Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ECE-544 Project : Semi-Supervised Hashing for Large-Scale Search

One of the current hot topics in Computer vision field is camera pose estimation and image retrieval for indoor scenes using user image data from smart phones. For example, a user can take a picture using his phone and send it to a server. The server processes the image along with Inertial Measurement Units provided to estimate the position of the user and provide him with any relevant information such as navigation or interesting information about the scene. This task usually requires estimating the image features vectors such as SIFT and searching through a huge database to find an exact or neighbouring match. This process suffers from the curse of dimensionality as these visual descriptors contain hundreds to thousands of dimensions. This makes exhaustive search infeasible. Moreover, this requires a lot of computational power and memory that may not be practical for real time applications. In this project, we aim to implement a hashing-based approximate nearest neighbour (ANN) search for huge image databases. We will implement a semi-supervised hashing (SSH) framework [1] that minimizes empirical error over labeled set and an information theoretic regularizer over the entire dataset (labeled and unlabeled). We will concentrate on theoretical proofs in the paper and demonstrate why this approach works extremely well for our application. We will implement Sequential Projection Learning Hashing (SPLH) and provide experimental results to demonstrate its accuracy and recall rate when compared to Spectral Hashing (SH) [7].
Dissecting Salt Tolerance in Soybean by Profiling Differential Physiological Responses under Salt Stress

Saline soils are common worldwide and limit the yield potential of many crops. Plants respond in a variety of ways to the stress imposed by saline soils. Plants under salt stress must first sense their surroundings and transmit a signal alerting the rest of the plant to the saline conditions. Salt tolerance in soybeans is typically defined by exclusion of chloride ions from foliar tissues. Though differences in ion uptake among soybean genotypes is well documented, the key mechanisms employed by tolerant cultivars to cope with salt stress on the whole-plant level are still largely unknown. Objectives of the current research focus on characterization of the differential physiological responses to salt stress between salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant soybean lines and detecting genetic differences which contribute to the ion exclusion mechanisms employed by salt-tolerant lines. We assessed phytohormone content of two soybean lines following salt stress and found a salt-induced accumulation of abscisic acid suggesting the involvement of this phytohormone in plant abiotic stress responses. The genotype for a newly characterized salt-tolerance gene, GmCHX1, was assessed in three salt-sensitive and three salt-tolerant soybean lines. In saltsensitive soybeans, this cation/H antiporter-encoding gene is reported to contain a copia retrotransposon within its coding sequence. We detected the presence of this transposable element (TE) within three salt-sensitive lines from the U.S. soybean germplasm while this TE was not detected in the three salt-tolerant lines tested The ability of salt-tolerant soybeans to maintain chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance, and ion exclusion under salt stress demonstrates the wide variety of physiological responses involved in combating this abiotic stress. Determining the key genetic regulators of each of these responses will enable breeders to enhance the salt tolerance of soybeans and will likely contribute to overall tolerance to abiotic stresses. We show that disruption of the GmCHX1 coding sequence contributes to the ion inclusion that results in salt-sensitivity in three soybean cultivars from the United States. The functional GmCHX1 allele is a promising target for selection by breeders looking to protect the yield of future cultivars and elite lines which will probably be cultivated on salt-affected lands.
Factors affecting enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems adoption among higher education institutions in Egypt

The focus of enterprise resource planning (ERP) adoption among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has attracted the interest of many Information System (IS) researchers. As a result of its great business values, the adoption of ERP solution is increasingly growing within HEIs. However, very limited studies have focused their attention towards understanding the determinants of ERP adoption among HEIs, especially in Egypt. Furthermore, the adoption of ERP systems in Egypt is still in the beginning stage with no many adopters among HEIs. Therefore, this study aims to fill in the gap by investigating technological, organizational and environmental (TOE) framework among HEIs. Accordingly, the objective of this research paper is mainly trying to introduce a conceptualized research model that can be used to examine ERP adoption among HEIs. This article contributes to the development of theoretical framework of the ERP adoption to explain the competitive advantage within HEIs by using TOE framework. The current study will provide guidelines to ERP providers, the government, and HEIs in Egypt to accelerate ERP adoption.
Safety and efficacy of tranexamic acid in the application of spinal tuberculosis surgery

