Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Benchmark for Sparse Coding: When Group Sparsity Meets Rank Minimization

Sparse coding has achieved a great success in various image processing tasks. However, a benchmark to measure the sparsity of image patch/group is missing since sparse coding is essentially an NP-hard problem. This work attempts to fill the gap from the perspective of rank minimization. We firstly design an adaptive dictionary to bridge the gap between group-based sparse coding (GSC) and rank minimization. Then, we show that under the designed dictionary, GSC and the rank minimization problems are equivalent, and therefore the sparse coefficients of each patch group can be measured by estimating the singular values of each patch group. We thus earn a benchmark to measure the sparsity of each patch group because the singular values of the original image patch groups can be easily computed by the singular value decomposition (SVD). This benchmark can be used to evaluate performance of any kind of norm minimization methods in sparse coding through analyzing their corresponding rank minimization counterparts. Towards this end, we exploit four well-known rank minimization methods to study the sparsity of each patch group and the weighted Schatten <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$p$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm minimization (WSNM) is found to be the closest one to the real singular values of each patch group. Inspired by the aforementioned equivalence regime of rank minimization and GSC, WSNM can be translated into a non-convex weighted <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm minimization problem in GSC. By using the earned benchmark in sparse coding, the weighted <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm minimization is expected to obtain better performance than the three other norm minimization methods, <italic>i.e.</italic>, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{1}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm and weighted <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{1}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm. To verify the feasibility of the proposed benchmark, we compare the weighted <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm minimization against the three aforementioned norm minimization methods in sparse coding. Experimental results on image restoration applications, namely image inpainting and image compressive sensing recovery, demonstrate that the proposed scheme is feasible and outperforms many state-of-the-art methods.
Effectiveness of Direct Instruction Flashcards on Sight Word Identification for a High School Student with a Specific Learning Disability.

The aim of this single-case study was to evaluate the effects of a Direct Instruction flashcard system on the sight word identification of a tenth grader with a learning disability. To appraise the benefits of the intervention, a changing criterion single-subject design was applied. Findings indicated that the student profited greatly from the intervention. Over the course of the intervention, accuracy and automaticity of sight word reading increased remarkably. The paper ends with a critical discussion of the results and provides an outlook for subsequent research activities.
1 Globalization , the impact of trade liberalization , and labour law : The case of South Africa

The object of this paper is to explore a series of inter-related questions. First, it is to assess the impact of trade liberalization on employment and wages in South Africa. Second, to the extent that a positive or negative impact is discernable, to assess the implications for labour law, as a system of rules that seeks to regulate the employment relationship, and how wages are determined. There is an associated question that also arises in considering these questions: what are the implications of trade liberalization for any endeavour to reduce the inequalities in the society as a whole, which some would regard as implicit in labour law’s mission.
LOCAL STRUCTURE OF S-STATE RARE EARTH IONS IN FLUORIDES AND OXYFLUORIDE GLASS CERAMICS

in this work local structure of s-state rare earth ions (Gd3+ and eu2+) is investigated with electron paramagnetic resonance (ePr) spectroscopy technique in scf3 and Bay2f8 single crystals as well as in oxyfluoride glass ceramics containing Mef2 (Me = ca, Ba, sr) crystallites. ePr spectra parameters at different temperatures for gadolinium in scf3 – crystal with negative thermal expansion coefficient – indicate a positive expansion of the centre local structure with temperature. The Gd3+ centre of Bay2f8 crystal can be described with a set of low symmetry ePr spectra parameters. as s-state ions embed the crystalline phase of oxyfluoride glass ceramics, the glassy U-type spectrum is superimposed by an intensive ePr spectra fine structure at g = 1.99. Good agreement between the experimental and simulated spectra can be achieved by taking the defect centre parameters of the corresponding single crystals. ePr spectra of glass ceramics with europium contain information about the valence state of ions as well as eu2+ local structure.
Sexual Behaviours and Level of Knowledge of Reproductive Health among In-School Female Adolescents in Awka Education Zone

The research which was a survey investigated the sexual behaviours and level of knowledge of reproductive health among in–school female adolescents. Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. Stratified random sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 1192 in–school female adolescents. The instrument used for the study was a structured questionnaire which was duly validated. Percentages, mean and z–test were used for data analysis. The findings of the study revealed that majority of female adolescents said they have not had sexual intercourse, but a significant proportion have had sexual intercourse. Greater proportion of those who had sexual intercourse have multiple sex partners; most of them do not use condom during sexual intercourse, and level of knowledge of various components of reproductive health were slightly above average. The study also found that the major sources of reproductive health information are teachers, parents and mass media; there was a significant difference between urban and rural in-school female adolescents on the knowledge of reproductive health and there was a significant difference between those who are sexually active and those who are sexually inactive on the
The Serum Separating Capacity of Ipomoea batatas Starch in Creatinine and Total Cholesterol Determination

