Location-Centered House Price Prediction: A Multi-Task Learning Approach

Accurate house prediction is of great significance to various real estate stakeholders such as house owners, buyers, and investors. We propose a location-centered prediction framework that differs from existing work in terms of data profiling and prediction model. Regarding data profiling, we make an important observation as follows – besides the in-house features such as floor area, the location plays a critical role in house price prediction. Unfortunately, existing work either overlooked it or had a coarse grained measurement of locations. Thereby, we define and capture a fine-grained location profile powered by a diverse range of location data sources, including transportation profile, education profile, suburb profile based on census data, and facility profile. Regarding the choice of prediction model, we observe that a variety of approaches either consider the entire data for modeling, or split the entire house data and model each partition independently. However, such modeling ignores the relatedness among partitions, and for all prediction scenarios, there may not be sufficient training samples per partition for the latter approach. We address this problem by conducting a careful study of exploiting the Multi-Task Learning (MTL) model. Specifically, we map the strategies for splitting the entire house data to the ways the tasks are defined in MTL, and select specific MTL-based methods with different regularization terms to capture and exploit the relatedness among tasks. Based on real-world house transaction data collected in Melbourne, Australia, we design extensive experimental evaluations, and the results indicate a significant superiority of MTL-based methods over state-of-the-art approaches. Meanwhile, we conduct an in-depth analysis on the impact of task definitions and method selections in MTL on the prediction performance, and demonstrate that the impact of task definitions on prediction performance far exceeds that of method selections.

A Survey of Automated Programming Hint Generation: The HINTS Framework

Automated tutoring systems offer the flexibility and scalability necessary to facilitate the provision of high-quality and universally accessible programming education. To realise the potential of these systems, recent work has proposed a diverse range of techniques for automatically generating feedback in the form of hints to assist students with programming exercises. This article integrates these apparently disparate approaches into a coherent whole. Specifically, it emphasises that all hint techniques can be understood as a series of simpler components with similar properties. Using this insight, it presents a simple framework for describing such techniques, the Hint Iteration by Narrow-down and Transformation Steps framework, and surveys recent work in the context of this framework. Findings from this survey include that (1) hint techniques share similar properties, which can be used to visualise them together, (2) the individual steps of hint techniques should be considered when designing and evaluating hint systems, (3) more work is required to develop and improve evaluation methods, and (4) interesting relationships, such as the link between automated hints and data-driven evaluation, should be further investigated. Ultimately, this article aims to facilitate the development, extension, and comparison of automated programming hint techniques to maximise their educational potential.

The Grape Gene Reference Catalogue as a Standard Resource for Gene Selection and Genetic Improvement

Effective crop improvement, whether through selective breeding or biotech strategies, is largely dependent on the cumulative knowledge of a species’ pangenome and its containing genes. Acquiring this knowledge is specially challenging in grapevine, one of the oldest fruit crops grown worldwide, which is known to have more than 30,000 genes. Well-established research communities studying model organisms have created and maintained, through public and private funds, a diverse range of online tools and databases serving as repositories of genomes and gene function data. The lack of such resources for the non-model, but economically important, Vitis vinifera species has driven the need for a standardised collection of genes within the grapevine community. In an effort led by the Integrape COST Action CA17111, we have recently developed the first grape gene reference catalogue, where genes are ascribed to functional data, including their accession identifiers from different genome-annotation versions (https://integrape.eu/resources/genes-genomes/). We present and discuss this gene repository together with a validation-level scheme based on varied supporting evidence found in current literature. The catalogue structure and online submission form provided permits community curation. Finally, we present the Gene Cards tool, developed within the Vitis Visualization (VitViz) platform, to visualize the data collected in the catalogue and link gene function with tissue-specific expression derived from public transcriptomic data. This perspective article aims to present these resources to the community as well as highlight their potential use, in particular for plant-breeding applications.

