Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of the stair vision library within the ISPRS 2D semantic labeling benchmark (Vaihingen)

This report describes experiments conducted using the multi-class image classification framework implemented in the stair vision library (SVL, (Gould et al., 2008)) in the context of the ISPRS 2D semantic labeling benchmark. The motivation was to get results from a well-established and public available software (Gould, 2014), as a kind of baseline. Besides the use of features implemented in the SVL which makes use of three channel images, assuming RGB, we also included features derived from the height model and the NDVI which is specific here, because the benchmark dataset provides surface models and CIR images. Another point of interest concerned the impact the segmentation had on the overall result. To this end a pre-study was performed where different parameters for the graph-based segmentation method introduced by Felzenszwalb and Huttelocher (2004) have been tested, in addition we only applied a simple chessboard segmentation. Other experiments focused on the question whether the conditional random field classification approach helps to enhance the overall performance. The official evaluation of all experiments described here is available at http://www2.isprs. org/vaihingen-2d-semantic-labeling-contest.html (SVL_1 to SVL_6). The normalized height models are available through the ReseachGate profile of the author (http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Markus_Gerke)
Shock-cloud interaction in the Vela SNR. II. Hydrodynamic model

Context. In the framework of the study of the X-ray and optical emission in supernova remnants we focus on an isolated X-ray knot in the northern rim of the Vela SNR (Vela FilD), whose X-ray emission has been studied and discussed in Paper I. Aims. We aim at understanding the physical origin of the X-ray and optical emission in FilD, at understanding the role of the different physical processes at work, and at obtaining a key for the interpretation of future X-ray observations of SNRs. Methods. To this end we have pursued an accurate “forward” modeling of the interaction of the Vela SNR shock with an ISM cloud. We perform hydrodynamic simulations and we directly compare the observables synthesized from the simulations with the data. Results. We explore four different model setups, choosing the values of the physical parameters on the basis of our preliminary analysis of the X-ray data. We synthesize X-ray emission maps and spectra filtered through the XMM-Newton EPIC-MOS instrumental response. The impact of a shock front at 6 million Kelvin on an elliptical cloud 30 times denser than the ambient medium describes well the shock-cloud interaction processes in the Vela FilD region in terms of spectral properties and morphology of the X-ray and optical emission. Conclusions. The bulk of the X-ray emission in the FilD knot originates in the cloud material heated by the transmitted shock front, but significant X-ray emission is also associated to the cloud material, which evaporates, as an effect of thermal conduction, in the intercloud medium. The physical origin of the FilD optical emission is associated to thermal instabilities. In the FilD knot the X-ray emission associated to the reflected shock front is negligible.
Effects of Nitric Oxide on Neuromuscular Properties of Developing Zebrafish Embryos

Nitric oxide is a bioactive signalling molecule that is known to affect a wide range of neurodevelopmental processes. However, its functional relevance to neuromuscular development is not fully understood. Here we have examined developmental roles of nitric oxide during formation and maturation of neuromuscular contacts in zebrafish. Using histochemical approaches we show that elevating nitric oxide levels reduces the number of neuromuscular synapses within the axial swimming muscles whilst inhibition of nitric oxide biosynthesis has the opposite effect. We further show that nitric oxide signalling does not change synapse density, suggesting that the observed effects are a consequence of previously reported changes in motor axon branch formation. Moreover, we have used in vivo patch clamp electrophysiology to examine the effects of nitric oxide on physiological maturation of zebrafish neuromuscular junctions. We show that developmental exposure to nitric oxide affects the kinetics of spontaneous miniature end plate currents and impacts the neuromuscular drive for locomotion. Taken together, our findings implicate nitrergic signalling in the regulation of zebrafish neuromuscular development and locomotor maturation.
Genetic Characterization of Continually Evolving Highly Pathogenic H5N6 Influenza Viruses in China, 2012–2016

