Something borrowed: sequence alignment and the identification of similar passages in large text collections

The following article describes a simple technique to identify lexically-similar passages in large collections of text using sequence alignment algorithms. Primarily used in the field of bioinformatics to identify similar segments of DNA in genome research, sequence alignment has also been employed in many other domains, from plagiarism detection to image processing. While we have applied this approach to a wide variety of diverse text collections, we will focus our discussion here on the identification of similar passages in the famous 18th-century Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot and Jean d'Alembert. Reference works, such as encyclopedias and dictionaries, are generally expected to "reuse" or "borrow" passages from many sources and Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie was no exception. Drawn from an immense variety of source material, both French and non-French, many, if not most, of the borrowings that occur in the Encyclopédie are not sufficiently identified (according to our standards of modern citation), or are only partially acknowledged in passing. The systematic identification of recycled passages can thus offer us a clear indication of the sources the philosophes were exploiting as well as the extent to which the intertextual relations that accompanied its composition and subsequent reception can be explored. In the end,we hope this approach to "Encyclopedic intertextuality" using sequence alignment can broaden the discussion concerning the relationship of Enlightenment thought to previous intellectual traditions as well as its reuse in the centuries that followed

Soil moisture and evapotranspiration predictions using Skylab data

The author has identified the following significant results. Multispectral reflectance and emittance data from the Skylab workshop were evaluated for prediction of evapotranspiration and soil moisture for an irrigated region of southern Texas. Wavelengths greater than 2.1 microns were required to spectrally distinguish between wet and dry fallow surfaces. Thermal data provided a better estimate of soil moisture than did data from the reflective bands. Thermal data were dependent on soil moisture but not on the type of agricultural land use. The emittance map, when used in conjunction with existing models, did provide an estimate of evapotranspiration rates. Surveys of areas of high soil moisture can be accomplished with space altitude thermal data. Thermal data will provide a reliable input into irrigation scheduling

Stable and unstable regimes in Bose-Fermi mixture with attraction between components

A collapse of the trapped boson- fermion mixture with the attraction between bosons and fermions is investigated in the framework of the effective Hamiltonian for the Bose system. The properties of the $^{87}$Rb and $^{40}$K mixture are analyzed quantitatively at $T= 0$. We find numerically solutions of modified Gross- Pitaevskii equation which continuously go from stable to unstable branch. We discuss the relation of the onset of collapse with macroscopic properties of the system. A comparison with the case of a Bose condensate of atomic $^7Li$ system is given.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Mining eighteenth century ontologies: Machine learning and knowledge classification in the encyclopédie

The Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert was one of the most important and revolutionary intellectual products of the French Enlightenment. Mobilizing many of the great – and the notsogreat – philosophes of the 18th century, the Encyclopédie was a massive reference work for the arts and sciences, which sought to organize and transmit the totality of human knowledge while at the same time serving as a vehicle for critical thinking. In its digital form, it is a highly structured corpus; some 55,000 of its 77,000 articles were labeled with classes of knowledge by the editors making it a perfect sandbox for experiments with supervised learning algorithms. In this study, we train a Naive Bayesian classifier on the labeled articles and use this model to determine class membership for the remaining articles. This model is then used to make binary comparisons between labeled texts from different classes in an effort to extract the most important features in terms of class distinction. Reapplying the model onto the original classified articles leads us to question our previous assumptions about the consistency and coherency of the ontology developed by the Encyclopedists. Finally, by applying this model to another corpus from 18th century France, the Journal de Trévoux, or Mémoires pour l'Histoire des Sciences & des BeauxArts, new light is shed on the domain of Literature as it was understood and defined by 18th century writers

Why rational argument fails the genetic modification (GM) debate

AbstractGenetic modification (GM) of crops provides a methodology for the agricultural improvements needed to deliver global food security. However, public opposition to GM-food is great. The debate has tended to risk communication, but here we show through study of a large nationally representative sample of British adults that public acceptance of GM-food has social, cultural and affective contexts. Regression models showed that metaphysical beliefs about the sanctity of food and an emotional dislike of GM-food were primary negative determinants, while belief in the value of science and favourable evaluation of the benefits-to-risks of GM-food were secondary positive determinants. Although institutional trust, general knowledge of the GM-food debate and belief in the eco-friendliness of GM-food were all associated with acceptance, their influence was minor. While a belief in the sanctity of food had a direct inverse effect on GM acceptance, belief in the value of science was largely mediated through favourable perception of benefits-to-risks. Furthermore, segmentation analysis demonstrated that anxiety about GM-food had social and cultural antecedents, with white men being least anxious and older vegetarian women being most anxious. Rational argument alone about the risks and benefits of GM-food is unlikely to change public perceptions of GM-technology

