface of the cortex.

Odd parity code → The ~ (odd parity) is the completed code where the number of 1s in the completed code word is odd.

Oddball paradigm → The subject is presented with two types of stimuli. One is frequently occuring, more common stimulus interleaved by infrequently, rare stimuli. In passive ~ the subject has no task, in the active ~ the subject is asked to indicate the occurance of the rare stimuli (‘oddballs’) by counting or pressing a button.

Ohm’s Law → The voltage and flowing current measured on the same terminals are proportional and their ratio is constant.

Oja learning rule → Modification of the Hebbian learning rule. Oja’s rule introduces a new term into the Hebbian rule, which limits the growth of synaptic weights.

Oja’s algorithm → An algorithm named after Erkki Oja. The algorithm is used to set the weights in a feed forward neural network such that the values are the eigenvectors of a correlation matrix. The algorithm is iterative and does not need the full knowledge of the correlation matrix.

Oligonucleotide array → It is used for a single biological sample and therefore applies one dye

Oligosaccharides → Hydrolysis yields 3-6 monosaccharide units

Oncology → A special field of medicine, which deals with findig, treating and preventing tumors.

One-carbon transfer → ~ is necessary in the amino acid and nucleotide synthesis. Tetrahydrofolate and S-adenosylmethionine serve for this reactions. The bond between S and methyl group in S-adenosylmethionine is very labile, and when an acceptor is present, methyl group enters the acceptor. The remaining S-adenosyl-homocysteine via homocysteine formation resynthesizes S-adenosyl methionine in the activated-methyl cycle. If the cycle is damaged, homocystein level increases causing thrombotic diseases.

On-line learning → An important class of learning tasks and algorithms where inputs are presented one at a time and parameters must be adjusted after each input presentation.

Ontology → ~ is a formal representation of knowledge as a set of concepts within a domain of science, and the relationships between those concepts. It is used to reason about the entities within that domain, and may be used to describe the domain. Gene ~ is a project initiated to define standardized concepts and terminology for genes, proteins, their functions etc.

Open Reading Frame (ORF) → A sequence of DNA that has no stop codon (no signal to stop reading) and therefore may be part a gene. It is used in gene prediction

Open system → It can exchange both matter and heat with its environment.

Operation point → All the electrical characteristics set on an electronic device. In the absence of input signal, values of the static ~ can be measured, in case of a dynamic input the current ~ is constantly changing depending on the input signal.

Operator → An ~ is a mapping from one vector space or module to another. In quantum mechanics observables are modeled as linear operators. Important properties that various operators may exhibit include linearity, continuity, and boundedness.

Ophthalmoscope → Hermann L. F. von Helmholtz developed the first ~ which is used to examine the interior of the eye, including the lens, retina and optic nerve.

Optic radiation → A part of the visual pathway originating from the lateral geniculate nucleus, and terminating in the visual cortex.

Optical efficiency → Defined as 1-R, where R is the reflectivity of the system

Optical fibre → An ~ is a thin, flexible, transparent fiber that acts as a waveguide, or “light pipe”, to transmit light between the two ends of the fibre.

Optical imaging → Brain (electrical) activity measured with voltage sensitive dyes and optical devices.

Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) → ~, resolution enhancement technique

Optics → ~ is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it.

Optocoupler → The ~, as the name implies, converts electric signals into light and then back into an electric signal. Usually, it contains a LED and a phototransistor.

Orexins → A pair of excitatory peptide hormones, which have important roles in the regulation of appetite and sleep.

Organ of Corti → The ~ is the part of the inner ear, it is located in the cochlea and contains the auditory receptors cells, the hair cells.

Organic Chemistry → The field of chemistry dedicated to studying the structure, charactheristics, and reactivity of carbon-containing compounds.

Organic compounds → Compounds composed primarily of carbon and hydrogen atoms. ~ may also contain oxigen, nitrogen, sulfur or phosphorus atoms and some other elements.

Orthodromic → An ~ impulse runs along the axon in its normal direction, away from the soma towards the axon terminals.

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) → It is a method of digital modulation in which a signal is split into several orthogonal narrowband channel.

Orthonormal base system (math) → In linear algebra an ~ consists of vectors which are orthogonal (perpendicular) to each other and every one of them has a unit norm (length)

Orthosis → An ~ is intended to mechanically compensate for a pathological condition.

Oscillating grid → Element of x-ray machines, a grid (having role of filtering non perpendicular radiation) which has oscillating movement during exposure.

Oscillation → ~ is the repetitive variation, typically in time. It can be excited by energy transfer from the environment. Because of analogy of the classical harmonic oscillation, an arbitrary potential can be approximated as a harmonic potential at the vicinity of a stable equilibrium point.

Oscillometric wave → When the cuff is under deflation after being pressurelized to the certain level, a small signal called an ~ is generated.

Oscilloscope → An ~ is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical axis, plotted as a function of time, horizontal axis.

Osmolarity → Total molar concentration of all dissolved particles

Osmometer → A machine for measuring osmotic pressure.

Osmosis → Flux of solvent molecules through a semi-permeable membrane from a compartment with a lower solute concentration into a compartment with higher solute concentration

Osmotic pressure → A pressure which prevents the flow of solvent across a semi-permeable membrane into a solution.

Osseointegration → The ~ is the process during the artificial implants bond with the bone. It can last for several months.

Osseous labyrinth → The ~ is the part of the inner ear and consists of the semicircular canals, the vestibule and the cochlea. It is separeted from membraneous labyrinth, which is located inside the osseous labyrinth, by the perilymph.

