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International audience; This work provides an evaluation of the emission factors (EFs) of typical garden waste burning (fallen leaves and hedge trimming) in terms of particulate matter (PM), elemental and organic carbon (EC-OC) together with a detailed chemical characterization of 88 particle-bound organic species including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), levoglucosan and its isomers, lignin breakdown products (methoxyphenols), cholesterol, alkanes, polyols and sugars. Furthermore, wood-log based burning experiments have been performed to highlight key indicators or chemical patterns of both, green waste and wood burning (residential heating) sources, that may be used for PM source apportionment purposes. Two residential log wood combustion appliances, wood stove (RWS) and fireplace, under different output conditions (nominal and reduced) and wood log moisture content (mix of beech, oak and hornbeam), have been tested. Open wood burning experiments using wood logs were also performed. Green waste burning EFs obtained were comparable to the available literature data for open-air biomass burning. For PM and for most of the organic species studied, they were about 2 to 30 times higher than those observed for wood log combustion experiments. Though, poor performance wood combustions (open-air wood log burning, fireplace and RWS in reduced output) showed comparable EFs for levoglucosan and its isomers, methoxyphenols, polyols, PAHs and sugars. Toxic PAH equivalent benzo[a]pyrene EFs were even 3–10 times higher for the fireplace and open-air wood log burning. These results highlighted the impact of the nature of the fuel burnt and the combustion performances on the emissions. Different chemical fingerprints between both biomass burning sources were highlighted with notably a predominance of odd high-molecular weight n-alkanes (higher carbon preference index, CPI), lower levoglucosan/mannosan ratio and lower sinapylaldehyde abundance for green waste burning. However, the use of such indicators seems limited, especially if applied alone, for a clear discrimination of both sources in ambient air.

This study investigated the effects of a community-led temperate marine reserve in Lamlash Bay, Firth of Clyde, Scotland, on commercially important populations of European lobster (Homarus gammarus), brown crab (Cancer pagurus) and velvet swimming crabs (Necora puber). Potting surveys conducted over four years revealed significantly higher catch per unit effort (CPUE 109% greater), weight per unit effort (WPUE 189% greater) and carapace length (10-15 mm greater) in lobsters within the reserve compared to control sites. However, likely due to low levels of recruitment and increased fishing effort outside the reserve, lobster catches decreased in all areas during the final two years. Nevertheless, catch rates remained higher within the reserve across all years, suggesting the reserve buffered these wider declines. Additionally, lobster CPUE and WPUE declined with increasing distance from the boundaries of the marine reserve, a trend which tag-recapture data suggested to be due to spillover. Catches of berried lobster were also twice as high within the reserve than outside, and the mean potential reproductive output per female was 22.1% greater. It was originally thought that higher catches of lobster within the reserve might lead to greater levels of aggression and physical damage. However, damage levels were solely related to body size, as large lobsters > 110 mm had sustained over 218% more damage than smaller individuals. Interestingly, catches of adult lobsters were inversely correlated with those of juvenile lobsters, and brown and velvet crabs, which may be evidence of competitive displacement and / or predation. Our findings therefore highlight the importance of investigating multi-species interactions in marine reserves, as the recovery of some species can generate knock-on effects for others. Combined with our previous work at this location, this study provides further evidence that temperate marine reserves can deliver fisheries and conservation benefits.

International audience; Little is known about the impact of post-combustion processes, condensation and dilution, on the aerosol concentration and chemical composition from residential wood combustion. The evolution of aerosol emitted by two different residential log wood stoves (old and modern technologies) from emission until it is introduced into ambient air was studied under controlled “real” conditions. The first objective of this research was to evaluate the emission factors (EF) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and their nitrated and oxygenated derivatives from wood combustion. These toxic substances are poorly documented in the literature. A second objective was to evaluate the oxidation state of the wood combustion effluent by studying these primary/secondary compounds. EFs of Σ37PAHs and Σ27Oxy-PAHs were in the same range and similar to those reported in literature (4–240 mg kg−1). Σ31Nitro-PAH EFs were 2–4 orders of magnitude lower (3.10−2-8.10−2 mg kg−1) due to the low temperature and low emission of NO2 from wood combustion processes. An increase of equivalent EF of PAH derivatives was observed suggesting that the oxidation state of the wood combustion effluent from the emission point until its introduction in ambient air changed in a few seconds. These results were confirmed by the study of both, typical compounds of SOA formation from PAH oxidation and, PAH ratio-ratio plots commonly used for source evaluation.

