The evolution of bits and bottlenecks in a scientific workflow trying to keep up with technology: Accelerating 4D image segmentation applied to nasa data

In 2016, a team of earth scientists directly engaged a team of computer scientists to identify cyberinfrastructure (CI) approaches that would speed up an earth science workflow. This paper describes the evolution of that workflow as the two teams bridged CI and an image segmentation algorithm to do large scale earth science research. The Pacific Research Platform (PRP) and The Cognitive Hardware and Software Ecosystem Community Infrastructure (CHASE-CI) resources were used to significantly decreased the earth science workflow's wall-clock time from 19.5 days to 53 minutes. The improvement in wall-clock time comes from the use of network appliances, improved image segmentation, deployment of a containerized workflow, and the increase in CI experience and training for the earth scientists. This paper presents a description of the evolving innovations used to improve the workflow, bottlenecks identified within each workflow version, and improvements made within each version of the workflow, over a three-year time period

How Reasoning Aims at Truth

Many hold that theoretical reasoning aims at truth. In this paper, I ask what it is for reasoning to be thus aim-directed. Standard answers to this question explain reasoning’s aim-directedness in terms of intentions, dispositions, or rule-following. I argue that, while these views contain important insights, they are not satisfactory. As an alternative, I introduce and defend a novel account: reasoning aims at truth in virtue of being the exercise of a distinctive kind of cognitive power, one that, unlike ordinary dispositions, is capable of fully explaining its own exercises. I argue that this account is able to avoid the difficulties plaguing standard accounts of the relevant sort of mental teleology

Stoics against stoics in Cudworth's "A Treatise of Freewill"

In his 'A Treatise of Freewill', Ralph Cudworth argues against Stoic determinism by drawing on what he takes to be other concepts found in Stoicism, notably the claim that some things are ‘up to us’ and that these things are the product of our choice. These concepts are central to the late Stoic Epictetus and it appears at first glance as if Cudworth is opposing late Stoic voluntarism against early Stoic determinism. This paper argues that in fact, despite his claim to be drawing on Stoic doctrine, Cudworth uses these terms with a meaning first articulated only later, by the Peripatetic commentator Alexander of Aphrodisias

Head Position in Stroke Trial (HeadPoST)- sitting-up vs lying-flat positioning of patients with acute stroke: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

Background Positioning a patient lying-flat in the acute phase of ischaemic stroke may improve recovery and reduce disability, but such a possibility has not been formally tested in a randomised trial. We therefore initiated the Head Position in Stroke Trial (HeadPoST) to determine the effects of lying-flat (0°) compared with sitting-up (≥30°) head positioning in the first 24 hours of hospital admission for patients with acute stroke. Methods/Design We plan to conduct an international, cluster randomised, crossover, open, blinded outcome-assessed clinical trial involving 140 study hospitals (clusters) with established acute stroke care programs. Each hospital will be randomly assigned to sequential policies of lying-flat (0°) or sitting-up (≥30°) head position as a ‘business as usual’ stroke care policy during the first 24 hours of admittance. Each hospital is required to recruit 60 consecutive patients with acute ischaemic stroke (AIS), and all patients with acute intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) (an estimated average of 10), in the first randomised head position policy before crossing over to the second head position policy with a similar recruitment target. After collection of in-hospital clinical and management data and 7-day outcomes, central trained blinded assessors will conduct a telephone disability assessment with the modified Rankin Scale at 90 days. The primary outcome for analysis is a shift (defined as improvement) in death or disability on this scale. For a cluster size of 60 patients with AIS per intervention and with various assumptions including an intracluster correlation coefficient of 0.03, a sample size of 16,800 patients at 140 centres will provide 90 % power (α 0.05) to detect at least a 16 % relative improvement (shift) in an ordinal logistic regression analysis of the primary outcome. The treatment effect will also be assessed in all patients with ICH who are recruited during each treatment study period. Discussion HeadPoST is a large international clinical trial in which we will rigorously evaluate the effects of different head positioning in patients with acute stroke. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02162017 (date of registration: 27 April 2014); ANZCTR identifier: ACTRN12614000483651 (date of registration: 9 May 2014). Protocol version and date: version 2.2, 19 June 2014

Clinical delineation and natural history of the PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum.

