The objective of this series of studies was to investigate the effects of inflammatory diseases occurring before breeding on the developmental biology and reproductive responses in dairy cows. Data ...from 5 studies were used to investigate different questions associating health status before breeding and reproductive responses. Health information for all studies was composed of the incidence of retained fetal membranes, metritis, mastitis, lameness, and respiratory and digestive problems from parturition until the day of breeding. Retained placenta and metritis were grouped as uterine disease (UTD). Mastitis, lameness, digestive and respiratory problems were grouped as nonuterine diseases (NUTD). Study 1 evaluated the effect of disease before artificial insemination (AI), anovulation before synchronization of the estrous cycle, and low body condition score at AI on pregnancy per AI, as well as their potential interactions or additive effects. Study 2 investigated the effect of site of inflammation (UTD vs. NUTD) and time of occurrence relative to preantral or antral stages of ovulatory follicle development, and the effect of UTD and NUTD on fertility responses of cows bred by AI or by embryo transfer. Study 3 evaluated the effect of disease on fertilization and embryonic development to the morula stage. Study 4 evaluated the effect of disease on preimplantation conceptus development as well as secretion of IFN-τ and transcriptome. Study 5 investigated the effect of diseases before AI on the transcript expression of interferon-stimulated genes in peripheral blood leukocytes during peri-implantation stages of conceptus development after first AI postpartum. Altogether, these studies demonstrated that inflammatory disease before breeding reduced fertilization of oocytes and development to morula, and impaired early conceptus development to elongation stages and secretion of IFN-τ in the uterine lumen. Diseases caused inflammation-like changes in transcriptome of conceptus cells, increased risk of pregnancy loss, and reduced pregnancy or calving per breeding. Moreover, the effects on reproduction were independent of cyclic status before synchronization of the estrous cycle and body condition score at breeding, which all had additive negative effects on fertility of dairy cows. Occurrence of disease at preantral or at antral stages of ovulatory follicle development had similar detrimental effects on pregnancy results. The carryover effects of diseases on developmental biology might last longer than 4 mo. Reduced oocyte competence is a likely reason for carryover effects of diseases on developmental biology, but impaired uterine environment was also shown to be involved.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
ABSTRACT
We present the first asteroseismic results for δ Scuti and γ Doradus stars observed in Sectors 1 and 2 of the TESS mission. We utilize the 2-min cadence TESS data for a sample of 117 stars ...to classify their behaviour regarding variability and place them in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram using Gaia DR2 data. Included within our sample are the eponymous members of two pulsator classes, γ Doradus and SX Phoenicis. Our sample of pulsating intermediate-mass stars observed by TESS also allows us to confront theoretical models of pulsation driving in the classical instability strip for the first time and show that mixing processes in the outer envelope play an important role. We derive an empirical estimate of 74 per cent for the relative amplitude suppression factor as a result of the redder TESS passband compared to the Kepler mission using a pulsating eclipsing binary system. Furthermore, our sample contains many high-frequency pulsators, allowing us to probe the frequency variability of hot young δ Scuti stars, which were lacking in the Kepler mission data set, and identify promising targets for future asteroseismic modelling. The TESS data also allow us to refine the stellar parameters of SX Phoenicis, which is believed to be a blue straggler.
Porphyrin-based compounds are an attractive and versatile class of molecules that have attracted significant attention across different scientific disciplines ...
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
16 Cyg A and B are among the brightest stars observed by Kepler. What makes these stars more interesting is that they are solar analogs. 16 Cyg A and B exhibit solar-like oscillations. In this work ...we use oscillation frequencies obtained using 2.5 yr of Kepler data to determine the current helium abundance of these stars. For this we use the fact that the helium ionization zone leaves a signature on the oscillation frequencies and that this signature can be calibrated to determine the helium abundance of that layer. By calibrating the signature of the helium ionization zone against models of known helium abundance, the helium abundance in the envelope of 16 Cyg A is found to lie in the range of 0.231 to 0.251 and that of 16 Cyg B lies in the range of 0.218 to 0.266.
Cellulose is the most abundant natural biopolymer and owing to its compatibility with biological tissues, it is considered a versatile starting material for developing new and sustainable materials ...from renewable resources. With the advent of drug-resistance among pathogenic microorganisms, recent strategies have focused on the development of novel treatment options and alternative antimicrobial therapies, such as antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT). This approach encompasses the combination of photoactive dyes and harmless visible light, in the presence of dioxygen, to produce reactive oxygen species that can selectively kill microorganisms. Photosensitizers for aPDT can be adsorbed, entrapped, or linked to cellulose-like supports, providing an increase in the surface area, with improved mechanical strength, barrier, and antimicrobial properties, paving the way to new applications, such as wound disinfection, sterilization of medical materials and surfaces in different contexts (industrial, household and hospital), or prevention of microbial contamination in packaged food. This review will report the development of porphyrinic photosensitizers supported on cellulose/cellulose derivative materials to achieve effective photoinactivation. A brief overview of the efficiency of cellulose based photoactive dyes for cancer, using photodynamic therapy (PDT), will be also discussed. Particular attention will be devoted to the synthetic routes behind the preparation of the photosensitizer-cellulose functional materials.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The stratification near the base of the Sun's convective envelope is governed by processes of convective overshooting and element diffusion, and the region is widely believed to play a key role in ...the solar dynamo. The stratification in that region gives rise to a characteristic signal in the frequencies of solar p modes, which has been used to determine the depth of the solar convection zone and to investigate the extent of convective overshoot. Previous helioseismic investigations have shown that the Sun's spherically symmetric stratification in this region is smoother than that in a standard solar model without overshooting, and have ruled out simple models incorporating overshooting, which extend the region of adiabatic stratification and have a more-or-less abrupt transition to subadiabatic stratification at the edge of the overshoot region. In this paper we consider physically motivated models which have a smooth transition in stratification bridging the region from the lower convection zone to the radiative interior beneath. We find that such a model is in better agreement with the helioseismic data than a standard solar model.
