Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficient Inference on Video, In Real-Time and At Scale

Neural network inference has transformed computer vision, enabling the automated detection, tracking, and analysis of objects and activities in visual data at human-level accuracy. Applying these deep models to real applications, however, requires careful attention to performance. Model complexity renders inference too slow, in use-cases that demand high throughput execution (e.g. autonomous perception), and too costly, in use-cases that require operation at the scale of hundreds of video streams (e.g. post-facto video search). To address these challenges, I pursue two lines of inquiry. On the inference speed side, I consider the task of accelerating semantic segmentation, a classic image recognition task with applications in autonomous perception, on video by leveraging motion information. Speciﬁcally, I explore the use of block motion ﬁelds from compressed video (e.g. MPEG-4 / H.264) to warp deep representations, and a new, two-stream network architecture to correct warping error. These techniques seek to amortize the cost of extracting image features, the bottleneck in many neural architectures, over multiple video frames, while preserving, and in some cases, boosting, model accuracy. On the compute cost side, I investigate how cross-camera person tracking, a video analytics task with applications in security and retail intelligence, can be executed eﬃciently on multiple video streams. Here I demonstrate how a proﬁle of cross-camera correlations, built oﬄine on historical video data, can be used as a spatial and temporal ﬁlter, ruling out cameras and frames unlikely to contain the target identity at inference time. My experiments shows that this ﬁltering, together with a fallback mechanism, can substantially reduce compute cost, as well as improve precision, on video analytics workloads. This body of work is motivated by a simple statement: machine learning systems must meet the performance requirements of the applications they enable . Advances in deep learning applied to vision have unlocked opportunity in robotic navigation, industrial and agricultural monitoring, and retail intelligence, each use case with its own latency, throughput, and cost
Effect of herbicide Imazethapyr (pursuit™) on chickpea seed germination

Herbicides are the most successful weed control technology ever developed. To assess the effects of herbicides on non-target plants, a study was carried out by using Imazethapyr (IM) on JG-11 cultivar of chickpea germination and early growth. Hydroponic conditions with five concentrations (0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, and 10 ppm) of IM were employed along with control. On the termination day of germination, IM had no effect on the percentage of seed germination but a significant decrease in the length of radicle and plumule, speed of germination, vigour index, tolerance index, and pigment content was observed with an increase in concentration of the herbicide. Increase in phytotoxicity percent and mean germination time along with a marginal decrease in dry and fresh weight was seen with increasing IM dose. The results implied that a higher concentration of IM resulted in a decline in seed germination and early growth of non-target or main crop i.e. chickpea.
Simultaneous Spectrophotometric Determination of Amylose and Amylopectin in Starch from Maize Kernel by Multi-wavelength Analysis

Abstract A six-wavelength spectrophotometric measurement of amylose- and amylopectin-iodine complexes has been improved and adapted for the lipid-rich maize kernel. Use of a spreadsheet program allowed graphical and mathematical resolution of a six-wavelength multi-component analysis. Lipid removal by aqueous acetone was found to minimise interference in the amylose determination. Solubilisation of maize starch in 4 m NaOH at ambient temperature was found to be rapid and efficient, without affecting the stability of amylose or amylopectin. The method was accurate, simple and applicable to routine analysis of the genotypic variability of starch composition in normal and mutant maize grains.
Coaching needs to Differ Before and After the Transition to Retirement

Improvements in life expectancy are enabling more people to reach retirement age. The transition to retirement is complex and, for approximately 30%, prompts a downturn in wellbeing. For this first UK study into retirement coaching, six retired participants were interviewed and recalled their coaching experiences. Interviews were analysed using Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological approach to articulate a typical transition experience. Three preretirement themes emerged (planning, decision-making and unexpected events) which saw a limited, practical role for coaching. Three post-retirement themes (redressing the balance, identity, and aging) required deeper psychological support. Interestingly, retirees chose several coaches to address their broad transition needs.
Biomass Yield and Nutritive Value of Ten Napier Grass (Pennisetum purpureum) Accessions at Areka, Southern Ethiopia

An experiment was conducted to evaluatethe biomass yield and nutritive value of tenaccessions of Napier grass (Pennisetumpurpureum) at Areka Agricultural Research Center. The accessions evaluated were Acc. No. 16817, 16791, 16794, 16913, 16815, 16783, 15743, 16902, 16819 and local check in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications each. The biomass yield, height and leaf:stem ratio were measured every 2 months of plant growth and chemical composition and organic matter (OM) digestibility were analyzed after 18 months. The results indicated that leaf to stem ratio of accession No. 16902 was (p<0.05) higher than acc. No 16783, local, 16794, 16791, 16819 but similar to acc No.16817, 16913, 15743, 16815. DM yield of the acc No. 16815 (17.90 t/ha) and local (16.68 t/ha) were (p<0.05) higher than accessions No.16794 (6.95t/ha) and 16819 (10.62t/ha) but similar to accessionsNo. 16913(13.86 t/ha), 15743 (11.98 t/ha), 16902(11.95t/ha), 16783 (12.32t/ha), 16817 (13.87 t/ha) and 16791(12.56 t/ha). The crude protein, OM, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, lignin and organic matter digestibility were not different (p>0.05) among accessions. It was concluded that the accessions No. 16913, 16815, 16902, 15743 and 16817 were found promising to be scaled up or /out along with the previously adapted local accessions under climatic conditions similar to Areka.
Wood Specific Gravity in Species from Two Tropical Forests in Mexico

