LEAN DATA ENGINEERING. COMBINING STATE OF THE ART PRINCIPLES TO PROCESS DATA EFFICIENTLYS

The present work was developed during an internship, under Erasmus+ Traineeship program, in Fieldwork Robotics, a Cambridge based company that develops robots to operate in agricultural fields. They collect data from commercial greenhouses with sensors and real sense cameras, as well as with gripper cameras placed in the robotic arms. This data is recorded mainly in bag files, consisting of unstructured data, such as images and semi-structured data, such as metadata associated with both the conditions where the images were taken and information about the robot itself. Data was uploaded, extracted, cleaned and labelled manually before being used to train Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms to identify raspberries during the harvesting process. The amount of available data quickly escalates with every trip to the fields, which creates an ever-growing need for an automated process. This problem was addressed via the creation of a data engineering platform encom- passing a data lake, data warehouse and its needed processing capabilities. This platform was created following a series of principles entitled Lean Data Engineering Principles (LDEP), and the systems that follows them are called Lean Data Engineering Systems (LDES). These principles urge to start with the end in mind: process incoming batch or real-time data with no resource wasting, limiting the costs to the absolutely necessary for the job completion, in other words to be as lean as possible. The LDEP principles are a combination of state-of-the-art ideas stemming from several fields, such as data engineering, software engineering and DevOps, leveraging cloud technologies at its core. The proposed custom-made solution enabled the company to scale its data operations, being able to label images almost ten times faster while reducing over 99.9% of its associated costs in comparison to the previous process. In addition, the data lifecycle time has been reduced from weeks to hours while maintaining coherent data quality results, being able, for instance, to correctly identify 94% of the labels in comparison to a human counterpart.Este trabalho foi desenvolvido durante um estágio no âmbito do programa Erasmus+ Traineeship, na Fieldwork Robotics, uma empresa sediada em Cambridge que desenvolve robôs agrícolas. Estes robôs recolhem dados no terreno com sensores e câmeras real- sense, localizados na estrutura de alumínio e nos pulsos dos braços robóticos. Os dados recolhidos são ficheiros contendo dados não estruturados, tais como imagens, e dados semi- -estruturados, associados às condições em que as imagens foram recolhidas. Originalmente, o processo de tratamento dos dados recolhidos (upload, extração, limpeza e etiquetagem) era feito de forma manual, sendo depois utilizados para treinar algoritmos de Inteligência Artificial (IA) para identificar framboesas durante o processo de colheita. Como a quantidade de dados aumentava substancialmente com cada ida ao terreno, verificou-se uma necessidade crescente de um processo automatizado. Este problema foi endereçado com a criação de uma plataforma de engenharia de dados, composta por um data lake, uma data warehouse e o respetivo processamento, para movimentar os dados nas diferentes etapas do processo. Esta plataforma foi criada seguindo uma série de princípios intitulados Lean Data Engineering Principles (LDEP), sendo os sistemas que os seguem intitulados de Lean Data Engineering Systems (LDES). Estes princípios incitam a começar com o fim em mente: processar dados em batch ou em tempo real, sem desperdício de recursos, limitando os custos ao absolutamente necessário para a concluir o trabalho, ou seja, tornando-os o mais lean possível. Os LDEP combinam vertentes do estado da arte em diversas áreas, tais como engenharia de dados, engenharia de software, DevOps, tendo no seu cerne as tecnologias na cloud. O novo processo permitiu à empresa escalar as suas operações de dados, tornando-se capaz de etiquetar imagens quase 10× mais rápido e reduzindo em mais de 99,9% os custos associados, quando comparado com o processo anterior. Adicionalmente, o ciclo de vida dos dados foi reduzido de semanas para horas, mantendo uma qualidade equiparável, ao ser capaz de identificar corretamente 94% das etiquetas em comparação com um homólogo humano

Conocimiento nutricional y hábitos alimenticios de la Selección Brasileña de Fútbol Sala

