Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficient Attention-Convolution Feature Extractor in Semantic Segmentation for Autonomous Driving Systems

Deep learning has been widely used in computer vision applications and it has been shown to achieve state-of-the-art results in many applications including self-driving cars. Despite the great progress, less attention has been paid to the safety-level importance of different classes and the majority of the models treat all classes similarly, and only average precision is considered. However, different classes contribute differently to the reliability and safety level of an autonomous driving system i.e. the Person class should be of higher priority than the Sky class in terms of segmentation accuracy. So, in this work, we introduced a new Attention-Convolution Block (ACB) feature extractor with modified self-attention, which can extract detailed and long-range information from the input feature maps and feed the entire network with more focused feature maps. Based on this feature extractor, we developed two models for semantic segmentation that have a balanced trade-off between complexity and accuracy and can accurately distinguish important classes, like the Person class. To demonstrate the performance of our models, we ran our experiments on Cityscapes datasets, and used both quantitative (mean and per-class IoU score) and qualitative (visual representation of output segmentation maps) measures and compared the results of our model with the state-of-the-art methods. The results show that our proposed model improves Per-class IoU scores for Person and Bike classes at least by 7 percent. In addition, we compared the accuracy of different models against their complexity to show despite simple structure and low parameter number, our proposed model has high IoU accuracy.
Knowledge of Vaccination Against Influenza and Pneumococcus in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in an Integrated Care Program

Purpose To compare the level of knowledge in vaccination against influenza and pneumococcus of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are managed in an Integrated Care Program (ICP) with those who receive usual care (UC). Methods A telephone survey of patients diagnosed with COPD registered in public care networks or private institutions was done. A descriptive and comparative analysis of the characteristics of the ICP and UC groups was carried out. The relationship between belonging to an ICP and the level of knowledge about vaccination was evaluated using Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and multivariate logistic and ordinal regression models. Results Of 674 study participants, 27.2% were from the ICP group. ICP patients were older, more frequently men, from a higher socioeconomic stratum and a higher educational level (p<0.05). 75.5% of the patients in the ICP group had a high level of vaccination knowledge compared to 42.7% in the UC group (p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, adjusting for sociodemographic variables, years of COPD diagnosis, and comorbidities, belonging to the ICP was associated with a higher probability of answering questions about vaccination correctly and having a high level of knowledge (OR 3.397, IC 95% 2.058–5.608, p<0.001). Conclusion Patients with COPD managed in an ICP have a higher level of knowledge in vaccination against influenza and pneumococcus, compared to patients in usual care.
Ionospheric signatures of internal reconnection for northward interplanetary magnetic field: Observation of “reciprocal cells” and magnetosheath ion precipitation

[1] Magnetic reconnection that involves overdraped lobe field lines is called internal reconnection since it occurs inside the magnetopause. When the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is due northward and the Earth's dipole is tilted significantly, internal reconnection occurs in the winter hemisphere, not only between a summer lobe field line and a winter lobe field line but also between a summer lobe field line and a closed field line. The latter internal reconnection drives “reciprocal cells” in the winter ionosphere that circulate exclusively in the closed field line region. The reciprocal cells are intimately related to the lobe cells in the summer ionosphere in that in the steady state, the reconnection voltage associated with merging of IMF and open field lines is equal to the sum of the lobe cell potential and the reciprocal cell potential. In this paper we present observations of convection patterns consistent with those expected for reciprocal cells, using ionospheric radar and low-altitude satellite data. We also show the concurrence of lobe cells and reciprocal cells. The observations of reciprocal cells provide support for the internal reconnection between a summer lobe field line and a closed field line. In addition, we show that equatorward of the polar cap boundary, magnetosheath-like ions are drifting from noon toward the flankside in both hemispheres. We suggest that these ions are of magnetosheath origin and that they entered the closed region of the magnetosphere through the rotational discontinuity associated with internal reconnection. These magnetosheath-like ion observations strongly support the occurrence of internal reconnection.
Parent Vessel Occlusion of an Adjacent Aneurysm and Detachable Coil Mass Associated with Late Delayed Reconfiguration of a Guglielmi