The specific gravity of 220 woody species, half of them from a tropical rainforest, half from a tropical deciduous forest was measured. The two groups were compared using a Student t-test. The results show highly significant differences in specific gravity between the species from the two areas: woods from the dry deciduous forest tend to be much heavier than those from the rainforest.
Neutralizing Effect of Sodium Laurate on the Bactericidal Action of a Quaternary Ammonium Disinfectant against Staphylococcus aureus

The bactericidal activity of a quaternary ammonium salt, didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC), was depressed by the presence of soap, sodium laurate (NaLA): the minimum lethal concentration (MLC) of DDAC against Staphylococcus aureus was 63 and 250 μg/ml in the absence and presence of 0.01% NaLA, respectively. The neutralizing effect was studied in relation with the mode of action of DDAC. The apparent uptake of DDAC by the cell was not repressed by NaLA's presence when compared to that in its absence. The solution of NaLA showed alkaline pH, but the biocidal activity of DDAC was higher at pH 11 than at pH 7. Although the presence of NaLA had no significant effect on DDAC's action on increasing the turbidity of the cell suspension, the mixture of these reagents alone without cells exhibited some turbidity. From these findings it is deduced that NaLA can form a less active complex with DDAC by both ionic and hydrophobic interactions, suggesting that the positive charge as well as the hydrophobicity of the side chains in DDAC moiety plays an important role in its bactericidal activity. Key words: Bacteric
Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal

Purpose – This paper furnishes an inaugural reading of abjective consumption by drawing on Kristeva ’ s psychoanalytic theory of abjection within the wider terrain of consumer cultural research. It offers a conceptual framework that rests on three pillars, viz. irrationality, meaninglessness, dissolution of selfhood. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research design that adopts a documentary ethnographic approach, by drawing on a corpus of 50 documentary episodes from the TV series “ My Strange Addiction ” and “ FreakyEaters ” . Findings – The ﬁ ndings from this analysis point to different orders of mediatized discourse that are simultaneously operative in different actors ’ frames (e.g. moralizing, medical), in Goffman ’ s terms, yet none of which attains to address the phenomenon of abjective consumption to its full- blown extent. Research limitations/implications – Although some degree of bias is bound to be inherent in the data because of their pre-recorded status, they are particularly useful not in the least because this is a “ dif ﬁ cult sample ” inqualitativemethodological terms. Practical implications – The multi-order dimensionalization of abjective consumption opens up new vistas to marketers in terms of adding novel dimensions to the message structure of their communicative programs, in line with thethreeLacanianorders. Social implications – The adoption of a consumer psychoanalytic perspective allows signi ﬁ cant othersto fully dimensionalize the behavior of abjective consumption subjects, by becoming sensitive to other than symbolic aspectsthat areendemic in consumer behavior. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the extant consumer cultural research literature by furnishing thenovel conceptual framework of abjective consumption, as a further elaborationof my consumer psychoanalytic approach to jouissance consumption, as well as by contrasting this interpretive frame vis-à- vis dominantdiscursiveregimes.
Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Human Interactions

Understanding 3d human interactions is fundamental for fine grained scene analysis and behavioural modeling. However, most of the existing models focus on analyzing a single person in isolation, and those who process several people focus largely on resolving multi-person data association, rather than inferring interactions. This may lead to incorrect, lifeless 3d estimates, that miss the subtle human contact aspects--the essence of the event--and are of little use for detailed behavioral understanding. This paper addresses such issues and makes several contributions: (1) we introduce models for interaction signature estimation (ISP) encompassing contact detection, segmentation, and 3d contact signature prediction; (2) we show how such components can be leveraged in order to produce augmented losses that ensure contact consistency during 3d reconstruction; (3) we construct several large datasets for learning and evaluating 3d contact prediction and reconstruction methods; specifically, we introduce CHI3D, a lab-based accurate 3d motion capture dataset with 631 sequences containing 2,525 contact events, 728,664 ground truth 3d poses, as well as FlickrCI3D, a dataset of 11,216 images, with 14,081 processed pairs of people, and 81,233 facet-level surface correspondences within 138,213 selected contact regions. Finally, (4) we present models and baselines to illustrate how contact estimation supports meaningful 3d reconstruction where essential interactions are captured. Models and data are made available for research purposes at http://vision.imar. ro/ci3d.
The efficacy and potential risks of controlling sprouting in Finnish birches (Betula spp.) with the fungal decomposer Chondrostereum purpureum

