Multimedia Retrieval by Means of Merge of Results from Textual and Content Based Retrieval Subsystems

The main goal of this paper it is to present our experiments in ImageCLEF 2009 Campaign (photo retrieval task). In 2008 we proved empirically that the Text-based Image Retrieval (TBIR) methods defeats the Content-based Image Retrieval CBIR “quality” of results, so this time we developed several experiments in which the CBIR helps the TBIR. The TBIR System [6] main improvement is the named-entity sub-module. In case of the CBIR system [3] the number of low-level features has been increased from the 68 component used at ImageCLEF 2008 up to 114 components, and only the Mahalanobis distance has been used. We propose an ad-hoc management of the topics delivered, and the generation of XML structures for 0.5 million captions of the photographs (corpus) delivered. Two different merging algorithms were developed and the third one tries to improve our previous cluster level results promoting the diversity. Our best run for precision metrics appeared in position 16th, in the 19th for MAP score, and for diversity value in position 11th, for a total of 84 submitted experiments. Our best and “only textual” experiment was the 6th one over 41

The Passive Journalist: How sources dominate the local news

This study explores which sources are “making” local news and whether these sources are simply indicating the type of news that appears, or are shaping newspaper coverage. It provides an empirical record of the extent to which sources are able to dominate news coverage from which future trends in local journalism can be measured. The type and number of sources used in 2979 sampled news stories in four West Yorkshire papers, representing the three main proprietors of local newspapers in the United Kingdom, were recorded for one month and revealed the relatively narrow range of routine sources; 76 per cent of articles cited only a single source. The analysis indicates that journalists are relying less on their readers for news, and that stories of little consequence are being elevated to significant positions, or are filling news pages at the expense of more important stories. Additionally, the reliance on a single source means that alternative views and perspectives relevant to the readership are being overlooked. Journalists are becoming more passive, mere processors of one-sided information or bland copy dictated by sources. These trends indicate poor journalistic standards and may be exacerbating declining local newspaper sales

Colonisation with pathogenic drug-resistant bacteria and Clostridioides difficile among residents of residential care facilities in Cape Town, South Africa: a cross-sectional prevalence study

Abstract Background Residential care facilities (RCFs) act as reservoirs for multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO). There are scarce data on colonisation with MDROs in Africa. We aimed to determine the prevalence of MDROs and C. difficile and risk factors for carriage amongst residents of RCFs in Cape Town, South Africa. Methods We performed a cross-sectional surveillance study at three RCFs. Chromogenic agar was used to screen skin swabs for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and stool samples for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E). Antigen testing and PCR was used to detect Clostridiodes difficile. Risk factors for colonisation were determined with logistic regression. Results One hundred fifty-four residents were enrolled, providing 119 stool samples and 152 sets of skin swabs. Twenty-seven (22.7%) stool samples were positive for ESBL-E, and 13 (8.6%) residents had at least one skin swab positive for MRSA. Two (1.6%) stool samples tested positive for C. difficile. Poor functional status (OR 1.3 (95% CI, 1.0–1.6)) and incontinence (OR 2.9 (95% CI, 1.2–6.9)) were significant predictors for ESBL-E colonisation. MRSA colonization appeared higher in frail care areas (8/58 v 5/94, p = 0.07). Conclusions There was a relatively high prevalence of colonisation with MDROs, particularly ESBL-E, but low C. difficile carriage, with implications for antibiotic prescribing and infection control practice

Activation of a Metabolic Gene Regulatory Network Downstream of mTOR Complex 1

Aberrant activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a common molecular event in a variety of pathological settings, including genetic tumor syndromes, cancer, and obesity. However, the cell-intrinsic consequences of mTORC1 activation remain poorly defined. Through a combination of unbiased genomic, metabolomic, and bioinformatic approaches, we demonstrate that mTORC1 activation is sufficient to stimulate specific metabolic pathways, including glycolysis, the oxidative arm of the pentose phosphate pathway, and de novo lipid biosynthesis. This is achieved through the activation of a transcriptional program affecting metabolic gene targets of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF1α) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP1 and SREBP2). We find that SREBP1 and 2 promote proliferation downstream of mTORC1, and the activation of these transcription factors is mediated by S6K1. Therefore, in addition to promoting protein synthesis, mTORC1 activates specific bioenergetic and anabolic cellular processes that are likely to contribute to human physiology and disease

The development of perceptual averaging: learning what to do, not just how to do it

The mature visual system condenses complex scenes into simple summary statistics (e.g., average size, location, orientation, etc.). However, children, often perform poorly on perceptual averaging tasks. Children's difficulties are typically thought to represent the suboptimal implementation of an adult-like strategy. This paper examines another possibility: that children actually make decisions in a qualitatively different way to adults (optimal implementation of a non-ideal strategy). Ninety children (6-7, 8-9, 10-11 years) and 30 adults were asked to locate the middle of randomly generated dot-clouds. Nine plausible decision strategies were formulated, and each was fitted to observers' trial-by-trial response data (Reverse Correlation). When the number of visual elements was low (N < 6), children used a qualitatively different decision strategy from adults: appearing to "join up the dots" and locate the gravitational center of the enclosing shape. Given denser displays, both children and adults used an ideal strategy of arithmetically averaging individual points. Accounting for this difference in decision strategy explained 29% of children's lower precision. These findings suggest that children are not simply suboptimal at performing adult-like computations, but may at times use sensible, but qualitatively different strategies to make perceptual judgments. Learning which strategy is best in which circumstance might be an important driving factor of perceptual development