Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An occupancy-based strategy employing computer vision for reducing cooling energy consumed in buildings

The energy expended to cool the occupied areas by air conditioners represents a substantial share of the total energy exhausted in buildings. Therefore, developing strategies to reduce this energy is crucial. One of the preponderance strategies adopted to depreciate energy consumption in buildings is the occupancy-based strategy. In this research, an innovative model was established to achieve the goal of reducing cooling energy consumed in buildings based on occupancy-based combined with a constant temperature setpoint strategy in two phases, and each phase engrosses in 20 days. Phase one is to identify the extent of cooling energy employed according to the use of room occupants and its costs in consumption was 276.01 kWh after completion of this phase. Sequentially, constructing phase two intended to reduce cooling energy consumption by employing an automatic air-conditioner (AC) control strategy relying on an improved human detection algorithm with a 25℃ as temperature setpoint, resulting in 112.45 kWh of consumption. To complement the motives for elaboration, the human detection measurement using you only look once (YOLO) improved by applying pre-processing algorithms to reach an average human detection enhancement of 21.2%. The proposed model results showed that potential savings associated with the embraced strategy decreases by more than anticipated as the amount of reduced energy reached 59% savings.
A Simulation Approach to Optimize Concrete Delivery using UAV Photogrammetry and Traffic Data

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are an emerging technology that serve a range of applications for construction purposes including the creation of site survey maps, jobsite monitoring for routine progress reports, and structural inspections. Though while promising, drones have not yet been widely utilized by the construction industry to their fullest potential and there are still many areas to explore. One such activity is utilizing drones to optimize concrete delivery to a jobsite. Ready-mix concrete is an essential part of many projects, but its quick setting time makes proper delivery planning essential. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of UAVs and traffic data in scheduling a concrete delivery and develop an overall framework to optimize this activity. The proposed Automated Construction Data Acquisition and Simulation (ACDAS) framework is comprised of three main steps: collection, simulation, and reporting. To implement the concept, traffic data of a construction site in San Luis Obispo, California was collected and EZStrobe discrete event simulation modelling was used to model three potential routes from a local concrete batch plant to the specified job site. The model was able to predict the most efficient route for concrete delivery in a congested traffic area.
Dylan Bryce Gareau's MASc Thesis

As Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) become increasingly available, pose estimation remains critical for navigation. Pose estimation is also useful for scene reconstruction in certain surveillance applications, such as surveillance in the event of a natural disaster. This thesis presents a Direct Sparse Visual-Inertial Odometry with Loop Closure (VIL-DSO) algorithm design as a pose estimation solution, combining several existing algorithms to fuse inertial and visual information to improve pose estimation and provide metric scale, as initially implemented in Direct Sparse Odometry (DSO) and Direct Sparse Visual-Inertial Odometry (VI-DSO). VIL-DSO utilizes the point selection and loop closure method of the Direct Sparse Odometry with Loop Closure (LDSO) approach. This point selection method improves repeatability by calculating the Shi-Tomasi score to favor corners as point candidates and allows for generating matches for loop closure between keyframes. The proposed VIL-DSO then uses the Kabsch-Umeyama algorithm to reduce the effects of scaledrift caused by loop closure. The proposed VIL-DSO algorithm is composed of three main threads for computing: a coarse tracking thread to assist with keyframe selection and initial pose estimation, a local window optimization thread to fuse Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) information and visual information to pose scale and pose estimate, and a global optimization thread to identify loop closure and improve pose estimates. The loop closure thread also includes the modification to mitigate scale-drift using the Kabsch-Umeyama algorithm. The trajectory analysis of the estimates yields that the loop closure improves the pose estimation, but causes to scale estimate to drift. The scale-drift mitigation method successfully improves the scale estimate after loop closure. However, the estimation error level struggles to exceed the other state-of-the-art methods, namely VI-DSO and VI-ORB SLAM. The results were evaluated on the EuRoC MAV dataset, which contains fairly short sequences. VIL-DSO is expected to show more advantages when used on a longer dataset, where loop closure is more useful. Lastly, using the odometry as a feed, scene reconstruction and the effects of various factors regarding mapping are discussed, including the use of a monocular camera, camera angle and resolution in outdoor settings.
Agonist-biased signaling via Proteinase Activated Receptor-2: differential activation of calcium and MAPkinase pathways.

