RECOGNITION OF HUMAN FACES IN VIDEO CONFERENCE APPLICATIONS USING THE CNN PIPELINE

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced daily face-to-face activities to be carried out online using video conferencing applications. To record participant participation in meetings using a video conference application, an online form application is used. However, participants sometimes do not see this and are often missed due to the large number of incoming chats. Therefore, the use of face detection for attendance using a combination of CNN to detect all the faces in a video conference using YOLO Face and CNN to recognize the owner of a face using Smaller VGG in a pipeline will make it easier to recognize participants who are present at the video conference. The results of the Smaller VGG training are obtained, namely the loss value of 0.059, the accuracy value is 0.995, the recall value is 0.994, the precision value is 0.996. Meanwhile, for the validation phase of the model, the loss value is 0.497, the accuracy value is 0.979, the recall value is 0.979 and the precision value is 0.981. In terms of training duration, the smaller VGG has a duration of 4 minutes and 16 seconds. The Smaller VGG model was combined with YOLO to create a CNN pipeline and was successful in recognizing the faces of video conference participant

Genesee River Watershed Project. Volume 5. Water Quality Analysis of the Canaseraga Creek Watershed Nutrient Concentration and Loading, Identification of Point and Nonpoint Sources of Pollution, Total Maximum Daily Load, and an Assessment of Management Practices using the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) Model. A report to the USDA.

An assessment of the Canaseraga Creek watershed was undertaken to determine the nutrient and sediment contribution to the Lower Middle Main Stem of the Genesee River and to determine sources of nutrient and sediment loss geospatially within the Canaseraga Creek watershed. To accomplish this task, a multifaceted, integrated approach was taken by a combination of monitoring, segment analysis, and modeling (Soil and Water Assessment Tool). Thus, the river was monitored for discharge, water chemistry, and loss of nutrients and soil for an entire year (3 August 2010 to 14 February 2012) at the USGS stations at Shaker’s Crossing and Dansville, NY. The Canaseraga Creek Soil and Water Assessment Tool (CCSWAT) model was created, calibrated, and verified for discharge, sediment, and P loss using these data. Based on the measured loading data to a subbasin outlet and the SWAT model, segment analysis was performed on selected subwatersheds to determine sources of material loss. Together these two bodies of information, the total amount of nutrients, sediments, and bacteria lost from the watershed and the sources of these losses, served to direct watershed management. Lastly, the CCSWAT model was employed to test the effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMPs) on land use and to determine the minimum potential P concentration expected in a forested Canaseraga Creek watershed. With approximately 76.7% of its phosphorus load from anthropogenic sources, the largest subbasin (88,578 ha) of the Genesee River, Canaseraga Creek, should be a high priority for water quality remediation. Reducing phosphorus loads from Canaseraga Creek into the Genesee River is an important step to reduce the impact that the Genesee River has on water quality in the nearshore zone of Lake Ontario. In general, nonpoint sources of agriculture were identified as the leading cause of phosphorus loss in Canaseraga Creek through segment analysis, determination of weekly and event water chemistry, and integration into the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. Of the various BMPs simulated throughout the whole watershed, grassed waterways were the most effective in reducing TP loading (44.8% reduction) and reducing TP concentration (69.9 μg P/L) at Shaker’s Crossing. But grassed waterways by themselves did not reach either of the target (45 and 65 μg P/L) TP concentrations. Simulations combining grassed waterways with upgraded (tertiary) WWTPs foe the entire watershed resulted in a decreased P concentration of 49.7 μg P/L at Shaker’s Crossing. This simulation suggested a 65 μg P/L is a realistic target concentration and that the 45-μg P/L target may be met with more stringent BMPs. A less costly approach is to focus remediation to a smaller area known to deliver P to the streams. For example, by implementing grassed waterways in the impacted tributaries of Twomile and Buck Run Creeks and the Groveland Flats area, by implementing streambank stabilization in highly erodible main stem areas, and by upgrading WWTPs to tertiary treatment (Tributary Remediation 3), the CCSWAT model predicted a reduction in TP concentration from 104.3 to 71.6 μg P/L