Separator gels are composed of polymer gels contained in a tube which are used to separate serum from formed elements for various diagnostic tests. An alternative serum separator gel, 0.25 g/mL of Ipomoea batatas, was used in total cholesterol and creatinine test determination. Results show that Ipomoea batatas starch can be used as an alternative serum separator gel for the determination of creatinine and total cholesterol as all the samples in the alternative serum successfully separated the serum from the formed elements. Despite its ability to lower the cholesterol levels, Ipomoea batatas can be used as a serum separator gel for the total cholesterol determination as there is a stronger agreement [ρc = 0.84] in the total cholesterol levels of serum separator tubes and Ipomoea batatas starch serum separator tubes, as compared to the agreement [ρc = 0.53] in the creatinine levels.
IDENTITIES FOR HYPERCONVEX ANOSOV REPRESENTATIONS

In this paper, we establish Basmajian’s identity for (1, 1, 2)hyperconvex Anosov representations from a free group into PGL(n,R). We then study our series identities on holomorphic families of Cantor non-conformal repellers associated to complex (1, 1, 2)-hyperconvex Anosov representations. We show that the series is absolutely summable if and only if the Hausdorff dimension of the Cantor set is strictly less than one. Throughout the domain of convergence, these identities can be analytically continued and they exhibit nontrivial monodromy.
The Onset Factors towards Adolescents Premarital Sexual Intercourse

Sexuality is a very sensitive topic to discuss openly for some society. In regards to the Islamic rules and values, the issue of premarital sexual intercourse is prohibited within the Muslim society. This study intends to comprehend the onset and contributing factors of Malay adolescent girls’ decision making towards engaging in premarital sexual intercourse. Methodologically, semi-structured interviews were conducted in this study to understand about Muslim young girls’ sexual decision-making out of wedlock. The results of a qualitative data are present and discussed. Data analysis shows that their involvements with premarital sex issues categorized into two broad spectrums: personal factors and social influences. Since issues of premarital sex can lead to many other social problems such as teenage and unwanted pregnancy, abortion as well as sexually transmitted diseases, therefore a serious intervention needs to be developed and closely monitored.
Multi-hop interpersonal trust assessment in vehicular ad-hoc networks using three-valued subjective logic

Future vehicular networks need multi-hop trusted information among car manoeuvres as a solution to the persistent problem of road safety, and news sharing. However, malicious users in vehicular networks can also disseminate fake information among each other. Traditional public key infrastructure is not an efficient solution for recognising these malicious users, as they all have authorised entities. To cope with this problem, this study highlights novel idea, i.e. three-valued subjective logic (3VSL) as a trust model for multi-hop trust assessment among users in vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET). Trust among vehicle users is represented in the form of opinion derived from 3VSL and updated frequently due to vehicles random movement on the road. To support the authors' proposed scheme, this study contains two parts in simulation, i.e. numerical and experimental analyses. Numerical analysis shows that 3VSL gives accurate trust assessment even with a bridge or random network topology, which is ignored previously by edge splitting. In the experimental part, we extend widely accepted ad-hoc on-demand distance vector routing protocol by directly applying trust fields to the routing table. The simulation experiment shows that their scheme achieves better performance in term of throughput and latencies in low mobility VANET scenario.
Differences in phonological awareness of five-year-olds from Montessori and regular program preschool institutions

Montessori preschool program (MPP) is a structured program that incorporates metalinquistic exercises, which are implemented even before children reach four years of age. In contrast, in regular preschool programs (RPP) in Croatia, activities related to the development of reading and writing skills are provided only to older children. Also, unlike MPP, these activities in RPP are isolated from the context of the general activities and play, which is contrary to the knowledge that child development should be approached holistically. Accordingly, in this study, we wanted to test the assumption that children attending MPP will have a more developed phonological awareness than RPP children. Phonological awareness is a metalinguistic ability related to the acknowledgement of the sound components of speech and it is a significant predictor of later language skills. The sample comprised 60 children of regular language and cognitive development from MPP (M=5.21, SD=0.17 years) and RPP (M=5.23, SD=0.18 years). In each group there were 15 girls and boys. Testing was performed using FONT-HR (Cronbach α=.97). The results showed that, as expected, MPP children had a greater phonological awareness (M=43.30, SD=7.89) than RPP children (M=31.23, SD=9.99). The difference is statistically significant and of large effect size: t(58)=5.19, p<. 001, d=1.34. Also, there were no gender differences: t(58)=-0.05, p=. 96, d=0.01. While it is necessary to conduct additional studies in order to statistically control for the factors such as intelligence, these results suggest a possibility that language exercises approach from MPP is superior compared to RPP. Therefore, adoption of MPP language activities concept could have a positive effect on the (early) reading skills of children from RPP.
First Analysis of the Updated ITPA Global H-Mode Confinement Database

