Abstract
Despite the large number of studies on the phenomenon of imposex, the mechanism underlying the abnormal growth of male sexual characters onto females in numerous gastropod species is yet to be fully elucidated. Although several hypotheses have been raised over the years, a convincing body of evidence indicates that tributyltin-induced imposex involves the abnormal modulation of the retinoid X receptor (RXR). Here, we investigate the RXR gene transcription at different timings and tissues upon exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of tributyltin (TOT) (100 ng Sn/L TBT) in both genders of the imposex susceptible gastropod Nucella lapillus. RXR gene transcription was determined at two time-points (i.e., before and after imposex initiation) by quantitative Real Time PCR in potential target tissues: the central nervous system (CNS), penis/penis forming area (PFA), gonads and digestive gland. TBT-exposure altered transcription of RXR gene in a tissue and sex specific manner. In the CNS, a significant down-regulation was observed in females both before and after imposex initiation (P <= 0.01 and P <= 0.05, respectively). A similar trend was observed in male CNS at the first time-point, although differences between control and the TBT-exposed group were just above significance (P=0.059). The penis/PFA showed no differences in transcription of RXR gene between control and TBT exposed female snails before imposex induction, or before and after imposex initiation for males. However, male penis showed higher transcription of RXR gene in comparison to the PFA of females. After imposex has been induced, a significant (P <= 0.001) increase in transcription of RXR gene was observed in penis of females with vas deference sequence index (VDS) levels of 3-4 in comparison with the PFA of both control and imposex females with VDS 1-2. At advanced stages of imposex, females displayed RXR transcription patterns in penis identical to those of males, which points to a functional role of RXR in the penis of both genders. In the other tissues, gonads and digestive gland. RXR gene transcription was not affected by TBT, at any of the analysed time-points. These patterns of RXR gene transcription upon TOT exposure highlight the pivotal involvement of the CNS in the mechanism of imposex induction. We integrate the results in a conceptual model, and discuss the central role of RXR and the retinoic acid signalling pathways in imposex and male genitalia formation in gastropods.

Abstract
Long-term variability in global sea surface temperature (SST) is often quantified by the slope from a linear regression fit. Attention is then focused on assessing the statistical significance of the derived slope parameter, but the adequacy of the linear model itself, and the inherent assumption of a deterministic linear trend, is seldom tested. Here, a parametric statistical test is applied to test the hypothesis of a linear deterministic trend in global sea surface temperature. The results show that a linear slope is not adequate for describing the long-term variability of sea surface temperature over most of the earth's surface. This does not mean that sea surface temperature is not increasing, rather that the increase should not be characterized by the slope from a linear fit. Therefore, describing the long-term variability of sea surface temperature by implicitly assuming a deterministic linear trend can give misleading results, particularly in terms of uncertainty, since the actual increase could be considerably larger than the one predicted by a deterministic linear model.

Abstract
Professionals such as First Responders are frequently exposed to extreme environmental conditions, which induce stress and fatigue during extensive periods of time. In this scenario, the main issues are the quantification and evaluation of stress and fatigue, since uncontrolled levels have a profound and negative impact on human health and performance. Based on an existing wearable monitoring solution - the Vital Jacket (R)- we propose an individual and team monitoring mobile solution called DroidJacket. DroidJacket is based on Android mobile devices and provides data aggregation, processing, visualization and optionally relaying services. The DroidJacket design is plugin oriented, integrating analysis modules, namely an online ECG plugin for both real time pulse and arrhythmia detection.

Abstract

Abstract
Many natural and artificial structures can be represented as complex networks. Computing the frequency of all subgraphs of a certain size can give a very comprehensive structural characterization of these networks. This is known as the subgraph census problem, and it is also important as an intermediate step in the computation of other features of the network, such as network motifs. The subgraph census problem is computationally hard and most associated algorithms for it are sequential. Here we present several increasingly efficient parallel strategies for, culminating in a scalable and adaptive parallel algorithm. We applied our strategies to a representative set of biological networks and achieved almost linear speedups up to 128 processors, paving the way for making it possible to compute the census for bigger networks and larger subgraph sizes.

Abstract
This paper looks to the semantic web and Web 3.0 technologies as an enabler for the creation of value and new emergent business models. It describes the concept of Web 3.0, its properties and its major differences in relation with previous Web 2.0 concept. Furthermore, the paper proposes eight business models that a company can follow to adopt a successful Web 3.0 business strategy. © 2011 AISTI.