Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hybrid sparse monocular visual odometry with online photometric calibration

Most monocular visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (vSLAM) and visual odometry (VO) algorithms focus on either feature-based methods or direct methods. Hybrid (semi-direct) approach is less studied although it is equally important. In this paper, a hybrid sparse visual odometry (HSO) algorithm with online photometric calibration is proposed for monocular vision. HSO introduces two novel measures, that is, direct image alignment with adaptive mode selection and image photometric description using ratio factors, to enhance the robustness against dramatic image intensity changes and motion blur. Moreover, HSO is able to establish pose constraints between keyframes far apart in time and space by using KLT tracking enhanced with a local-global brightness consistency. The convergence speed of candidate map points is adopted as the basis for keyframe selection, which strengthens the coordination between the front end and the back end. Photometric calibration is elegantly integrated into the VO system working in tandem: (1) Photometric interference from the camera, such as vignetting and changes in exposure time, is accurately calibrated and compensated in HSO, thereby improving the accuracy and robustness of VO. (2) On the other hand, VO provides pre-calculated data for the photometric calibration algorithm, which reduces resource consumption and improves the estimation accuracy of photometric parameters. Extensive experiments are performed on various public datasets to evaluate the proposed HSO against the state-of-the-art monocular vSLAM/VO and online photometric calibration methods. The results show that the proposed HSO achieves superior performance on VO and photometric calibration in terms of accuracy, robustness, and efficiency, being comparable with the state-of-the-art VO/vSLAM systems. We open source HSO for the benefit of the community.
Media and cultural systems: Connecting national news dynamics and the cultures of social problems through a case study of climate change in the U.S. and U.K.

This study builds a framework for research on relationships between national media systems and the cultural systems of specific social problems. In the case of U.K. and U.S. news coverage of the social problem of climate change, ethnographic fieldwork and a computational text analysis method known as topic modeling show that three processes are highly salient for understanding the connections between media systems and the cultural systems of social problems: (1) the economic underpinnings of media organizations; (2) relationships between media outlets and between outlets and their audiences; (3) longer histories of research, activism, and policymaking around social problems. This framework can enhance research on the specific, evolving roles that media play in supporting democratic processes and addressing social problems in different national economic, political, and media system contexts.
Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction Coupled with Alcohol Oxidation over Porous Carbon Nitride

The photocatalytic transformation of CO2 to valuable man-made feedstocks is a promising method for balancing the carbon cycle; however, it is often hampered by the consumption of extra hole scavengers. Here, a synergistic redox system using photogenerated electron-hole pairs was constructed by employing a porous carbon nitride with many cyanide groups as a metal-free photocatalyst. Selective CO2 reduction to CO using photogenerated electrons was achieved under mild conditions; simultaneously, various alcohols were effectively oxidized to value-added aldehydes using holes. The results showed that thermal calcination process using ammonium sulfate as porogen contributes to the construction of a porous structure. As-obtained cyanide groups can facilitate charge carrier separation and promote moderate CO2 adsorption. Electron-donating groups in alcohols could enhance the activity via a faster hydrogen-donating process. This concerted photocatalytic system that synergistically utilizes electron-hole pairs upon light excitation contributes to the construction of cost-effective and multifunctional photocatalytic systems for selective CO2 reduction and artificial photosynthesis.
CNN Based Multiclass Brain Tumor Detection Using Medical Imaging

Brain tumors are the 10th leading reason for the death which is common among the adults and children. On the basis of texture, region, and shape there exists various types of tumor, and each one has the chances of survival very low. The wrong classification can lead to the worse consequences. As a result, these had to be properly divided into the many classes or grades, which is where multiclass classification comes into play. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pictures are the most acceptable manner or method for representing the human brain for identifying the various tumors. Recent developments in image classification technology have made great strides, and the most popular and better approach that has been considered best in this area is CNN, and therefore, CNN is used for the brain tumor classification issue in this paper. The proposed model was successfully able to classify the brain image into four different classes, namely, no tumor indicating the given MRI of the brain does not have the tumor, glioma, meningioma, and pituitary tumor. This model produces an accuracy of 99%.
Nonlinear Evolution of Instabilities in a Laminar Separation Bubble at Hypersonic Mach Number

