Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Edge–Artificial Intelligence-Powered Parking Surveillance With Quantized Neural Networks

The rapid development of urbanization has raised challenges for existing parking facilities to serve increasing parking demand. Being constrained by the limited urban land resources for newly constructed parking facilities, improving the efficiency of existing parking infrastructures relies more on an advanced parking management strategy. Video-based parking surveillance technology, with abundant information, easy installation, and powerful algorithms, is the most popular method to provide real-time parking information as the required data feed for a parking management system. Meanwhile, deep learning-based algorithms gradually replace traditional computer vision methods for video processing since the detection accuracy has been increased considerably by learning fine-grained features. However, the excessive computational complexity of deep learning-based algorithms occupies considerable computational resources, which certainly hurts the entire system’s efficiency. Due to the limited computing power of edge devices, most parking surveillance systems deploy video processing algorithms on a server or cloud platform, which raises concerns about data transmission latency and central computation pressure. Deploying efficient algorithms on an edge-side device is a potential solution to solve these problems. This article proposes an edge computing parking occupancy detection system with a quantized deep learning model. Model quantization is employed to boost the inference speed while maintaining accuracy. In addition, knowledge distillation is applied to improve the quantized model’s training performance. Experiments are conducted to demonstrate the model’s superiority compared to state-of-the-art algorithms and the feasibility of edge computing. The proposed method can improve the accuracy and efficiency of parking surveillance systems. It is a systematic solution for obtaining parking information with limited computational resources.
Graphene Oxide Nanoplatforms to Enhance Cisplatin-Based Drug Delivery in Anticancer Therapy

Chemotherapeutics such as platinum-based drugs are commonly used to treat several cancer types, but unfortunately, their use is limited by several side effects, such as high degradation of the drug before entering the cells, off-target organ toxicity and development of drug resistance. An interesting strategy to overcome such limitations is the development of nanocarriers that could enhance cellular accumulation in target cells in addition to decreasing associated drug toxicity in normal cells. Here, we aim to prepare and characterize a graphene-oxide-based 2D nanoplatform functionalised using highly branched, eight-arm polyethylene-glycol, which, owing to its high number of available functional groups, offers considerable loading capacity over its linear modalities and represents a highly potent nanodelivery platform as a versatile system in cancer therapy. The obtained results show that the GO@PEG carrier allows for the use of lower amounts of Pt drug compared to a Pt-free complex while achieving similar effects. The nanoplatform accomplishes very good cellular proliferation inhibition in osteosarcoma, which is strictly related to increased cellular uptake. This enhanced cellular internalization is also observed in glioblastoma, although it is less pronounced due to differences in metabolism compared to osteosarcoma. The proposed GO@PEG nanoplatform is also promising for the inhibition of migration, especially in highly invasive breast carcinoma (i.e., MDA-MB-231 cell line), neutralizing the metastatic process. The GO@PEG nanoplatform thus represents an interesting tool in cancer treatment that can be specifically tailored to target different cancers.
Does the metric matter? Climate change impacts of light-duty vehicle electrification in the US

Vehicle electrification is one of the most promising climate change mitigation strategies for light-duty vehicles (LDVs). But vehicle electrification shifts the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission profiles of conventional LDVs with emissions moving upstream from vehicle use to electricity generation and vehicle production. Electric vehicle (EV) deployment needs to be examined with life cycle assessment (LCA), both at vehicle and fleet levels. Climate change assessments of EVs are usually conducted using global warming potential (GWP), a normalized metric that aggregates GHG emissions. GWP suffers from some limitations as it ignores the emission timing over the product life cycle. In this study, we examine climate change impacts of four vehicle technologies (conventional, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles) in the US at vehicle and fleet levels using four climate change metrics (GWP, dynamic global warming impact, radiative forcing impact and global temperature change impact). One of our key findings is that while the choices of the metric, the analytical time period, and some other key parameters, such as methane leakage rate, may have substantial influences on the results, partial and full electrification remain effective solutions to reduce climate change impacts of the US LDVs. However, the transient effects that exist between GHG emissions, radiative forcing, and global temperature changes imply that climate change impact reductions of vehicle electrification take time to materialize and are overestimated with GWP. It is therefore critical to evaluate large-scale implications of climate change mitigation strategies with multiple metrics to fully capture and assess the expected benefits. We nonetheless found that GWP is a robust metric for climate change mitigation targets of vehicle electrification and remains a good choice for most analysis.
Russian Disinformation in the Baltics: Does it Really Work?

