Competitive Segmentation Performance on Near-lossless and Lossy Compressed Remote Sensing Images

Image segmentation lies at the heart of multiple image processing chains, and achieving accurate segmentation is of utmost importance as it impacts later processing. Image segmentation has recently gained interest in the field of remote sensing, mostly due to the widespread availability of remote sensing data. This increased availability poses the problem of transmitting and storing large volumes of data. Compression is a common strategy to alleviate this problem. However, lossy or near-lossless compression prevents a perfect reconstruction of the recovered data. This letter investigates the image segmentation performance in data reconstructed after a near-lossless or a lossy compression. Two image segmentation algorithms and two compression standards are evaluated on data from sev- eral instruments. Experimental results reveal that segmentation performance over previously near-lossless and lossy compressed images is not markedly reduced at low and moderate compression ratios. In some scenarios, accurate segmentation performance can be achieved even for high compression ratios

Observing and Measuring Government Openness. A conceptual discussion and application to Mexico

Open government has become a goal for countries all over the world, but it remains an elusive concept. Despite innovative methodologies to assess open government policies, action plans, and interventions in different countries, scholarly research and practical decisions are hindered by the lack of a precise concept and an operationalization. In this paper, we make two contributions to this discussion. First, we argue that the discussions about open government would benefit from taking the grammatical structure of the concept seriously (open is an adjective, government a noun). Second, we propose that, in order to be conceptually and practically useful, open government should be observable. We present the methodology, application and results of an effort to observe and measure open government in Mexico, based on a study of 908 government offices in terms of transparency and participation.En los últimos años el gobierno abierto se ha convertido en un objetivo para muchos países alrededor del mundo, sin embargo, continúa siendo un concepto elusivo. Si bien se han diseñado metodologías innovadoras para evaluar políticas, planes de acción e intervenciones de gobierno abierto en diferentes países, tanto la investigación académica como la toma de decisiones prácticas para promover un gobierno abierto se han visto afectadas por la falta de una definición clara, operacionalizable y observable de dicho concepto. En este artículo realizamos dos contribuciones. Primero, argumentamos que las discusiones sobre el gobierno abierto se beneficiarían de tomar seriamente la estructura gramatical del concepto (“abierto” es un adjetivo y “gobierno” es un sustantivo). Segundo, proponemos que, para ser útil conceptual y empíricamente, el gobierno abierto debe ser observable. Presentamos la metodología, las aplicaciones y los resultados de un esfuerzo por observar y medir el gobierno abierto en México, basados en un estudio de 908 oficinas gubernamentales en términos de transparencia y participació

El tranvía hacia los Baños de la Puntilla: una aproximación al paisaje industrial urbano de el Puerto de Santa María

In 1871, sherry industry was at the zenith of the historical period that had become it in the main agribusiness emporium of the country during the nineteenth century. In Marco del Jerez, El Puerto de Santa María, producer and port of embarkation, was raised on this date the installation of a tramway which would transfer passengers from the railway station, originated in the primitive line Jerez-El Puerto, first of Andalusia with industrial character, to the sea baths of Puntilla beach. The tramway would improve access to the tourist offer of the city and facilitate the arrival of passengers crossing the urban area and passing through the main industrial sector of the population: Campo de Guía, considered the first industrial expansion of contemporary Spain; as well as other winerys in the city. This proposed tramway, although it is not implemented, is an extraordinary example of how industry and its elements can intervene, from different scales and perspectives, on the landscape of the city.En 1871 la industria del jerez se encontraba en el cenit del periodo histórico que la había convertido en el principal emporio agroindustrial de la nación durante el siglo XIX. Dentro del Marco del jerez, El Puerto de Santa María, productor y puerto de embarque, se planteaba en esta fecha la instalación de un tranvía que trasladaría pasajeros desde la estación de ferrocarril, originada en la primitiva línea Jerez-El Puerto, primera de Andalucía y de carácter eminentemente industrial, hasta los baños de mar de la Playa de la Puntilla. El tranvía mejoraría el acceso a la oferta turística de la ciudad y facilitaría la llegada de pasajeros recorriendo el interior del casco urbano y atravesando a su paso el principal sector industrial de la población: Campo de Guía, considerado el primer ensanche industrial de la España Contemporánea; así como otros enclaves bodegueros de la ciudad. La propuesta de tranvía, a pesar de que no se llega a ejecutar, constituye un ejemplo extraordinario de cómo la industria y sus elementos pueden intervenir desde distintas escalas y perspectivas sobre el paisaje de la ciudad

