The growth in the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology fields over the last few years has been remarkable and the trend is to increase its pace. In fact, the need for computational techniques that can efficiently handle the huge amounts of data produced by the new experimental techniques in Biology is still increasing driven by new advances in Next Generation Sequencing, several types of the so called omics data and image acquisition, just to name a few. The analysis of the datasets that produces and its integration call for new algorithms and approaches from fields such as Databases, Statistics, Data Mining, Machine Learning, Optimization, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence. Within this scenario of increasing data availability, Systems Biology has also been emerging as an alternative to the reductionist view that dominated biological research in the last decades. Indeed, Biology is more and more a science of information requiring tools from the computational sciences. In the last few years, we have seen the surge of a new generation of interdisciplinary scientists that have a strong background in the biological and computational sciences. In this context, the interaction of researchers from different scientific fields is, more than ever, of foremost importance boosting the research efforts in the field and contributing to the education of a new generation of Bioinformatics scientists. PACBB‘12 hopes to contribute to this effort promoting this fruitful interaction. PACBB'12 technical program included 32 papers from a submission pool of 61 papers spanning many different sub-fields in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Therefore, the conference will certainly have promoted the interaction of scientists from diverse research groups and with a distinct background (computer scientists, mathematicians, biologists). The scientific content will certainly be challenging and will promote the improvement of the work that is being developed by each of the participants.

JACK LONDON (1876-1916), American novelist, born in San Francisco, the son of an itinerant astrologer and a spiritualist mother. He grew up in poverty, scratching a living in various legal and illegal ways -robbing the oyster beds, working in a canning factory and a jute mill, serving aged 17 as a common sailor, and taking part in the Klondike gold rush of 1897. This various experience provided the material for his works, and made him a socialist. "The son of the Wolf" (1900), the first of his collections of tales, is based upon life in the Far North, as is the book that brought him recognition, "The Call of the Wild" (1903), which tells the story of the dog Buck, who, after his master ́s death, is lured back to the primitive world to lead a wolf pack. Many other tales of struggle, travel, and adventure followed, including "The Sea-Wolf" (1904), "White Fang" (1906), "South Sea Tales" (1911), and "Jerry of the South Seas" (1917). One of London ́s most interesting novels is the semi-autobiographical "Martin Eden" (1909). He also wrote socialist treatises, autobiographical essays, and a good deal of journalism.

In this 13th edition of "Adventuring with Books," teachers and librarians will find descriptions of more than 850 texts (published between 1999 and 2001) suitable for student use in background research, unit study, or pleasure reading, and children will find books that delight, amuse, and entertain. The texts described in the book are divided into 24 general topics, including Science Nonfiction; Struggle and Survival; Fantasy Literature; Sports; Games and Hobbies; and Mathematics in Our World. To highlight literature that reflects the schools' multiple ethnicities, the booklist also introduces readers to recent literature that celebrates African American, Asian and Pacific Island, Hispanic American, and indigenous cultures. Each chapter begins with a brief list of selection criteria, a streamlined list of all annotated titles in that chapter, and an introduction in which chapter editors discuss their criteria and the status of available books in that subject area. While the reviews were written by adults, the voices and opinions of children are often included as well, lending credence to adult choices of the quality children's books. (NKA).

With more than three-quarters of a million copies sold since its first publication, The Craft of Research has helped generations of researchers at every level—from first-year undergraduates to advanced graduate students to research reporters in business and government—learn how to conduct effective and meaningful research. Conceived by seasoned researchers and educators Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams, this fundamental work explains how to find and evaluate sources, anticipate and respond to reader reservations, and integrate these pieces into an argument that stands up to reader critique. The fourth edition has been thoroughly but respectfully revised by Joseph Bizup and William T. FitzGerald. It retains the original five-part structure, as well as the sound advice of earlier editions, but reflects the way research and writing are taught and practiced today. Its chapters on finding and engaging sources now incorporate recent developments in library and Internet research, emphasizing new techniques made possible by online databases and search engines. Bizup and FitzGerald provide fresh examples and standardized terminology to clarify concepts like argument, warrant, and problem. Following the same guiding principle as earlier editions—that the skills of doing and reporting research are not just for elite students but for everyone—this new edition retains the accessible voice and direct approach that have made The Craft of Research a leader in the field of research reference. With updated examples and information on evaluation and using contemporary sources, this beloved classic is ready for the next generation of researchers.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second International Conference on Meta-Level Architectures and Reflection, Reflection'99, held in St. Malo, France in July 1999. The 13 revised full papers presented were carefully selected from 44 submissions. Also included are six short papers and the abstracts of three invited talks. The papers are organized in sections on programming languages, meta object protocols, middleware/multi-media, work in progress, applications, and meta-programming. The volume covers all current issues arising in the design and analysis of reflective systems and demontrates their practical applications.

The 8th International Database Workshop, organized by the Hong Kong Computer Society and held in Hong Kong in July 1997, dedicated its theme to Data Mining, Data Warehouse and Client/Server Databases with separate focuses on the Academic and the Industrial Streams. It brought together database practitioners, researchers and vendors to share and explore their methodologies and experiences of advance database systems. These proceedings contain 22 of the selected papers received for the section on the Industrial Stream, written by database vendors and consultants from 14 countries around the world. It will serve as a useful and practical technology reference book on the latest findings in the field.