Python Programming for Biology: Bioinformatics and Beyond

(chemistry):

Hyperplane

(mathematics):

Hypervariable site

(molecular biology):

Identity matrix

(mathematics):

Image recognition

(graphics):

Implementation

(computing):

Import (computing):

Independent

(mathematics):

proteins.

A water-loving chemical or chemical group. Such groups are

polar or charged and readily dissolve in water by forming

stabilising interactions.

A water-hating chemical or chemical group. Such groups are

non-polar, typically consisting of hydrocarbons. A lack of

favourable interactions with water means hydrophobic groups

tend to cluster together, for example in the cores of globular

proteins and in lipid bilayers.

A flat surface in a space with a high number of dimensions (or

independent features).

When talking of variation in protein or DNA sequences, a

position where the rate of substitution, from one residue to

another, during evolution is significantly higher than average.

Hypervariable sequences are useful in distinguishing individuals

for DNA fingerprinting.

A matrix which when applied to a vector or other matrix (by

matrix multiplication) leaves the subject unaltered. The

elements of the matrix are 1 along the diagonal but otherwise 0.

The analysis of an image to determine properties about the

physical items that the image represents, for example to count

items or determine their shape.

The actual code in a computer program that provides some

desired functionality.

With reference to a computer program code, to incorporate the

functionality from a separate program module that exists

elsewhere, e.g. saved in a different file.

With two or more random variables, whether the values of any

subset of these depend in any way on the values of the

remaining ones.

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Index (computing):

Influenza (biology):

Information entropy

(mathematics):

Inheritance (computing):

Inner product

(mathematics):

Instantiation

(computing):

Integer (computing):

Intensity (signal

processing):

The position of a data item within an ordered collection; in a

containment data structure. In Python indices are integers that

start at 0 and negative numbers count backward from the end.

The RNA virus that causes the infectious disease of the same

name (or simply ‘flu’).

Otherwise known as Shannon entropy, is a measure of the

amount of randomness in a variable quantity, which in turn is a

measure of information content. The further a set of data is from

a random distribution (or any null hypothesis) the more

information it contains compared to that distribution. High

entropy corresponds to low information content.

When considering computational class definitions, inheritance is

the mechanism by which a subclass will automatically gain the

same definitions (of attributes and methods etc.) as a parent

super-class. The inherited properties of the subclass may differ

from the super-class, but only if they are explicitly overwritten

in the subclass.

The sum of the component-wise product of two vectors, or

arrays. Generally synonymous with dot product (see above).

To make a real, in-memory representation of something that was

initially defined in abstract terms. For example, a class is an

abstract definition of an object which is instantiated to make an

actual in-memory object.

A whole number data type, without a decimal point. Integers

can have positive or negative sign. In Python the number 3 is of

integer type whereas 3.0 is not; although these numbers have the

same mathematical value their internal representation is

different.

A measure of the strength of a measured signal. This is a

somewhat ambiguous term; for signal data it can refer to signal

height or volume. For radiant energy, such as light or sound, the

intensity is a measure of energy output for a given spatial

region.

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Interface (computing):

Intersection