Tukushi modulates Xnr2, FGF, and and BMP signalling: Regulation of Xenopus Germ Layer Formation

BACKGROUND: Cell-cell communication is essential in tissue patterning. In early amphibian development, mesoderm is formed in the blastula-stage embryo through inductive interactions in which vegetal cells act on overlying equatorial cells. Members of the TGF-beta family such as activin B, Vg1, derrière and Xenopus nodal-related proteins (Xnrs) are candidate mesoderm inducing factors, with further activity to induce endoderm of the vegetal region. TGF-beta-like ligands, including BMP, are also responsible for patterning of germ layers. In addition, FGF signaling is essential for mesoderm formation whereas FGF signal inhibition has been implicated in endoderm induction. Clearly, several signaling pathways are coordinated to produce an appropriate developmental output; although intracellular crosstalk is known to integrate multiple pathways, relatively little is known about extracellular coordination. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we show that Xenopus Tsukushi (X-TSK), a member of the secreted small leucine rich repeat proteoglycan (SLRP) family, is expressed in ectoderm, endoderm, and the organizer during early development. We have previously reported that X-TSK binds to and inhibits BMP signaling in cooperation with chordin. We now demonstrate two novel interactions: X-TSK binds to and inhibits signaling by FGF8b, in addition to binding to and enhancement of Xnr2 signaling. This signal integration by X-TSK at the extracellular level has an important role in germ layer formation and patterning. Vegetally localized X-TSK potentiates endoderm formation through coordination of BMP, FGF and Xnr2 signaling. In contrast, X-TSK inhibition of FGF-MAPK signaling blocks ventrolateral mesoderm formation, while BMP inhibition enhances organizer formation. These actions of X-TSK are reliant upon its expression in endoderm and dorsal mesoderm, with relative exclusion from ventrolateral mesoderm, in a pattern shaped by FGF signals. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Based on our observations, we propose a novel mechanism by which X-TSK refines the field of positional information by integration of multiple pathways in the extracellular space

A contribuição de P&D Agropecuário para Convergência e Crescimento da Renda Agropecuária no Brasil

Este artigo estuda o crescimento econômico e a convergência de renda Agropecuária dos estados Brasileiros de 1986 a 2004. Para este fim, utiliza-se um modelo econométrico de efeitos fixos, controlando-se a dependência espacial. Além de comprovar convergência condicional, o modelo econométrico revelou que o crescimento do PIB per capita agropecuário foi afetado por variáveis como capital físico agropecuário, infra-estrutura telefônica, infra-estrutura de armazenagem, crédito rural, número de trabalhadores rurais, e por externalidades espaciais. Além disso, ficou evidenciada a importância de P & D agropecuário para o crescimento e convergência de renda per capita no setor agropecuário e ainda a geração de externalidades espaciais positivas.--------------------------This article examines the economic growth and the convergence of income farming Brazilian states from 1986 to 2004. For this purpose, use is an econometric model of fixed effects, managing to spatial dependence. Besides prove conditional convergence, the econometric model showed that the growth in GDP per capita farming was affected by variables such as farming physical capital, infrastructure telephone, storage infrastructure, rural credit, number of rural workers, and by externalities spatial. Furthermore, it was demonstrated the importance of R & D, for growth and convergence of per capita income in the agricultural sector and the generation of positive externalities spatial.convergência de renda agropecuária, nova geografia econômica, modelo de efeitos fixos com dependência espacial, income convergence, new economic geography, fixed effect model with spatial dependence, Agricultural Finance, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, O18, O47, R11, R23,

Capacidade de infestação da cochonilha-do-carmim, Dactylopius ceylonicus, nas plantas hospedeiras Opuntia ficus-indica e Opuntia monacantha em condições de laboratório.