Probability of detection of defects in coatings with electronic shearography

The goal of this research was to utilize statistical methods to evaluate the probability of detection (POD) of defects in coatings using electronic shearography. The coating system utilized in the POD studies was to be the paint system currently utilized on the external casings of the NASA space transportation system reusable solid rocket motor boosters. The population of samples was to be large enough to determine the minimum defect size for 90-percent POD of 95-percent confidence POD on these coatings. Also, the best methods to excite coatings on aerospace components to induce deformations for measurement by electronic shearography were to be determined

Fecal Enterobacteriales enrichment is associated with increased in vivo intestinal permeability in humans

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been linked with increased intestinal permeability, but the clinical significance of this phenomenon remains unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential link between glucose control, intestinal permeability, diet and intestinal microbiota in patients with T2D. Thirty‐two males with well‐controlled T2D and 30 age‐matched male controls without diabetes were enrolled in a case–control study. Metabolic parameters, inflammatory markers, endotoxemia, and intestinal microbiota in individuals subdivided into high (HP) and normal (LP) colonic permeability groups, were the main outcomes. In T2D, the HP group had significantly higher fasting glucose (P = 0.034) and plasma nonesterified fatty acid levels (P = 0.049) compared with the LP group. Increased colonic permeability was also linked with altered abundances of selected microbial taxa. The microbiota of both T2D and control HP groups was enriched with Enterobacteriales. In conclusion, high intestinal permeability was associated with poorer fasting glucose control in T2D patients and changes in some microbial taxa in both T2D patients and nondiabetic controls. Therefore, enrichment in the gram‐negative order Enterobacteriales may characterize impaired colonic permeability prior to/independently from a disruption in glucose tolerance

Curative Control of the Peachtree Borer Using Entomopathogenic Nematodes

The peachtree borer, Synanthedon exitiosa (Say 1823), is a major pest of stone fruit trees in North America. Current management relies upon preventative control using broad-spectrum chemical insecticides, primarily chlorpyrifos, applied in the late summer or early fall. However, due to missed applications, poor application timing, or other factors, high levels of S. exitiosa infestation may still occur and persist through the following spring. Curative treatments applied in the spring to established infestations would limit damage to the tree and prevent the next generation of S. exitiosa from emerging within the orchard. However, such curative measures for control of S. exitiosa do not exist. Our objective was to measure the efficacy of the entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae, as a curative control for existing infestations of S. exitiosa. In peach orchards, spring applications of S. carpocapsae (obtained from a commercial source) were made to infested trees and compared with chlorpyrifos and a water-only control in 2014 and 2015. Additionally, types of spray equipment were compared: nematodes were applied via boom sprayer, handgun, or trunk sprayer. To control for effects of application method or nematode source, in vivo laboratory-grown S. carpocapsae, applied using a watering can, was also included. Treatment effects were assessed 39 d (2014) or 19 d (2015) later by measuring percentage of trees still infested, and also number of surviving S. exitiosa larvae per tree. Results indicated that S. carpocapsae provided significant curative control (e.g., .80% corrected control for the handgun application). In contrast, chlorpyrifos failed to reduce S. exitiosa infestations or number of surviving larvae. In most comparisons, no effect of nematode application method was detected; in one assessment, only the handgun and watering can methods reduced infestation. In conclusion, our study indicates that S. carpocapsae may be used as an effective curative measure for S. exitiosa infestations

The Australian Space Eye: studying the history of galaxy formation with a CubeSat

The Australian Space Eye is a proposed astronomical telescope based on a 6U CubeSat platform. The Space Eye will exploit the low level of systematic errors achievable with a small space based telescope to enable high accuracy measurements of the optical extragalactic background light and low surface brightness emission around nearby galaxies. This project is also a demonstrator for several technologies with general applicability to astronomical observations from nanosatellites. Space Eye is based around a 90 mm aperture clear aperture all refractive telescope for broadband wide field imaging in the i and z bands.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, submitted for publication as Proc. SPIE 9904, 9904-56 (SPIE Astronomical Telescopes & Instrumentation 2016