POISSON project - II - A multi-wavelength spectroscopic and photometric survey of young protostars in L 1641

Characterising stellar and circumstellar properties of embedded young stellar objects (YSOs) is mandatory for understanding the early stages of the stellar evolution. This task requires the combination of both spectroscopy and photometry, covering the widest possible wavelength range, to disentangle the various protostellar components and activities. As part of the POISSON project, we present a multi-wavelength spectroscopic and photometric investigation of embedded YSOs in L1641, aimed to derive the stellar parameters and evolutionary stages and to infer their accretion properties. Our database includes low-resolution optical-IR spectra from the NTT and Spitzer (0.6-40 um) and photometric data covering a spectral range from 0.4 to 1100 um, which allow us to construct the YSOs spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and to infer the main stellar parameters. The SED analysis allows us to group our 27 YSOs into nine Class I, eleven Flat, and seven Class II objects. However, on the basis of the derived stellar properties, only six Class I YSOs have an age of ~10^5 yr, while the others are older 5x10^5-10^6 yr), and, among the Flat sources, three out of eleven are more evolved objects (5x10^6-10^7 yr), indicating that geometrical effects can significantly modify the SED shapes. Inferred mass accretion rates (Macc) show a wide range of values (3.6x10^-9 to 1.2x10^-5 M_sun yr^-1), which reflects the age spread observed in our sample. Average values of mass accretion rates, extinction, and spectral indices decrease with the YSO class. The youngest YSOs have the highest Macc, whereas the oldest YSOs do not show any detectable jet activity in either images and spectra. We also observe a clear correlation among the YSO Macc, M*, and age, consistent with mass accretion evolution in viscous disc models.Comment: 61 pages, 16 figures; A&A in pres

YSOVAR: Six pre-main-sequence eclipsing binaries in the Orion Nebula Cluster

Eclipsing binaries (EBs) provide critical laboratories for empirically testing predictions of theoretical models of stellar structure and evolution. Pre-main-sequence (PMS) EBs are particularly valuable, both due to their rarity and the highly dynamic nature of PMS evolution, such that a dense grid of PMS EBs is required to properly calibrate theoretical PMS models. Analyzing multi-epoch, multi-color light curves for 2400 candidateOrion Nebula Cluster (ONC) members from our Warm Spitzer Exploration Science Program YSOVAR, we have identified 12 stars whose light curves show eclipse features. Four of these 12 EBs are previously known. Supplementing our light curves with follow-up optical and near-infrared spectroscopy, we establish two of the candidates as likely field EBs lying behind the ONC. We confirm the remaining six candidate systems, however, as newly identified ONC PMS EBs. These systems increase the number of known PMS EBs by over 50% and include the highest mass (Theta1 Ori E, for which we provide a complete set of well-determined parameters including component masses of 2.807 and 2.797 solar masses) and longest period (ISOY J053505.71-052354.1, P \sim 20 days) PMS EBs currently known. In two cases (Theta1 Ori E and ISOY J053526.88-044730.7), enough photometric and spectroscopic data exist to attempt an orbit solution and derive the system parameters. For the remaining systems, we combine our data with literature information to provide a preliminary characterization sufficient to guide follow-up investigations of these rare, benchmark systems.Comment: Accepted by Ap

Reading between the lines:Disk emission, wind, and accretion during the Z CMa NW outburst

(Abridged) We use optical spectroscopy to investigate the disk, wind, and accretion during the 2008 ZCMa NW outburst. Over 1000 optical emission lines reveal accretion, a variable, multi-component wind, and double-peaked lines of disk origin. The variable, non-axisymmetric, accretion-powered wind has slow ($\sim$0 km s$^{-1}$), intermediate ($\sim -$100 km s$^{-1}$) and fast ($\geq -$400 km s$^{-1}$) components. The fast components are of stellar origin and disappear in quiescence, while the slow component is less variable and could be related to a disk wind. The changes in the optical depth of the lines between outburst and quiescence are consistent with increased accretion being responsible for the observed outburst. We derive an accretion rate of 10$^{-4}$ M$_\odot$/yr in outburst. The Fe I and weak Fe II lines arise from an irradiated, flared disk at $\sim$0.5-3 $\times$M$_*$/16M$_\odot$ au with asymmetric upper layers, revealing that the energy from the accretion burst is deposited at scales below 0.5 au. Some line profiles have redshifted asymmetries, but the system is unlikely sustained by magnetospheric accretion, especially in outburst. The accretion-related structures extend over several stellar radii and, like the wind, are likely non-axisymmetric. The stellar mass may be $\sim$6-8 M$_\odot$, lower than previously thought ($\sim$16 M$_\odot$). Emission line analysis is found to be a powerful tool to study the innermost regions and accretion in stars within a very large range of effective temperatures. The density ranges in the disk and accretion structures are higher than in late-type stars, but the overall behavior, including the innermost disk emission and variable wind, is very similar independently of the spectral type. Our work suggests a common outburst behavior for stars with spectral types ranging from M-type to intermediate-mass stars.Comment: Accepted by A&A, 21 pages plus online appendix. Version 2: Minor typos corrected. Version 3: Note on DIBs added, typos correcte