H5N6 is a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and a zoonotic disease that causes recurring endemics in East Asia. At least 155 H5N6 outbreaks, including 15 human infections, have been reported in China. These repeated outbreaks have increased concern that the H5N6 virus may cross over to humans and cause a pandemic. In February, 2016, peafowls in a breeding farm exhibited a highly contagious disease. Post-mortem examinations, including RT-PCR, and virus isolation, confirmed that the highly pathogenic H5N6 influenza virus was the causative agent, and the strain was named A/Pavo Cristatus/Jiangxi/JA1/2016. In animal experiments, it exhibited high pathogenicity in chickens and an estimated median lethal dose in mice of ~104.3 TCID50. A phylogenetic analysis showed that JA1/2016 was clustered in H5 clade 2.3. 4.4. FG594-like H5N6 virus from Guangdong Province was the probable predecessor of JA1/2016, and the estimated divergence time was June 2014. Furthermore, we found that H5N6 influenza viruses can be classified into the two following groups: Group 1 and Group 2. Group 2 influenza viruses have not been detected since the end of 2014, whereas Group 1 influenza viruses have continually evolved and reassorted with the “gene pool” circulating in south China, resulting in the rise of novel subtypes of this influenza virus. An increase in the number of its identified hosts, the expanding range of its distribution, and the continual evolution of H5N6 AIVs enhance the risk that an H5N6 virus may spread to other continents and cause a pandemic.
Overcoming cultural barriers to sharing knowledge

Culture is often seen as the key inhibitor of effective knowledge sharing. A study of companies where sharing knowledge is built into the culture found that they did not change their culture to match their knowledge management initiatives. They adapted their approach to knowledge management to fit their culture. They did this by: linking sharing knowledge to solving practical business problems; tying sharing knowledge to a pre‐existing core value; introducing knowledge management in a way that matches the organization’s style; building on existing networks people use in their daily work; and encouraging peers and supervisors to exert pressure to share.
Consumption and emotions among college students toward chocolate product

Abstract This study examined college students’ consumption frequency of different amounts of chocolate. It measured emotions related to consumption including guilt, craving, hunger, mindfulness and investigated how these are related to demographics including age, race, education, body mass index, and exercise frequency. A total of 89 college students complete a 53-item questionnaire. The survey was administered online through Qualtrics Survey Software. Of the 89 participants, ages ranged from 18–64, 72 participants (82%) were white. The mean (SD) mindfulness score was 36.3 (13.2), craving score was 25.0 (7.1), guilt score 28.4 (18.8) and hunger score 8.1 (2.4). There was a significant association between age and guilt (p = 0.012) and age (p = 0.002) and education (p = 0.006) and hunger. In conclusion, age was found to be the most significant factor related to chocolate consumption and the emotions associated including hunger and guilt.
Neuroinflammation and Virus Replication in the Spinal Cord of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus–Infected Macaques

Abstract Studies of neurologic diseases induced by simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in Asian macaques have contributed greatly to the current understanding of human immunodeficiency virus pathogenesis in the brain and peripheral nervous system. Detailed investigations into SIV-induced alterations in the spinal cord, a critical sensorimotor relay point between the brain and the peripheral nervous system, have yet to be reported. In this study, lumbar spinal cords from SIV-infected pigtailed macaques were examined to quantify SIV replication and associated neuroinflammation. In untreated SIV-infected animals, there was a strong correlation between amount of SIV RNA in the spinal cord and expression of the macrophage marker CD68 and the key proinflammatory mediators tumor necrosis factor and CCL2. We also found a significant correlation between SIV-induced alterations in the spinal cord and the degree of distal epidermal nerve fiber loss among untreated animals. Spinal cord changes (including elevated glial fibrillary acidic protein immunostaining and enhanced CCL2 gene expression) also were present in SIV-infected antiretroviral drug–treated animals despite SIV suppression. A fuller understanding of the complex virus and host factor dynamics in the spinal cord during human immunodeficiency virus infection will be critical in the development of new treatments for human immunodeficiency virus–associated sensory neuropathies and studies aimed at eradicating the virus from the central nervous system.
Tail Decay Rates in Double QBD Processes and Related Reflected Random Walks

