Kisspeptin modulates GnRH secretion in mammals and peripheral administration of 10-amino acid fragment of kisspeptin (Kp10) induces LH release and ovulation in cattle. Experiments were done to ...determine if iv administration of kisspeptin will activate GnRH neurons (i.e., after crossing the blood-brain barrier) and if pre-treatment with a GnRH receptor blocker will alter kisspeptin-induced LH release (from gonadotrophs) and ovulation. In Experiment 1, cows (n = 3 per group) were given human-Kisspeptin10 (hKp10; 3 x 15 mg iv at 60-min intervals) or normal saline and euthanized 150 min after treatment was initiated. Every 20th free-floating section (50 μm thickness) from the preoptic area to hypothalamus was double immunostained to colocalize GnRH- (DAB) and activated neurons (cFOS; Nickel-DAB). Kisspeptin induced plasma LH release from 15 to 150 min (P = 0.01) but the proportion of activated GnRH neurons did not differ between groups (5.8% and 3.5%, respectively; P = 0.11). Immunogold electron microscopy detected close contacts between kisspeptin fibers and GnRH terminals in the median eminence. In Experiment 2, pubertal heifers (n = 5 per group) were treated with 1) hKp10 iv, 2) Cetrorelix (GnRH antagonist; im) + hKp10 iv or 3) saline on Day 6 of the follicular wave under low-progesterone condition. A rise in plasma LH concentration was detected from 15 to 240 min in the hKp10 group but not in cetrorelix or control group (P<0.001). Ovulations were detected only in the hKp10 group (4/5; P = 0.02). Cetrorelix treatment was associated with regression of the preovulatory dominant follicle and emergence of a new follicular wave 3.4±0.75 days after the treatment in all five heifers. Results support the hypothesis that the effect of peripheral kisspeptin is mediated downstream of GnRH synthesis and does not involve GnRH-independent LH release from gonadotrophs. Peripheral kisspeptin may release pre-synthesized GnRH from the nerve terminals in areas outside the blood-brain barrier.
This paper considers a fairly general model of constrained queuing networks that allows us to represent both Markov Modulated Bernoulli Processes arrivals and time-varying service constraints. We ...derive a set of sufficient conditions for throughput optimality of scheduling policies, which encompass and generalize all the results previously obtained in the field. This leads to the definition of new classes of (non-diagonal) throughput optimal scheduling policies. We prove the stability of queues by extending the traditional Lyapunov drift criterion methodology.
A measurement of the K+→ π+μ+μ− decay Cortina Gil, E.; Kleimenova, A.; Minucci, E. ...
The journal of high energy physics,
11/2022, Letnik:
2022, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
A
bstract
A sample of 2
.
8 × 10
4
K
+
→
π
+
μ
+
μ
−
candidates with negligible background was collected by the NA62 experiment at the CERN SPS in 2017–2018. The model-independent branching fraction ...is measured to be (9
.
15 ± 0
.
08) × 10
−
8
, a factor three more precise than previous measurements. The decay form factor is presented as a function of the squared dimuon mass. A measurement of the form factor parameters and their uncertainties is performed using a description based on Chiral Perturbation Theory at
O
(
p
6
).
A precision measurement of the ratio RK of the rates of kaon leptonic decays K±→e±ν and K±→μ±ν with the full data sample collected by the NA62 experiment at CERN in 2007–2008 is reported. The result, ...obtained by analysing ∼150000 reconstructed K±→e±ν candidates with 11% background contamination, is RK=(2.488±0.010)×10−5, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation.
