A Neural Networks Committee for the Contextual Bandit Problem

This paper presents a new contextual bandit algorithm, NeuralBandit, which does not need hypothesis on stationarity of contexts and rewards. Several neural networks are trained to modelize the value of rewards knowing the context. Two variants, based on multi-experts approach, are proposed to choose online the parameters of multi-layer perceptrons. The proposed algorithms are successfully tested on a large dataset with and without stationarity of rewards.Comment: 21st International Conference on Neural Information Processin

Metabolite changes in blood predict the onset of tuberculosis

Immunogenetics and cellular immunology of bacterial infectious disease

Spontaneous HIV expression during suppressive ART is associated with the magnitude and function of HIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.

Spontaneous transcription and translation of HIV can persist during suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). The quantity, phenotype, and biological relevance of this spontaneously "active" reservoir remain unclear. Using multiplexed single-cell RNAflow-fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), we detect active HIV transcription in 14/18 people with HIV on suppressive ART, with a median of 28/million CD4 <sup>+</sup> T cells. While these cells predominantly exhibit abortive transcription, p24-expressing cells are evident in 39% of participants. Phenotypically diverse, active reservoirs are enriched in central memory T cells and CCR6- and activation-marker-expressing cells. The magnitude of the active reservoir positively correlates with total HIV-specific CD4 <sup>+</sup> and CD8 <sup>+</sup> T cell responses and with multiple HIV-specific T cell clusters identified by unsupervised analysis. These associations are particularly strong with p24-expressing active reservoir cells. Single-cell vDNA sequencing shows that active reservoirs are largely dominated by defective proviruses. Our data suggest that these reservoirs maintain HIV-specific CD4 <sup>+</sup> and CD8 <sup>+</sup> T responses during suppressive ART

Humoral Responses against BQ.1.1 Elicited after Breakthrough Infection and SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination.

The Omicron BQ.1.1 variant is now the major SARS-CoV-2 circulating strain in many countries. Because of the many mutations present in its Spike glycoprotein, this variant is resistant to humoral responses elicited by monovalent mRNA vaccines. With the goal to improve immune responses against Omicron subvariants, bivalent mRNA vaccines have recently been approved in several countries. In this study, we measure the capacity of plasma from vaccinated individuals, before and after a fourth dose of mono- or bivalent mRNA vaccine, to recognize and neutralize the ancestral (D614G) and the BQ.1.1 Spikes. Before and after the fourth dose, we observe a significantly better recognition and neutralization of the ancestral Spike. We also observe that fourth-dose vaccinated individuals who have been recently infected better recognize and neutralize the BQ.1.1 Spike, independently of the mRNA vaccine used, than donors who have never been infected or have an older infection. Our study supports that hybrid immunity, generated by vaccination and a recent infection, induces higher humoral responses than vaccination alone, independently of the mRNA vaccine used

EMIL The energy materials in situ laboratory Berlin a novel characterization facility for photovoltaic and energy materials

A knowledge based approach towards developing a new generation of solar energy conversion devices requires a fast and direct feedback between sophisticated analytics and state of the art processing test facilities for all relevant material classes. A promising approach is the coupling of synchrotron based X ray characterization techniques, providing the unique possibility to map the electronic and chemical structure of thin layers and interface regions with relevant in system in situ sample preparation or in operando analysis capabilities in one dedicated laboratory. EMIL, the Energy Materials In situ Laboratory Berlin, is a unique facility at the BESSY II synchrotron light source. EMIL will be dedicated to the in system, in situ, and in operando X ray analysis of materials and devices for energy conversion and energy storage technologies including photovoltaic applications and photo electrochemical processes. EMIL comprises up to five experimental end stations, three of them can access X rays in an energy range of 80 eV 10 keV. For example, one key setup of EMIL combines a suite of advanced spectroscopic characterization tools with industry relevant deposition facilities in one integrated ultra high vacuum system. These deposition tools allow the growth of PV devices based on silicon, compound semiconductors, hybrid heterojunctions, and organo metal halide perovskites on up to 6 sized substrates. EMIL will serve as a research platform for national and international collaboration in the field of photovoltaic photocatalytic energy conversion and beyond. In this paper, we will provide an overview of the analytic and material capabilities at EMIL

Towards an understanding of neuroscience for science educators

Advances in neuroscience have brought new insights to the development of cognitive functions. These data are of considerable interest to educators concerned with how students learn. This review documents some of the recent findings in neuroscience, which is richer in describing cognitive functions than affective aspects of learning. A brief overview is presented here of the techniques used to generate data from imaging and how these findings have the possibility to inform educators. There are implications for considering the impact of neuroscience at all levels of education – from the classroom teacher and practitioner to policy. This relatively new cross-disciplinary area of research implies a need for educators and scientists to engage with each other. What questions are emerging through such dialogues between educators and scientists are likely to shed light on, for example, reward, motivation, working memory, learning difficulties, bilingualism and child development. The sciences of learning are entering a new paradigm