Abstract The present study embarks on a scientific quantitative assessment of Russian disinformation effects in Baltic States. A cross-sectional survey and the partial least squares structural equation modeling were employed as research tools. It was found that Russian disinformation is aimed at increasing the perceived distrust of governments, perceived lack of career possibilities, perceived lack of justice, and perceived imminence of military actions in the region. These are also echoed in the decrease in citizens’ incentives for investment activities. The largest of the Baltic States, Lithuania, served as an empirical basis for the research.
Clean Water and Infant Health: Evidence from Piped Water Provision in China

We examine the impact of clean drinking water on infant mortality in China using a novel instrumental variable: the least-cost distance of piped water infrastructure between water sources and infant mortality surveillance areas. We find that the provision of piped water significantly decreases infant mortality, with a 10 percentage point increase in piped water coverage reducing infant mortality by 15%. Compared with regions with highly polluted surface waters, access to piped water is particularly beneficial in regions with slightly polluted surface waters, in which the pollution is difficult to observe. A simple cost-benefit analysis indicates that the benefits of piped water provision in rural China significantly outweigh the estimated costs.
Sewage sludge dewatering properties for predicting performance of industrial thickeners, centrifuges and filters

Solid-liquid separation involving suspensions is important in a large range of industrial applications, including mineral processing and wastewater treatment and disposal. The development of theoretical descriptions of solid-liquid separation, or dewatering, has allowed modelling of different dewatering behaviour and optimisation of dewatering device design. Buscall and White [1] introduced a fundamentally rigorous dewatering theory for suspensions that is able to account for material compressibility. The theory uses two key parameters; the extent of dewatering or compressive yield stress, Py(ϕ), and the rate of dewatering or hindered settling function, R(ϕ). R(ϕ) is a material property dependent on the solids volume fraction, ϕ, that quantifies the interphase drag or hydrodynamic force on suspensions. This can be applied to a solid moving through liquid during settling or liquid moving through solids in the case of cake consolidation. There are existing methods capable of determining R(ϕ) from gravitational settling, centrifugal settling and filtration tests that have been shown to accurately model dewatering behaviour. Sewage sludge, the suspension studied herein, is typically dewatered using operations such as high-speed centrifugation and plateand- frame filter presses. To predict the expected behaviour in such devices, dewatering properties were extracted from a sewage sludge over a large range of solids concentrations and were validated using comparison of model predictions versus experimental data for settling, centrifugation and filtration. These results enable more rigorous characterisation of material dewaterability, thus allowing prediction and optimisation of behaviour in industrial thickeners, centrifuges and filtration devices.
Alterações do nível pressórico e fatores de risco em graduandos de enfermagem

Objetivos: Identificar possiveis alteracoes do nivel presoricoem graduandos de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; Identificar fatores de risco para hipertensao arterial sistemica; Verificar a associacao entre os niveis pressoricos e os fatores de risco para hipertensao arterial sistemica. Metodos: Estudo de corte transversal, desenvolvido entre novembro de 2006 a maio de 2007. A amostra foi composta por 120 graduandos de enfermagem da Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo. Foi aplicado um questionario especifico sobre fatores de risco para hipertensao arterial e afericao da pressao arterial. O Teste de Fischer foi usado para determinar possiveis associacoes. Resultados: Dos graduandos, 92,5% apresentaram niveis pressoricos normais, 4,2% eram hipertensos e 3,3% com pressao limitrofe. Notou-se o aparecimento de alguns fatores de risco para hipertensao arterial e doenca cardiovascular. Conclusao: De acordo com os resultados, deve-se atentar para mudancas de habito e estilo de vida mais saudavel desses futuros enfermeiros.
Perceptions of parents of youth with disabilities toward school-based parent engagement

