A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, and so is an Emojis Emojisfication of Language: A Pragmatic Analysis of Facebook Discourse

This research study aims to examine language change occurring in written discourse due to increase in the usage of emojis and the way emojis, in comparison to words, are performing communicative functions on social media platforms such as Facebook. The study focused on Pakistani Facebook users. For the study, Facebook is one of the most authentic social media platforms because 71.75 % (Internet Word Stat) of Pakistani internet users use Facebook which is the highest statistics among all social media applications. In order to investigate the recent language change and communicative functions performed by emojis, we utilized Speech act theory as it strives to investigate that by uttering something a speaker is indeed performing a social action, thus named as “Speech act”. Searle’s (1979) model of Illocutionary act in Speech act theory will particularly be used for the study. In addition to that, Dresner & Herring (2010) state that that smileys/ emojis function as illocutionary force, this theory will be applied to strengthen the argument. Moreover, for the collection of data, Discourse Completion Task/Test were used to collect elicit responses from the participants of focused groups. These focused groups contained students and faculty members from NUML and AIR Universities. The study concluded that, indeed, there is an arousing change in the written communication because younger generation uses emojis as compared to the aged people. The new forms of digital written communication (Facebook) has an immense amount of emojis instead of words for expression of their emotions. Emojis play vital role in conveying the “expressive” speech act in written communication and use of words is becoming lesser. They are pragmatically as competent as the words in the in communication, they fill the gap of facial expressions in the written mode of communication

Vertical workflows: Service orchestration across cloud & edge resources

Currently devices used for data capture often differ from those that are used to subsequently carry out analysis on such data. Many Internet of Things (IoT) applications today involve data capture from sensors that are close to the phenomenon being measured, with such data subsequently being transmitted to Cloud data centers for analysis and storage. Increasing availability of storage and processing devices closer to the data capture device, perhaps over a one-hop network connection or even directly connected to the IoT device itself, requires more efficient allocation of processing across such edge devices and data centers. We refer to these as "vertical workflows" – i.e. workflows which are enacted across resources that can vary in: (i) type and behaviour; (ii) processing and storage capacity; (iii) latency and security profiles. Understanding how a workflow pipeline can be enacted across these resource types is outlined, motivated through two scenarios. The overall objective considered is the completion of the workflow within some deadline constraint, but with flexibility on where data processing is carried out

The Impact of Processing Methods and Conditions on Nutritional Properties of Soybean-Based Tofu: A Review

The soybean seed is used for the preparation of protein rich tofu. Along with protein, it is also rich in many other nutrients including carbohydrate, crude fibre, carbohydrate, fat, minerals, and isoflavones. Antinutrients are also present in tofu, although the concentration is less that the raw grains. The nutrient content is affected by the tofu preparation method used starting from selection of suitable soybean seed, seed soaking, sprouting, soymilk production and coagulation using different types of natural and artificial coagulants. These procedures also affect the textural properties of the tofu and their shelf life

Impact of Project Leadership on Project Success: Mediated by Project Governance and Moderated by Goal Clarity

This study investigates the connections between project leadership, governance, goal clarity, and project success in Pakistan's Civil Engineering (Private) sector. Data was collected from employees using a quantitative approach. A questionnaire was distributed to gather information on project governance, goal clarity, and project success. The results showed a strong relationship between project leadership and project success, with a robust governance framework impacting project leadership effectiveness. Goal clarity moderated the relationship, emphasising the importance of well-defined objectives. The study emphasises the critical role of project leadership in Pakistan's civil engineering sector, emphasising the importance of solid project management frameworks and clear objectives. This information is crucial for organisations and project managers seeking to improve project performance in the dynamic environment of Pakistani civil engineering projects

Anaesthetic Practices and Maternal Outcome in Rising Placenta Accreta Spectrum in Tertiary Care Hospital