Objective: To discuss the safety and efficacy of the application of tranexamic acid in spinal tuberculosis surgery. Methods: One hundred cases of patients in our hospital who had accepted spinal tuberculosis surgery were divided into tranexamic acid group (50 cases) and control group (50 cases) according to a random number table method. Before the surgery, all the patients underwent blood routine examination, coagulation routine examination, double extremity venous ultrasound and so on. Besides, the patients of tranexamic acid group had an intravenous drip of tranexamic acid before skin incision in 10 min, while the acid first dose and maintenance dose were 15 mg/kg and 2 mg (kg·h) respectively, the control group had an intravenous drip of isodose of normal saline. Then, compare the blood loss in surgery, the drainage 48 hours after surgery, amount of blood transfusion, transfusion rate, the haemoglobin (HB), hematocrit (HCT) after the surgery, the difference between them before and after the surgery, pulmonary infection, incision infection and the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) between the two groups. Results: All the drainage in 48 hours after the surgery, the amount of blood transfusion, the blood transfusion rate, the HB and HCT after the surgery, the difference of the HB, HCT before and after the surgery and the incidence of DVT of the patients of tranexamic acid group were lower than those of the control group (P<0.05). But the blood loss, the postoperative pulmonary and incision infection between the two groups were no statistical differences (P>0.05). Conclusion: Tranexamic acid can significantly reduce the spinal tuberculosis surgery patients’ 48 hour-drainage, the amount of blood transfusion, the blood transfusion rate, the difference between the HB and HCT before and after the surgery as well as the incidence of DVT, but it didn’t decrease the blood loss during the surgery or increase the postoperative pulmonary and incision infection risk. In a word, this program is a safe and effective method to control body fluid loss during perioperative period in patients with spinal tuberculosis.
Visual Attention During Brand Choice

Measures derived from eye-movement data reveal that during brand choice consumers adapt to time pressure by accelerating the visual scanning sequence, by filtering information and by changing their scanning strategy. In addition, consumers with high task motivation filter brand information less and pictorial information more. Consumers under time pressure filter textual ingredient information more, and pictorial information less. The results of a conditional logit analysis reveal that the chosen brand receives significantly more intra-brand and inter-brand saccades and longer fixation durations than non-chosen brands, independent of time pressure and task motivation conditions. Implications for the theory of consumer attention and for pretesting of packaging and shelf lay-outs are discussed.
Triple oxygen isotope composition of tropospheric carbon dioxide as a tracer of terrestrial gross carbon fluxes

Stratospheric photochemistry leads to anomalous oxygen isotope enrichments in CO2 (for which Δ17O = δ17O − 0.516 × δ18O ≠ 0). This isotope anomaly is not lost until air returns to the troposphere and CO2 undergoes isotope exchange with water primarily in the terrestrial biosphere and oceans. A two‐box model is used to investigate the contribution of stratospheric production and contemporary surface carbon fluxes to tropospheric Δ17OCO2. The predicted magnitude of ∼0.15‰ is large enough that measurement of a globally averaged tropospheric Δ17OCO2 should provide a new constraint for gross carbon exchanges between the biosphere and atmosphere in terrestrial carbon cycle models. Importantly, Δ17OCO2 should be complementary to the primary isotopic tracer of gross carbon exchanges, δ18OCO2, but is not dependent on numerous hydrologic variables. Furthermore, with improved measurement precision, Δ17OCO2 could serve as a direct tracer of gross carbon exchanges and their variations.
COVID-19 and Tourism

With the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the whole world has been in a total shutdown. It came out as a challenge to just not some specific countries of continents, but to the entire planet. With no preparation for such type of pandemic and the time and effort required to come up with a fully functional and tested vaccine, the planet went down on its knees. Non pharmaceutical methods were the first aid for the outbreak. Unprecedented country wide lockdowns, stay at home decisions, closure of global as well as local travel, closure of public gatherings greatly disrupted the world economy. International travel bans were the first to be practiced which roughly affected 100% of the world population. With restrictions on public gatherings and movement of people, tourism came to a stand-still in March-April 2020. By this time, COVID-19 had reached most of the countries and the virus was spreading like wild fire.
Visualizing Values: A Content Analysis to Conceptualize Value Congruent Video Messages Used in Agricultural Communications