Clinical factors associated with a Candida albicans Germ Tube Antibody positive test in Intensive Care Unit patients

Background: Poor outcomes of invasive candidiasis (IC) are associated with the difficulty in establishing the microbiological diagnosis at an early stage. New scores and laboratory tests have been developed in order to make an early therapeutic intervention in an attempt to reduce the high mortality associated with invasive fungal infections. Candida albicans IFA IgG has been recently commercialized for germ tube antibody detection (CAGTA). This test provides a rapid and simple diagnosis of IC (84.4% sensitivity and 94.7% specificity). The aim of this study is to identify the patients who could be benefited by the use of CAGTA test in critical care setting. Methods: A prospective, cohort, observational multicentre study was carried out in six medical/surgical Intensive care units (ICU) of tertiary-care Spanish hospitals. Candida albicans Germ Tube Antibody test was performed twice a week if predetermined risk factors were present, and serologically demonstrated candidiasis was considered if the testing serum dilution was >= 1: 160 in at least one sample and no other microbiological evidence of invasive candidiasis was found. Results: Fifty-three critically ill non-neutropenic patients (37.7% post surgery) were included. Twenty-two patients (41.5%) had CAGTA-positive results, none of them with positive blood culture for Candida. Neither corrected colonization index nor antifungal treatment had influence on CAGTA results. This finding could corroborate that the CAGTA may be an important biomarker to distinguish between colonization and infection in these patients. The presence of acute renal failure at the beginning of the study was more frequent in CAGTA-negative patients. Previous surgery was statistically more frequent in CAGTA-positive patients. Conclusions: This study identified previous surgery as the principal clinical factor associated with CAGTA-positive results and emphasises the utility of this promising technique, which was not influenced by high Candida colonization or antifungal treatment. Our results suggest that detection of CAGTA may be important for the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis in surgical patients admitted in ICU.This study has been supported by a Pfizer research gran

Method-dependent epidemiological cutoff values (ECVs) for detection of triazole resistance in Candida and Aspergillus species for the SYO colorimetric broth and Etest agar diffusion methods

Although the Sensitrite Yeast-One (SYO) and Etest methods are widely utilized, interpretive criteria are not available for triazole susceptibility testing of Candida or Aspergillus species. We collected fluconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole and voriconazole SYO and Etest MICs from 39 laboratories representing all continents for (method-agent-dependent): 11,171 Candida albicans, 215 C. dubliniensis, 4,418 C. glabrata species complex (SC), 157 C. (Meyerozyma) guilliermondii, 676 C. krusei (Pichia kudriavzevii), 298 C (Clavispora) lusitaniae, 911 and 3,691 C. parapsilosissensu stricto (SS) and C. parapsilosisSC, respectively, 36 C. metapsilosis, 110 C. orthopsilosis, 1,854 C. tropicalis, 244 Saccharomyces cerevisiae, 1,409 Aspergillus fumigatus, 389 A. flavus, 130 A. nidulans, 233 A. niger, and 302 A. terreus complexes. SYO/Etest MICs for 282 confirmed non-WT isolates were included: ERG11 (C. albicans), ERG11 and MRR1 (C. parapsilosis), cyp51A (A. fumigatus), and CDR2, CDR1 overexpression (C. albicans and C. glabrata, respectively). Interlaboratory modal agreement was superior by SYO for yeast spp., and by the Etest for Aspergillus spp. Distributions fulfilling CLSI criteria for ECV definition were pooled and we proposed SYO ECVs for S. cerevisiae, 9 yeast and 3 Aspergillus species, and Etest ECVs for 5 yeast and 4 Aspergillus species. The posaconazole SYO ECV of 0.06 \ub5g/ml for C. albicans and the Etest itraconazole ECV of 2 \ub5g/ml for A. fumigatus were the best predictors of non-WT isolates. These findings support the need for method-dependent ECVs, as overall, the SYO appears to perform better for susceptibility testing of yeast spp. and the Etest for Aspergillus spp. Further evaluations should be conducted with more Candida mutants

Spread of a SARS-CoV-2 variant through Europe in the summer of 2020.

