Purpose
Cardiometabolic risk, including arterial stiffness, is increasing in youth. Those with asthma are suggested to be particularly at risk of cardiovascular disease. Efficient and effective ...strategies are required to prevent the atherosclerotic process in youth. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 6 months high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on cardiometabolic risk in youth with and without asthma.
Methods
65 adolescents (31 mild asthma; 34 non-asthma) were recruited, 32 (16 asthma) of whom were randomly allocated to receive HIIT three times per week for 6 months. At baseline, mid-intervention, post-intervention and at a 3-month follow-up, anthropometric, metabolic and vascular determinants of cardiometabolic risk were assessed. Following principal component analysis (PCA), linear mixed models were used to assess the influence of asthma, HIIT and their interaction.
Results
Seven factors were identified which explained 88% of the common variance shared among the parameters. Those with asthma demonstrated lower arterial stiffness factor scores mid-intervention (
P
= 0.047) and lower cholesterol factor scores post-intervention (
P
= 0.022) but there was no effect of the intervention, or interaction effects, on any PCA-identified factor, at any time-point. HIIT was associated with a lower low-density lipoprotein and diastolic blood pressure at mid-intervention.
Discussion
Neither arterial stiffness nor clustered cardiometabolic risk are influenced by HIIT in adolescents with or without asthma, despite important changes in blood lipid and pressure profiles. Blood pressure, augmentation and pulse wave velocity should be considered physiologically distinct constructs and as potential markers of cardiovascular health.
Abstract
We present the early-time light curves of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) observed in the first six sectors of Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) data. Ten of these SNe were discovered ...by ASAS-SN, seven by ATLAS, six by ZTF, and one by Gaia. For nine of these objects with sufficient dynamic range (>3.0 mag from detection to peak), we fit power-law models and searched for signatures of companion stars. We found a diversity of early-time light-curve shapes, although most of our sources are consistent with fireball models where the flux increases as ∝
t
2
. Three SNe displayed a flatter rise with flux ∝
t
. We did not find any obvious evidence for additional structures, such as multiple power-law components, in the early rising light curves. For assumptions about the SN properties and the observer viewing angle (ejecta mass of 1.4
M
⊙
, expansion velocity of 10
4
km s
−1
, opacity of 0.2 cm
2
g
−1
, and viewing angle of 45°) and a further assumption that any companion stars would be in Roche lobe overflow, it is possible to place upper limits on the radii of any companion stars. Six of the nine SNe had complete coverage of the early-time light curves, and we placed upper limits on the radii of companion stars of ≲32
R
⊙
for these SNe, ≲20
R
⊙
for five of the six, and ≲4
R
⊙
for two of the six. The small sample size did not allow us to put limits on the occurrence rate of companion stars in the progenitors of SNe Ia. However, we expect that TESS observed enough SNe in its two-year primary mission (26 sectors) to either detect the signature of a large companion (
R
> 20
R
⊙
) or constrain the occurrence rate of such systems, at least for the fiducial SN properties adopted here. We also show that TESS is capable of detecting emission from a 1
R
⊙
companion for an SN Ia within 50 Mpc and has a reasonable chance of doing so after about six years.
We report the discovery of TOI 837b and its validation as a transiting planet. We characterize the system using data from the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission, the ESA Gaia mission, ...ground-based photometry from El Sauce and ASTEP400, and spectroscopy from CHIRON, FEROS, and Veloce. We find that TOI 837 is a T = 9.9 mag G0/F9 dwarf in the southern open cluster IC 2602. The star and planet are therefore million years old. Combining the transit photometry with a prior on the stellar parameters derived from the cluster color-magnitude diagram, we find that the planet has an orbital period of and is slightly smaller than Jupiter ( ). From radial velocity monitoring, we limit to less than 1.20 MJup (3 ). The transits either graze or nearly graze the stellar limb. Grazing transits are a cause for concern, as they are often indicative of astrophysical false-positive scenarios. Our follow-up data show that such scenarios are unlikely. Our combined multicolor photometry, high-resolution imaging, and radial velocities rule out hierarchical eclipsing binary scenarios. Background eclipsing binary scenarios, though limited by speckle imaging, remain a 0.2% possibility. TOI 837b is therefore a validated adolescent exoplanet. The planetary nature of the system can be confirmed or refuted through observations of the stellar obliquity and the planetary mass. Such observations may also improve our understanding of how the physical and orbital properties of exoplanets change in time.
