A Computer Vision System to Localize and Classify Wastes on the Streets

Littering quantification is an important step for improving cleanliness of cities. When human interpretation is too cumbersome or in some cases impossible, an objective index of cleanliness could reduce the littering by awareness actions. In this paper, we present a fully automated computer vision application for littering quantification based on images taken from the streets and sidewalks. We have employed a deep learning based framework to localize and classify different types of wastes. Since there was no waste dataset available, we built our acquisition system mounted on a vehicle. Collected images containing different types of wastes. These images are then annotated for training and benchmarking the developed system. Our results on real case scenarios show accurate detection of littering on variant backgrounds

Kajian Pendampingan Pastoral Terhadap Kenakalan Pemuda Pada Masa COVID-19 Di Jemaat HKBP Jatikarya-Binjai, Sumatera Utara

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji kenakalan pemuda HKBP Jatikarya dari perspektif pendampingan pastoral dengan memusatkan perhatian kepada kenakalan pemuda yang semakin tinggi pada masa COVID-19. Penelitian menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif dengan menggunakan pendekatan deskriptif melihat substansi realitas kenakalan pemuda ketika pelaksanaan praktik pendidikan lapangan di gereja HKBP Jatikarya. Penelitian ini juga mengambil bahan referensi dari beberapa buku dan jurnal serta wawancara secara tidak terstruktur dengan pendeta, penatua gereja, orangtua/jemaat dan pemuda yang bersangkutan untuk mencapai tujuan penelitian. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ada beberapa faktor penyebab kenakalan pemuda yang terjadi pada masa COVID-19 seperti: kejenuhan dan tingkat stress, kurangnya komunikasi dan kepedulian orangtua, perkembangan teknologi yang semakin canggih dan pengaruh teman. Hal ini menyebabkan pemuda mudah stress dan emosional, memiliki sifat individualisme dan egoisme, keluar rumah tidak permisi, memaksakan kehendak dan bahkan menganggu masyarakat yang lainnya. Untuk itulah perlu adanya pendampingan pastoral untuk mendampingi pemuda dalam menyikapi faktor-faktor penyebab kenakalan dan pemuda perlu mendapatkan perhatian khusus sebagai upaya pencapaian untuk mengurangi dan bahkan menghindari dampak daripada kenakalan pemuda yang terjadi tersebut. Penelitian ini lebih lanjut juga direkomendasikan untuk peneliti selanjutnya yang ingin mengembangkan model pendampingan pastoral terhadap kenakalan pemuda yang disebabkan karena adanya faktor yang lainnya. Sehingga, harapan kedepannya pemuda bisa lebih diperhatikan dan diberikan perhatian khusus dengan melalukan pendampingan.This study aims to look at HKBP Jatikarya's juvenile delinquency from the perspective of pastoral assistance with a focus on juvenile delinquency which increased during the COVID-19 period. This study uses a qualitative research method with a descriptive approach to see the substance of the reality of juvenile delinquency when conducting field education practices at the HKBP Jatikarya church. This study also took reference materials from several books and journals as well as unstructured interviews with pastors, church leaders, parents/congregations and the youth concerned to achieve the research objectives. The results showed that there were several factors causing juvenile delinquency that occurred during the COVID-19 period, such as: boredom and stress levels, lack of communication and attention from parents, increasingly sophisticated technological developments and the influence of friends. This causes adolescents to be easily stressed and emotional, have individualistic and selfish traits, leave the house without permission, force their will and even disturb other people. For this reason, pastoral assistance is needed to assist adolescents in overcoming the factors that cause juvenile delinquency and juvenile delinquency needs special attention as an achievement effort to reduce and even avoid the impact of juvenile delinquency that occurs. This research is also recommended for future researchers who want to develop a pastoral assistance model for juvenile delinquency caused by other factors. So it is hoped that in the future the younger generation can pay more attention and give special attention to them by providing assistance

Oxygen-minimum zone sediments in the northeastern Arabian Sea Sea off Pakistan: a habitat for the bacterium Thioploca