A double quasi-birth-and-death (QBD) process is the QBD process whose background process is a homogeneous birth-and-death process, which is a synonym of a skip-free random walk in the two-dimensional positive quadrant with homogeneous reflecting transitions at each boundary face. It is also a special case of a 0-partially homogenous chain introduced by Borovkov and Mogul'skii. Our main interest is in the tail decay behavior of the stationary distribution of the double QBD process in the coordinate directions and that of its marginal distributions. In particular, our problem is to get their rough and exact asymptotics from primitive modeling data. We first solve this problem using the matrix analytic method. We then revisit the problem for the 0-partially homogenous chain, refining existing results. We exemplify the decay rates for Jackson networks and their modifications.
Human Variation in Overriding Attentional Capture

Attention can be directed either voluntarily based on the goals of the individual or involuntarily “captured” by salient stimuli in the immediate environment. Although involuntary capture is a critical means of directing attention, the completion of many common tasks requires our ability to ignore salient, but otherwise irrelevant stimuli while restricting our attention to stimuli that are related to our goals. Here, we report neurophysiological measures of spatial attention in humans that gauge an individual's ability to resist attentional capture from salient but irrelevant information. By measuring the rapid reallocation of spatial attention immediately after the onset of distractors, we observe that the ability to override attentional capture varies substantially across individuals and is strongly predicted by the specific working memory capacity of each person. High-capacity individuals were much more capable of resisting attentional capture than low-capacity individuals, who involuntarily reallocated spatial attention when distractors were present in the display. These results provide evidence that the poor attentional abilities associated with low memory capacity may stem from an inability to override attentional capture in the initial moments after the onset of distracting information.
Maglev: A Fast and Reliable Software Network Load Balancer

Maglev is Google's network load balancer. It is a large distributed software system that runs on commodity Linux servers. Unlike traditional hardware network load balancers, it does not require a specialized physical rack deployment, and its capacity can be easily adjusted by adding or removing servers. Network routers distribute packets evenly to the Maglev machines via Equal Cost Multipath (ECMP); each Maglev machine then matches the packets to their corresponding services and spreads them evenly to the service endpoints. To accommodate high and ever-increasing traffic, Maglev is specifically optimized for packet processing performance. A single Maglev machine is able to saturate a 10Gbps link with small packets. Maglev is also equipped with consistent hashing and connection tracking features, to minimize the negative impact of unexpected faults and failures on connection-oriented protocols. Maglev has been serving Google's traffic since 2008. It has sustained the rapid global growth of Google services, and it also provides network load balancing for Google Cloud Platform.
Robots, Industry 4.0 and Humans, or Why Assembly Work Is More than Routine Work

This article condenses the key findings of qualitative studies on assembly work. Grounded conceptually in considerations of the role of experiential knowledge and living labor capacity with regard to informal expertise and tacit knowledge, the empirical results challenge the dominant view of assembly work as routine tasks that could easily be replaced by robotics. The empirical basis comprised of 62 qualitative interviews in five assembly plants provides answers to two questions: Are there non-routine aspects to be found in assembly work today? What exactly is the nature of experience in assembly work? The detailed research results are presented in three steps: the first focuses on the role of the non-routine in core assembly tasks; the second discusses the important and increasing role played by interactive capabilities in assembly work to ensure high performance, quality, and a smooth material flow; and the third highlights the usually neglected role of assembly workers in processes of innovation and organizational learning. The concluding chapter discusses the findings from the perspective of new technological options in robotics, possible worker resistance and effects on employment.
Effect of Sucralfate on the Relative Bioavailability of Enrofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin in Healthy Fed Dogs