Cancer metastasis is the foremost cause of cancer-associated deaths. Recent studies have shown that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are important in cancer metastasis. Indeed, the number of CTCs correlates with tumor size. Here, a detailed description is provided of a methodology for isolation and propagation of CTCs from a syngeneic mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) which allows for downstream analysis of potentially important molecular mechanisms of solid organ tumor metastasis. This method is efficient and reproducible. It is a non-invasive technique and, therefore, has potential to replace the invasive biopsy of tissues from humans which may be associated with complications. Therefore, the method discussed here allows for the isolation and propagation of CTCs from whole blood samples such that they can be examined and characterized. This has potential for future adaptation for clinical applications such as diagnosis, and personalized targeted therapy.

A new tool to extract cross-identifications and radio continuum spectra from radio catalogues contained in the VIZIER database of the CDS is presented. The code can handle radio surveys at different frequencies with different resolutions. It has been applied to 22 survey catalogues at 11 different frequencies containing a total of 3.5 million sources, which resulted in over 700000 independent radio cross-identifications and ~67000 independent radio spectra with more than two frequency points. A validation of the code has been performed using independent radio cross-correlations from the literature. The mean error of the determined spectral index is +-0.3. The code produces an output of variable format that can easily be adapted to the purpose of the user., Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

Ammonium oxalate is largely used to extract the trace elements bound to Mn-oxides, amorphous compounds and crystalline Fe-oxides. The objective of this work was to evaluate the selectivity and the efficiency of ammonium oxalate for extracting Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn by sequential extraction of soils. For this purpose, three schemes were selected and applied to three different soil samples of the Swiss Jura. Each extraction scheme consisted of six steps, where different reagents were used to extract Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn bound to the Mn and Fe compounds. The results showed that metallic trace elements extraction with ammonium oxalate are very dependant on the metal studied. The reason could be the capability of oxalate to form stable complexes with the metals considered which sometimes are only slightly soluble.

This study aimed at evaluating the selectivity of different extractants — and thus the efficiency of various extraction schemes — used to assess the Cd speciation in the soil of the Swiss Jura. For this purpose, three extractration schemes were selected and all were applied to three different soils. Each extraction scheme consisted of six steps intended to extract Cd bound to: (1) exchangeable, (2) carbonate, (3) Mn-oxides and amorphous compounds, (4) Fe-oxides, (5) organic matter and (6) residual fractions. The results showed that the selectivity of the extraction depended not only on the type of reagents used to extract each phase, but also on the order in which they were applied. In the final analysis, none of the tested schemes were totally satisfactory. The main reason for this is that soil is not a simple addition of pure components but rather the result of complex interactions between its basic constituents. However, one of the schemes would appear to be good enough to characterise adequat...

The Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) has dealt with bibliographic information for many years. References of publications, published observational data related to objects, data tables, nomenclature, have been homogenized and organized into information retrieval systems: SIMBAD, the reference database for the identification and bibliography of astronomical objects; the catalogue service and the VizieR catalogue Browser, for data tables; the Dictionary of Nomenclature of Astronomical objects, which is now maintained by the CDS. Evolution in recent years has brought the Data Centers closer to the publishing process. General standards for astronomy, for the description of references and of data tables, have been proposed and implemented. Data tables from papers are now directly published in electronic form, and distributed on-line by the Data Centers. The emergence of fully electronic publication paves the way to innovative new services, linking the journals to other sources of informations (data bases, tables, then images, data archives), and making use of new methods for information retrieval. This also has an effect on the publishing process, with the possibility to implement new checks and links from text to other kinds of information (from objects names, positions, etc.). The CDS will bring some of thekey features in the evolution towards a fully linked astronomy information system, in close collaboration with the journal editors, the ADS, the other Data Centers, and the data providers.