We evaluated the ability of different trypsin-revealed tethered ligand (TL) sequences of rat proteinase-activated receptor 2 (rPAR 2 ) and the corresponding soluble TL-derived agonist peptides to trigger agonist-biased signaling. To do so, we mutated the proteolytically-revealed TL sequence of rPAR 2 and examined the impact on stimulating intracellular calcium transients and MAPkinase. The TL receptor mutants, rPAR 2 -L 37 S 38, rPAR 2 -A 37-38 and rPAR 2 -A 39-42 were compared with the trypsin-revealed wild-type rPAR 2 TL sequence, S 37 LIGRL 42 ---. Upon trypsin activation, all constructs stimulated MAPkinase signaling, but only the wt-rPAR 2 and rPAR 2 -A 39-42 triggered calcium signaling. Furthermore, the TL-derived synthetic peptide SLAAAA-NH 2 failed to cause PAR 2 -mediated calcium signaling, but activated MAPkinase; whereas SLIGRL-NH 2 triggered both calcium and MAPkinase signaling by all receptors. The peptides AAIGRL-NH 2 and LSIGRL-NH 2 triggered neither calcium nor MAPkinase signals. Neither rPAR 2 -A 37-38 nor rPAR 2 -L 37 S 38 constructs recruited
Effect of metal concentration on growth and luminescence of luminous bacteria strains isolated from golfo de Nicoya, Costa Rica

Luminescence in bacteria is catalyzed by luciferase. When these microorganisms are exposed to toxic substances, the bioluminescent enzyme system can be inhibited. The objective of this study was to analyze the potential that these microorganisms offer as native bioindicators of coastal marine pollution. The dynamics of luminescence intensity by visual classification and the effect of metal concentration on the growth and luminescence of 25 strains of luminescent bacteria, isolated during 2016 from seawater samples from the gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, was evaluated by the disk diffusion method. The sensitivity of each strain to different concentrations (0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg mL-1) of Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn was determined by its bioluminescent phenotype. In susceptible strains, a range of metal concentrations less than the growth inhibitory concentration affected the expression of luminescence. Strains with intense luminescence and defined zones of luminescence inhibition were considered to have greater potential as native bioindicators for monitoring environmental toxicity. More studies are required to determine the minimum concentrations that inhibit growth and luminescence with respect to the tested metals and other potentially toxic substances for the coastal marine ecosystems of Costa Rica.
C-Reactive Protein, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate and White Blood Cell Count in Urinary Tract Infections among Infants and Children

