Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deep Learning Based SWIR Object Detection in Long-Range Surveillance Systems: An Automated Cross-Spectral Approach

SWIR imaging bears considerable advantages over visible-light (color) and thermal images in certain challenging propagation conditions. Thus, the SWIR imaging channel is frequently used in multi-spectral imaging systems (MSIS) for long-range surveillance in combination with color and thermal imaging to improve the probability of correct operation in various day, night and climate conditions. Integration of deep-learning (DL)-based real-time object detection in MSIS enables an increase in efficient utilization for complex long-range surveillance solutions such as border or critical assets control. Unfortunately, a lack of datasets for DL-based object detection models training for the SWIR channel limits their performance. To overcome this, by using the MSIS setting we propose a new cross-spectral automatic data annotation methodology for SWIR channel training dataset creation, in which the visible-light channel provides a source for detecting object types and bounding boxes which are then transformed to the SWIR channel. A mathematical image transformation that overcomes differences between the SWIR and color channel and their image distortion effects for various magnifications are explained in detail. With the proposed cross-spectral methodology, the goal of the paper is to improve object detection in SWIR images captured in challenging outdoor scenes. Experimental tests for two object types (cars and persons) using a state-of-the-art YOLOX model demonstrate that retraining with the proposed automatic cross-spectrally created SWIR image dataset significantly improves average detection precision. We achieved excellent improvements in detection performance in various variants of the YOLOX model (nano, tiny and x).
In Vivo and In Vitro Cartilage Differentiation from Embryonic Epicardial Progenitor Cells

The presence of cartilage tissue in the embryonic and adult hearts of different vertebrate species is a well-recorded fact. However, while the embryonic neural crest has been historically considered as the main source of cardiac cartilage, recently reported results on the wide connective potential of epicardial lineage cells suggest they could also differentiate into chondrocytes. In this work, we describe the formation of cardiac cartilage clusters from proepicardial cells, both in vivo and in vitro. Our findings report, for the first time, cartilage formation from epicardial progenitor cells, and strongly support the concept of proepicardial cells as multipotent connective progenitors. These results are relevant to our understanding of cardiac cell complexity and the responses of cardiac connective tissues to pathologic stimuli.
Testing the Effectiveness of a Blended Intervention to Reduce Suicidal Ideation among School Adolescents in Chile: A Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Suicidal ideation is prevalent in adolescents and is a marker for subsequent psychiatric vulnerability and symptom severity. Literature shows that blended care (integrating online and offline components in a treatment process) could improve the effectiveness and adherence of interventions targeting suicidal ideation in adolescents, but the evidence is inconclusive. Thus, we will test the effectiveness of a blended intervention to reduce suicidal ideation (primary outcome) in school settings using a single-blind two-armed cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT). The internet-based component corresponds to the Reframe-IT, a program encompassing eight online sessions based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) principles. The face-to-face intervention will be delivered through four CBT sessions. Additionally, we will assess the effect of the intervention on the following secondary outcomes: suicidal attempts, depressive symptoms, hopelessness, emotional regulation, and problem-solving skills. Primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed at post-intervention, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up. Finally, we will explore the mediation role of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral correlates of suicide on the effect of the intervention. Results will inform whether the intervention can reduce suicide among school adolescents and be implemented on a large scale in Chile.
COVID-19 Lockdown in Patients with Chronic Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: We aimed to investigate the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on medication adherence, physician access, lifestyle behaviours, and mental health in patients with chronic conditions. Methods: A cross-sectional phone survey was conducted in 1274 housebound adults recruited from 8 regional chronic disease cohorts (CLEO CD study: NCT04390126). Results: Medication adherence was 97%; 305 (41%) patients declared that at least one scheduled visit with a physician was missed during the first lockdown. The main changes in lifestyle behaviours were deterioration in sleep time (duration and/or quality; 71%), increase in screen time (46%), and decrease in physical activity (46%). Nineteen percent experienced psychological distress (Kessler-6 score ≥ 5). An urban living place (OR, 1.76 vs. rural; 95% CI, 1.32–2.33; p = 10−4), worse self-reported mental health (OR, 1.62 vs. about the same or better; 95% CI, 1.17–2.25; p = 0.003), and a K6 score ≥ 5 (OR, 1.52 vs. <5; 95% CI, 1.05–2.21; p = 0.03) were independent factors associated with at least one unhealthy behaviour. Conclusions: Encouraging results were observed in terms of medication adherence. Caution is needed in chronic disease patients living in urban places as well as those presenting psychological distress and worse self-reported mental health to reduce unhealthy behaviours.
Ultrasound-Guided Posterior Quadratus Lumborum Block for Acute Postoperative Analgesia in Adult Patients: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Objective The quadratus lumborum block provides postoperative analgesia for patients undergoing abdominal surgery, although there are three common approaches to perform this block. The present meta-analysis investigated the effectiveness of posterior quadratus lumborum block (QLB2) after surgery. Methods PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register were searched from inception to 26 August 2021 for randomized controlled trials that evaluated the analgesic efficacy of QLB2 vs control (placebo or no block). The primary outcomes were pain scores at 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h after surgery. The secondary outcomes were morphine consumption at 24 h after surgery and the postoperative complications. Results The present meta-analysis included 14 studies conducted with a total of 1001 patients. In comparison to control group, the QLB2 group presented significantly lower rest pain scores at 6 h (SMD −0.59; 95% CI: −1.05, −0.12; p = 0.01, I2 = 84%; GRADE = moderate), 12 h (SMD: –0.83; 95% CI: –1.47, –0.19; p = 0.01; I2 = 88%; GRADE = low), and 24 h (SMD: –0.37; 95% CI: –0.71, –0.03; p = 0.03; I2 = 80%; GRADE = moderate) after surgery. The dynamic pain scores were significantly reduced, compared to control, in the QLB2 group at 12 h (SMD: –0.93; 95% CI: –1.52, –0.33; p = 0.002; I2 = 83%; GRADE = low) and 24 h (SMD: –0.52; 95% CI: –0.93, –0.11; p = 0.01; I2 = 83%; GRADE = moderate) after surgery. In addition, the QLB2 group presented reduced postoperative opioid consumption at 24 h (SMD: –0.45; 95% CI: –0.86, –0.03; p = 0.03; I2 = 78%; GRADE = moderate). The subgroup analyses revealed that the analgesic benefit of QLB2 did not persist beyond 24 h when the patients were under spinal anesthesia. Conclusion Ultrasound-guided QLB2 could provide effective analgesia for patients under general anesthesia by decreasing the intensity of pain and opioid requirement when used within 24 h after abdominal surgery.
Information organization and representation in digital cultural heritage in Brazil: Systematic mapping of information infrastructure in digital collections for data science applications

