Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fast Monte Carlo Rendering via Multi-Resolution Sampling

Monte Carlo rendering algorithms are widely used to produce photorealistic computer graphics images. However, these algorithms need to sample a substantial amount of rays per pixel to enable proper global illumination and thus require an immense amount of computation. In this paper, we present a hybrid rendering method to speed up Monte Carlo rendering algorithms. Our method first generates two versions of a rendering: one at a low resolution with a high sample rate (LRHS) and the other at a high resolution with a low sample rate (HRLS). We then develop a deep convolutional neural network to fuse these two renderings into a high-quality image as if it were rendered at a high resolution with a high sample rate. Specifically, we formulate this fusion task as a super resolution problem that generates a high resolution rendering from a low resolution input (LRHS), assisted with the HRLS rendering. The HRLS rendering provides critical high frequency details which are difficult to recover from the LRHS for any super resolution methods. Our experiments show that our hybrid rendering algorithm is significantly faster than the state-of-the-art Monte Carlo denoising methods while rendering high-quality images when tested on both our own BCR dataset and the Gharbi dataset. \url{https://github.com/hqqxyy/msspl}
Responsible Tourism Practices in the Non-Hotel Accommodation (NHA) Sector in Port Elizabeth, South Africa

This paper focuses on responsible-tourism practices in the non-hotel accommodation (NHA) sector in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The NHA sector includes all the guesthouses, bed-and-breakfast establishments and self-catering accommodation establishments, which collectively constitute this sector. The primary purpose of the paper was to examine the factors that inhibit the NHA sector from embracing the adoption of responsible-tourism (RT) guidelines as set out by the South African government. The awareness and implementation of RT principles is critical for the tourism industry as it serves as an indicator as to whether this sector can contribute toward sustainability in reducing its carbon footprint. The reduction in the carbon footprint could then lead to less strain on the environment, including aspects such as climate change. In order to address the primary purpose (main problem) of the paper, a questionnaire was designed and emailed to respondents. A response rate of 24 percent was obtained and the results indicated some understanding of the term “Responsible Tourism,” but lacked knowledge on any governmental guideline, policy documents or organizations advocating responsible tourism. In addition, efforts were made by the NHA sector in terms of being energy efficient, conserving water and reducing waste management; however, social responsibility within the NHA sector was a low priority. From this study, it can be deduced that for government, especially at the local level, significant efforts will have to be made to ensure that the NHA sector fully comprehends the principles of RT and the significant role RT plays in terms of sustainability. This would ultimately benefit the tourism industry, as it will lead to more RT practices and enhanced sustainability.
A Digital Mobile Community App for Caregivers in Singapore: Predevelopment and Usability Study

Background With increasing life expectancy and aging populations, the global prevalence of chronic diseases and the long-term care required for people with comorbidities is rising. This has led to an ever-growing need for caregiving. Previous literature has shown that caregivers face problems of isolation and loneliness. However, many health organizations mainly focus their efforts on in-person community groups that require participants to meet physically. This is not always convenient or accessible for caregivers who are often juggling caring for their care recipient with family and work responsibilities. Objective With medical advancements such as the proliferation of mobile phones and internet technology, caregivers may have opportunities for easier access to resources and support. Technological innovations could help empower the caregiving community to seek assistance for improving their quality of life at their convenience. A community network app called Caregivers’ Circle was conceptualized in response to the needs of the caregivers on a day-to-day caregiving journey. This paper traces the predevelopment inquiry and technical details of this app to provide a clear understanding of its implementation along with a usability study to gauge user opinion of the app within Singapore. Methods A predevelopment survey was conducted to identify specific needs of caregivers and gaps in the currently available web-based community networks. The survey consisted of questions on demographical data, health-related issues of the care recipient, mental and physical health–related issues of the caregiver, digital media use, information seeking, and support. This pre–app development survey was completed by 103 caregivers. Qualitative enquiries were also conducted with caregivers within Singapore to identify issues related to caregiving, support provided, and what caregivers would want from a caregiving mobile app. Results From the feedback garnered from the caregivers, the developers were able to identify several caregivers’ needs and gaps within the current support networks. This feedback was integrated into the mobile app called Caregivers’ Circle upon development. The features of this app include a public forum for community discussions, a marketplace to buy and sell items, care groups to hold private discussions with friends or other users of the app, and a friends feature to search and add new caregiving friends. Conclusions In general, the caregivers liked the Caregivers’ Circle app and were confident that this app could help them have a better quality of life. The Caregivers’ Circle app is unique in its integrated approach. The integration of many features that caregivers need on a daily basis into an easy app can save their time as well as help them navigate their life smoothly.
ISM Model of Critical Success Factors of Using Alternative Dispute Solutions on Saudi Arabian Construction Projects

