916 research outputs found
Kepler-447b: a hot-Jupiter with an extremely grazing transit
We present the radial velocity confirmation of the extrasolar planet
Kepler-447b, initially detected as a candidate by the Kepler mission. In this
work, we analyze its transit signal and the radial velocity data obtained with
the Calar Alto Fiber-fed Echelle spectrograph (CAFE). By simultaneously
modeling both datasets, we obtain the orbital and physical properties of the
system. According to our results, Kepler-447b is a Jupiter-mass planet
(), with an estimated radius of
(uncertainties provided in this work are
unless specified). This translates into a sub-Jupiter density. The
planet revolves every days in a slightly eccentric orbit
() around a G8V star with detected activity in the
Kepler light curve. Kepler-447b transits its host with a large impact parameter
(), being one of the few planetary grazing transits
confirmed so far and the first in the Kepler large crop of exoplanets. We
estimate that only around 20% of the projected planet disk occults the stellar
disk. The relatively large uncertainties in the planet radius are due to the
large impact parameter and short duration of the transit. Planets with such an
extremely large impact parameter can be used to detect and analyze interesting
configurations such as additional perturbing bodies, stellar pulsations,
rotation of a non-spherical planet, or polar spot-crossing events. All these
scenarios would periodically modify the transit properties (depth, duration,
and time of mid-transit), what could be detectable with sufficient accurate
photometry. Short-cadence photometric data (at the 1 minute level) would help
in the search for these exotic configurations in grazing planetary transits
like that of Kepler-447b.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 13 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables. This
version replaces an earlier version of the pape
Crystallographic and spectroscopic study on a known orally active progestin
6,17a-dimethyl-4,6-pregnadiene-3,20-dione (medrogestone, 2) is for a long time known steroid endowed with progestational activity. In order to study its crystallographic and NMR spectroscopic properties with the aim to fill the literature gap, we prepared medrogestone following a traditional procedure. A careful NMR study allowed the complete assignement of the 1H and 13C NMR signals not only of medrogestone but also of its synthetic intermediates. The structural and stereochemical characterizations of medrogestone togheter with its precursor 17a-methyl-3-ethoxy-pregna-3,5- dien-20-one were described by means of X-ray analysis, allowing a deepened conformational investigation
(S)-Pramipexole and Its Enantiomer, Dexpramipexole : a New Chemoenzymatic Synthesis and Crystallographic Investigation of Key Enantiomeric Intermediates
A new chemoenzymatic method has been developed for the synthesis of (S)- and (R)-N-(6-hydroxy-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[d]thiazol-2-yl) acetamide, two key synthons for the preparation of (S)-pramipexole, an anti-Parkinson drug, and its enantiomer dexpramipexole, which is currently under investigation for the treatment of eosinophil-associated disorders. These two building blocks have been obtained in good yields and high enantiomeric excess (30% and >98% ee for the R-enantiomer, and 31% and >99% ee for the S- one) through a careful optimization of the reaction conditions, starting from the corresponding racemic mixture and using two consecutive irreversible transesterifications, catalyzed by Candida antarctica lipase type A. Single crystal X-ray analysis has been carried out to unambiguously define the stereochemistry of the two enantiomers, and to explore in depth their three-dimensional features
Prolonged survival in the absence of disease-recurrence in advanced-stage follicular lymphoma following chemo-immunotherapy: 13-year update of the prospective, multicenter randomized GITMO-IIL trial
Aprospective trial conducted in the period 2000-2005 showed no survival advantage for high-dose chemotherapy with rituximab and autograft (RHDS) versus conventional chemotherapy with rituximab (CHOP-R) as firstline therapy in 134 high-risk follicular lymphoma patients aged <60 years. The study has been updated at the 13-year median follow up. As of February 2017, 88 (66%) patients were alive, with overall survival of 66.4% at 13 years, without a significant difference between R-HDS (64.5%) and CHOP-R (68.5%). To date, 46 patients have died, mainly because of disease progression (47.8% of all deaths), secondary malignancies (3 solid tumor, 9 myelodysplasia/acute leukemia; 26.1% of all deaths), and other toxicities (21.7% of all deaths). Complete remission was documented in 98 (73.1%) patients and associated with overall survival, with 13- year estimates of 77.0% and 36.8% for complete remission versus no-complete remission, respectively. Molecular remission was documented in 39 (65%) out of 60 evaluable patients and associated with improved survival. In multivariate analysis, complete remission achievement had the strongest effect on survival (P<0.001), along with younger age (P=0.002) and female sex (P=0.013). Overall, 50 patients (37.3%) survived with no disease recurrence (18 CHOP-R, 32 R-HDS). This follow up is the longest reported on follicular lymphoma treated upfront with rituximab-chemotherapy and demonstrates an unprecedented improvement in survival compared to the pre-rituximab era, regardless of the use of intensified or conventional treatment. Complete remission was the most important factor for prolonged survival and a high proportion of patients had prolonged survival in their first remission, raising the issue of curability in follicular lymphoma
HATS-13b and HATS-14b: two transiting hot Jupiters from the HATSouth survey
We report the discovery of HATS-13b and HATS-14b, two hot-Jupiter transiting