First results are presented of the ongoing analysis of the latest version of the ITPA global H-mode confinement database, following addition in 2017 of new data from JET with the ITER-like wall and ASDEX Upgrade with the full tungsten wall. The main characteristics of the data are presented and the regression methods are discussed that are used for estimation of the global energy confinement scaling in terms of engineering parameters. Employing a simple power law model for the scaling and several different methods, regression analysis has been performed of the latest version of the database and various constrained subsets. Initial results of the scaling analysis are presented and compared with the IPB98(y,2) scaling expression.
ADAPTIVE-WALL TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO THE DERA 8 FT HIGH SPEED WIND TUNNEL ( HST )

Research aimed at extending the subsonic Machnumber range of the 8ft High Speed wind Tunnel (HST) at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) Bedford to values in excess of 0.9 is described. This has been achieved by adapting the flexible roof and floor liners of the test section, normally used to provide supersonic flows. To test the effectiveness of the wall adaptation, two models have been tested with different wall shapes; these were a half model of a combat aircraft wing body and a generic research model to study transport wing-body configurations. It was found that wall adaptation was able to extend the range of Mach numbers at which both half and complete models could be tested from 0.87 to about 0.95. The standard method for correcting Mach number, which uses wall pressure measurements, was shown to provide for virtually all the effects of wall interference. The small additional effects are readily allowed for by a simple method described in the paper.
Interpreter performance in police interviews. Differences between trained interpreters and untrained bilinguals

ABSTRACT In most countries, it is not compulsory to be trained to work as an interpreter in community settings. A comparison across jurisdictions reveals that different requirements exist, from a simple self-evaluation of language competence, to passing a certification or accreditation test. Even in countries where certification or accreditation systems exist, such as the USA and Australia, there is no legislation to prevent any bilingual from working as interpreter. In legal settings, this situation has led to a lack of clear guidelines regarding interpreter recruitment, and to many examples of incompetent interpreting that have impacted legal outcomes. Little research has been conducted to systematically assess the value of training on interpreter performance. This paper presents results of a live experimental study conducted in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, showing significant differences between the performance of trained interpreters and untrained bilinguals in simulated police interviews. The study is one of a few to compare performance based on interpreter background, using a large sample and a sophisticated method to assess performance.
Does firm size matter in innovation in small accommodation businesses in developing economies ?

The tourism industry and in particular the accommodation sector is fast growing and competitive. To survive, accommodation businesses need to engage in sustainable innovation. However, literature is fragmented on the drivers of innovation in the accommodation sector specifically on small accommodation businesses (SABs). Such limited empirical information exposes small businesses to intense competition from their large business counterparts. The study sought to establish whether firm size influences innovation in SABs in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The study examined and compared the influence of different sizes of SABs (micro, small and medium (SMMEs) on different dimensions of innovation (Product/service, process, marketing and organisational (PPMO) in Zimbabwe and South Africa where owner/managers of small accommodation businesses were participants. A cross sectional comparative research design was used. Using stratified random sampling, two samples each of 139 were drawn from target populations of 257 and 331 SABs from Manicaland and Free State provinces in Zimbabwe and South Africa respectively. Data was collected using questionnaires and analysed using ANOVA F tests. The results of the study showed that regardless of nationality, there is strong evidence of no association between firm size (SMMEs) and innovation. Specifically, SMMEs have no influence on the different dimensions (PPMO) of innovation. Hence firm size does not matter on innovation among SABs in Zimbabwe and South Africa. It is recommended that owner/managers of SABs in Zimbabwe and South Africa should not use firm size as a driver of innovation but instead explore, embrace and invest in those drivers that stimulate sustainable innovation. Furthermore, future studies should consider including qualitative information from owner/managers of small accommodation businesses in order to retrieve and add more depth to the study.
SPECTRAL ASYMPTOTICS FOR SUB-RIEMANNIAN LAPLACIANS, I: QUANTUM ERGODICITY AND QUANTUM LIMITS IN THE 3-DIMENSIONAL CONTACT CASE

