Lifting GIS Maps into Strong Geometric Context for Scene Understanding

Contextual information can have a substantial impact on the performance of visual tasks such as semantic segmentation, object detection, and geometric estimation. Data stored in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) offers a rich source of contextual information that has been largely untapped by computer vision. We propose to leverage such information for scene understanding by combining GIS resources with large sets of unorganized photographs using Structure from Motion (SfM) techniques. We present a pipeline to quickly generate strong 3D geometric priors from 2D GIS data using SfM models aligned with minimal user input. Given an image resectioned against this model, we generate robust predictions of depth, surface normals, and semantic labels. We show that the precision of the predicted geometry is substantially more accurate other single-image depth estimation methods. We then demonstrate the utility of these contextual constraints for re-scoring pedestrian detections, and use these GIS contextual features alongside object detection score maps to improve a CRF-based semantic segmentation framework, boosting accuracy over baseline models

A gradual depth-dependent change of connectivity features of supragranular pyramidal cells in rat barrel cortex

Recent experimental evidence suggests a finer genetic, structural and functional subdivision of the layers which form a cortical column. The classical layer II/III (LII/III) of rodent neocortex integrates ascending sensory information with contextual cortical information for behavioral read-out. We systematically investigated to which extent regular-spiking supragranular pyramidal neurons, located at different depths within the cortex, show different input-output connectivity patterns. Combining glutamate-uncaging with whole-cell recordings and biocytin filling, we revealed a novel cellular organization of LII/III: (i) “Lower LII/III” pyramidal cells receive a very strong excitatory input from lemniscal LIV and much fewer inputs from paralemniscal LVa. They project to all layers of the home column, including a feedback projection to LIV whereas transcolumnar projections are relatively sparse. (ii) “Upper LII/III” pyramidal cells also receive their strongest input from LIV, but in addition, a very strong and dense excitatory input from LVa. They project extensively to LII/III as well as LVa and Vb of their home and neighboring columns, (iii) “Middle LII/III” pyramidal cell show an intermediate connectivity phenotype that stands in many ways in-between the features described for lower versus upper LII/III. “Lower LII/III” intracolumnarly segregates and transcolumnarly integrates lemniscal information whereas “upper LII/III” seems to integrate lemniscal with paralemniscal information. This suggests a finegrained functional subdivision of the supragranular compartment containing multiple circuits without any obvious cytoarchitectonic, other structural or functional correlate of a laminar border in rodent barrel cortex

Falscher Mehltau an Gurken – Regulierungsmöglichkeiten im ökologischen Freilandgemüseanbau und unter Glas

To increase the yield of organically grown cucumber a lot of investigations were carried out in the last years. The influence of sowing and planting was compared and the susceptibility of different varieties as well as the influence of plant extracts was investigated in field trials. Planting resulted in an earlier harvest with a higher yield. Further effort in breeding resistant varieties with higher yield is needed. Also, the efficacy of plant strengthening products and plant extracts must still be improved. Regulation by specific climate strategy under glass was successful to avoid or delay the infection with Pseudoperonosproa cubensis

Quality assessment of surgical disc samples discriminates human annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus on tissue and molecular level

A discrimination of the highly specialised annulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP) cells in the mature human intervertebral disc (IVD) is thus far still not possible in a reliable way. The aim of this study was to identify molecular markers that distinguish AF and NP cells in human disc tissue using microarray analysis as a screening tool. AF and NP samples were obtained from 28 cervical discs. First, all samples underwent quality sorting using two novel scoring systems for small-sized disc tissue samples including macroscopic, haptic and histological evaluation. Subsequently, samples with clear disc characteristics of either AF or NP that were free from impurities of foreign tissue (IVD score) and with low signs of disc degeneration on cellular level (DD score) were selected for GeneChip analysis (HGU1332P). The 11 AF and 9 NP samples showed distinctly different genome-wide transcriptomes. The majority of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) could be specifically assigned to the AF, whereas no DEG was exclusively expressed in the NP. Nevertheless, we identified 11 novel marker genes that clearly distinguished AF and NP, as confirmed by quantitative gene expression analysis. The novel established scoring systems and molecular markers showed the identity of AF and NP in disc starting material and are thus of great importance in the quality assurance of cell-based therapeutics in regenerative treatment of disc degeneration

Comparing scripts and scripting comparisons: toward a systematic analysis of technologically mediated influence