This paper discusses the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) approach as a tool in the pyramid chart categories and the critical success factors of using alternative dispute solutions on Saudi Arabian construction projects. By defining the relationships, and investigating the interrelationships between the eleven important progressing critical success factors and MICMAC analysis, an advantageous tool for allowing practitioners to understand the critical factors of success in the alternative dispute solutions of construction projects that can be created. It can be stated here that the main aim of this study is to develop a model of critical success factors for alternative dispute solutions, thus serving to analyse the interaction of the major critical success factors, and helping to improve dispute resolutions in Saudi Arabian construction projects.
11.0 Tera-FLOP/second photonic convolutional accelerator for deep learning optical neural networks

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs), inspired by biological visual cortex systems, are a powerful category of artificial neural networks that can extract the hierarchical features of raw data to greatly reduce the network parametric complexity and enhance the predicting accuracy. They are of significant interest for machine learning tasks such as computer vision, speech recognition, playing board games and medical diagnosis [1-7]. Optical neural networks offer the promise of dramatically accelerating computing speed to overcome the inherent bandwidth bottleneck of electronics. Here, we demonstrate a universal optical vector convolutional accelerator operating beyond 10 Tera-FLOPS (floating point operations per second), generating convolutions of images of 250,000 pixels with 8-bit resolution for 10 kernels simultaneously — enough for facial image recognition. We then use the same hardware to sequentially form a deep optical CNN with ten output neurons, achieving successful recognition of full 10 digits with 900 pixel handwritten digit images with 88% accuracy. Our results are based on simultaneously interleaving temporal, wavelength and spatial dimensions enabled by an integrated microcomb source. This approach is scalable and trainable to much more complex networks for demanding applications such as unmanned vehicle and real-time video recognition.
Psychological Distress in Caregivers for People with Dementia: A Population-Based Analysis of a National Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND Taking care of patients with dementia is often stressful and exhausting. The burden placed on caregivers (CGs) for care recipients with dementia (CRDs) has been reported to cause psychological distress. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychological distress experienced by CGs for CRDs and identify the sociodemographic factors affecting that distress. METHODS We utilized the 2013 Comprehensive Survey of the Living Conditions for CRDs and CGs. Linked data from 643 pairs of CRDs and CGs were extracted. Serious psychological distress experienced by CGs was measured by Kessler's Psychological Distress scale (K6) with a cutoff point of 13. Factors predictive of psychological distress were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression analysis with the forward selection method. RESULTS Overall, the mean age of the CGs was 63.5±11.6 years, and 5.3%(34/643) experienced serious psychological distress. Male sex of CRDs, knowing how to access consulting services, spending almost all day for nursing care, and having subjective symptoms within a few days of completing the survey were associated with having serious psychological distress, while older age, participating in shopping as part of the nursing activities, and having their own house were related to freedom from serious psychological distress. CONCLUSION Clinicians should be aware of the risk factors for psychological distress in CGs and consider providing support to reduce the distress imposed by modifiable factors. Further studies are warranted to examine whether such efforts would improve the mental health of CGs for CRDs.
Evaluation of Salinity Induced Modification in Growth, Biochemical and Yield Characteristics of Spring Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Cultivars

Article History Received: February 15, 2020 Revised: April 07, 2020 Accepted: April 16, 2020 Salt stress impact was appraised on different antioxidative enzymes, MDA and H2O2 in ten spring wheat cultivars i.e., S-24, Lasani, Fsd-2008, Saher-2006, Inqlab-91, AARI10, P.B-18, S.H-20, M.P-65, and G.A-20 when salinity applied at the seedling stage. The wheat cultivars were grown under saline (150 mM) and non-saline regimes (0 mM) in pots filled with sand. Diverse response in all wheat cultivars was observed in different studied attributes. Saline stress markedly decline SOD, CAT and POD conc. in different wheat cultivars. While some cultivars (S-24, Lasani, AARI-10 and GA-20) showed increase in these attributes under saline condition as compared to control. MDA and H2O2 content were increased in different wheat cultivars due to imposition of salt stress at the seedling stage. Whereas decrease in some cultivars was recorded in these attributes under saline regime than in non-saline conditions. Of all wheat cultivars, S24, Lasani, AARI-10 and GA-20 showed high antioxidative activity, less lipid peroxidation and H2O2 content in plant shoot when salt stress applied at the seedling stage. On the basis of higher antioxidative activity and less MDA and H2O2 content, these four cultivars (S-24, Lasani, AARI-10 and GA-20) could be categorized as salt tolerant as compared to others.
Plant defenses against herbivorous insects: A Review