The development of both convective stationary perturbation as well as global instabilities in the vicinity of a laminar separation bubble above an axisymmetric compression corner in a hypersonic flow is investigated using numerical simulations. The flow configuration of primary interest corresponds to the cone-cylinder-flare model used in experimental measurements in the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel at Purdue University. For a flare angle of 10 degrees and a unit Reynolds number of 11.5 ´ 10 6 m -1 , their surface flow visualizations identified the presence of streamwise elongated thermal streaks near the reattachment position and the dominant azimuthal spacing between the streaks was determined to be approximately 10 degrees (i.e., an azimuthal mode number of 36). Previous linear stability analyses predicted that the amplification characteristics of small amplitude, unsteady, convective instabilities within this flow were consistent with the surface pressure fluctuations measured in the experiment. However, their accompanying analysis of global instabilities had found the separation bubble to be weakly unstable at the 10 degrees flare angle, with the most unstable global mode corresponding to a stationary disturbance with an azimuthal wavenumber of m ≈ 5, which was well below the measured wavenumber of m = 36. Besides confirming the presence of the global instability at these flow conditions, the present numerical simulations quantify the details of the stationary equilibrium state associated with the supercritical bifurcation resulting from the nonlinear saturation of the unstable global mode. Although velocity perturbations associated with the saturated global mode are dominated by the fundamental spanwise wavelength associated with the linear global instability, the surface heat flux downstream of reattachment is dominated by m = 36 in agreement with experimental measurements. An additional simulation of the combined evolution of both unsteady convective and global instabilities indicates that the nonlinear interactions between a broadband spectrum of oblique Mack’s first mode instabilities generate stationary vortex modes with a higher dominant wavenumber ( m = 60) as that observed in the experiments. Additional analyses are performed to predict the global mode behavior at other flare angles and how it differs from the convective centrifugal instability due to concave streamline curvature over the compression corner
How does local autonomy shape the revenues of small municipalities? Evidence from Illinois home rule municipalities

Although long governed by “Dillon’s Rule” that makes localities a “creature” of the state, the U.S. municipalities have always desired some degree of local autonomy. One of the ways in which states grant autonomy to local governments is through a designation of “home rule. ” Most prior studies of the effects of home rule on local governance have focused on relating large municipalities. This article explores the effect of adopting home rule on small municipalities by looking at municipalities’ revenues. Focusing on Illinois municipalities, this article conducts a fuzzy regression discontinuity design to provide causal evidence. The empirical evidence shows that the adoption of home rule has a positive and statistically significant impact on the level of total own-source revenue, especially for local sales taxes and other taxes, but it has limited influence on property taxes. In addition, while home rule significantly increases revenue diversification for small municipalities, it has little influence on revenue stability.
Wooden-Tip Electrospray Mass Spectrometry Characterization of Human Hemoglobin in Whole Blood Sample for Thalassemia Screening: A Pilot Study

Traditional analytical methods for thalassemia screening are needed to process complicated and time-consuming sample pretreatment. In recent decades, ambient mass spectrometry (MS) approaches have been proven to be an effective analytical strategy for direct sample analysis. In this work, we applied ambient MS with wooden-tip electrospray ionization (WT-ESI) for the direct analysis of raw human blood samples that were pre-identified by gene detection. A total of 319 whole blood samples were investigated in this work, including 100 α-thalassemia carriers, 67 β-thalassemia carriers, and 152 control healthy samples. Only one microliter of raw blood sample was directly loaded onto the surface of the wooden tip, and then five microliters of organic solvent and a high voltage of +3.0 kV were applied onto the wooden tip to generate spray ionization. Multiply charged ions of human hemoglobin (Hb) were directly observed by WT-ESI-MS from raw blood samples. The signal ratios of Hb chains were used to characterize two main types of thalassemia (α and β types) and healthy control blood samples. Our results suggested that the ratios of charged ions to Hb chains being at +13 would be an indicator for β-thalassemia screening.
Isolation and identification of Helicobacter pylori from raw chicken meat in Dhamar Governorate, Yemen

Although Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the most common bacterial pathogens of human, its natural reservoirs are still unclear. There is an increasing number of reports that document the occurrence of H. pylori in various foods. This study aimed at isolation of H. pylori from chicken meat sampled. Two hundred and sixty samples were collected randomly from slaughterhouses and markets in Dhamar Governorate, Yemen. Samples were enriched in Brain-Heart Infusion broth in microaerophilic conditions before inoculating the Camp-Blood agar and EYE agar plates. Results showed that 13.8% of samples were contaminated evidenced by H. pylori growth via traditional culture method on agar media. No significant differences between sample types (thighs and breast muscles) (p=0.353) or the sampling source (p=0.816) were observed. Autumn season was associated with increased occurrence of H. pylori. The source of H. pylori in food is still not identified. Proper cooking and good sanitation practices are highly recommended to avoid the infection. Further studies addressing the potential sources of H. pylori are highly suggested.
Phenotypes of Motor Deficit and Pain after Experimental Spinal Cord Injury

