1,513 research outputs found
Improved calibration of the radii of cool stars based on 3D simulations of convection: implications for the solar model
Main sequence, solar-like stars (M < 1.5 Msun) have outer convective
envelopes that are sufficiently thick to affect significantly their overall
structure. The radii of these stars, in particular, are sensitive to the
details of inefficient, super-adiabatic convection occurring in their outermost
layers. The standard treatment of convection in stellar evolution models, based
on the Mixing-Length Theory (MLT), provides only a very approximate description
of convection in the super-adiabatic regime. Moreover, it contains a free
parameter, alpha_MLT, whose standard calibration is based on the Sun, and is
routinely applied to other stars ignoring the differences in their global
parameters (e.g., effective temperature, gravity, chemical composition) and
previous evolutionary history. In this paper, we present a calibration of
alpha_MLT based on three-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics (3D RHD)
simulations of convection. The value of alpha_MLT is adjusted to match the
specific entropy in the deep, adiabatic layers of the convective envelope to
the corresponding value obtained from the 3D RHD simulations, as a function of
the position of the star in the (log g, log T_eff) plane and its chemical
composition. We have constructed a model of the present-day Sun using such
entropy-based calibration. We find that its past luminosity evolution is not
affected by the entropy calibration. The predicted solar radius, however,
exceeds that of the standard model during the past several billion years,
resulting in a lower surface temperature. This illustrative calculation also
demonstrates the viability of the entropy approach for calibrating the radii of
other late-type stars.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
The Yale-Potsdam Stellar Isochrones (YaPSI)
We introduce the Yale-Potsdam Stellar Isochrones (YaPSI), a new grid of
stellar evolution tracks and isochrones of solar-scaled composition. In an
effort to improve the Yonsei-Yale database, special emphasis is placed on the
construction of accurate low-mass models (Mstar < 0.6 Msun), and in particular
of their mass-luminosity and mass-radius relations, both crucial in
characterizing exoplanet-host stars and, in turn, their planetary systems. The
YaPSI models cover the mass range 0.15 to 5.0 Msun, densely enough to permit
detailed interpolation in mass, and the metallicity and helium abundance ranges
[Fe/H] = -1.5 to +0.3, and Y = 0.25 to 0.37, specified independently of each
other (i.e., no fixed Delta Y/Delta Z relation is assumed). The evolutionary
tracks are calculated from the pre-main sequence up to the tip of the red giant
branch. The isochrones, with ages between 1 Myr and 20 Gyr, provide UBVRI
colors in the Johnson-Cousins system, and JHK colors in the homogeneized
Bessell & Brett system, derived from two different semi-empirical Teff-color
calibrations from the literature. We also provide utility codes, such as an
isochrone interpolator in age, metallicity, and helium content, and an
interface of the tracks with an open-source Monte Carlo Markov-Chain tool for
the analysis of individual stars. Finally, we present comparisons of the YaPSI
models with the best empirical mass- luminosity and mass-radius relations
available to date, as well as isochrone fitting of well-studied steComment: 17 pages, 14 figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Asteroseismology of evolved stars to constrain the internal transport of angular momentum. VI. Testing a parametric formulation for the azimuthal magneto-rotational instability
Asteroseismic measurements of the internal rotation rate in evolved stars
pointed out to a lack of angular momentum (AM) transport in stellar evolution
models. Several physical processes in addition to hydrodynamical ones were
proposed as candidates for the missing mechanism. Nonetheless, no current
candidate can satisfy all the constraints provided by asteroseismology. We
revisit the role of a candidate process whose efficiency scales with the
contrast between the rotation rate of the core and the surface which was
proposed to be related to the azimuthal magneto-rotational instability (AMRI)
by Spada et al. We compute stellar evolution models of low- and
intermediate-mass stars with the parametric formulation of AM transport
proposed by Spada et al. until the end of the core-helium burning for low- and
intermediate-mass stars and compare our results to the latest asteroseismic
constraints available in the post main sequence phase. Both hydrogen-shell
burning stars in the red giant branch and core-helium burning stars of low- and
intermediate-mass in the mass range can be simultaneously reproduced by this kind of parametrisation.
Given current constraints from asteroseismology, the core rotation rate of
post-main sequence stars seems to be well explained by a process whose
efficiency is regulated by the internal degree of differential rotation in
radiative zones.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. 10 pages, 10
figures, 1 appendi
Creep, Relaxation and Viscosity Properties for Basic Fractional Models in Rheology
The purpose of this paper is twofold: from one side we provide a general
survey to the viscoelastic models constructed via fractional calculus and from
the other side we intend to analyze the basic fractional models as far as their
creep, relaxation and viscosity properties are considered. The basic models are
those that generalize via derivatives of fractional order the classical
mechanical models characterized by two, three and four parameters, that we
refer to as Kelvin-Voigt, Maxwell, Zener, anti-Zener and Burgers. For each
fractional model we provide plots of the creep compliance, relaxation modulus
and effective viscosity in non dimensional form in terms of a suitable time
scale for different values of the order of fractional derivative. We also
discuss the role of the order of fractional derivative in modifying the
properties of the classical models.Comment: 41 pages, 8 figure
Depriving Mice of Sleep also Deprives of Food.