The geology and geophysics of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth

The Cold Classical Kuiper Belt, a class of small bodies in undisturbed orbits beyond Neptune, are primitive objects preserving information about Solar System formation. The New Horizons spacecraft flew past one of these objects, the 36 km long contact binary (486958) Arrokoth (2014 MU69), in January 2019. Images from the flyby show that Arrokoth has no detectable rings, and no satellites (larger than 180 meters diameter) within a radius of 8000 km, and has a lightly-cratered smooth surface with complex geological features, unlike those on previously visited Solar System bodies. The density of impact craters indicates the surface dates from the formation of the Solar System. The two lobes of the contact binary have closely aligned poles and equators, constraining their accretion mechanism

The Concept of Governance in the Spirit of Capitalism

Through combining insights from political economy and sociology, this article explains the early genesis of the policy notion of governance in relation to ideological changes in capitalism. Such an approach has tended to be neglected in existing conceptual histories, in the process, undermining a sharper politicization of the term and how it became normalized. The argument dissects how the emergence of governance can be understood in light of a relationship between political crises, social critique and justificatory arguments (centered around security and justice claims) that form part of an ideological ‘spirit of capitalism’. Through a distinctive comparison between the creation of ‘corporate governance’ in the 1970s and the formulation of a ‘governance agenda’ by the World Bank from the 1980s, the article elucidates how the concept, within certain policy uses, but by no means all, can reflect and help constitute a neoliberal spirit of capitalism

Diagnosis of obstructive coronary artery disease using computed tomography angiography in patients with stable chest pain depending on clinical probability and in clinically important subgroups: Meta-analysis of individual patient data

Objective To determine whether coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) should be performed in patients with any clinical probability of coronary artery disease (CAD), and whether the diagnostic performance differs between subgroups of patients. Design Prospectively designed meta-analysis of individual patient data from prospective diagnostic accuracy studies. Data sources Medline, Embase, and Web of Science for published studies. Unpublished studies were identified via direct contact with participating investigators. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Prospective diagnostic accuracy studies that compared coronary CTA with coronary angiography as the reference standard, using at least a 50% diameter reduction as a cutoff value for obstructive CAD. All patients needed to have a clinical indication for coronary angiography due to suspected CAD, and both tests had to be performed in all patients. Results had to be provided using 2 72 or 3 72 cross tabulations for the comparison of CTA with coronary angiography. Primary outcomes were the positive and negative predictive values of CTA as a function of clinical pretest probability of obstructive CAD, analysed by a generalised linear mixed model; calculations were performed including and excluding non-diagnostic CTA results. The no-treat/treat threshold model was used to determine the range of appropriate pretest probabilities for CTA. The threshold model was based on obtained post-test probabilities of less than 15% in case of negative CTA and above 50% in case of positive CTA. Sex, angina pectoris type, age, and number of computed tomography detector rows were used as clinical variables to analyse the diagnostic performance in relevant subgroups. Results Individual patient data from 5332 patients from 65 prospective diagnostic accuracy studies were retrieved. For a pretest probability range of 7-67%, the treat threshold of more than 50% and the no-treat threshold of less than 15% post-test probability were obtained using CTA. At a pretest probability of 7%, the positive predictive value of CTA was 50.9% (95% confidence interval 43.3% to 57.7%) and the negative predictive value of CTA was 97.8% (96.4% to 98.7%); corresponding values at a pretest probability of 67% were 82.7% (78.3% to 86.2%) and 85.0% (80.2% to 88.9%), respectively. The overall sensitivity of CTA was 95.2% (92.6% to 96.9%) and the specificity was 79.2% (74.9% to 82.9%). CTA using more than 64 detector rows was associated with a higher empirical sensitivity than CTA using up to 64 rows (93.4% v 86.5%, P=0.002) and specificity (84.4% v 72.6%, P<0.001). The area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve for CTA was 0.897 (0.889 to 0.906), and the diagnostic performance of CTA was slightly lower in women than in with men (area under the curve 0.874 (0.858 to 0.890) v 0.907 (0.897 to 0.916), P<0.001). The diagnostic performance of CTA was slightly lower in patients older than 75 (0.864 (0.834 to 0.894), P=0.018 v all other age groups) and was not significantly influenced by angina pectoris type (typical angina 0.895 (0.873 to 0.917), atypical angina 0.898 (0.884 to 0.913), non-anginal chest pain 0.884 (0.870 to 0.899), other chest discomfort 0.915 (0.897 to 0.934)). Conclusions In a no-treat/treat threshold model, the diagnosis of obstructive CAD using coronary CTA in patients with stable chest pain was most accurate when the clinical pretest probability was between 7% and 67%. Performance of CTA was not influenced by the angina pectoris type and was slightly higher in men and lower in older patients. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42012002780