A Multi-Step Process of Viral Adaptation to a Mutagenic Nucleoside Analogue by Modulation of Transition Types Leads to Extinction-Escape

Resistance of viruses to mutagenic agents is an important problem for the development of lethal mutagenesis as an antiviral strategy. Previous studies with RNA viruses have documented that resistance to the mutagenic nucleoside analogue ribavirin (1-β-D-ribofuranosyl-1-H-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide) is mediated by amino acid substitutions in the viral polymerase that either increase the general template copying fidelity of the enzyme or decrease the incorporation of ribavirin into RNA. Here we describe experiments that show that replication of the important picornavirus pathogen foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in the presence of increasing concentrations of ribavirin results in the sequential incorporation of three amino acid substitutions (M296I, P44S and P169S) in the viral polymerase (3D). The main biological effect of these substitutions is to attenuate the consequences of the mutagenic activity of ribavirin —by avoiding the biased repertoire of transition mutations produced by this purine analogue—and to maintain the replicative fitness of the virus which is able to escape extinction by ribavirin. This is achieved through alteration of the pairing behavior of ribavirin-triphosphate (RTP), as evidenced by in vitro polymerization assays with purified mutant 3Ds. Comparison of the three-dimensional structure of wild type and mutant polymerases suggests that the amino acid substitutions alter the position of the template RNA in the entry channel of the enzyme, thereby affecting nucleotide recognition. The results provide evidence of a new mechanism of resistance to a mutagenic nucleoside analogue which allows the virus to maintain a balance among mutation types introduced into progeny genomes during replication under strong mutagenic pressure

Racial differences in systemic sclerosis disease presentation: a European Scleroderma Trials and Research group study

Objectives. Racial factors play a significant role in SSc. We evaluated differences in SSc presentations between white patients (WP), Asian patients (AP) and black patients (BP) and analysed the effects of geographical locations.Methods. SSc characteristics of patients from the EUSTAR cohort were cross-sectionally compared across racial groups using survival and multiple logistic regression analyses.Results. The study included 9162 WP, 341 AP and 181 BP. AP developed the first non-RP feature faster than WP but slower than BP. AP were less frequently anti-centromere (ACA; odds ratio (OR) = 0.4, P < 0.001) and more frequently anti-topoisomerase-I autoantibodies (ATA) positive (OR = 1.2, P = 0.068), while BP were less likely to be ACA and ATA positive than were WP [OR(ACA) = 0.3, P < 0.001; OR(ATA) = 0.5, P = 0.020]. AP had less often (OR = 0.7, P = 0.06) and BP more often (OR = 2.7, P < 0.001) diffuse skin involvement than had WP.AP and BP were more likely to have pulmonary hypertension [OR(AP) = 2.6, P < 0.001; OR(BP) = 2.7, P = 0.03 vs WP] and a reduced forced vital capacity [OR(AP) = 2.5, P < 0.001; OR(BP) = 2.4, P < 0.004] than were WP. AP more often had an impaired diffusing capacity of the lung than had BP and WP [OR(AP vs BP) = 1.9, P = 0.038; OR(AP vs WP) = 2.4, P < 0.001]. After RP onset, AP and BP had a higher hazard to die than had WP [hazard ratio (HR) (AP) = 1.6, P = 0.011; HR(BP) = 2.1, P < 0.001].Conclusion. Compared with WP, and mostly independent of geographical location, AP have a faster and earlier disease onset with high prevalences of ATA, pulmonary hypertension and forced vital capacity impairment and higher mortality. BP had the fastest disease onset, a high prevalence of diffuse skin involvement and nominally the highest mortality

