We present a search for ultrarelativistic magnetic monopoles with the Pierre Auger observatory. Such particles, possibly a relic of phase transitions in the early Universe, would deposit a large ...amount of energy along their path through the atmosphere, comparable to that of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). The air-shower profile of a magnetic monopole can be effectively distinguished by the fluorescence detector from that of standard UHECRs. No candidate was found in the data collected between 2004 and 2012, with an expected background of less than 0.1 event from UHECRs. The corresponding 90% confidence level (C.L.) upper limits on the flux of ultrarelativistic magnetic monopoles range from 10−19(cm2 sr s)−1 for a Lorentz factor γ=109 to 2.5×10−21(cm2 sr s)−1 for γ=1012. These results-the first obtained with a UHECR detector-improve previously published limits by up to an order of magnitude.
Since allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) is not harmless, multiple alternatives to ABT (AABT) have emerged, though there is great variability in their indications and appropriate use. This ...variability results from the interaction of a number of factors, including the specialty of the physician, knowledge and preferences, the degree of anemia, transfusion policy, and AABT availability. Since AABTs are not harmless and may not meet cost-effectiveness criteria, such variability is unacceptable. The Spanish Societies of Anesthesiology (SEDAR), Hematology and Hemotherapy (SEHH), Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH), Critical Care Medicine (SEMICYUC), Thrombosis and Hemostasis (SETH) and Blood Transfusion (SETS) have developed a Consensus Document for the proper use of AABTs. A panel of experts convened by these 6 Societies have conducted a systematic review of the medical literature and have developed the 2013 Seville Consensus Document on Alternatives to Allogeneic Blood Transfusion, which only considers those AABT aimed at decreasing the transfusion of packed red cells. AABTs are defined as any pharmacological or non-pharmacological measure aimed at decreasing the transfusion of red blood cell concentrates, while preserving patient safety. For each AABT, the main question formulated, positively or negatively, is: "Does this particular AABT reduce the transfusion rate or not?" All the recommendations on the use of AABTs were formulated according to the Grades of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology.
Objective
Cognitive reserve (CR) refers to the brain's capacity to cope with pathology in order to minimize the symptoms. CR is associated with different outcomes in severe mental illness. This study ...aimed to analyze the impact of CR according to the diagnosis of first‐episode affective or non‐affective psychosis (FEP).
Method
A total of 247 FEP patients (211 non‐affective and 36 affective) and 205 healthy controls were enrolled. To assess CR, common proxies have been integrated (premorbid IQ; education–occupation; leisure activities). The groups were divided into high and low CR.
Results
In non‐affective patients, those with high CR were older, had higher socioeconomic status (SES), shorter duration of untreated psychosis, and a later age of onset. They also showed greater performance in most cognitive domains. In affective patients, those with a greater CR showed a higher SES, better functioning, and greater verbal memory performance.
Conclusion
CR plays a differential role in the outcome of psychoses according to the diagnosis. Specifically, in order to address the needs of non‐affective patients with low CR, cognitive rehabilitation treatments will need to be ‘enriched’ by adding pro‐cognitive pharmacological agents or using more sophisticated approaches. However, a functional remediation therapy may be of choice for those with an affective psychosis and low CR.
Context.
The nearby ultra-compact multiplanetary system YZ Ceti consists of at least three planets, and a fourth tentative signal. The orbital period of each planet is the subject of discussion in ...the literature due to strong aliasing in the radial velocity data. The stellar activity of this M dwarf also hampers significantly the derivation of the planetary parameters.
Aims.
With an additional 229 radial velocity measurements obtained since the discovery publication, we reanalyze the YZ Ceti system and resolve the alias issues.
Methods.
We use model comparison in the framework of Bayesian statistics and periodogram simulations based on a method by Dawson and Fabrycky to resolve the aliases. We discuss additional signals in the RV data, and derive the planetary parameters by simultaneously modeling the stellar activity with a Gaussian process regression model. To constrain the planetary parameters further we apply a stability analysis on our ensemble of Keplerian fits.
Results.
