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This article aims to bring an alternative to carrying out manual tests of devices mounted on a production line. One of the tests done by the operator is to find out if the LEDs are present on the device being turned on and working correctly. Image processing techniques were applied in the elaboration of the dataset and the use of Convolutional Neural Networks for the classification of the colors presented by the LEDs and the recognition of their operation. An accuracy of 99.25% was obtained with a low percentage of false positives and true negatives. There were no difficulties in porting the model built to a small computer.

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Conservation initiatives overwhelmingly focus on terrestrial biodiversity, and little is known about the freshwater cobenefits of terrestrial conservation actions. We sampled more than 1500 terrestrial and freshwater species in the Amazon and simulated conservation for species from both realms. Prioritizations based on terrestrial species yielded on average just 22% of the freshwater benefits achieved through freshwater-focused conservation. However, by using integrated cross-realm planning, freshwater benefits could be increased by up to 600% for a 1% reduction in terrestrial benefits. Where freshwater biodiversity data are unavailable but aquatic connectivity is accounted for, freshwater benefits could still be doubled for negligible losses of terrestrial coverage. Conservation actions are urgently needed to improve the status of freshwater species globally. Our results suggest that such gains can be achieved without compromising terrestrial conservation goals.

Qa-2 is believed to mediate a protective immune response against cancer; however, little is known about the role of Qa-2 in tumorigenesis. Here, we used 4T1 breast cancer cells to study the involvement of Qa-2 in tumor progression in a syngeneic host. Qa-2 expression was reduced during in vivo tumor growth and in cell lines derived from 4T1-induced tumors. Tumor-derived cells elicited an epithelial-mesenchymal transition associated with upregulation of Zeb1 and Twist1/2 and enhanced tumor initiating and invasive capacities. Furthermore, these cells showed increased stem characteristics, as demonstrated by upregulation of Hes1, Sox2 and Oct3/4, and enrichment of CD44high/CD24median/low cells. Remarkably, Qa-2 cell-surface expression was excluded from the CD44high/CD24median/low subpopulation. Tumor-derived cells showed increased Src activity, and treatment of these cells with the Src kinase inhibitor PP2 enhanced Qa-2 but reduced Sox2 and CD44high/CD24median/low expression levels, suggesting that Src signaling, while positively associated with stemness, negatively regulates Qa-2 expression in breast cancer. Finally, overexpression of the Qa-2 family member Q7 on the cell surface slowed down in vivo tumor growth and reduced the metastatic potential of 4T1 cells. These results suggest an anti-malignant role for Qa-2 in breast cancer development, which appears to be absent from cancer stem cells.

Anderson localization of light and random lasing in this critical regime is an open research frontier, which besides being a basic research topic could also lead to important applications. This article investigates the random laser action at the localization transition in a strongly disordered scattering medium composed of a colloidal suspension of core-shell nanoparticles (TiO@Silica) in ethanol solution of Rhodamine 6G. The classical superfluorescence band of the random laser was measured separately by collecting the emission at the back of the samples, showing a linear dependence with pumping fluence without gain depletion. However, frontal collection showed saturation of the absorption and emission. Narrow peaks of approximately equal intensity are observed on top of the classical superfluorescence band, indicating suppression of the interaction between the peaks modes. The linewidth of these peaks is lower than that of the passive modes of the scattering medium. A method called fraction of absorbed pumping allowed us to infer that this peak's mode (localized modes) is confined to a shallow region near the input-pumping border.

In this work, the mathematical model for the electroanalytical action of Ni-containing nanoparticles (by themselves and in a composite with a conducting polymer) in electrochemical qualitative and quantitative methanol detection in alkaline media is developed and analyzed by using of linear stability theory and bifurcation analysis. By the mathematical modeling, the steady-state stability conditions (the most exact sensing action requirements) and the causes for oscillatory and monotonic instabilities are derived. The result of the modeling is compared with the experimental data., En este trabajo se desarrolló y se analizó, por medio de la teoría de estabilidad lineal y del análisis de bifurcaciones, el modelo matemático con que fue descrito el desempeño de nanopartículas de los derivados de níquel (solas y en compositos con el polímero conductor) en la determinación de metanol en el medio alcalino. Mediante el modelaje matemático, se derivaron las condiciones de estabilidad del estado estacionario, e inferidas las causas generales del comportamiento oscilatorio y monotónico. Los resultados del modelaje se compararon con los datos experimentales.

