Ectodermal Dysplasia with Amastia: A Case of One-Step Reconstruction

Background. Female patients presenting amastia associated with ectodermal dysplasia are not frequently encountered, but they are of great clinical interest and surgically demanding. Traditionally, skin alterations related to Ectodermal Dysplasia have addressed plastic surgeons to perform a two-stage approach in amastia associated with this congenital pathologic condition. This article describes an alternative method for correcting this deformity trough a mammary reconstruction in one surgical stage. Materials and Methods. We report a case of 26-year-old female patient with bilateral amastia associated with ectodermal dysplasia. Amastia in this patient was treated with implantation of subpectoral silicone gel prostheses, without previously breast tissue expansion. Results. At 18 months of follow-up after surgey, there were no complications and excellent cosmetic results were achieved. Patient and surgeon satisfaction was high and the patient underwent a bilateral areola-tattoo. Conclusions. One-stage mammary reconstruction have showed to be a reliable and effective technique also when amastia is associated with Ectodermal Dysplasia, suggesting a still satisfying biomechanical performance of the skin in this pathology

Brightness and mass accretion rate evolution during the 2022 burst of EX~Lupi

EX Lupi is the prototype by which EXor-type outbursts were defined. It has experienced multiple accretion-related bursts and outbursts throughout the last decades, whose study have greatly extended our knowledge about the effects of these types of events. This star experienced a new burst in 2022. We used multi-band photometry to create color-color and color-magnitude diagrams to exclude the possibility that the brightening could be explained by a decrease in extinction. We obtained VLT/X-shooter spectra to determine the Lacc and Macc during the peak of the burst and after its return to quiescence using 2 methods: empirical relationships between line luminosity and Lacc, and a slab model of the whole spectrum. We examined the 130 year light curve of EX Lupi to provide statistics on the number of outbursts experienced during this period of time. Our analysis of the data taken during the 2022 burst confirmed that a change in extinction is not responsible for the brightening. Our two approaches in calculating the Macc were in agreement, and resulted in values that are 2 orders of magnitude above what had previously been estimated, thus suggesting that EX Lupi is a strong accretor even when in quiescence. We determined that in 2022 March the Macc increased by a factor of 7 with respect to the quiescent level. We also found hints that even though the Macc had returned to almost its pre-outburst levels, certain physical properties of the gas had not returned to the quiescent values. We found that the mass accreted during this three month event was 0.8 lunar masses, which is approximately half of what is accreted during a year of quiescence. We calculated that if EX Lupi remains as active as it has been for the past 130 years, during which it has experienced at least 3 outbursts and 10 bursts, then it will deplete the mass of its circumstellar material in less than 160000 yr

Candidate Water Vapor Lines to Locate the H2O Snowline through High-dispersion Spectroscopic Observations. III. Submillimeter H2 16O and H2 18O Lines

In this paper, we extend the results presented in our former papers on using ortho-H216O line profiles to constrain the location of the H2O snowline in T Tauri and Herbig Ae disks, to include submillimeter para-H216O and ortho- and para-H218O lines. Since the number densities of the ortho- and para-H218O molecules are about 560 times smaller than their 16O analogs, they trace deeper into the disk than the ortho-H216O lines (down to z = 0, i.e., the midplane). Thus these H218O lines are potentially better probes of the position of the H2O snowline at the disk midplane, depending on the dust optical depth. The values of the Einstein A coefficients of submillimeter candidate water lines tend to be lower (typically <10‑4 s‑1) than infrared candidate water lines. Thus in the submillimeter candidate water line cases, the local intensity from the outer optically thin region in the disk is around 104 times smaller than that in the infrared candidate water line cases. Therefore, in the submillimeter lines, especially H218O and para-H216O lines with relatively lower upper state energies (∼a few 100 K) can also locate the position of the H2O snowline. We also investigate the possibility of future observations with ALMA to identify the position of the water snowline. There are several candidate water lines that trace the hot water gas inside the H2O snowline in ALMA Bands 5–10