This paper focuses on data science in digital cultural heritage in Brazil, where there is a lack of systematized information and curated databases for the integrated organization of documentary knowledge. Thus, the aim was to systematically map the different forms of information organization and representation applied to objects from collections belonging to institutions affiliated with the federal government's Special Department of Culture. This diagnosis is then used to discuss the requirements of devising strategies that favor a better data science information infrastructure to reuse information on Brazil's cultural heritage. Content analysis was used to identify analytical categories and obtain a broader understanding of the documentary sources of these institutions in order to extract, analyze, and interpret the data involved. A total of 215 hyperlinks that can be considered cultural collections of the institutions studied were identified, representing 2,537,921 cultural heritage items. The results show that the online publication of Brazil's digital cultural heritage is limited in terms of technology, copyright licensing, and established information organization practices. This paper provides a conceptual and analytical view to discuss the requirements for formulating strategies aimed at building a data science information infrastructure of Brazilian digital cultural collections that serves as future projects.
Temporal Moment Localization via Natural Language by Utilizing Video Question Answers as a Special Variant and Bypassing NLP for Corpora

Temporal moment localization using natural language (TMLNL) is an emerging issue in computer vision for localizing a specific moment inside a long, untrimmed video. The goal of TMLNL is to obtain the video’s output moment, which is related to the input query in a substantial way. Previous research focused on the visual portion of TMLNL, such as objects, backdrops, and other visual attributes, but natural language processing (NLP) techniques were largely used for the textual portion. A long query requires sufficient context to properly localize moments within a long untrimmed video. Thus, as a consequence of not completely understanding how to handle queries, performances deteriorated, especially when the query was longer. In this paper, we treat the TMLNL challenge as a unique variation of VQA, which equally considers the visual elements by using our proposed VQA joint visual-textual framework (JVTF). However, we also manage complex and long input queries without employing natural language processing (NLP) by improving poorly graded to finely graded distinct granularity representations. Our suggested BCPN searches for insufficient context for long input queries using an approach called query handler (QH) and helps the JVTF find the most relevant moment. Previously, a recurrence of words was caused by increasing the number of encoding layers in transformers, LSTMs, and other NLP techniques; however, our QH ensured that repetition of word locations was reduced. The output of BCPN is combined with JVTF’s guided attention to further improve the end outcome. Therefore, we propose a novel bidirectional context predictor network (BCPN), in addition to a VQA joint visual-textual framework (JVTF), to address the equal importance of videos and queries. Through extensive experiments on three benchmark datasets, we show that the proposed BCPN outperforms the state-of-the-art methods by $IoU = 0.3 (2.65 \%) $ , $IoU = 0.5 (2.49 \%)$ , and $IoU = 0.7 (2.06 \%) $ .
Enhancing the Performance of Crumb Rubber Modified Asphalt Through Controlling the Internal Network Structure Developed