DS Tuc Ab is a Neptune-sized planet that orbits around a G star in the 45 Myr old Tucana-Horologium moving group. Here, we report the measurement of the sky-projected angle between the stellar spin ...axis and the planet's orbital axis, based on the observation of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect during three separate planetary transits. The orbit appears to be well aligned with the equator of the host star, with a projected obliquity of . In addition to the distortions in the stellar absorption lines due to the transiting planet, we observed variations that we attribute to large starspots, with angular sizes of tens of degrees. The technique that we have developed for simultaneous modeling of starspots and the planet-induced distortions may be useful in other observations of planets around active stars.
Objective: To elicit the views of adolescents, with and without asthma, about exercise and asthma, and the perceived benefits of and barriers to participation. The adolescent views elicited would ...subsequently inform the design of a high-intensity exercise intervention to improve asthma control. Methods: Fifty-four adolescents (age 13.1 ± 0.9 years; 26 with asthma) participated in twelve semi-structured group interviews. Questions were structured around knowledge, attitudes and beliefs towards asthma and its impact on exercise participation and lifestyle. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, thematically analysed and presented via diagrams of emergent themes. Ethical approval was granted by the institutional research ethics committee. Results: Fear of an asthma attack emerged as the main barrier to exercise, with many adolescents with asthma withdrawing from exercise as a coping strategy; many healthy adolescents perceived this withdrawal as laziness or an excuse. Despite this, the majority (81%) of adolescents with asthma reported exercise to be their most enjoyable activity. Adolescents suggested incorporating mixed activities, such as team games (e.g., rounders, football, netball), for future interventions to ensure adherence. Conclusions: Whilst exercise is important in the management of asthma, the tendency of those with asthma to withdraw from exercise to avoid adverse events could be addressed through a games-based high-intensity exercise intervention. Furthermore, educating all adolescents on asthma could simultaneously reduce stigmatisation and enhance exercise engagement.
We have searched for short periodicities in the light curves of stars with Teff cooler than 4000 K made from 2-minute cadence data obtained in Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite sectors 1 and 2. ...Herein we report the discovery of 10 rapidly rotating M dwarfs with highly structured rotational modulation patterns among 371 M dwarfs found to have rotation periods less than 1 day. Starspot models cannot explain the highly structured periodic variations that typically exhibit between 10 and 40 Fourier harmonics. A similar set of objects was previously reported following K2 observations of the Upper Scorpius association. We examine the possibility that the unusual structured light curves could stem from absorption by charged dust particles that are trapped in or near the stellar magnetosphere. We also briefly explore the possibilities that the sharp structured features in the light curves are produced by extinction by coronal gas, by beaming of the radiation emitted from the stellar surface, or by occultations of spots by a dusty ring that surrounds the star. The last is perhaps the most promising of these scenarios. Most of the structured rotators display flaring activity, and we investigate changes in the modulation pattern following the largest flares. As part of this study, we also report the discovery of 17 rapidly rotating M dwarfs with rotational periods below 4 hr, of which the shortest period is 1.63 hr.
Abstract
We report the discovery in K2's Campaign 10 of a transiting terrestrial planet in an ultra-short-period orbit around an M3-dwarf. K2-137 b completes an orbit in only 4.3 h, the second ...shortest orbital period of any known planet, just 4 min longer than that of KOI 1843.03, which also orbits an M-dwarf. Using a combination of archival images, adaptive optics imaging, radial velocity measurements, and light-curve modelling, we show that no plausible eclipsing binary scenario can explain the K2 light curve, and thus confirm the planetary nature of the system. The planet, whose radius we determine to be 0.89 ± 0.09 R⊕, and which must have an iron mass fraction greater than 0.45, orbits a star of mass 0.463 ± 0.052 M⊙ and radius 0.442 ± 0.044 R⊙.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) and its complications contribute to high rates of morbidity and early mortality and high cost in the United States and African heritage community.