Both sleep-wake behavior and circadian rhythms are tightly coupled to energy metabolism and food intake. Altered feeding times in mice are known to entrain clock gene rhythms in the brain and liver, and sleep-deprived humans tend to eat more and gain weight. Previous observations in mice showing that sleep deprivation (SD) changes clock gene expression might thus relate to altered food intake, and not to the loss of sleep per se. Whether SD affects food intake in the mouse and how this might affect clock gene expression is, however, unknown. We therefore quantified (i) the cortical expression of the clock genes Per1, Per2, Dbp, and Cry1 in mice that had access to food or not during a 6 h SD, and (ii) food intake during baseline, SD, and recovery sleep. We found that food deprivation did not modify the SD-incurred clock gene changes in the cortex. Moreover, we discovered that although food intake during SD did not differ from the baseline, mice lost weight and increased food intake during subsequent recovery. We conclude that SD is associated with food deprivation and that the resulting energy deficit might contribute to the effects of SD that are commonly interpreted as a response to sleep loss
3D Graphic for promoting Cultural Heritages: the example of Petraro archaeological site in Villasmundo (Melilli-Siracusa, Sicily)
This work is part of a wider project aimed to studying and promoting the archeological area of “Petraro” in Villasmundo (Melilli – SR), in collaboration with LegambienteMelilli – Sezione TimpaDdieri. Explored for the first time in 1967 by the archeologist Giuseppe Voza[1], the site exhibits the remains of an interesting prehistoric fortified village dated at XVI – XV sec. B. C.; this structure has been evaluated as an unicum in Sicily for its architectonical characteristics and archeological records[2].Unfortunately, for many years, the area has been abandoned and made inaccessible to visitors, causing an important degrade of the site.
In the last decade, the use of virtual reconstruction of Cultural Heritage has become a recurring custom for visualization of several features of an archaeological site[3, 4]. In particular, 3D computer graphics have been interpreted as a useful tool for the understanding of prehistoric remains[5], often characterized by bad preservation and absence of documentary sources.
For aforementioned, the aim of this paper is to present the results of a virtual model of the prehistoric village of Petraro and the archeological records recovered in the site.
In this context, 3D modeling could clarify some features of the area and offer a new tool for promoting this archeological site
hMENA11a contributes to HER3-mediated resistance to PI3K inhibitors in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells.
Human Mena (hMENA), an actin regulatory protein of the ENA/VASP family, cooperates with ErbB receptor family signaling in breast cancer. It is overexpressed in high-risk preneoplastic lesions and in primary breast tumors where it correlates with HER2 overexpression and an activated status of AKT and MAPK. The concomitant overexpression of hMENA and HER2 in breast cancer patients is indicative of a worse prognosis. hMENA is expressed along with alternatively expressed isoforms, hMENA11a and hMENAΔv6 with opposite functions. A novel role for the epithelial-associated hMENA11a isoform in sustaining HER3 activation and pro-survival pathways in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells has been identified by reverse phase protein array and validated in vivo in a series of breast cancer tissues. As HER3 activation is crucial in mechanisms of cell resistance to PI3K inhibitors, we explored whether hMENA11a is involved in these resistance mechanisms. The specific hMENA11a depletion switched off the HER3-related pathway activated by PI3K inhibitors and impaired the nuclear accumulation of HER3 transcription factor FOXO3a induced by PI3K inhibitors, whereas PI3K inhibitors activated hMENA11a phosphorylation and affected its localization. At the functional level, we found that hMENA11a sustains cell proliferation and survival in response to PI3K inhibitor treatment, whereas hMENA11a silencing increases molecules involved in cancer cell apoptosis. As shown in three-dimensional cultures, hMENA11a contributes to resistance to PI3K inhibition because its depletion drastically reduced cell viability upon treatment with PI3K inhibitor BEZ235. Altogether, these results indicate that hMENA11a in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells sustains HER3/AKT axis activation and contributes to HER3-mediated resistance mechanisms to PI3K inhibitors. Thus, hMENA11a expression can be proposed as a marker of HER3 activation and resistance to PI3K inhibition therapies, to select patients who may benefit from these combined targeted treatments. hMENA11a activity could represent a new target for antiproliferative therapies in breast cancer
The role of desire thinking in the problematic use of social networking sites among adults.
The problematic use of social networking sites (SNS) is associated with several psychiatric disorders. This behavior closely resembles addiction in terms of neurological basis and behavioral patterns. Nevertheless, successful intervention strategies and the etiology of problematic SNS use are not yet thoroughly investigated. We aimed to study whether desire thinking is associated with problematic SNS use among adults when controlling for some confounders, including boredom, affect, and impulsivity. With the help of convenience sampling, we enrolled 546 Turkish adults in this study to whom we administered a sociodemographic form, the Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS), the Leisure Boredom Scale (LBS), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), and the Desire Thinking Questionnaire (DTQ). To explore the association between the variables, we performed Pearson correlational and hierarchical regression analyses. The results showed that higher scores on two sub-dimensions of desire thinking, namely verbal perseveration and imaginal prefiguration, were associated with higher scores on problematic SNS use after we controlled for boredom, affect, and impulsivity. This study demonstrates that desire thinking may play a role in problematic SNS use among adults. We recommend targeting desire thinking as a potential area in treatments which may help alleviate problematic SNS use. [Abstract copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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