Sprouting of fast-growing broad-leaved trees causes problems in young coniferous stands, under power transmission lines and along roads and railways. Public opinion and the Finnish Forest Certifi cation System oppose the use of chemical herbicides to control sprouting, which means that most areas with problems rely on mechanical cutting. However, cutting is a poor control method for many broad-leaved species because the removal of leaders can stimulate the sprouting of side branches and cut stumps quickly re-sprout. In order to be effective, cutting must be carried out frequently but each cut increases the costs, making this control method increasingly diffi cult and expensive once begun. As such, alternative methods for sprout control that are both effective and environmentally sound represent a continuing challenge to managers and research biologists. Using biological control agents to prevent sprouting has been given serious consideration recently. Dutch and Canadian researchers have demonstrated the potential of the white-rot fungus Chondrostereum purpureum (Pers. ex Fr.) Pouzar as a control agent of stump sprouting in many hardwoods. These fi ndings have focused the attention of the Finnish forestry community on the utilization of C. purpureum for biocontrol purposes. Primarily, this study sought to determine the effi cacy of native C. purpureum as an inhibitor of birch stump sprouting in Finland and to clarify its mode of action. Additionally, genotypic variation in Finnish C. purpureum was examined and the environmental risks posed by a biocontrol program using this fungus were assessed. Experimental results of the study demonstrated that C. purpureum clearly affects the sprouting of birch: both the frequency of living stumps and the number of living sprouts per stump were effectively reduced by the treatment. However, the treatment had no effect on the maximum height of new sprouts. There were clear differences among fungal isolates in preventing sprouting and those that possessed high oxidative activities in the laboratory inhibited sprouting most effi ciently in the fi eld. The most effective treatment time during the growing season was in early and mid summer (May–July). Genetic diversity in Nordic and Baltic populations of C. purpureum was found to be high at the regional scale but locally homogeneous. This natural distribution of diversity means that using local genotypes in biocontrol programs would effectively prevent the introduction of novel genes or genotypes. While a biocontrol program using local strains of C. purpureum would be environmentally neutral, pruned birches that are close to the treatment site would have a high susceptibility to infect by the fungus during the early spring.
IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN FIRMS’ EXPORT ACTIVITY AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN A SMALL OPEN ECONOMY? EVIDENCE FROM GREECE

Even though most of the export benefits inter alia refer to high productivity and profitability, the question is whether these performance indicators have been improved solely as a result of export activity or not. As such, in this study, we investigate whether and to what extent export activity could strengthen overall firm performance in terms of the aforementioned crucial measures, productivity and profitability. Moreover, we attempt to determine the impact of the crisis during the recession when firms seek new ways in order to increase and exploit their competitive advantage through exporting activity. As Greece is a very appealing case study due to the recession, we pooled micro-level data from Greek firms operating in all sectors of economy from 2005 to 2017. After extensive research of the literature, the most widely used financial and non-financial variables have been collected for each firm. By using the GMM model approach, the results indicate that high export intensity might strengthen the productivity and profitability of firms, especially if they are young, large in size and they operate in traditional industry sectors. * This research titled " Is there a link between firms? export activity and economic performance in a Small Open Economy? Evidence from Greece" as a part of the project "The Specification of Export Capacity of Enterprises and the Effects on the economic performance of firms" is implemented through the Operational Program "Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning" and is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund) and Greek national funds.
Diatom, chrysophyte and protozoan distributions along a latitudinal transect in Fennoscandia

Diatoms, chrysophyte scales and cysts, and the siliceous plates of thecoamoebae were studied from the surface sediments of 20 freshwater habitats in Fennoscandia. The study sites are distributed along a latitudinal transect extending from southern Finland to northern Norway, spanning boreal forest through arctic tundra vegetational zones. Diatom assemblages were usually dominated by acidophilic, periphytic members of the genera Achnanthes, Fragilaria and Navicula. Marked shifts in diatom assemblage composition were recorded along the latitudinal transect, whereas scaled chrysophytes were rare in all study sites. Meanwhile, siliceous protozoa were common, but did not exhibit any noticeable trends in assemblage composition with changing latitude. A comparison of the Fennoscandian diatom assemblages with those recorded from freshwater sites near Yellowknife (central Northwest Territories, Canada) revealed similar trends in diatom assemblage composition with changing ecoclimatic zones in both regions. Moreover, canonical correspondence analysis showed that diatom assemblages in cold, dilute tundra sites were effectively separated from sites with forested catchments from both the Fennoscandian and Canadian transects. The general similarity between the two regions suggests that autecological data and the resulting environmental transfer functions based on diatom assemblages may eventually be joined from North American and European regions.
Partial correlation screening for varying coefficient models