Os insetos da espécie Dactylopius ceylonicus (Green, 1896) (Hemiptera, Dactylopiidae), conhecidos mundialmente como cochonilhas-do-carmim, são pequenos fitófagos encontrados exclusivamente em cactáceas hospedeiras do gênero Opuntia. Esses insetos despertaram interesses econômicos por produzirem o corante carmim que pode ser utilizado pelas indústrias alimentícias, têxteis e de cosméticos. Devido ao manejo incorreto de suas criações foram se tornando pragas nas plantações de cactos em todo país. D. ceylonicus, se hospeda, geralmente, em cactáceas da espécie Opuntia monacantha, que são encontradas em regiões de clima subtropical e tropical úmido (várzeas de florestas e praias arenosas). O inseto é utilizado, em muitos países, como agente de controle biológico destas espécies de cactos. Para observar se realmente a espécie de cochonilha-do-carmim, D. ceylonicus, tem preferência pela espécie O. monacantha, o presente trabalho comparou a capacidade de infestação da praga nesta espécie de cacto com a observada em Opuntia ficus-indica, conhecida como palma forrageira e cultivada no nordeste brasileiro como alimento para o gado nas épocas de seca. O experimento foi conduzido em condições de laboratório e consistiu em infestar simultaneamente oito plantas de cada espécie com 50 colônias de D. ceylonicus. Após 60 dias de infestação o crescimento de novas colônias mostrou a preferência de D. ceylonicus pelos cactos da espécie O. monacantha. Análises de regressão e testes de inferência estatística foram realizadas

The teacher-student relationship in one-to-one singing lessons : a longitudinal investigation of personality and adult attachment.

This research investigates the longitudinal implications of the teacher-student relationship in one-to-one singing lessons. The thesis consists of two parts: in the first part the expectations and realities faced by singing students are evaluated; in the second part, a longitudinal observation of teacher-student relationship is made and complemented with personality and adult attachment psychological scales. For part one, 64 students completed qualitative and quantitative questionnaires before meeting their singing teachers and 40 students completed the study (six months after meeting that same teacher) by returning questionnaires regarding the relationship. A comparison of the students' expectations and experiences of studentteacher interactions reveal high levels of satisfaction in regard to relationship and overall singing experiences. Students' descriptions indicated that teachers are generally seen as friends which consequently increases trust and confidence bringing benefits for students' personal as well as musical development. In the longitudinal study of part two, the participants were 11 singing teachers and 54 students United Kingdom and 'Portugal. The study had three stages where participants were video recorded during their one-to-one singing lesson. These recordings were complemented with the psychological questionnaires NEO PI- R (Costa & McCrae, 1992) and Adult Attachment Scale (Collins & Read, 1990) to evaluate personality and attachment respectively. The longitudinal observation indicated that the relationships developed into becoming more personal and often included elements from the personal lives of both teacher and student. The interaction between teacher and student include a wide list of variables: personality combination, the individual background, style of attachment and many other singing aspects, suggesting that the relationship with the student could have major impact on other aspects of singing. This research has implications for practitioners concerned with matching and improving student-teacher relationships, and for researchers interested in the longitudinal factors in effective musical teaching and learning

Elastic phone : towards detecting and mitigating computation and energy inefficiencies in mobile apps

