Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EMBEDDED DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF FACE DETECTION AND FACE RECOGNITION SYSTEM WITH HAAR CASCADE CLASSIFIER AND EIGENFACE ALGORITHM

-In this paper, a fast face detection and face recognition system has been designed and implemented as a part of an embedded smart home system. Haar Cascade Classifier is used for face detection and Principal Component Analysis and Eigenface Algorithm are used for face recognition. Arduino Uno is used for hardware design. C#, and for professional design, DevExpress in Visual Studio are used for software components. Test results show high accuracy in terms of face detection and face recognition.
AGE INVARIANT FACE RECOGNITION USING FUZZY LOCAL BINARY PATTERN AND ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK CLASSIFIER

methods can be categorized into two: local approaches and holistic (global) approaches. Most holistic approaches try to generate face aging models and build aging functions to simulate or compensate for the aging process (Lanitis, Taylor and Cootes, 1999; Geng, Zhou and Smith-Miles, 2007,Guo, Fu, Dyer and Huang, 2008, Kambhamettu and Mahalingam, 2010). Ali, Asirvadam, Malik and Aziz (2013) proposed a geometrical model based on multiple triangular features for handling the challenge of face age variations that affect the process of face recognition. The system aimed to serve in real time applications where the test images are usually taken in random scales that may not be of the same scale as the probe image, along with orientation, lighting, illumination, and pose variations. Multiple mathematical equations were developed and used in the process of forming distinct subject clusters. The system achieved a maximum classification accuracy of above 99% when the system was tested over the entire FG-NET database.
Nutritional qualities , antioxidant properties and sensory acceptability of fresh wheat noodles formulated with rice bran

The present work evaluated the potential of rice bran as a functional ingredient in fresh noodles. Fresh noodles supplemented with 0, 2, 5, and 10% (w/w) bran were evaluated for acceptability by a consumer sensory panel (n = 30). The noodles with the highest sensory acceptability were then characterised for their dietary fibre (DF), crude protein, crude ash, crude fat content, total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant capacity in terms of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. Results showed that different levels (2, 5, and 10%) of either the bran of NSIC Rc 298, a non-pigmented rice variety, or Minaangan, a red rice, had generally no significant effect on the acceptability of all the sensory parameters, except for colour; in which noodles with 0% NSIC Rc 298 bran was more preferred. Regardless of the pigmentation, rice bran supplemented at 10% significantly enhanced the DF, crude fat, crude ash, TPC, and antioxidant capacity of the noodles without affecting the overall acceptability. Rice bran could therefore be used to produce high-quality fresh noodles with health-promoting properties.
Scheduling data structures with term rewriting techniques

: In this internship, we study the problem of scheduling programs with complex data structures. As related work, we show that although scheduling operations on eﬃcient data structures apart from arrays should have a great impact on performance, there is nearly no work on this topic. However, some related work from the rewriting community gives us great insights about the link between termination and scheduling, that we propose to study further. Our contributions as a ﬁrst step toward full eﬃcient compilation of programs with inductive data structures are 1. ﬁrst algorithms for this parallel evaluation, 2. a code generation algorithm to generate eﬃcient parallel evaluators, 3. a prototype implementation and ﬁrst experimental results.
Contribution of Non-Governmental Organization’s Financial Services on Social Economic Development in Rwanda: Case of Plan International’s Village Saving and Loan Associations Project Model in Bugesera

The study intended to assess the economic status of the beneficiaries of savings in the village and loans associations in Bugesera District, Rwanda. The researcher adopted the descriptive survey design because the study sought to gain insight or perception into a phenomenon as a way of providing basic information in the area of study. The study population was composed of 696 in total from which a sample size of 254 was calculated using Yamane formula. The researcher used structured questionnaire and interview to collect primary data. Data was analyzed into tables and graphs applying descriptive statistics (frequency, percentages and mean) using SPSS version 21.0. The results revealed that majority (94%) testified that VSLA’s changed their lives and restored the community status. Findings also showed that 78% of participants mainly improved their agribusiness and livestock compared with before joining VSLAs, 8% were in the business activities, 6% participated in the government employee and 6% were in civil society and the rest 2% were engaged in the house keepers and tailoring activities. The VSLAs beneficiaries gained 26.99 % domestic animals such as goats and chicken, 6.9 percent gained home cows, 18 percent gained home beds,18 percent mattress, 9% beneficiaries gained their own house, 7% of mobile phone, 6 % of mobile phone,3 % of television, 3% owned bicycles, 2 % owned computers and 1% owned motorcycles. The achievements in terms of assets were improved compared with the conditions before entering in VSLAs. The recommendation is to sensitize all non VSLAs beneficiaries to join VSLAs. VSLAs are a good vehicle for mobilizing savings and improving the socioeconomic status of the participants. Therefore, more efforts should be made to ensure that these are well managed and that the beneficiaries are able to obtain maximum benefits of these associations. The Rwandan government should establish and formulate different policies to help VSLAs operations for sustainability of these informal financial institutions
Molecular epidemiological and pathogenesis studies of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 1 strains from West Africa

