Facile one-step synthesis of a versatile nitrogen-doped hydrochar from olive oil production waste, "alperujo", for removing pharmaceuticals from wastewater.

In line with the principles of zero waste and recycling, alperujo (AL) was used in this study to produce a value-added product: hydrochar (HC) with high adsorption capacity. An optimization of the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) conditions, such as temperature, residence time, and water/solid ratio, was carried out to maximize the adsorption capacity. Eight HCs were obtained, and an in-depth comparative characterization, as well as adsorption tests of two pharmaceuticals with very different physicochemical properties (fluoxetine (FLX) and cefazolin (CFZ)), were performed. This first step allowed for elucidation of the best candidates to carry out nitrogen grafting on their surface, resulting in the HC obtained at a higher water/solid ratio and temperature, and longer residence time: 3-220°C-2.5 h with a maximum uptake of 4.6 and 0.4 mg/g for FLX and CFZ, respectively. After that, a facile one-step, one-pot synthesis of nitrogen-doped hydrochars (N-HC) was developed to prepare a versatile bio-adsorbent with enhanced adsorption capacity. Two N-HCs were prepared using urea (U-HC) and polyethyleneimine (PEI-HC) and were intensively characterized to shed light on the adsorption mechanism. In both cases, amide groups were formed, which favored the adsorption process. PEI-HC acquired an outstanding maximum adsorption capacity of 983.84 mg/g for CFZ, and 29.31 mg/g for FLX, and the process was well described by the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. A co-adsorption test was performed using PEI-HC for both pharmaceuticals, finding that the adsorption process occurs in different active sites because there was no interference between the pollutants. This fact corroborates the versatility of the new bio-adsorbent synthesized.

The Maser Emitting Structure and Time Variability of the SIS Lines J = 14 - 13 and 15 - 14 in IRC+10216.

We present new high angular resolution interferometer observations of the υ = 0 J = 14 - 13 and 15 - 14 SiS lines towards IRC+10216, carried out with CARMA and ALMA. The maps, with angular resolutions of ≃0⋅″25and0⋅″55, reveal (1) an extended, roughly uniform, and weak emission with a size of ≃0⋅″5, (2) a component elongated approximately along the East-West direction peaking at ≃0⋅″13and0⋅″17 at both sides of the central star, and (3) two blue- and red-shifted compact components peaking around 0⋅″07 to the NW of the star. We have modeled the emission with a 3D radiation transfer code finding that the observations cannot be explained only by thermal emission. Several maser clumps and one arc-shaped maser feature arranged from 5 to 20R⋆ from the central star, in addition to a thin shell-like maser structure at ≃ 13R⋆ are required to explain the observations. This maser emitting set of structures accounts for 75% of the total emission while the other 25% is produced by thermally excited molecules. About 60% of the maser emission comes from the extended emission and the rest from the set of clumps and the arc. The analysis of a time monitoring of these and other SiS and 29SiS lines carried out with the IRAM 30 m telescope from 2015 to present suggests that the intensity of some spectral components of the maser emission strongly depends on the stellar pulsation while other components show a mild variability. This monitoring evidences a significant phase lag of ≃ 0.2 between the maser and NIR light-curves.

Stellar physics. Observing the onset of outflow collimation in a massive protostar.

The current paradigm of star formation through accretion disks, and magnetohydrodynamically driven gas ejections, predicts the development of collimated outflows, rather than expansion without any preferential direction. We present radio continuum observations of the massive protostar W75N(B)-VLA 2, showing that it is a thermal, collimated ionized wind and that it has evolved in 18 years from a compact source into an elongated one. This is consistent with the evolution of the associated expanding water-vapor maser shell, which changed from a nearly circular morphology, tracing an almost isotropic outflow, to an elliptical one outlining collimated motions. We model this behavior in terms of an episodic, short-lived, originally isotropic ionized wind whose morphology evolves as it moves within a toroidal density stratification.

Participation of French general practitioners in end-of-life decisions for their hospitalised patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Assuming the hypothesis that the general practitioner (GP) can and should be a key player in making end-of-life decisions for hospitalised patients, perceptions of GPs' role assigned to them by hospital doctors in making withdrawal decisions for such patients were surveyed. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey. SETTING: Urban (districts located near Paris) and rural (southern France) areas. PARTICIPANTS: GPs. RESULTS: The response rate was 32.2% (161/500), and it was observed that 70.8% of respondents believed that their participation in withdrawal decisions for their hospitalised patients was essential, whereas 42.1% believed that the hospital doctors were sufficiently skilled to make withdrawal decisions without input from the GPs. Most respondents were found to believe that they had the necessary skills (91.9%) and enough time (87.6%) to participate in withdrawal decisions. The last case of treatment withdrawal in hospital for one of their patients was described by 40% (65/161) of respondents, of whom only 40.0% (26/65) believed that they had participated actively in the decision process. The major factors in the multivariate analysis were the GP's strong belief that his or her participation was essential (p = 0.01), information on admission of the patient given to the GP by the hospital department (p = 0.007), rural practice (p = 0.03), visit to the patient dying in hospital (p = 0.02) and a request by the family to be kept informed about the patient (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Strong interest was evinced among GPs regarding end-of-life issues, as well as considerable experience of patients dying at home. As GPs are more closely corrected to patients' families, they may be a good choice for third-party intervention in making end-of-life decisions for hospitalised patients.

Spherical episodic ejection of material from a young star.

The exact processes by which interstellar matter condenses to form young stars are of great interest, in part because they bear on the formation of planets like our own from the material that fails to become part of the star. Theoretical models suggest that ejection of gas during early phases of stellar evolution is a key mechanism for removing excess angular momentum, thereby allowing material to drift inwards towards the star through an accretion disk. Such ejections also limit the mass that can be accumulated by the stellar core. To date, these ejections have been observed to be bipolar and highly collimated, in agreement with theory. Here we report observations at very high angular resolution of the proper motions of an arc of water-vapour masers near a very young, massive star in Cepheus. We find that the arc of masers can be fitted to a circle with an accuracy of one part in a thousand, and that the structure is expanding. Only a sphere will always produce a circle in projection, so our observations strongly suggest that the perfectly spherical ejection of material from this star took place about 33 years earlier. The spherical symmetry of the ejecta and its episodic nature are very surprising in the light of present theories.

[Prevalence of anemia in a sample of school children in Durango City]. / Prevalencia de anemia en una muestra de escolares de la ciudad de Durango.

The circulatory levels of hemoglobin and the frequency of anemia were determined in a representative sample of children with a mean age of 6.7 years. A random sample of 500 children of the city of Durango was studied. Durango has an altitude of 1893 m above sea level. The mean value of hemoglobin was 12.57 g/100 ml, with a range of 9.4 to 15.0 and a SE of 0.05. There was no difference statistically significant between the sexes. Considering 12.0 as the lower normal limit for hemoglobin values, it was found that 16% of the children were anemic, 49% of the anemic children were iron deficient, with iron serum levels of less than 60 ug/100 ml. The relationship between anemia and number of living children, birth order and weight was established. The frequency of anemia was higher among children coming from families with 4 or more living children.