Spectroscopic binaries among Hipparcos M giants II. Binary frequency

This paper is the second one in a series devoted to the study of properties of binaries involving M giants. The binary frequency of field M giants is derived and compared with the binary fraction of K giants. Diagrams of the CORAVEL spectroscopic parameter Sb (measuring the average line-width) vs. radial-velocity standard deviation for our samples are used to define appropriate binarity criteria. These then serve to extract the binarity fraction among the M giants. Comparison is made to earlier data on K giants binarity frequency. The Sb parameter is discussed in relation to global stellar parameters and the Sb vs. stellar radius relation is used to identify fast rotators. We find that the spectroscopic binary detection rate among field M giants, in a sample with a low number of velocity measurements (~2), unbiased toward earlier known binaries, is 6.3%. This is less than half of the analogous rate for field K giants, likely resulting from a real difference. This difference originates in the greater difficulty of finding binaries among M giants because of their smaller orbital velocity amplitudes and larger intrinsic jitter and in the different distributions of K and M giants in the eccentricity-period diagram. A larger detection rate was obtained in a smaller M giant sample with more radial velocity measurements per object: 11.1% confirmed plus 2.7% possible binaries. The CORAVEL spectroscopic parameter Sb was found to correlate better with the stellar radius than with either luminosity or effective temperature separately. Two outliers of the Sb vs. stellar radius relation, HD 190658 and HD 219654, have been recognized as fast rotators. The rotation is companion-induced, as both objects turn out to be spectroscopic binaries.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, language editing changes onl

Effect of breakfast omission and consumption on energy intake and physical activity in adolescent girls: a randomised controlled trial

It is not known if breakfast consumption is an effective intervention for altering daily energy balance in adolescents when compared with breakfast omission. This study examined the acute effect of breakfast consumption and omission on free-living energy intake (EI) and physical activity (PA) in adolescent girls. Using an acute randomised crossover design, forty girls (age 13.3 ± 0.8 y, body mass index 21.5 ± 5.0 kg∙m-2) completed two, 3-day conditions in a randomised, counter-balanced order: no breakfast (NB) and standardised (~1962 kJ) breakfast (SB). Dietary intakes were assessed using food diaries combined with digital photographic records and PA was measured via accelerometry throughout each condition. Statistical analyses were completed using repeated measures analysis of variance. Post-breakfast EI was 483 ± 1309 kJ/d higher in NB vs. SB (P=0.025), but total daily EI was 1479 ± 1311 kJ/d higher in SB vs. NB (P<0.0005). Daily carbohydrate, fibre and protein intakes were higher in SB vs. NB (P<0.0005), whereas daily fat intake was not different (P=0.405). Effect sizes met the minimum important difference of ≥0.20 for all significant effects. Breakfast manipulation did not affect post-breakfast macronutrient intakes (P≥0.451) or time spent sedentary or in PA (P≥0.657). In this sample of adolescent girls, breakfast omission increased post-breakfast free-living EI, but total daily EI was greater when a standardised breakfast was consumed. We found no evidence that breakfast consumption induces compensatory changes in PA. Further experimental research is required to determine the effects of extended periods of breakfast manipulation in young people

(In)Consistencies in responses to sodium bicarbonate supplementation: a randomised, repeated measures, counterbalanced and double-blind study

Objectives: Intervention studies do not account for high within-individual variation potentially compromising the magnitude of an effect. Repeat administration of a treatment allows quantification of individual responses and determination of the consistency of responses. We determined the consistency of metabolic and exercise responses following repeated administration of sodium bicarbonate (SB). Design and Methods: 15 physically active males (age 25 ± 4 y; body mass 76.0 ± 7.3 kg; height 1.77 ± 0.05 m) completed six cycling capacity tests at 110% of maximum power output (CCT 110% ) following ingestion of either 0.3 g.kg -1 BM of SB (4 trials) or placebo (PL, 2 trials). Blood pH, bicarbonate, base excess and lactate were determined at baseline, pre-exercise, post-exercise and 5-min post-exercise. Total work done (TWD) was recorded as the exercise outcome. Results: SB supplementation increased blood pH, bicarbonate and base excess prior to every trial (all p ≤0.001); absolute changes in pH, bicarbonate and base excess from baseline to pre-exercise were similar in all SB trials (all p > 0.05). Blood lactate was elevated following exercise in all trials (p ≤ 0.001), and was higher in some, but not all, SB trials compared to PL. TWD was not significantly improved with SB vs. PL in any trial (SB1: +3.6%; SB2 +0.3%; SB3: +2.1%; SB4: +6.7%; all p > 0.05), although magnitude-based inferences suggested a 93% likely improvement in SB4. Individual analysis showed ten participants improved in at least one SB trial above the normal variation of the test although five improved in none. Conclusions: The mechanism for improved exercise with SB was consistently in place prior to exercise, although this only resulted in a likely improvement in one trial. SB does not consistently improve high intensity cycling capacity, with results suggesting that caution should be taken when interpreting the results from single trials as to the efficacy of SB supplementation. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0247462

