Na I and Hα\alpha absorption features in the atmosphere of MASCARA-2b/KELT-20b

We have used the HARPS-North high resolution spectrograph ($\mathcal{R}$=115 000) at TNG to observe one transit of the highly irradiated planet MASCARA-2b/KELT-20b. Using only one transit observation, we are able to clearly resolve the spectral features of the atomic sodium (Na I) doublet and the H$\alpha$ line in its atmosphere, measuring absorption depths of 0.17$\pm$0.03$\%$ and 0.59$\pm$0.08$\%$ for a 0.75 $\AA$ passband, respectively. These absorptions are corroborated with the transmission measured from their respective transmission light curves, which show a large Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. In case of H$\alpha$, this absorption corresponds to an effective radius of $R_{\lambda}/R_P$=1.20$\pm$0.04. While the S/N of the final transmission spectrum is not sufficient to adjust different temperature profiles to the lines, we find that higher temperatures than the equilibrium are needed to explain the lines contrast. Particularly, we find that the Na I lines core require a temperature of T=4210$\pm$180K and that H$\alpha$ requires T=4330$\pm$520K. MASCARA-2b, like other planets orbiting A-type stars, receives a large amount of UV energy from its host star. This energy excites the atomic hydrogen and produces H$\alpha$ absorption, leading to the expansion and abrasion of the atmosphere. The study of other Balmer lines in the transmission spectrum would allow the determination of the atmospheric temperature profile and the calculation of the lifetime of the atmosphere. In the case of MASCARA-2b, residual features are observed in the H$\beta$ and H$\gamma$ lines, but they are not statistically significant. More transit observations are needed to confirm our findings in Na I and H$\alpha$, and to build up enough S/N to explore the presence of H$\beta$ and H$\gamma$ planetary absorptions.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figure

Structural basis for distinctive recognition of fibrinogen γC peptide by the platelet integrin αIIbβ3

Hemostasis and thrombosis (blood clotting) involve fibrinogen binding to integrin αIIbβ3 on platelets, resulting in platelet aggregation. αvβ3 binds fibrinogen via an Arg-Asp-Gly (RGD) motif in fibrinogen's α subunit. αIIbβ3 also binds to fibrinogen; however, it does so via an unstructured RGD-lacking C-terminal region of the γ subunit (γC peptide). These distinct modes of fibrinogen binding enable αIIbβ3 and αvβ3 to function cooperatively in hemostasis. In this study, crystal structures reveal the integrin αIIbβ3–γC peptide interface, and, for comparison, integrin αIIbβ3 bound to a lamprey γC primordial RGD motif. Compared with RGD, the GAKQAGDV motif in γC adopts a different backbone configuration and binds over a more extended region. The integrin metal ion–dependent adhesion site (MIDAS) Mg2+ ion binds the γC Asp side chain. The adjacent to MIDAS (ADMIDAS) Ca2+ ion binds the γC C terminus, revealing a contribution for ADMIDAS in ligand binding. Structural data from this natively disordered γC peptide enhances our understanding of the involvement of γC peptide and integrin αIIbβ3 in hemostasis and thrombosis

bRing: An observatory dedicated to monitoring the β\beta Pictoris b Hill sphere transit

Aims. We describe the design and first light observations from the $\beta$ Pictoris b Ring ("bRing") project. The primary goal is to detect photometric variability from the young star $\beta$ Pictoris due to circumplanetary material surrounding the directly imaged young extrasolar gas giant planet \bpb. Methods. Over a nine month period centred on September 2017, the Hill sphere of the planet will cross in front of the star, providing a unique opportunity to directly probe the circumplanetary environment of a directly imaged planet through photometric and spectroscopic variations. We have built and installed the first of two bRing monitoring stations (one in South Africa and the other in Australia) that will measure the flux of $\beta$ Pictoris, with a photometric precision of $0.5\%$ over 5 minutes. Each station uses two wide field cameras to cover the declination of the star at all elevations. Detection of photometric fluctuations will trigger spectroscopic observations with large aperture telescopes in order to determine the gas and dust composition in a system at the end of the planet-forming era. Results. The first three months of operation demonstrate that bRing can obtain better than 0.5\% photometry on $\beta$ Pictoris in five minutes and is sensitive to nightly trends enabling the detection of any transiting material within the Hill sphere of the exoplanet