There are complex and dynamic interactions, mainly related to food, between plants and insects since hundreds of millions of years ago. Plants have evolved several intricate kinds of defense systems to defend themselves from the herbivores for its survival. Plants lack nervous system like those of animals, but they can readily sense and respond to the insect attack through various signaling pathways in its system which further activates the direct and indirect defenses. Direct defenses include the production of toxins, digestibility reduction of insect, reallocation of resources in plants and morphological defense like thigmonasty, waxy layers on plants, trichomes, tissue toughness etc. Indirect defenses enhance the probability of attracting the natural enemies of herbivores by production of volatiles, the secretion of extra floral nectar, providing nesting spaces to the former. Another strategy of defense without actually having any resistance factor is plant tolerance. In this review, an overview of these defense systems is
Evaluation of Quality of Life After Bilateral Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy for Primary Hyperhidrosis

Background. Primary hyperhidrosis is a disorder from which 1% of the society suffers. Objectives. This present study is aimed to evaluate the effects of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy on the primary hyperhidrosis. Material and Methods. Between February 2008 and April 2010, 30 patients with primary hyperhidrosis underwent endoscopic thoracoscopic sympathectomy. Before the operation, 4 (13.3%) cases had sweating on scalp with flushing on the forehead. There was primary palmar hyperhidrosis in 25 (83.3%) cases, facial hyperhidrosis in 17 (56.6%) cases and primary plantar hyperhidrosis in 19 (63.3%) cases. The second and the third thoracic sympathetic ganglia were bilaterally cauterized in 6 (20.0%) of the cases, while 2nd, 3rd and 4th thoracic sympathetic ganglia were bilaterally cauterized in 24 (80.0%) cases. Results. Quality of life was evaluated by Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale in preoperative and postoperative period. Before the operation, 10 (33.3%) cases expressed that hyperhidrosis was barely tolerable followed by 20 (66.7%) cases expressing that hyperhidrosis was intolerable. After the operation, compensatory sweating was never noticeable in 8 (26.6%) cases, tolerable in 15 (50.0%) cases, barely tolerable in 5 (16.7%) cases, intolerable in 2 (6.6%) cases. In order to assess the quality of life before and after the operation, a scale between 1 (very poor) and 10 (very good) has been implemented. It was found that average before the operation was 7 (2–8), while average after the operation was 8.2 (6–10) (P < 0.001). Conclusions. Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy is most efficient treatment method of primary hyperhidrosis for enhancing the quality of life (Adv Clin Exp Med 2010, 19, 5, 619–624).
Combination of Natural Language Understanding and Reinforcement Learning for Booking Bot

At present, some popular messaging applications have evolved specifically with bots starting to emerge into development. One of the developments of chatbots is to help humans booking flight with Named Entity Recognition in the text, trace sentences to detect user intentions, and respond even though the context of the conversation domain is limited. This study proposes to conduct analysis and design chatbot interactions using NLU (Natural Language Understanding) with the aim that the bot understands what is meant by the user and provides the best and right response. Classification using Support Vector Machine (SVM) method with (erm FrequencyInverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) feature extraction is suitable combination methods that produce the highest accuracy value up to 97.5%. Conversation dialogue on chatbots developed using NLU which consists of NER and intent classification then dialog manager using Reinforcement Learning could make a low cost for computing in chatbots. Keywords—chat bot, natural language understanding, reinforcement learning, SVM, TF-ID, NER
Integration of Soft Skills of Graduates of the Technical University in Zvolen and Their Applicability in Slovak Business Environment. The Case Study

Higher education institutions annually produce hundreds to thousands of graduates with the same or similar education. The new graduates only with academic background compete with the graduates from previous years who have acquired some practical experience. The individual will only assert themselves through the complex of superstructure competencies and the ability to apply them effectively and practically for the benefit of the employer. The paper aims to present research focused on the analysis of soft skills and summarising the requirements for the soft skills competencies of the graduates from the Technical University in Zvolen in terms of employers’ expectations in the Slovak republic. The research was carried out in the form of a questionnaire survey, and the results of the questionnaire survey were evaluated by the method of mathematical-statistical analysis by non-parametric testing of significance. On the basis of the testing of significance, the hypothesis for specific areas of soft skills competencies was confirmed, suggesting that students’ competencies in these areas do not reach the level demanded by enterprises, and therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality of education in that area to match students’ real knowledge with business requirements. Implications for Central European audience: The global labour market requires the introduction of new competencies so that university graduates can work in a domestic or transnational context. An advantage is the added value showed by various interpersonal skills represented by soft skills. In the research, we focused on the analysis and summarising the requirements for the soft skills. Based on the testing of significance, the hypothesis of the
3-year Treatment of Tenofovir Alafenamide vs. Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate for Chronic HBV Infection in China