An experimental study on natural convection in an open channel is carried out in order to investigate the effect of the geometrical configuration of heat sources on the heat transfer behaviour. To ...this aim, a series of vertical heaters are cooled by natural convection of air flowing between two parallel walls. The objective of the work is to investigate the physical mechanisms which influence the thermal behaviour of a double-skin photovoltaic (PV) facade. This results in a better understanding of the related phenomena and infers useful engineering information for controlling the energy transfers from the environment to the PV surfaces and from the PV surfaces to the building. Furthermore increasing the heat transfer rate from the PV surfaces increases the conversion efficiency of the PV modules since they operate better as their temperature is lower. The test section consists in a double vertical wall, 2
m high, and each wall is constituted by 10 different heating modules 0.2
m high. The heater arrangement simulates, at a reduced scale, the presence of a series of vertical PV modules. The heat flux at the wall ranges from 75 to 200
W/m
2. In this study, the heated section is 1.6
m in height, preceded by an adiabatic of 0.4
m in height. Different heating configurations are analyzed, including the uniform heating mode and two different configurations of non uniform, alternate heating. The experimental procedure allows the wall surface temperature, local heat transfer coefficient and local and average Nusselt numbers to be inferred. The experimental evidences show that the proper selection of the separating distance and heating configuration can noticeably decrease the surface temperatures and hence enhance the conversion efficiency of PV modules.
Two concurrent factors challenge the evaluation of large-scale cache networks: complex algorithmic interactions, which are hardly represented by analytical models, and catalog/network size, which ...limits the scalability of event-driven simulations. To solve these limitations, we propose a new hybrid technique, that we colloquially refer to as ModelGraft, which combines elements of stochastic analysis within a simulative MonteCarlo approach. In ModelGraft, large scenarios are mapped to a downscaled counterpart built upon Time-To-Live (TTL) caches, to achieve CPU and memory scalability. Additionally, a feedback loop ensures convergence to a consistent state, whose performance accurately represents those of the original system. Finally, the technique also retains simulation simplicity and flexibility, as it can be seamlessly applied to numerous forwarding, meta-caching, and replacement algorithms. We implement and make ModelGraft available as an alternative simulation engine of ccnSim. Performance evaluation shows that, with respect to classic event-driven simulation, ModelGraft gains over two orders of magnitude in both CPU time and memory complexity, while limiting accuracy loss below 2%. Ultimately, ModelGraft pushes the boundaries of the performance evaluation well beyond the limits achieved in the current state of the art, enabling the study of Internet-scale scenarios with content catalogs comprising hundreds of billions objects.
A possible Dark Matter model postulates that it interacts with Standard Model particles only through a massive photon-like vector particle, called dark photon or A′. The PADME experiment at the DAΦNE ...Beam-Test Facility (BTF) in Frascati is designed to detect dark photons produced in positron on fixed target annihilations decaying to dark matter (e+e-→γA′) by measuring the final state missing mass. The DAQ system of the PADME experiment will handle a total of 921 channels, with a DAQ rate of 50 Hz. All channels will be acquired using the CAEN V1742 board, a 32 channels 5 GS/s digitizer based on the DRS4 chip. Two such boards were successfully used during the 2015 and 2016 tests at the BTF, where a complete DAQ system, prototypal to the one which will be used for the final experiment, was set up. In this paper we will report on the details of the DAQ system, with specific reference to our experience with the V1742 board.
We analyze the capacity scaling laws of wireless ad hoc networks comprising significant inhomogeneities in the node spatial distribution over the network area. In particular, we consider nodes placed ...according to a shot-noise Cox process, which allows to model the clustering behavior usually recognized in large-scale systems. For this class of networks, we introduce novel techniques to compute upper bounds to the available per-flow throughput as the number of nodes tends to infinity, which are tight in the case of interference limited systems.
Interior insulation is a crucial retrofit measure to improve the energy performance of historical building while preserving their exterior appearance. However, it affects the hygrothermal behaviour ...of the wall and for this reason it must be planned with a very detailed and careful approach. This becomes even more important when dealing with buildings that are subject to extreme climate conditions such as mountain huts. They are typically exposed to very cold temperatures for all year and to an elevated driving rain load. This paper presents the methodology followed to design the interior insulation intervention of a mountain hut located in Trentino-Alto Adige (Italy). The methodology is centred around the use of hygrothermal dynamical simulations at component level, but several other tools are used to identify the right input for these simulations: the analysis of monitoring data of nearby weather stations to define the exterior climate, simulations at the building level to calculate the interior climate and laboratory measurements to identify the correct material properties.