Asteroseismology of ZZ Ceti stars with fully evolutionary white dwarf models: I. The impact of the uncertainties from prior evolution on the period spectrum

ZZ Ceti stars are pulsating white dwarfs with a carbon-oxygen core build up during the core helium burning and thermally pulsing Asymptotic Giant Branch phases. Through the interpretation of their pulsation periods by means of asteroseismology, details about their origin and evolution can be inferred. The whole pulsation spectrum exhibited by ZZ Ceti stars strongly depends on the inner chemical structure. At present, there are several processes affecting the chemical profiles that are still not accurately determined. We present a study of the impact of the current uncertainties of the white dwarf formation and evolution on the expected pulsation properties of ZZ Ceti stars. Our analysis is based on a set of carbon-oxygen core white dwarf models with masses $0.548$ and 0.837 M_{\sun} derived from full evolutionary computations from the ZAMS to the ZZ Ceti domain. We have considered models in which we varied the number of thermal pulses, the amount of overshooting, and the $^{12}$C$(\alpha,\gamma)^{16}$O reaction rate within their uncertainties. We explore the impact of these major uncertainties in prior evolution on the chemical structure and the expected pulsation spectrum. We find that these uncertainties yield significant changes in the $g$-mode pulsation periods. We conclude that the uncertainties in the white dwarf progenitor evolution should be be taken into account in detailed asterseismological analysis of these pulsating stars.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures. To be published in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Long-term persistence of rituximab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: an evaluation of the UCL cohort from 1998 to 2020

OBJECTIVES: B cell depletion therapy based on rituximab in patients with RA was pioneered at University College London Hospitals/University College London in 1998. The objective of this study was to evaluate long-term persistence of rituximab and identify factors associated with discontinuation of treatment. METHODS: Retrospective review of medical records from all rituximab-treated RA patients followed up in a dedicated clinic (1998–2020). Data collected included gender, disease duration, previous DMARDs, autoantibody status, age and concomitant therapy at first cycle, length of follow-up, and number of cycles. Drug survival and factors associated with drug discontinuation were analysed using Kaplan–Meier survival curves, log-rank test and Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 404 patients were included. Median disease duration and age at time of first rituximab cycle were 10 and 57 years, respectively. Median total follow-up was 55 months and median number of cycles five. 93.1% of patients were seropositive. Overall, 31.2% of patients stopped rituximab, with the largest reason for discontinuing being primary inefficacy (42.1%). Comparison of Kaplan–Meier curves showed that rituximab drug survival was lower in seronegative patients and in patients who had previously failed at least one biologic DMARD (bDMARD). Cox regression analysis revealed that rituximab discontinuation was associated with a greater number of previous bDMARDs. CONCLUSION: Many patients with RA achieve good control of their disease with repeated cycles of rituximab treatment. The most common reasons for treatment discontinuation were either primary or secondary inefficacy. Patients who were seronegative and who had previously failed other bDMARDs were more at risk of drug discontinuation

Estudio del efecto del tamaño en la estructura cristalina de nanopartículas de CoFe2O4

Se estudió como afecta el tamaño de nanopartículas de ferrita de cobalto en el desorden cristalino por efecto de superficie. Las nanopartículas se obtuvieron por el método de coprecipitación de sales. Para controlar el tamaño realizaron diferentes tratamientos térmicos posteriores a la síntesis. La estructura cristalina y la morfología se evaluaron por medio de Difracción de rayos-X y Microscopía Electrónica de Transmisión de Alta Resolución. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran en forma cuantitativa, cómo la variación en la relación superficie/volumen es responsable de las deformaciones presentes en las nanoestructuras.Fil: Menchaca Nal, Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Tecnologia En Polimeros y Nanotecnologia; ArgentinaFil: Londoño Calderon, Cesar Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Tecnologia En Polimeros y Nanotecnologia; ArgentinaFil: Pardo Saavedra, D. C.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Tecnologías y Ciencias de la Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Pampillo, L. G.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Tecnologías y Ciencias de la Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Socolovsky, Leandro Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Tecnologías y Ciencias de la Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Martinez Garcia, Ricardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Tecnologia En Polimeros y Nanotecnologia; Argentin

Serum markers of B-cell activation in pregnancy during late gestation, delivery, and the postpartum period

B cells are vital for the normal evolution of pregnancy due to their humoral and possible regulatory activities. Our group and others have documented that circulating B-cell subsets undergo changes from normal late pregnancy to the postpartum period. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Therefore, this study examined the degree of B-cell activation in normal pregnancy by analyzing the levels of serum markers in healthy pregnant women during the third trimester of pregnancy, the day of delivery, and the postpartum period. METHOD OF STUDY: A prospective study including pregnant and non-pregnant women attending routine care was undertaken at a hospital clinic. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected, along with peripheral blood samples. The serum levels of soluble CD23 (sCD23), B-cell-activating factor (BAFF), kappa (κ) and lambda (λ) free light chains (FLC), IgA, IgG, and IgM were quantified. RESULTS: Our study included 43 third trimester pregnant and 35 non-pregnant women. In the pregnant women, the median levels of sCD23, BAFF, IgG, and κ FLC were significantly higher during the postpartum period than during the third trimester of pregnancy. Compared to the non-pregnant women, the third trimester pregnant women had higher median BAFF levels and lower sCD23, IgA, IgG, and FLC levels. CONCLUSION: Changes in serum markers of B-cell kinetics that occur during pregnancy often persist into the postpartum period and affect the secretion of immunoglobulins from different classes. Further studies are needed to clarify the biological significance of our observations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of Tropical Legume (\u3cem\u3eStylosanthes cv.\u3c/em\u3e Campo Grande) Silage and Dietary Protein Levels on Animal Performance of Finishing Beef Cattle

Recently, the interest in legume silage for livestock systems has increased in tropical countries (Heinritz et al., 2012) because of the high inclusion of the protein sources in the concentrate used in feedlot diets, like soybean meal. Stylosanthes cv. Campo Grande was developed in Brazil and this cultivar has a good adaptation to tropical conditions, as soils with low fertility and high acidity (Fernandes et al., 2005). Recently, this legume has been indicated for silage making because of its nutritional value and previous results with beef cattle have showed similar performance and digestibility in comparison with corn silage (Souza et al., 2014). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Stylosanthes cv. Campo Grande silage (StS) and corn silage (CS) with two dietary protein levels