Coercive Region-level Registration for Multi-modal Images

We propose a coercive approach to simultaneously register and segment multi-modal images which share similar spatial structure. Registration is done at the region level to facilitate data fusion while avoiding the need for interpolation. The algorithm performs alternating minimization of an objective function informed by statistical models for pixel values in different modalities. Hypothesis tests are developed to determine whether to refine segmentations by splitting regions. We demonstrate that our approach has significantly better performance than the state-of-the-art registration and segmentation methods on microscopy images.Comment: This work has been accepted to International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP) 201

The Origins of Gibbon Ape Leukaemia Virus

Gibbon ape leukaemia virus (GALV) was first isolated in the early 1970s after a number of gibbons that were housed at the SEATO medical research in Bangkok, Thailand, were diagnosed with lymphoid tumours including malignant lymphoma. It is a novel gamma retrovirus that has never been isolated from wild gibbons. It appears that GALV occurred as a result of a species jump from another as yet unidentified vertebrate host. The full sequence of GALV suggests that it is related loosely to murine leukaemia viruses and a number of rodent species from Southeast Asia have been suggested as possible hosts of the ancestor to GALV. However, no proviral sequence from any Southeast Asian vertebrate has been so far isolated which could be a candidate virus. More recently, two closely related viruses have been found in koalas and a native Australian rat, the grassland melomys (Melomys burtoni). These are koala retrovirus (KoRV) and Melomys burtoni retrovirus (MbRV). A number of theories have been published recently which endeavour to explain the origins of GALV and its relationship to other viruses including KoRV. Here, the history of GALV is documented and the strengths and weaknesses of current theories on the origin of this virus are discussed

Semantic web support for open-source software development

Open-source software is unique in that the development of the product is performed in public over the Internet by developers who elect to contribute to the project and rarely if ever meet face-to-face. Software development is a knowledge intensive process and the information generated in open-source software development projects is typically housed in a central Internet repository. Open-source repositories typically contains vast amounts of information, much of it unstructured, meaning that even if a question has previously been discussed and dealt with it is not a trivial task to locate it, leading to rework, confusion amongst developers and possibly deterring new developers from getting involved.This paper develops an ontology based software development architecture for open-source software development. Such an architecture would enable better categorisation of information, communication, co-ordination and the development of sophisticated search agents

Grounded action: achieving optimal and sustainable change

Grounded action is the application and extension of grounded theory for the purpose of designing and implementing practical actions such as interventions, program designs, action models, social and organizational policies, and change initiatives. Grounded action was designed by the authors to address the complexity and multi-dimensionality of organizational and social problems and issues. It extends grounded theory beyond its original purpose of generating theory that is grounded in data by providing a means of developing actions that are also grounded (systematically derived from a grounded theory)

Facile Protocol for Water-Tolerant “Frustrated Lewis Pair”-Catalyzed Hydrogenation

Despite rapid advances in the field of metal-free, “frustrated Lewis pair” (FLP)-catalyzed hydrogenation, the need for strictly anhydrous reaction conditions has hampered wide-scale uptake of this methodology. Herein, we report that, despite the generally perceived moisture sensitivity of FLPs, 1,4-dioxane solutions of B(C6F5)3 actually show appreciable moisture tolerance and can catalyze hydrogenation of a range of weakly basic substrates without the need for rigorously inert conditions. In particular, reactions can be performed directly in commercially available nonanhydrous solvents without subsequent drying or use of internal desiccants

Defining the gap between research and practice in public relations programme evaluation - towards a new research agenda

The current situation in public relations programme evaluation is neatly summarized by McCoy who commented that 'probably the most common buzzwords in public relations in the last ten years have been evaluation and accountability' (McCoy 2005, 3). This paper examines the academic and practitioner-based literature and research on programme evaluation and it detects different priorities and approaches that may partly explain why the debate on acceptable and agreed evaluation methods continues. It analyses those differences and proposes a research agenda to bridge the gap and move the debate forward