Summary: We present a case of asymptomatic, progressive, late occlusion of the left superior cerebellar artery (SCA) and an aneurysm arising from the junction of the SCA and basilar artery after embolization of an adjacent aneurysm arising between the left posterior cerebral artery and the left SCA. The delayed occlusion was associated with recon-ﬁguration of the Guglielmi detachable coils at the neck of the treated aneurysm.
Rapid climatic shifts during isotope stages 2 4 in the Polar North Atlantic

Sediment cores from the Polar North Atlantic provide evidence of six periods of sea-ice breakup during isotope stages 4, 3, and 2, probably caused by inflow of North Atlantic surface water into the Polar North Atlantic. These periods are characterized by having a high number of foraminifera/g; they last from 2000 to >10000 yr, and constitute ≈ 50% of the total time span. These periods of sea-ice breakup correlate temporarily to the Heinrich events and the early temperature maximum in the Bond cycles of the North Atlantic and Greenland ice record. Our hypothesis is that massive iceberg discharges that flooded the North Atlantic during each Heinrich event probably triggered an oceanographic regime that gave a much more vigorous surface circulation pattern in the Polar North Atlantic, which contributed to the breakup of the sea-ice cover. Open-water conditions in the Polar North Atlantic are inversely related to terrestrial interstadials of coastal Norway, suggesting ice-sheet starvation during the cold periods and ice-sheet growth when an open-water surface circulation existed in the Polar North Atlantic. Our data document synchronous variations on a October 1900 yr time scale between Arctic oceanic climate, Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet dynamics, and ocean-atmosphere temperature changes.
X-ray photoelectron studies of titanium in biotite and phlogopite

Abstract X-ray photoelectron diffraction data from single crystals of a biotite containing ∼1% Ti show that although this element is located entirely in octahedral sites, the Ti sites are not precisely equivalent to those of Mg and Fe. Comparisons of Ti 2p X-ray photoelectron spectra from two biotites and from two titaniferous phlogopites (∼0·3–·5% Ti) with those from Ti(II), Ti(III) and Ti(IV) oxides indicate that this element is present as Ti(III) rather than Ti(IV) in all four micas.
The Joint predictive effects of Teachers’ Enjoyment, Anxiety, and Boredom on Students’ Enjoyment in Higher Education Settings

The flourishing of positive psychology (PP) in education has shifted the focus to the crucial role of neglected emotions (e.g. enjoyment, boredom, hope). Yet, studies about how teachers’ emotions are combined and have joint effects in predicting students’ emotions are hardly available. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between student-perceived teacher enjoyment (PTE), anxiety (PTA), and boredom (PTB) and students’ self-reported enjoyment (SE). As such, how the three perceived teacher emotions jointly predict SE was also investigated. A total of 760 university students (Mage= 21.07, SD = 3.59), enrolled in a public university in Morocco, participated in this study through completing an anonymous questionnaire. Statistical analyses (correlation and regression) showed that PTE and PTB were found to be the only significant predictors of SE. They contributed uniquely and significantly to the overall model, which explained 9% (R2 = .9) of the variance in the outcome variable (SE). The effect of PTB was increased within the regression model compared to the independent effect. This is interpreted as a demonstration of the positive emotional crossover from teachers to students. Furthermore, PTA did not emerge as a significant predictor for SE. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed.
Ethical issues experienced by nurses during COVID-19 in university hospitals