A UV-to-NIR Study of Molecular Gas in the Dust Cavity around RY Lupi

We present a study of molecular gas in the inner disk (r ∼ 0.4± 0.1 au; {r(narrow,H₂)} ∼ 3± 2 au). The 4.7 μm ¹²CO emission lines are also well fit by two-component profiles ( {{r}broad,CO} =0.4± 0.1 au; {{r}narrow,CO} =15± 2 au). We combine these results with 10 μm observations to form a picture of gapped structure within the mm-imaged dust cavity, providing the first such overview of the inner regions of a young disk. The HST SED of RY Lupi is available online for use in modeling efforts

Circumstellar disks and planets. Science cases for next-generation optical/infrared long-baseline interferometers

We present a review of the interplay between the evolution of circumstellar disks and the formation of planets, both from the perspective of theoretical models and dedicated observations. Based on this, we identify and discuss fundamental questions concerning the formation and evolution of circumstellar disks and planets which can be addressed in the near future with optical and infrared long-baseline interferometers. Furthermore, the importance of complementary observations with long-baseline (sub)millimeter interferometers and high-sensitivity infrared observatories is outlined.Comment: 83 pages; Accepted for publication in "Astronomy and Astrophysics Review"; The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co

Forbidden emission lines in protostellar outflows and jets with MUSE

Context. Forbidden emission lines in protoplanetary disks are a key diagnostic in studies of the evolution of the disk and the host star. They signal potential disk accretion or wind, outflow, or jet ejection processes of the material that affects the angular momentum transport of the disk as a result. Aims. We report spatially resolved emission lines, namely, [O i] λλ6300, 6363, [N ii] λλ6548, 6583, Hα, and [S ii] λλ6716, 6730 that are believed to be associated with jets and magnetically driven winds in the inner disks, due to the proximity to the star, as suggested in previous works from the literature. With a resolution of 0.025×0.025 arcsec2 , we aim to derive the position angle of the outflow/jet (PAoutflow/jet) that is connected with the inner disk. We then compare it with the position angle of the dust (PAdust) obtained from previous constraints for the outer disk. We also carry out a simple analysis of the kinematics and width of the lines and we estimate the mass-loss rate based on the [O i] λ6300 line for five T Tauri stars. Methods. Observations were carried out with the optical integral field spectrograph of the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The instrument spatially resolves the forbidden lines, providing a unique capability to access the spatial extension of the outflows/jets that make the estimate of the PAoutflow/jet possible from a geometrical point of view. Results. The forbidden emission lines analyzed here have their origin at the inner parts of the protoplanetary disk. From the maximum intensity emission along the outflow/jet in DL Tau, CI Tau, DS Tau, IP Tau, and IM Lup, we were able to reliably measure the PAoutflow/jet for most of the identified lines. We found that our estimates agree with PAdust for most of the disks. These estimates depend on the signal-to-noise level and the collimation of the outflow (jet). The outflows/jets in CIDA 9, GO Tau, and GW Lup are too compact for a PAoutflow/jet to be estimated. Based on our kinematics analysis, we confirm that DL Tau and CI Tau host a strong outflow/jet with line-of-sight velocities much greater than 100 km s−1 , whereas DS Tau, IP Tau, and IM Lup velocities are lower and their structures encompass low-velocity components to be more associated with winds. Our estimates for the mass-loss rate, M˙ loss, range between (1.1-6.5) ×10−7 -10−8 M yr−1 for the disk-outflow/jet systems analyzed here. Conclusions. The outflow/jet systems analyzed here are aligned within around 1◦ between the inner and outer disk. Further observations are needed to confirm a potential misalignment in IM Lup

ALMA Reveals the Anatomy of the mm-sized Dust and Molecular Gas in the HD 97048 Disk