Background Sucralfate impairs absorption of ciprofloxacin and other fluoroquinolones in humans, but no sucralfate–fluoroquinolone interaction has been reported in dogs. Veterinary formularies recommend avoiding concurrent administration of these medications, which might impact compliance, therapeutic success, and resistance selection from fluoroquinolones. Objectives To determine whether a drug interaction exists when sucralfate is administered to fed dogs concurrently with ciprofloxacin or enrofloxacin, and whether a 2 hour delay between fluoroquinolone and sucralfate affects fluoroquinolone absorption. Animals Five healthy Greyhounds housed in a research colony. Methods This was a randomized crossover study. Treatments included oral ciprofloxacin (C) or oral enrofloxacin (E) alone, each fluoroquinolone concurrently with an oral suspension of sucralfate (CS, ES), and sucralfate suspension 2 hours after each fluoroquinolone (C2S, E2S). Fluoroquinolone concentrations were evaluated using liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. Results Drug exposure of ciprofloxacin was highly variable (AUC 5.52–22.47 h μg/mL) compared to enrofloxacin (AUC 3.86–7.50 h μg/mL). The mean relative bioavailability for ciprofloxacin and concurrent sucralfate was 48% (range 8–143%) compared to ciprofloxacin alone. Relative bioavailability of ciprofloxacin improved to 87% (range 37–333%) when sucralfate was delayed by 2 hours. By contrast, relative bioavailability for enrofloxacin and concurrent sucralfate was 104% (94–115%). Conclusions and Clinical Importance A possible clinically relevant drug interaction for the relative bioavailability of ciprofloxacin with sucralfate was found. No significant difference in bioavailability was documented for enrofloxacin with sucralfate. Further research is warranted in fasted dogs and clinical cases requiring enrofloxacin or other approved fluoroquinolones in combination with sucralfate.
Clustered intrinsic connections in cat visual cortex

The intrinsic connections of the cortex have long been known to run vertically, across the cortical layers. In the present study we have found that individual neurons in the cat primary visual cortex can communicate over suprisingly long distances horizontally (up to 4 mm), in directions parallel to the cortical surface. For all of the cells having widespread projections, the collaterals within their axonal fields were distributed in repeating clusters, with an average periodicity of 1 mm. This pattern of extensive clustered projections has been revealed by combining the techniques of intracellular recording and injection of horseradish peroxidase with three- dimensional computer graphic reconstructions. The clustering pattern was most apparent when the cells were rotated to present a view parallel to the cortical surface. The pattern was observed in more than half of the pyramidal and spiny stellate cells in the cortex and was seen in all cortical layers. In our sample, cells made distant connections within their own layer and/or within another layer. The axon of one cell had clusters covering the same area in two layers, and the clusters in the deeper layer were located under those in the upper layer, suggesting a relationship between the clustering phenomenon and columnar cortical architecture. Some pyramidal cells did not project into the white matter, forming intrinsic connections exclusively. Finally, the axonal fields of all our injected cells were asymmetric, extending for greater distances along one cortical axis than along the orthogonal axis. The axons appeared to cover areas of cortex representing a larger part of the visual field than that covered by the excitatory portion of the cell's own receptive field. These connections may be used to generate larger receptive fields or to produce the inhibitory flanks in other cells' receptive fields.
POTENTIAL OF, AND CONSTRAINTS TO, SMALLHOLDER SUGARCANE PRODUCTION IN SWAZILAND

Smallholder development in Swaziland first occurred in the 1960s with the establishment of Vuvulane Irrigated Farms. Some smaller projects followed about twenty years later, and major expansion plans were put forward in the early 1990s. This larger development is mainly on Swazi Nation Land (SNL) in both the North and South of the country. This paper reviews the successes and failures in the earlier projects, and uses this information as a guide to meet the challenges of the new expansion that is planned.
Random walks and isoperimetric profiles under moment conditions

Let $G$ be a finitely generated group equipped with a finite symmetric generating set and the associated word length function $|\cdot |$. We study the behavior of the probability of return for random walks driven by symmetric measures $\mu$ that are such that $\sum \rho(|x|)\mu(x) 0$. For this purpose we develop new relations between the isoperimetric profiles associated with different symmetric probability measures. These techniques allow us to obtain a sharp $L^2$-version of Erschler's inequality concerning the F\o lner functions of wreath products. Examples and assorted applications are included.
Minocycline delays but does not attenuate the course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in Streptococcus pneumoniae-infected mice.

