Context. The consortium of the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch installed at the Very Large Telescope (SPHERE/VLT) has been operating its guaranteed observation time (260 nights ...over five years) since February 2015. The main part of this time (200 nights) is dedicated to the detection and characterization of young and giant exoplanets on wide orbits. Aims. The large amount of data must be uniformly processed so that accurate and homogeneous measurements of photometry and astrometry can be obtained for any source in the field. Methods. To complement the European Southern Observatory pipeline, the SPHERE consortium developed a dedicated piece of software to process the data. First, the software corrects for instrumental artifacts. Then, it uses the speckle calibration tool (SpeCal) to minimize the stellar light halo that prevents us from detecting faint sources like exoplanets or circumstellar disks. SpeCal is meant to extract the astrometry and photometry of detected point-like sources (exoplanets, brown dwarfs, or background sources). SpeCal was intensively tested to ensure the consistency of all reduced images (cADI, Loci, TLoci, PCA, and others) for any SPHERE observing strategy (ADI, SDI, ASDI as well as the accuracy of the astrometry and photometry of detected point-like sources. Results. SpeCal is robust, user friendly, and efficient at detecting and characterizing point-like sources in high contrast images. It is used to process all SPHERE data systematically, and its outputs have been used for most of the SPHERE consortium papers to date. SpeCal is also a useful framework to compare different algorithms using various sets of data (different observing modes and conditions). Finally, our tests show that the extracted astrometry and photometry are accurate and not biased.
Alcohol is widely consumed across the world. It is consumed in both social and cultural settings. Until recently, two types of alcohol consumption were recognized: heavy chronic alcohol consumption ...or light consumption. Today, there is a new pattern of consumption among teenagers and young adults namely: binge drinking. Heavy alcohol consumption is detrimental to many organs and tissues, including bones, and is known to induce secondary osteoporosis. Some studies, however, have reported benefits from light alcohol consumption on bone parameters. To date, little is known regarding the effects of binge drinking on bone health. Here, we review the effects of three different means of alcohol consumption: light, heavy, and binge drinking. We also review the detailed literature on the different mechanisms by which alcohol intake may decrease bone mass and strength. The effects of alcohol on bone are thought to be both direct and indirect. The decrease in bone mass and strength following alcohol consumption is mainly due to a bone remodeling imbalance, with a predominant decrease in bone formation. Recent studies, however, have reported new mechanisms by which alcohol may act on bone remodeling, including osteocyte apoptosis, oxidative stress, and Wnt signalling pathway modulation. The roles of reduced total fat mass, increased lipid content in bone marrow, and a hypoleptinemia are also discussed.
Abstract
How cells respond to mechanical forces by converting them into biological signals underlie crucial cellular processes. Our understanding of mechanotransduction has been hindered by technical ...barriers, including limitations in our ability to effectively apply low range piconewton forces to specific mechanoreceptors on cell membranes without laborious and repetitive trials. To overcome these challenges we introduce the Nano-winch, a robust, easily assembled, programmable DNA origami-based molecular actuator. The Nano-winch is designed to manipulate multiple mechanoreceptors in parallel by exerting fine-tuned, low- piconewton forces in autonomous and remotely activated modes via adjustable single- and double-stranded DNA linkages, respectively. Nano-winches in autonomous mode can land and operate on the cell surface. Targeting the device to integrin stimulated detectable downstream phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase, an indication that Nano-winches can be applied to study cellular mechanical processes. Remote activation mode allowed finer extension control and greater force exertion. We united remotely activated Nano-winches with single-channel bilayer experiments to directly observe the opening of a channel by mechanical force in the force responsive gated channel protein, BtuB. This customizable origami provides an instrument-free approach that can be applied to control and explore a diversity of mechanotransduction circuits on living cells.
Context.
Shadows in scattered light images of protoplanetary disks are a common feature and support the presence of warps or misalignments between disk regions. These warps are possibly caused by an ...inclined (sub-)stellar companion embedded in the disk.
Aims.
We aim to study the morphology of the protoplanetary disk around the Herbig Ae star HD 139614 based on the first scattered light observations of this disk, which we model with the radiative transfer code
MCMax3D
.
Methods.
We obtained
J
- and
H
-band observations that show strong azimuthal asymmetries in polarized scattered light with VLT/SPHERE. In the outer disk, beyond ~30 au, a broad shadow spans a range of ~240 deg in position angle, in the east. A bright ring at ~16 au also shows an azimuthally asymmetric brightness, with the faintest side roughly coincidental with the brightest region of the outer disk. Additionally, two arcs are detected at ~34 and ~50 au. We created a simple four-zone approximation to a warped disk model of HD 139614 in order to qualitatively reproduce these features. The location and misalignment of the disk components were constrained from the shape and location of the shadows they cast.