In West Africa, Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a leading cause of deaths in young children and serotype 1 strains are particularly important in causing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) despite being rare in nasopharyngeal carriage. The S. pneumoniae ST217 clonal complex, consisting of ST217 and the various locus variants has been shown to be the predominant pneumococcal serotype 1 clone in the sub-region. It is unclear how the recent introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in countries in the sub-region could affect patterns of pneumococcal disease. Improving our understanding of the unique nature of pneumococcal serotype 1 strains within the context of other pneumococcal serotypes circulating in West Africa prior to introduction of PCV would be critical in interpreting any subsequent changes in patterns of disease in this region. This forms the basis for my research studies for this PhD thesis. Epidemiological studies on S. pneumoniae strains in The Gambia revealed that a new dominant clone of serotype 1, ST3081, a single locus variant of ST217, emerged and appeared to have spread across the whole country. ST3081 appeared to have replaced ST618, a triple locus variant of ST217 and the previously dominant pneumococcal serotype 1 lineage circulating in The Gambia for over a decade earlier. This thesis, which also evaluated antimicrobial resistance patterns, showed that ST3081 isolates were more resistant to co-trimoxazole than ST618 isolates. In addition, comparative genomic analysis highlighted the role of recombination in driving the evolution of serotype 1 STs in The Gambia. It also revealed important genetic differences between these two predominant STs in The Gambia, ST3081 and ST618, in antimicrobial genes such as tetM and virulence genes such as exist within the fucose metabolism operon. These findings would be useful in informing strategies to improve the monitoring and control of pneumococcal serotype 1 disease.
The impact of anodal tDCS on attentional networks as a function of trait anxiety and depressive symptoms: A preregistered double-blind sham-controlled experiment

Attention is a multifaceted construct, including three distinct attentional networks: the alerting, orienting, and executive conflict networks. Recently, researchers have started to envision strategies to enhance the attentional networks, and transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has emerged as a promising tool to do so, especially regarding the executive conflict network. On the other hand, other research lines have suggested that anodal tDCS might yield more substantial impacts among depressive and anxious participants. In this preregistered study, we thus examined two questions. First, we wanted to replicate previous observations and tested whether anodal tDCS does improve the executive conflict network's efficiency. Second, we set out to clarify the impact of anxiety and depressive symptoms on this effect. To do so, we adopted a double-blind within-subject protocol in an unselected sample (n = 50) and delivered a single session of anodal— applied over the dorsolateral part of the left prefrontal cortex—versus sham tDCS during the completion of a task assessing the attentional networks. We assessed anxiety and depressive symptoms at baseline. Although there were no significant direct effects of tDCS on the attentional networks, we found that the higher the levels of depression and trait anxiety, the larger the executive conflict network's enhancement during tDCS. By highlighting the importance of trait anxiety and depression when considering the impact of tDCS on the attentional networks, this study fulfills a valuable niche in clinical neuroscience, wherein preclinical data provide critical clues for larger, more definitive future translational efforts.
Minimal Surfaces for Scattering Amplitudes and the Harmonic Oscillator

As a first step towards calculating minimal surfaces in AdS3, related to scattering amplitudes through the AdS/CFT correspondence, we develop a method for finding the small solutions to the Schrödinger equation written in a two-component form. The solutions are found iteratively from an integral equation resembling that of the Y -functions that previously have been used to find the minimal area. We apply our methods to the harmonic oscillator and find complete agreement with the known solutions.
HARDWARE/SOFTWARE PARTITIONING USING PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION AND ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS

Embedded systems became an important part of computational systems. Deciding which part of the system is going to be implemented in hardware or software is an important step of the design process with direct impact on system’s cost and performance defined as hardware/software partitioning. System design methods based almost entirely on designer’s experience are not able to provide optimization levels needed for current embedded systems. The problem is that designers are not able to deal with high number of components and complexity without the aid of highly automated hardware design methods. Considering embedded systems scenario this work presents a training method for hardware/software partitioning artificial neural networks. The database used to train the artificial neural network is generated by a particle swarm optimization algorithm. This work’s method achieved faster database generation and more accurate network results compared to previous works results. Considering the fact that real system information that could be used to create a database is considered industrial secret by systems design companies, this method can be used as an interesting alternative for embedded systems design.
Testing the spatial and temporal framework of speciation in an ancient lake species flock