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the quantitative C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and white blood cell (WBC) count in urinary tract infections (UTI) among hospitalised infants and children in Qazvin, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 127 hospitalised children ranging in age from 2 months to 12 years old 31.79 months (SD 30.73) who were suspected of having a UTI and who did not receive antibiotics prior to being seen at a Qazvin teaching children’s hospital between 2005 and 2006. A urine analysis (U/A) and urine culture (U/C) were performed. The blood was taken for CRP, ESR and WBC analyses. U/C has been considered the gold standard test for a UTI and dimercaptosuccinic acid renal scintigraphy (DMSA) as the gold standard for an upper UTI (pyelonephritis). These tests were used to determine the diagnostic accuracy, which is represented as the percent of correct results. Results: Within the study population, 72 patients (56.7%) were younger than two years old 9.86 months (SD 4.56) and 55 (43.3%) were older than two years old 63.58 months (SD 30.96). One hundred and two patients (80.3%) were female. There were 100 cases that had a positive U/C. Of the patients with a positive U/C, 81 had pyuria (WBC more than 5/hpf), 71 had a peripheral WBC count of more than 10 000 /mL, 95 had a CRP of more than 10 mg/L and 82 had an ESR > 10 mm/h. The sensitivity and specificity as well as the positive and negative predictive values and the accuracy of CRP when using U/C as the gold standard were, respectively, 96%, 11.1%, 80.2%, 50%, and 78%; when using ESR as the gold standard were, respectively, 55%, 40%, 77.6%, 17.2%, and 52%; and when using WBC counts as the gold standard were, respectively, 69%, 52%, 86.6%, 35.6%, and 65%. The accuracy of CRP, ESR and WBC counts when considering the DMSA as the gold standard were 58.3%, 62.8%, and 64.5%, respectively. Conclusion: Although acute phase reactants can help in the diagnosis of a UTI, they are not pathognomonic. CRP, ESR and WBC were neither completely sensitive nor specific for detecting a UTI and its localisation site in Iranian children. Therefore, in a country where advanced clinical diagnostic tests are available, the advanced test should be used in conjunction with CRP, ESR and WBC analyses. Finally, a combination of laboratory tests along with history and exact clinical examination are needed for the diagnosis of a UTI and its localisation site.
Interactive comment on “Micro- and nano-porosity of the active Alpine Fault zone, New Zealand” by

20 Porosity reduction in rocks from a fault core can cause fluid overpressureelevated pore fluid pressures, and 21 consequently influence the recurrence time of earthquakes. We investigated the porosity distribution in the New 22 Zealand’s Alpine Fault core in samples recovered during the first phase of the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP23 1B) by using two-dimensional nanoscale and three-dimensional microscale imaging. Synchrotron X-ray 24 microtomography-derived analyses of open pore spaces show total microscale porosities in the range of 0.1 to 25 0.24%. These pores have mainly non-spherical, elongated, flat shapes and show subtle bipolar orientation. 26 Transmission electron microscopy reveals that nanoscale pores ornament grain boundaries of the gouge material, 27 especially clay minerals. Our data implies that: (i) the distribution of clay minerals controls the shape and orientation 28 of the associated pores; (ii) porosity was reduced due to pressure solution processes; and (iii) mineral precipitation in 29 fluid-filled pores can affect the mechanical behaviour of the Alpine Fault by decreasing the already critically low 30 total porosity of the fault core, causing elevated pore fluid pressuresfluid overpressure, and/or introducing weak 31 mineral phases, and thus lowering the overall fault frictional strength. We conclude that the current state of porosity 32 in the Alpine Fault core is likely to play a key role in the initiation of the next fault rupture. 33
Assessment Of Lactose Intolerance Among University Of Khartoum Students

As there was shortage of data on the prevalence of lactose intolerance and nutritional status, this study aimed to determine this relation and its effects on food habits of the study sample. Data was collected from students of five faculties in Khartoum University. A total of 140 students (70 of them were selected according to the symptoms they suffer from after drinking milk (experimental group) and the same number was selected because they drink milk without any complaints (controls). Data collection was completed at the five Faculties using questionnaires (Socio-demographics, symptoms and food habits), anthropometric measurements and Laboratory investigations. The age of the studied sample ranged between 18 and 24 years. The majority of the studied sample was females (78%). No significant differences were found between the two sexes. Lactose intolerance was found to be significantly higher among the older age group (P <0.021). The study reviled that the nutritional status of the sample studied was found to be below average, as indicated by their anthropometrics. The majority of average heights and weights of females and males were between the 25 and 50 percentiles except for males whose heights were even worse. Most of them were between 15 and 25 percentiles compared to US reference population (NCHS, 1994). Nausea was the highest complaint felt after consuming milk, only 72.9% of the student who were milk intolerant was found to be maldigester. (Blood glucose below 20 mg /100 ml), and 27.1% were digesters. Among the studied sample, it was found that yogurt and cheese intake of lactose intolerant students was significantly higher than among lactose tolerant students (P>0.05).
A Relationship with Riemann-Lipschitz Continuity

