Understanding the origin of massive stars

Osservazioni realizzate con il più grande interferometro sub-millimetrico, l’Atacama Large Millimeter Array, hanno permesso di rivelare la presenza di un disco di materia circumstellare in rotazione attorno ad una stella di 18 masse solari appartenente ad una regione di formazione di stelle massicce della Via Lattea. Questa scoperta aiuta a risolvere il puzzle della formazione di questa classe di stelle.Observations carried out using the most powerful sub-millimeter interferometer, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), have revealed the presence of a circumstellar disk rotating around a young star of 18 solar masses, located in a high-mass star-forming region of the Milky Way. This new finding contributes to our understanding of the physical processes responsible for the formation of massive stars

The Effect of Visible Light on Cell Envelope Subproteome during Vibrio harveyi Survival at 20 °C in Seawater

A number of Vibrio spp. belong to the well-studied model organisms used to understand the strategies developed by marine bacteria to cope with adverse conditions (starvation, suboptimal temperature, solar radiation, etc.) in their natural environments. Temperature and nutrient availability are considered to be the key factors that influence Vibrio harveyi physiology, morphology, and persistence in aquatic systems. In contrast to the well-studied effects of temperature and starvation on Vibrio survival, little is known about the impact of visible light able to cause photooxidative stress. Here we employ V. harveyi ATCC 14126T as a model organism to analyze and compare the survival patterns and changes in the protein composition of its cell envelope during the long-term permanence of this bacterium in seawater microcosm at 20 °C in the presence and absence of illumination with visible light. We found that V. harveyi exposure to visible light reduces cell culturability likely inducing the entry into the Viable but Non Culturable state (VBNC), whereas populations maintained in darkness remained culturable for at least 21 days. Despite these differences, the starved cells in both populations underwent morphological changes by reducing their size. Moreover, further proteomic analysis revealed a number of changes in the composition of cell envelope potentially accountable for the different adaptation pattern manifested in the absence and presence of visible light.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and competitiveness (CGL2015-70929-R), the University of the Basque Country (Spain) (projects GIU14/22 and GIU17/041 and pre-doctoral grant BFI-2011-85 to C. Parada), and the Basque Foundation for Science, Ikerbasque (Spain)

El proceso de la construcción del nuevo código de la publicidad infantil de juguetes (COPIJ)

Desde que en 1993 la Asociación Española de Fabricantes de Juguetes (AEFJ) y la Unión de Consumidores de España (UCE) elaboraran un Código Deontológico para la Publicidad Infantil se han producido cambios a) tecnológicos, b) socioculturales y c) legislativos que exigían su actualización. El COPIJ, el nuevo Código de la Publicidad Infantil de Juguetes, es el producto de un proyecto con una metodología secuencial en tres fases: revisión bibliográfica, elaboración de propuestas y discusión con expertos. La presente comunicación expone dicho proceso y resume los cambios más relevantes en la comunicación comercial dirigida a menores derivadas de este nuevo documento.Since 1993 when the Spanish Association of Toy Manufacturers (AEFJ) and the Consumers Union of Spain (UCE) developed a Code of Ethics for Advertising Child, changes a) technology, b) sociocultural and c) legislation change have taken place. So, it an update was required. The COPIJ, the new Code of Advertising Children's Toys, is the product of a project, with a three phases methodology : literature review, proposal development, and discussion with experts. This communication presents this process and summarizes the most significant changes in advertising directed to children resulting from this new document

Ability of Urografin Density Gradients to Separate Nonculturable Subpopulations of Escherichia coli

Poster presentado a 11th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology(ISME -11)celebrado en Viena del 20 al 25 de agosto de 200

The first detections of the key prebiotic molecule PO in star-forming regions

Phosphorus is a crucial element in prebiotic chemistry, especially the P$-$O bond, which is key for the formation of the backbone of the deoxyribonucleic acid. So far, PO had only been detected towards the envelope of evolved stars, and never towards star-forming regions. We report the first detection of PO towards two massive star-forming regions, W51 e1/e2 and W3(OH), using data from the IRAM 30m telescope. PN has also been detected towards the two regions. The abundance ratio PO/PN is 1.8 and 3 for W51 and W3(OH), respectively. Our chemical model indicates that the two molecules are chemically related and are formed via gas-phase ion-molecule and neutral-neutral reactions during the cold collapse. The molecules freeze out onto grains at the end of the collapse and desorb during the warm-up phase once the temperature reaches $\sim$35 K. The observed molecular abundances of 10$^{-10}$ are predicted by the model if a relatively high initial abundance of phosphorus, 5$\times$10$^{-9}$, is assumed.Comment: To appear in "Astrochemistry VII -- Through the Cosmos from Galaxies to Planets", proceedings of the IAU Symposium No. 332, 2017, Puerto Varas, Chile. M. Cunningham, T. Millar and Y. Aikawa, eds. (6 pages

Resolving the Structure and Kinematics of the Youngest HII Regions and Radio Jets from Young Stellar Objects

In this contribution we explore the new science that a Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) would be able to perform on the topics of the youngest HII regions and (proto)stellar jets. Free-free continuum and radio recombination line (RRL) emission are often the only way of peering into the dense envelopes surrounding (proto)stars of all masses, and trace their initial feedback in the form of `radio jets', `hypercompact HII regions', or photoevaporating, partially-ionized flows. Properly disentangling free-free from dust emission is also mandatory in studies of protoplanetary and accretion disks. Current VLA research has reached an impasse in which a population of faint ionized radio sources, probably corresponding to the above mentioned objects, is detected, but their nature is mostly unknown. The ngVLA would allow us to resolve the density structure and kinematics of such sources, revolutionizing our knowledge of star formation across the entire stellar-mass spectrum.Comment: An ngVLA Science Book chapter. v2 includes a few modifications in reference

Mechanisms implied in Escherichia coli removal during wastewater treatment

Poster presentado 12th Symposium on Aquatic Microbial Ecology (SAME12) August 28 – September 02, 2011 Germany , Rostock–WarnemündeThe wastewater treatment reduces the assimilable organic fraction and the number of microorganisms of the effluents due to biological treatment and to the concentration of bacteria in sludge after settling. Recycling of sludge as an organic fertilizer is environment friendly but some pathogens could be concentrated in it. To make an integral tracing of E. coli during the activated sludge treatment, the fate of gfp-tagged cells were analysed in batch and pilot plant experiments. The exposure of E. coli to wastewater in absence of microbial population did not induce the entry into the viable but nonculturable state. The wastewater microbial populations showed a different relation with E. coli survival process. The presence of bacteriophages did not affect the survival while decrease in population was related with the presence of protozoa. Moreover, the wastewater bacteria behaved as predation-escaping prey and maintained their population density, while the E. coli were predated. Wastewater pilot plants prove an accurate model of a large scale plant. In our experiments, when pilot plant reached equilibrium, E. coli counts in aqueous fractions were stabilised about 104 cells ml-1 and in flocs or in sludge about 108 cells g-1. When addition of inoculated wastewater was stopped, the plant continued working with non-inoculated influent. Number of gfp-tagged E. coli in aqueous fraction diminished progressively and, after 2 d, it was below the detection limit. However, for the same period, 106 cells g-1 remained adhered to flocs and sludge. In conclusion, despite the efficacy of the protozoa removing E. coli from wastewater, this bacterium is not totally eliminated by treatment but mainly concentrated in sludge.Research projects CTM2006-09532/TECNO from the Science and Technology Ministry of Spain, IT376-10 from Basque Government , EHU08/56 from the Basque Country University and Basque Government Predoctoral Grant BF109.10