Revealing the pulsational properties of the V777 Her star KUV 05134+2605 by its long-term monitoring

Context: KUV 05134+2605 is one of the 21 pulsating DB white dwarfs (V777 Her or DBV variables) known so far. The detailed investigation of the short-period and low-amplitude pulsations of these relatively faint targets requires considerable observational efforts from the ground, long-term single-site or multisite observations. The observed amplitudes of excited modes undergo short-term variations in many cases, which makes the determination of pulsation modes difficult. Methods: We re-analysed the data already published, and collected new measurements. We compared the frequency content of the different datasets from the different epochs and performed various tests to check the reliability of the frequency determinations. The mean period spacings were investigated with linear fits to the observed periods, Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Inverse Variance significance tests, and Fourier analysis of different period sets, including a Monte Carlo test simulating the effect of alias ambiguities. We employed fully evolutionary DB white dwarf models for the asteroseismic investigations. Results: We identified 22 frequencies between 1280 and 2530 microHz. These form 12 groups, which suggests at least 12 possible frequencies for the asteroseismic investigations. Thanks to the extended observations, KUV 05134+2605 joined the group of rich white dwarf pulsators. We identified one triplet and at least one doublet with a ~9 microHz frequency separation, from which we derived a stellar rotation period of 0.6 d. We determined the mean period spacings of ~31 and ~18 s for the modes we propose as dipole and quadrupole, respectively. We found an excellent agreement between the stellar mass derived from the l=1 period spacing and the period-to-period fits, all providing M_* = 0.84-0.85 M_Sun solutions. Our study suggests that KUV 05134+2605 is the most massive amongst the known V777 Her stars.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Correlation from undiluted vitreous cytokines of untreated central retinal vein occlusion with spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Purpose: To correlate inflammatory and proangiogenic key cytokines from undiluted vitreous of treatment-naïve central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) patients with SD-OCT parameters. Methods: Thirty-five patients (age 71.1 years, 24 phakic, 30 nonischemic) underwent intravitreal combination therapy, including a single-site 23-gauge core vitrectomy. Twenty-eight samples from patients with idiopathic, non-uveitis floaterectomy served as controls. Interleukin 6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) levels were correlated with the visual acuity (logMar), category of CRVO (ischemic or nonischemic) and morphologic parameters, such as central macular thickness-CMT, thickness of neurosensory retina-TNeuro, extent of serous retinal detachment-SRT and disintegrity of the IS/OS and others. Results: The mean IL-6 was 64.7pg/ml (SD ± 115.8), MCP-1 1015.7 ( ± 970.1), and VEGF-A 278.4 ( ± 512.8), which was significantly higher than the control IL-6 6.2 ± 3.4pg/ml (P=0.06), MCP-1 253.2 ± 73.5 (P<0.0000001) and VEGF-A 7.0 ± 4.9 (P<0.0006). All cytokines correlated highly with one another (correlation coefficient r=0.82 for IL-6 and MCP-1; r=0.68 for Il-6 and VEGF-A; r=0.64 for MCP-1 and VEGF-A). IL-6 correlated significantly with CMT, TRT, SRT, dIS/OS, and dELM. MCP-1 correlated significantly with SRT, dIS/OS, and dELM. VEGF-A correlated not with changes in SD-OCT, while it had a trend to be higher in the ischemic versus the nonischemic CRVO group (P=0.09). Conclusions: The inflammatory cytokines were more often correlated with morphologic changes assessed by SD-OCT, whereas VEGF-A did not correlate with CRVO-associated changes in SD-OCT. VEGF inhibition alone may not be sufficient in decreasing the inflammatory response in CRVO therapy

Analysis of a Novel SPS Configuration Enabled by Lunar ISRU

Architectures for space-based solar power using in situ resource utilization (ISRU) of space materials can greatly reduce earth launch mass and can enable geometric capacity growth. These two factors allow the potential for low cost power generation after development of an in-space infrastructure. A collection of extraction and processing methods designed for lunar operation provides for large volumes of low cost solar panels. With abundant panels a novel configuration for solar power satellites (SPS) is possible which avoids many of the challenges of existing designs. The so-called "tin can" SPS has no moving parts. It includes integral thermal radiators. Station-keeping requirements are minimal. Structural integrity is designed-in so that balance of plant mass is minimal. In this work the architecture and infrastructure supporting the tin can SPS is developed to support rapid construction and deployment. Performance estimates for the SPS are provided regarding heat and energy balance, and specific mass requirements

THE FUTURE OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS FOR SOUTHERN COMMODITIES