Transitional disks show a lack of excess emission at infrared wavelengths due to a large dust cavity, that is often corroborated by spatially resolved observations at ∼mm wavelengths. We present the first spatially resolved ∼ mm-wavelength images of the disk around the Herbig Ae/Be star, HD 97048. Scattered light images show that the disk extends to ≈640 au. ALMA data reveal a circular-symmetric dusty disk extending to ≈350 au, and a molecular disk traced in CO J = 3-2 emission, extending to ≈750 au. The CO emission arises from a flared layer with an opening angle ≈30°–40°. HD 97048 is another source for which the large (∼ mm-sized) dust grains are more centrally concentrated than the small (∼μm-sized) grains and molecular gas, likely due to radial drift. The images and visibility data modeling suggest a decrement in continuum emission within ≈50 au, consistent with the cavity size determined from mid-infrared imaging (34 ± 4 au). The extracted continuum intensity profiles show ring-like structures with peaks at ≈50, 150, and 300 au, with associated gaps at ≈100 and 250 au. This structure should be confirmed in higher-resolution images (FWHM ≈ 10–20 au). These data confirm the classification of HD 97048 as a transitional disk that also possesses multiple ring-like structures in the dust continuum emission. Additional data are required at multiple and well-separated frequencies to fully characterize the disk structure, and thereby constrain the mechanism(s) responsible for sculpting the HD 97048 disk

The Eruption of the Candidate Young Star ASASSN-15qi

Outbursts on young stars are usually interpreted as accretion bursts caused by instabilities in the disk or the star-disk connection. However, some protostellar outbursts may not fit into this framework. In this paper, we analyze optical and near-infrared spectra and photometry to characterize the 2015 outburst of the probable young star ASASSN-15qi. The $\sim 3.5$ mag brightening in the $V$ band was sudden, with an unresolved rise time of less than one day. The outburst decayed exponentially by 1 mag for 6 days and then gradually back to the pre-outburst level after 200 days. The outburst is dominated by emission from $\sim10,000$ K gas. An explosive release of energy accelerated matter from the star in all directions, seen in a spectacular cool, spherical wind with a maximum velocity of 1000 km/s. The wind and hot gas both disappeared as the outburst faded and the source the source returned to its quiescent F-star spectrum. Nebulosity near the star brightened with a delay of 10-20 days. Fluorescent excitation of H$_2$ is detected in emission from vibrational levels as high as $v=11$, also with a possible time delay in flux increase. The mid-infrared spectral energy distribution does not indicate the presence of warm dust emission, although the optical photospheric absorption and CO overtone emission could be related to a gaseous disk. Archival photometry reveals a prior outburst in 1976. Although we speculate about possible causes for this outburst, none of the explanations are compelling

The newborn planet population emerging from ring-like structures in discs

ALMA has observed a plethora of ring-like structures in planet forming discs at distances of 10-100 au from their host star. Although several mechanisms have been invoked to explain the origin of such rings, a common explanation is that they trace new-born planets. Under the planetary hypothesis, a natural question is how to reconcile the apparently high frequency of gap-carving planets at 10-100 au with the paucity of Jupiter mass planets observed around main sequence stars at those separations. Here, we provide an analysis of the new-born planet population emerging from observations of gaps in discs, under the assumption that the observed gaps are due to planets. We use a simple estimate of the planet mass based on the gap morphology, and apply it to a sample of gaps recently obtained by us in a survey of Taurus with ALMA. We also include additional data from recent published surveys, thus analysing the largest gap sample to date, for a total of 48 gaps. The properties of the purported planets occupy a distinctively different region of parameter space with respect to the known exo-planet population, currently not accessible through planet finding methods. Thus, no discrepancy in the mass and radius distribution of the two populations can be claimed at this stage. We show that the mass of the inferred planets conforms to the theoretically expected trend for the minimum planet mass needed to carve a dust gap. Finally, we estimate the separation and mass of the putative planets after accounting for migration and accretion, for a range of evolutionary times, finding a good match with the distribution of cold Jupiters