Successful prediction of horse racing results using a neural network

Most application work within neural computing continues to employ multi-layer perceptrons (MLP). Though many variations of the fully interconnected feed-forward MLP, and even more variations of the back propagation learning rule, exist; the first section of the paper attempts to highlight several properties of these standard networks. The second section outlines an application-namely the prediction of horse racing result

Key pedagogic thinkers: Jean Baudrillard

Jean Baudrillard was born in Reims, France, in 1929, and completed his undergraduate work at the Sorbonne, taking a degree in German. Upon graduation, he taught high school. In the early 1960s, he began graduate studies at the University of Paris, Nanterre, earning his doctorate in sociology in 1966. Baudrillard published 30 books in which he examined various facets of modern society: gender, race, consumerism, politics, the media, and so forth. His focus was semiological—how objects and signs reflect the current human condition. Although Baudrillard did not write about education, his work is nevertheless relevant if we recognize that our educational system is a reflection of society. A Baudrillardian perspective raises the following question: What effect has consumerism had on education? To address this question, we offer some background information related to Baudrillard’s philosophical inquiries. This is followed by our brief analysis of how Baudrillard’s work may provide some potential answers to the above question and of how it can help us interpret the changes that have occurred in education during the modern period. We give special emphasis to The Consumer Society and Simulacra and Simulation

Multitraining support vector machine for image retrieval

Relevance feedback (RF) schemes based on support vector machines (SVMs) have been widely used in content-based image retrieval (CBIR). However, the performance of SVM-based RF approaches is often poor when the number of labeled feedback samples is small. This is mainly due to 1) the SVM classifier being unstable for small-size training sets because its optimal hyper plane is too sensitive to the training examples; and 2) the kernel method being ineffective because the feature dimension is much greater than the size of the training samples. In this paper, we develop a new machine learning technique, multitraining SVM (MTSVM), which combines the merits of the cotraining technique and a random sampling method in the feature space. Based on the proposed MTSVM algorithm, the above two problems can be mitigated. Experiments are carried out on a large image set of some 20 000 images, and the preliminary results demonstrate that the developed method consistently improves the performance over conventional SVM-based RFs in terms of precision and standard deviation, which are used to evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of a RF algorithm, respectively

Screening for potential effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in peri-urban creeks and rivers in Melbourne, Australia using mosquitofish and recombinant receptor-reporter gene assays

Sexually mature male mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) were collected from various sites around Melbourne in 2009 to evaluate the performance of gonopodial indices as a biomarker for endocrine disruption in Melbourne's waterways. The mosquitofish indices assessed were body length (BL), gonopodial length (GL)/BL ratio, ray 4:6 ratio and the absence or presence of hooks and serrae, and these varied between sites. The study was complemented by measurements of estrogenic, retinoid, thyroid and aryl hydrocarbon (AhR) receptor activities of the water. Male mosquitofish were 16.3-21.5 mm in length, and although there was a statistically significant positive relationship showing that bigger fish had longer gonopodia than small fish (r2 = 0.52, p < 0.001), there were few significant differences in GL/BL ratio of fish between sites. Measured estrogenic activity was mostly in the range 0.1-1.7 ng/L EEQ, with one site having much higher levels (similar to 12 ng/L EEQ). Aryl hydrocarbon (AhR) receptor activity was observed in all water samples (7-180 ng/L beta NF EQ), although there was no consistent pattern in the level of AhR activity observed, i.e., 'clean' sites were as likely to return a high AhR activity response as urban or wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)-impacted sites. There was no correlation between measurements of receptor actvity and gonopodial length (GL):BL ratio and BL. We conclude that the mosquitofish gonopodia only fulfills part of the criteria for biomarker selection for screening. The mosquitofish indices assessed were cheap and easy-to-perform procedures; however, there is no baseline data from the selected sites to evaluate whether differences in the morpholical indices observed at a site were a result of natural selection in the population or due to estrogenic exposure

Effect of increasing salinity on the acute toxicity of a commercial endosulfan formulation to the bdelloid rotifer Philodina acuticornis odiosa

Pesticides, such as endosulfan, can enter surface waters such as lakes and rivers, potentially posing an ecological risk. Rotifers are a dominant zooplankton species in many inland freshwater lakes in Australia; such lakes can also experience increased salinities. Acute toxicity tests (24 h) were conducted to determine the toxicity of a commercial formaulation of endosulfan to the freshwater rotifer Philodina sp. and to investigate the influence of increasing salinity on endosulfan toxicity. Rotifers were found to be relatively tolerant to endosulfan with an EC50 of 1.75 mgL-1 (a.i.), with results also suggesting that there are no interactive effects of salinity on endosulfan toxicity