Motor disability is a common outcome of spinal cord injury (SCI). The recovery of motor function after injury depends on the severity of neurotrauma; motor deficit can be reversible, at least partially, due to the innate tissue capability to recover, which, however, deteriorates with age. Pain is often a comorbidity of injury, although its prediction remains poor. It is largely unknown whether pain can attend motor dysfunction. Here, we implemented SCI for modelling severe and moderate neurotrauma and monitored SCI rats for up to 5 months post-injury to determine the profiles of both motor deficit and nociceptive sensitivity. Our data showed that motor dysfunction remained persistent after a moderate SCI in older animals (5-month-old); however, there were two populations among young SCI rats (1 month-old) whose motor deficit either declined or exacerbated even more over 4–5 weeks after identical injury. All young SCI rats displayed changed nociceptive sensitivity in thermal and mechanical modalities. The regression analysis of the changes revealed a population trend with respect to hyper- or hyposensitivity/motor deficit. Together, our data describe the phenotypes of motor deficit and pain, the two severe complications of neurotrauma. Our findings also suggest the predictability of motor dysfunction and pain syndromes following SCI that can be a hallmark for long-term rehabilitation and recovery after injury.
Are Mind-Body Exercise Beneficial for Treating Pain, Function, and Quality of Life in Middle-Aged and Old People With Chronic Pain? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Aging is a significant risk factor in chronic pain development with extensive disability and greater health care costs. Mind-body exercise (MBE) has been scientifically proven to affect the pain intensity and physical health. Objectives To assess the effects of MBE modes (Tai Chi, yoga, and qigong) for treating chronic pain among middle-aged and old people, compared with nonactive and active treatment, as well as function, quality of life, and adverse events. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, and Chinese Scientific Journals Full-Text Database (VIP) till March 2022. No restrictions were chartered within the year and language of publication. We included randomized controlled trials of MBE treatment in middle-aged and elderly people with chronic pain. The overall certainty of evidence was evaluated by using the GRADE approach. Results A total of 17 studies (n = 1,332) were included in this review. There was low-certainty evidence indicating that MBE had a moderate effect on reducing pain compared with the nonactive and active control group (standard mean difference (SMD): −0.64, 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.86 to −0.42, P < 0.001). Very-low-certainty evidence showed that the pooled SMD for the functional improvement was −0.75 (95% CI: −1.13 to −0.37, P < 0.001). Low-certainty evidence presented that no influence was observed in physical component summary (SMD: 0.23, 95% CI: −0.16 to 0.62, P = 0.24) and mental component summary (SMD: −0.01, 95% CI −0.39 to 0.36, P = 0.95). Conclusion Our results indicated that MBE was an effective treatment for reducing symptoms of middle-aged and elderly people with chronic pain compared with nonactive and active control groups. TC and qigong had obvious benefits for knee osteoarthritis in self-reported function, but the efficacy of chronic low back pain was uncertain. No significant benefit of MBE on quality of life in older adults with chronic pain was found. More high-quality RCTs should be conducted to explore the efficacy and mechanism of MBE on chronic pain in middle-aged and elderly people from various dimensions, such as affective and cognitive dimensions. Systematic Review Registration https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/PROSPERO/display_record. php? RecordID=316591, identifier CRD42022316591.
Look at Our Journey: Prompting the Marginalism of Superior Utility with a Higher Subjective Value to Motivate Management Student Meta-Learning Processes

Improving perceptions of graduate utility is fundamental to Higher Education’s employability and skills agenda. However, utility enhancement is a ubiquitous consequence of all learning. Therefore, motivating students to engage in deep learning to improve their utility is problematic. Using the student voice, in this article, I explain how prompts endorsing marginalism as a benefit of attaining superior utility with higher subjective value informed and motivated meta-learning approaches. Drawing on data from an ethnography and interpretive phenomenology situated in the unique learning environment of the COVID-19 pandemic, findings reveal students were motivated to seek utility attainment opportunities that marginally enhanced self-perceptions, transferability of learning, and employability. This article is among the first to explain why the attainment of knowledge and can-do competencies associated with marginalism, superior utility, and higher subjective value, motivates learners’ present and future time perspectives.
Validation of a PCM simulation tool in IDA ICE dynamic building simulation software using experimental data from Solar Test Boxes

This work aims to provide a method to validate a PCM tool implemented in a whole building dynamic simulation software (IDA ICE) using outdoor measurements coming from Solar Test Boxes (STB). The STB method was originally conceived by ESTER lab at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, to evaluate thermal characteristics of transparent and semi transparent materials in outdoor conditions. In the approach presented here two boxes (reference and test) were equipped with a standard double glass pane. A PCM pane, provided by RUBITHERM®, was put on the floor of the test box. Two monitoring campaigns were carried out and the thermal behaviour of the box with PCM was analyzed and compared with the thermal behaviour of the reference box. Temperature trends measured inside the “PCM box” were used to validate the PCM behaviour provided by the IDA ICE tool, comparing measured and simulated data.
The street as teaching space. A case study

