A Consolidated Method for Selective Isolation of Actinomycetes Based on Choice of Substrate

Actinomycetes are known as filamentous, Gram positive bacteria. They form the majority of the microbial load in various niches; soils, composts, etc. The study aimed to evaluate the method of isolating slow growing actinomycetes from four different sources: garden soil, cow dung manure compost, floral waste compost, and floral waste vermicompost. In this study, an integrated method consisting of physical and chemical pretreatment of the sample and the use of selective media was used to isolate actinomycetes. Physical treatment includes air drying, sun drying, dry heating in an oven, and moist heat treatment, whereas chemical treatment includes enrichment of the sample with CaCO3 followed by plating on actinomycetes-specific media with the incorporation of antibacterial and antifungal antibiotics. The actinomycetes count on the plate was reported in CFU/gm of dry wt. Morphological and microscopic characteristics of purified isolates were noted. The results were compared, and it was found that the pretreatment method of a particular sample depends on the choice of substrate. Overall, physical treatment followed by chemical enrichment showed relatively higher counts on the plate and better results. Here we also found the dominance of fluorescent Pseudomonas sp. in case samples from vermicompost. The study can be of great importance in isolating novel and rare genera of actinomycetes. These methods can help speed up the isolation and screening of novel actinomycetes which will ultimately be important for the discovery of antibiotics and other industrially vital bioactive compounds.

Observational Evidence Points at AGB Stars as Possible Progenitors of CEMP-s and CEMP-r/s Stars*

The origin of enhanced abundance of heavy elements observed in the surface chemical composition of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars still remains poorly understood. Here, we present detailed abundance analysis of seven CEMP stars based on high-resolution (R ∼ 50,000) spectra that reveal enough evidence of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars being possible progenitors for these objects. For the objects HE 0110−0406, HE 1425−2052, and HE 1428−1950, we present for the first time a detailed abundance analysis. Our sample is found to consist of one metal-poor ([Fe/H] < −1.0) and six very metal-poor ([Fe/H] < −2.0) stars with enhanced carbon and neutron-capture elements. We have critically analyzed the observed abundance ratios of [O/Fe], [Sr/Ba], and [hs/ls] and examined the possibility of AGB stars being possible progenitors. The abundance of oxygen estimated in the program stars is characteristic of AGB progenitors except for HE 1429−0551 and HE 1447+0102. The estimated values of [Sr/Ba] and [hs/ls] ratios also support AGB stars as possible progenitors. The locations of the program stars in the absolute carbon abundance A(C) versus [Fe/H] diagram, along with the Group I objects, hint at the binary nature of the object. We have studied the chemical enrichment histories of the program stars based on abundance ratios [Mg/C], [Sc/Mn], and [C/Cr]. Using [C/N] and 12C/13C ratios, we have examined whether any internal mixing had modified their surface chemical compositions. Kinematic analysis shows that the objects HE 0110−0406 and HE 1447+0102 are thick-disk objects and the remaining five objects belong to the halo population of the Galaxy.

Signatures of AGN-induced Metal Loss in the Stellar Population

One way the active galactic nuclei (AGN) are expected to influence the evolution of their host galaxies is by removing metal content via outflows. In this article we present results that show that AGN can have an effect on the chemical enrichment of their host galaxies using the fossil record technique on CALIFA galaxies. We classified the chemical enrichment histories of all galaxies in our sample regarding whether they show a drop in the value of their metallicity. We find that galaxies currently hosting an AGN are more likely to show this drop in their metal content compared to the quiescent sample. Once we separate the sample by their star-forming status we find that star-forming galaxies are less likely to have a drop in metallicity but have deeper decreases when these appear. This behavior could be evidence for the influence of either pristine gas inflows or galactic outflows triggered by starbursts, both of which can produce a drop in metallicity.

Exploration of the high-redshift universe enabled by THESEUS

At peak, long-duration gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous sources of electromagnetic radiation known. Since their progenitors are massive stars, they provide a tracer of star formation and star-forming galaxies over the whole of cosmic history. Their bright power-law afterglows provide ideal backlights for absorption studies of the interstellar and intergalactic medium back to the reionization era. The proposed THESEUS mission is designed to detect large samples of GRBs at z > 6 in the 2030s, at a time when supporting observations with major next generation facilities will be possible, thus enabling a range of transformative science. THESEUS will allow us to explore the faint end of the luminosity function of galaxies and the star formation rate density to high redshifts; constrain the progress of re-ionisation beyond $z\gtrsim 6$ z ≳ 6 ; study in detail early chemical enrichment from stellar explosions, including signatures of Population III stars; and potentially characterize the dark energy equation of state at the highest redshifts.