To evaluate the ...cost-effectiveness of gene therapy for SCD and its value-based prices (VBPs).
Comparative modeling analysis across 2 independently developed simulation models (University of Washington Model for Economic Analysis of Sickle Cell Cure UW-MEASURE and Fred Hutchinson Institute Sickle Cell Disease Outcomes Research and Economics Model FH-HISCORE) using the same databases.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services claims data, 2008 to 2016; published literature.
Persons eligible for gene therapy.
Lifetime.
U.S. health care sector and societal.
Gene therapy versus common care.
Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs), equity-informed VBPs, and price acceptability curves.
At an assumed $2 million price for gene therapy, UW-MEASURE and FH-HISCORE estimated ICERs of $193 000 per QALY and $427 000 per QALY, respectively, under the health care sector perspective. Corresponding estimates from the societal perspective were $126 000 per QALY and $281 000 per QALY. The difference in results between models stemmed primarily from considering a slightly different target population and incorporating the quality-of-life (QOL) effects of splenic sequestration, priapism, and acute chest syndrome in the UW model. From a societal perspective, acceptable (>90% confidence) VBPs ranged from $1 million to $2.5 million depending on the use of alternative effective metrics or equity-informed threshold values.
Results were sensitive to the costs of myeloablative conditioning before gene therapy, effect on caregiver QOL, and effect of gene therapy on long-term survival.
The short-term effects of gene therapy on vaso-occlusive events were extrapolated from 1 study.
Gene therapy for SCD below a $2 million price tag is likely to be cost-effective when applying a societal perspective at an equity-informed threshold for cost-effectiveness analysis.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
We report the independent discovery and characterization of two K2 planets: K2-180b, a mini-Neptune-sized planet in an 8.9-d orbit transiting a V = 12.6 mag, metal-poor (Fe/H = -0.65 ± 0.10) K2V star ...in K2 campaign 5; K2-140b, a transiting hot Jupiter in a 6.6-d orbit around a V = 12.6 mag G6V (Fe/H = + 0.10 ± 0.10) star in K2 campaign 10. Our results are based on K2 time-series photometry combined with high-spatial resolution imaging and high-precision radial velocity measurements. We present the first mass measurement of K2-180b. K2-180b has a mass of Mp = 11.3 ± 1.9 M_Earth and a radius of Rp = 2.2 ± 0.1 R_Earth, yielding a mean density of ρp = 5.6 ± 1.9 g cm-3, suggesting a rocky composition. Given its radius, K2-180b is above the region of the so-called `planetary radius gap'. K2-180b is in addition not only one of the densest mini-Neptune-sized planets, but also one of the few mini-Neptune-sized planets known to transit a metal-poor star. We also constrain the planetary and orbital parameters of K2-140b and show that, given the currently available Doppler measurements, the eccentricity is consistent with zero, contrary to the results of a previous study.
In the last two decades, nanoparticles (NPs) have found applications in a wide variety of consumer goods. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silver (Ag) NPs are both found in cosmetics and foods, but their ...increasing use is of concern due to their ability to be taken up by biological systems. While there are some reports of TiO2 and Ag NPs affecting complex organisms, their effects on reproduction and development have been largely understudied. Here, the effects of orally administered TiO2 or Ag NPs on reproduction and development in two different model organisms were investigated. TiO2 NPs reduced the developmental success of CD-1 mice after a single oral dose of 100 or 1000mg/kg to dams, resulting in a statistically significant increase in fetal deformities and mortality. Similarly, TiO2 NP addition to food led to a significant progeny loss in the fruit fly, Drosophila, as shown by a decline in female fecundity. Ag NP administration resulted in an increase in the mortality of fetal mice. Similarly in Drosophila, Ag NP feeding led to a significant decrease in developmental success, but unlike TiO2 NP treatment, there was no decline in fecundity. The distinct response associated with each type of NP likely reflects differences in NP administration as well as the biology of the particular model. Taken together, however, this study warns that these common NPs could be detrimental to the reproductive and developmental health of both invertebrates and vertebrates.
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