VGF changes during the estrous cycle: a novel endocrine role for TLQP peptides?

Although the VGF derived peptide TLQP-21 stimulates gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and gonadotropin secretion, available data on VGF peptides and reproduction are limited. We used antibodies specific for the two ends of the VGF precursor, and for two VGF derived peptides namely TLQP and PGH, to be used in immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay complemented with gel chromatography. In cycling female rats, VGF C-/N-terminus and PGH peptide antibodies selectively labelled neurones containing either GnRH, or kisspeptin (VGF N-terminus only), pituitary gonadotrophs and lactotrophs, or oocytes (PGH peptides only). Conversely, TLQP peptides were restricted to somatostatin neurones, gonadotrophs, and ovarian granulosa, interstitial and theca cells. TLQP levels were highest, especially in plasma and ovary, with several molecular forms shown in chromatography including one compatible with TLQP-21. Among the cycle phases, TLQP levels were higher during metestrus-diestrus in median eminence and pituitary, while increased in the ovary and decreased in plasma during proestrus. VGF N- and C-terminus peptides also showed modulations over the estrous cycle, in median eminence, pituitary and plasma, while PGH peptides did not. In ovariectomised rats, plasmatic TLQP peptide levels showed distinct reduction suggestive of a major origin from the ovary, while the estrogen-progesterone treatment modulated VGF C-terminus and TLQP peptides in the hypothalamus-pituitary complex. In in vitro hypothalamus, TLQP-21 stimulated release of growth hormone releasing hormone but not of somatostatin. In conclusion, various VGF peptides may regulate the hypothalamus-pituitary complex via specific neuroendocrine mechanisms while TLQP peptides may act at further, multiple levels via endocrine mechanisms involving the ovary

The CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter Pre-calibration with Cosmic Rays and Test Beam Electrons

The electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at the new CERN proton-proton Collider (LHC) is at an advanced stage of construction. A necessary condition for its optimal performance is a precise channel-to-channel calibration. The use of cosmic rays allows the pre-calibration of all the channels at the level of 2% before the final installation in CMS and provides an extensive functionality test, essential for the commissioning of the detector. On the other hand, a beam of electrons permits extremely precise (better than 0.5%) pre-calibration coefficients to be obtained on a fraction of the calorimeter, that can also be used as a reference for the in situ calibration procedures that will rely on physics data

A Bayesian Networks Approach to Operational Risk

A system for Operational Risk management based on the computational paradigm of Bayesian Networks is presented. The algorithm allows the construction of a Bayesian Network targeted for each bank using only internal loss data, and takes into account in a simple and realistic way the correlations among different processes of the bank. The internal losses are averaged over a variable time horizon, so that the correlations at different times are removed, while the correlations at the same time are kept: the averaged losses are thus suitable to perform the learning of the network topology and parameters. The algorithm has been validated on synthetic time series. It should be stressed that the practical implementation of the proposed algorithm has a small impact on the organizational structure of a bank and requires an investment in human resources limited to the computational area

Combined Effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Arctic Oscillation on Sea Surface Temperature in the Alborán Sea

We explored the possible effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO) on interannual sea surface temperature (SST) variations in the Albora´n Sea, both separately and combined. The probability of observing mean annual SST values higher than average was related to NAO and AO values of the previous year. The effect of NAO on SST was negative, while that of AO was positive. The pure effects of NAO and AO on SST are obscuring each other, due to the positive correlation between them. When decomposing SST, NAO and AO in seasonal values, we found that variation in mean annual SST and mean winter SST was significantly related to the mean autumn NAO of the previous year, while mean summer SST was related to mean autumn AO of the previous year. The one year delay in the effect of the NAO and AO on the SST could be partially related to the amount of accumulated snow, as we found a significant correlation between the total snow in the North Albora´n watershed for a year with the annual average SST of the subsequent year. A positive AO implies a colder atmosphere in the Polar Regions, which could favour occasional cold waves over the Iberian Peninsula which, when coupled with precipitations favoured by a negative NAO, may result in snow precipitation. This snow may be accumulated in the high peaks and melt down in spring-summer of the following year, which consequently increases the runoff of freshwater to the sea, which in turn causes a diminution of sea surface salinity and density, and blocks the local upwelling of colder water, resulting in a higher SST.CGL2009-11316 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain, and FEDER

Experimental evidence of high-resolution ghost imaging and ghost diffraction with classical thermal light

High-resolution ghost image and ghost diffraction experiments are performed by using a single source of thermal-like speckle light divided by a beam splitter. Passing from the image to the diffraction result solely relies on changing the optical setup in the reference arm, while leaving untouched the object arm. The product of spatial resolutions of the ghost image and ghost diffraction experiments is shown to overcome a limit which was formerly thought to be achievable only with entangled photons.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

A Lagrangian PFEM approach tothe numerical simulation of 3D large scale landslides impinging in water reservoirs

Landslides are exceptional natural hazards that can generate extensive damage to structures and infrastructures causing a large number of casualties. A particularly critical condition occurs when the landslide impinges in water reservoirs generating high waves. This work proposes a numerical tool to simulate the macroscopic behavior of a propagating landslide. The Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) is here used and adapted to the specific case of landslide runout. The Lagrangian Navier-Stokes equations of incompressible fluids are used to describe the macroscopic landslide behavior. A rigid-visco-plastic law with a pressure dependent threshold, typical of a non-Newtonian, Bingham-like fluid, is used to characterize the constitutive behavior of the flowing material. Special attention is devoted to the definition of ad-hoc pressure-dependent slip boundary conditions at the interface between the flowing mass and the basal surface to better represent the real landslide-slope interaction. The proposed approach has been validated against numerical benchmarks and small scale experimental tests, showing a good agreement with the physical measurements. Real case scenarios have also been considered. 3D geometries of critical sites, where landslides have occurred, have been reconstructed allowing for the simulation of large scale real landslide runouts. Results are compared with post-event images and measurements, showing the accuracy and the capability of the method