Background and Aims Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) has similar efficacy to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) but with improved renal and bone safety in chronic hepatitis B patients studied outside of China. We report 3-year results from two phase 3 studies with TAF in China (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02836249 and NCT02836236). Methods Chinese hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive and -negative chronic hepatitis B patients with viremia and elevated alanine aminotransferase were randomized 2:1 to TAF or TDF treatment groups and treated in a double-blind fashion for 144 weeks (3 years). Efficacy responses were assessed by individual study while safety was assessed by a pooled analysis. Results Of the 334 patients (180 HBeAg-positive and 154 HBeAg-negative) randomized and treated, baseline characteristics were similar between groups. The overall mean age was 38 years and 73% were male. The mean HBV DNA was 6.4 log10 IU/mL. The median alanine aminotransferase was 88 U/L, and 37% had a history of antiviral use. At week 144, the proportion with HBV DNA <29 IU/mL was similar among the two groups, with TAF at 83% vs. TDF at 79%, and TAF at 93% vs. TDF at 92% for the HBeAg-positive and -negative patients, respectively. In each study, higher proportions of TAF than TDF patients showed normalized alanine aminotransferase (via the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the China criteria) and showed loss of HBsAg; meanwhile, the HBeAg seroconversion rates were similar. Treatment was well-tolerated among the TAF patients, who showed a smaller median decline in creatinine clearance (−0.4 vs. −3.2 mL/min; p=0.014) and less percentage change in bone mineral density vs. TDF at hip (−0.95% vs. −1.93%) and spine (+0.35% vs. −1.40%). Conclusions In chronic hepatitis B patients from China, TAF treatment provided efficacy similar to TDF but with better renal and bone safety at 3 years.
IDENTIFICATION OF GRAIN SORGHUM RESISTANCE TO SUGARCANE APHID AND FIELD TEST OF RESPONSE BY HYMENOPTERA TO HONEYDEW By MICHAEL ADDISON CABALLERO

Grain sorghum, Sorghum bicolor, is one of the most important crops worldwide as it can be used for human consumption, biofuel, and livestock feed. In 2013, the sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari (SCA), switched host plants from their primary host, sugarcane, to sorghum, and caused substantial losses in sorghum yield. It overwinters on Johnsongrass. Sorghum halepense, and sorghum in south Texas and Mexico and has become a perineal pest. When the aphid feeds, it damages plant tissue stunting the plant, causing chlorosis, and reducing yield. SCA colonies quickly multiply and produce large amounts of sugary excretia called honeydew. Plant tolerance is an important tool for managing pest populations and a series of greenhouse trials were conducted to assess sorghum germplasm for resistance to SCA. This study tested 19 new germplasm against 1 resistant and 3 susceptible checks. The plants were evaluated for plant damage (1-9), chlorophyll content, height, and leaf number. The resistance trials discovered 11 new germplasm, which displayed resistance similar to the known resistant with two performing better than the known check. In the field, many Hymenoptera were observed visiting SCA honeydew. A series of field collections in sorghum and Johnsongrass were made to test if SCA honeydew influenced Hymenoptera diversity and abundance. Pan traps (yellow, blue, and white), and yellow sticky traps were used to collect Hymenoptera. A total of 3,950 individuals were collected with 30 families, 124 morphospecies, and 2,384 individuals from sorghum and 29 families, 121 morphospecies, and 1,566 individuals from Johnsongrass. The presence of aphids increased capture rates of the families: Halictidae, Sphecidae, Brachonidae, Encyrtidae, Mymaridae, Diapriidae, Scelionidae, and Formicidae. The Johnsongrass surveys were disrupted by mowing; however, the data were similar to sorghum trials. The results of these experiments show germplasm to combat the SCA is available and that SCA may have a positive influence on native Hymenoptera species by generating a sugar resource. These findings provide the potential for growers to place borders of susceptible sorghum around resistant cultivars to benefit insect diversity and abundance while maintaining yield.
qu an tph ] 2 1 D ec 2 01 3 Exotic States in the Dynamical Casimir Effect

Giuliano Benenti, 2 Stefano Siccardi, and Giuliano Strini CNISM and Center for Nonlinear and Complex Systems, Università degli Studi dell’Insubria, via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, Italy Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano, via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy Department of Information Technologies, University of Milan, via Bramante 65, 26013 Crema, Italy Department of Physics, University of Milan, via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
Reinforcement Learning for on-line Sequence Transformation

In simultaneous machine translation (SMT), an output sequence should be produced as soon as possible, without reading the whole input sequence. This requirement creates a trade-off between translation delay and quality because less context may be known during translation. In most SMT methods, this trade-off is controlled with parameters whose values need to be tuned. In this paper, we introduce an SMT system that learns with reinforcement and is able to find the optimal delay in training. We conduct experiments on Tatoeba and IWSLT2014 datasets against state-of-the-art translation architectures. Our method achieves comparable results on the former dataset, with better results on long sentences and worse but comparable results on the latter dataset.