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the ethical issues experienced by nurses in the care for patients with COVID-19 and the factors that influence their occurrence. Method: This is a cross-sectional, quantitative study, carried out between February and May 2022 with 101 nurses from two university hospitals, through the socio-occupational Ethical issues Experienced by Nurses in Emergency Questionnaire, adapted and validated for Brazilians. Descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson’s correlation test and linear regression were performed, adopting p-value. Results: Ethical issues related to concern and stress in caring for infected patients were evidenced, being influenced by perception of social stigmatization (p = .003) and perception of hospital measures (p = .000). Agreement with infection control measures (4.46) and perception of hospital measures against COVID-19 (3.26) were factors with the highest mean between the constructs. Conclusion: Nurses are faced with ethical issues in the face of concern and stress in caring for patients with COVID-19, who are affected by social issues and assistance. It is essential to support them, promoting their mental and social well-being to deal with new emergency situations.
REMINERALIZATION EFFICIENCY OF NANOHYDROXYAPATITE, NANO-BIOACTIVE GLASS, AND SODIUM FLUORIDE ON INITIAL ENAMEL CARIES OF PRIMARY TEETH

Objectives: This in vitro study was carried out to evaluate the remineralization efficiency of nanohydroxyapatite (Nano-HAp), nano-bioactive glass (Nano-BAG), and sodium fluoride (NaF) on initial enamel caries of primary molar teeth. Material and Methods: The extracted primary molar teeth’s enamel was used to create a total of 108 enamel samples. A particularly prepared demineralized solution was used to perform artificial caries. The demineralized enamel samples from primary molar teeth were remineralized using three solutions, each with a different concentration. According to the remineralization regime, the enamel samples were separated into three groups (n=36): the first group included enamel samples that had been treated with 10% Nano-HAp; the second group: enamel samples treated with 10% Nano-BAG; the third group: enamel samples treated with 2% NaF. The surface morphology, remineralization potential, and microhardness of enamel samples were assessed using the scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Vickers microhardness tester, respectively, at the baseline, after demineralization, and after remineralization. Results: SEM analysis after remineralization intervention, all three study groups displayed favorable constructive surface changes. EDX analysis revealed a statistically significant increase in the Ca/P ratio (remineralization potential) for the enamel samples treated with Nanohydroxyapatite and Nano-bioactive glass in comparison with the sodium fluoride-treated group, however, no significant difference between Nanohydroxyapatite and Nano-bioactive glass treated groups. Also, statistically significant differences between the baseline (before demineralization), and after remineralization values in comparison with post-demineralization, were seen in the intragroup comparison of Ca/P ratios, however, no significant difference between baseline, and post-remineralization. The microhardness test showed a significant improvement in the surface hardness after remineralization of the demineralized enamel samples for all treated groups. However, the NaF treated sample showed a significantly lower hardness than the enamel samples at the baseline. Conclusion: The use of a 10% Nano-HAp and 10% Nano-BAG displayed positive constructive surface modifications and had the potential to remineralize the initial enamel caries and improve the microhardness of the demineralized enamel under in vitro conditions.
4-bit CNN Quantization Method With Compact LUT-Based Multiplier Implementation on FPGA

To address the challenge of deploying convolutional neural networks (CNNs) on edge devices with limited resources, this article presents an effective 4-bit quantization scheme for CNN and proposes a DSP-free multiplier solution for deploying quantized neural networks on field-programmable gate array (FPGA) devices. Specifically, we first introduce a threshold-aware quantization (TAQ) method with a mixed rounding strategy to compress the scale of the model while maintaining the accuracy of the original full-precision model. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed quantization method retains a high classification accuracy for 4-bit quantized CNN models. In addition, we propose a compact lookup table-based multiplier (CLM) design that replaces numerical multiplication with a lookup table (LUT) of precomputed 4-bit multiplication results, leveraging LUT6 resources instead of scarce DSP blocks to improve the scalability of FPGA to implement multiplication-intensive CNN algorithms. The proposed 4-bit CLM only consumes 13 LUT6 resources, surpassing the existing LUT-based multipliers (LMULs) in terms of resource consumption. The proposed CNN quantization and CLM multiplier scheme effectively save FPGA resource consumption for FPGA implementation on image classification tasks, providing strong support for deep learning algorithms in unmanned systems, industrial inspection, and other relevant vision and measurement scenarios running on DSP-constrained edge devices.
Investigating the Impact of Task-Induced Involvement Load on Incidental Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition through