Introduction: Futsal is a sport that requires nutritional support to support the high-energy expenditure and significant loss of fluids and electrolytes during training and matches. It is important that high-level athletes follow appropriate, evidence-based nutrition. To our knowledge, there is a lack of data on the eating habits and nutrition knowledge of Futsal players. Therefore, this study aims to describe the nutritional knowledge and eating habits of players of the national Brazilian Futsal Team. A secondary aim was to translate the Abridged Nutrition for Sport Questionnaire into Portuguese for use in Portuguese-speaking athletes. Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study. The evaluations were carried out during the preparation period of the Brazilian Futsal Team for the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2020 qualifiers.  We evaluated anthropometry (weight, height, body mass index) nutritional knowledge (assessed using a translated version of the Abridged Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire) and eating habits (assessed using a validated Brazilian FFQ), as well as supplement use. The translation of the ANSKQ was undertaken using previous validated forward-backward translation procedures. Results: The mean total correct score on the ANSKQ was 12 out of a possible 35 (34.45%). The mean total correct score on the ANSKQ was 12 out of a possible 35 (34.45%). Players had a statistically significantly higher score for “General Nutrition” knowledge than Sports Nutrition Knowledge (47.27% vs 28.53%, p<0.005). Futsal players had infrequent consumption of the food group "Milk and dairy products", and frequent consumption of "Snacks" as well as fruits. Regarding dietary supplements, 46% of athletes said they consume, or previously consumed, with Whey Protein being the most common supplement. Conclusions: There is room from improvement in athletes nutrition knowledge, especially sports specific knowledge. Futsal players may also require education on appropriate supplement use and dietary intake.Introducción: El fútbol sala es un deporte que requiere un apoyo nutricional para soportar el alto gasto energético y pérdida significativa de líquidos y electrolitos durante los entrenamientos y partidos. Por tanto, este estudio tiene como objetivo describir el conocimiento nutricional y los hábitos alimenticios de los jugadores de la Selección Brasileña de Fútbol Sala. Un objetivo secundario fue traducir el Cuestionario abreviado de conocimiento sobre Nutrición para el deporte (ANSKQ) para su uso en atletas que hablan portugués. Material y métodos: Se trata de un estudio descriptivo y transversal. Las evaluaciones ocurrieron durante el período de preparación de la Selección Brasileña de Fútbol Sala para las eliminatorias del Mundial de Fútbol Sala FIFA 2020. Evaluamos la antropometría (peso, altura, índice de masa corporal), el conocimiento nutricional (versión traducida del ANSKQ) y los hábitos alimentarios (FFQ brasileño validado), así como el uso de suplementos. La traducción del ANSKQ se llevó a cabo utilizando procedimientos de traducción previamente validados. Resultados: La puntuación media de aciertos en el ANSKQ fue de 12 (de 35) (34.45%). Los jugadores obtuvieron una puntuación estadísticamente significativa más alta en el conocimiento de “Nutrición general” que en el Conocimiento de nutrición deportiva (47,27% frente a 28,53%, p <0,005). Los jugadores de fútbol sala tenían un consumo poco frecuente del grupo "Leche y productos lácteos", y un consumo frecuente de "Snacks" y frutas. A respecto de los suplementos alimenticios, el 46% de los deportistas afirmaron consumir, o haber consumido, siendo la proteína de suero el suplemento más habitual. Conclusiones: Hay margen de mejora en el conocimiento nutricional de los atletas, especialmente en los conocimientos específicos de nutrición deportiva. Los jugadores de fútbol sala también pueden requerir orientación sobre el uso apropiado de suplementos y la ingesta dietética

Genome of the Avirulent Human-Infective Trypanosome—Trypanosoma rangeli

Background: Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite infecting humans and other wild and domestic mammals across Central and South America. It does not cause human disease, but it can be mistaken for the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. We have sequenced the T. rangeli genome to provide new tools for elucidating the distinct and intriguing biology of this species and the key pathways related to interaction with its arthropod and mammalian hosts.  Methodology/Principal Findings: The T. rangeli haploid genome is ,24 Mb in length, and is the smallest and least repetitive trypanosomatid genome sequenced thus far. This parasite genome has shorter subtelomeric sequences compared to those of T. cruzi and T. brucei; displays intraspecific karyotype variability and lacks minichromosomes. Of the predicted 7,613 protein coding sequences, functional annotations could be determined for 2,415, while 5,043 are hypothetical proteins, some with evidence of protein expression. 7,101 genes (93%) are shared with other trypanosomatids that infect humans. An ortholog of the dcl2 gene involved in the T. brucei RNAi pathway was found in T. rangeli, but the RNAi machinery is non-functional since the other genes in this pathway are pseudogenized. T. rangeli is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a phenotype that may be explained by a smaller number of anti-oxidant defense enzymes and heatshock proteins.  Conclusions/Significance: Phylogenetic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial genes indicates that T. rangeli and T. cruzi are equidistant from T. brucei. In addition to revealing new aspects of trypanosome co-evolution within the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic trypanosomatids provides valuable new information that can be further explored with the aim of developing better diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets

SARS-CoV-2 introductions and early dynamics of the epidemic in Portugal

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal was rapidly implemented by the National Institute of Health in the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, in collaboration with more than 50 laboratories distributed nationwide. Methods By applying recent phylodynamic models that allow integration of individual-based travel history, we reconstructed and characterized the spatio-temporal dynamics of SARSCoV-2 introductions and early dissemination in Portugal. Results We detected at least 277 independent SARS-CoV-2 introductions, mostly from European countries (namely the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland), which were consistent with the countries with the highest connectivity with Portugal. Although most introductions were estimated to have occurred during early March 2020, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 was silently circulating in Portugal throughout February, before the first cases were confirmed. Conclusions Here we conclude that the earlier implementation of measures could have minimized the number of introductions and subsequent virus expansion in Portugal. This study lays the foundation for genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, and highlights the need for systematic and geographically-representative genomic surveillance.We gratefully acknowledge to Sara Hill and Nuno Faria (University of Oxford) and Joshua Quick and Nick Loman (University of Birmingham) for kindly providing us with the initial sets of Artic Network primers for NGS; Rafael Mamede (MRamirez team, IMM, Lisbon) for developing and sharing a bioinformatics script for sequence curation (https://github.com/rfm-targa/BioinfUtils); Philippe Lemey (KU Leuven) for providing guidance on the implementation of the phylodynamic models; Joshua L. Cherry (National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) for providing guidance with the subsampling strategies; and all authors, originating and submitting laboratories who have contributed genome data on GISAID (https://www.gisaid.org/) on which part of this research is based. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States government. This study is co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica (234_596874175) on behalf of the Research 4 COVID-19 call. Some infrastructural resources used in this study come from the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good