Results.
We find that the shadow on the outer disk covers a range of position angles too wide to be explained by a single inner misaligned component. Our model requires a minimum of two separate misaligned zones – or a continuously warped region – to cast this broad shadow on the outer disk. A small misalignment of ~4° between adjacent components can reproduce most of the observed shadow features.
Conclusions.
Multiple misaligned disk zones, potentially mimicking a warp, can explain the observed broad shadows in the HD 139614 disk. A planetary mass companion in the disk, located on an inclined orbit, could be responsible for such a feature and for the dust-depleted gap responsible for a dip in the SED.
Abstract
HD 169142 is an excellent target for investigating signs of planet–disk interaction due to previous evidence of gap structures. We perform
J
-band (∼1.2
μ
m) polarized intensity imaging of ...HD 169142 with VLT/SPHERE. We observe polarized scattered light down to 0.″16 (∼19 au) and find an inner gap with a significantly reduced scattered-light flux. We confirm the previously detected double-ring structure peaking at 0.″18 (∼21 au) and 0.″56 (∼66 au) and marginally detect a faint third gap at 0.″70–0.″73 (∼82–85 au). We explore dust evolution models in a disk perturbed by two giant planets, as well as models with a parameterized dust size distribution. The dust evolution model is able to reproduce the ring locations and gap widths in polarized intensity but fails to reproduce their depths. However, it gives a good match with the ALMA dust continuum image at 1.3 mm. Models with a parameterized dust size distribution better reproduce the gap depth in scattered light, suggesting that dust filtration at the outer edges of the gaps is less effective. The pileup of millimeter grains in a dust trap and the continuous distribution of small grains throughout the gap likely require more efficient dust fragmentation and dust diffusion in the dust trap. Alternatively, turbulence or charging effects might lead to a reservoir of small grains at the surface layer that is not affected by the dust growth and fragmentation cycle dominating the dense disk midplane. The exploration of models shows that extracting planet properties such as mass from observed gap profiles is highly degenerate.
Polysaccharide-based composite matrices consisting of natural polysaccharides, pullulan and dextran supplemented with hydroxyapatite (Matrix-HA) have recently been developed. The principal objective ...of this study was to evaluate the capacities of this composite material to promote new bone formation in a sinus lift model in the sheep. Secondary objectives were to evaluate in vitro properties of the material regarding cell adhesion and proliferation.
In this report, once such composite matrix was prepared as injectable beads after dispersion in a physiological buffer, and evaluated using a large animal model (sheep) for a sinus lift procedure.
In vitro studies revealed that these microbeads (250–550μm in diameter) allow vascular cell adhesion and proliferation of Endothelial Cells (EC) after 1 and 7 days of culture. In vivo studies were performed in 12 adult sheep, and newly formed tissue was analyzed by Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and by histology 3 and 6 months post-implantation. CBCT analyses at the implantation time revealed the radiolucent properties of these matrices. Quantitative analysis showed an increase of a dense mineralized tissue in the Matrix-HA group up to 3 months of implantation. The mineralized volume over total volume after 6 months reached comparable values to those obtained for Bio-Oss® used as positive control. Histological examination confirmed that the Matrix-HA did not induce any long term inflammatory events, and promoted direct contact between the osteoid tissue and lamellar bone structures and beads. After 6 months, we observed a dense network of osteocytes surrounding both biomaterials as well as a newly vascularized formed tissue in close contact to the biomaterials.
In conclusion, the absence of animal components in Matrix-HA, the osteoconductive property of Matrix-HA in sheep, resulting in a dense bone and vascularized tissue, and the initial radiolucent property to follow graft integration offer great promises of this composite material for clinical use.
We report the discovery of a bright, brown dwarf companion to the star HIP 64892, imaged with VLT/SPHERE during the SHINE exoplanet survey. The host is a B9.5V member of the Lower-Centaurus-Crux ...subgroup of the Scorpius Centaurus OB association. The measured angular separation of the companion (1.2705 ± 0.0023”) corresponds to a projected distance of 159 ± 12 AU. We observed the target with the dual-band imaging and long-slit spectroscopy modes of the IRDIS imager to obtain its spectral energy distribution (SED) and astrometry. In addition, we reprocessed archival NACO L-band data, from which we also recover the companion. Its SED is consistent with a young (<30 Myr), low surface gravity object with a spectral type of M9γ ± 1. From comparison with the BT-Settl atmospheric models we estimate an effective temperature of Teff = 2600 ± 100 K, and comparison of the companion photometry to the COND evolutionary models yields a mass of ~29−37 MJ at the estimated age of 16−7+15 $16^{+15}_{-7}$16−7+15 Myr for the system. The star HIP 64892 is a rare example of an extreme-mass ratio system (q ~ 0.01) and will be useful for testing models relating to the formation and evolution of such low-mass objects.
Context.
Protoplanetary disks around young stars often contain substructures like rings, gaps, and spirals that could be caused by interactions between the disk and forming planets.
Aims.
We aim to ...study the young (1–3 Myr) star DR Tau in the near-infrared and characterize its disk, which was previously resolved through submillimeter interferometry with ALMA, and to search for possible substellar companions embedded into it.
Methods.
We observed DR Tau with VLT/SPHERE both in polarized light (
H
broad band) and total intensity (in
Y
,
J
,
H
, and
K
spectral bands). We also performed
L
′ band observations with LBTI/LMIRCam on the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). We applied differential imaging techniques to analyze both the polarized data, using dual beam polarization imaging, and the total intensity data, using angular and spectral differential imaging.
Results.
We found two previously undetected spirals extending north-east and south of the star, respectively. We further detected an arc-like structure north of the star. Finally a bright, compact and elongated structure was detected at a separation of 303 ± 10 mas and a position angle 21.2 ± 3.7 degrees, just at the root of the north-east spiral arm. Since this feature is visible both in polarized light and total intensity and has a blue spectrum, itis likely caused by stellar light scattered by dust.
Conclusions.
The two spiral arms are at different separations from the star, have very different pitch angles, and are separated by an apparent discontinuity, suggesting they might have a different origin. The very open southern spiral arm might be caused by infalling material from late encounters with cloudlets into the formation environment of the star itself. The compact feature could be caused by interaction with a planet in formation still embedded in its dust envelope and it could be responsible for launching the north–east spiral. We estimate a mass of the putative embedded object of the order of few
M
Jup
.
Alcohol is known to decrease bone mineral density (BMD) and to induce trabecular microarchitecture deterioration. However, little is known about the effects of chronic alcohol consumption on ...osteocytes in situ. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a high alcohol dose on osteocytes in an alcohol-induced osteopenia model.
24 male Wistar rats, 2-months old were separated in 2 groups: Control (C) or Alcohol (A35). The rats in the A35 group drank a beverage composed of 35% ethanol v/v mixed to water for 17 weeks. BMD was assessed by DXA, while the microarchitecture was analyzed using μCT. Bone remodeling was studied measuring serum concentration of osteocalcin, NTx and TRAP. Bone marrow adiposity, osteoblastic lineage differentiation, osteocyte morphology and apoptosis were assessed using bright field, epifluorescence, transmission electron and confocal microscopy.
BMD, trabecular thickness, TRAP and NTx concentration were significantly decreased in A35, while cortical thickness was thinner. There were 10 fold more cells stained with cleaved caspase-3, and 35% more empty lacunae in A35, these data indicating a large increase in osteocyte apoptosis in the A35 group. The number of lipid droplets in the marrow was increased in A35 (7 fold). Both the osteocyte apoptosis and the fat bone marrow content strongly correlated with femur BMD (p=0.0017, r = -0.72 and p=0.002, r = -0.70) and whole body BMD.
These data suggest that low BMD is associated with osteocyte apoptosis and bone marrow fat content in alcohol-induced osteopenia.
Debris disks are usually detected through the infrared excess over the photospheric level of their host star. The most favorable stars for disk detection are those with spectral types between A and ...K, while the statistics for debris disks detected around low-mass M-type stars is very low, either because they are rare or because they are more difficult to detect. Terrestrial planets, on the other hand, may be common around M-type stars. Here, we report on the discovery of an extended (likely) debris disk around the M-dwarf GSC 07396−00759. The star is a wide companion of the close accreting binary V4046 Sgr. The system probably is a member of the β Pictoris Moving Group. We resolve the disk in scattered light, exploiting high-contrast, high-resolution imagery with the two near-infrared subsystems of the VLT/SPHERE instrument, operating in the Y J bands and the H2H3 doublet. The disk is clearly detected up to 1.5′′ (~110 au) from the star and appears as a ring, with an inclination i ~ 83°, and a peak density position at ~70 au. The spatial extension of the disk suggests that the dust dynamics is affected by a strong stellar wind, showing similarities with the AU Mic system that has also been resolved with SPHERE. The images show faint asymmetric structures at the widest separation in the northwest side. We also set an upper limit for the presence of giant planets to 2 MJ. Finally, we note that the 2 resolved disks around M-type stars of 30 such stars observed with SPHERE are viewed close to edge-on, suggesting that a significant population of debris disks around M dwarfs could remain undetected because of an unfavorable orientation.
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