Abstract With the problems facing our natural environment in an increasingly human centered world, students expect that taught content within tertiary design courses acknowledge environmental and social problems. How can knowledge within indigenous cultures contribute to and expand this content? Can this be achieved through locating teaching and learning outside the traditional spaces and systems? Many indigenous youth have been failed by the school system, but have developed strong skill sets through illegal tagging and graffiti. Even though they lack the academic passport acquired through school, they are ambitious for higher studies in creative practice. But they are unaware their knowledge and abilities are transferable to other creative disciplines; they do not connect their street art skills to professional design practices. By using the streets as a project based teaching space, we can engage youth who would normally be excluded from higher design education and release their potential as problem solvers.
CD8+ T-Cells in Juvenile-Onset SLE: From Pathogenesis to Comorbidities

Diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in childhood [juvenile-onset (J) SLE], results in a more severe disease phenotype including major organ involvement, increased organ damage, cardiovascular disease risk and mortality compared to adult-onset SLE. Investigating early disease course in these younger JSLE patients could allow for timely intervention to improve long-term prognosis. However, precise mechanisms of pathogenesis are yet to be elucidated. Recently, CD8+ T-cells have emerged as a key pathogenic immune subset in JSLE, which are increased in patients compared to healthy individuals and associated with more active disease and organ involvement over time. CD8+ T-cell subsets have also been used to predict disease prognosis in adult-onset SLE, supporting the importance of studying this cell population in SLE across age. Recently, single-cell approaches have allowed for more detailed analysis of immune subsets in JSLE, where type-I IFN-signatures have been identified in CD8+ T-cells expressing high levels of granzyme K. In addition, JSLE patients with an increased cardiometabolic risk have increased CD8+ T-cells with elevated type-I IFN-signaling, activation and apoptotic pathways associated with atherosclerosis. Here we review the current evidence surrounding CD8+ T-cell dysregulation in JSLE and therapeutic strategies that could be used to reduce CD8+ T-cell inflammation to improve disease prognosis.
Intention to use Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending: The Roles of Perceived Structural Assurance and Perceived Critical Mass

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending platform has enormous potential to improve financial inclusion for people in emerging countries. In this regard, the present study examined the predictors of continuance intention to borrow from P2P lending, especially as a Multi-Sided Platform (MSP) that relied heavily on critical mass to succeed. This research was among the first that analyzed the behavioral intention of P2P lending from the borrower’s perspective by expanding on the technology acceptance model (TAM) with two fundamental latent constructs for MSPs, namely perceived structural assurance and perceived critical mass. This quantitative study used Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Online questionnaires were spread to P2P lending borrowers (n =174) from all over Indonesia to measure the latent constructs. The result revealed that all the exogenous constructs did not have direct relationships with continuance intention to borrow. However, perceived structural assurance and perceived ease of borrowing indirectly affected the endogenous construct through perceived usefulness as the mediating variable. This study also offers some managerial implications for the P2P lending industry.
PENDIDIKAN KESEHATAN BERBAHASA DAERAH TERHADAP KEPATUHAN LANSIA MELAKUKAN PENCEGAHAN PENINGKATAN TEKANAN DARAH

High blood pressure or hypertension is when blood pressure, the force of blood pushing against the walls of blood vessels, is consistently too high. Hypertension attacks the elderly. Elderly is someone who is 60 years and over. The use of regional languages as a method of providing health information is rarely and never even done by health workers. This study aims to analyze the impact of local language health education on elderly compliance in preventing increased blood pressure. The design used in this study is a pre experimental design method with one group pre and posttest design method. The population was 30 elderly with stage 2 hypertension who used Tae' language. Samples were taken using total sampling method. The research was processed with the wilcoxon signed ranks test, the p value was 0.000, which was smaller than the α = 0.05. It is concluded that there is an effect of local language health education (tae ') on the level of compliance in taking preventive measures to increase blood pressure in the elderly with hypertension. Providing health education using local languages is expected to be able to change the compliance of the elderly in preventing hypertension.
Performance Measurement of Water Distribution Systems (WDS). A Critical and Constructive Appraisal of the State-of-the-art

Water supply and distribution infrastructures are vital for current life. They have a significant role in public health, providing safe water for drinking and human consumption as well as for essential non-potable uses such as fire fighting. These diverse objectives create challenges for everyone who must address in some way the actual performance of the system. This research critically evaluates all common objectives of conventional design approaches and evaluates the advantages and drawbacks of various performance measures. New ideas for a more realistic and comprehensive approach to the design, operation assessment of WDS are proposed. A new approach, called a Risk-based Performance Assessment, for hydraulic performance evaluation is tentatively proposed. It is based on integration of reliability, resiliency, and vulnerability as three basic operational indices in the operation of WDS. Furthermore, the Total Life-cycle Cost evaluation approach is tentatively proposed based on considering all major costs of a WDS.