Texture Segmentation by Evidence Gathering

A new approach to texture segmentation is presented which uses Local Binary Pattern data to provide evidence from which pixels can be classified into texture classes. The proposed algorithm, which we contend to be the first use of evidence gathering in the field of texture classification, uses Generalised Hough Transform style R-tables as unique descriptors for each texture class and an accumulator is used to store votes for each texture class. Tests on the Brodatz database and Berkeley Segmentation Dataset have shown that our algorithm provides excellent results; an average of 86.9% was achieved over 50 tests on 27 Brodatz textures compared with 80.3% achieved by segmentation by histogram comparison centred on each pixel. In addition, our results provide noticeably smoother texture boundaries and reduced noise within texture regions. The concept is also a "higher order" texture descriptor, whereby the arrangement of texture elements is used for classification as well as the frequency of occurrence that is featured in standard texture operators. This results in a unique descriptor for each texture class based on the structure of texture elements within the image, which leads to a homogeneous segmentation, in boundary and area, of texture by this new technique

First national survey of practitioners with early years’ professional status

The first national survey of practitioners who have achieved Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) set out to ascertain: • more detailed demographic information about their backgrounds and experience • their views on their ability to carry out their role since gaining EYPS • information about career trajectories including their intentions to change setting, role or career • an overview of their professional development activities and plans • an assessment of the impact of obtaining EYPS on professional identity • their views on the difficulty of achieving change in their settings. This survey is part of a three year longitudinal study investigating the role and impact of early years professionals (EYPs) in their working environments (settings) and also investigating practitioners’ personal career development and aspirations. There are two main parts to the study: • a survey of all EYPs, asking about their career development needs and aspirations • case studies in 30 settings across the country, looking at how EYPs have an impact on the quality of education and care available to children. The survey, with slight modifications, will be repeated in year three of the study. The intention was to make the survey accessible to all who have achieved EYPS, with the aim of generating responses from approximately 10-15 per cent of respondents. The survey went live between January and February 2010 and by the close of the survey some 1,045 completed questionnaires had been generated, representing nearly 30 per cent of the total number of practitioners with EYPS. This sample was broadly representative of the total population of practitioners with EYPS based on gender, ethnicity, geographical distribution and the pathway they had followed to achieve EYPS

THE PRICING EFFICIENCY OF AGRICULTURAL FUTURES MARKETS: AN ANALYSIS OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH RESULTS

The analysis examines quantitatively the findings of previous studies of the pricing efficiency of various agricultural markets using a logit framework. The findings provide insight into the importance of commodity characteristics, uncertainty, and testing procedures used on the results of past research of pricing efficiency. The study also identifies several areas for further research.Demand and Price Analysis,

Beyond resistance: social factors in the general public response to pandemic influenza

Background: Influencing the general public response to pandemics is a public health priority. There is a prevailing view, however, that the general public is resistant to communications on pandemic influenza and that behavioural responses to the 2009/10 H1N1 pandemic were not sufficient. Using qualitative methods, this paper investigates how members of the general public respond to pandemic influenza and the hygiene, social isolation and other measures proposed by public health. Going beyond the commonly deployed notion that the general public is resistant to public health communications, this paper examines how health individualism, gender and real world constraints enable and limit individual action. Methods: In-depth interviews (n = 57) and focus groups (ten focus groups; 59 individuals) were conducted with community samples in Melbourne, Sydney and Glasgow. Participants were selected according to maximum variation sampling using purposive criteria, including: 1) pregnancy in 2009/2010; 2) chronic illness; 3) aged 70 years and over; 4) no disclosed health problems. Verbatim transcripts were subjected to inductive, thematic analysis. Results: Respondents did not express resistance to public health communications, but gave insight into how they interpreted and implemented guidance. An individualistic approach to pandemic risk predominated. The uptake of hygiene, social isolation and vaccine strategies was constrained by seeing oneself 'at risk' but not 'a risk' to others. Gender norms shape how members of the general public enact hygiene and social isolation. Other challenges pertained to over-reliance on perceived remoteness from risk, expectation of recovery from infection and practical constraints on the uptake of vaccination. Conclusions: Overall, respondents were engaged with public health advice regarding pandemic influenza, indicating that the idea of public resistance has limited explanatory power. Public communications are endorsed, but challenges persist. Individualistic approaches to pandemic risk inhibit acting for the benefit of others and may deepen divisions in the community according to health status. Public communications on pandemics are mediated by gender norms that may overburden women and limit the action of men. Social research on the public response to pandemics needs to focus on the social structures and real world settings and relationships that shape the action of individuals

