Context. From an astrometric point of view, quasars constitute quasi-ideal reference objects in the celestial sphere, with an a priori absence of proper motion. Since the second release of the Large Quasar Astrometric Catalog (LQAC), a large number of quasars have been discovered, in particular with the upcoming new release of the SDSS quasars catalog. Aims. Following the same procedure as in the two previous releases of the LQAC, our aim was to compile all the quasars recorded until the present date, with accurate recomputation of their equatorial coordinates in the ICRS and with the maximum of information concerning their physical properties, such as the redshift, the photometry, and the absolute magnitudes. Methods. For the purpose above, we carried out the cross-identification between the 9 catalogs of quasars chosen for their huge number of objects, including all the available data related to magnitudes, radiofluxes, and redshifts. This cross identification was particularly delicate because of a slight change in coordinates between the objects common to two successive releases of the SDSS and the elimination of some of them. Equatorial coordinates were recomputed more accurately according to the algorithms used for the elaboration of the Large Quasar Reference Frame (LQRF). Moreover, absolute magnitudes and morphological indexes of the new objects were given, following the same method as in the LQAC-2. Results. Our final catalog, called LQAC-3, contains 321 957 objects including a small proportion of AGNs (14 128) and BLLac (1183). This is roughly 70% more than the number of objects recorded in the LQAC-2. Conclusions. The LQAC-3 will be useful for the astronomical community since it gives the most complete information available about the whole set of already recorded quasars, with emphasis on the precision and accuracy of their coordinates with respect to the ICRF2.

We present 12 CO(1−0) and 12 CO(2−1) observations of a sample of 20 star-forming dwarfs selected from the Herschel Virgo Cluster Survey, with oxygen abundances ranging from 12 + log(O/H) ∼ 8.1 to 8.8. CO emission is observed in ten galaxies and marginally detected in another one. CO fluxes correlate with the FIR 250 µm emission, and the dwarfs follow the same linear relation that holds for more massive spiral galaxies extended to a wider dynamical range. We compare different methods to estimate H 2 molecular masses, namely a metallicity-dependent CO-to-H 2 conversion factor and one dependent on H-band luminosity. The molecular-to-stellar mass ratio remains nearly constant at stellar masses < ∼ 10 9 M , contrary to the atomic hydrogen fraction, M HI /M * , which increases inversely with M * . The flattening of the M H 2 /M * ratio at low stellar masses does not seem to be related to the effects of the cluster environment because it occurs for both Hi-deficient and Hi-normal dwarfs. The molecular-to-atomic ratio is more tightly correlated with stellar surface density than metallicity, confirming that the interstellar gas pressure plays a key role in determining the balance between the two gaseous components of the interstellar medium. Virgo dwarfs follow the same linear trend between molecular gas mass and star formation rate as more massive spirals, but gas depletion timescales, τ dep , are not constant and range between 100 Myr and 6 Gyr. The interaction with the Virgo cluster environment is removing the atomic gas and dust components of the dwarfs, but the molecular gas appears to be less affected at the current stage of evolution within the cluster. However, the correlation between Hi deficiency and the molecular gas depletion time suggests that the lack of gas replenishment from the outer regions of the disc is lowering the star formation activity.

Today's world suffers from an increasing dependence on fossil fuels, either for electricity production, transportation or reagent for the chemical industry. A technological revolution in hydrogen and electricity production is important to support the future needs and lead the world towards a better future. For that, technological and economical barriers have to be broken. Concentrated solar power (CSP) has been proving to be a valid means to start this revolution and produce electricity and hydrogen from completely renewable sources-water and the sun. Although solid steps should be taken to solve the current limitations and increase the technical and economical viability of these projects, there are conditions to begin this revolution using factual bridges from the current fossil technologies to renewable technologies.

As the largest radio telescope in the world, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will lead the next generation of radio astronomy. The feats of engineering required to construct the telescope array will be matched only by the techniques developed to exploit the rich scientific value of the data. To drive forward the development of efficient and accurate analysis methods, we are designing a series of data challenges that will provide the scientific community with high-quality datasets for testing and evaluating new techniques. In this paper we present a description and results from the first such Science Data Challenge (SDC1). Based on SKA MID continuum simulated observations and covering three frequencies (560 MHz, 1400MHz and 9200 MHz) at three depths (8 h, 100 h and 1000 h), SDC1 asked participants to apply source detection, characterization and classification methods to simulated data. The challenge opened in November 2018, with nine teams submitting results by the deadline of April 2019. In this work we analyse the results for 8 of those teams, showcasing the variety of approaches that can be successfully used to find, characterise and classify sources in a deep, crowded field. The results also demonstrate the importance of building domain knowledge and expertise on this kind of analysis to obtain the best performance. As high-resolution observations begin revealing the true complexity of the sky, one of the outstanding challenges emerging from this analysis is the ability to deal with highly resolved and complex sources as effectively as the unresolved source population.