ABSTRACT The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) mandated schools engage parents in their child’s educational planning. Despite schools’ adoption of various strategies to promote parent engagement, parents’ perceptions about these strategies, especially among those whose children are at the secondary transition age, are often overlooked. To examine parents’ perceptions of 23 previously documented parent engagement strategies, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey with 642 parents of youth with disabilities (ages 14–21) in the United States. Overall, participants reported that parent engagement strategies were moderately helpful in promoting parent engagement. Parents of color reported lower scores for perceived helpfulness than their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Top-rated strategies included making time when parents have questions and communicating strategies clearly; however, this varied by race/ethnicity. Findings highlighted the need to address racial disparities in parent engagement strategies and the importance of school-parent collaboration/communication.
Analysis of the Robustness of Islamic Commercial Banks in Indonesia during the Covid-19 Pandemic

AbstractCovid-19 impacts various sectors of people's lives, including the Islamic finance sector. This study aims to determine the robustness of Islamic Commercial Banks during the Covid-19 pandemic using the Risk-Based Bank Rating (RBBR) method or better known as the RGEC method covering the Risk Profile, Earning, and Capital of Islamic Commercial Banks in Indonesia from January 2019 to December 2021. The type of research in this study is descriptive research with a qualitative approach. The results showed that the average NPF ratio was 2.98%, indicating that the Islamic Commercial Banks were robust. The average ROA ratio of 1.56% indicates that the Islamic Commercial Banks are in a very robust condition. And the average CAR ratio of 22.64% indicates that the Islamic Commercial Banks are in a very robust condition. This fact shows that the robust condition of Islamic commercial banks in Indonesia during the Covid-19 pandemic is very robust and stable. AbstrakCovid-19 benar-benar memberikan dampak di berbagai sektor kehidupan masyarakat, termasuk sektor keuangan syariah. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui tingkat kesehatan Bank Umum Syariah (BUS) Indonesia selama masa pandemi Covid-19 dengan metode Risk Based Bank Rating (RBBR) atau yang lebih dikenal sebagai metode RGEC mencakup Risk Profile, Earning dan Capital BUS di Indonesia dari Januari 2019 sampai Desember 2021. Jenis penelitian dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian deskriptif dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa, rata-rata rasio NPF sebesar 2,98% menunjukkan bahwa BUS dalam kondisi yang sehat. Rata-rata rasio ROA sebesar 1,56 % menunjukkan bahwa BUS dalam kondisi yang sangat sehat. Dan rata-rata rasio CAR sebesar 22,64 % menunjukkan bahwa BUS dalam kondisi yang sangat sehat. Fakta tersebut menunjukkan bahwa kondisi kesehatan Bank Umum Syariah di Indoneseia pada masa pandemi Covid-19 sangat sehat dan stabil.
Fine Mapping and Gene Analysis of restorer-of-fertility Gene CaRfHZ in Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a common biological phenomenon used in hybrid production of peppers (Capsicum annuum L.). Although several restorer-of-fertility (Rf) genes of pepper CMS lines have been mapped, there is no report that the Rf gene with clear gene function has been isolated. Here, pepper CMS line HZ1A and its restorer line HZ1C were used to construct (HZ1A × HZ1C) F2 populations and map the Rf gene. A single dominant gene CaRfHZ conferred male fertility according to inheritance analysis. Using sterile plants from (HZ1A × HZ1C) F2 populations and bulked segregant analysis (BSA), the CaRfHZ gene was mapped between P06gInDel-66 and P06gInDel-89 on chromosome 6. This region spans 533.81 kb, where four genes are annotated according to Zunla-1 V2.0 gene models. Based on the analysis of genomic DNA sequences, gene expressions, and protein structures, Capana06g002968 was proposed as the strongest candidate for the CaRfHZ gene. Our results may help with hybrid pepper breeding and to elucidate the mechanism of male fertility restoration in peppers.
Characteristics of Soil Hydraulic Conductivity in Natural Forest, Agricultural Land, and Green Open Space Area

