Assessments of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in the treatment of alcoholism have not been based on quantitative meta-analysis. Hence, we performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in order to evaluate the clinical efficacy of LSD in the treatment of alcoholism. Two reviewers independently extracted the data, pooling the effects using odds ratios (ORs) by a generic inverse variance, random effects model. We identified six eligible trials, including 536 participants. There was evidence for a beneficial effect of LSD on alcohol misuse (OR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.36–2.84; p = 0.0003). Between-trial heterogeneity for the treatment effects was negligible (I² = 0%). Secondary outcomes, risk of bias and limitations are discussed. A single dose of LSD, in the context of various alcoholism treatment programs, is associated with a decrease in alcohol misuse.

Naively applying Hubble's law to a sufficiently distant object gives a receding velocity larger than the speed of light. By discussing a very similar situation in special relativity, we argue that Hubble's law is meaningful only for nearby objects with non-relativistic receding speeds. To support this claim, we note that in a curved spacetime manifold it is not possible to directly compare tangent vectors at different points, and thus there is no natural definition of relative velocity between two spatially separated objects in cosmology. We clarify the geometrical meaning of the Hubble's receding speed v by showing that in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime if the four-velocity vector of a comoving object is parallel-transported along the straight line in flat comoving coordinates to the position of a second comoving object, then v/c actually becomes the rapidity of the local Lorentz transformation, which maps the fixed four-velocity vector to the transported one.

The transmission rate of communication between radio telescopes on Earth and extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) has been calculated up to the distances 1000 light years. Phase-shift-keying (PSK) and frequency-shift keying (FSK) modulation schemes are both considered here. It has been demonstrated that M-ary FSK is advantageous in terms of energy. Narrow-band pulses scattered over the spectrum can be the probable signals of ETI and modern SETI spectrum analyzers are well suited to searching for these types of signals. Such signals can be detected using the Hough transform which is a dedicated tool for detecting patterns on an image. The time-frequency plane representing the power output of the spectrum analyzer during the search for ETI gives an image from which the Hough transform (HT) can detect signal patterns with frequency drift.

The expansion of the observed universe appears to be accelerating. A simple explanation of this phenomenon is provided by the non-vanishing of the cosmological constant in the Einstein equations. Arguments are commonly presented to the effect that this simple explanation is not viable or not sufficient, and therefore we are facing the "great mystery" of the "nature of a dark energy". We argue that these arguments are unconvincing, or ill-founded.

tIt is well known that interstellar travel is bounded by the finite speed of light, but on very large scales any rocketeer would also need to consider the influence of cosmological expansion on their journey. This paper examines accelerated journeys within the framework of Friedmann- Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker universes, illustrating how the duration of a fixed acceleration sharply divides exploration over interstellar and intergalactic distances. Furthermore, we show how the universal expansion increases the difficulty of intergalactic navigation, with small uncertainties in cosmological parameters resulting in significantly large deviations. This paper also shows that, contrary to simplistic ideas, the motion of any rocketeer is indistinguishable from Newtonian gravity if the acceleration is kept small.

Formulae for the line-of-sight and transverse comoving distances, proper motion distance, angular diameter distance, luminosity distance, k-correction, distance modulus, comoving volume, lookback time, age, and object intersection probability are all given, some with justifications. Some attempt is made to rationalize disparate terminologies, or at least abuse bad usage.

We describe an image analysis supervised learning algorithm that can automatically classify galaxy images. The algorithm is first trained using a manually classified images of elliptical, spiral, and edge-on galaxies. A large set of image features is extracted from each image, and the most informative features are selected using Fisher scores. Test images can then be classified using a simple Weighted Nearest Neighbor rule such that the Fisher scores are used as the feature weights. Experimental results show that galaxy images from Galaxy Zoo can be classified automatically to spiral, elliptical and edge-on galaxies with accuracy of ~90% compared to classifications carried out by the author. Full compilable source code of the algorithm is available for free download, and its general-purpose nature makes it suitable for other uses that involve automatic image analysis of celestial objects.

Astronomy provides a laboratory for extreme physics, a window into environments at extremes of distance, temperature and density that often can't be reproduced in Earth laboratories, or at least not right away. A surprising amount of the science we understand today started out as solutions to problems in astronomy. Some of this science was key in the development of many technologies which we enjoy today. This paper describes some of these connections between astronomy and technology and their history.