Mobile devices have become ubiquitous and their ever evolving capabilities are bringing them closer to personal computers. Nonetheless, due to their mobility and small size factor constraints, they still present many hardware and software challenges. Their limited battery life time has led to the design of mobile networks that are inherently different from previous networks (e.g., wifi) and more restrictive task scheduling. Additionally, mobile device ecosystems are more susceptible to the heterogeneity of hardware and from conflicting interests of distributors, internet service providers, manufacturers, developers, etc. The high number of stakeholders ultimately responsible for the performance of a device, results in an inconsistent behavior and makes it very challenging to build a solution that improves resource usage in most cases. The focus of this thesis is on the study and development of techniques to detect and mitigate computation and energy inefficiencies in mobile apps. It follows a bottom-up approach, starting from the challenges behind detecting inefficient execution scheduling by looking only at apps’ implementations. It shows that scheduling APIs are largely misused and have a great impact on devices wake up frequency and on the efficiency of existing energy saving techniques (e.g., batching scheduled executions). Then it addresses many challenges of app testing in the dynamic analysis field. More specifically, how to scale mobile app testing with realistic user input and how to analyze closed source apps’ code at runtime, showing that introducing humans in the app testing loop improves the coverage of app’s code and generated network volume. Finally, using the combined knowledge of static and dynamic analysis, it focuses on the challenges of identifying the resource hungry sections of apps and how to improve their execution via offloading. There is a special focus on performing non-intrusive offloading transparent to existing apps and on in-network computation offloading and distribution. It shows that, even without a custom OS or app modifications, in-network offloading is still possible, greatly improving execution times, energy consumption and reducing both end-user experienced latency and request drop rates. It concludes with a real app measurement study, showing that a good portion of the most popular apps’ code can indeed be offloaded and proposes future directions for the app testing and computation offloading fields.Los dispositivos móviles se han tornado omnipresentes y sus capacidades están en constante evolución acercándolos a los computadoras personales. Sin embargo, debido a su movilidad y tamaño reducido, todavía presentan muchos desafíos de hardware y software. Su duración limitada de batería ha llevado al diseño de redes móviles que son inherentemente diferentes de las redes anteriores y una programación de tareas más restrictiva. Además, los ecosistemas de dispositivos móviles son más susceptibles a la heterogeneidad de hardware y los intereses conflictivos de las entidades responsables por el rendimiento final de un dispositivo. El objetivo de esta tesis es el estudio y desarrollo de técnicas para detectar y mitigar las ineficiencias de computación y energéticas en las aplicaciones móviles. Empieza con los desafíos detrás de la detección de planificación de ejecución ineficientes, mirando sólo la implementación de las aplicaciones. Se muestra que las API de planificación son en gran medida mal utilizadas y tienen un gran impacto en la frecuencia con que los dispositivos despiertan y en la eficiencia de las técnicas de ahorro de energía existentes. A continuación, aborda muchos desafíos de las pruebas de aplicaciones en el campo de análisis dinámica. Más específicamente, cómo escalar las pruebas de aplicaciones móviles con una interacción realista y cómo analizar código de aplicaciones de código cerrado durante la ejecución, mostrando que la introducción de humanos en el bucle de prueba de aplicaciones mejora la cobertura del código y el volumen de comunicación de red generado. Por último, combinando la análisis estática y dinámica, se centra en los desafíos de identificar las secciones de aplicaciones con uso intensivo de recursos y cómo mejorar su ejecución a través de la ejecución remota (i.e.,"offload"). Hay un enfoque especial en el "offload" no intrusivo y transparente a las aplicaciones existentes y en el "offload"y distribución de computación dentro de la red. Demuestra que, incluso sin un sistema operativo personalizado o modificaciones en la aplicación, el "offload" en red sigue siendo posible, mejorando los tiempos de ejecución, el consumo de energía y reduciendo la latencia del usuario final y las tasas de caída de solicitudes de "offload". Concluye con un estudio real de las aplicaciones más populares, mostrando que una buena parte de su código puede de hecho ser ejecutado remotamente y propone direcciones futuras para los campos de "offload" de aplicaciones.Postprint (published version

Elastic phone : towards detecting and mitigating computation and energy inefficiencies in mobile apps