Ossicles → The ~ are the three small bones located in the middle ear: the malleus, the incus and the stapes. They are the smallest bones in the human body and transmit sound waves from the eardrum to the cochlea through bone conduction.

Osteoporosis → ~ is a disease of the bones. People with osteoporosis have bones that are weak and break easily.

Outage probability → We define it under the path loss and shadowing to be the probability that the received power falls bellow a threshold value (which is depended on the receiver sensitivity).

Outer hair cells → The hair cells are the receptors of the auditory system. They are located in the organ of Corti on the basilar membrane. The ~ amplify the sound signal with approximately 50 dB before the ~ transform it to electric signals. ~ perform this amplification via the phenomenon of electromotility, which is the mechanical response to electrical signals.

Output layer → The rightmost layer of the FFNN, whereas the output of the network appears

Oval window → The ~ is the part of the inner ear where the sound vibrations originating from the ossicles enter the fluid channels of the cochlea. It is a small oval-shaped opening covered with a membrane.

Overflow bit → This bit is set by the CPU if a signed arithmetic overflow condition is detected during the previous instruction. The value of this flag is significant at the completion of the following instructions: ADD, ADC, INCW, INC, DEC, CMP, SBB, SUB, and DIV.

Overlap → To extend over and cover a part of, to have something in common with

Oversampling → It is the process of sampling a signal with a sampling frequency significantly higher than required. It helps avoid aliasing, improves resolution and reduces noise.

Overtranined network → The phenomenom when the number of the items in the training set is much more than the optimal number. The neural network’s empirical erorr is low, but the theorethical error is large.

Oxazole → ~ is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound with three carbon atoms and one oxigen (at position 1) an one nitrogen (at position 3). (formula C3H3NO)

Oxidation → The removal of one or more electrons from a molecular entity (also called ‘de-electronation’). It also means an increase in the ~ number of any atom within any substrate. It may also leads to the gain of oxygen and/or loss of hydrogen of an organic substrate. Oxidation is the reverse of the reduction processes.

Oxidative phosphorylation → Oxidation (oxygen consumption, or oxidation of reducing equivalents) is coupled to phosphorylation i.e. to ATP synthesis

Oxidoreductase → An enzyme which catalyzes the the transfer of electrons

Oximes → ~ are compounds of structure R₂C=NOH derived from condensation of aldehydes or ketones with hydroxylamine. ~ from aldehydes may be called aldoximes; those from ketones may be called ketoximes.

Oxo compounds → ~ are containing an oxygen atom, =O, doubly bonded to carbon or another element. The term thus embraces aldehydes, carboxylic acids, ketones, sulfonic acids, amides and esters.

Oxocarboxylic acids → ~ are compounds having a carboxy group as well as an aldehydic or ketonic group in the same molecule, e.g. HC(=O)CH2CH2CH2C(=O)OH 4-formylbutanoic acid. In an organic context the term is generally shortened to oxo acids.

19. P

P/O ratio → ~ or ATP/O ratio (where O refers to an oxygen atom) is the number of ATP molecules formed when one oxygen atom is reduced to water

P300 component → The P300 (P3) wave is an ERP elicited by infrequent, task-relevant stimuli. It is considered to be an endogenous potential as its occurrence links not to the physical attributes of a stimulus but to a person’s reaction to the stimulus. More specifically, the P300 is thought to reflect processes involved in stimulus evaluation or categorization.

Paging System → Paging systems broadcast a short paging message simultaneously from many tall base stations or satellites transmitting at a very high power (hundreds of watts to kilowatts).

Pairwise alignment → Comparing two sequences

Palliative treatment → Partial treatment eliminating or reducing symptoms, which substantially impair the life quality of the patient

Palmar grasp → Grasp with full palm to hold larger objects.

PAM (Point accepted mutation) matrix → Based on a mutational model of evolution that assumes the changes occur according to a Markov process

Paralell reactions → Composite reactions, in which processes like occur in parallel, can be called parallel (or simultaneous) reactions. Sometimes there is competition involved

Paralysis → Loss of muscle function for one or more muscles.

Paramagnetic → A substance with a small but positive magnetic susceptibility (magnetizability). The addition of a small amount of ~ substance may greatly reduce the relaxation times of water. Typical ~ substances usually possess an unpaired electron and include atoms or ions of transition elements, rare earth elements, some metals, and some molecules including molecular oxygen and free radicals. ~ substances are considered promising for use as contrast agents in MR imaging.

Parameterized Model number 3 (PM3) → ~ is a semi-empirical method for the quantum calculation of molecular electronic structure in computational chemistry. It is based on the Neglect of Differential Diatomic Overlap integral approximationand it uses the same formalism and equations as the AM1 method. PM3 uses two Gaussian functions for the core repulsion function, instead of the variable number used by AM1 and the numerical values of the parameters are also different.

Parasitic extraction → Extraction process during design phase of parasitic resistance, capacitance, inductivity of wiring.

Parasitic simulation → Simulation case, when the parasitic elements (resistance, capacitance and inductance) of interconnections are also involved in the functional simulation.

Parity → The complementary bit is called ~ bit.

Parkinson’s disease → ~ is a a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that is characterized by tremor at rest, rigidity, bradykinesia and difficulty with walking and gait.

Parsimony method → It generates a tree with the lowest possible so-called parsimony score (sum of cost of all mutations in the tree)