Ancient Lake Ohrid on the Balkan Peninsula is considered to be the oldest ancient lake in Europe with a suggested Plio-Pleistocene age. Its exact geological age, however, remains unknown. Therefore, molecular clock data of Lake Ohrid biota may serve as an independent constraint of available geological data, and may thus also help to refine age estimates. Such evolutionary data may also help unravel potential biotic and abiotic factors that promote speciation events. Here, mitochondrial sequencing data of one of the largest groups of endemic taxa in Lake Ohrid, the leech genus Dina, is used to test whether it represents an ancient lake species flock, to study the role of horizontal and vertical barriers in Lake Ohrid for evolutionary events, to estimate the onset of intralacustrine diversification in this group based on molecular clock analyses, and to compare this data with data from other endemic species for providing an approximate time frame for the origin of Lake Ohrid. Based on the criteria speciosity, monophyly and endemicity, it can be concluded that Lake Ohrid Dina, indeed, represents an ancient lake species flock. Lineage sorting of its species, however, does not seem to be complete. Analyses of population structures of Dina spp. in the Ohrid watershed indicate a horizontal zonation of haplotypes from spring and lake populations, corroborating the role of lake-side springs, particularly the southern feeder springs, for evolutionary processes in endemic Ohrid taxa. Vertical differentiation of lake taxa, however, appears to be limited, though differences between populations from the littoral and the profundal are apparent. Molecular clock analyses indicate that the most recent common ancestor of extant species of this flock is approximately 1.99±0.83 Ma old, whereas the split of the Lake Ohrid Dina flock from a potential sister taxon outside the lake is estimated at 8.30±3.60 Ma. Comparisons with other groups of endemic Ohrid species indicated that in all cases, intralacustrine diversification started ≤2 Ma ago. Thus, this estimate may provide information on a minimum age for the origin of Lake Ohrid. Maximum ages are less consistent and generally less reliable. But cautiously, a maximum age of 3 Ma is suggested. Interestingly, this time frame of approximately 2–3 Ma for the origin of Lake Ohrid, generated based solely on evolutionary data, well fits the time frame most often used in the literature by geologists. Future studies must show whether this concurrence holds true.
Characterising factors underlying praxis deficits in chronic left hemisphere stroke patients

Limb apraxia, a disorder of skilled action not consequent on primary motor or sensory deficits, has traditionally been defined according to errors patients make on neuropsychological tasks. Previous models of the disorder have failed to provide a unified account of patients deficits, due to heterogeneity in the patients and tasks used. In this study we implemented principal component analysis (PCA) to elucidate core factors of the disorder in a cohort of 41 unselected left hemisphere chronic stroke patients who were tested on a comprehensive and validated apraxia screen. Three principal components were identified: posture selection, semantic control and multi-demand sequencing. These were submitted to a lesion symptom mapping (VBCM) analysis in a subset of 24 patients, controlled for lesion volume, age and time post-stroke. Although the first component revealed no significant structural correlates, the second and third components were related to regions in the ventro-dorsal and ventral and dorsal pathways, respectively. These results challenge the previously reported distinction between ideomotor and ideational deficits and highlight a significant role of common cognitive functions in the disorder, which include action selection, semantic retrieval, sequencing and response inhibition. Further research using this technique would help elucidate the cognitive processes underlying limb apraxia and their relationship with other cognitive disorders.
Evaluating the use of the reproduction number as an epidemiological tool, using spatio-temporal trends of the Covid-19 outbreak in England