We find no evidence for a fourth possible companion. We resolve the aliases: the three planets orbit the star with periods of 2.02 d, 3.06 d, and 4.66 d. We also investigate an effect of the stellar rotational signal on the derivation of the planetary parameters, in particular the eccentricity of the innermost planet. Using photometry we determine the stellar rotational period to be close to 68 d and we also detect this signal in the residuals of a three-planet fit to the RV data and the spectral activity indicators. From our stability analysis we derive a lower limit on the inclination of the system with the assumption of coplanar orbits which is
i
min
= 0.9 deg. From the absence of a transit event with TESS, we derive an upper limit of the inclination of
i
max
= 87.43 deg.
Conclusions.
YZ Ceti is a prime example of a system where strong aliasing hindered the determination of the orbital periods of exoplanets. Additionally, stellar activity influences the derivation of planetary parameters and modeling them correctly is important for the reliable estimation of the orbital parameters in this specific compact system. Stability considerations then allow additional constraints to be placed on the planetary parameters.
Context. The ESO public survey VISTA variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) started in 2010. VVV targets 562 sq. deg in the Galactic bulge and an adjacent plane region and is expected to run for about ...five years. Aims. We describe the progress of the survey observations in the first observing season, the observing strategy, and quality of the data obtained. Methods. The observations are carried out on the 4-m VISTA telescope in the ZYJHKs filters. In addition to the multi-band imaging the variability monitoring campaign in the Ks filter has started. Data reduction is carried out using the pipeline at the Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit. The photometric and astrometric calibration is performed via the numerous 2MASS sources observed in each pointing. Results. The first data release contains the aperture photometry and astrometric catalogues for 348 individual pointings in the ZYJHKs filters taken in the 2010 observing season. The typical image quality is ~ \hbox{$0\farcs9{-}1\farcs0$} 0 . ″ 9 − 1 . ″ 0 . The stringent photometric and image quality requirements of the survey are satisfied in 100% of the JHKs images in the disk area and 90% of the JHKs images in the bulge area. The completeness in the Z and Y images is 84% in the disk, and 40% in the bulge. The first season catalogues contain 1.28 × 108 stellar sources in the bulge and 1.68 × 108 in the disk area detected in at least one of the photometric bands. The combined, multi-band catalogues contain more than 1.63 × 108 stellar sources. About 10% of these are double detections because of overlapping adjacent pointings. These overlapping multiple detections are used to characterise the quality of the data. The images in the JHKs bands extend typically ~4 mag deeper than 2MASS. The magnitude limit and photometric quality depend strongly on crowding in the inner Galactic regions. The astrometry for Ks = 15−18 mag has rms ~35−175 mas. Conclusions. The VVV Survey data products offer a unique dataset to map the stellar populations in the Galactic bulge and the adjacent plane and provide an exciting new tool for the study of the structure, content, and star-formation history of our Galaxy, as well as for investigations of the newly discovered star clusters, star-forming regions in the disk, high proper motion stars, asteroids, planetary nebulae, and other interesting objects.
Consumption of high-fat diets (HFD) has been associated with neuronal plasticity deficits and cognitive disorders linked to the alteration of glutamatergic disorders in the hippocampus. As young ...individuals are especially vulnerable to the effects of nutrients and xenobiotics on cognition, we studied the effect of chronic consumption of saturated (SOLF) and unsaturated oil-enriched foods (UOLF) on: i) spatial memory; ii) hippocampal synaptic transmission and plasticity; and iii) gene expression of glutamatergic receptors and hormone receptors in the hippocampus of adolescent and adult mice. Our results show that both SOLF and UOLF impair spatial short-term memory. Accordingly, hippocampal synaptic plasticity mechanisms underlying memory, and gene expression of NMDA receptor subunits are modulated by both diets. On the other hand, PPARγ gene expression is specifically down-regulated in adolescent SOLF individuals and up-regulated in adult UOLF mice.
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•Spontaneous alternation is modulated by diets enriched either in saturated (SOLF) or in unsaturated fatty acids (UOLF).•SOLF and UOLF impair hippocampal glutamatergic transmission in a different manner.•SOLF and UOLF modulate the expression of the hippocampal glutamate receptors Grin2A and Grin2B, as well as of PPARϒ.