Computationally-driven, high throughput identification of CaTe and Li3_\textrm{3}Sb as promising candidates for high mobility pp-type transparent conducting materials

High-performance $p$-type transparent conducting materials (TCMs) must exhibit a rare combination of properties including high mobility, transparency and $p$-type dopability. The development of high-mobility/conductivity $p$-type TCMs is necessary for many applications such as solar cells, or transparent electronic devices. Oxides have been traditionally considered as the most promising chemical space to dig out novel $p$-type TCMs. However, non-oxides might perform better than traditional $p$-type TCMs (oxides) in terms of mobility. We report on a high-throughput (HT) computational search for non-oxide $p$-type TCMs from a large dataset of more than 30,000 compounds which identified CaTe and Li$_\textrm{3}$Sb as very good candidates for high-mobility $p$-type TCMs. From our calculations, both compounds are expected to be $p$-type dopable: intrinsically for Li$_\textrm{3}$Sb while CaTe would require extrinsic doping. Using electron-phonon computations, we estimate hole mobilities at room-temperature to be about 20 and 70 cm$^2$/Vs for CaTe and Li$_\textrm{3}$Sb, respectively. The computed hole mobility for Li$_\textrm{3}$Sb is quite exceptional and comparable with the electron mobility in the best $n$-type TCMs.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Sodium butyrate in growing and fattening diets for early-weaned rabbits

[EN] To study the effect of adding coated sodium butyrate (SB) to growing-fattening rabbit diets, 2 trials were conducted. In trial 1, 180 rabbits were housed in pairs and fattened from 23 (weaning) to 63 d of age to evaluate their zootechnical performance. Trial 2 involved 30 rabbits, from 23 to 37 d of age and housed individually in digestibility cages, to evaluate digestibility, caecal fermentative activity and morphology of the intestinal mucosa. In both trials rabbits were randomly divided into 2 groups, each receiving one of the following diets: control diet [CTR, 360 g neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and 170 g crude protein (CP)/kg dry matter (DM)] and SB diet. The SB diet, similar to CTR diet, included coated SB at 5 g/kg by replacement of an identical quantity of wheat. In trial 1, after the first 2 wk, the SB content was reduced from 5 to 3 g/kg. In trial 2, faeces were collected over the last 6 d (32-37 d of age), with rabbits being slaughtered at 37 d of age. Gastric and caecal pH were measured and fermentative activity was determined in caecal contents. Three sections of the small intestine were excised from 20 rabbits (10 per treatment) for microscopic examination of intestinal villi and crypts in the proximal region, central region and distal region. In the first 2 wk after weaning, SB rabbits grew 8% less than their counterparts (P=0.002), but had a better feed conversion ratio (1.58 vs. 1.61; P=0.036). During the whole trial 1 period, SB improved feed conversion (P=0.005) and decreased feed intake (104.1 CTR vs. 98.8 g/d SB; P=0.017). No difference was recorded in daily weight gain (42.7 vs. 42.9 g/d). In both diets, the digestibility of DM, organic matter, energy, CP and NDF were similar. In the 3 intestinal regions of rabbits fed SB diet, crypts were deeper (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in villus height and width between treatments. Pectinase activity was higher (P=0.054) with SB diet, but cellulase and xylanase activity remained unaffected by diet. In our experimental conditions, the addition of SB allowed an improvement in feed conversion.Ribeiro, J.; Gaspar, S.; Pinho, M.; Freire, JPB.; Falcão-E-Cunha, L. (2012). Sodium butyrate in growing and fattening diets for early-weaned rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 20(4):199-207. doi:10.4995/wrs.2012.1233SWORD19920720

