Synaptic Wnt/GSK3β Signaling Hub in Autism

Indexación: ScopusHundreds of genes have been associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and the interaction of weak and de novo variants derive from distinct autistic phenotypes thus making up the "spectrum." The convergence of these variants in networks of genes associated with synaptic function warrants the study of cell signaling pathways involved in the regulation of the synapse. The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays a central role in the development and regulation of the central nervous system and several genes belonging to the cascade have been genetically associated with ASDs. In the present paper, we review basic information regarding the role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in excitatory/inhibitory balance (E/I balance) through the regulation of pre-and postsynaptic compartments. Furthermore, we integrate information supporting the role of the glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) in the onset/development of ASDs through direct modulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Finally, given GSK3β activity as key modulator of synaptic plasticity, we explore the potential of this kinase as a therapeutic target for ASD.https://www.hindawi.com/journals/np/2016/9603751

Representativeness and Diversity in Photos via Crowd-Sourced Media Analysis

In this paper we present a hybrid three steps mechanism for automated-human media analysis employed for selecting a small number of representative and diverse images in the context of a noisy set of images. The first step consists in the automatic retrieval from web of a large database of candidate images. In the second step, a proposed image analysis method is employed with the goal of diminishing the time, pay and cognitive load and implicitly people’s work. This is done by automatically selecting a set of potentially relevant and diverse images. Considering the semantic gap between low-level features and high-level semantics in images, the last step is necessary and consists in images being annotated and assessed by the crowd. The aim is to evaluate the level of representativeness and diversity of the selected set of images and providing images of highest quality. The method was validated in the context of the retrieval of images with monuments and using more than 30,000 images retrieved from various social image search platforms

The INCF Digital Atlasing Program: Report on Digital Atlasing Standards in the Rodent Brain

The goal of the INCF Digital Atlasing Program is to provide the vision and direction necessary to make the rapidly growing collection of multidimensional data of the rodent brain (images, gene expression, etc.) widely accessible and usable to the international research community. This Digital Brain Atlasing Standards Task Force was formed in May 2008 to investigate the state of rodent brain digital atlasing, and formulate standards, guidelines, and policy recommendations.

Our first objective has been the preparation of a detailed document that includes the vision and specific description of an infrastructure, systems and methods capable of serving the scientific goals of the community, as well as practical issues for achieving
the goals. This report builds on the 1st INCF Workshop on Mouse and Rat Brain Digital Atlasing Systems (Boline et al., 2007, _Nature Preceedings_, doi:10.1038/npre.2007.1046.1) and includes a more detailed analysis of both the current state and desired state of digital atlasing along with specific recommendations for achieving these goals

Cost per kWh produced and payback time of a PV -solar -thermal -combined roof top collector at different locations in New Zealand

[Abstract]: This study presents an economic evaluation of three types of solar applications: a) grid-connected photovoltaic system, b) grid-connected photovoltaic system combined with a solar water heating system and c) solar water heating system only. The operational data of an 1.3m2/120-litre tank evacuated tube solar thermal collector and the data of an average1kWp grid-connected crystalline photovoltaic solar generator are taken as a basis for the calculation. The annual amount of energy produced, the incurred cost and the resulting savings over the system lifetime are used to determine the cost per kWh and the payback time of the system at different geographic locations in New Zealand.. The analysis presented in this paper for a combined solar installation including a grid-connected photovoltaic system and a solar thermal unit at a typical domestic house has shown that such a system will present realizable benefits compared to simple grid-connected photovoltaic systems operated separately. The calculations demonstrate the shortest payback time and the lowest cost per kWh for the pure solar water heating system compared to the two other alternatives, the combined system and the sole GC-PV