Political Economy,

THE ACTIVITY OF ANTIOXIDANT PROTECTING OF THE BULLS FOR ACUTE CADMIUM TOXICOSIS

У статті наведено результати досліджень впливу кадмію хлориду на показники ензимної системи антиоксидантного захисту у молодняку великої рогатої худоби, а саме на активність каталази, супероксиддисмутази, глутатіонпероксидази, глутатіонредуктази та глюкозо-6-фосфатдегідрогенази. Встановлено, що згодовування бичкам даного токсиканту у дозі 0,3 мг/кг маси тіла активність каталази, супероксиддисмутази, глутатіонпероксидази, глутатіонредуктази та глюкозо-6-фосфатдегідрогенази у крові дослідних тварин упродовж усього досліду знижувалася. Найнижчою активність показників ензимної системи антиоксидантного захисту у крові молодняку великої рогатої худоби встановлено на двадцять четверту годину досліду, що пов’язано із посиленою активацією процесів ліпопероксидації та порушенням рівноваги між активністю антиоксидантної системи та інтенсивністю перекисного окиснення ліпідів.В статье приведены результаты исследований влияния кадмия хлорида на показатели энзимной системы антиоксидантной защиты у молодняка крупного рогатого скота, а именно на активность каталазы, супероксиддисмутазы, глутатионпероксидазы, глутатионредуктазы и глюкозо-6-фосфатдегидрогеназы. Установлено, что скармливание бычка данного токсиканта в дозе 0,3 мг/кг массы тела активность каталазы, супероксиддисмутазы, глутатионпероксидазы, глутатионредуктазы и глюкозо-6-фосфатдегидрогеназы в крови подопытных животных в течение всего опыта снижалась. Низкой активность показателей энзимной системы антиоксидантной защиты в крови молодняка крупного рогатого скота установлено на двадцать четыре часа опыта, что связано с усиленной активацией процессов липопероксидации и нарушением равновесия между активностью антиоксидантной системы и интенсивности перекисного окисления липидов.This article presents the results of search of the influence of cadmium chloride on the indices of enzymatic antioxidant defense system in young cattle, namely the activity of catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. It was found out that bulls feeding of the toxicant at a dose of 0,3 mg/kg on body mass of catalase activity, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in the blood of experimental animals throughout the experiment is decreased. The lowest activity of indicators of enzymatic of antioxidant defense system in the blood of young cattle is set at twenty-four hours of the experiment, which is associated with increased activation of lipid peroxidation and imbalance between the activity of antioxidant system and lipid peroxidation intensity

Risky Sex and HIV Acquisition Among HIV Serodiscordant Couples in Zambia, 2002-2012: What Does Alcohol Have To Do With It?

In this paper we evaluate the effects of heavy alcohol consumption on sexual behavior, HIV acquisition, and antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation in a longitudinal open cohort of 1929 serodiscordant couples in Lusaka, Zambia from&nbsp;2002 to&nbsp;2012. We evaluated factors associated with baseline heavy alcohol consumption and its association with condomless sex with the study partner, sex outside of the partnership, and ART initiation using multivariable logistic regression. We estimated the effect of alcohol consumption on HIV acquisition using multivariable Cox models. Baseline factors significantly associated with women's heavy drinking (drunk weekly or more in 12-months before enrollment) included woman's older age (adjusted prevalence odds ratio [aPOR]&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.04), partner heavy drinking (aPOR&nbsp;=&nbsp;3.93), and being HIV-infected (aPOR&nbsp;=&nbsp;2.03). Heavy drinking among men was associated with less age disparity with partner (aPOR&nbsp;per year disparity&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.97) and partner heavy drinking (aPOR&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.63). Men's being drunk daily (aOR&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.18), women's being drunk less than monthly (aOR&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.39) vs. never drunk and being in a male HIV-negative and female HIV-positive union (aOR&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.45) were associated with condomless sex. Heavy alcohol use was associated with having 1 or more outside sex partners among men (aOR drunk daily&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.91, drunk weekly&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.32, drunk monthly =&nbsp;2.03 vs. never), and women (aOR drunk monthly&nbsp;=&nbsp;2.75 vs. never). Being drunk weekly or more increased men's risk of HIV acquisition (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.72). Men and women being drunk weekly or more was associated (p&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;0.1) with women's seroconversion (aHR&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.42 and aHR&nbsp;=&nbsp;3.71 respectively). HIV-positive women who were drunk monthly or more had lower odds of initiating ART (aOR&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.83; 95% CI&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.70-0.99) adjusting for age, months since baseline and previous pregnancies. Individuals in HIV-serodiscordant couples who reported heavy drinking had more outside sex partnerships and condomless sex with their study partner and were more likely to acquire HIV. HIV-positive women had lower odds of initiating ART if they were heavy drinkers