Utilization of a new bdelloid rotifer (Philodina acuticornis odiosa) assay to evaluate the effect of salinity on the toxicity of chlorothalonil

Acute (24 h) toxicity tests were conducted to determine the toxicity of the fungicide chlorothalonil towards the freshwater bdelloid rotifer (Philodina acuticornis odiosa). Since rotifers are the dominant zooplankton species in many inland freshwater lakes in Australia, the influence of salinity on chlorothalonil toxicty was also assessed. The rotifers used in this study appeared to be reasonably tolerant to changes in salinity, with little mortality observed at 3760 &micro;S cm-1, increasing thereafter at higher salinity. The bdelloid rotifers were, however, found to be highly sensitive to chlorothalonil (24 h LC50, 3.2 &micro;g L-1) with results also suggesting that as salinity increases, so does toxicity (e.g., 24 h LC50 at 5000 &micro;S cm-1, 0.5 &micro;g L-1). <br /

Exploring community pharmacists’ views around HRT and the menopause

Introduction The number of women in England prescribed HRT has increased dramatically in the last seven years.1 Meanwhile, from 2018, HRT product shortages have resulted in the release of Serious Shortage Protocols allowing community pharmacists to supply alternative HRT products where appropriate.2 Furthermore, in 2022, the first over-the-counter medication for vaginal atrophy in menopause was licensed.3 With so many recent changes, it seemed an opportune time to determine community pharmacists’ views on the topic. Aim The aim of this study was to explore community pharmacists’ views around HRT and the menopause. Methods A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews was chosen to allow for exploration of views. A list of community pharmacies from Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire was obtained from the NHS website. They were grouped into independent and multiple pharmacies in both urban and rural areas. Twenty pharmacies were then randomly selected from across the lists, emailed and invited to participate in the study; a participant information sheet and consent form was attached. This was followed up with a telephone call one week later, and a day and time for interview was agreed. Telephone interviews were undertaken, with consent obtained verbally, and the interview digitally recorded. The interview guide was developed based on the literature review and aim of the study. The guide addressed experiences of patient queries regarding HRT and the menopause, views of the OTC vaginal tablet and their confidence in discussing menopause with patients. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Ethical approval was obtained from Keele School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering Ethics Committee. Results Nine interviews were undertaken in October 2022, lasting 10 to 15 minutes. Five interviewees were male, five from urban areas, all from different companies and experience ranged from 3 months to 45 years. Four themes emerged from the transcripts, namely: increase in queries; managing shortages; lack of knowledge on Gina®; and limited professional interest in the topic. Patients were found to rarely ask about menopausal symptoms, with most queries related to risks associated with HRT or advice on various formulations. All pharmacists found dealing with shortages to be time-consuming and potentially stressful. Many of the pharmacists had not heard of the new vaginal tablet and did not stock it. Those who did, felt it was expensive and unlikely to sell. All stated they would like further training on the menopause but only one would consider specialising as a future area of prescribing. Discussion/Conclusion This was a small study with relatively short interviews, due to the time constraints facing working pharmacists. Despite this, similarity in responses suggest that data saturation may have been reached. This study confirms previous reports of increasing queries relating to HRT, particularly around shortages, and the stress associated with dealing with them. The pharmacists stated they would like further training on the topic, although CPPE packages on menopause are available. Despite the increased attention and prescribing of HRT, there was little desire to specialise and prescribe in this area; this should be explored further. References 1. Connelly D. Infographic: the resurgence of HRT. Pharm J [Internet] 2023 May 31 [cited 2023 Jun 02]; 310(7973): Available from https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/feature/infographic-the-resurgence-of-hrt DOI:10.1211/PJ.2023.1.183280 2. Wickware C. Pharmacists given Powers to Substitute HRT Products Facing Shortages. Pharm J [Internet] 2022 May 20 [cited 2023 Jun 02]; 308(7961): Available from pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/news/pharmacists-given-powers-to-substitute-hrt-products-facing-shortages DOI:10.1211/PJ.2022.1.143779 3. Electronic Medicine Compendium. [Internet] Gina 10 micrograms vaginal tablets. [cited 2023 Jun 02]: Available from: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/1393

Using UK Green Deal Assessment Data of a Stock of Dwellings to Run a Batch of Building Energy Models

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ; UK Research Council’s Energy programm