Dengue Fever: Clinical, Laboratory Profile and Outcome in Pediatric Patient

Introduction: Infection with any of the 4 dengue virus serotypes results in a diverse range of symptoms, from mild undifferentiated fever to life-threatening hemorrhagic fever and shock. Given that dengue virus infection elicits such a broad range of clinical symptoms, early and accurate laboratory diagnosis is essential for appropriate patient management. So a study was carried out to know its clinical profile, correlation between the laboratory profile and the severity of dengue fever and outcome in dengue patients. Aim: To study the clinical profile, correlation between the laboratory profile and the severity of dengue fever and outcome in dengue patients at tertiary care center. Method: Retrospective Observational study from 1st May 2019 to 31st April 2021. Result: Total 323 patients were studied during 1st May 2019 to 31st April 2021. Most common presentation was fever (100%), most common clinical finding is hepatomegaly (14.2%). All severe dengue infection has platelet count < 50000/cumm. In study of 323 patients 194(60%) of dengue fever,85(26.4%) of DHF GRADE 1,9(2.8%) of DHF GRADE 2 were discharged .13(4%) patients of DSS were expired.22 patients (6.8%) went DAMA. Conclusion: Reliable diagnosis of dengue fever in endemic areas can be done by clinical parameters like presence of nausea, vomiting, pain abdomen and hepatomegaly. Monitoring platelet count, hematocrit and WBC count is very useful for management of dengue cases. Keywords: dengue fever, platelet count, outcome

Perceived Causes and Solutions to Soil Degradation in the UK and Norway

Soil quality is declining in many parts of the world, with implications for the productivity, resilience and sustainability of agri-food systems. Research suggests multiple causes of soil degradation with no single solution and a divided stakeholder opinion on how to manage this problem. However, creating socially acceptable and effective policies to halt soil degradation requires engagement with a diverse range of stakeholders who possess different and complementary knowledge, experiences and perspectives. To understand how British and Norwegian agricultural stakeholders perceived the causes of and solutions to soil degradation, we used Q-methodology with 114 respondents, including farmers, scientists and agricultural advisers. For the UK, respondents thought the causes were due to loss of soil structure, soil erosion, compaction and loss of organic matter; the perceived solutions were to develop more collaborative research between researchers and farmers, invest in training, improve trust between farmers and regulatory agencies, and reduce soil compaction. In Norway, respondents thought soils were degrading due to soil erosion, monocultures and loss of soil structure; they believed the solutions were to reduce compaction, increase rotation and invest in agricultural training. There was an overarching theme related to industrialised agriculture being responsible for declining soil quality in both countries. We highlight potential areas for land use policy development in Norway and the UK, including multi-actor approaches that may improve the social acceptance of these policies. This study also illustrates how Q-methodology may be used to co-produce stakeholder-driven policy options to address land degradation.

The Future Potential of Biosensors to Investigate the Gut-Brain Axis

The multifaceted and heterogeneous nature of depression presents challenges in pinpointing treatments. Among these contributions are the interconnections between the gut microbiome and neurological function termed the gut-brain axis. A diverse range of microbiome-produced metabolites interact with host signaling and metabolic pathways through this gut-brain axis relationship. Therefore, biosensor detection of gut metabolites offers the potential to quantify the microbiome’s contributions to depression. Herein we review synthetic biology strategies to detect signals that indicate gut-brain axis dysregulation that may contribute to depression. We also highlight future challenges in developing living diagnostics of microbiome conditions influencing depression.

A Multidisciplinary Approach Evaluating Soybean Meal-Induced Enteritis in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

This study evaluated a diverse range of markers of feeding stress to obtain a more precise assessment of the welfare of rainbow trout in relation to inadequate husbandry conditions. A feeding stress model based on dietary soybean meal was employed to identify suitable minimally invasive “classical” stress markers, together with molecular signatures. In a 56-day feeding experiment, rainbow trout were fed diets containing different levels of soybean meal. The impact of these different soybean meal diets on rainbow trout was assessed by water quality analyses, clinical health observations, classic growth and performance parameters, gut histopathology, blood-parameter measurements and multigene-expression profiling in RNA from whole blood. Soybean meal-induced enteritis was manifested phenotypically by an inflammatory reaction in the posterior section of the intestine and by diarrhoea in some trout. These inflammatory changes were associated with decreased supranuclear vacuolation. The haematocrit values and the levels of plasma cortisol and circulating lymphocytes in the blood were increased in trout that had consumed high amounts of SBM. Notably, the increased haematocrit depended significantly on the bodyweight of the individual trout. The transcript levels of certain genes (e.g., MAP3K1, LYG, NOD1, STAT1 and HSP90AB) emerged as potentially useful indicators in the blood of rainbow trout providing valuable information about inadequate nutrition. The expression-profiling findings provide a basis for improved, minimally invasive monitoring of feeding regimens in trout farming and may stimulate the development of practical detection devices for innovative aquaculture operations.