In this paper, we propose a two-stage approach for feature selection in varying coefficient models with ultra-high-dimensional predictors. Specifically, we first employ partial correlation coefficient for screening, and then penalized rank regression is applied for dimension-reduced varying coefficient models to further select important predictors and estimate the coefficient functions. Simulation studies are carried out to examine the performance of proposed approach. We also illustrate it by a real data example.
Faculty of Economics and Management of Sfax

The aim of this paper is to investigate the determinants and the joint relationship between capital, risk and liquidity of conventional and Islamic banks. Particularly, we focus on the impact of financial and political instabilities on the risk-taking behavior of conventional and Islamic banks. Using the simultaneous equation model with partial adjustment, we find a positive bidirectional relationship between capital and risk of Islamic banks. Moreover, results highlight the risky aspect of this category of banks mainly caused by the type of contracts put in practice, obeying Sharia principles, such as Moudharaba and Moucharaka contracts. Also, changes in liquidity affect positively risk within Islamic and conventional banks, suggesting that both types of banks, by accumulating liquid assets; tend to have relatively riskier portfolios. Moreover, we find a significant impact of the Global financial crisison the capital, risk and liquidity of conventional
Bacteriological Evaluation of Crude Oil Contaminated Soil Planted with Glycine Max Strain Tgx 1985-10e as A Phytoremediator

Three seed samples each of Glycine maxstrain TGX 1985-10E was planted in soil contaminated with crude oil (Well Head Medium – Oml – 75mls in a triplicate study which lasted for 105 days). This was as a result of an effort to evaluate the efficacy of Glycine MaxStrain TGX1985-10E as a phytoremediator of crude oil contaminated soil environments. The following parameters were considered and observation noted-Pod production, biomass (dry weight content), leaf area, height, chloroplyll content, which showed a much later improvements. The soil pH and bacteriological analysis were conducted and together with the afore-mentioned parameters 21 days periodically throughout the research period. The pH of the standard (oml contaminated soil) remained basic whereas that of the contaminated areas remained acidic but reduced during and throughout the period of study. The genera of Bacterial isolates include – Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Serratia, Arthrobacter, Flarobacterium, Micrococcus and Klebsiella. The findings of this study showed that Glycine MaxStrain TGX1985-10E is a good Phytoremediator especially in crude oil contaminated soil environments and is therefore recommended.
The Effect of Freezing on Bacteria

It has been known for many years that cultures of bacteria can be cooled to very low temperatures without destroying all the cells present (see, for example, MacFadyen and Rowland 1900). More recently the preservation of bacteria and sera by rapid freezing and drying has come into general use. The fundamental changes accompanying these processes have not so far been investigated in much detail. This paper presents the results of experiments on the effects of cooling and freezing at various temperatures on a number of bacterial species, and an attempt to correlate the observed effects of freezing on viability with the effect of freezing on the cellular proteins of B. pyocyaneus [Pseudomonas aeruginosa] . Hypotheses previously put forward to explain the observed effects of low temperatures on living cells may be briefly summarized under three headings:
Open-angle glaucoma in diabetic patients’ prevalence and risk factors: a cross-sectional study in Sudan

Background: Diabetic patients are at increased risk of glaucoma compared to the general population. Risk factors for glaucoma that is specific to diabetic patients include increased IOP, retinopathy and neovascular changes and years since diagnosis of diabetes. This cross-sectional study aims to report on the prevalence of glaucoma in diabetic patients in community diabetes centre in Sudan and examine associations with previously reported risk factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Omdurman specialised diabetic healthcare centre in Sudan. A total of 300 patients consented to participation. All patients filled in a survey for both demographics and diabetic disease history then had an assessment for glaucoma by an ophthalmologist. The assessment included examination of the anterior segment, optic nerve assessment and fundus examination using a stereoscopic slit lamp, intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement using tonometry, peripheral anterior chamber configuration and depth assessments using gonioscopy and central visual field assessment using perimetry. Results: Prevalence of open-angle glaucoma diagnosis was 2.8% among diabetic patients who were included in this study. Family history for glaucoma was significantly associated with increased risk of open-angle glaucoma (OR 5.67, 95% CI 1.74-18.45). Retinopathy was also associated with an increased risk of developing the condition (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.11-8.51). Gender, years since diabetes diagnosis and medications did not have significant associations. Conclusions: Patients with diabetes are at increased risk of developing open-angle glaucoma, but the prevalence among the diabetic population attending community diabetes centre in Sudan remains low. Among different clinical determinants, diabetic retinopathy and genetic determinants may explain the increased risk in the diabetic population.