Planck 2015 results. XXVII. The Second Planck Catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich Sources

We present the all-sky Planck catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) sources detected from the 29 month full-mission data. The catalogue (PSZ2) is the largest SZ-selected sample of galaxy clusters yet produced and the deepest all-sky catalogue of galaxy clusters. It contains 1653 detections, of which 1203 are confirmed clusters with identified counterparts in external data-sets, and is the first SZ-selected cluster survey containing > $10^3$ confirmed clusters. We present a detailed analysis of the survey selection function in terms of its completeness and statistical reliability, placing a lower limit of 83% on the purity. Using simulations, we find that the Y5R500 estimates are robust to pressure-profile variation and beam systematics, but accurate conversion to Y500 requires. the use of prior information on the cluster extent. We describe the multi-wavelength search for counterparts in ancillary data, which makes use of radio, microwave, infra-red, optical and X-ray data-sets, and which places emphasis on the robustness of the counterpart match. We discuss the physical properties of the new sample and identify a population of low-redshift X-ray under- luminous clusters revealed by SZ selection. These objects appear in optical and SZ surveys with consistent properties for their mass, but are almost absent from ROSAT X-ray selected samples

Chemical review and studies related to species from the genus Tynanthus (Bignoniaceae)

Species from the Bignoniaceae Family, including the genus Tynanthus, are very prevalent in the tropical Americas, with specimens found in a large part of the Brazilian territory. These plants are commonly used in traditional medicine for several purposes, and some studies have described their chemical structure, in addition to other reports related to some species from this genus. This review aimed to gather information from published works concerning species of the genus Tynanthus, as well as to detect flaws in research related to these plants, which may have great biological and pharmaceutical importance. Also, this review points out some common chemical characteristics of these species, providing information that may help new researchers to improve their knowledge about these plants

Wood burning as source of Benzo(a)pyrene in PM

Wood burning is a relevant source of PM in ambient air in many areas of the world. Recent studies have found that wood burning contributes between 7% and 20 % of PM10 mass in urban and rural sites in Austria (Caseiro et al., 2009). In particular, Bari et al. (2009) estimated that 20 to 60 % of the total PM10 organic loadings in the winter ambient air near Stuttgart (D) derive from wood burning. These authors observed that 93% of PAH in PM10 derive from combustion processes and 43% of them are carcionogenic. In the Po Valley emission inventories attribute 30% of primary PM10 to wood burning and the like (ARPA Lombardia). Source apportionment using CMB and PMF estimated a contribution of wood burning on annual basis ranging from 10 to 25 % (Colombi et al., 2008, Larsen et al., in prep.). In this area there are many locations where the levels of Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) are near or above the annual target value set by European Directive 2004/107/EC (ARPA Lombardia). This study points to estimate the contribution of wood burning (including burning of agricultural residues) to the levels of toxic PAHs in the PM10 by using BaP as marker. The sources of BaP were estimated by computing multiple linear regression and non linear factorial regression. The model parameters were fitted using two independent datasets of PM10 samples collected between 2005 and 2007 in urban sites located in the Po Valley and in the southern Alps. The explanatory variables used for estimating BaP were selected using forward selection based on F test from a pool of variables representing: biomass burning (levoglucosan), emissions from unspecified combustion processes (CO, NOx, EC, OC and trace elements) and atmospheric properties (wind speed, temperature, and height of the mixing layer). In the background sites levoglucosan explained a considerable part of the BaP contribution to the PM10 mass. In a number of urban background sites, levoglucosan was the most important variable to explain BaP levels. Other variables explaining significant part of BaP variance were NOx, CO , OC, wind speed, and air temperature. In a kerbside site, the influence of levoglucosan on BaP variance decreased but was still relevant. Good agreement has been observed between these results and those obtained using PMF for source apportionment of BaP. We conclude that biomass burning is one of the most important sources of toxic PAH in the particulate fraction in both the Po Valley and in Alpine areas where wood is widely use as fuel for heating. ARPA Lombardia (Environmental Protection Agency of Lombardy) http://ita.arpalombardia.it/ITA/ qaria/Home.asp Bari A., Baumbach G., Kuch B., Scheffknecht G. (2009). Atmos Env, 43, 4722\u20134732 Caseiro A., Bauer H., Schmidl C., Pio C.A., Puxbaum H. (2009). Atmos Env, 43, 2186\u20132195 Colombi C., Mossetti S., Belis C., Gianelle V., Lazzarini M., Angelino E., Peroni E., Della Mora S. (2008). in Proc. 3rd National Conference on Particulate Matter (Bari, Italy) 90

Persistent Vegetative State: An Ethical Reappraisal

Ethical issues in a vegetative state patien