Following its emergence in late 2019, the spread of SARS-CoV-21,2 has been tracked by phylogenetic analysis of viral genome sequences in unprecedented detail3–5. Although the virus spread globally in early 2020 before borders closed, intercontinental travel has since been greatly reduced. However, travel within Europe resumed in the summer of 2020. Here we report on a SARS-CoV-2 variant, 20E (EU1), that was identified in Spain in early summer 2020 and subsequently spread across Europe. We find no evidence that this variant has increased transmissibility, but instead demonstrate how rising incidence in Spain, resumption of travel, and lack of effective screening and containment may explain the variant’s success. Despite travel restrictions, we estimate that 20E (EU1) was introduced hundreds of times to European countries by summertime travellers, which is likely to have undermined local efforts to minimize infection with SARS-CoV-2. Our results illustrate how a variant can rapidly become dominant even in the absence of a substantial transmission advantage in favourable epidemiological settings. Genomic surveillance is critical for understanding how travel can affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and thus for informing future containment strategies as travel resumes. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited

PENELLOPE: The ESO data legacy program to complement the Hubble UV Legacy Library of Young Stars (ULLYSES)

The evolution of young stars and disks is driven by the interplay of several processes, notably the accretion and ejection of material. These processes, critical to correctly describe the conditions of planet formation, are best probed spectroscopically. Between 2020 and 2022, about 500orbits of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) are being devoted in to the ULLYSES public survey of about 70 low-mass (M⋆ ≤ 2 M⊙) young (age < 10 Myr) stars at UV wavelengths. Here, we present the PENELLOPE Large Program carried out with the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) with the aim of acquiring, contemporaneously to the HST, optical ESPRESSO/UVES high-resolution spectra for the purpose of investigating the kinematics of the emitting gas, along with UV-to-NIR X-shooter medium-resolution flux-calibrated spectra to provide the fundamental parameters that HST data alone cannot provide, such as extinction and stellar properties. The data obtained by PENELLOPE have no proprietary time and the fully reduced spectra are being made available to the whole community. Here, we describe the data and the first scientific analysis of the accretion properties for the sample of 13 targets located in the Orion OB1 association and in the σ-Orionis cluster, observed in November–December 2020. We find that the accretion rates are in line with those observed previously in similarly young star-forming regions, with a variability on a timescale of days (≲3). The comparison of the fits to the continuum excess emission obtained with a slab model on the X-shooter spectra and the HST/STIS spectra shows a shortcoming in the X-shooter estimates of ≲10%, which is well within the assumed uncertainty. Its origin can be either due to an erroneous UV extinction curve or to the simplicity of the modeling and, thus, this question will form the basis of the investigation undertaken over the course of the PENELLOPE program. The combined ULLYSES and PENELLOPE data will be key in attaining a better understanding of the accretion and ejection mechanisms in young stars

Spread of a SARS-CoV-2 variant through Europe in the summer of 2020

[EN] Following its emergence in late 2019, the spread of SARS-CoV-21,2 has been tracked by phylogenetic analysis of viral genome sequences in unprecedented detail3,4,5. Although the virus spread globally in early 2020 before borders closed, intercontinental travel has since been greatly reduced. However, travel within Europe resumed in the summer of 2020. Here we report on a SARS-CoV-2 variant, 20E (EU1), that was identified in Spain in early summer 2020 and subsequently spread across Europe. We find no evidence that this variant has increased transmissibility, but instead demonstrate how rising incidence in Spain, resumption of travel, and lack of effective screening and containment may explain the variant’s success. Despite travel restrictions, we estimate that 20E (EU1) was introduced hundreds of times to European countries by summertime travellers, which is likely to have undermined local efforts to minimize infection with SARS-CoV-2. Our results illustrate how a variant can rapidly become dominant even in the absence of a substantial transmission advantage in favourable epidemiological settings. Genomic surveillance is critical for understanding how travel can affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and thus for informing future containment strategies as travel resumes.S