Thermostatic public opinion: why UK anti-immigrant sentiments rise and then fall

Contrary to popular narratives, there has been a collapse in anti-immigrant hostility in Britain, evident since the run up to the 2016 referendum. Patrick English explains how the success of the BNP and UKIP may have caused this fall and argues that recent changes may be seen as confirming the ‘thermostatic’ character of British public opinion

Has Brexit affected the way Britons think about immigrants? The recent ‘national mood’ on immigration

Did Brexit cause an increase in anti-immigrant hostility? Patrick English collates various survey results to answer this question in the negative. He also finds that Brexit itself does not seem to have caused opinions to become more positive either

A method to quantify a descriptor's illumination variance

This paper presents a new metric, which we call the lighting variance ratio, for quantifying descriptors in terms of their variance to illumination changes. In many applications it is desirable to have descriptors that are robust to changes in illumination, especially in outdoor environments. The lighting variance ratio is useful for comparing descriptors and determining if a descriptor is lighting invariant enough for a given environment. The metric is analysed across a number of datasets, cameras and descriptors. The results show that the upright SIFT descriptor is typically the most lighting invariant descriptor

Quasiseparable Approach to Evaluating Cubic Splines

The development of fast and efficient algorithms is crucial not only for computer scientists, but also for mathematicians and engineers as those algorithms lead to reduce complexity. Another common interest of these professionals is to construct models using existing data. This leads numerical analysts to explore interpolation techniques. One such technique is called cubic spline interpolation. In here, we will propose a cubic spline solver aiming to bridge the gap between numerical linear algebra, electrical engineering, systems engineering, sensor processing, and parallel processing. We will use quasiseparable structure to evaluate cubic splines by deriving a fast and stable algorithm. The derivation is carried through a specific factorization of the inverse of tridiagonal matrices. This factorization leads to an alternative method to solve the system of tridiagonal matrices as opposed to the existing methods. The proposed algorithm has the lowest computational complexity compared to existing algorithms

Two-week joint mobilization intervention improves self-reported function, range of motion, and dynamic balance in those with chronic ankle instability

We examined the effect of a 2-week anterior-to-posterior ankle joint mobilization intervention on weight-bearing dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM), dynamic balance, and self-reported function in subjects with chronic ankle instability (CAI). In this prospective cohort study, subjects received six Maitland Grade III anterior-to-posterior joint mobilization treatments over 2 weeks. Weightbearing dorsiflexion ROM, the anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral reach directions of the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), and self-reported function on the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) were assessed 1 week before the intervention (baseline), prior to the first treatment (pre-intervention), 24–48 h following the final treatment (post-intervention), and 1 week later (1-week follow-up) in 12 adults (6 males and 6 females) with CAI. The results indicate that dorsiflexion ROM, reach distance in all directions of the SEBT, and the FAAM improved (p < 0.05 for all) in all measures following the intervention compared to those prior to the intervention. No differences were observed in any assessments between the baseline and pre-intervention measures or between the postintervention and 1-week follow-up measures (p > 0.05). These results indicate that the joint mobilization intervention that targeted posterior talar glide was able to improve measures of function in adults with CAI for at least 1 week

Incidence and severity of respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia in rural Kenyan children identified through hospital surveillance

Background.Although necessary for developing a rationale for vaccination, the burden of severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease in children in resource‐poor settings remains poorly defined. Methods.We conducted prospective surveillance of severe and very severe pneumonia in children aged <5 years admitted from 2002 through 2007 to Kilifi district hospital in coastal Kenya. Nasal specimens were screened for RSV antigen by immunofluorescence. Incidence rates were estimated for the well‐defined population. Results.Of 25,149 hospital admissions, 7359 patients (29%) had severe or very severe pneumonia, of whom 6026 (82%) were enrolled. RSV prevalence was 15% (20% among infants) and 27% during epidemics (32% among infants). The proportion of case patients aged 3 months was 65%, and the proportion aged 6 months was 43%. Average annual hospitalization rates were 293 hospitalizations per 100,000 children aged <5 years (95% confidence interval, 271–371 hospitalizations per 100,000 children aged <5 years) and 1107 hospitalizations per 100,000 infants (95% confidence interval, 1012–1211 hospitalizations per 100,000 infants). Hospital admission rates were double in the region close to the hospital. Few patients with RSV infection had life‐threatening clinical features or concurrent serious illnesses, and the associated mortality was 2.2%. Conclusions.In this low‐income setting, rates of hospital admission with RSV‐associated pneumonia are substantial; they are comparable to estimates from the United States but considerably underestimate the burden in the full community. An effective vaccine for children aged >2 months (outside the age group of poor responders) could prevent a large portion of RSV disease. Severity data suggest that the justification for RSV vaccination will be based on the prevention of morbidity, not mortality