Absract The Centre de Donnees astronomiques de Strasbough (CDS) has undergone significant evolution in recent years, with the development of new services and a new interfaces, and an extension of its activities linked to the growth in the amount and diversity of data produced in astronomy. The CDS objectives, and the present status of the services, will be recalled. The main evolution trends observed on the medium term, due to the evolution of astronomy and to the very fast technical evolution, will be described. Finally, the strong growth of interconnection between astronomy on-line services, including electronic journals, will be discussed.

The CDS is providing several unique services to the world-wide astronomical community: the catalogue service, the SIMBAD database, the ALADIN project, bibliography and literature search, yellow pages, etc. We describe how the CDS works at providing a global perspective on astronomical data and information, with the help of recent technological developments.

The new release of the SPECFIND radio cross-identification catalogue, SPECFIND V2.0, is presented. It contains 107488 cross-identified objects with at least three radio sources observed at three independent frequencies. Compared to the previous release the number of entry radio catalogues is increased from 20 to 97 containing 115 tables. This large increase was only made possible by the development of four tools at CDS which use the standards and infrastructure of the Virtual Observatory (VO). This was done in the framework of the VO-TECH European Design Study of the Sixth Framework Program. We give an overview of the different classes of radio sources that a user can encounter. Due to the increase of frequency coverage of the input radio catalogues, this release demonstrates that the SPECFIND algorithm is able to detect spectral breaks around a frequency of ~1 GHz., Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

International audience; The Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) develops a set of interlinked services, SIMBAD, VizieR, ALADIN, the Dictionary of Nomenclature, which can be used to find information about particular objects or regions of the sky, or can be sampled by criteria. An example of more advanced usage is also given. New functionalities will be developed in the context of the Virtual Observatory.

The accuracy in position and flux density of 19 large radio continuum source catalogues has been determined using SPECFIND, a new tool recently made available through the CDS. The ~67000 radio continuum spectra with three or more frequencies produced by SPECFIND were used to cross-correlate sources from different catalogues and to calculate offsets in right ascension and declination in the various catalogues with respect to the positions given in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) catalogue, which was adopted as a reference. The flux densities reported in the catalogues were compared to those predicted by the composite spectra, enabling us to assess the quality of the flux density calibration of the different catalogues., 6 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in A&A; erroneous entries in the DEC of the MRC input file detected; the article is changed accordingly

The Centre de Donnees astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) develops a set of value-added services, widely used for information retrieval, observation preparation, data interpretation, etc. SIMBAD, VizieR, Aladin and the 'Dictionary of Nomenclature' integrate heterogeneous selected information from observatory archives, sky surveys and publications. Each service organizes information in a different way (astronomical objects, tables, images with overlays), and the CDS hub allows versatile information retrieval, e.g. looking for known information in a given region of the sky, including observations from ground- and space-based instruments, or searching by criteria in large data sets. Links among the CDS services, and with other reference on-line information systems, such as observatory and survey archives or publications, permit comprehensive searches in a wide variety of resources. Shared exchange standards and generic tools such as the GLU are essential for the building of links. XML is a key tool for further information integration, and Aladin is a precursor of an integration tool, relying on FITS and XML. New functionalities will be developed at CDS in the context of the Virtual Observatory, e.g. for data mining and management of very large catalogues.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The Strasbourg astronomical Data Center (CDS) has been created in 1972 with the following goals: to collect useful data concerning astronomical objects, and available on electronic form (these are mainly observations produced by ground- based and space-borne observatories) to improve them through comparisons, critical evaluations, and cross- identifications to distribute the results to the astronomical community to conduct scientific research using these data

The uniform 19—digit code used for bibliographic references within NED and SIMBAD was developed by both teams in consultation with Dr. H. Abt, editor of the Astrophysical Journal. The primary purpose of the “REF_CODE” is to provide a unique and traceable representation of a bibliographic reference within the structure of each database. However, in many cases, the code has sufficient information to be quickly deciphered by eye, and it is used frequently in the interfaces as a succinct abbreviation of a full bibliographic reference. Since its inception, it has become a standard code not only for NED and SIMBAD, but — with minor variations — for ADS and other bibliographic services. In addition, the acronyms for journals used as part of the code have become standards for some of the main astronomical journals in their own bibliographies.