Objective: This study was carried out to determine whether the rate of abnormal placentation is increasing in concurrence with the cesarean section and to assess risk factors and outcomes with multidisciplinary team interventions and anesthetic practices. Study design: Prospective cohort study. Material & Methods: A study was conducted in the department of anaesthesia from January 2014 to December 2017. All candidates under the spectrum of placenta accreta were observed for maternal age, parity, mode of anesthesia, blood loss, and outcome. Results: Out of 109 patients, the preoperative diagnosis of PAS was made up of 100 (91.74%) and intraoperative diagnosis of 9 (08. 26%) patients. According to the mode of anesthesia, 100 (91.74%) patients received GA, and 09 (08.26%) patients received spinal anesthesia. In 06 (05.49%) patients, spinal was converted to GA. Perioperative CPR was done in 05 (04.58%) cases. Out of 109 cases, 83 survived uneventfully, and 21 developed complications. 05 patients expired in the following days. (01 immediately postoperative period, 02 in 1st 24 hours and 02 in 1st 48 hours. Conclusion The rate of placenta accreta increased in conjunction with cesarean deliveries; the most important risk factors were previous cesarean delivery, placenta previa, and advanced maternal age and outcomes improved in a multidisciplinary team intervention

Deadline constrained video analysis via in-transit computational environments

Combining edge processing (at data capture site) with analysis carried out while data is enroute from the capture site to a data center offers a variety of different processing models. Such in-transit nodes include network data centers that have generally been used to support content distribution (providing support for data multicast and caching), but have recently started to offer user-defined programmability, through Software Defined Networks (SDN) capability, e.g. OpenFlow and Network Function Visualization (NFV). We demonstrate how this multi-site computational capability can be aggregated to support video analytics, with Quality of Service and cost constraints (e.g. latency-bound analysis). The use of SDN technology enables separation of the data path from the control path, enabling in-network processing capabilities to be supported as data is migrated across the network. We propose to leverage SDN capability to gain control over the data transport service with the purpose of dynamically establishing data routes such that we can opportunistically exploit the latent computational capabilities located along the network path. Using a number of scenarios, we demonstrate the benefits and limitations of this approach for video analysis, comparing this with the baseline scenario of undertaking all such analysis at a data center located at the core of the infrastructure.TS

Inter-observer variability in diagnosing radiological features of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage; a preliminary single centre study comparing observers from different specialties and levels of training

BACKGROUND: A noncontrast computed tomography (CT) scan remains the initial radiological investigation of choice for a patient with suspected aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). This initial scan may be used to derive key information about the underlying aneurysm which may aid in further management. The interpretation, however, is subject to the skill and experience of the interpreting individual. The authors here evaluate the interpretation of such CT scans by different individuals at different levels of training, and in two different specialties (Radiology and Neurosurgery). METHODS: Initial nonontrast CT scan of 35 patients with aSAH was evaluated independently by four different observers. The observers selected for the study included two from Radiology and two from Neurosurgery at different levels of training; a resident currently in mid training and a resident who had recently graduated from training of each specialty. Measured variables included interpreter's suspicion of presence of subarachnoid blood, side of the subarachnoid hemorrhage, location of the aneurysm, the aneurysm's proximity to vessel bifurcation, number of aneurysm(s), contour of aneurysm(s), presence of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), infarction, hydrocephalus and midline shift. To determine the inter-observer variability (IOV), weighted kappa values were calculated. RESULTS: There was moderate agreement on most of the CT scan findings among all observers. Substantial agreement was found amongst all observers for hydrocephalus, IVH, and ICH. Lowest agreement rates were seen in the location of aneurysm being supra or infra tentorial. There were, however, some noteworthy exceptions. There was substantial to almost perfect agreement between the radiology graduate and radiology resident on most CT findings. The lowest agreement was found between the neurosurgery graduate and the radiology graduate. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that although agreements were seen in the interpretation of some of the radiological features of aSAH, there is still considerable IOV in the interpretation of most features among physicians belonging to different levels of training and different specialties. Whether these might affect management or outcome is unclear