Despite an increasing interest in the preparation of Nonnative English-speaking (NNES) teachers in English Language Teaching (ELT), a knowledge base for NNES teachers has yet to be articulated. This article takes the position that the ELT field should take into account and address the preparation of NNES teachers systematically. This article conceptualizes a model of teacher knowledge for NNES teachers. NNES teachers are a special case because issues such as language, self-perceptions, and identity play a key role in their preparation and should be connected to their knowledge base., Apesar do interesse crescente na preparação de professores não-nativos de inglês (NNI) na área de ensino de inglês (EI), uma base de conhecimentos para professores NNI ainda tem que ser articulada. Esse artigo tem como posição que a área de EI deve levar em consideração a preparação de professores NNI sistematicamente. Esse artigo conceitualiza um modelo de conhecimentos para professores NNI. Professores NNI são um caso especial porque questões como aprendizagem de língua, percepções próprias e identidade têm um papel fundamental em sua preparação e devem estar conectadas as suas bases de conhecimento.

The four NGATHA genes (NGA) form a small subfamily within the large family of B3-domain transcription factors of Arabidopsis thaliana. NGA genes act redundantly to direct the development of the apical tissues of the gynoecium, the style, and the stigma. Previous studies indicate that NGA genes could exert this function at least partially by directing the synthesis of auxin at the distal end of the developing gynoecium through the upregulation of two different YUCCA genes, which encode flavin monooxygenases involved in auxin biosynthesis. We have compared three developing pistil transcriptome data sets from wildtype, nga quadruple mutants, and a 35S::NGA3 line. The differentially expressed genes showed a significant enrichment for auxin-related genes, supporting the idea of NGA genes as major regulators of auxin accumulation and distribution within the developing gynoecium. We have introduced reporter lines for several of these differentially expressed genes involved in synthesis, transport and response to auxin in NGA gain- and loss-of-function backgrounds. We present here a detailed map of the response of these reporters to NGA misregulation that could help to clarify the role of NGA in auxin-mediated gynoecium morphogenesis. Our data point to a very reduced auxin synthesis in the developing apical gynoecium of nga mutants, likely responsible for the lack of DR5rev::GFP reporter activity observed in these mutants. In addition, NGA altered activity affects the expression of protein kinases that regulate the cellular localization of auxin efflux regulators, and thus likely impact auxin transport. Finally, protein accumulation in pistils of several ARFs was differentially affected by nga mutations or NGA overexpression, suggesting that these accumulation patterns depend not only on auxin distribution but could be also regulated by transcriptional networks involving NGA factors.

Angiosperms are the most diverse and numerous group of plants, and it is generally accepted that this evolutionary success owes in part to the diversity found in fruits, key for protecting the developing seeds and ensuring seed dispersal. Although studies on the molecular basis of morphological innovations are few, they all illustrate the central role played by transcription factors acting as developmental regulators. Here, we show that a small change in the protein sequence of a MADS-box transcription factor correlates with the origin of a highly modified fruit morphology and the change in seed dispersal strategies that occurred in Medicago, a genus belonging to the large legume family. This protein sequence modification alters the functional properties of the protein, affecting the affinities for other protein partners involved in high-order complexes. Our work illustrates that variation in coding regions can generate evolutionary novelties not based on gene duplication/subfunctionalization but by interactions in complex networks, contributing also to the current debate on the relative importance of changes in regulatory or coding regions of master regulators in generating morphological novelties.

2007, ISSN 1518-4757