Soil hydraulic conductivity is one of the important soil characteristics that determines the amount and proportion of water that will be infiltrated into the soil column and flowing as surface runoff. It is strongly influenced by soil porosity and soil characteristics that affect the soil porosity such as soil texture and structure and soil organic matter content (internally factors) as well as land management and the intensity of plant canopy cover (external factors). This research is aimed to identify the character of soil hydraulics conductivity in different landuse that consist of forest, agricultural land (moor land, cacao plantations, intensive and conservation annual crops), and green open space areas. The results showed that: a) forest conversion into agricultural land led to the decline of soil quality such as decreased levels of soil organic matter, soil porosity and distribution of soil pores so that the conversion of forest land into agricultural land decreases the soil hydraulic conductivity of both for the initial value and saturated hydraulic conductivity; b) forets canopy cover density affects the soil quality and soil hydraulics conductivity, where high canopy cover has the higher value of soil hydraulics conductivity compared to medium and low canopy forest; c) Situgede tourism forest has the lowest soil hydraulics conductivity compared to other forest types; d) soil hydraulics conductivity in conservation annual crops is higher than intensive annual crops land and Situgede tourism forest and it’s not significantly different from the soil hydraulics conductivity in low canopy forest; and e) soil hydraulics conductivity in green open spaces area were strongly determined by the naturalness of landscape and human intervention level on its formation and management, where the UI city forest and Lembah Gurame city park which were function as ecotourism areas has the lower soil hydraulics conductivity compared to great forest park.
Recovery of nitrogen fertiliser by drill-sown rice crops using best management practice: a 15N-labelled urea study

ABSTRACT Context. Optimising nitrogen (N) management strategies for drill-sown rice crops is essential for minimising input costs for growers and reducing the environmental impact of rice production. Aims. The study aimed to determine the recovery of fertiliser-N in drill-sown Australian rice crops, following current N fertiliser recommendations where two-thirds of the N is applied at sowing (pre-flood) and one-third at panicle initiation. Methods. 15N-labelled urea was used to quantify N recovery by field-grown rice crops on a Sodosol and a Vertosol, and to determine the contributions of fertiliser-N applied pre-flood vs that applied at panicle initiation to total N fertiliser recovery on the Vertosol. Results. Recovery of 15N fertiliser in grain + straw was ∼50% of applied N on both soils, with a further 20% recovered from roots and soil to a depth of 30 cm. Recovery of N fertiliser applied at panicle initiation (59%) was significantly higher than of N fertiliser applied pre-flood (43%), likely due to the presence of actively growing roots and higher plant N demand. Crops that received N fertiliser took up more native soil N than unfertilised crops on the Vertosol; hence, apparent fertiliser N recoveries were 10–15% higher than N fertiliser recovery determined using 15N-labelled urea. Conclusions. The recovery of 50% of fertiliser-N in aboveground plant material indicates that N fertiliser use efficiency in drill-sown rice is similar to that of dryland cereal crops in Australia when best management practice guidelines for N fertiliser use are followed.
The spectrum of Kaon States in the Isodoublet strangeness S = 1 T1u Channel by the Stochastic LapH Method in Lattice QCD