Somatic mutations in the phosphatidylinositol/AKT/mTOR pathway cause segmental overgrowth disorders. Diagnostic descriptors associated with PIK3CA mutations include fibroadipose overgrowth (FAO), Hemihyperplasia multiple Lipomatosis (HHML), Congenital Lipomatous Overgrowth, Vascular malformations, Epidermal nevi, Scoliosis/skeletal and spinal (CLOVES) syndrome, macrodactyly, and the megalencephaly syndrome, Megalencephaly-Capillary malformation (MCAP) syndrome. We set out to refine the understanding of the clinical spectrum and natural history of these phenotypes, and now describe 35 patients with segmental overgrowth and somatic PIK3CA mutations. The phenotypic data show that these previously described disease entities have considerable overlap, and represent a spectrum. While this spectrum overlaps with Proteus syndrome (sporadic, mosaic, and progressive) it can be distinguished by the absence of cerebriform connective tissue nevi and a distinct natural history. Vascular malformations were found in 15/35 (43%) and epidermal nevi in 4/35 (11%) patients, lower than in Proteus syndrome. Unlike Proteus syndrome, 31/35 (89%) patients with PIK3CA mutations had congenital overgrowth, and in 35/35 patients this was asymmetric and disproportionate. Overgrowth was mild with little postnatal progression in most, while in others it was severe and progressive requiring multiple surgeries. Novel findings include: adipose dysregulation present in all patients, unilateral overgrowth that is predominantly left-sided, overgrowth that affects the lower extremities more than the upper extremities and progresses in a distal to proximal pattern, and in the most severely affected patients is associated with marked paucity of adipose tissue in unaffected areas. While the current data are consistent with some genotype-phenotype correlation, this cannot yet be confirmed

A Multi-Actor Literature Review on Alternative and Sustainable Food Systems for the Promotion of Cereal Biodiversity

Organic and low-input food systems are emerging worldwide in answer to the sustainability crisis of the conventional agri-food sector. “Alternative” systems are based on local, decentralized approaches to production and processing, regarding quality and health, and short supply-chains for products with strong local identities. Diversity is deeply embedded in these food systems, from the agrobiodiversity grown in farmers’ fields, which improves resilience and adaptation, to diverse approaches, contexts and actors in food manufacturing and marketing. Diversity thus becomes a cross-sectoral issue which acknowledges consumers’ demand for healthy products. In the framework of the European project “CERERE, CEreal REnaissance in Rural Europe: embedding diversity in organic and low-input food systems”, the paper aims at reviewing recent research on alternative and sustainable food systems by adopting an innovative and participatory multi-actor approach; this has involved ten practitioners and twenty-two researchers from across Europe and a variety of technical backgrounds in the paper and analysis stages. The participatory approach is the main innovation and distinctive feature of this literature review. Partners selected indeed what they perceived as most relevant in order to facilitate a transition towards more sustainable and diversity based cereal systems and food chains. This includes issues related to alternative food networks, formal and informal institutional settings, grass root initiatives, consumer involvement and, finally, knowledge exchange and sustainability. The review provides an overview of recent research that is relevant to CERERE partners as well as to anyone interested in alternative and sustainable food systems. The main objective of this paper was indeed to present a narrative of studies, which can form the foundation for future applied research to promote alternative methods of cereal production in Europe.Peer reviewe

Proof-of-Concept of Real-World Quantum Key Distribution with Quantum Frames

We propose and experimentally investigate a fibre-based quantum key distribution system, which employs polarization qubits encoded into faint laser pulses. As a novel feature, it allows sending of classical framing information via sequences of strong laser pulses that precede the quantum data. This allows synchronization, sender and receiver identification, and compensation of time-varying birefringence in the communication channel. In addition, this method also provides a platform to communicate implementation specific information such as encoding and protocol in view of future optical quantum networks. Furthermore, we report on our current effort to develop high-rate error correction.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figures, 4 table

Epistemic injustice: A role for recognition?

© The Author(s) 2017. My aim in this article is to propose that an insightful way of articulating the feminist concept of epistemic injustice can be provided by paying significant attention to recognition theory. The article intends to provide an account for diagnosing epistemic injustice as a social pathology and also attempts to paint a picture of some social cure of structural forms of epistemic injustice. While there are many virtues to the literature on epistemic injustice, epistemic exclusion and silencing, current discourse on diagnosing as well as explicating and overcoming these social pathologies can be improved and enriched by bringing recognition theory into the conversation: under recognition theory, social normative standards are constructed out of the moral grammar of recognition attributions. I shall argue that the failure to properly recognize and afford somebody or a social group the epistemic respect they merit is an act of injustice in the sense of depriving individuals of a progressive social environment in which the epistemic respect afforded to them plays a significant role in enabling and fostering their self-confidence as rational enquirers. Testimonial injustice is particularly harrowing, because it robs a group or an individual of the status of a rational enquirer, thereby creating an asymmetrical cognitive environment in which that group or individual is not deemed one’s conversational peer. Hermeneutical injustice is particularly harrowing, because asymmetrical cognitive environments further entrench the normative power of ideology