Filamentous sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and geochemical parameters of sediments at the Makran accretionary wedge in the northeastern Arabian Sea off Pakistan were studied. The upper continental slope between 350 and 850 m water depth, which is in the center of the oxygen-minimum zone, is characterized by numerous sites of small-scale seeps of methane- and sulfide-charged porewater. White bacterial mats with diameters <1 m were discovered at the surface of these sites using a photo-TV sled. Seep sediments, as well as non-seep sediments, in the vicinity were characterized by the occurrence of the bacterium Thioploca in near-surface layers between 0 and 13 cm depth. Thioploca bundles were up to 20 mm in length and contained up to 20 filaments of varying diameters, between 3 and 75 µm. Up to 169 ind. cm-2 were counted. Maximum numbers occurred in the top 9 cm of sediment, which contained very low concentrations of soluble sulfide (<0.2 µM) and high amounts of elemental sulfur (up to 10 µmol cm-3). Moderate sulfate reduction activity (between 20 and 190 nmol cm-3 d-1) was detected in the top 10 cm of these sediments, resulting in a gradual downcore decrease of sulfate concentrations. CO2 fixation rates had distinct maxima at the sediment surface and declined to background values below 5 cm depth. The nutritional implications of the distinct morphology of Thioploca and of the geochemical setting are discussed and compared to other sites containing Thioploca communities

Decadal-centennial scale monsoon variations in the Arabian Sea during the Early Holocene

An essential prerequisite for the prediction of future climate change due to anthropogenic input is an understanding of the natural processes that control Earth's climate on timescales comparable to human-lifespan. The Early Holocene period was chosen to study the natural climate variability in a warm interval when solar insolation was at its maximum. The monsoonal system of the Tropics is highly sensitive to seasonal variations in solar insolation, and consequently marine sediments from the region are a potential monitor of past climate change. Here we show that during the Early Holocene period rapid

Evolution and Sedimentary History of the Cape Bojador Continental Margin, Northwestern Africa

The Cape Bojador region of the northwestern African continental margin is apparently an unusual passive margin setting. Climatic fluctuations, local volcanism, and possibly tectonics have played important roles in the sedimentary record in this region. A transect of drilling sites connected by seismic profiles is available from the coastal Aaiun Basin (CORC 15-1), across the shelf (Spansah 51A-1), on the continental slope (DSDP Site 369), the upper continental rise (DSDP Site 397), farther out on the rise (e.g., DSDP Sites 139 and 140), and the abyssal plain (DSDP Sites 137 and 138). These data allow construction of a profile perpendicular to the margin, and reconstruction of the sedimentary evolution there

Wisdom and Folly in the city: exploring urban contexts in the book of Proverbs

AbstractProverbs 1–9 is often said to have a city background that contrasts with the agricultural imagery dominant in the maxims sections. However, this is an oversimplification. There are also maxims in the main Proverbs collection that concern the city, and the city background revealed within Proverbs 1–9 links up with the portrayal of the ‘capable wife’ in Proverbs 31:10–33. Having established the presence of city references throughout Proverbs, this article explores how the portrayal of Woman Wisdom and Woman Folly in particular gives fascinating insight into the heart of happenings in the Israelite city

Mir34a constrains pancreatic carcinogenesis

Several studies have shown that over 70 different microRNAs are aberrantly expressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), affecting proliferation, apoptosis, metabolism, EMT and metastasis. The most important genetic alterations driving PDAC are a constitutive active mutation of the oncogene Kras and loss of function of the tumour suppressor Tp53 gene. Since the MicroRNA 34a (Mir34a) is a direct target of Tp53 it may critically contribute to the suppression of PDAC. Mir34a is epigenetically silenced in numerous cancers, including PDAC, where Mir34a down-regulation has been associated with poor patient prognosis. To determine whether Mir34a represents a suppressor of PDAC formation we generated an in vivo PDAC-mouse model harbouring pancreas-specific loss of Mir34a (Kras(G12D);Mir34a(Delta/Delta)). Histological analysis of Kras(G12D);Mir34a(Delta/Delta) mice revealed an accelerated formation of pre-neoplastic lesions and a faster PDAC development, compared to Kras(G12D) controls. Here we show that the accelerated phenotype is driven by an early up-regulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNFA and IL6 in normal acinar cells and accompanied by the recruitment of immune cells. Our results imply that Mir34a restrains PDAC development by modulating the immune microenvironment of PDAC, thus defining Mir34a restauration as a potential therapeutic strategy for inhibition of PDAC development