planets discovered by the HATSouth survey. The host stars are quite similar to
each other (HATS-13: V = 13.9 mag, M* = 0.96 Msun, R* = 0.89 Rsun, Teff = 5500
K, [Fe/H] = 0.05; HATS-14: V = 13.8 mag, M* = 0.97 Msun, R* = 0.93 Rsun, Teff =
5350 K, [Fe/H] = 0.33) and both the planets orbit around them with a period of
roughly 3 days and a separation of roughly 0.04 au. However, even though they
are irradiated in a similar way, the physical characteristics of the two
planets are very different. HATS-13b, with a mass of Mp = 0.543 MJ and a radius
of Rp = 1.212 RJ, appears as an inflated planet, while HATS-14b, having a mass
of Mp = 1.071 MJ and a radius of Rp = 1.039 RJ, is only slightly larger in
radius than Jupiter.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, Submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysics. arXiv
admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1503.0006
Therapeutic Effect of Iron Citrate in Blocking Calcium Deposition in High Pi-Calcified VSMC: Role of Autophagy and Apoptosis
In chronic kidney disease (CKD), the first cause of mortality is cardiovascular disease induced mainly by vascular calcification (VC). Recently, iron-based phosphate binders have been proposed in advanced CKD to treat hyperphosphatemia. We studied the effect of iron citrate (iron) on the progression of calcification in high-phosphate (Pi) calcified VSMC. Iron arrested further calcification when added on days 7\u201315 in the presence of high Pi (1.30 \ub1 0.03 vs 0.61 \ub1 0.02; OD/mg protein; day 15; Pi vs Pi + Fe, p < 0.01). We next investigated apoptosis and autophagy. Adding iron to high-Pi-treated VSMC, on days 7\u201311, decreased apoptotic cell number (17.3 \ub1 2.6 vs 11.6 \ub1 1.6; Annexin V; % positive cells; day 11; Pi vs Pi + Fe; p < 0.05). The result was confirmed thorough analysis of apoptotic nuclei both in VSMCs and aortic rings treated on days 7\u201315 (3.8 \ub1 0.2 vs 2.3 \ub1 0.3 and 4.0 \ub1 0.3 vs 2.2 \ub1 0.2; apoptotic nuclei; arbitrary score; day 15; Pi vs Pi + Fe; VSMCs and aortic rings; p < 0.05). Studying the prosurvival axis GAS6/AXL, we found that iron treatment on days 9\u201314 counteracted protein high-Pi-stimulated down-regulation and induced its de novo synthesis. Moreover, iron added on days 9\u201315 potentiated autophagy, as detected by an increased number of autophagosomes with damaged mitochondria and an increase in autophagic flux. Highlighting the effect of iron on apoptosis, we demonstrated its action in blocking the H2O2-induced increase in calcification added both before high Pi treatment and when the calcification was already exacerbated. In conclusion, we demonstrate that iron arrests further high Pi-induced calcium deposition through an anti-apoptotic action and the induction of autophagy on established calcified VSMC
Multi-site campaign for transit timing variations of WASP-12 b: possible detection of a long-period signal of planetary origin
The transiting planet WASP-12 b was identified as a potential target for
transit timing studies because a departure from a linear ephemeris was reported
in the literature. Such deviations could be caused by an additional planet in
the system. We attempt to confirm the existence of claimed variations in
transit timing and interpret its origin. We organised a multi-site campaign to
observe transits by WASP-12 b in three observing seasons, using 0.5-2.6-metre
telescopes. We obtained 61 transit light curves, many of them with
sub-millimagnitude precision. The simultaneous analysis of the best-quality
datasets allowed us to obtain refined system parameters, which agree with
values reported in previous studies. The residuals versus a linear ephemeris
reveal a possible periodic signal that may be approximated by a sinusoid with
an amplitude of 0.00068+/-0.00013 d and period of 500+/-20 orbital periods of
WASP-12 b. The joint analysis of timing data and published radial velocity
measurements results in a two-planet model which better explains observations
than single-planet scenarios. We hypothesize that WASP-12 b might be not the
only planet in the system and there might be the additional 0.1 M_Jup body on a
3.6-d eccentric orbit. A dynamical analysis indicates that the proposed
two-planet system is stable over long timescales.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Development of personalized thrombogenesis and thrombin generation assays to assess endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases
The study of endothelial dysfunction (ED) is crucial to identify the pathogenetic mechanism(s) and provide indications for patient management in cardiovascular diseases. It is currently hindered by the limited availability of patient-specific primary endothelial cells (ECs). Endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) represent an optimal non-invasive tool to overcome this issue. Therefore, we investigated the use of ECFCs as a substrate in thrombogenesis and thrombin generation assay (TGA) to assess ED. Both assays were set up on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and then tested on ECFCs obtained from healthy donors. To prove the ability of the assays to detect endothelial activation, ECs stimulated with TNFα were compared with unstimulated ECs. EC activation was confirmed by the upregulation of VCAM-1 and Tissue Factor expression. Both assays discriminated between unstimulated and activated HUVECs and ECFCs, as significantly higher platelet deposition and fibrin formation in thrombogenesis assay, and thrombin generation in TGA, were observed when TNFα-activated ECs were used as a substrate. The amount of fibrin and thrombin measured in the two assays were directly correlated. Our results support the combined use of a thrombogenesis assay and TGA performed on patient-derived ECFCs to provide a personalized global assessment of ED relevant to the patient’s hemostatic profile
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