In this article I present some special astronomical scripts created for Google Earth, Google Sky and Twitter. These 'hacks' are examples of the ways in which such tools can be used either alone, in on conjunction with online services. The result of a combination of multiple, online services to form a new facility is called a mash-up. Some of what follows falls into that definition. As we move into an era of online data and tools, it is the network as a whole that becomes important. Tools emerging from this network can be capable of more than the sum of their parts.

We describe a new formula capable of quantitatively characterizing the Hubble sequence of spiral galaxies including grand design and barred spirals. Special shapes such as ring galaxies with inward and outward arms are also described by the analytic continuation of the same formula. The formula is r(φ) =A/log [B tan (φ/2N)] . This function intrinsically generates a bar in a continuous, fixed relationship relative to an arm of arbitrary winding sweep. A is simply a scale parameter while B, together with N, determines the spiral pitch. Roughly, greater N results in tighter winding. Greater B results in greater arm sweep and smaller bar/bulge, while smaller B fits larger bar/bulge with a sharper bar/arm junction. Thus B controls the 'bar/bulge-to-arm' size, while N controls the tightness much like the Hubble scheme. The formula can be recast in a form dependent only on a unique point of turnover angle of pitch – essentially a one-parameter fit [...]

Proposal for a Cosmological Tests with Ly$\alpha$ emitters.

Reprinted with kind permission from Annual Reviews, 4139 El Camino Way, Palo Alto, California, USA

I present an elementary essay on some issues related to nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, which is written in the spirit of extreme simplicity, making it an easy-to-read paper. Moreover, one can find a useful collection of ideas and opinions expressed by many well-known authors in this vast research field

The current form of the Particle properties tables stems directly from a 1957 article in the Annual review of nuclear science, by Gell-Mann and Rosenfeld.

Data on particles were becoming available at an increasing rate, and even before the Annual Review volume was published, Walter H. Barkas and A. H. Rosenfeld decided to make the first update of the table of masses and mean lives. It appeared as Lawrence Radiation Laboratory Report UCRL-8030 (unpublished). Thus 1957 saw the first edition of UCRL-8030: Data for elementary-particle physics.

The first revision of UCRL-8030 was made in 1958, accompanied by a "wallet card".

In 1963, Matts Roos's Tables of elementary particles and resonant states illustrated that it was no longer possible for a single person to compile data critically. Thus, as he saw the Rosenfeld et al.'s computerized draft of the 1964 edition, he suggested combining efforts.

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We present a semi-analytical model of star formation which explains simultaneously the observed UV luminosity function of high redshift Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) and luminosity functions of Lyman-alpha emitters. [...]

The way galaxies assemble their mass to form the well-defined Hubble sequence is amongst the most debated topic in modern cosmology. One difficulty is to link distant galaxies to those at present epoch. We aim at establishing how were the galaxies of the Hubble sequence, 6 Gyrs ago. We intend to derive a past Hubble sequence that can be causally linked to the present-day one. We selected samples of nearby galaxies from the SDSS and of distant galaxies from the GOODS survey. We verified that each sample is representative of galaxies. We further showed that the observational conditions necessary to retrieve their morphological classification are similar in an unbiased way. Morphological analysis has been done in an identical way for all galaxies in the two samples. We found an absence of number evolution for elliptical and lenticular galaxies, which strikingly contrasts with the strong evolution of spiral and peculiar galaxies. Spiral galaxies were 2.3 times less abundant in the past ...

Introduction The least square method---a very popular technique---is used to compute estimations of parameters and to fit data. It is one of the oldest techniques of modern statistics as it was first published in 1805 by the French mathematician Legendre in a now classic memoir. But this method is even older because it turned out that, after the publication of Legendre's memoir, Gauss, the famous German mathematician, published another memoir (in 1809) in which he mentioned that he had previously discovered this method and used it as early as 1795.

We propose that a sufficiently advanced civilization may employ Cepheid variable stars as beacons to transmit all-call information throughout the galaxy and beyond. One can construct many scenarios wherein it would be desirable for such a civilization of star ticklers to transmit data to anyone else within viewing range. The beauty of employing Cepheids is that these stars can be seen from afar(we monitor them out through the Virgo cluster), and any developing technological society would seem to be likely to closely observe them as distance markers. Records exist of Cepheids for well over one hundred years. We propose that these (and other regularly variable types of stars) be searched for signs of phase modulation (in the regime of short pulse duration) and patterns, which could be indicative of intentional signaling.