MASCARA-2 b: A hot Jupiter transiting the mV=7.6m_V=7.6 A-star HD185603

In this paper we present MASCARA-2 b, a hot Jupiter transiting the $m_V=7.6$ A2 star HD 185603. Since early 2015, MASCARA has taken more than 1.6 million flux measurements of the star, corresponding to a total of almost 3000 hours of observations, revealing a periodic dimming in the flux with a depth of $1.3\%$. Photometric follow-up observations were performed with the NITES and IAC80 telescopes and spectroscopic measurements were obtained with the Hertzsprung SONG telescope. We find MASCARA-2 b orbits HD 185603 with a period of $3.474119^{+0.000005}_{-0.000006}~\rm{days}$ at a distance of $0.057 \pm 0.006~\rm{AU}$, has a radius of $1.83 \pm 0.07~\rm{R}_{\rm{J}}$ and place a $99\%$ upper limit on the mass of $< 17~\rm{M}_{\rm{J}}$. HD 185603 is a rapidly rotating early-type star with an effective temperature of $8980^{+90}_{-130}~\rm{K}$ and a mass and radius of $1.89^{+0.06}_{-0.05}~M_\odot$, $1.60 \pm 0.06~R_\odot$, respectively. Contrary to most other hot Jupiters transiting early-type stars, the projected planet orbital axis and stellar spin axis are found to be aligned with $\lambda=0.6 \pm 4^\circ$. The brightness of the host star and the high equilibrium temperature, $2260 \pm 50~\rm{K}$, of MASCARA-2 b make it a suitable target for atmospheric studies from the ground and space. Of particular interest is the detection of TiO, which has recently been detected in the similarly hot planets WASP-33 b and WASP-19 b.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Data calibration for the MASCARA and bRing instruments

Aims: MASCARA and bRing are photometric surveys designed to detect variability caused by exoplanets in stars with $m_V < 8.4$. Such variability signals are typically small and require an accurate calibration algorithm, tailored to the survey, in order to be detected. This paper presents the methods developed to calibrate the raw photometry of the MASCARA and bRing stations and characterizes the performance of the methods and instruments. Methods: For the primary calibration a modified version of the coarse decorrelation algorithm is used, which corrects for the extinction due to the earth's atmosphere, the camera transmission, and intrapixel variations. Residual trends are removed from the light curves of individual stars using empirical secondary calibration methods. In order to optimize these methods, as well as characterize the performance of the instruments, transit signals were injected in the data. Results: After optimal calibration an RMS scatter of 10 mmag at $m_V \sim 7.5$ is achieved in the light curves. By injecting transit signals with periods between one and five days in the MASCARA data obtained by the La Palma station over the course of one year, we demonstrate that MASCARA La Palma is able to recover 84.0, 60.5 and 20.7% of signals with depths of 2, 1 and 0.5% respectively, with a strong dependency on the observed declination, recovering 65.4% of all transit signals at $\delta > 0^\circ$ versus 35.8% at $\delta < 0^\circ$. Using the full three years of data obtained by MASCARA La Palma to date, similar recovery rates are extended to periods up to ten days. We derive a preliminary occurrence rate for hot Jupiters around A-stars of ${>} 0.4 \%$, knowing that many hot Jupiters are still overlooked. In the era of TESS, MASCARA and bRing will provide an interesting synergy for finding long-period (${>} 13.5$ days) transiting gas-giant planets around the brightest stars.Comment: 18 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Optical and mechanical properties of cocona chips as affected by the drying process

[EN] The effect of the application of a pre-osmotic treatment to obtain hot air dried cocona(Solanum sessiliofurum Dunal) chips was studied. The drying kinetics and the optical andmechanical properties of cocona chips obtained by the combined method of osmotic dehy-dration and hot air drying (OD + HAD) and by only hot air drying (HAD) were compared.Samples were dried by hot air at 60&#9702;C. For the combined method, they were pre-dried toa moisture content of 75 gwater/100 g, immersed in a 55&#9702;Brix sucrose solution at 25&#9702;C for48 min. The pre-osmodehydration applied did not influence the subsequent hot air dryingkinetics, resulting in a final product with 0.055 ± 0.005 gwater/gcocona.The optical properties ofOD + HAD chips were more favorable, exhibiting a smaller color change with respect to thefresh fruit (±15 units) than the HAD samples (±23 units). On the other hand, the OD + HADchips presented more fracture peaks than HAD ones, this related with a structure with ahigher degree of crispness, a very desirable property for a chip product.The authors thank the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia for the financial support given throughout the Project ADSIDEO-COOPERACION 2010 "Adaptacion de procesos de secado para favorecer la comercializacion de super frutas de origen colombiano".Agudelo Sterling, CM.; Igual Ramo, M.; Talens Oliag, P.; Martínez Navarrete, N. (2015). Optical and mechanical properties of cocona chips as affected by the drying process. Food and Bioproducts Processing. 95:192-199. doi:10.1016/j.fbp.2015.05.009S1921999

An unusually large gaseous transit in a debris disc

We present the detection of an unusually large transient gas absorption in several ionized species in the debris disc star HD 37306 using high-resolution optical spectra. We have been analysing a large sample of debris discs searching for circumstellar gas absorptions aiming to determine the frequency of gas in debris discs. HD 37306 stood out showing remarkably broad absorptions superimposed on to several photospheric Ca II, Fe II, and Ti II lines. The observed absorptions, unlike typical exocometary transits, lasted for at least eight days. Here, we analyse simultaneous spectroscopic and photometric data of the event and evaluate different scenarios that might explain the observed features. We conclude that the most likely scenario might be an exocometary break-up releasing a significant amount of gas close to the star, producing an occulting `ring'/`torus' shape