Generating Focussed Molecule Libraries for Drug Discovery with Recurrent Neural Networks

In de novo drug design, computational strategies are used to generate novel molecules with good affinity to the desired biological target. In this work, we show that recurrent neural networks can be trained as generative models for molecular structures, similar to statistical language models in natural language processing. We demonstrate that the properties of the generated molecules correlate very well with the properties of the molecules used to train the model. In order to enrich libraries with molecules active towards a given biological target, we propose to fine-tune the model with small sets of molecules, which are known to be active against that target. Against Staphylococcus aureus, the model reproduced 14% of 6051 hold-out test molecules that medicinal chemists designed, whereas against Plasmodium falciparum (Malaria) it reproduced 28% of 1240 test molecules. When coupled with a scoring function, our model can perform the complete de novo drug design cycle to generate large sets of novel molecules for drug discovery.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figure

Evaluating the effects of a therapeutic day rehabilitation program and inclusion of gardening in an Australian rural community health service

Therapeutic day rehabilitation (TDR) is a non-residential intensive structured program designed for individuals recovering from substance misuse. A weekly afternoon of therapeutic gardening was a new incentive initiated in a TDR program at one Australian community health service, designed to give participants the opportunity to spend time outdoors connecting with nature and each other. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of participants enrolled in this program by employing a convergent parallel mixed-method design using qualitative individual, semi-structured interviews (n = 14) and longitudinal quantitative quality of life (QOL) data at three different intervals (n = 17). The analysis of the quantitative data showed that there was a statistically significant increase in the participants' QOL scores in three of four domains (physical health, psychological, social relationships) when comparing baseline and post completion of the TDR. These observed changes were maintained at the 4-week follow up. The key findings from the semi-structured interviews include positive effects for participants on social connectivity, structure and achievement, understanding of recovery and relaxation from contact with nature. This study shows that a combination of TDR and therapeutic gardening can improve participants' physical health, psychological health and social relationships. © 2021 La Trobe University

Factors Affecting Option Premium Values

4 pp.Many factors affect option premium values. This publication list these factors and gives brief explanations of them

Using a Bull Call Spread

4 pp., 1 figure, 3 tablesThe Bull Call Spread can be used to hedge against or to benefit from a rising market. The user buys a call option at a particular strike price and sells a call option at a higher strike price. Margin requirements, advantages and disadvantages of this strategy are explained

Engineered mosaic protein polymers; a simple route to multifunctional biomaterials

Abstract: Background: Engineered living materials (ELMs) are an exciting new frontier, where living organisms create highly functional materials. In particular, protein ELMs have the advantage that their properties can be manipulated via simple molecular biology. Caf1 is a protein ELM that is especially attractive as a biomaterial on account of its unique combination of properties: bacterial cells export it as a massive, modular, non-covalent polymer which is resistant to thermal and chemical degradation and free from animal material. Moreover, it is biologically inert, allowing the bioactivity of each 15 kDa monomeric Caf1 subunit to be specifically engineered by mutagenesis and co-expressed in the same Escherichia coli cell to produce a mixture of bioactive Caf1 subunits. Results: Here, we show by gel electrophoresis and transmission electron microscopy that the bacterial cells combine these subunits into true mosaic heteropolymers. By combining two separate bioactive motifs in a single mosaic polymer we demonstrate its utility by stimulating the early stages of bone formation by primary human bone marrow stromal cells. Finally, using a synthetic biology approach, we engineer a mosaic of three components, demonstrating that Caf1 complexity depends solely upon the variety of monomers available. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the utility of engineered Caf1 mosaic polymers as a simple route towards the production of multifunctional biomaterials that will be useful in biomedical applications such as 3D tissue culture and wound healing. Additionally, in situ Caf1 producing cells could create complex bacterial communities for biotechnology. Graphical abstract