2,998 research outputs found
Short-lived spots in solar-like stars as observed by CoRoT
Context. CoRoT light curves have an unprecedented photometric quality, having
simultaneously a high signal-to-noise ratio, a long time span and a nearly
continuous duty-cycle. Aims. We analyse the light-curves of four bright targets
observed in the seismology field and study short-lived small spots in
solar-like stars. Methods. We present a simple spot modeling by iterative
analysis. Its ability to extract relevant parameters is ensured by implementing
relaxation steps to avoid convergence to local minima of the sum of the
residuals between observations and modeling. The use of Monte-Carlo simulations
allows us to estimate the performance of the fits. Results. Our starspot
modeling gives a representation of the spots on these stars in agreement with
other well tested methods. Within this framework, parameters such as rigid-body
rotation and spot lifetimes seem to be precisely determined. Then, the
lifetime/rotation period ratios are in the range 0.5 - 2, and there is clear
evidence for differential rotation.Comment: 11 pages Accepted in A&
Centauri honey: a promising medicinal ingredient?
Honey is a natural product that has been used over the centuries as a medicine due to its biological
activities. Centauri Cave Nymph Honey is a Cave honey extracted from 2500 meters high altitude
above sea level from a deep cave by professional speleologists and is located at Caucasus Mountains
of Turkey. The Apis mellifera Caucasica bee colony is located 50 kilometers away from human
residences, ensuring its isolation from other colonies and maintaining a varroa mite-free status.
The aim of this work is to analyze the physicochemical parameters and the bioactivity of Centauri
honey. The physiochemical parameters that have been examined include color, moisture content,
conductivity, pH, acidity, HMF (5-hydroxymethylfurfural), diastase index, and proline. In addition, it
was also evaluated the ash, protein, sugars, carbohydrates, and energy. The biological activity was
evaluated through the antioxidant (TBARS), antimicrobial activities and cytotoxicity in different cell
lines (AGS, CaCo-2, MCF-7, NCI-H460, PLP2, HFF-2, and HaCat), and anti-inflammatory activity (RAW
264.7 macrophages). Ongoing research is focusing on the potential protetive effects of consuming Centauri Cave Honey against lung and prostate cancers. In vivo studies are expected to shed more
ligt on the additional health benefits that this honey may offer.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for
financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and
UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Medicinal centauri honey: a promising ingredient?
Honey is a natural product with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, has been used as a medicinal substance for centuries. Thisnatural product is main- ly composed of a supersaturated solution of sugars, containing low water con- tent and trace amounts of bioactive compounds. The flower source, climate, geographical origin, harvesting process and storage conditions are factors that influence the composition of the nectar, leading to significant changes in the chemical composition, physical properties, and bioactivity of honey1. Centau- ri Honey is harvested from bee colonies located in the wild Alps of Turkey ́s mountainous region, approximately 2,500 meters above the Black Sea. The bees live in caves far from human settlements and other bees, and they have access to medicinal endemic blooms throughout the year.
The aim of this work was to investigate the quality, physicochemical, nutrition- al parameters, and bioactivity of honey. The quality and physiochemical pa- rameters was analysed by colour, moisture content, conductivity, pH and acidity, 5-HMF (5-Hydroxymethylfurfural), diastase index and proline. The nutritional values were determined assessing ash, protein content, sugars, carbohydrates and energy. The biological activity was evaluated through the antioxidant, antimicrobial activity (broth microdilution method) and cytotox- icity in cell lines (AGS, CaCo-2, MCF-7, NCI-H460, PLP2, HFF-2, and HaCat), and anti-inflammatory activity (using RAW 264.7 macrophages).
Further studies are ongoing to scientifically validate the medicinal properties of Centauri Honey due to its exceptional chemical composition and thus to become an innovative Ingredient.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Biological activity of 6,7-dehydroroyleanone derivatives from Plectranthus aliciae
Plectranthus genus (Lamiaceae) is known to be rich in bioactive abietane royleanone-type diterpenes, such as 6,7-dehydroxyroyleanone (1, Fig. 1), which have been previously found in P. madagascariensis (var. aliciae Codd). This abietane royleanone presents moderate to significant to cytoxic activity against several cancer cell lines. Moreover, 1 has one hydroxyl group suitable for deri- vatization that can be explored to enhance the cytotoxic activity of lead com- pound 1. Based on this, the aim of the present work is to explore the obtention of 1, from P. aliciae aliciae (Codd) van Jaarsv. & T.J.Edwards., a subspecies of P. madagascariensis to be further used in the preparation of new derivatives with enhanced biological activities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Revisiting the transits of CoRoT-7b at a lower activity level
CoRoT-7b, the first super-Earth with measured radius discovered, has opened
the new field of rocky exoplanets characterisation. To better understand this
interesting system, new observations were taken with the CoRoT satellite.