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . v DEDICATION . vi LIST OF TABLES . xii LIST OF FIGURES . xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . xxii LIST OF SYMBOLS . xxiii CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION . 1 Problem Statement . 1 Objective . 3 Approach . 3 CHAPTER TWO. LITERATURE REVIEW . 5 Introduction . 5 Origin of Networks in Asphalt . 10 Heteroatoms . 10 Metals . 10 Asphalt Molecular Groups . 11 Aliphatics . 11 Cyclics. 11 Aromatics . 11 Effect of the Structure on the Physical Properties . 12 Asphalt Chemical Makeup . 13 Behavior of Asphalt Molecules . 13 Compatibility between Polar and Non-Polar Molecules . 15 viii The Proposed Relationship between Chemistry and Pavement Performance . 16 Origin of Network in Crumb Rubber Modifier. 18 How CRM Affect the Network Structure in Asphalt. 20 Effective Parameters . 21 How the Network Structure Affect the Elasticity of Asphalt as a Result of Addition of CRM . 23 Types of Internal Networks in Non Asphaltic and Asphaltic Materials . 26 Interpenetrating Polymer Networks . 26 Kinds of IPNs . 26 Characterization of Network in Non Asphalt Systems . 28 Usage of Interrupted Shear Flow Test for Time Dependency of Polymeric Structures . 28 Characterization of the Network Structures in Asphalt and Modified Asphalts . 29 Rheological Methods . 29 TEM Methods . 30 SEM Methods . 31 Thermal Methods . 31 Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) . 32 FTIR Methods . 33 Chromatography Methods . 36 CHAPTER THREE. MATERIALS, EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN, AND CHARACTERIZATION . 38 Introduction . 38 Processing . 39 Raw Materials . 39 Asphalt-CRM Interactions . 40 Characterization . 41
Social support among older adults in group physical activity programs

Abstract Group physical activity programs provide opportunities for older adults to receive social support, which is known to be positively associated with physical activity behavior in this population, but further research is needed to understand how this happens. The purpose of this study was to determine the social support needs and challenges experienced by older adults participating in group physical activity programs and identify social support functions and behaviors that enabled their engagement. Using interpretive description methodology, 16 field observations of classes, eight focus group discussions, and interviews with two participants who were unable to attend focus groups were conducted with adults aged 55 and older attending programs across four recreation facilities. Analysis of the data suggested that (a) there is a need for fostering social relationships in programs, which are imperative for receiving social support. Older adults in the programs supported other participants by (b) initiating their engagement in (more) physical activity, (c) helping them sustain their engagement in physical activity, (d) assisting them with recognizing successful engagement in physical activity, and (e) providing comfort and reassurance during difficult times. Social support behaviors that target older adults’ emotional and tangible needs may be most important for promoting and sustaining physical activity. Support provided by other older adults enhanced participants’ motivation and abilities to overcome obstacles, as well as enabled them to pursue opportunities for growth in their unique physical activity journeys. Lay summary: Social support can promote physical activity in older adults, but how forms of support are provided must be considered. This qualitative study examined the social support needs and experiences of older adults participating in group physical activity programs to determine social support functions and behaviors that enabled their engagement. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Group physical activity programs should aim to foster social relationships among older adult participants in order for them to receive social support that is sensitive and responsive to their needs. Instructors of group physical activity programs should encourage cultural awareness and acceptance among older adult participants for closer social relationships to be developed. Instructors of group physical activity programs should encourage social support behaviors among participants that target older adults’ emotional and tangible needs to sustain their engagement.
Critical slowing down in dynamical systems driven by nonstationary correlated noise

Precursor signals for bifurcation-induced critical transitions have recently gained interest across many research ﬁelds. Common indicators, including variance and autocorrelation increases, rely on the dynamical system being driven by white noise. Here, we show that these metrics raise false alarms for systems driven by time-correlated noise, if the autocorrelation of the noise process increases with time. We introduce an indicator for systems driven by nonstationary short-term memory noise, and show that this indicator performs well in situations where the classical methods fail.
TIA1 Loss Exacerbates Fatty Liver Disease but Exerts a Dual Role in Hepatocarcinogenesis