Early-life adversity (ELA) is linked with the increased risk for inflammatory and metabolic diseases in later life, but the mechanisms remain poorly understood. Intestinal epithelial glucose ...transporters sodium-glucose-linked transporter 1 (SGLT1) and glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) are the major route for intestinal glucose uptake but have also received increased attention as modulators of inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Here, we tested the hypothesis that early weaning (EW) in pigs, an established model of ELA, alters the development of epithelial glucose transporters and coincides with elevated markers of metabolic inflammation. The jejunum and ileum of 90-day-old pigs previously exposed to EW (16 days wean age), exhibited reduced SGLT1 activity (by ∼ 30%,
< 0.05) than late weaned (LW, 28 days wean age) controls. In contrast, GLUT2-mediated glucose transport was increased (
= 0.003) in EW pigs than in LW pigs. Reciprocal changes in SGLT1- and GLUT2-mediated transport coincided with transporter protein expression in the intestinal brush-border membranes (BBMs) that were observed at 90 days and 150 days of age. Ileal SGLT1-mediated glucose transport and BBM expression were inhibited by the β-adrenergic receptor (βAR) blocker propranolol in EW and LW pigs. In contrast, propranolol enhanced ileal GLUT2-mediated glucose transport (
= 0.015) and brush-border membrane vesicle (BBMV) abundance (
= 0.035) in LW pigs, but not in EW pigs. Early-weaned pigs exhibited chronically elevated blood glucose and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and adipocyte hypertrophy and upregulated adipogenesis-related gene expression in visceral adipose tissue. Altered development of intestinal glucose transporters by EW could underlie the increased risk for later life inflammatory and metabolic diseases.
These studies reveal that early-life adversity in the form of early weaning in pigs causes a developmental shift in intestinal glucose transport from SGLT1 toward GLUT2-mediated transport. Early weaning also induced markers of metabolic inflammation including persistent elevations in blood glucose and the inflammatory marker CRP, along with increased visceral adiposity. Altered intestinal glucose transport might contribute to increased risk for inflammatory and metabolic diseases associated with early-life adversity.
•Sixty-one polyphenols were identified and quantified in T. cacao extract by HPLC-MSESI-QTOF.•Twelve fractions were obtained using semi-preparative HPLC and completely characterized.•Procyanidins ...content is responsible for the high antioxidant capacity of T. cacao.
Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is a major, economically important, international crop and has been associated with several nutritional benefits including high antioxidant capacity. The aim of the present study was to isolate, characterize and quantify phenolic compounds of T. cacao extract using HPLC-MSESI-QTOF. A total of 61 compounds were identified and quantified in the T. cacao extract and fractions belonging to various structural classes such as flavan-3-ol and derivatives (including procyanidins), flavonols, N-phenylpropenoyl-L-amino acids, and other compounds. These compounds were isolated by semi-preparative HPLC. Afterwards, the composition of each fraction was established by the detailed HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MSESI-QTOF method. The relationship between the chemical structure of flavonoids and their radical-scavenging activities was analyzed. In addition, T. cacao extract and fractions show antioxidant activity (by TEAC, FRAP and ORAC methods) decreasing the generation of reactive oxygen species.
Copy number (CN) polymorphisms of complement C4 play distinct roles in many conditions, including immune-mediated diseases. We investigated the association of C4 CN with systemic sclerosis (SSc) ...risk. Imputed total C4, C4A, C4B, and HERV-K CN were analyzed in 26,633 individuals and validated in an independent cohort. Our results showed that higher C4 CN confers protection to SSc, and deviations from CN parity of C4A and C4B augmented risk. The protection contributed per copy of C4A and C4B differed by sex. Stronger protection was afforded by C4A in men and by C4B in women. C4 CN correlated well with its gene expression and serum protein levels, and less C4 was detected for both in SSc patients. Conditioned analysis suggests that C4 genetics strongly contributes to the SSc association within the major histocompatibility complex locus and highlights classical alleles and amino acid variants of HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DPB1 as C4-independent signals.
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