RICORS2040 : The need for collaborative research in chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a silent and poorly known killer. The current concept of CKD is relatively young and uptake by the public, physicians and health authorities is not widespread. Physicians still confuse CKD with chronic kidney insufficiency or failure. For the wider public and health authorities, CKD evokes kidney replacement therapy (KRT). In Spain, the prevalence of KRT is 0.13%. Thus health authorities may consider CKD a non-issue: very few persons eventually need KRT and, for those in whom kidneys fail, the problem is 'solved' by dialysis or kidney transplantation. However, KRT is the tip of the iceberg in the burden of CKD. The main burden of CKD is accelerated ageing and premature death. The cut-off points for kidney function and kidney damage indexes that define CKD also mark an increased risk for all-cause premature death. CKD is the most prevalent risk factor for lethal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the factor that most increases the risk of death in COVID-19, after old age. Men and women undergoing KRT still have an annual mortality that is 10- to 100-fold higher than similar-age peers, and life expectancy is shortened by ~40 years for young persons on dialysis and by 15 years for young persons with a functioning kidney graft. CKD is expected to become the fifth greatest global cause of death by 2040 and the second greatest cause of death in Spain before the end of the century, a time when one in four Spaniards will have CKD. However, by 2022, CKD will become the only top-15 global predicted cause of death that is not supported by a dedicated well-funded Centres for Biomedical Research (CIBER) network structure in Spain. Realizing the underestimation of the CKD burden of disease by health authorities, the Decade of the Kidney initiative for 2020-2030 was launched by the American Association of Kidney Patients and the European Kidney Health Alliance. Leading Spanish kidney researchers grouped in the kidney collaborative research network Red de Investigación Renal have now applied for the Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientadas a Resultados en Salud (RICORS) call for collaborative research in Spain with the support of the Spanish Society of Nephrology, Federación Nacional de Asociaciones para la Lucha Contra las Enfermedades del Riñón and ONT: RICORS2040 aims to prevent the dire predictions for the global 2040 burden of CKD from becoming true

Propuesta de implementación del sistema HACCP en la fabricación de cerveza artesanal imperio para incrementar la rentabilidad en la cervecera Ruiz Rivas Plata - 2021

Este estudio de investigación tiene por objetivo general Proponer la implementación de un sistema de Análisis de Peligros y de los Puntos Críticos de Control (HACCP) en el proceso de producción de cerveza artesanal Imperio de la cervecería Ruiz RivasPlata SAC, para incrementar la rentabilidad. Ruiz RivasPlata SAC presenta interés en la implementación del sistema HACCP puesto que pasa por un proceso de confiabilidad del producto por parte de los clientes, debido a que no cuentan con las certificaciones de calidad e inocuidad alimentaria lo que conlleva a problemas de devoluciones como por caducidad de fecha de consumo, ocasionando baja rentabilidad demostrándose en los niveles actuales de las ventas. Para determinar impacto que tendría la implementación del sistema HACCP se determinó la rentabilidad actual de la empresa mediante el Margen de Utilidad Operativa, resultando de 44.54%. Es decir, por cada sol invertido, se obtiene un 44.54% de ganancia operativa. Para la implementación del sistema se aplicó un cuadro de análisis / check list respecto a las Buenas Prácticas de Manufactura la cual tuvo un nivel de satisfacción del 86.66%, además se identificaron los peligros químicos, físicos y biológicos de todo el proceso productivo con ello se determinaron los Puntos Críticos de Control para estos peligros a fin de ser reducidos y/o eliminados, aplicando la normatividad legal vigente peruana en inocuidad Alimentaria “Norma Sanitaria para la aplicación del Sistema HACCP en la fabricación de alimentos y bebidas”. Con los resultados obtenidos del sistema HACCP se proyectaron los niveles de ventas de cervezas artesanales, el nuevo índice de devoluciones y productos defectuosos para el Estado de Resultados proyectado, obteniéndose el nuevo margen de utilidad operativa de 51.84% es decir se incrementó en 7.31%.The general objective of this research study is to propose the implementation of a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system in the Empire craft beer production process of the Ruiz RivasPlata SAC brewery, to increase profitability. Ruiz RivasPlata SAC is interested in the implementation of the HACCP system since it goes through a process of product reliability by customers because they do not have quality certifications in food safety, which leads to problems of returns due to expiration date consumption which is causing low profitability due to current sales levels. To determine the impact that the implementation of the HACCP system will have, the real profitability of the company will be limited through the Operating Profit Margin, resulting in 44.54%. That is, for each sol invested, a 44.54% operating profit is obtained. For the implementation of the system, an analysis / check list chart was applied regarding Good Manufacturing Practices, which had a satisfaction level of 86.66%, in addition, the chemical, physical and biological hazards of the entire production process were identified. determined the Critical Control Points for these hazards in order to be reduced and/or eliminated, applying the current Peruvian legal regulations on Food Safety ""Sanitary Standard for the application of the HACCP System in the manufacture of food and beverages"". With the results obtained from the HACCP system, the sales levels of craft beers were projected, as well as the new index of returns and defective products for the Projected Income Statement, obtaining the new operating profit margin of 51.84%, that is, it increased by 7.31%Tesi