Lattice QCD calculations of energies in bosonic channels have mostly been restricted to the use of quark-antiquark meson operators due to the computational challenges associated with evaluating correlation functions of multi-meson operators. The stochastic LapH method has provided an efficient way to compute correlation functions involving multi-hadron operators. This method is applied to construct a 58×58 correlation matrix using 9 single-meson operators and 49 two-meson operators in the isodoublet strangeness S = 1 T1u channel, which contains the spin-1 and spin-3 kaon states. The matrix of temporal correlations is evaluated using a Monte Carlo ensemble of 551 configurations on an anisotropic 24 × 128 lattice. Due to computational limitations, light quark masses are used that produce an unphysically heavy pion having a mass around 390 MeV, but the strange quark mass is tuned to its physical value. A clover-improved Wilson fermion action is used in generating the Monte Carlo ensemble, and the correlators are formed using source and sink operators constructed out of Laplacian Heaviside smeared quark fields displaced with stout-smeared gauge links. Overlap factors are used to identify the finite-volume eigenstates that should evolve into the kaon resonances in infinite volume. These results are compared to experiment and to results from a previous study for the isovector nonstrange T 1u channel.
Does the Muslim penalty in the British labour market dissipate after accounting for so-called “sociocultural attitudes”?

ABSTRACT Using multilevel modelling, this paper investigates ethno-religious penalties in unemployment and inactivity among men and women using the Understanding Society survey. The paper confirms previous findings of a Muslim penalty and a British labour market hierarchized by colour (ethnicity) and religion (culture). However, by including a greater range of ethnic groups the paper provides a corrective to accounts in the sociological literature that being White is not a protection against the Muslim penalty. Rather, while affiliation with the Muslim White British group does not appear to be associated with penalization, Muslim Arabs who traditionally identify as White are found to experience significant disadvantage. This suggests that the Muslim penalty might also be moderated by a person’s country of origin. The paper also finds that considerable penalties remain for Muslims even after adjusting for so-called “sociocultural attitudes”, challenging the assumption that value orientations offer a suitable explanation for the Muslim penalty.
Hábitos de alimentación de pacientes con obesidad severa

Introduction: Severe obesity is a health problem that has medical, emotional and economic consequences. The etiology of severe obesity is multifactorial; howe- ver, it is known that the eating habits represent a major factor in the development of this disease. Objective: This study aimed to identify eating patter- ns and specific habits that need to be changed to achie- ve weight loss. Method: An observational, descriptive, retrospec- tive and cross-sectional study with 250 candidates for bariatric surgery, 79.2% women and 20.8% men aged 37.7 ± 10.2 years and 44.3 ± 7.7 kg/m 2 BMI patients was performed. Results: It was found that "drinking water", "eat fas- ter than most people", "leave the plate empty", "have long fasts", "sweet cravings", and "drinking soda" were the most common habits in patients with severe obesi- ty. The existence of significant differences between the habits of men and women and between BMI strata or groups are also discussed. "Snacking" and "eat until you feel uncomfortable" were significantly different between men and women and "eat by yourself because you feel ashamed of eating with others" was significant between BMI strata. Discussion: It was concluded that it is important that the treatment of these patients includes assessment te- chniques and behavior modification aimed at these habits. It is recommended to include in future studies patients with normal weight and overweight as well as the use of instruments with adequate psychometric properties.
Ischemic Heart Disease and Liver Cirrhosis: Adding Insult to Injury

The link between heart and liver cirrhosis was recognized decades ago, although much data regarding atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease are still missing. Ischemic heart disease or coronary artery disease (CAD) and liver cirrhosis could be associated with characteristic epidemiological and pathophysiological features. This connection determines increased rates of morbidity and all-cause mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis. In the era of a metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease pandemic, primary prevention and early diagnosis of coronary artery disease could improve the prognosis of liver cirrhosis patients. This review outlines a summary of the literature regarding prevalence, risk assessment and medical and interventional treatment options in this particular population. A collaborative heart–liver team-based approach is imperative for critical management decisions for patients with CAD and liver cirrhosis.