Abstract Visual messaging is becoming the new avenue to connect with consumers. The majority of the American public is not connected with agriculture and often questions procedures, practices, and tactics within the industry. Practitioners and researchers have suggested value congruent messages, a type of emotional appeal, may increase attention to agricultural messages. However, limited research has been conducted to define and investigate value congruent messages in agricultural communications. The purpose of this study was to describe the presented messages in videos used in one agricultural advocacy effort, CommonGround’s “Nothing to Fear Here” campaign. This content analysis described the video’s message content and use of value congruent messages. Schwartz Theory of Basic Human Values (2012) was used to identify the values present in each video within the campaign. The values of benevolence, security, self-direction, universalism, and hedonism were common values displayed in the campaign. Message sensation value was calculated, and it was found the videos had moderate levels of emotional arousal. The primary characters in the videos were mothers, farmers, and children. More research should be conducted to explore how the value congruent messages and message sensation value interact to increase a receiver’s level of attitude change after viewing the message.
Thermal wind from hot accretion flows at large radii

We study slowly rotating accretion flow at parsec and sub-parsec scale irradiated by a low luminosity active galactic nuclei. We take into account the Compton heating, photoionization heating by the central X-rays. The bremsstrahlung cooling, recombination and line cooling are also included. We find that due to the Compton heating, wind can be thermally driven. The power of wind is in the range $(10^{-6}-10^{-3}) L_{\rm Edd}$, with $L_{\rm Edd}$ being the Eddington luminosity. The mass flux of wind is in the range $(0.01-1) \dot M_{\rm Edd}$ ($\dot M_{\rm Edd}= L_{\rm Edd}/0.1c^2$ is the Eddington accretion rate, $c$ is speed of light). We define the wind generation efficiency as $\epsilon = P_W/\dot {M}_{\rm BH}c^2$, with $P_W$ being wind power, $\dot M_{\rm BH}$ being the mass accretion rate onto the black hole. $\epsilon$ lies in the rage $10^{-4}-1.18$. Wind production efficiency decreases with increasing mass accretion rate. The possible role of the thermally driven wind in the active galactic feedback is briefly discussed.
FaceRegistration UsingWearableActiveVision Systemsfor AugmentedMemory

This paper describesa wearable active vision system called VizWear-Active in which an active camera is used to obtainmore informationaboutthewearer andhis or her environmentfor a wearable vision system. We haveconstructedtheprototypesystembasedon VizWear-Activeand implementedtworeflex actions:gazedirectionstabilization and active tracking. For the gazedirection stabilization, thedirectionof thecamera-headis controlled usingan inertial sensor , which reducesthe influenceof the wearer’s motion on the input images. For the active tracking, the systemtracks a person by controlling the directionof the camera-headto observethepersonevenif the attentionof thewearer is focusedelsewhere. Our prototypesystemperformsfor thesereflex actionsin real time. Autonomousface registration was implementedon our prototypesystemfor visual augmentedmemoryapplications. Facial imagescan be usedto retrieve visual memory cuesrelatedto a humansubjectif variousfacial expressionsareregisteredin facedictionary. Our systemautomatically registers the facial images in the its dictionary and usesthemto retrieve visual memorycueswhenthe system findsa particular person.We confirmedthebasicfunctions of autonomousfaceregistration in experiments.
The Relationship between Sensation Seeking and Self-Efficacy among Nature-Lover Students of Sriwijaya University

This research aims to determine the relationship between sensation seeking and self-efficacy among nature-lover students of Sriwijaya University. The hypothesis proposed in this research is that there is a relationship between sensation seeking and self-efficacy among nature-lover students of Sriwijaya University. The research population was comprised of 137 students while the sample consisted of 95 students chosen using the technique of simple random sampling. The measuring instruments used in this research were the sensation seeking scale and the self-efficacy scale. The analysis was undertaken using a simple regression analysis technique with SPSS version 20.0. Results of the analysis of research data performed using a computer with SPSS 20.0 for Windows suggest a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.368 with a coefficient of determination (R-squared) of 0.135, and a p-value of 0.0000 (p <0.01) in the two-way ANOVA test. These indicate that the hypothesis is accepted. These analysis results show that there is a very significant relationship between sensation seeking and self-efficacy among nature-lover students of Sriwijaya University. The contribution of the independent variable to the dependent variable amounts to 13.5%.
ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF INCENTIVE SCHEME ON PERFORMANCE OF THE SALESFORCE OF TANZANIA CIGARETTE COMPANY LUCAS