Mobile devices have become ubiquitous and their ever evolving capabilities are bringing them closer to personal computers. Nonetheless, due to their mobility and small size factor constraints, they still present many hardware and software challenges. Their limited battery life time has led to the design of mobile networks that are inherently different from previous networks (e.g., wifi) and more restrictive task scheduling. Additionally, mobile device ecosystems are more susceptible to the heterogeneity of hardware and from conflicting interests of distributors, internet service providers, manufacturers, developers, etc. The high number of stakeholders ultimately responsible for the performance of a device, results in an inconsistent behavior and makes it very challenging to build a solution that improves resource usage in most cases. The focus of this thesis is on the study and development of techniques to detect and mitigate computation and energy inefficiencies in mobile apps. It follows a bottom-up approach, starting from the challenges behind detecting inefficient execution scheduling by looking only at apps’ implementations. It shows that scheduling APIs are largely misused and have a great impact on devices wake up frequency and on the efficiency of existing energy saving techniques (e.g., batching scheduled executions). Then it addresses many challenges of app testing in the dynamic analysis field. More specifically, how to scale mobile app testing with realistic user input and how to analyze closed source apps’ code at runtime, showing that introducing humans in the app testing loop improves the coverage of app’s code and generated network volume. Finally, using the combined knowledge of static and dynamic analysis, it focuses on the challenges of identifying the resource hungry sections of apps and how to improve their execution via offloading. There is a special focus on performing non-intrusive offloading transparent to existing apps and on in-network computation offloading and distribution. It shows that, even without a custom OS or app modifications, in-network offloading is still possible, greatly improving execution times, energy consumption and reducing both end-user experienced latency and request drop rates. It concludes with a real app measurement study, showing that a good portion of the most popular apps’ code can indeed be offloaded and proposes future directions for the app testing and computation offloading fields.Los dispositivos móviles se han tornado omnipresentes y sus capacidades están en constante evolución acercándolos a los computadoras personales. Sin embargo, debido a su movilidad y tamaño reducido, todavía presentan muchos desafíos de hardware y software. Su duración limitada de batería ha llevado al diseño de redes móviles que son inherentemente diferentes de las redes anteriores y una programación de tareas más restrictiva. Además, los ecosistemas de dispositivos móviles son más susceptibles a la heterogeneidad de hardware y los intereses conflictivos de las entidades responsables por el rendimiento final de un dispositivo. El objetivo de esta tesis es el estudio y desarrollo de técnicas para detectar y mitigar las ineficiencias de computación y energéticas en las aplicaciones móviles. Empieza con los desafíos detrás de la detección de planificación de ejecución ineficientes, mirando sólo la implementación de las aplicaciones. Se muestra que las API de planificación son en gran medida mal utilizadas y tienen un gran impacto en la frecuencia con que los dispositivos despiertan y en la eficiencia de las técnicas de ahorro de energía existentes. A continuación, aborda muchos desafíos de las pruebas de aplicaciones en el campo de análisis dinámica. Más específicamente, cómo escalar las pruebas de aplicaciones móviles con una interacción realista y cómo analizar código de aplicaciones de código cerrado durante la ejecución, mostrando que la introducción de humanos en el bucle de prueba de aplicaciones mejora la cobertura del código y el volumen de comunicación de red generado. Por último, combinando la análisis estática y dinámica, se centra en los desafíos de identificar las secciones de aplicaciones con uso intensivo de recursos y cómo mejorar su ejecución a través de la ejecución remota (i.e.,"offload"). Hay un enfoque especial en el "offload" no intrusivo y transparente a las aplicaciones existentes y en el "offload"y distribución de computación dentro de la red. Demuestra que, incluso sin un sistema operativo personalizado o modificaciones en la aplicación, el "offload" en red sigue siendo posible, mejorando los tiempos de ejecución, el consumo de energía y reduciendo la latencia del usuario final y las tasas de caída de solicitudes de "offload". Concluye con un estudio real de las aplicaciones más populares, mostrando que una buena parte de su código puede de hecho ser ejecutado remotamente y propone direcciones futuras para los campos de "offload" de aplicaciones

Simulação da dinâmica populacional do psilídeo-de-concha, Glycaspis brimblecombei (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) e identificação de estratégias para a criação laboratorial de seu parasitóide Psyllaephagus bliteus (Hymenoptera: Encertydae) .

O "psilídeo-de-concha", Glycaspis brimblecombei (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), tem causado preocupação ao setor florestal brasileiro, principalmente em áreas com Eucalyptus camaldulensis, mais susceptível ao ataque. Estratégias voltadas ao seu controle químico ainda apresentam custos elevados e problemas relacionados ao registro de produtos autorizados, o que faz do seu controle biológico pelo parasitóide Psyllaephagus bliteus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) o único disponível no momento, demandando sua criação massal em laboratório para posteriores liberações no campo. Dados biológicos disponíveis na literatura até 2007 possibilitaram desenvolver um simulador computacional capaz de acompanhar a dinâmica populacional das diferentes fases de desenvolvimento da praga, facilitando a identificação de períodos mais favoráveis ao aumento da presença de hospedeiros-praga preferencial ao parasitismo (3º e 4º instares). Os primeiros resultados observados apontaram o período do 16º ao 21º dia após a infestação dos adultos do psilídeo nas gaiolas. A validação de todos os resultados demanda novos experimentos em gaiolas de criação.bitstream/CNPMA/7708/1/boletim_49.pd

A Perceptual Approach to Audio-Visual Instrument Design, Composition and Performance