: This study aimed to investigate the effects of task-induced involvement load on the L2 incidental vocabulary acquisition hrough reading. The study made use of the experimental method to meet such an end. A number of instruments for fulfilling the research main purpose were utilized, namely Oxford placement test, and the vocabulary size test, and Wesche & Paribakht’s (1996) Vocabulary Knowledge Scale. Descriptive statistics were employed to explore the statistical differences between the groups. Once this difference was shown to exist, inferential statistics were used to explain whether differences were significant or not. One-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post-hoc test was carried out to compare groups. The participants were 45 pre-intermediate ESL students in the preparatory year in King Saud University. The results of the study revealed that task-induced involvement has considerable gains in developing vocabulary acquisition and retention across the three administered tasks. The study concluded with a number of pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research.
Significance of HLA-E and its two NKG2 receptors in development of complications after allogeneic transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells

Transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCT) is a procedure commonly used in treatment of various haematological disorders which is associated with significantly improved survival rates. However, one of its drawbacks is the possibility of development of post-transplant complications, including acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) or CMV infection. Various studies suggested that NK cells and their receptors may affect the transplant outcome. In the present study, patients and donors were found to significantly differ in the distribution of the NKG2A rs7301582 genetic variants – recipients carried the C allele more often than their donors (0.975 vs 0.865, p<0.0001). Increased soluble HLA-E (sHLA-E) levels detected in recipients’ serum 30 days after transplantation seemed to play a prognostic and protective role. It was observed that recipients with higher sHLA-E levels were less prone to chronic GvHD (11.65 vs 6.33 pg/mL, p=0.033) or more severe acute GvHD grades II-IV (11.07 vs 8.04 pg/mL, p=0.081). Our results also showed an unfavourable role of HLA-E donor-recipient genetic incompatibility in CMV infection development after transplantation (OR=5.92, p=0.014). Frequencies of NK cells (both CD56dim and CD56bright) expressing NKG2C were elevated in recipients who developed CMV, especially 30 and 90 days post-transplantation (p<0.03). Percentages of NKG2C+ NK cells lacking NKG2A expression were also increased in these patients. Moreover, recipients carrying a NKG2C deletion characterized with decreased frequency of NKG2C+ NK cells (p<0.05). Our study confirms the importance of NK cells in the development of post-transplant complications and highlights the effect of HLA-E and NKG2C genetic variants, sHLA-E serum concentration, as well as NKG2C surface expression on transplant outcome.
Do Chinese viewers watch e-sports games for a different reason? Motivations, attitude, and team identification in predicting e-sports online spectatorship

Introduction Understanding factors that predict the intention of e-sports game online spectatorship has drawn a great deal of scholarly attention. Prior work on this topic has primarily focused on explaining the mediation mechanism between the spectator motivations and behavioral intention, such as attitude and subjective well-being, while overlooking the specific role of team identification and satisfaction with past experience, which were understudied in the previous studies but also prominent in the context of e-sports spectatorship. Besides, previous research was mainly conducted in a Western context; therefore, little was known about the online e-sports audience in China and their motivations to view e-sports games on live-streaming platforms. Methods The current study thus aims to examine if and how these factors are related to the intention of watching e-sports games online by hierarchical regression and structural equation modeling. Results Results from a survey of 452 Chinese e-sports online audiences suggested that three motivations (skill improvement, entertainment, and friends bonding), attitude towards e-sports game online spectatorship, and satisfaction with past experience were positively related to watching intention. These motivations and satisfaction also positively influenced attitude, while socialization opportunity (one of the motivations) negatively influenced attitude. Furthermore, team identification negatively moderated the relationship between satisfaction with past experience and behavioral intention. Also, attitude mediated the association between motivations, satisfaction, and behavioral intention. Discussion In general, our study identifies the motivations that relate to Chinese e-sports viewers’ attitude as well as their watching intention, and underscores the role of satisfaction with past experience, attitude, and team identification in the context of e-sports. These findings contribute to deriving a holistic view of e-sports game online spectatorship.
Research on the evolutionary history of the morphological structure of cotton seeds: a new perspective based on high-resolution micro-CT technology