O( √ T ) regret. In this section we shall discuss the relationship between these two generalizations of Lipschitz continuity. Ultimately, we will see that our results are at least as general but that further study into the relationship between these ideas is needed. We note that we will closely follow the notation of Antonakopoulos et al. [2020] and shall not discuss Riemannian metrics in full generality.
Visual Deep Learning Recommender System for Personal Computer Users

—This work presents a new architecture for creating virtual assistants on personal computers, building upon prior work on deep learning neural networks, image processing, mixed-initiative systems, and recommender systems. Recent progress in virtual assistants enables them to converse with users and interpret what the user sees. These systems can understand the world in intuitive ways with neural networks, and make action recommendations to the user. The assistant architecture in this work is described at the component level. It interprets a computer screen image in order to produce action recommendations to assist the user. It can assist in automating various tasks such as genetics research, computer programming, engaging with social media, and legal research. The action recommendations are personalized to the user, and are produced without integration of the assistant into each individual application executing on the computer. Recommendations can be accepted with a single mouse click by the computer user.
The Study of Bio-Inspired Surfaces for Fouling Resistance

Fouling is an issue that causes a lot of challenges in different areas. It is essential to study the different types of solid foulants and build-up methodology to engineer anti-fouling surfaces. In this work, three types of fouling, including ice fouling, protein fouling and marine fouling, with their designed antifouling materials and two general approaches are discussed. This work could be helpful in better understanding the bio-inspired surfaces for fouling resistance.
Analysis of chemical preservatives in foods.

Since prehistoric ages, man has used several methods to improve the shelf-life of food or food products. Drying procedures are among the oldest methods, and so are cooling and freezing in areas with a moderate or cool climate. The addition of salt too was a shelf-life improvement method used in ancient times. Smoke-curing, although intended as a drying process, can also be considered as an addition of components that have a preservative function (i.e., reactive aldehydes and phenolic substances) to food. In later times, the use of saltpeter to preserve meat products and the generation of sulfur dioxide by burning sulfur in wine casks to preserve wine were practiced. Thus, preservation by means of what we now call “additives” or, more specifically, “preservatives” has a very long history. But old-time “preservatives” sometimes caused unwanted side effects such as being unfavorable to health. Preservative components that might even lead to acute intoxications, for example, salts of heavy metals or formaldehyde appeared on the scene. This, in turn, made it necessary to restrict the use of food preservatives to components that are generally recognized as safe in the concentrations needed to exert their food preservation function. But even now, some preservatives are allowed CONTENTS
Commodity Price Changes and Domestic Inflation in the CEMAC Zone: Evidence from Panel Cointegration

In this study, we highlight the issue of the recent rise of food prices and other commodities on domestic inflation in the CEMAC zone. Results show that there is a long-run relationship between consumer price index, commodity prices and traditional determinants of inflation. Indeed, an appreciation of the nominal effective exchange rate and a rise of interest rate reduce domestic inflation while excessive money supply and a surge of commodity prices are potential sources of inflation in the region. Moreover, Pass-through from commodity price changes to domestic inflation in the region is incomplete because of the CFA Franc peg to Euro. An efficient use of the tools of monetary policy and a coordinated food policy on crops are more likely to reduce inflationary pressures in the region.
E-Graphologist for Personality Profile

— Deep learning of a person’s signature can reveal his personality profile like fear, honesty, emotional state, thinking style and much more. Analyzing signature can help in predicting social skills, thinking style, work habits, achievements, etc. of the writer. Type and style of signature can be judged by graphologist based on curved start, single line, dot on letter, etc. Similarly pattern recognition and image processing are used to analyze signature and handwriting in our system. Here the signature is considered as image and then prediction is performed through different stages such as gray level conversion, calculating threshold value, binary conversion etc. The most preferred technique by researchers for personality prediction is 'Artificial Neural Network'.
Fusion of Deep-CNN and Texture Features for Emotion Recognition using Support Vector Machines