Dust Production around Carbon-Rich Stars: The Role of Metallicity

Background: Most of the stars in the Universe will end their evolution by losing their envelope during the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) phase, enriching the interstellar medium of galaxies with heavy elements, partially condensed into dust grains formed in their extended circumstellar envelopes. Among these stars, carbon-rich TP-AGB stars (C-stars) are particularly relevant for the chemical enrichment of galaxies. We here investigated the role of the metallicity in the dust formation process from a theoretical viewpoint. Methods: We coupled an up-to-date description of dust growth and dust-driven wind, which included the time-averaged effect of shocks, with FRUITY stellar evolutionary tracks. We compared our predictions with observations of C-stars in our Galaxy, in the Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC) and in the Galactic Halo, characterised by metallicity between solar and 1/10 of solar. Results: Our models explained the variation of the gas and dust content around C-stars derived from the IRS Spitzer spectra. The wind speed of the C-stars at varying metallicity was well reproduced by our description. We predicted the wind speed at metallicity down to 1/10 of solar in a wide range of mass-loss rates.

The Metal Content of the Hot Atmospheres of Galaxy Groups

Galaxy groups host the majority of matter and more than half of all the galaxies in the Universe. Their hot (107 K), X-ray emitting intra-group medium (IGrM) reveals emission lines typical of many elements synthesized by stars and supernovae. Because their gravitational potentials are shallower than those of rich galaxy clusters, groups are ideal targets for studying, through X-ray observations , feedback effects, which leave important marks on their gas and metal contents. Here, we review the history and present status of the chemical abundances in the IGrM probed by X-ray spectroscopy. We discuss the limitations of our current knowledge, in particular due to uncertainties in the modeling of the Fe-L shell by plasma codes, and coverage of the volume beyond the central region. We further summarize the constraints on the abundance pattern at the group mass scale and the insight it provides to the history of chemical enrichment. Parallel to the observational efforts, we review the progress made by both cosmological hydrodynamical simulations and controlled high-resolution 3D simulations to reproduce the radial distribution of metals in the IGrM, the dependence on system mass from group to cluster scales, and the role of AGN and SN feedback in producing the observed phenomenology. Finally, we highlight future prospects in this field, where progress will be driven both by a much richer sample of X-ray emitting groups identified with eROSITA, and by a revolution in the study of X-ray spectra expected from micro-calorimeters onboard XRISM and ATHENA.

Evolution and Mass Loss of Cool Aging Stars: A Daedalean Story

A multitude of phenomena—such as the chemical enrichment of the Universe, the mass spectrum of planetary nebulae, white dwarfs and gravitational wave progenitors, the frequency distribution of supernovae, the fate of exoplanets, etc.—are highly regulated by the amounts of mass that stars expel through a powerful wind. For more than half a century, these winds of cool aging stars have been interpreted within the common interpretive framework of 1D models. I here discuss how that framework now appears to be highly problematic. • Current 1D mass-loss rate formulae differ by orders of magnitude, rendering contemporary stellar evolution predictions highly uncertain. These stellar winds harbor 3D complexities that bridge 23 orders of magnitude in scale, ranging from the nanometer up to thousands of astronomical units. We need to embrace and understand these 3D spatial realities if we aim to quantify mass loss and assess its effect on stellar evolution. We therefore need to gauge the following: • The 3D life of molecules and solid-state aggregates: The gas-phase clusters that form the first dust seeds are not yet identified. This limits our ability to predict mass-loss rates using a self-consistent approach. • The emergence of 3D clumps: They contribute in a nonnegligible way to the mass loss, although they seem of limited importance for the wind-driving mechanism. • The 3D lasting impact of a (hidden) companion: Unrecognized binary interaction has biased previous mass-loss rate estimates toward values that are too large. Only then will it be possible to drastically improve our predictive power of the evolutionary path in 4D (classical) spacetime of any star. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 59 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Mechanochemical technology of iron extraction from enrichment tailings

The article describes the results of studies on ore dressing waste processing at the enterprises of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly with production of metals and building materials. About 1.8 billion tons of tailings were stored there. Significant feature of deposits formation is division of tailings by size and specific gravity in water stream, since tailings are transported from the enrichment plant to the tailing dams by hydrotransport. Characteristics of the tailings from wet magnetic research method was applied, including system analysis and scientific generalization, data processing using methods of statistics, probability theory and mathematical modeling. The authors have systematized the results of tailings leaching of following types: agitation leaching in percolator, agitation leaching after activation in disintegrator in the dry state and reagent leaching in disintegrator. Regression analysis of experimental data have been carried out, on the basis of which graphs of dependence of iron extraction on the values of variable process factors were constructed. The used enrichment technologies are limited by extraction limit, which results in processing tailings. The use of these tailings by traditional technologies is not economically efficient, and upgrading of enrichment processes is advisable using hydrometallurgical and chemical technologies. Promising direction in metals extraction from mining waste is combination of processing technologies based on possibilities of both chemical enrichment and activation in disintegrator. It was determined that mechanochemical activation of tailings in disintegrator simultaneously with leaching can significantly increase extraction while the processing time is reduced hundredfold. Recommended technology may be in demand at mining enterprises with the prospect of transition to underground mining.