Context. From an astrometric point of view, quasars constitute the best and almost ideal reference objects in the celestial sphere, with a priori no significant proper motion. Since the third release of the Large Quasar Astrometric Catalogue (LQAC-3), a large number of quasars have been discovered, in particular those coming from the DR12Q release of the SDSS. Moreover, for cross-matched objects, we have taken advantage of the very accurate determinations of the quasars identified within the recent Gaia DR1 catalogue. Aims. Following the same procedure as in the three previous releases of the LQAC, our aim is to compile the large majority of all the quasars recorded so far. Our goal is to record their best coordinates and substantial information concerning their physical properties such as the redshift as well as multi-bands apparent and absolute magnitudes. Emphasis is given to the results of the cross-matches with the Gaia DR1 catalogue. Methods. New quasars coming from the DR12Q release were cross-matched with the precedent LQAC-3 compilation with a 1 search radius, in order to add the objects without counterpart to the LQAC-4 compilation. A similar cross-match was done with Gaia DR1 to identify the known quasars detected by Gaia. This enables one to improve significantly the positioning of these objects, and in parallel to study the astrometric performance of the individual catalogues of the LQAC-4 compilation. Finally, a new method was used to determine absolute magnitudes. Results. Our final catalogue, called LQAC-4, contains 443 725 objects. This is roughly 37.82% more than the number of objects recorded in the LQAC-3. Among them, 249 071 were found in common with the Gaia DR1, with a 1 search radius. That corresponds to 56.13% of the whole population in the compilation. Conclusions. The LQAC-4 delivers to the astronomical community a nearly complete catalogue of spectroscopically confirmed quasars (including a small proportion of compact AGNs), with the aim of giving their best equatorial coordinates with respect to the ICRF2 and with exhaustive additional information. For more than 50% of the sample, these coordinates come from the very recent Gaia DR1.

Context. In addition to their great astrophysical interest, quasars represent quasi-ideal reference objects in the celestial sphere with, a priori, a lack of significant proper motion. Since the fourth release of the Large Quasar Astrometric Catalogue (LQAC-4), a large number of quasars have been discovered, in particular those coming from the DR14Q release of the SDSS. With the advent of the Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2), it is now also possible to fold in extremely accurate quasar positions. Aims. Following the same procedure as in the previous releases of the LQAC, our aim is to compile the large majority of the recorded quasars, with their best estimated coordinates and substantial information about their physical properties such as the redshift, multi-bands apparent, and absolute magnitudes. Emphasis is given to the results of the cross-matches with the Gaia DR2 catalogue, which considerably increases the positional accuracy. Methods. New quasars from the SDSS DR14Q release were cross-matched with the precedent LQAC-4 compilation with a 1″ search radius, which leads to 149 084 objects not present in the previous LQAC-4 release. Another cross-match was done with the Gaia DR2 catalogue, which enables us to considerably improve the positioning of these objects. For the first time, parallaxes and proper motions from the DR2, when available, are added to our compilation. Furthermore, a cross-identification of the LQAC-5 with the AllWISE survey gives additional mid-infrared information for an important percentage of objects. Results. Our final catalogue, namely the LQAC-5, contains 592 809 quasars. This represents roughly a 34% increase with respect to the number of objects recorded in the LQAC-4. Among them, 398 697 objects were found in common with the Gaia DR2, within a 1″ search radius. That corresponds to 67.26% of the whole population of the compilation. Conclusion. The LQAC-5 delivers a nearly complete catalogue of spectroscopically confirmed quasars (including a small proportion of 14 126 compact AGN’s) to the astronomical community, with the aim of giving their best equatorial coordinates with respect to the ICRF2 and with exhaustive additional information. For more than 50% of the sample, these coordinates are extracted from the very recent Gaia DR2.

The potential of domestic wastewater treatment plants to contribute for the dissemination of ciprofloxacin-resistant bacteria was assessed. Differences on bacterial counts and percentage of resistance in the raw wastewater could not be explained on basis of the size of the plant or demographic characteristics of population served. In contrast, the treated effluent of the larger plants had significantly more heterotrophs and enterobacteria, including ciprofloxacin-resistant organisms, than the smaller (p<0.01). Moreover, longer hydraulic retention times were associated with significantly higher percentages of resistant enterobacteria in the treated effluent (p< 0.05). Independently of the size or type of treatment used, domestic wastewater treatment plants discharged per day at least 10 10 -10 14 colony forming units of ciprofloxacin-resistant bacteria into the receiving environment.

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