Peripheral and central mechanisms involved in hormonal control of male and female reproduction

Reproduction involves the integration of hormonal signals acting across multiple systems togenerate a synchronized physiological output. A critical component of reproduction is the luteinizinghormone (LH) surge, which is mediated by estradiol (E2) and neuroprogesterone interacting tostimulate kisspeptin release in the rostral periventricular nucleus of the third ventricle in rats. Recentevidence has shown that both classical and membrane E2 and progesterone signaling is involved inthis pathway. A metabolite of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), GnRH-(1-5), has been shownto stimulate GnRH expression, secretion, and has a role in the regulation of lordosis. Additionally,gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) projects to and influences the activity of GnRH neurons inbirds. Stress-induced changes in GnIH have been shown to alter breeding behaviors in birds,demonstrating another molecular control of reproduction. Peripherally, paracrine and autocrineactions within the gonad have been suggested as therapeutic targets for infertility in both males andfemales. Dysfunction of testicular prostaglandin synthesis is a possible cause of idiopathic maleinfertility. Indeed, local production of melatonin and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) couldinfluence spermatogenesis via immune pathways in the gonad. In females, vascular endothelialgrowth factor A (VEGF-A) has been implicated in an angiogenic process that mediates developmentof the corpus luteum and thus fertility via the Notch signaling pathway. Age-induced decreases infertility involve ovarian kisspeptin and its regulation of ovarian sympathetic innervation. Finally,morphological changes in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus influence female sexualreceptivity in rats. The processes mediating these morphological changes have been shown toinvolve rapid effects of E2 controlling synaptogenesis in this hypothalamic nucleus. Together, thisreview highlights new research in these areas, focusing on recent findings in the molecularmechanisms of central and peripheral hormonal control of reproduction.Fil: Rudolph, L. M.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Bentley, G. E.. University of California Berkeley; Estados UnidosFil: Calandra, Ricardo Saul. 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: Paredes, A. H.. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Tesone, Marta. 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: Wu, T. J.. Uniformed Services University; Estados UnidosFil: Micevych, P. E.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados Unido

Virtual Calibration Method for Diesel Engine by Software in The Loop Techniques

The calibration of the engine control unit is increased for the development of the whole automotive system. The aim is to calibrate the electronic engine control to match the decreasing emission requirements and increasing fuel economy demands. The reduction of the number of tests on vehicles represents one of the most important requirements for increasing efficiency of the engine calibration process. However, the definition of the design of experiment is not straightforward because the data is not known beforehand, so it is difficult to process and analyse this data to achieve a globally valid model. To reduce time effort and costs the virtual calibration can be a valid solution. This procedure is called software in the loop (SIL) calibration able to develop a process to systematically identify the optimal balance of engine performance, emissions and fuel economy. In this work, a virtual calibration methodology is presented by using a two-stage model to get minimum exhaust emissions of a diesel engine. The data used are from a GT-Power model of a 3L supercharged diesel engine. The model is able to calculate the engine emissions for different engine parameters (such as the start of injection, EGR fraction and rail pressure) and from optimisation process, new injection start maps that reduce pollutant emissions are created

ICMSF Methods Studies. XV. Comparison of Four Media and Methods for Enumerating Staphylococcus aureus in Powdered Milk.

Four media were examined for their usefulness in enumerating Staphylococcus aureus inoculated (a) into milk that was then dried or (b) directly into dried milk powder. In all, seven strains of S. aureus were inoculated individually into each preparation and were enumerated after two periods of storage (18 to 19 d and 60 to 61 d). Fourteen laboratories from twelve countries participated in the comparison which found that direct plating on agar medium in 14-cm petri dishes may be as useful as enrichment followed by streaking. Plating on Baird-Parker medium or on Hauschild pork plasma fibrinogen medium and a MPN method using Giolitti and Cantoni's broth with Tween 80 were equally sensitive for enumerating S. aureus in dried milk powder. The use of Hauschild medium may eliminate the need for supplementary tests to confirm colonies as S. aureus , but in some cases was found to fail in some laboratories. Giolitti and Cantoni's broth without Tween 80 generally was less useful than the three other media for enumerating S. aureus . S. aureus inoculated into milk that was then dried survived longer than when inoculated into dried milk

Sexuação, desejo e gozo: entre neurose e perversão

Este artigo retoma três perguntas lançadas por Freud em 1927, no seu excepcional texto intitulado "Fetichismo", para repensá-las a partir do ensino de Lacan dos anos 1970, conhecido como o campo do gozo. O artigo se serve das fórmulas quânticas da sexuação, para verificar a evidenciação lógica "a relação sexual não existe" na posição sexuada que um sujeito pode ocupar com seus parceiros nas estruturas neurótica e perversa. Interrogamos algumas variantes do sujeito com seu parceiro no gozo e no desejo. Para tanto, retomamos os três tipos de gozo verificados por Lacan na relação do sujeito com o parceiro na posição sexuada: o gozo feminino - também chamado de suplementar e gozo Outro -, o gozo místico e o gozo perverso. Revisitam-se os casos trabalhados por Lacan para questionar o que distingue fundamentalmente o neurótico do perverso, ou seja, retomando as questões introduzidas por Freud

“It’s Like Hating Puppies!” Employee Disengagement and Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been linked with numerous organizational advantages, including recruitment, retention, productivity, and morale, which relate specifically to employees. However, despite specific benefits of CSR relating to employees and their importance as a stakeholder group, it is noteworthy that a lack of attention has been paid to the individual level of analysis with CSR primarily being studied at the organizational level. Both research and practice of CSR have largely treated the individual organization as a “black box,” failing to account for individual differences amongst employees and the resulting variations in antecedents to CSR engagement or disengagement. This is further exacerbated by the tendency in stakeholder theory to homogenize priorities within a single stakeholder group. In response, utilizing case study data drawn from three multinational tourism and hospitality organizations, combined with extensive interview data collected from CSR leaders, industry professionals, engaged, and disengaged employees, this exploratory research produces a finer-grained understanding of employees as a stakeholder group, identifying a number of opportunities and barriers for individual employee engagement in CSR interventions. This research proposes that employees are situated along a spectrum of engagement from actively engaged to actively disengaged. While there are some common drivers of engagement across the entire spectrum of employees, differences also exist depending on the degree to which employees, rather than senior management, support corporate responsibility within their organizations. Key antecedents to CSR engagement that vary depending on employees’ existing level of broader engagement include organizational culture, CSR intervention design, employee CSR perceptions, and the observed benefits of participation

Impacts of Connected Automated Vehicles on Large Urban Road Network

As an essential component of the Cooperative Intelligent Transportation System (C-ITS), Connected Automated Vehicles (CAVs) are anticipated to play a significant role in the development of the future mobility service. This paper investigates the impacts of different penetration of CAVs on the urban road network. The investigation is carried out in a vast urban network with Simulation of Urban MObility (SUMO), a microscopic traffic simulator. The estimated factors of the network are network maximum flow, critical density, average speed, congestion duration, and roadway over-saturation degree. The Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) has been used to estimate the maximum flow and critical density. In a simulation way, it substantiated that a road network could have less scattered MFDs, even if the traffic flow is distributed heterogeneously. The congestion duration and over-saturation degree are used to check traffic congestion. The simulation results show that applying 100% CAVs can contribute about a 13.55% increase in maximum flow. A similar trend can be found in the critical density for different CAV penetration rates. In a similar congestion situation, the network with 100% CAV driving in can carry more than 130% of the original travel demand. In terms of congestion level, even a low CAV penetration rate may significantly improve the traffic condition