During this run 90 new transits were obtained in the imagette mode. These were
analysed together with the previous 151 transits obtained in the discovery run
and HARPS radial velocity observations to derive accurate system parameters. A
difference is found in the posterior probability distribution of the transit
parameters between the previous CoRoT run (LRa01) and the new run (LRa06). We
propose this is due to an extra noise component in the previous CoRoT run
suspected to be transit spot occultation events. These lead to the mean transit
shape becoming V-shaped. We show that the extra noise component is dominant at
low stellar flux levels and reject these transits in the final analysis. We
obtained a planetary radius, , in agreement
with previous estimates. Combining the planetary radius with the new mass
estimates results in a planetary density of
which is consistent with a rocky composition. The CoRoT-7 system remains an
excellent test bed for the effects of activity in the derivation of planetary
parameters in the shallow transit regime.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, accepted to A&
Multiwavelength flux variations induced by stellar magnetic activity: effects on planetary transits
Stellar magnetic activity is a source of noise in the study of the transits
of extrasolar planets. It induces flux variations which affect significantly
the transit depth determination and the derivations of planetary and stellar
parameters. Furthermore, the colour dependence of stellar activity may
significantly influence the characterization of planetary atmospheres. Here we
present a systematic approach to quantify the corresponding stellar flux
variations as a function of wavelength bands. We consider a star with spots
covering a given fraction of its disc and model the variability in the UBVRIJHK
photometric system and in the Spitzer/IRAC wavebands for dwarf stars from G to
M spectral types. We compare activity-induced flux variations in different
passbands with planetary transits and quantify how they affect the
determination of the planetary radius and the analysis of the transmission
spectroscopy in the study of planetary atmospheres. We suggest that the
monitoring of the systems by using broad band photometry, from visible to
infrared, helps to constraining activity effects. The ratio of the relative
variations of the stellar fluxes in short wavelength optical bands (e.g., U or
B) to near infrared ones (e.g., J or K) can be used to distinguish starspot
brightness dips from planetary transits in a stellar light curve. In addition
to the perturbations in the measurement of the planetary radius, we find that
starspots can affect the determination of the relative semimajor axis and the
inclination of the planetary orbit which have a significant impact on the
derivation of the stellar density from the transit light curves.Comment: 12 pages, 6 Postscript figure
Plectranthus madagascariensis phytosomes
Medicinal plants have been a reliable source of bioactive natural products with potential pharmaceutical applications. The delivery of those bioactive agents into nanosystems is considered a promising strategy for the optimization of their pharmacologic effects. This work describes the preparation of phytosomes containing a bioactive extract from Plectranthus madagascariensis and optimization of the preparation method. Different formulations and process parameters were studied. It was observed that smaller and more uniform particles were obtained using acetone as solvent, a reaction time of two hours, and the addition of 2.5% molar concentration of cholesterol. The optimally prepared phytosomes had a diameter of 191.3 ± 75.3 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.243 ± 0.18, and a spherical shape with amorphous appearance. These nanosystems were able to encapsulate 92.8% of the extract, as evaluated by HPLC, relative to 7α,6β-dihydroxyroyleanona, the main extract component. This study suggests a future application of those phytosomes in the delivery of bioactive agents with therapeutic interest
The effects of artificial rearing and fostering on the growth, carcass and meat quality of lambs
Lamb rearing is a key point to ensure good quality at the end of the production cycle. Fostering and artificial rearing are techniques commonly used when natural rearing is compromised. However, there is a lack of research investigating their impact on the product´s quality, especially when lambs are slaughtered late, around 6 months of age. The current study investigated the effects of artificially reared and fostered lambs on growth, carcass and meat quality. The three foster methods under study were birth fluids, cervical stimulation combined with birth fluids and restraint. Animals were weaned at 3 months of age, and processed at 6 months of age. Artificially reared lambs presented lower weight gains than ewe reared ones at young ages. They also presented worse conformation scores at the processing plant. No differences could be found for growth rates, carcass or meat quality among the foster methods tested
Multi-band high resolution spectroscopy rules out the hot Jupiter BD+20 1790b - First data from the GIARPS Commissioning
Context. Stellar activity is currently challenging the detection of young
planets via the radial velocity (RV) technique. Aims. We attempt to
definitively discriminate the nature of the RV variations for the young active
K5 star BD+20 1790, for which visible (VIS) RV measurements show divergent
results on the existence of a substellar companion. Methods. We compare VIS
data with high precision RVs in the near infrared (NIR) range by using the
GIANO - B and IGRINS spectrographs. In addition, we present for the first time
simultaneous VIS-NIR observations obtained with GIARPS (GIANO - B and HARPS -
N) at Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG). Orbital RVs are achromatic, so the RV
amplitude does not change at different wavelengths, while stellar activity
induces wavelength-dependent RV variations, which are significantly reduced in
the NIR range with respect to the VIS. Results. The NIR radial velocity
measurements from GIANO - B and IGRINS show an average amplitude of about one
quarter with respect to previously published VIS data, as expected when the RV
jitter is due to stellar activity. Coeval multi-band photometry surprisingly
shows larger amplitudes in the NIR range, explainable with a mixture of cool
and hot spots in the same active region. Conclusions. In this work, the claimed
massive planet around BD+20 1790 is ruled out by our data. We exploited the
crucial role of multi- wavelength spectroscopy when observing young active
stars: thanks to facilities like GIARPS that provide simultaneous observations,
this method can reach its maximum potential.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
- …