Simple Summary Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide with few and poorly efficient therapeutic options. Adenylate–uridylate-rich-element-binding proteins (AUBPs) are potent post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, whose alterations have been associated with the development of chronic liver diseases (e.g., fatty liver disease) and their progression toward HCC. Emerging evidence indicates that T-Cell-restricted intracellular antigen-1 (TIA1), an AUBP regulating mRNA translation, promotes HCC. Herein, we further characterize TIA1’s functions in hepatic cancer cells by identifying an entire set of oncogenes and tumor suppressors under TIA1’s influence, thus suggesting a dual role in hepatocarcinogenesis. In agreement, using in vivo models, we found that contrary to our observations in HCC cells, TIA1 can exert a tumor suppressive function and refrain from hepatic steatosis and fibrosis. Finally, TIA1 expression is reduced in human HCC. Our study provides new insights regarding the role for TIA1 in HCC and questions the current concept of TIA1 as a strict tumor promoter. Abstract Alterations in specific RNA-binding protein expression/activity importantly contribute to the development of fatty liver disease (FLD) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In particular, adenylate–uridylate-rich element binding proteins (AUBPs) were reported to control the post-transcriptional regulation of genes involved in both metabolic and cancerous processes. Herein, we investigated the pathophysiological functions of the AUBP, T-cell-restricted intracellular antigen-1 (TIA1) in the development of FLD and HCC. Analysis of TIA1 expression in mouse and human models of FLD and HCC indicated that TIA1 is downregulated in human HCC. In vivo silencing of TIA1 using AAV8-delivered shRNAs in mice worsens hepatic steatosis and fibrosis induced by a methionine and choline-deficient diet and increases the hepatic tumor burden in liver-specific PTEN knockout (LPTENKO) mice. In contrast, our in vitro data indicated that TIA1 expression promoted proliferation and migration in HCC cell lines, thus suggesting a dual and context-dependent role for TIA1 in tumor initiation versus progression. Consistent with a dual function of TIA1 in tumorigenesis, translatome analysis revealed that TIA1 appears to control the expression of both pro- and anti-tumorigenic factors in hepatic cancer cells. This duality of TIA1′s function in hepatocarcinogenesis calls for cautiousness when considering TIA1 as a therapeutic target or biomarker in HCC.
Smooth Path Planning by Fusion of Artificial Potential Field Method and Collision Cone Approach

A variety of path planning methods have been developed for different purposes, such as minimum path length and minimum processing time and smoothness of the path. This paper presents a novel path planning method by fusion of artificial potential filed (APF) and collision cone approach. The proposed algorithm provides smooth path and avoids local minima problem of the existing APF. And the smoothness of the path produced from the proposed algorithm is estimated by calculating the accumulated force which occurs while a robot passes a whole path. The proposed smooth path planning also can be helpful for considering vehicle kinematics and the safety of vehicle passengers. The simulation results demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.
What Makes a Good Citizen Online? The Emergence of Discursive Citizenship Norms in Social Media Environments

The importance of citizenship norms—shared understandings of how citizens ought to participate in society—has been discussed at length in the past two decades, particularly in conversations around changing notions of citizenship in the digital age. Yet, most studies have gravitated between the two poles of dutiful and self-actualizing citizenship. In this study, we explore which citizenship norms people express related to their political participation in social media environments and which affordances and experiences in social media environments shape these norms. Through interviews and focus group discussions, we found that citizenship norms emerge in response to positive and negative experiences in social media environments. We found three groups of norms that are distinctive to the networked environments of social media: individual information care, discourse care, and considered contribution. These can serve as conceptual frames for understanding the normative underpinnings of discursive participation in social media environments from the perspective of ordinary citizens.
A tale of two concurrencies (part 2)

In the previous installment, we dived into some of the low-level details and problems related to Python threads. As a brief recap, although Python threads are real system threads, there is a global interpreter lock (GIL) that restricts their execution to a single CPU core. Moreover, if your program performs any kind of CPU-intensive processing, the GIL can impose a severe degradation in the responsiveness of other threads that happen to be performing I/O.
Effects of leadership on performance: A cross-cultural meta-analysis

We investigated the correlation between leadership types and performance in different national cultural contexts and across sectors through a meta-analysis of 79 studies published between 1995 and 2020 using a random effects model. Although the analysis indicated that the type of leadership has only a medium-level effect on performance, our moderator analysis of the national culture variable found that the effect of leadership on performance was significantly higher in vertical-collectivist cultures, in healthcare and production and for the democratic leadership type. Our results also indicated a relationship between performance types and the effect of leadership on performance. As such our analysis contributes to our understanding of the relationship between leadership and performance in different national contexts and across sectors, in that national culture is an important moderator in the relationship between leadership and performance. Although only focusing on quantitative correlation studies, our work paves the way for more detailed qualitative research that can further focus on the nature of leadership and its relationship to performance in different cultural settings.