The thesis presents a perceptual approach to audio-visual instrument design, composition and performance. The approach informs practical work as well as a parametric visualisation model, which can be used to analyse sensory dominance, sonic expression and spatial presence in any audio-visual performance language. The practical work intends for the image to function as a stage scene, which reacts to the music and allows for attention to focus on the relation between the sounds themselves. This is challenging, because usually vision dominates over audition. To clarify the problem, the thesis extrapolates from audio-visual theory, psychology, neuroscience, interaction design and musicology. The investigations lead to three creative principles, which inform the design of an instrument that combines a custom zither and audio-visual 3D software. The instrument uses disparities between the acoustic and digital outputs so as to explore those creative principles: a) to threshold the performerʼs control over the instrument and the instrumentʼs unpredictability, in ways that convey musical expression; b) to facilitate perceptual simplification of visual dynamics; c) to create an audio-visual relationship that produces a sense of causation, and simultaneously confounds the cause and effect relationships. This latter principle is demonstrated with a study on audio-visual mapping and perception, whose conclusions are equally applicable to the audio-visual relationship in space. Yet importantly, my creative decisions are not driven by demonstrative aims. Regarding the visual dynamics, the initial creative work assures perceptual simplification, but the final work exposes a gray area that respects to how the audienceʼs attention might change over time. In any case, the parametric visualisation model can reveal how any audio-visual performance work might converge or diverge from these three creative principles. It combines parameters for interaction, sonic & visual dynamics, audio-visual relationship, physical performance setup and semantics. The parameters for dynamics and semantics reflect how stimuli inform attention at a particular timescale. The thesis uses the model to analyse a set of audio-visual performance languages, to represent my solo performance work from a creative perspective, and to visualise the workʼs versatility in collaboration with other musicians

Mosca-negra-dos-citros Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) em culturas de citros e de mangueira no estado de São Paulo e observações de sua biologia e controle.

Resumo: O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a infestação da mosca-negra-dos-citros, A. woglumi, observada em janeiro de 2008, em pomar comercial de laranja Pêra-Rio porta enxerto de Limão-Cravo, de nove anos de idade, e em árvo- res isoladas de mangueira variedades Haden e Palmer, de sete a oito anos de idade, no município de Artur Nogueira, estado de São Paulo. Outros objetivos foram relatar a sua biologia, os níveis de danos e o controle biológico dessa praga.bitstream/CNPMA/7710/1/comunicado_46.pd

La discursividad de gestores sobre aspectos relacionados al retardo del diagnostico de la tuberculosis

The aim of this study was to analyze the discourse of health managers on aspects related to delay in tuberculosis diagnosis. This was a qualitative research study, conducted with 16 Family Health Unit managers. The empirical data were obtained through semi-structured interviews. The analysis was based on the theoretical framework of the French school of discourse analysis. According to the managers’ statements, the delay in tuberculosis diagnosis is related to patient and health service aspects. As for patient aspects, managers report fear, prejudice and lack of information as factors that may promote a delayed diagnosis. Regarding health service aspects, structural problems and lack of professional skills were reported. The discourse of managers should be considered to qualify tuberculosis control actions and to prevent delays in diagnosis.El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar el discurso de gestores sobre aspectos relacionados al retardo del diagnóstico de la tuberculosis. Investigación de naturaleza cualitativa, que involucró a 16 gestores de Unidades de Salud de la Familia. El material empírico fue producido por medio de entrevistas semi-estructuradas. En el análisis fue utilizado como dispositivo teórico-analítico, el análisis del discurso, de línea francesa. Según los discursos de los gestores, el retardo en el diagnóstico de la tuberculosis se relaciona con el usuario y los servicios de salud. Con relación a los usuarios, el discurso de los gestores evidencia el miedo, el prejuicio y la falta de información como factores que promueven el retardo del diagnóstico. Al respecto de los servicios de salud, los sujetos mencionan dificultades estructurales y falta de calificación profesional. Conviene observar las interpretaciones de los gestores para calificar las acciones de control de la tuberculosis, con miras a prevenir el retraso del diagnóstico de la enfermedad.O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a discursividade de gestores sobre aspectos relacionados ao retardo do diagnóstico da tuberculose. Pesquisa de natureza qualitativa, que envolveu 16 gestores de Unidades de Saúde da Família. O material empírico foi produzido por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas. Na análise foi utilizado como dispositivo teórico-analítico a análise de discurso de linha francesa. Segundo os discursos dos gestores, o retardo no diagnóstico de tuberculose relaciona-se ao usuário e aos serviços de saúde. Com relação aos usuários, o discurso dos gestores evidencia o medo, o preconceito e a falta de informação como fatores que promovem o retardo do diagnóstico. A respeito dos serviços de saúde, fazem referência a dificuldades estruturais e falta de qualificação profissional. Convém observar as interpretações dos gestores para qualificar as ações de controle da tuberculose visando prevenir o atraso do diagnóstico da doença