Combining targeted and systematic prostate biopsy improves prostate cancer detection and correlation with the whole mount histopathology in biopsy naïve and previous negative biopsy patients

OBJECTIVE: Guidelines for previous negative biopsy (PNB) cohorts with a suspicion of prostate cancer (PCa) after positive multiparametric (mp) magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) often favour the fusion-guided targeted prostate-biopsy (TB) only approach for Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) ≥3 lesions. However, recommendations lack direct biopsy performance comparison within biopsy naïve (BN) vs. PNB patients and its prognostication of the whole mount pathology report (WMPR), respectively. We suppose, that the combination of TB and concomitant TRUS-systematic biopsy (SB) improves the PCa detection rate of PI-RADS 2, 3, 4 or 5 lesions and the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP)-grade predictability of the WMPR in BN- and PNB patients. METHODS: Patients with suspicious mpMRI, elevated prostate-specific-antigen and/or abnormal digital rectal examination were included. All PI-RADS reports were intramurally reviewed for biopsy planning. We compared the PI-RADS score substratified TB, SB or combined approach (TB/SB) associated BN- and PNB-PCa detection rate. Furthermore, we assessed the ISUP-grade variability between biopsy cores and the WMPR. RESULTS: According to BN (n = 499) vs. PNB (n = 314) patients, clinically significant (cs) PCa was detected more frequently by the TB/SB approach (62 vs. 43%) than with the TB (54 vs. 34%) or SB (57 vs. 34%) (all p < 0.0001) alone. Furthermore, we observed that the TB/SB strategy detects a significantly higher number of csPCa within PI-RADS 3, 4 or 5 reports, both in BN and PNB men. In contrast, applied biopsy techniques were equally effective to detect csPCa within PI-RADS 2 lesions. In case of csPCa diagnosis the TB approach was more often false-negative in PNB patients (BN 11% vs. PNB 19%; p = 0.02). The TB/SB technique showed in general significantly less upgrading, whereas a higher agreement was only observed for the total and BN patient cohort. CONCLUSION: Despite csPCa is more frequently found in BN patients, the TB/SB method always detected a significantly higher number of csPCa within PI-RADS 3, 4 or 5 reports of our BN and PNB group. The TB/SB strategy predicts the ISUP-grade best in the total and BN cohort and in general shows the lowest upgrading rates, emphasizing its value not only in BN but also PNB patients

Effects of Consuming Sugar-Sweetened Beverages for 2 Weeks on 24-h Circulating Leptin Profiles, Ad Libitum Food Intake and Body Weight in Young Adults

Sugar-sweetened beverage (sugar-SB) consumption is associated with body weight gain. We investigated whether the changes of (Δ) circulating leptin contribute to weight gain and ad libitum food intake in young adults consuming sugar-SB for two weeks. In a parallel, double-blinded, intervention study, participants (n = 131; BMI 18–35 kg/m2; 18–40 years) consumed three beverages/day containing aspartame or 25% energy requirement as glucose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or sucrose (n = 23–28/group). Body weight, ad libitum food intake and 24-h leptin area under the curve (AUC) were assessed at Week 0 and at the end of Week 2. The Δbody weight was not different among groups (p = 0.092), but the increases in subjects consuming HFCS- (p = 0.0008) and glucose-SB (p = 0.018) were significant compared with Week 0. Subjects consuming sucrose- (+14%, p \u3c 0.0015), fructose- (+9%, p = 0.015) and HFCS-SB (+8%, p = 0.017) increased energy intake during the ad libitum food intake trial compared with subjects consuming aspartame-SB (−4%, p = 0.0037, effect of SB). Fructose-SB decreased (−14 ng/mL × 24 h, p = 0.0006) and sucrose-SB increased (+25 ng/mL × 24 h, p = 0.025 vs. Week 0; p = 0.0008 vs. fructose-SB) 24-h leptin AUC. The Δad libitum food intake and Δbody weight were not influenced by circulating leptin in young adults consuming sugar-SB for 2 weeks. Studies are needed to determine the mechanisms mediating increased energy intake in subjects consuming sugar-SB