The time-varying reproduction number (Rt: the average number secondary infections caused by each infected person) may be used to assess changes in transmission potential during an epidemic. Since new infections usually are not observed directly, it can only be estimated from delayed and potentially biased data. We estimated Rt using a model that mapped unobserved infections to observed test-positive cases, hospital admissions, and deaths with confirmed Covid-19, in seven regions of England over March through August 2020. We explored the sensitivity of Rt estimates of Covid-19 in England to different data sources, and investigated the potential of using differences in the estimates to track epidemic dynamics in population sub-groups. Our estimates of transmission potential varied for each data source. The divergence between estimates from each source was not consistent within or across regions over time, although estimates based on hospital admissions and deaths were more spatio-temporally synchronous than compared to estimates from all test-positives. We compared differences in Rt with the demographic and social context of transmission, and found the differences between Rt may be linked to biased representations of sub-populations in each data source: from uneven testing rates, or increasing severity of disease with age, seen via outbreaks in care home populations and changing age distributions of cases. We highlight that policy makers should consider the source populations of Rt estimates. Further work should clarify the best way to combine and interpret Rt estimates from different data sources based on the desired use.
Minimum Dietary Diversity and Associated Factors among Lactating Mothers in Ataye District, North Shoa Zone, Central Ethiopia: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Low dietary diversity superimposed with poor quality monotonous diets is a major problem that often results in undernutrition, mainly micronutrient deficiencies. However, there is limited evidence on minimum dietary diversity and associated factors among lactating mothers in resource-poor settings, including the study area. Therefore, the objective of the study is to assess the prevalence of minimum dietary diversity and associated factors among lactating mothers in Ataye District, Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study design was used among 652 lactating mothers aged 15-49 years from January 25 to April 30, 2018. Dietary diversity was measured by the minimum dietary diversity indicator for women (MDD-W) using the 24-hour dietary recall method. Data were entered into EpiData version 4.2. 0.0 and exported to the statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 24 for analysis using the logistic regression model. Results: The prevalence of minimum dietary diversity among lactating mothers was 48.8%, (95% CI: (44.7%, 52.9%). Having formal education [(AOR=2.16, 95% CL: (1.14, 4.09)], a final say on household purchases [(AOR=5.39, 95% CI: (2.34, 12.42)], home gardening practices [ (AOR=2.67, 95% CI: (1.49, 4.81)], a history of illness [(AOR=0.47, 95% CI: (0.26, 0.85), good knowledge of nutrition [(AOR=5.11, 95% CI: (2.68, 9.78)], being from food-secure households [(AOR=2.96, 95% CI: (1.45, 6.07)] and medium [(AOR=5.94, 95% CI: (2.82, 12.87)] and rich wealth indices [(AOR= 3.55, 95% CI: (1.76, 7.13)] were significantly associated with minimum dietary diversity. Conclusion: The prevalence of minimum dietary diversity among lactating mothers was low in the study area. It was significantly associated with mothers having a formal education, final say on the household purchase, home garden, good knowledge of nutrition, history of illness, food-secure households, and belonging to medium and rich household wealth indices. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve the mothers decision-making autonomy, nutrition knowledge, household food security, and wealth status.
Sparse reconstruction in spin systems I: iid spins

For a sequence of Boolean functions $f_n : \{-1,1\}^{V_n} \longrightarrow \{-1,1\}$, defined on increasing configuration spaces of random inputs, we say that there is sparse reconstruction if there is a sequence of subsets $U_n \subseteq V_n$ of the coordinates satisfying $|U_n| = o(|V_n|)$ such that knowing the coordinates in $U_n$ gives us a non-vanishing amount of information about the value of $f_n$. We first show that, if the underlying measure is a product measure, then no sparse reconstruction is possible for any sequence of transitive functions. We discuss the question in different frameworks, measuring information content in $L^2$ and with entropy. We also highlight some interesting connections with cooperative game theory. Beyond transitive functions, we show that the left-right crossing event for critical planar percolation on the square lattice does not admit sparse reconstruction either. Some of these results answer questions posed by Itai Benjamini.
Language Representation in Multilingual BERT and its applications to improve Cross-lingual Generalization

A token embedding in multilingual BERT (m-BERT) contains both language and semantic information. We find that representation of a language can be obtained by simply averaging the embeddings of the tokens of the language. With the language representation, we can control the output languages of multilingual BERT by manipulating the token embeddings and achieve unsupervised token translation. We further propose a computationally cheap but effective approach to improve the cross-lingual ability of m-BERT based on the observation.
Relationship between Self Care Management with Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-care management and HbA1c level of the patients with type 2 diabetes in YAZD. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study. The number of 376 diabetic patients referred to the Diabetes Research Center in Yazd entered the study. The data collection tool was a summary of Diabetes Self Care Activity questionnaire (SDSCA), which was collected through interviews with patients. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software V 16 and kruskalwallis and independent sample t tests. Results: The results showed that of 376 patients, 218 (%58) were women and 158 (%42) were male. The mean age of the participants in the study was 54.5 ± 10.9 years old and the mean duration of the disease was 9.53 ± 8.39 years. The mean HbA1C in the patients was 7.93% ± 1.38%. The mean of BMI was 28.93 ± 6 kg/ m2. The mean of self-care score in the patients under study was 30.53 ± 11.4. There was a significant relationship between the mean of self-care score, BMI, age and HbA1C (P value <0.05). Conclusions: According to the results of the study, it can be concluded that the level of self-care in patients with controlled diabetes mellitus (HbA1C <7%) is more than patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (HbA1c ≥9%).