- Emotion recognition has always been growing attention since identifying the internal notion or ideas of human remains critical due to its complex patterns. The fundamental idea is to identify the facial expression by extracting more relevant features that represent deeper insights into the input patterns. In this paper, a fusion technique for emotion recognition is made by employing the deep-learning-based classifier is proposed. The various texture descriptors like Histogram of oriented gradients (HOG), Local binary patterns (LBP), and VGG19 pre-trained model deep features are extracted and fused to form a combine feature vector. The feature selection is done using the principal component analysis (PCA). The support vector machine (SVM) classifier is integrated to perform the classification task. The CK+ facial expression dataset is used where the proposed method gave an accuracy of 84.73%.
Resolution: Digital materialities, thresholds of visibility

crafting’ digital images, on the hierarchies usually associated with high and low resolution when dealing with vernacular digital images stemming from family footage. Diego Cavallotti deconstructs the widespread idea according to which film archives are transitioning ‘from grain to pixel’, and shows instead the coexistence of analog and digital techniques, of chemical/analog and electronic/digital layers, in the restoration of a family film archive. Su-sanne Østby Saether analyses how artists have responsed to the new conditions of image mobility and transience made possible by the internet by focusing on a specific time frame, the year 2005
In-depth Understanding of STEM Information Needs using FGI

In the rapidly changing science and technology environment, an in-depth understanding of users of STEM information is an essential factor in designing a user-centered information system. The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze in-depth the behaviors and needs of users who use STEM information. In this study, the needs of users for STEM information and STEM information sites are dealt with in depth using the FGI qualitative method. In addition, it includes the analysis results of grouping of similar sites according to various aspects of use of STEM information sites. As a result of grouping similar sites based on awareness and level of use,, they were grouped by domestic-international, paid-free, integrated-specific fields. As a result of grouping similar sites according to the purpose of use, they were grouped by domestic and international papers, research reports, and patents. As a result of grouping similar sites according to usage attributes, they were grouped by diversity, reliability, and specialization. As for the positions of similar sites perceived by users, Science Direct and PubMed showed high specialization and high quality, Google Scholar showed integration and popularity, and RISS showed four attributes evenly. Suggestions for information system design are discussed.
in the Chamaeleonidae (Reptilia, Squamata)

A phylogenetic hypothesis for the lizard family Chamaeleonidae is generated from 1503 aligned base positions (883 parsimony-informative) of mitochondrial DNA for specimens representing 59 species (57 ingroup and two outgroup). Sequences are reported for a genomic segment encoding eight transfer RNAs, NADH dehydrogenase component 2 (ND2), and portions of NADH dehydrogenase component 1 (ND1) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI). Newly reported genomic rearrangements and duplications support the hypothesis that mitochondrial gene order and content are destabilized by phylogenetic loss of a functional origin for light-strand replication between the genes encoding tRNA and tRNA. A novel gene order characterizes all sampled Brookesia except B. nasus. Brookesia nasus, the apparent sister taxon of a clade formed by all other Brookesia, has the ancestral gene order but contains a large tandem duplication. An apparently noncoding 220 base pair insertion between the genes encoding ND2 and tRNA is reported for Bradypodion tavetanum. Phylogenetic analysis identifies nine clades whose ancestral lineages diverged early in chamaeleonid evolutionary history: (1) Brookesia (possibly excluding B. nasus), (2) Chamaeleo subgenus Chamaeleo (excluding C. namaquensis), (3) Chamaeleo subgenus Trioceros, (4) viviparous Bradypodion, (5) oviparous Bradypodion, (6) genus Furcifer (except F. balteatus), and (7–9) three distinct clades of Calumma. Chamaeleo namaquensis, Brookesia nasus, Furcifer balteatus, Rhampholeon brevicaudatus, and R. spectrum represent ancient lineages dating to approximately the same time. Multiple independent losses and a possible secondary gain of horns are inferred for Trioceros. Viviparity has at least two separate origins in chameleons, one in Bradypodion and one in Trioceros. © 2002 Elsevier Science (USA)