OBJECTIVES Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), can be aggravated by a mild Streptococcus pneumoniae infection. This study was performed to assess whether treatment with antibiotics inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis reduces the detrimental effect of infection on the course of EAE. METHODS In vitro, release of proinflammatory pneumococcal products was studied by enzyme immunoassay and western blot. Seven days after induction of EAE (prior to the onset of symptoms) mice were infected intraperitoneally with S. pneumoniae and treated either with the inhibitors of bacterial protein synthesis minocycline or rifampicin, or with the beta-lactam ceftriaxone. RESULTS During bacterial killing in vitro, minocycline and rifampicin released lower quantities of proinflammatory bacterial products from S. pneumoniae than ceftriaxone. Mice treated with minocycline developed symptoms of EAE 1 day later than mice treated with ceftriaxone. Neither minocycline nor rifampicin therapy, however, reduced the severity of EAE in comparison with ceftriaxone treatment. CONCLUSIONS Although statistically significant (P = 0.04), a delay of 1 day in the onset of symptoms of EAE after minocycline treatment is of minor clinical relevance. These data do not support the hypothesis of superiority of a bacterial protein synthesis inhibitor over a beta-lactam antibiotic for the treatment of concomitant infections during the latent phase of EAE or MS.
A Novel Compressed Encrypted and Encoded Watermark Embedding Scheme for Digital Images

In this research work a novel idea of compressed, encrypted and encoded watermark embedding scheme for digital images is proposed. Initially watermark is compressed using Huffman encoder. Compressed watermark is encrypted using combined binary key sequence {Ki} derived from sequence of logistic map and Lozi map. The compressed and encrypted binary watermark is encoded using (n,1) repetition code. This compressed, encrypted and encoded binary watermark is embedded in alternate locations of cover image pixels using of Least Significant Bit (LSB) and Second Least Significant Bit (SLSB). To study the watermarked image quality, parameters such as Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) and Mean Square Error (MSE) are used. Also performance of the proposed system is compared with uncompressed, encrypted, encoded watermark embedding scheme. There is a significant improvement in MSE, SNR of watermarked image, when compressed watermark embedding scheme is compared to uncompressed watermark embedding scheme.
A Genome-Wide Analysis of Populations from European Russia Reveals a New Pole of Genetic Diversity in Northern Europe

Several studies examined the fine-scale structure of human genetic variation in Europe. However, the European sets analyzed represent mainly northern, western, central, and southern Europe. Here, we report an analysis of approximately 166,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in populations from eastern (northeastern) Europe: four Russian populations from European Russia, and three populations from the northernmost Finno-Ugric ethnicities (Veps and two contrast groups of Komi people). These were compared with several reference European samples, including Finns, Estonians, Latvians, Poles, Czechs, Germans, and Italians. The results obtained demonstrated genetic heterogeneity of populations living in the region studied. Russians from the central part of European Russia (Tver, Murom, and Kursk) exhibited similarities with populations from central–eastern Europe, and were distant from Russian sample from the northern Russia (Mezen district, Archangelsk region). Komi samples, especially Izhemski Komi, were significantly different from all other populations studied. These can be considered as a second pole of genetic diversity in northern Europe (in addition to the pole, occupied by Finns), as they had a distinct ancestry component. Russians from Mezen and the Finnic-speaking Veps were positioned between the two poles, but differed from each other in the proportions of Komi and Finnic ancestries. In general, our data provides a more complete genetic map of Europe accounting for the diversity in its most eastern (northeastern) populations.