Neuroendocrine Regulation of Metabolism

Given the current environment in most developed countries, it is a challenge to maintain a good balance between calories consumed and calories burned, although maintenance of metabolic balance is key to good health. Therefore, understanding how metabolic regulation is achieved and how the dysregulation of metabolism affects health is an area of intense research. Most studies focus on the hypothalamus, which is a brain area that acts as a key regulator of metabolism. Among the nuclei that comprise the hypothalamus, the arcuate nucleus is one of the major mediators in the regulation of food intake. The regulation of energy balance is also a key factor ensuring the maintenance of any species as a result of the dependence of reproduction on energy stores. Adequate levels of energy reserves are necessary for the proper functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. This review discusses valuable data presented in the 2015 edition of the International Workshop of Neuroendocrinology concerning the fundamental nature of the hormonal regulation of the hypothalamus and the impact on energy balance and reproduction.Fil: Cornejo, María Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; ArgentinaFil: Hentges, S.T.. State University of Colorado - Fort Collins; Estados UnidosFil: Maliqueo, M.. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Coirini, Hector. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Becu Villalobos, D.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Elias, C. F.. University of Michigan; Estados Unido

The Computational Power of Beeps

In this paper, we study the quantity of computational resources (state machine states and/or probabilistic transition precision) needed to solve specific problems in a single hop network where nodes communicate using only beeps. We begin by focusing on randomized leader election. We prove a lower bound on the states required to solve this problem with a given error bound, probability precision, and (when relevant) network size lower bound. We then show the bound tight with a matching upper bound. Noting that our optimal upper bound is slow, we describe two faster algorithms that trade some state optimality to gain efficiency. We then turn our attention to more general classes of problems by proving that once you have enough states to solve leader election with a given error bound, you have (within constant factors) enough states to simulate correctly, with this same error bound, a logspace TM with a constant number of unary input tapes: allowing you to solve a large and expressive set of problems. These results identify a key simplicity threshold beyond which useful distributed computation is possible in the beeping model.Comment: Extended abstract to appear in the Proceedings of the International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2015

Extending the applicability of an open-ring trap to perform experiments with a single laser-cooled ion

An open-ring ion trap, also referred to as transparent trap was initially built up to perform $\beta$-$\nu$ correlation experiments with radioactive ions. This trap geometry is also well suited to perform experiments with laser-cooled ions, serving for the development of a new type of Penning trap, in the framework of the project TRAPSENSOR at the University of Granada. The goal of this project is to use a single $^{40}$Ca$^+$ ion as detector for single-ion mass spectrometry. Within this project and without any modification to the initial electrode configuration, it was possible to perform Doppler cooling on $^{40}$Ca$^+$ ions, starting from large clouds and reaching single ion sensitivity. This new feature of the trap might be important also for other experiments with ions produced at Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facilities. In this publication, the trap and the laser system will be described, together with their performance with respect to laser cooling applied to large ion clouds down to a single ion.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figure

Beeping a Maximal Independent Set

We consider the problem of computing a maximal independent set (MIS) in an extremely harsh broadcast model that relies only on carrier sensing. The model consists of an anonymous broadcast network in which nodes have no knowledge about the topology of the network or even an upper bound on its size. Furthermore, it is assumed that an adversary chooses at which time slot each node wakes up. At each time slot a node can either beep, that is, emit a signal, or be silent. At a particular time slot, beeping nodes receive no feedback, while silent nodes can only differentiate between none of its neighbors beeping, or at least one of its neighbors beeping. We start by proving a lower bound that shows that in this model, it is not possible to locally converge to an MIS in sub-polynomial time. We then study four different relaxations of the model which allow us to circumvent the lower bound and find an MIS in polylogarithmic time. First, we show that if a polynomial upper bound on the network size is known, it is possible to find an MIS in O(log^3 n) time. Second, if we assume sleeping nodes are awoken by neighboring beeps, then we can also find an MIS in O(log^3 n) time. Third, if in addition to this wakeup assumption we allow sender-side collision detection, that is, beeping nodes can distinguish whether at least one neighboring node is beeping concurrently or not, we can find an MIS in O(log^2 n) time. Finally, if instead we endow nodes with synchronous clocks, it is also possible to find an MIS in O(log^2 n) time.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1108.192

Linear second-order differential equations for barotropic FRW cosmologies

"Simple linear second-order differential equations have been written down for FRW cosmologies with barotropic fluids by Faraoni. His results have been extended by Rosu, who employed techniques belonging to nonrelativistic supersymmetry to obtain time-dependent adiabatic indices. Further extensions are presented here using the known connection between the linear second-order differential equations and Dirac-like equations in the same supersymmetric context. These extensions are equivalent to adding an imaginary part to the adiabatic index which is proportional to the mass parameter of the Dirac spinor. The natural physical interpretation of the imaginary part is related to the particular dissipation and instabilities of the barotropic FRW hydrodynamics that are introduced by means of this supersymmetric scheme.

Agaricales Production: A Systematic Review on its Representative Species’ Cultivation Process and Substrate Influence

Mushroom cultivation has long been of economic importance, specifically in Asian nations where most mushrooms are grown and sold. The globally popular Pleurotus ostreatus and a mushroom with similar composition profiles to it, Calocybe indica, are gaining recognition among farmers in urban areas due to their low-cost production and ability to grow on diversified substrates. Assessing the cultivation of both C. indica and P. ostreatus with selected substrates has been unexplored by researchers, most especially systematic reviews that focus on the cultivation of mushrooms in the Philippines. This paper sought to find the effectiveness of wheat straw, paddy straw, and sugarcane bagasse substrates in increasing specific growth parameters of C. indica and P. ostreatus. A systematic review with a narrative synthesis approach was performed to determine the effects of the chosen substrates on growth and yield parameters. The study utilized the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) as a basis for reporting the results and the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool to appraise the studies included in the review critically. Results show that wheat straw had increased the rate of spawn run and pinhead formation of both mushrooms, while paddy straw obtained high yield parameters. Though there was a lack of substantiation of a leading substrate among the three, paddy and wheat straw are substrates that might have the potential in increasing the mushroom’s yield and quality in the Philippine

Numerical assessment of the influence of cutting operations on the fatigue strength of metals

Presentation delivered by Luis Antonio Gonçalves from CIMNE during the 17th International Conference on Computational Plasticity, Fundamentals and Applications (COMPLAS) taking place from 5 – 7 of September in Barcelona, Spain.The Fatigue4Light project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 10100684