Optimal input design for aircraft parameter estimation

International audienceAn optimal input design technique for aircraft parameter estimation is presented in this paper. The original idea is the combination of a dynamic programming method with a gradient algorithm for the optimal input synthesis. This approach allows to include realistic practical constraints on the input and output variables. A description of this approach is presented, followed by an example concerning an aircraft longitudinal flight

Role of membrane estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) in the rapid regulation of male sexual behavior.

peer reviewedThe activation of male sexual behavior depends on brain estrogen synthesis. Estrogens act through nuclear and membrane receptors producing effects within hours/days or seconds/minutes, respectively. In mice, estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is the main estrogen receptor (ER) controlling the activation of male sexual behavior. Although neuroestrogens rapidly modulate mouse sexual behavior, it is not known whether these effects involve membrane ERα (mERα). This study combines two complementary approaches to address this question. C451A-ERα mice carry an ERα that cannot signal at the membrane, while estetrol (E4) is a natural estrogen acting as an agonist on nuclear ERα but as an antagonist on membrane ERα. In wild-type males, E4 decreased the number of mounts and intromissions after 10 min. In C451A-ERα males, E4 also altered sexual performance but after 30 min. E4 did not affect time spent near the female in both wild-type and C451A-ERα mice. However, regardless of genotype, the aromatase inhibitor 1,4,6-Androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD) decreased both sexual performance and the time spent near the female after 10 and 30 min, confirming the key role of aromatization in the rapid control of sexual behavior and motivation. In conclusion, the shift in timing at which the effect of E4 is observed in mice lacking mERα suggests a role for mERα in the regulation of rapid effects of neuroestrogens on sexual performance, thus providing the first demonstration that E4 acts as an antagonist of a mER in the brain. The persisting effect of ATD on behavior in C451A-ERα mice also suggests the implication of another ER

Comparison between performances of surface and volume nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharges for the treatment of volatile organic compounds

International audienceNon-thermal plasmas reactors are a promising alternative for treating volatile organic compounds present in air effluents. In this work, we compare the efficiencies of volume and surface nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharges for the destruction of ethanol. Surface configuration was found to be much more efficient, with its characteristic energy less than half the one for volume configuration. Further, surface configuration attained more than 80 % destruction at a specific energy input of 100 J/L at 50 ppm

Further investigation of the rapid control of male sexual behavior by neuroestrogens in mice

Neuroestrogens play a key role in the activation of male sexual behavior by testosterone through their nuclear- and membrane-initiated actions. Studies conducted in birds suggested that membrane vs. nuclear actions of neuroestrogens differentially control sexual motivation and performance. In mice, estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) plays a major role in the control of male sexual behavior. However, whether the translocation ERα and its activation at the membrane rapidly affect male sexual behavior remains unclear. Recently, a mouse model (C451A-ERα) carrying a mutated ERα unable to traffic to and signal from the membrane was generated. Moreover, the natural estrogen estetrol (E4) has been described to act as an agonist of nuclear estrogen receptors but as an antagonist on their membrane-associated fraction. Here, we used the complementary properties of estetrol and C451A-ERα mice to investigate the role of membrane ERα (mERα) on male sexual motivation and performance. Regardless of the genotype, systemic aromatase blockade decreased within 10 min sexual performance and motivation, measured by the time spent close to an estrous female. E4 rapidly decreased sexual performance only in wild-type males and had no effect on sexual motivation. Together, these data confirmed the key role of aromatization in the rapid control of male sexual performance and extended this conclusion to sexual motivation. Moreover, E4, likely acting on mERα rapidly inhibits sexual performance, but not sexual motivation. Finally, the inhibitory effect of aromatase blockade in C451A-ERα mice suggests that another estrogen receptor than mERα also regulates both aspects of male sexual behavior

Role for the Membrane Estrogen Receptor alpha in the sexual differentiation of the brain

Estrogens exert pleiotropic effects on multiple physiological and behavioral responses. Male and female sexual behavior in rodents constitutes some of the best characterized responses activated by estrogens in adulthood and largely depend on ERα. Evidence exists that nucleus‐ and membrane‐initiated estrogen signaling cooperate to orchestrate the activation of these behaviors both in short‐ and long‐term. However, questions remain regarding the mechanism(s) and receptor(s) involved in the early brain programming during development to organize the circuits underlying sexually differentiated responses. Taking advantage of a mouse model harboring a mutation of the ERα palmitoylation site, which prevents membrane ERα signaling (mERα□□ERα□C451A), this study investigated the role of mERα on the expression of male and female sexual behavior and neuronal populations that differ between sexes. The results revealed no genotype effect on the expression of female sexual behavior, while male sexual behavior was significantly reduced, but not abolished, in males homozygous for the mutation. Similarly, the number of kisspeptin‐ (Kp‐ir) and calbindin‐immunoreactive (Cb‐ir) neurons in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPv) and the sexually‐dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area (SDN‐POA), respectively, were not different between genotypes in females. In contrast, homozygous males showed increased numbers of Kp‐ir and decreased numbers of Cb‐ir neurons compared to wild‐types, thus leading to an intermediate phenotype between females and wild‐type males. Importantly, females neonatally treated with estrogens exhibited the same neurochemical phenotype as their corresponding genotype among males. Together, these data provide evidence that mERα is involved in the perinatal programming of the male brain

Substantial genetic mixing among sexual and androgenetic lineages within the clam genus <i>Corbicula</i>

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe