A rocky planet transiting a nearby low-mass star Berta-Thompson, Zachory K; Irwin, Jonathan; Charbonneau, David ...
Nature (London),
11/2015, Letnik:
527, Številka:
7577
Journal Article, Web Resource
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M-dwarf stars--hydrogen-burning stars that are smaller than 60 per cent of the size of the Sun--are the most common class of star in our Galaxy and outnumber Sun-like stars by a ratio of 12:1. Recent ...results have shown that M dwarfs host Earth-sized planets in great numbers: the average number of M-dwarf planets that are between 0.5 to 1.5 times the size of Earth is at least 1.4 per star. The nearest such planets known to transit their star are 39 parsecs away, too distant for detailed follow-up observations to measure the planetary masses or to study their atmospheres. Here we report observations of GJ 1132b, a planet with a size of 1.2 Earth radii that is transiting a small star 12 parsecs away. Our Doppler mass measurement of GJ 1132b yields a density consistent with an Earth-like bulk composition, similar to the compositions of the six known exoplanets with masses less than six times that of the Earth and precisely measured densities. Receiving 19 times more stellar radiation than the Earth, the planet is too hot to be habitable but is cool enough to support a substantial atmosphere, one that has probably been considerably depleted of hydrogen. Because the host star is nearby and only 21 per cent the radius of the Sun, existing and upcoming telescopes will be able to observe the composition and dynamics of the planetary atmosphere.
Spondylodiscitis is a pathology with a devastating potential for functional limitation in patients, which may involve immobilization for months due to the risk of compression or even spinal cord ...section. It is a rare type of infection occurring in the vertebrae and discs of the spine, and most are bacterial. Fungal cases are rare. We present the clinical case of a 52-year-old female patient with a past medical history of vesicular lithiasis and degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine and no home medication. The patient was hospitalized in the surgery service for about 3.5 months due to necro-hemorrhagic lithiasic pancreatitis that evolved into septic shock and needed organ support in intensive care for 2.5 weeks. Several cycles of antibiotics and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with stent placement were performed. She was readmitted for urgent care to the hospital of residence with fever, sweating, and low back pain with sciatica five days after discharge. Lumbar CT and MRI evidence showed the destruction of about two-thirds of the vertebral bodies L3-L4, L5-S1, and adjacent discs, pointing to the diagnosis of infectious spondylodiscitis. Candida albicans was found in blood cultures and lumbar biopsies. The patient was treated with oral fluconazole 400 mg/day for eight months, and the control MRIs showed slow but favorable bone sclerosis over time. She spent a total of 13.5 months in the hospital, including five months in bedbound status. The patient left the hospital walking without any assistance, with an upright mood and disposition. The most likely main fungal infectious factors were the manipulation of the bile ducts, immunosuppression associated with corticosteroid therapy, and multiorgan septic failure. The authors highlight this clinical case for its rarity, complications leading to candidemia, diagnostic and therapeutic delay, complexity, and risk of irreversible injuries to which the patient was subjected. The total recuperation of the patient after such a long physical and emotional struggle was very gratifying.
The aim of the research was to find out how business partners from the field of tourism estimate the dimensions of the image of Bled and the marketing mix used to promote Bled. Further on we were ...interested in evaluating the influence of image and marketing mix on the scope of sales measured in overnights. The following dimensions of image were explored: perceived uniqueness of image as a whole, perceived uniqueness of attractions and experiences, perceived quality of the environment (cleanness), perceived feeling of safety, as well as the dimensions of the marketing mix: perceived quality of products (accommodation, culinary offer, transfers, etc.), perceived price of services, perceived manner of sales for the promotion of Bled, perception of promotional channels, perception of residents (politeness, friendliness, multicultural and religious openness, etc.) and a positive experience of visiting Slovenia.
The survey was dispensed among 400 incoming agencies, foreign tour operators, tourist agencies and associations that promote the product of Bled. 235 units were received, 164 of them were completed. The respondents come from 30 countries from all over the world.
The findings disclose how service quality, tourist provider competencies and environmental factors are estimated. Safety at Bled has the highest arithmetic mean and the lowest standard deviation. The lowest ranking is linked to traffic and tolerance towards other religions. It is alarming to find the service quality, as the core of tourism business, rated poorly during the main season.
Having overviewed the available literature it might be concluded that the analysis can be regarded as the first research of the tourist destination Bled performed in this manner and scope.
Abstract
Onychomycosis or tinea unguium (EE12.1) and Onychomycosis due to non-dermatophyte moulds (1F2D.5) (OM) is a fungal infection of the nail plates with a high prevalence that often affects ...vulnerable people with co-existing health problems. Gold standard pharmacological treatments for onychomycosis have been associated with low success rates and increasing antifungal resistance, suggesting that treatment outcome is dependent on multiple variables. Here, the prevalence of OM and quality of life were characterized in two vulnerable populations—Hospital patients and Homeless people. Comparing both groups, the most prevalent fungal species were identified in Hospital patients. Then, the in vitro fungicidal properties of the antiseptics povidone-iodine, polyhexamethylene biguanide-betaine, octenidine dihydrochloride, and a super-oxidized solution against two ATCC strains (
Candida albicans
and
Aspergillus niger
) and three clinical fungal isolates from Hospital patients (
Candida parapsilosis
,
Trichophyton interdigitale
, and
Trichophyton rubrum
) were tested. OM prevalence was high in both patient groups studied, who also reported a reduction in quality of life and concerns about the state of their feet. In addition, Hospital patients had a non-negligent therapeutic regimen management style. Antiseptics tested in vitro revealed antifungal properties. As antiseptics are low-cost and easy to apply and have few iatrogenic effects, the demonstration of fungicidal properties of these solutions suggests that they may constitute potential supportive therapeutics for OM.
Laboratory tests showed normal serum levels of parathyroid hormone, calcium, phosphate, creatine kinase and creatinine. There was no history of exposure to hypercalcemic treatments to support the ...iatrogenic form of the disease, and the location of the lesions was not suggestive of gouty tophi. ...considering the history of dermatomyositis, the diagnosis of the dystrophic form of the disease was made. Most cases occur in association with autoimmune connective tissue diseases, mainly systemic sclerosis and dermatomyositis.2 Although this condition is more frequent in juvenile dermatomyositis, it can also occur in adults.2 Its underlying mechanisms are not fully understood but these lesions, which are frequently painful and prone to infections, can improve spontaneously by means of transepidermal elimination of calcium.
Polycythemia vera (PV) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by overproduction of red blood cells. We have performed a comprehensive characterization of blood immune cells for expression of ...naïve and memory receptors as well as β
2
m-associated and β
2
m-free MHC class I heavy chains, also known as closed and open conformers, respectively, in PV patients and age-matched controls (CTR). We show that the peripheral CD3
+
CD8
+
T cell pool in PV patients is clearly divided into two discrete populations, a more granular CD3
+
CD8
high
T cell population enriched in effector-memory CD45RA
+
T cells (CD8
+
T
EMRA
) when compared to CTR (
P
< 0.001), and a less granular CD3
+
CD8
int
T cell population that is completely absent in the CTR group (78 vs. 0%,
P
< 0.001) and is a mixture of naïve (CD8
+
T
N
) and CD8
+
T
EMRA
cells expressing intermediate levels of CD28, i.e., CD3
+
CD8
int
CD28
int
. While the percentage of CD3
+
CD8
int
T
N
cells correlated positively with the number of erythrocytes, the percentage of CD3
+
CD8
int
T
EMRA
correlated negatively with the number of platelets. Finally, we report that PV patients’ lymphocytes and monocytes display lower levels of closed (W6/32
+
) MHC-I conformers at the cell surface while exhibiting increased amounts of open (HC-10
+
) MHC-I conformers. The implications of this distinctive immune signature are discussed.
Present and future high-precision radial-velocity spectrometers dedicated to the discovery of low-mass planets orbiting low-mass dwarfs need to focus on the best selected stars to make an efficient ...use of telescope time. In the framework of the preparation of the SPIRou Input Catalog, the CoolSnap program aims at screening M dwarfs in the solar neighborhood against binarity, rapid rotation, activity, ... To optimize the selection, the present paper describes the methods used to compute effective temperature, metallicity, projected rotation velocity of a large sample of 440 M dwarfs observed in the visible with the high-resolution spectro-polarimeter ESPaDOnS at CFHT. It also summarizes known and newly-discovered spectroscopic binaries, and stars known to belong to visual multiple systems. A calibration of the projected rotation velocity versus measured line widths for M dwarfs observed by the ESPaDOnS spectro-polarimeter is derived, and the resulting values are compared to equatorial rotation velocities deduced from rotation periods and radii. A comparison of the derived effective temperatures and metallicities with literature values is also conducted. Finally, the radial velocity uncertainty of each star in the sample is estimated, to narrow down the selection of stars to be included into the SPIRou Input Catalogue (SPIC).
Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating condition, with more than half of patients dying or becoming dependent after such an event. Natriuretic peptides, frequently used in the management of ...heart failure, have been shown to correlate with disease severity and prognosis in brain disorders. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that NT-pro-BNP correlates with disease severity and is an independent prognostic marker for non-traumatic ICH patients.
A consecutive sample of 201 non-traumatic ICH patients, who were non-comatose on admission and medically treated in a stroke unit, were evaluated for in-hospital mortality and three-month functional dependency (modified Rankin Scale >2). NT-pro-BNP measurement was performed after admission. Independent predictors of the outcomes in study were assessed using logistic regression and the incremental value of NT-pro-BNP on three previously validated severity scores was evaluated using the variation in C-statistic (Δc). Values of p < .05 were considered significant.
In-hospital mortality rate was 8.0%, and 40.3% of patients achieved good functional outcome. NT-pro-BNP correlated with hematoma volume (r = 0.186) and amount of intraventricular blood (r = 0.240). Higher levels of NT-pro-BNP were independently associated with death (Expß = 1.650) and functional dependency (Expß = 1.449). NT-pro-BNP increased the discrimination of the ICH-GS for mortality prediction (Δc = 0.043) and of FUNC and ICH scores for functional outcome prediction (Δc = 0.060 and 0.055 respectively). Admission NT-pro-BNP levels were independently associated with hematoma size.
NT-pro-BNP is an independent prognostic factor for low-risk non-traumatic ICH patients and a valid marker of disease severity in this patient population.
•NT-pro-BNP on admission correlates with hematoma volume and amount of intraventricular blood in ICH patients.•NT-pro-BNP is also an independent predictor of death and dependency in this patient population.•Adding NT-pro-BNP to the ICH score, FUNC score and ICH Grading scale improves their discrimination for adverse outcome.
Sexual maturation of Atlantic salmon males is marked by dramatic endocrine changes and rapid growth of the testes, resulting in an increase in the gonad somatic index (GSI). We examined the ...association of gonadal growth with serum sex steroids, as well as pituitary and testicular gene expression levels, which were assessed with a DNA oligonucleotide microarray. The testes transcriptome was stable in males with a GSI < 0.08% despite the large difference between the smallest and the largest gonads. Fish with a GSI ≥ 0.23% had 7–17 times higher serum levels of five male steroids and a 2-fold increase in progesterone, without a change in cortisol and related steroids. The pituitary transcriptome showed an upregulation of the hormone-coding genes that control reproduction and behavior, and structural rearrangement was indicated by the genes involved in synaptic transmission and the differentiation of neurons. The observed changes in the abundance of testicular transcripts were caused by the regulation of transcription and/or disproportional growth, with a greater increase in the germinative compartment. As these factors could not be separated, the transcriptome results are presented as higher or lower specific activities (HSA and LSA). LSA was observed in 4268 genes, including many genes involved in various immune responses and developmental processes. LSA also included genes with roles in female reproduction, germinal cell maintenance and gonad development, responses to endocrine and neural regulation, and the biosynthesis of sex steroids. Two functional groups prevailed among HSA: structure and activity of the cilia (95 genes) and meiosis (34 genes). The puberty of A. salmon testis is marked by the predominance of spermatogenesis, which displaces other processes; masculinization; and the weakening of external regulation. Results confirmed the known roles of many genes involved in reproduction and pointed to uncharacterized genes that deserve attention as possible regulators of sexual maturation.
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