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An Exploration of Spotted White Dwarfs from K2
The 21st European Workshop on White Dwarfs was held in Austin, TX from July 23rd to 27th of 2018The Kepler K2 mission has discovered a significant
population of white dwarf stars that exhibit
photometric variability due to surface inhomogeneities
likely related to magnetism. These “spotted”
white dwarfs present not only in temperature
regimes where we expect convection to dominate
white dwarf photospheres, but also where
radiation should dominate. We present an exploration
of spotted white dwarfs as a function of
various physical characteristics, including temperature,
magnetic field strength, and rotational period,
in order to better understand the origins of
these photometric variations.Astronom
Pan-European grading scales: lessons from national systems and the ECTS
This article assesses the impact of the Bologna Process on the grading schemes of EU member countries. In light of some problems regarding the implementation of the European Credit Transfer system (ECTS), the author proposes further reforms and offers some elements of a unified grading system for European higher education. The author explores the variation among Europe’s grading systems and the resulting lessons learned are shared here. Lastly, this article also argues that principles of justice and fairness, deemed central to academic freedom, are best upheld by the use of a unified grading system at national and European levels
Higher Blood Glucose within the Normal Range Is Associated with More Severe Strokes
Background. Higher fasting blood glucose (FBG) concentrations in the hyperglycemic range are associated with more severe strokes. Whether this association also extends into patients with FBG in the normoglycemic range is unclear. We studied the association of stroke severity and FBG in normoglycemic patients with ischemic stroke in a median of 7 days after stroke when the initial glycemic stress response has resolved. Method and Material. Included were 361 nondiabetic ischemic stroke patients with admission fasting blood glucose within 70–130 mg/dL admitted into an acute stroke rehabilitation unit in a median of 7 days after stroke. Data including neuroimaging, vital signs, cardiovascular risk factors, and admission functional independence measure (AFIM) were recorded prospectively. Results. FBG correlated with stroke severity in the normoglycemic 70–130 mg/dL range (FBG-AFIM correlation coefficient −0.17; P = 0.003). Odds ratio for more severe injury (below average AFIM score) was 2.02 for patients with FBG 110–130 mg/dL compared to FBG 70–90 mg/dL (95% confidence interval 1.10–3.73, P = 0.022). Each mg/dL increase in FBG was associated with an average decrease of 0.25 FIM points. In a multiple linear regression model, FBG was associated with more severe stroke (P = 0.002). Conclusion. One week after ischemic stroke, FBG within the normoglycemic range was associated with stroke severity
Two New White Dwarfs With Variable Magnetic Balmer Emission Lines
We report the discovery of two apparently isolated stellar remnants that
exhibit rotationally modulated magnetic Balmer emission, adding to the emerging
DAHe class of white dwarf stars. While the previously discovered members of
this class show Zeeman-split triplet emission features corresponding to single
magnetic field strengths, these two new objects exhibit significant
fluctuations in their apparent magnetic field strengths with variability phase.
The Zeeman-split hydrogen emission lines in LP broaden from MG
to MG over an apparent spin period of minutes. Similarly, WD
J varies from MG to MG over its apparent
-minute rotation period. This brings the DAHe class of white dwarfs to
at least five objects, all with effective temperatures within K of
K and masses ranging from .Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Partly burnt runaway stellar remnants from peculiar thermonuclear supernovae
We report the discovery of three stars that, along with the prototype
LP40-365, form a distinct class of chemically peculiar runaway stars that are
the survivors of thermonuclear explosions. Spectroscopy of the four confirmed
LP 40-365 stars finds ONe-dominated atmospheres enriched with remarkably
similar amounts of nuclear ashes of partial O- and Si-burning. Kinematic
evidence is consistent with ejection from a binary supernova progenitor; at
least two stars have rest-frame velocities indicating they are unbound to the
Galaxy. With masses and radii ranging between 0.20-0.28 Msun and 0.16-0.60
Rsun, respectively, we speculate these inflated white dwarfs are the partly
burnt remnants of either peculiar Type Iax or electron-capture supernovae.