Claisen Rearrangement Triggered by Brønsted Acid Catalyzed Alkyne Alkoxylation

Over the past two decades, catalytic alkyne alkoxylation-initiated Claisen rearrangement has proven to be a practical and powerful strategy for the rapid assembly of a diverse range of structurally complex molecules. The rapid development of Claisen rearrangements triggered by transition-metal-catalyzed alkyne alkoxylation has shown great potential in the formation of carbon–carbon bonds in an atom-economic and mild way. However, metal-free alkyne alkoxylation-triggered Claisen rearrangement has seldom been exploited. Recently, Brønsted acids such as HNTf2 and HOTf have been shown to be powerful activators that promote catalytic alkyne alkoxylation/Claisen rearrangement, leading to the concise and flexible synthesis of valuable compounds with high efficiency and atom economy. Recent advances on the Brønsted acid catalyzed alkyne alkoxylation/Claisen rearrangement are introduced in this Account, in which both intramolecular and intermolecular tandem reactions are discussed.

Eph/Ephrin-Based Protein Complexes: The Importance of cis Interactions in Guiding Cellular Processes

Although intracellular signal transduction is generally represented as a linear process that transmits stimuli from the exterior of a cell to the interior via a transmembrane receptor, interactions with additional membrane-associated proteins are often critical to its success. These molecules play a pivotal role in mediating signaling via the formation of complexes in cis (within the same membrane) with primary effectors, particularly in the context of tumorigenesis. Such secondary effectors may act to promote successful signaling by mediating receptor-ligand binding, recruitment of molecular partners for the formation of multiprotein complexes, or differential signaling outcomes. One signaling family whose contact-mediated activity is frequently modulated by lateral interactions at the cell surface is Eph/ephrin (EphA and EphB receptor tyrosine kinases and their ligands ephrin-As and ephrin-Bs). Through heterotypic interactions in cis, these molecules can promote a diverse range of cellular activities, including some that are mutually exclusive (cell proliferation and cell differentiation, or adhesion and migration). Due to their broad expression in most tissues and their promiscuous binding within and across classes, the cellular response to Eph:ephrin interaction is highly variable between cell types and is dependent on the cellular context in which binding occurs. In this review, we will discuss interactions between molecules in cis at the cell membrane, with emphasis on their role in modulating Eph/ephrin signaling.

Relational Pedagogies

Relational pedagogies place relationships at the heart of good teaching and learning. As shown across multiple fields of educational scholarship, educational interactions and learning exchanges between children and their teachers necessarily exist within the context of an existing relationship. The strength and characteristics of these relationships in turn shape and influence the success of the exchange. Importantly, therefore, relational pedagogy is not simply about making a child or teacher feel happy or content. Rather, it is closely related to the style, quality, and content of education a child receives. Empirical research supports these theoretical claims. Relationship qualities and teacher-child interaction qualities have each long been shown to influence children’s emotional well-being and competence, across early childhood centers and schools, yet there is increasingly strong evidence that they shape cognitive development and learning outcomes too. To ensure equitable educational opportunities for all children, strong and adaptive teacher-child relationships are critical. Given the varied definitions and use of relational pedagogy in the literature, together with a diverse range of relevant research that examines relational concepts, we have attempted to present multiple representative topics and articles across this encyclopedia entry. The topics and articles we feature are not exhaustive, and, indeed, there are likely to be other good ways that one might frame research and theory on relational pedagogies. Where two studies have similar findings, we have intentionally given preference to the more recent study; noting that references from this more recent work are likely to offer the reader the broadest window into the field. We nonetheless also include a number of seminal resources. We also have elected to cite research with robust methodologies where possible, although we note that methodological approaches vary markedly between subfields. Research examining teachers’ perspectives in early childhood centers has often used multiple case studies, for example, while research examining children’s developmental outcomes within particular relationships or following particular interactions is often larger in scale and broader in approach. The majority of research and scholarship on relational pedagogies, student-teacher relationship quality, and interactional processes is conducted with Western societies and cultures: often in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and western Europe. Less research or scholarship has been conducted in other countries, cultures, and subcultures. This is a problem replicated across developmental and educational research broadly, with study participants much more likely to come from WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) societies than from other non-WEIRD societies. While the majority of works in this bibliography are therefore also conducted with Western children and students, we include a section outlining an important body of emerging research and scholarship focused on relational pedagogies in Indigenous, non-Western, and diverse communities.