Americans on Solving the Medicare Shortfall

A policymaking simulation is an online process that puts citizens in the shoes of elected officials by simulating the process they go through in making policy decisions. Each simulation introduces a broader policy topic and then presents a series of modules that address a specific policy option that is currently under consideration in the current discourse. For each module, respondents: 1) receive a short briefing on a policy issue and the option or options for addressing it; 2) evaluate arguments for and against the policy options; and 3) finally, make their recommendation for what their elected officials should do.Given current policy crosscurrents, it is little wonder that even raising the subject of Medicare policy seems to open the door to anxiety among the public and among Medicare recipients. This consultation seeks to provide a framework that lets the public consider multiple possible changes that experts have evaluated and scored, without being locked into an “either/or” choice of keeping everything the same versus changing the nature of Medicare. DEVELOPMENT OF THE POLICYMAKING SIMULATION The present policymaking simulation includes eleven different options estimated to aid Medicare’s fiscal condition over the next 25 years, as the babyboomer generation passes through the program. These options selected were previously scored by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), except for one scored by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission or MEDPAC, another independent agency that advises Congress. They considered sixteen reform options which fell under four categories: Reducing Medicare’s Net Payments for Benefits Reducing Payments to Providers Increasing Revenues Controlling Costs in Other Way

The Hall of Mirrors Perceptions and Misperceptions in the Congressional Foreign Policy Process

Explores several factors related to an inconsistency in the voting record by the U.S. Congress on foreign policy issues, compared with the position taken by the public, administration officials, and leaders in business, labor, media, and education

Outcomes of Visceral Arterial Reconstruction: A Systematic Review

Aims: The study aimed to review the use of synthetic grafts (SGs) and autologous vein grafts (AVGs) in visceral arterial reconstruction (VAR) in chronic visceral ischaemia. Methods: Systematic review methodology was employed. Results: Six studies were included (218 patients and 281 vessels). Two studies had data about AVG only, 3 had data about SG only and 1 had both AVG and SG data. Three studies reported outcomes for AVG (117 patients and 132 vessels revascularized). One-year primary patency was 87% (95% CI 71%, 97%). Graft thrombosis rate was 6% (95% CI 0%, 16%). Pooled stenosis rate at one-year was 11% (95% CI 1%, 28%). The 30-day (n = 96), one-year (n = 72) and 5-year mortality (n = 30) were 0%, 0% and 12%, respectively. Four studies reported outcomes for SGs (106 patients and 147 vessels). The pooled primary patency at one year was 100% (95% CI 99%, 100%). Pooled primary 5-year patency rate was 88% (95% CI 69%, 100%). There was no graft infection in 2 of the 3 studies. Overall pooled percentage of graft thrombosis and stenosis at one year was 0%. Jimenez et al. (2002) reported one graft thrombosis at 20 months and graft stenosis in 2 patients at 46 and 49 months. Illuminati et al (2017) reported graft thrombosis in 2/24 patients at 22 and 52 months. Thirty days, one-year and 5-year mortality was 1% (95% CI 0%, 6), 7% (95% CI 0%, 20%) and 39% (95% CI 11%), respectively. Conclusion: Patency was better with SG compared with AVG. Mortality was higher in the SG group. Graft dilatation does occur with vein grafts, but in this review no intervention was found necessary. Poorly designed studies, incomplete reporting and absence of morbidity and mortality indices preclude emphatic conclusions

Notes on Contributions to the Science of Rare Earth Element Enrichment in Coal and Coal Combustion Byproducts

Coal and coal combustion byproducts can have significant concentrations of lanthanides (rare earth elements). Rare earths are vital in the production of modern electronics and optics, among other uses. Enrichment in coals may have been a function of a number of processes, with contributions from volcanic ash falls being among the most significant mechanisms. In this paper, we discuss some of the important coal-based deposits in China and the US and critique classification systems used to evaluate the relative value of the rare earth concentrations and the distribution of the elements within the coals and coal combustion byproducts

Faith and Global Policy Challenges

In an effort to understand how the general public and individuals with specific religious traditions think that their spiritual faith intersects with global policy challenges, the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and its Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) conducted a public opinion poll. This poll is part of a larger effort to engage faith communities in addressing these challenges. As national governments and civil society contend with these issues, the involvement of religious communities and the application of their convictions could prove decisive.A CISSM/PIPA/Knowledge Network pol