Businesses are always undergoing changes and in order to remain competitive the pressure to effectively motivate salesforce is of concern in fast moving consumer goods industry as salesforce is key. The general objective of the study was to assess the effect of incentive scheme on performance of the salesforce of Tanzania Cigarette Company. To undertake this general objective, four specific objectives with their underling null hypothesis were designed and assessed by quantitative and qualitative research design. The questionnaires were distributed to the entire selected sample of 80 salesforce and then they were analyzed using statistical package for social scientist (SPSS version 16) and MS-excel. In this analysis, descriptive statistics and Chi-square test analysis were performed. The descriptive finding of the study showed that salesforce have experienced high level of positive perception towards the existing incentive scheme leading to a high level of salesforce performance. The study findings showed that the factors like trainings scored 79% of respondents who agreed to have effect on their performance and 78% of respondents believe to receive higher rewards on higher performance. Also the findings further shows that recognitions and flexible approaches to sales incentive increases salesforce performance. Lastly, factors such as salary increase, target setting involvement scored less in agreement to have greater effect on performance compared to training and rewards. Therefore, it is recommended that, the company has to continue implementing incentive schemes to salesforce and give more emphasis on the magnitude of incentives so that the level of salesforce performance can be advanced.
Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World

SELECTED AS A 2008 BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST. The Net Generation Has Arrived. Are you ready for it? Chances are you know a person between the ages of 11 and 30. You've seen them doing five things at once: texting friends, downloading music, uploading videos, watching a movie on a two-inch screen, and doing who-knows-what on Facebook or MySpace. They're the first generation to have literally grown up digital--and they're part of a global cultural phenomenon that's here to stay. The bottom line is this: If you understand the Net Generation, you will understand the future. If you're a Baby Boomer or Gen-Xer: This is your field guide. A fascinating inside look at the Net Generation, Grown Up Digital is inspired by a $4 million private research study. New York Times bestselling author Don Tapscott has surveyed more than 11,000 young people. Instead of a bunch of spoiled screenagers with short attention spans and zero social skills, he discovered a remarkably bright community which has developed revolutionary new ways of thinking, interacting, working, and socializing. Grown Up Digital reveals:. How the brain of the Net Generation processes information . Seven ways to attract and engage young talent in the workforce. Seven guidelines for educators to tap the Net Gen potential. Parenting 2.0: There's no place like the new home . Citizen Net: How young people and the Internet are transforming democracy. Today's young people are using technology in ways you could never imagine. Instead of passively watching television, the Net Geners are actively participating in the distribution of entertainment and information. For the first time in history, youth are the authorities on something really important. And they're changing every aspect of our society-from the workplace to the marketplace, from the classroom to the living room, from the voting booth to the Oval Office. The Digital Age is here. The Net Generation has arrived. Meet the future.
Restrictive versus liberal red cell transfusion strategies in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundAnemia is frequent in patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI), and the optimal red blood cell transfusion strategy for patients with AMI and anemia is still controversial. We aimed to compare the efficacy of restrictive and liberal red cell transfusion strategies in patients with AMI and anemia.MethodsWe systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Clinicaltrials.gov, from their inception until March 2021. Inclusion criteria were clinical trials that compared the efficacy of restrictive and liberal transfusion strategies in patients with AMI and anemia on all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, including overall mortality, in-hospital, or follow-up mortality. Risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were presented and pooled by random-effects models. ResultsThe search yielded a total of 6630 participants in six studies. Among the included patients, the average age ranged from 69.0 to 79.5 years and 2950 (44.5%) were men. A total of 2008 patients received restrictive red blood transfusion while 4622 patients were given liberal red blood transfusion. No difference was found in overall mortality and follow-up mortality between restrictive and liberal blood transfusion groups (RR=1.07, 95% CI=0.82–1.40, P=0.62; RR=0.89, 95% CI=0.56–1.42, P=0.62). However, restrictive transfusion was associated with a higher risk of in-hospital mortality compared with liberal transfusion (RR=1.22, 95% CI=1.00–1.50, P=0.05). No secondary outcomes, including follow-up reinfarction, stroke, and acute heart failure, differed significantly between the two groups. In addition, subgroup analysis showed no differences in overall mortality between the two groups based on sample size and design.ConclusionRestrictive and liberal red blood transfusion have a similar effect on overall mortality and follow-up mortality in patients with AMI and anemia. However, restrictive transfusion was associated with a higher risk of in-hospital mortality compared with liberal transfusion. The findings suggest that transfusion strategy should be evaluated in the more future researches.
The glass cliff: Evidence that women and ethnic minorities contest “hopeless” seats

Are women and ethnic minorities set up to fail when they run in UK General Elections? Clara Kulich from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) presents findings from collaborative research with colleagues at the University of Exeter (UK) and the University of Queensland (Australia) which show that in past UK General Elections (2001 to 2010) women and ethnic minority candidates of the Conservative party were preferentially chosen to run for “hopeless seats” — that is, in constituencies where their party was likely to lose.