Physicochemical properties and structural characteristics of whole grain Oryza sativa L. with different treatments

[EN] Physicochemical properties and structural characteristics of whole rice flours with different treatments (soaking, germination and extrusion cooking) were studied. Water solubility, water absorption, crystallinity, adsorption isotherms (BET and GAB models), and glass transition temperature of the samples were determined. Water solubility and water absorption were enhanced by extrusion cooking process (3.17 4.98 vs. 24.1 53.76 g/100 g and 2.77 3.05 vs. 4.46 7.04 ml/g, respectively), but crystallinity was decreased (30 33 vs. 4 16%). Adsorption isotherms showed that extruded samples exhibited higher equilibrium moisture content as compared with their corresponding non-extruded samples (5.0 19.2 vs. 4.0 16.1 g water/g solids). There were no changes in glass transition temperature values in the studied moisture range (3.8 16 g/100 g). These results allow the correct use of whole rice flours with different treatments in foods and also contributed to the knowledge of stabilization of the productsThe author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was partially financed by ANPCYT (PICT 1105) and ERASMUS MUNDUS ACTION 2 ARCOIRIS Fellowship.Albarracin, M.; Talens Oliag, P.; Martínez Navarrete, N.; González, RJ.; Drago, SR. (2016). Physicochemical properties and structural characteristics of whole grain Oryza sativa L. with different treatments. Food Science and Technology International. 22(4):1-10. doi:10.1177/1082013215600078S110224Albarracín, M., José González, R., & Drago, S. R. (2015). Soaking and extrusion effects on physicochemical parameters, phytic acid, nutrient content and mineral bio-accessibility of whole rice grain. 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LWT - Food Science and Technology, 37(2), 193-198. doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2003.07.004Gonzalez, R., Drago, S., Torres, R., & De Greef, D. (2013). Extrusion Cooking of Cereal-Based Products. Contemporary Food Engineering. doi:10.1201/b15246-13González, R. J., Pastor Cavada, E., Vioque Peña, J., Torres, R. L., De Greef, D. M., & Drago, S. R. (2013). Extrusion Conditions and Amylose Content Affect Physicochemical Properties of Extrudates Obtained from Brown Rice Grains. International Journal of Food Science, 2013, 1-8. doi:10.1155/2013/584148Herawat, H., Kusnandar, F., Adawiyah, D. R., Budijanto, S., & Rahman, M. S. (2014). Thermal characteristics and state diagram of extruded instant artificial rice. Thermochimica Acta, 593, 50-57. doi:10.1016/j.tca.2014.08.017Jones, J. M., & Engleson, J. (2010). Whole Grains: Benefits and Challenges. Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, 1(1), 19-40. doi:10.1146/annurev.food.112408.132746Kim, H. Y., Hwang, I. G., Kim, T. M., Woo, K. S., Park, D. S., Kim, J. H., … Jeong, H. S. (2012). Chemical and functional components in different parts of rough rice (Oryza sativa L.) before and after germination. Food Chemistry, 134(1), 288-293. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.02.138Lowry, R. R., & Tinsley, I. J. (1976). Rapid colorimetric determination of free fatty acids. Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, 53(7), 470-472. doi:10.1007/bf02636814Matveev, Y. (2000). The plasticizing effect of water on proteins, polysaccharides and their mixtures. Glassy state of biopolymers, food and seeds. Food Hydrocolloids, 14(5), 425-437. doi:10.1016/s0268-005x(00)00020-5Perdon, A., Siebenmorgen, T. J., & Mauromoustakos, A. (2000). Glassy State Transition and Rice Drying: Development of a Brown Rice State Diagram. Cereal Chemistry Journal, 77(6), 708-713. doi:10.1094/cchem.2000.77.6.708ROOS, Y., & KAREL, M. (1991). Plasticizing Effect of Water on Thermal Behavior and Crystallization of Amorphous Food Models. Journal of Food Science, 56(1), 38-43. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1991.tb07970.xRuiz-Ruiz, J., Martínez-Ayala, A., Drago, S., González, R., Betancur-Ancona, D., & Chel-Guerrero, L. (2008). Extrusion of a hard-to-cook bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and quality protein maize (Zea mays L.) flour blend. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 41(10), 1799-1807. doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2008.01.005SIU, G. M., & DRAPER, H. H. (1978). A SURVEY OF THE MALONALDEHYDE CONTENT OF RETAIL MEATS AND FISH. Journal of Food Science, 43(4), 1147-1149. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1978.tb15256.xSun, Z., Yang, W., Siebenmorgen, T., Stelwagen, A., & Cnossen, A. (2002). Thermomechanical Transitions of Rice Kernels. Cereal Chemistry Journal, 79(3), 349-353. doi:10.1094/cchem.2002.79.3.349Timmermann, E. O. (2003). Multilayer sorption parameters: BET or GAB values? Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 220(1-3), 235-260. doi:10.1016/s0927-7757(03)00059-1Tovar, J., Bjoerck, I. M., & Asp, N. G. (1990). 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