Adopting supernova rates from the literature, we estimate that ~20 LP40-365
stars brighter than 19 mag should be detectable within 2 kpc from the Sun at
the end of the Gaia mission. We suggest that as they cool, these stars will
evolve in their spectroscopic appearance, and eventually become peculiar O-rich
white dwarfs. Finally, we stress that the discovery of new LP40-365 stars will
be useful to further constrain their evolution, supplying key boundary
conditions to the modelling of explosion mechanisms, supernova rates, and
nucleosynthetic yields of peculiar thermonuclear explosions.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication on MNRA
Role of Hypertension in Aggravating Aβ Neuropathology of AD Type and Tau-Mediated Motor Impairment
Epidemiological evidence suggests that hypertension may accelerate the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we explored the role of hypertension in the neurodegenerative changes associated with Aβ and tau aggregation. We induced hypertension in APPswe
Tg2576 and P301L-tauTg mouse models. In Tg2576 mice, experimental hypertension was associated with
a significant increase of the accumulation of Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in brain
tissue and a significant reduction of Aβ peptides in serum (P < .05). These results
indicate that hypertension may promote AD-type Aβ neuropathology in Tg2576. In P301L-tauTg mice we found that the presence of hypertension was
significantly associated with aggravated motor function assessed by hindlimb
extension test (P = .01). These results suggest that hypertension may play a role
in accelerating the progression of motor dysfunction associated with tau-related
alterations. Our studies suggest that the management of blood pressure (BP)
may alleviate AD-type Aβ neuropathology and neurological disorders associated
with abnormal tau metabolism
Volunteering in the care of people with severe mental illness: a systematic review
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF EPTACOG BETA (RECOMBINANT HUMAN FVIIA) ACCORDING TO AGE IN PERSONS WITH HAEMOPHILIA A/B WITH INHIBITORS UNDERGOING SURGICAL PROCEDURES
Introduction: Eptacog beta (CEVENFACTA®) is a new rFVIIa approved by the EMA for the treatment of bleeding events and prevention of bleeding during surgery in persons with haemophilia A/B with inhibitors (PwHABI) aged ≥12 years (y).
Methods: PERSEPT 3 was a Phase 3 (NCT02020369) trial of eptacog beta in PwHABI who required surgical procedures. Eptacog beta was administered at an initial dose of 200μg/kg or 75μg/kg for major or minor procedures respectively. This was followed by 75μg/kg for ≥5 (major procedures) or ≥2 (minor procedures) days. Haemostatic efficacy was assessed using a 4-point scale during the intra and postoperative care period (primary efficacy endpoint was determined by the investigator at the study centre 48±4h after the last dose of eptacog beta, based on the totality of the assessments performed on the patient (pt) at each timepoint). This post-hoc analysis compared the efficacy and safety of eptacog beta by age (pts aged \u3c12 vs ≥12y).
Results: Twelve pts were included (\u3c12y: n=5, 1 major and 4 minor procedures; ≥12y: n=7, 5 major and 2 minor procedures). The primary endpoint success proportion was 100% (95% CI: 39.8-100) in pts aged \u3c12y (4 successes, 1 missing) and 71.4% (95% CI: 29.0-96.3) in pts aged ≥12y (5 successes; 2 failures). The intraoperative success proportion was 100% (95% CI: 47.8-100) for pts aged \u3c12y (5 successes) and 100% (95% CI: 59.0-100) for pts aged ≥12y (7 successes). The success proportion 24h post-procedure was 100% (95% CI: 47.8-100) for pts aged \u3c12y (5 successes) and 100% (95% CI: 47.8-100) for pts aged ≥12y (5 successes; 2 missing). Two pts discontinued treatment (1 aged \u3c12y withdrew consent; 1 aged ≥12y due to an adverse event (AE): postprocedural hematoma). One pt experienced 2 serious AEs leading to death, both were considered unrelated to the treatment. No allergic or thrombotic events occurred; no neutralising antibodies were detected. Antifibrinolytics were used concomitantly with eptacog beta in 4 patients without any safety concerns.
Discussion/Conclusion: This post-hoc subgroup analysis shows that eptacog beta is effective and well-tolerated in perioperative care irrespective of patient age (\u3c12 vs ≥12y), supporting the use of eptacog beta for bleed management (prevention and treatment) in major and minor surgical procedures in all PwHABI
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