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) seed morphological structure has a significant impact on the germination, growth and quality formation. However, the wide variation of cotton seed morphology makes it difficult to achieve quantitative analysis using traditional phenotype acquisition methods. In recent years, the application of micro-CT technology has made it possible to analyze the three-dimensional morphological structure of seeds, and has shown technical advantages in accurate identification of seed phenotypes. In this study, we reconstructed the seed morphological structure based on micro-CT technology, deep neural network Unet-3D model, and threshold segmentation methods, extracted 11 basics phenotypes traits, and constructed three new phenotype traits of seed coat specific surface area, seed coat thickness ratio and seed density ratio, using 102 cotton germplasm resources with clear year characteristics. Our results show that there is a significant positive correlation (P< 0.001) between the cotton seed size and that of the seed kernel and seed coat volume, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.51 to 0.92, while the cavity volume has a lower correlation with other phenotype indicators (r<0.37, P< 0.001). Comparison of changes in Chinese self-bred varieties showed that seed volume, seed surface area, seed coat volume, cavity volume and seed coat thickness increased by 11.39%, 10.10%, 18.67%, 115.76% and 7.95%, respectively, while seed kernel volume, seed kernel surface area and seed fullness decreased by 7.01%, 0.72% and 16.25%. Combining with the results of cluster analysis, during the hundred-year cultivation history of cotton in China, it showed that the specific surface area of seed structure decreased by 1.27%, the relative thickness of seed coat increased by 8.70%, and the compactness of seed structure increased by 50.17%. Furthermore, the new indicators developed based on micro-CT technology can fully consider the three-dimensional morphological structure and cross-sectional characteristics among the indicators and reflect technical advantages. In this study, we constructed a microscopic phenotype research system for cotton seeds, revealing the morphological changes of cotton seeds with the year in China and providing a theoretical basis for the quantitative analysis and evaluation of seed morphology.
INFLUENCE OF PHYTOGENIC EXTRACTS AND ESSENTIAL OIL ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND BLOOD PARAMETERS IN BROILER CHICKENS

: This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of dietary saponin supplementation and essential oil (thymol and carvacrol) on growth performance and some biochemical parameters of broiler chickens. Two hundred and fourty one-day-old chicks (Ross 308), which was randomly divided into 8 treatment groups each with three replicates of 10 birds. The first treatment (T1) was fed a diet without saponin while, saponin 10 ppm (T2), 20 ppm (T3) and 40 ppm (T4), however birds in group 5 (T5) fed diet without saponin and in drink water with 50 ppm essential oil, saponin 10 % with 50 ppm EO (T6), 20 ppm with 50 EO (T7) and 40 ppm with 50 EO (T8). Results obtained revealed that chicks fed basal diet with saponin had significantly (P < 0.05) better body weight, weight gain and feed conversion ratio, while feed intake was reduced comparison with control treatment. Chicks that received a diet supplemented with saponin at 20 or 40 ppm with 50 ppm EO significantly (P<0.05) improved growth performance compared with the other treatments. Supplementation of essential oils and saponin at levels of 40 and 20 ppm, respectively significantly increased Serum protein fractions (total protein, albumin and globulin). Significant reductions in serum total cholesterol and triglyceride, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol were detected in the group that fed diet with 20 and 40 ppm diet saponin plus EO 50 ppm compared with other diets. Consequently, these findings suggest that phytogenic feed additives, particularly essential oils combined with saponin, hold promise as effective agents for enhancing the growth performance of broiler chickens.