This is the first paper of a series in which we plan to study spectral asymptotics for sub-Riemannian (sR) Laplacians and to extend results that are classical in the Riemannian case concerning Weyl measures, quantum limits, quantum ergodicity, quasimodes, and trace formulae. Even if hypoelliptic operators have been well studied from the point of view of PDEs, global geometrical and dynamical aspects have not been the subject of much attention. As we will see, already in the simplest case, the statements of the results in the sR setting are quite different from those in the Riemannian one. Let us consider an sR metric on a closed 3-dimensional manifold with an oriented contact distribution. There exists a privileged choice of the contact form, with an associated Reeb vector field and a canonical volume form that coincides with the Popp measure. We establish a quantum ergodicity (QE) theorem for the eigenfunctions of any associated sR Laplacian under the assumption that the Reeb flow is ergodic. The limit measure is given by the normalized Popp measure. This is the first time that such a result is established for a hypoelliptic operator, whereas the usual Shnirelman theorem yields QE for the Laplace–Beltrami operator on a closed Riemannian manifold with ergodic geodesic flow. To prove our theorem, we first establish a microlocal Weyl law, which allows us to identify the limit measure and to prove the microlocal concentration of the eigenfunctions on the characteristic manifold of the sR Laplacian. Then, we derive a Birkhoff normal form along this characteristic manifold, thus showing that, in some sense, all DUKE MATHEMATICAL JOURNAL Vol. 167, No. 1, © 2018 DOI 10.1215/00127094-2017-0037 Received 17 September 2015. Revision received 15 May 2017. First published online 10 November 2017. 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 35P20; Secondary 53D10, 53D25.
Ameliorative Effect of Omega-3 on Energy Drinks - Induced Pancreatic Toxicity in Adult Male Albino Rats

Background: The world wide increasing popularity of the energy drinks and the lack of information about their possible hazardous effects on health is a matter of controversy and research. The aim of this study is to assess the histological and histochemical effects of energy drinks on the pancreas of adult male albino rats and the possible protective effect of omega-3. Material and Methods: Fifty adult male albino rats were randomly divided into 4 groups. First group is control. Second group (Omega-3 treated) rats received omega-3 at a dose of 300 mg /kg/day orally for 4 weeks. Third group (Red Bull treated) rats received Red Bull at a dose of 10 mg/kg/day orally for 4 weeks then they were randomly subdivided into two equal subgroups: IIIA, rats were sacrificed after 24 h of the last dose and in IIIB (Recovery group), rats were sacrificed after 4 weeks of the last dose . Fourth group (Omega-3 and Red Bull treated group) rats received Red Bull at a dose of 10mg/kg/day and Omega-3 at a dose of 300mg/kg/day for 4 weeks. At sacrifice, blood samples were drawn for biochemical study and pancreas specimens were prepared for histological and histochemical study. Results: Energy drink had no significant effect on the animal weight (P = 0.055), but there was highly significant increase in the pancreatic weight (P = 0.001) and in mean blood glucose level (P = 0.000). There were signs of β cells overstimulation. Histological and histochemical study of the pancreatic sections revealed multiple deleterious effects of the energy drink on the acinar and the islet cells. These changes were reversible as shown in the recovery group. Co-administration of Omega-3 showed marked protection of the pancreatic acini and the islets of Langerhans. Conclusion: Omega-3 administration has a highly protective effect on the pancreatic tissue against the hazardous effects of the energy drinks.
Butterflies as indicator taxa of ecological disturbance at Menagesha-Suba state forest , central Ethiopia

Menagesha-Suba State Forest, the ecological indicators role of butterflies was assessed at five and three habitat types using transect method. Thirty transects representing five different habitat types were set up at the altitudes from 2200 to 3300 masl, from the natural closed forest to the agricultural land, with a length of 100 m for each transect. Indicator values were quantified for each butterfly family, genus and species. The results showed no butterfly family and genus which could be used as ecological indicator for the natural closed forest. Nevertheless, at the species level, three butterfly species, Charaxesphoebus, Vanessa abyssinica and Coliaselecto can be used as ecological indicators to assess the impact of disturbance on the natural closed forest as well as the habitat inside forest. In addition, the genus Charaxes and Vanessa for the habitat inside forest and the genus Colias for the habitats outside forest, and for the shrub and grassland could be used as eco-indicators. As a result, conservation of their habitats at landscape level is important for conservation of butterfly fauna of the study area.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BIOCOMPATIBLE 316 L STEEL RHOMBIC DODECAHEDRON LATTICE STRUCTURES

Additive manufactured lattice structures have the potential of enhancing many of today’s engineered products manufactured by traditionally methods. The former provides the capability of altering the mechanical, thermal and acoustic properties of structures through the use of lattices. However, more investigation is needed to better understand the manufacturability and the mechanical behavior of sandwich structures. This paper investigates the influence of strut size on the global stiffness and the compressive strength using compression testing of sandwich structures. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) analysis is applied to determine the local strain distribution during the compression test. It is found that the compressive strength increases linearly with increased lattice strut diameter. Moreover, based on DIC the maximum strains are observed in the strut connection regions.