At the 2003 Sydney IAU meeting, Marion Schmitz (Caltech, USA) took over the chair of the Commission 5 Working Group Designations, succeeding Helene Dickel. The Working Group Designations of IAU Commission 5 clarifies existing astronomical nomenclature and helps astronomers avoid potential problems when designating their sources. The most important function of WG Designations during the period 2003-2005 was overseeing the IAU REGISTRY FOR ACRONYMS (for newly discovered astronomical sources of radiation: see the website ) which is sponsored by the WG and operated by the Centre de Données de Strasbourg (CDS). The Clearing House, a subgroup of the WG, screens the submissions for accuracy and conformity to the IAU Recommendations for Nomenclature (). From its beginning in 1997 through August 2006, there have been 132 submissions and 111 acceptances. Attempts to register asterisms, common star names, and suspected variable stars were rejected. The past three years saw 61 acronyms submitted with 50 of them being accepted. (GIRL - yes; WOMEN - no).

We have used the 20 largest radio continuum catalogues contained in VizieR (CDS) to determine radio continuum spectra between wavelengths of 2cm and 1m. For 67,000 out of the 3.5 million catalogued sources we could extract radio spectra with measurements at at least three independent frequencies (Vollmer et al. 2005, A&A, 431, 1177). These have been validated by comparison with existing spectral indices from the literature. This work allowed us to investigated the compatibility between the 20 radio continuum catalogues (Vollmer et al. 2005, A&A, 436, 757). Our radio spectra data base was searched for Gigahertz peaked source candidates, which we then observed quasi-simultaneously with the Effelsberg 100-m radio telescope at 6cm (4.85GHz), 2.8cm (10.45GHz), and 9mm (32GHz). This represents an efficient procedure to discover new Gigahertz peaked sources, which are believed to be AGNs at the beginning of their radio evolution. In our sample of more than 200 sources we find more than 50% bona fide GPS sources. In addition, we can estimate the percentage of variable sources in our multi-epoch sample of radio sources which show an inverted spectrum. We are generalizing the method by using VO capabilities to: (i) identify pertinent radio catalogues in the VO registry using Uniform Content Descriptions (UCDs); all catalogues containing a user defined set of UCDs (e.g., PHOT_FLUX_RADIO* for a radio flux, POS_EQ_RA and POS_EQ_DEC for the position) are located in the VO registry and listed for further queries; (ii) extract relevant data, the user can easily assign a row of a given catalogue to a row of a previously defined output catalogue; and (iii) normalize these for the determination of radio spectra; units can be converted, aconymes can be created, flags can be created, etc. This procedure allows to homogenize the information retrieved from a heterogenuous set of catalogues. For this purpose software allowing semi-automated information retrieval is being developed at the CDS within the framework of the European VO-TECH project. The potential usage of all available radio catalogues will strongly increase the number of independent radio source cross-correlations and radio spectra. Our aim is to include more than 100 radio catalogues into the radio spectra determination software. The results are progressively being made available to the community through the CDS services.

The Centre de donnees astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) provides homogeneous access to heterogeneous information of various origins: information about astronomical objects in Simbad; catalogs and observation logs in VizieR and in the catalogue service; reference images and overlays in Aladin; nomenclature in the Dictionary of Nomenclature ; Yellow Page services; the AstroGLU resource discovery tool; mirror copies of other reference services; and documentation. With the implementation of links between the CDS services, and with other on–line reference information, CDS has become a major hub in the rapidly evolving world of information retrieval in astronomy, developing efficient tools to help astronomers to navigate in the world-wide “Virtual Observatory” under construction, from data in the observatory archives to results published in journals. The WWW interface to the CDS services is available at: http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/

Simbad is the reference database for identification and bibliography of astronomical objects. It contains identifications, `basic data', bibliography, and selected observational measurements for several million astronomical objects. Simbad is developed and maintained by CDS, Strasbourg. Building the database contents is achieved with the help of several contributing institutes. Scanning the bibliography is the result of the collaboration of CDS with bibliographers in Observatoire de Paris (DASGAL), Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, and Observatoire de Bordeaux. When selecting catalogues and tables for inclusion, priority is given to optimal multi-wavelength coverage of the database, and to support of research developments linked to large projects. In parallel, the systematic scanning of the bibliography reflects the diversity and general trends of astronomical research. A WWW interface to Simbad is available at: this http URL