New halogenated and sulfonated bacteriochlorins and their analogous porphyrins are employed as photosensitizers of singlet oxygen and the superoxide ion. The mechanisms of energy and electron ...transfer are clarified and the rates are measured. The intermediacy of a charge‐transfer (CT) complex is proved for bacteriochlorins, but excluded for porphyrins. The energies of the intermediates and the rates of their interconversions are measured, and are used to obtain the efficiencies of all the processes. The mechanism of formation of the hydroxyl radical in the presence of bacteriochlorins is proposed to involve a photocatalytic step. The usefulness of these photosensitizers in the photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer is assessed, and the following recommendations are given for the design of more effective PDT protocols employing such photosensitizers: 1) light doses should be given over a more extended period of time when the photosensitizers form CT complexes with molecular oxygen, and 2) Fe2+ may improve the efficiency of such photosensitizers if co‐located in the same cell organelle assisting with an in vivo Fenton reaction.
Improving cancer photodynamic therapy: The mechanism of singlet‐oxygen sensitization with bacteriochlorins (see figure) indicates that the efficacy of the photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer may be improved by delivering a light dose over a more extended period of time. Charge‐transfer interactions and superoxide‐ion generation additionally suggest that using ferrous ions as adjuvants may increase the yield of reactive oxygen species.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Exact data on prognosis of children receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) after allogeneic hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) is lacking. We therefore started a prospective registry in four European ...university HSCT centers (Leiden, Paris, Prague and Utrecht) and their pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). The registry started in January 2009. In January 2013, the four centers together had treated a total of 83 admissions with IMV. The case fatality rate in these patients was 52%. Mortality 6 months after PICU discharge was 45%. There were significant differences between centers in the proportion of children who received IMV after HSCT (6-23%, P<0.01), in severity of disease on admission to PICU (predicted mortality 14-37%, P<0.01), in applying noninvasive ventilation before IMV (3-75% of admissions, P<0.01) and in the use of renal replacement therapy (RRT) (8-58% of admissions, P<0.01). Severe impairment in oxygenation, use of RRT and CMV viremia were independent predictors of mortality. Our study shows that mortality in children receiving IMV after HSCT remains high, but has clearly improved compared with older studies. Patient selection and treatment in PICU differed significantly between centers, which underscores the need to standardize and optimize the PICU admission criteria, ventilatory strategies and therapies applied in PICU.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
We have analyzed solar-like oscillations in ~1700 stars observed by the Kepler Mission, spanning from the main sequence to the red clump. Using evolutionary models, we test asteroseismic scaling ...relations for the frequency of maximum power ( Delta *nmax), the large frequency separation ( Delta *D Delta *n), and oscillation amplitudes. We show that the difference of the Delta *D Delta *n- Delta *nmax relation for unevolved and evolved stars can be explained by different distributions in effective temperature and stellar mass, in agreement with what is expected from scaling relations. For oscillation amplitudes, we show that neither (L/M) s scaling nor the revised scaling relation by Kjeldsen & Bedding is accurate for red-giant stars, and demonstrate that a revised scaling relation with a separate luminosity-mass dependence can be used to calculate amplitudes from the main sequence to red giants to a precision of ~25%. The residuals show an offset particularly for unevolved stars, suggesting that an additional physical dependency is necessary to fully reproduce the observed amplitudes. We investigate correlations between amplitudes and stellar activity, and find evidence that the effect of amplitude suppression is most pronounced for subgiant stars. Finally, we test the location of the cool edge of the instability strip in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram using solar-like oscillations and find the detections in the hottest stars compatible with a domain of hybrid stochastically excited and opacity driven pulsation.
Abstract
Asteroseismology is playing an increasingly important role in the characterization of red giant host stars and their planetary systems. Here, we conduct detailed asteroseismic modeling of ...the evolved red giant branch (RGB) hosts KOI-3886 and
ι
Draconis, making use of end-of-mission Kepler (KOI-3886) and multisector TESS (
ι
Draconis) time-series photometry. We also model the benchmark star KIC 8410637, a member of an eclipsing binary, thus providing a direct test to the seismic determination. We test the impact of adopting different sets of observed modes as seismic constraints. Inclusion of
ℓ
= 1 and 2 modes improves the precision of the stellar parameters, albeit marginally, compared to adopting radial modes alone, with 1.9%–3.0% (radius), 5%–9% (mass), and 19%–25% (age) reached when using all
p
-dominated modes as constraints. Given the very small spacing of adjacent dipole mixed modes in evolved RGB stars, the sparse set of observed
g
-dominated modes is not able to provide extra constraints, further leading to highly multimodal posteriors. Access to multiyear time-series photometry does not improve matters, with detailed modeling of evolved RGB stars based on (lower-resolution) TESS data sets attaining a precision commensurate with that based on end-of-mission Kepler data. Furthermore, we test the impact of varying the atmospheric boundary condition in our stellar models. We find the mass and radius estimates to be insensitive to the description of the near-surface layers, at the expense of substantially changing both the near-surface structure of the best-fitting models and the values of associated parameters like the initial helium abundance,
Y
i
. Attempts to measure
Y
i
from seismic modeling of red giants may thus be systematically dependent on the choice of atmospheric physics.
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