While it is generally accepted in Science and Technology Studies that technological artefacts have an impact on human practices, the question how this impact is achieved has been answered idiosyncratically for each case studied. This gap between abstract theoretical conceptualisations of non-human agency and largely descriptive accounts of many empirical instances to which they are applied is difficult to overcome unless the agency of artefacts can be compared. The aim of this paper is to propose and test a theoretically grounded framework that enables comparisons of agential qualities of technologies. In order to compare the ways in which technologies influence human behaviour, technology needs to be positioned in social theory. We do so by arguing that technology is one of three distinct modes of exercising influence, positioning technology in a general framework of kinds and modes of influence, and utilising Akrich's notion of scripts to capture the mediation of influence as a particular property of technology. From this, we derive a framework for comparing scripts in seven dimensions. We apply this framework to a test of conflicting hypotheses about consequences of the increasing sophistication of technology and to the exploration of the complexity underlying a typology of ‘persuasive technologies’. Our ‘proof of concept’ enables the conclusion that comparative studies of technologies enable unique contributions to Science and Technology Studies as well as related fields like studies on technoregulation.Die Science and Technology Studies sind sich zwar darin einig, dass Technik menschliche Praktiken beeinflusst, geben jedoch bislang auf die Frage, wie das geschieht, für jeden untersuchten Fall eine idiosynkratische Antwort. Diese Lücke zwischen abstrakten Konzeptualisierungen nichtmenschlicher Agency und Einzelfallbeschreibungen kann nicht überwunden werden, solange die Agency von Artefakten nicht verglichen werden kann. Das Ziel dieses Papers ist es, einen theoretisch begründeten Vergleichsrahmen für handlungsbeeinflussende Eigenschaften von Technik vorzuschlagen und zu testen. Um Formen der Beeinflussung menschlichen Verhaltens durch Technik vergleichen zu können, muss letztere in die Sozialtheorie eingeordnet werden. Wir tun das, indem wir Technik in einen allgemeinen Rahmen von Arten und Modi der Beeinflussung einordnen und Akrichs Konzept des Skripts für die Erfassung der handlungsbeeinflussenden Eigenschaften von Technik nutzen. Daraus entwickeln wir einen Vergleichsrahmen für Skripte mit sieben Dimensionen. Diesen Vergleichsrahmen wenden wir in einem Test einander widersprechender Hypothesen über Folgen einer steigenden Komplexität der Technik sowie in der Erkundung der Komplexität einer Typologie von 'Beeinflussungstechnologien' an. Unsere 'Pilotstudie' gestattet die Schlussfolgerung, dass vergleichende Studien von Technologien neuartige Beiträge zu den Science and Technology Studies sowie zu angrenzenden Gebieten wie den Studien zur Techno-Regulation ermöglichen

Crystallization of Intact and Subunit L-Deficient Monomers from Synechocystis PCC 6803 Photosystem I

Photosystem I monomers from wildtype cells of Synechocystis PCC 6803 and from a mu­tant deficient in the psaL gene were crystallized. PsaL encodes for the hydrophobic subunit L, which has been proposed to constitute the trimerization domain in the PS I trimer. The absence of subunit L facilitated crystallization of the PS I monomer. The unit cell dimensions and the space group for the crystals from this preparation could be determined to be a = b = 132 Å , c -525 Å, α = β = 90°, y = 120°, the space group is P61 or P65. The results show the potential of using specifically designed deletion mutants of an integral membrane protein for the systematic improvement of crystal structure data

Protein adsorption on and swelling of polyelectrolyte brushes: A simultaneous ellipsometry-quartz crystal microbalance study

With a coupled spectroscopic ellipsometry-quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) experimental setup, quantitative information can be obtained about the amount of buffer components (water molecules and ions) coupled to a poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) brush surface in swelling and protein adsorption processes. PAA Guiselin brushes with more than one anchoring point per single polymer chain were prepared. For the swollen brushes a high amount of buffer was found to be coupled to the brush-solution interface in addition to the content of buffer inside the brush layer. Upon adsorption of bovine serum albumin the further incorporation of buffer molecules into the protein-brush layer was monitored at overall electrostatic attractive conditions [below the protein isolectric poimt (IEP)] and electrostatic repulsive conditions (above the protein IEP), and the shear viscosity of the combined polymer-protein layer was evaluated from QCM-D data. For adsorption at the “wrong side” of the IEP an incorporation of excess buffer molecules was observed, indicating an adjustment of charges in the combined polymer-protein layer. Desorption of protein at pH 7.6 led to a very high stretching of the polymer-protein layer with additional incorporation of high amounts of buffer, reflecting the increase of negative charges on the protein molecules at this elevated pH